Category Archives: Component 1 Personal Investigation

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Essay Questions

Key Ideas:

Family: Looking at the theme occupation in terms of my family, exploring the history of my family as well as exploring the way we are now and how the past has influenced us. My main focus will be on my grandparents as they will have the most stories to tell, allowing a clear narrative to be created.

Lifestyle: Still on the ideology of capturing my grandparents, I want to see how the time period they grew up in 1940, has influenced the lifestyle they live through key themes of religion, family structure and gender stereotypes.

Liberation of Family History: The main focus will be trying to showcase my grandparents lives. I intend to capture their stories about their past, telling the narratives of their lives. This can be done through tableaux and staged imagery as well as capturing landscape and showcasing the incorporation of image and text.

Possible Questions:

How does Walker Evans and Alicja Rogalska showcase the lifestyle of their subjects within their imagery?

Explore the relationship between documentary and photography with reference to Walker Evans.

Explore how the photographers Sam Harris and Walker Evans capture the theme of lifestyle within their work.

To what extent does family photographer Sam Harris present the theme of lifestyle?

To what extent is the theme of lifestyle presented through documentary portraits, with reference too Sam Harris and Walker Evans?

To what extent does straight photography accurately portray events in time?

How is the theme of lifestyle presented within documentary photography, with reference too Sam Harris and Walker Evans?

Review and Reflect – Post 4 (Specification)

Occupation vs. Liberation:

The words occupation and liberation carry a lot of different meanings and connotations. This title could be taken literally as the occupation and liberation of an island such as Jersey during WWII as we have studied and explored in detail this year. However, occupation and liberation can mean a lot more. The occupation or line of work someone is in, the occupation and liberation of their minds on a much deeper and more personal level or simply the things people do to keep themselves occupied throughout their day.

https://www.dictionary.com/

My response:

For my personal investigation I will explore the relationships between friends. I will show how as people we rely on each other for our own well being. I will attempt to explore how my friends and I use our free time to have a break from the outside world and explore the deeply personal aspects of our relationship. And the emotional connection and unconditional understanding that comes with friendships. This investigation will showcase our common interests and what brings us together as individuals, and explore the relationship between our outside lives and lives behind closed doors as the less visible impacts we have on one another.

In a more literal context my personal investigation will follow the concept that our ‘occupation’ is the our state of mind towards life, ourselves and each other, and that our ‘liberation’ stems from our downtime with people we care about and what we choose to do with them, as our individual ‘therapies’. I will attempt to capture images from a range of photo shoots and real life situations showing versatile locations and activities to capture candid shots of the people I surround myself with, and gain a better understanding of how we spend our time together as well as what it means to be ‘liberated’ by those around us.

This is something I have briefly explored earlier on in the course and would like to focus on in more detail and on a deeper level than before.

Examples of earlier work as reference points:

Personal Investigation – Mood Board

Below shows a mood board of my ideas from the starting point of Occupation vs Liberation. I have two main starting ideas, one relating to the subject of gender roles and exploring what I had previously touched on in my AS exam work however going into more depth, looking into gender roles in the media: advertising, movies and tv shows, ideas of swapping the genders in the photographs and recreating things with exaggerated stereotypes to make a statement. My second idea relates to the idea of myths and legends, looking into stories and myths of the island of Jersey. Looking into creating these photographs and making up an image of the myth in a tableaux effect, looking into how these myths could occupy all pf the island and maybe how the older generations may believe them or effect the space of the island.

Below I have some artists I would be interested into looking at and I am gaining inspiration from. These include Anna Gaskell who looked at using children stories, Jeff Wall a photographer who uses tableaux photography, Cindy Sherman and exploring gender especially the female gender and Kourtney Roy somebody who looks at the ideal female and the male gaze using her work.

Essay Questions Possibilities

Key Ideas:

Occupation of beliefs and stories – myths of the island

Anna Gaskell – Jeff Wall – Tableaux photography – Narrative and stories effecting the photography – Anna Gaskell and her work being influenced by movies and paintings – Jeff Wall and the use of staged and tableaux photography, also looking at the environment and place.

