Jeff Wall is a Canadian artist who is best known for his large-scale photographs and theories on art history. In an interview which was conducted with Wall he said;
‘Not every image is (or wants to be, or needs to be) a tableau…and when an image isn’t as acutely composed, it has less presence as a tableau.‘ – this is suggesting that even if an image is directed/staged it doesn’t has to be categorized as a tableau, as you the photographer are adding your emotions and effects to it, making it an unique image,.
‘Photographers often want to treat a subject extensively, devote themselves to it and make groups or sequence of pictures about it. I do it to one image, and clear the debt in one throw of the dice‘
‘Subjects might have their own specific pictorial energy, but I don’t think they require any predictable way of being shown. So, I look forward to showing, ways of creating an appearance of something, whether it is a scene of tension or of something else.’– this is suggesting that images can present different emotions, depending on how the photographer photographed their image and the meaning behind the image can help set the scene and emotion for a project or an individual image. Along with this, experimenting with how to present your work can be fun as you can show it in different ways, which can simple of unique.
‘Any slightly unusual subject would likely have to come to the artist through some sort of unexpected encounter. In the absence of such an encounter, you can still keep working by using once of the generic subjects as your starting point.’
‘there are simply NO RULES’ – from this quote, Walls is saying that there are no rules within photography. You can photograph what interests you and experiment it in different ways and it won’t be wrong as it is your view and perception on a certain genre and topic.
Overpass, 2001
Technical; The lighting in the image is bright and sharp which contrasts against the dark, grey sky, the lighting is a natural source and the photo may have been slightly edited to make it brighter in certain areas. The image has a wide depth of field, this is due to the face the subjects are up close to the camera, yet you can see far down the street, making the image seem longer than it is. The color of the image is blue and grey, which gives off a cold effect and this is enhanced by the way the subjects are dressed as they are in coats.
Visual; Within the image there are three main subjects you can visually see, who are carrying luggage with them, they are also walking past traffic on an overpass. The lines created by the barriers of the left hand side of the image create a parallel effect for the image and these correspond with the shadows create on the floor and the line on the pavement. The shadows in the image give it a 3D effect.
Contextual/Conceptual; Within one of Walls interviews that I have looked at he said ‘Not every image is (or wants to be, or needs to be) a tableau…and when an image isn’t as acutely composed, it has less presence as a tableau.‘ part of this image may have been staged so Walls could get the affect of commuters he wanted but this image would’ve taken divers planning to photograph the people at the right time and to give off the correct emotion. As Wall said ‘Subjects might have their own specific pictorial energy‘, such as this image is presenting what it is like for travelers going to the airport, work, etc this images gives off the sense living and he is documenting what it is like for people living in different areas. The image is simple, but possess it’s own ‘pictorial energy‘ as photography has ‘NO RULES’ according to Wall, it is a free flow and everyone gets their inspiration from different subjects and whats to present their work in different way as mentioned when Wall expressed ‘I look forward to showing, ways of creating an appearance of something, whether it is a scene of tension or of something else.’, this scene carries some slight tension, the stress of having to be at a detestation will all your baggage both physically ad emotionally. Wall, throws everything he has at an image to give it a feeling of emotion and in this instance tension, which is present through the subjects and the dark sky as a background.
Below is a mind map and moodboard of how I have personally interpreted the theme of Occupation vs. Liberation in order to begin my personal study. as you can see below, i interpreted Occupation in a metaphorical way, but also in a more literal manor. I also associated Liberation with the concept of freedom and limitations which led me to explore things such as immigration and gender inequality.
Author name (year of publication), Book title in italics.
Place of publication and publisher
eg.
Bate, D. (2015), Art Photography.
London; Tate Publishing
Author David Bate says ‘Although male photographers tend to dominate the history of early pictorialism, there were also many women photographers, who introduced new subject matter too.’ (Bate, 2015; 48)
After making my statement of intent, I went on to further develop the plan for my personal study, forming ideas and taking inspiration from other works that I will likely take inspiration from:
Above is a Mind map that I produced showing how I interpret the theme of Occupation and Liberation now, incorporating my own concept into the meaning.
I created a mind map in order to arrange my ideas, and in doing so developed some ideas for a photo-shoot that I could use to begin the process of creating images around the concept of the historical context of gender roles, and the way they have changed and developed over time. I want to be able to show a contrast between “now” and “then”, incorporating aspects of different periods in time such as clothing styles and typical gendered-jobs into each image.
I then created a mood board, incorporating inspiration from different images and concepts to do with identifying and breaking gender stereotypes, with some of the images showing the vulnerability of men, and others showing stereotypes being both broken and adhered to.
Post Modernism was developed in the mid to late 20th century by Architects as they criticised an international style of modern architecture to explore the way society constructs and imposes a traditional hierarchy of cultural values and meaning. The style goes the against the cultural trends in photography, also known as ‘modernism’. It focuses on the rapid change within society and the prospect of people making their own decisions.
It is to be a language which allows a discourse between the unconscious and conscious to ensure the unconscious plays a role within the world. Postmodernism embraces complex and often contradictory layers of meaning.
Barbara Kruger:
Barbara Kruger was born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1945. After attending Syracuse University, the School of Visual Arts, and studying art and design with Diane Arbus at Parson’s School of Design in New York, Kruger obtained a design job at Condé Nast Publications. Working for Mademoiselle Magazine, she was quickly promoted to head designer. Later, she worked as a graphic designer, art director, and picture editor in the art departments at House and Garden, Aperture, and other publications. This background in design is evident in the work for which she is now internationally renowned. She layers found photographs from existing sources with pithy and aggressive text that involves the viewer in the struggle for power and control that her captions speak to. In their trademark black letters against a slash of red background, some of her instantly recognisable slogans read “I shop therefore I am,” and “Your body is a battleground.”
Much of her text questions the viewer about feminism, classicism, consumerism, and individual autonomy and desire, although her black-and-white images are culled from the mainstream magazines that sell the very ideas she is disputing. As well as appearing in museums and galleries worldwide, Kruger’s work has appeared on billboards, bus cards, posters, a public park, a train station platform in Strasbourg, France, and in other public commissions. She has taught at the California Institute of Art, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and the University of California, Berkeley. She lives in New York and Los Angeles.
Pictorialists took the medium of photography and reinvented it as an art form, placing beauty, tonality, and composition above creating an accurate visual record. Through their creations, the movement strove to elevate photography to the same level as painting and have it recognized as such by galleries and other artistic institutions. Photography was invented in the late 1830s and was initially considered to be a way in which to produce purely scientific and representational images. This began to change from the 1850s when advocates such as the English painter William John Newton suggested that photography could also be artistic.
Although it can be traced back to these early ideas, the Pictorialist movement was at its most active between 1885 and 1915 and during its heyday it had an international reach with centers in England, France, and the USA. Proponents used a range of darkroom techniques to produce images that allowed them to express their creativity, utilizing it to tell stories, replicate mythological or biblical scenes, and to produce dream-like landscapes. There is no straightforward definition of what a Pictorialist photograph is, but it is usually taken to mean an image that has been manipulated in some way to increase its artistic impact. Common themes within the style are the use of soft focus, color tinting, and visible manipulation such as composite images or the addition of brushstrokes.
Pictorialism was closely linked to prevailing artistic movements, as the photographers took inspiration from popular art, adopting its styles and ideas to demonstrate parity between it and photography. Movements that were particularly influential were tonalism, impressionism and, in some instances, Victorian genre painting.
Pictorialists were the first to present the case for photography to be classed as art and in doing so they initiated a discussion about the artistic value of photography as well as a debate about the social role of photographic manipulation. Both of these matters are still contested today and they have been made ever more relevant in the last decades through the increasing use of Photoshop in advertising and on social media.
The movement led to great innovation in the field of photography with a number of the photographers associated with it responsible for developing new techniques to further their artistic vision. This laid the foundations for later advances in colour photography and other technical processes.
Realism, sometimes called naturalism, in the arts is generally the attempt to represent subject matter truthfully, without artificiality and avoiding artistic conventions, or implausible, exotic, and supernatural elements. Realism has been prevalent in the arts at many periods, and can be in large part a matter of technique and training, and the avoidance of stylisation. In the visual arts, illusionistic realism is the accurate depiction of lifeforms, perspective, and the details of light and colour.
The development of increasingly accurate representation of the visual appearances of things has a long history in art. It includes elements such as the accurate depiction of the anatomy of humans and animals.
I have decided that my personal study, based around the overall theme of Occupation and Liberation, will be based on the liberation and suppression (occupation) of gender expression, and the negative influences that stereotypes and suppressing ones true identity (likes and dislikes) can have on an individual. I will focus my work around the theme of breaking gender stereotypes, and the backlash that people often face from doing so, as well as the liberation they can feel when supported and understood. Here, I have interpreted the theme of Liberation and Occupation in my own personal way, as I along with a number of people that I know and live around, regardless of gender, face discrimination and retaliation from breaking the classic masculine-male, feminine-female stereotypes. I want to be able to interpret this theme in order to show the progress of how atypical expression has become more accepted as history has progressed, while at the same time showing the problems that still occur today, such as bullying and the mental health issues that can result from oppression and having to disguise and hide ones real identity.