Possible Questions:

How has stories and literature influenced the work of Anna Gaskell?

Modernism vs Post-Modernism

POST MODERNISM

Barbara Kruger: Kruger’s work directly tackles the concept of stereotypes (specifically gender stereotypes, politics and economics), and the behavior of consumerism. She incorporates text over the top of original media images (therefore following the lines of post-modernism by using multiple mediums), and shows the context, concepts and ideas behind her images using a bold and catchy approach (using short, memorable slogans to make the viewer consider the meaning of the image)

Time period: Late 20th century

Key characteristics/conventions: Postmodernism focuses on the context behind images, rather than the physical structure or representation of the subjects themselves. The idea matters more than the work itself, allowing the photographer room for a lot of creative artistic freedom when it comes to the subjects, framing and overall layout of the image in a unique way, allowing the artist to mold the image to their own taste and belief. Post-modernist artwork is often produced for the novelty factor, allowing the viewer to enjoy a visually pleasing experience (incorporating bold colours, shapes, and wild concepts). Post-modernist artists therefore often create “entertainment products”, meant to entertain the viewer, while subtly hinting at a deeper context/meaning.

Cindy Sherman: Sherman’s work focuses on creating a satire/parody of female stereotypes in the media. She creates characters and portrays herself as these exaggerated figures, posing in self portraits that draw the attention of the viewer through the use of bold colours and exaggerated features. Sherman’s work challenges the presentation of women in the media, and forces the viewer to consider the ridiculous way in which many women have their features exaggerated and portrayed in social media.

Methods/techniques/processes: Incorporating elements of popular culture as the subject of the image, making use of eclecticism (using a range of sources to take inspiration/ideas from), using collaboration (multiple people working together to focus on the collective effort rather than an individuals contributions to an image), emphasizes context and concept in the subjects, rather than the physical objects, makes use of multimedia (using different medium in order to express an idea)

Image result for William Eggleston (cafe)
William Eggleston: Eggleston focuses heavily on snapshot photography, creating examples and anecdotes of a still frame of a relatable, everyday life scenes. Eggleston tends to focus on a single moment or detail, such as a facial expression, single person, or dingle object, and frames this detail with the rest of the image, using bold colouring to draw attention to the images and create contrast. His images, although seemingly simple, convey a snapshot of a relatable aspect of everyday life, something that many people can relate to, and by focusing on a single detail, offers a new perspective on an otherwise mundane scene, allowing for the viewer to see the beauty of a scene that otherwise would be regarded as boring, and would be dismissed in seconds in real life.

Artists associated: Andreas Gursky, Jeff Wall, William Eggleston, Lee Friedlander, Cindy Sherman

Plan a response: Make use of popular culture, politics, history, social issues – use this as the context for the image – make use of a range of sources (e.g take inspiration from post-modernist artists and influences), make use of multimedia (e.g text within the image), all aspects linked together to portray a concept/emphasize the context/background of the subjects in the image, rather than just the appearance/use subjects themselves.

Image result for Andreas Gursky (Beach)
Andreas Gursky: Known for his large scale, digitally manipulated images, Gursky focuses on portraying as large an image as possible, incorporating a huge amount of detail and wide scale imagery into a single scene, to give the viewer the impression that they themselves are surrounded by the image. Gursky’s photography makes use of identifiable, every day objects, and blows them up to such a large scale, that the viewer begins to focus more on the geometry and shape of the image; focusing on the lines, sizes, shapes and angles of the image. This in turn allows for the viewer to see both sides of the image; they are able to admire the complexity and detail of the image, while also appreciating the simplicity of the lines, shapes and form of the image.

MODERNISM

Ansel Adams: Adams approached his work with the desire to create landscape imagery that would have the same influence on a viewer as poetry or music, mirroring the same level of contemplation, nostalgia and sentiment that these forms of art can have on a person. Adam’s work focuses on the impressiveness of landscape photography, where he takes aerial images of mountain ranges and landscapes. These images emphasise the magnificence of the setting itself, while also complimenting the keen eye and skill of the artist.

Time period: Late 19th to early 20th century

Key characteristics/conventions: Modernism as a whole was a broad movement, encompassing many avant-garde-isms (new and experimental ideas) of the early 20th century. Modernism rejected the concepts of past movements such as naturalism, classicism and academicism, and instead moved towards new, more experimental methods of art production. Modernism as a concept saw the photographer/artist as a genius, and modernism imagery was used to show the skill and ability of the artist through showing what they could create with their hands. Modernism was very visually based, with the detail and visual brilliance of the image itself being the main focal point of the image, and the concept and context behind it being slightly less important.

Margaret Bourke-White: White is best known for the modernist images she took documenting the major events of WW2, and her documentation on the social an political events of the time had its own striking style, making use of photography as a way to document in a photo-journalistic way. White travelled the world documenting social issues, and in doing so was able to create an in-depth, visual representation of social and political events around the world, while also focusing on the physical representation of these events in the image, making sure to incorporate texture, shape and pattern into her work.

Methods/techniques/processes: The development of photography saw photojournalism being seen as a form of modernity, with photography being used to document for the purpose of advertising and wide scale viewing by the public. Modernism as a movement in the photography world focused on the creation of sharp, detailed images, with the camera being used as a technical object to record images, rather than being obscured. There was great emphasis on the formal qualities of modernist photography, such as perspective, depth, light, focus, shadow and lines. The overall desire of the photographer was to take a visually “perfect” picture.

Paul Strand: Strand is best known for his pictoralist work (a movement included in the modernist movement). Strands work is meant to appear as if time has been frozen in a moment, with the viewer looking into the lives/life of the subject in that specific moment in time. Strand believe that artwork should be able to engage the viewer, and encourage them to consider spiritual and social aspects of their lives. Strands work often makes use of portraits of subjects from the shoulders up, allowing their facial expression and clothing to reinforce who they are and what they are experiencing, but leaving much of the true meaning of the photograph up to the interpretation of the viewer.

Artists associated: Paul Strand, Eadweard J. Muybridge, Margareth Bourke, Ansel Adams, Walker Evans

Plan a response: Modernist photography focuses on portraying the artist as a genius, and emphasizes their skill and ability. Therefore, the photographer would focus on taking images that would really draw the attention of any viewer, focusing on the detail within an image, and making sure that the image is original and beautiful in its nature. The camera should be used using a tripod to increase the level of detail in the image, and subjects should be chosen based on their symmetry, bold shapes, and colour contrast. The photographer could edit the final image and turn it grey-scale, and in doing so the contrast of the image, and the use of shadows and tone is emphasized.

Eadweard J. Muybridge: Muybridge was a photographer active in the late 19th century, and helped pave the way for motion photography and motion picture projection. Today, Muybridge’s work is considered the forefather of the modern motion picture, and therefore his new style of photography, and the technique of capturing still images in order to showcase motion, helped to push the 19th century towards the new and experimental movement of modernism.

Academic Sourcing:

A bibliography must be included within an essay that includes quotes from artists, in order to reference the books from which the quotes are originally taken from, and to allow readers of the essay to 1) validate the quote using the original text and 2) find out more about an artist/quote that they like. The bibliography is found at the end of an academic essay and contains the detail of every book, website, video and source of quotes used in the essay. The Harvard system of referencing is commonly used to reference source material, and the details are ordered as follows:

Surname, first initial. (year of publication). Title of book, place of publication: Publishing company.

for example, in order to reference from the book Camera Lucida, the following reference would be used:

Bibliography: Barthes, R. (1993), Camera Lucida. London: Vintage Books

During the essay, when a quote is used, the page number of the book is referenced after the quote itself, in order for the reader to distinguish between different volumes of the same book, and to allow them to quickly flip to the exact page of the original source containing the exact quote. This is done as following:

‘Hence I could not accede to that notion which is so convenient when we want to talk history, culture, aesthetics – that notion known as an artists style.‘ (Barthes 1993; 18)

The Harvard system of referencing is universal in the academic world, and is the most popular method for referencing original source material in essays.