Above is a Mind map that I produced showing how I interpret the theme of Occupation and Liberation now, incorporating my own concept into the meaning.
I created a mind map in order to arrange my ideas, and in doing so developed some ideas for a photoshoot that I could use to begin the process of creating images around the concept of the historical context of gender roles, and the way they have changed and developed over time. I want to be able to show a contrast between “now” and “then”, incorporating aspects of different periods in time such as clothing styles and typical gendered-jobs into each image.
Stephen Shore’s work has been widely published and exhibited for the past forty-five years. He was the first living photographer to have a one-man show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York since Alfred Stieglitz, forty years earlier. He has also had one-man shows at George Eastman House, Rochester; Kunsthalle, Dusseldorf; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; Jeu de Paume, Paris; and Art Institute of Chicago. In 2017, the Museum of Modern Art opened a major retrospective spanning Stephen Shore’s entire career. He has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. His series of exhibitions at Light Gallery in New York in the early 1970s sparked new interest in color photography and in the use of the view camera for documentary work.
More than 25 books have been published of Stephen Shore’s photographs including Uncommon Places: The Complete Works; American Surfaces; Stephen Shore, a retrospective monograph in Phaidon’s Contemporary Artists series; Stephen Shore: Survey and most recently, Factory: Andy Warhol and Stephen Shore: Selected Works, 1973-1981. In 2017, the Museum of Modern Art published Stephen Shore in conjunction with their retrospective of his photographic career. Stephen also wrote The Nature of Photographs, published by Phaidon Press, which addresses how a photograph functions visually. His work is represented by 303 Gallery, New York; and Sprüth Magers, London and Berlin. Since 1982 he has been the director of the Photography Program at Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY, where he is the Susan Weber Professor in the Arts.
“I’d thought about this in a certain way before – about this idea of how to make a picture look natural. In a way I deconstructed all of that over a period of years and made pictures that were almost the opposite, very intensely structured.”
Key Ideas:
Shore’s photographs often appear as unstudied snapshots before revealing themselves, on closer examination, to be carefully calculated and balanced. His images show a deep consideration of framing, with lines and colors chosen to emphasize the formal qualities of the places or objects within the frame, heightening the viewer’s focus.
Shore’s images are structured around the experience of seeing, seeking to communicate the way in which the everyday might register to an outsider. He has regularly used his work as a form of visual diary, communicating his own experiences through his photographs. Shore’s photographic choices suggest emotional states to the audience, often drawing power through the ways in which light and composition evoke feelings that the viewer cannot name.
For my first design I stuck to a normal zine layout, 16 page spread in A5 size and portrait orientation. In this design I looked at having half of the zine dedicated to the war and half dedicated to the home project. Overall, I felt that the transition between the two contexts was not clear or effective and almost spoilt the narrative trying to be presented. Below are the screenshots to this design, three pages at a time, with the page layouts being explained below with reasoning as to why these choices where made. In addition, I decided to stop this design shortly after the half way point, transition into the home, as it was not affective, with reasoning as to why, and still showed clear experimentation with new zine layout designs in mind.
On the front and back cover I decided to use the photomontage of the war objects and archival images of the soldiers. I felt as this was my strongest conceptual imagery, I believe it fit perfectly as my covers as it already held strong representation of my intended narrative, moreover the image itself is captivating through the warm vibrant colours, thus drawing viewers into the zine. For my first layout I wanted to use my strongest portrait from the Bob Le Sueur experimentation. I placed the image on the right hand side, as it showcases the subject looking over to the left, making it look more naturally placed. I then decided to add a direct quote from the interview with Bob. I felt the quote used clearly showcased the subjects opinion on the war and German’s and helped to present the beginning of the narrative, allowing a sense of flow within my outcomes. The next spread was an image which focused on detail and texture of Bob’s hands, which is emphasised through the structure and vibrance of the image, Placing this with the metallic headlight used in the war, both being whole page spreads presents the importance of the light during the occupation and the usefulness of the object. It also works alongside Bob’s quote as it shows everyone is alike, as we use the same objects for the same reason, which continues on the flow.
For the next three pages I looked at the transition between war into the home sweet home project. On my next spread I placed an image of a collection of war objects in the centre of the page, doing this supports the ideology that everyone used the same objects whether they were British or German, thus showcasing my narrative of the relationship between objects and portraits. For my middle page I wanted to use a double page spread which showcased liberation of the war, which leads onto the new occupation of the home. This then lead onto the 3/4 page spread of my strongest image from the home sweet home project, which is a macro photograph of a mouth. I felt that the image almost seemed out of place and broke the narrative trying to be presented, which lead me to question the effectiveness of the design.
After consideration I decided to stop with this design as I could not find a solution to transition the war into the home within one zine, therefore my initial design will showcase my experimentation and thought process when creating my final zine design.
Design 2:
For my second design I decided to experiment with different layouts of zines, showcased on my mood board on the narrative and sequencing blog post. After consideration I decided to explore the Dos a Dos design. The dos a dos zine contains two single section zines within one cover, facing them in opposite directions, it’s a neat structure for combining two sets of material which you really want a viewer to experience separately, rather than in a sequence where one follows another. For this one I’ve combined two very different sets of imagery about my native London, one about the city’s history, and the other about it’s possible future.
For the first half of my zine I wanted to showcase liberation from the war and the relationship between objects and portraits in the sense of liberation. I decided to keep similar layouts from the first design as I felt that some layouts were successful in presenting my narrative.
Originally my front cover was black with white text saying Liberation, which juxtaposed the Occupation front cover which was white with black text. Although this worked, having my zine as a dos a dos layout meant I lost two pages worth of display so I felt I was not utilising my pages wisely. This soon lead me to digging through my edits from previous photoshoots were I found an image I took from a worms eye view of Great Britains flag, I felt the fitted nicely with the ideology of liberation.
I decided to use the photomontage of the war objects and archival images of the soldiers. I felt as this was my strongest conceptual imagery, I believe it fit perfectly within my zine as it already held strong representation of my intended narrative, moreover the image itself is captivating through the warm vibrant colours, thus drawing viewers into the zine.
I wanted to use my strongest portrait from the Bob Le Sueur experimentation. I placed the image on the right hand side, as it showcases the subject looking over to the left, making it look more naturally placed. I then places the object of the head light on the left which faces towards the portrait. This presents a strong positive relationship between the two images, showing their importance during the war. This spread took inspiration from my first experimentation as I felt that this spread was the most successful in conveying my narrative.
For my last page spread under liberation I decided to showcase the liberation of the Island when Germans left. This spread focuses on objects of Great Britain’s flag and a radio set, which were banned during the occupation of the German’s. This full page spread clearly showcases the relationship with the objects to portraits with the absence of the portrait, as it is commonly known the citizens illegally held radio systems which outlines the objects importance within the imagery.
To start the occupation side of the zine, I started from the last page and made my way up to the first page, reverse order. The Occupation front cover which was white with black text, which juxtaposed my liberation front cover which was black with white text. As mentioned before although this worked, having my zine as a dos a dos layout meant I lost two pages worth of display so I felt I was not utilising my pages wisely. I will be changing this front cover, with the final layout shown below in order to show experimentation.
Within this half I wanted to showcase the occupation of marriage within a family and the relationship between portraits of objects under this ideology.
For my first page spread I wanted to showcase a portrait of my model hands, with one of the most traditional objects to do with marriage, the ring. A wedding ring symbolises the occupation of your love and life to your spouse, and is very important piece of symbolism to many married couples. Having this images as a whole page spread showcases a lack of space, showcasing the fulfilment marriage has on the impact of our lives.
I then wanted to keep the whole double page spread design as I liked the symbolism of the lack of space and how marriage impacts a whole persons life. I then decided to use this macro image of my models mouth who seems to be smiling, showing their teeth. The sense of black space on the left shows an emptiness and false sense of happiness, many marriages lead to relationship problems. This spread almost acts as a representation go how the models life has been taken away and how they are not happy about it but can not do much about it.
My final page spread focuses on the macro portrait of my subjects eyes. She is looking through her dirty glasses, which symbolises how she is unsure where her future is going and how marriage has lead her to not being able to freely make all decision by herself, showcasing the entrapment of marriage and the occupation it has.
Changes:
New Design
Old Design
For my first change I wanted to change the front cover of my occupation front cover, to have the same amount of symbolism and my liberation front over. I decided to use the environmental portrait of my brother sat on his bed. The sense of negative space on the left and high tonal contrast shows the negative impacts of marriage which fits the theme of the occupation of marriage and begins to showcase the relationship between objects and portraits towards this overall running theme of marriage.
New Design
Old Design
My second change was made after printing a trial run of my zine. In my initial design I turned the white space black, when printing this out the blacks came out as two different shades which distracted viewers from the conceptual representations and meaning of the spread. I decided to change this by getting rid of the artificially placed black on the left and just having it white, I felt that this change still gives off the same intended effect as the black.
Evaluation:
I believe I have made two successful experimentation of zine designs in order to showcase my narrative. I have been able to explore different layouts and the representations they held, with being able to clearly justify as to why I decided to have images in the sequence they are in. I have been able to show my artistic thought process throughout, with constant reference to my intended narrative when explaining each page layout. Overall, I believe my second design will be my final design with the changes made as I feel it’s the most successful in combining war and my home imagery.