Photographer Research: Helmut Newton

Helmut Newton was an Australian-German fashion photographer working through the mid to late 20th century, who helped to reshape fashion photography, and redefine the way women were portrayed in fashion. Newton had a huge influence on the increase in provocative and daring fashion photography, paving the way for the more modern and well recognised themes found in the fashion industry. Newton was one of the first photographers to suggest that fashion photography did not have to be bland and boring, and instead he was able to bring more life to his work, allowing for the human condition to be more intimately expressed through photography, bringing a layer of context to work which had once only included visual, repetitive ideas.

Helmut Newton Photography

Newton brought a more daring approach to fashion photography, creating more tableaux images in his work in order to portray a sense of realism and movement in his work, and to allow the viewer to relate more to the model in the image, while also admiring the concept and style shown within the image itself.

In his work, Newton shows his subjects in more provocative stances and poses, bringing the theme of desire to his work and presenting female sexuality in a more free and alive manner. Newton was one of the first photographers to convey female sexuality and desirability in the fashion industry, and often worked with his models in real settings in order to create a sense of reality and reliability with the image. Newton believed that “A woman does not live in front of a white paper” when referencing the bland and boring nature of studio photography, and implied the importance of more journalistic photography, where the image can seem more real and human. Newton expressed that “My job as a portrait photographer is to seduce, amuse and entertain”, therefore showing that his imagery is made to entertain and draw the attention of the viewer to the physical appearance of the model in the image, and therefore model is presented as being closer and more relatable to the viewer, rather than distant.

The above image, taken by Newton, was produced in order to focus on the model as a person, rather than just a body presenting fashion. The above image was made with the idea that the model herself would be the focus of the image, and this particular image presents the model in a more sexualised way, breaking the past stereotype of the age where fashion photography used women as models for the clothing they were wearing, creating a distance between subject and viewer, and depersonalising the model herself. In this image, the slightly more sexualised pose of the model draws attention to the model herself, and the presentation of her with a cigarette makes the model more relatable to the viewer. Having the background of the image as a real life street rather than a blank studio background is one of the most noticeable differences, in comparison to fashion photography of the past. The use of a real background allows for the model to be placed in a relatable environment, and reduces the detachment between the image and the viewer.

The 2 images above can be compared to see the difference in the way the women in the photographs are presented and treated. To the left, photographer Edward Steichen takes a traditional approach towards photographing the women, with their clothing as the central focus point, the women are simply present as a pretty face, and are positioned as being submissive and meek within the image, with their personalities and appearances presenting as unimportant and mild. This approach to photographing women in photography was replaced by photographers such as Newton, who’s work, (as seen on the right) took a much more bold and brash approach towards photographing women, with the models presenting their personality and sexuality through the image, and at the same time rebelling against the stereotypes of women being mild-mannered and submissive.

Overall, Helmet Newton was extremely influential in the movement of fashion photography from presenting women as depersonalized, meek models, towards presenting woman as assertive, self-confident individuals with independent personalities and dominant features. This move paved the way for allowing women to have their sexuality more freely expressed through photography, and paved the way for modern fashion photography in which women are often presented as individuals and are presented as lively, present and striking.

Photographer Research: Cindy Sherman:

Cindy Sherman is an American photographer, who’s work consists solely of self portraits, which she used to depict her own imagined characters, each with their own exaggerated and stereotypical features. Sherman’s work presents as a commentary on cultural stereotypes of women in media and society. Sherman herself states that “I think my work has often been about how women are portrayed in the media”.

Sherman’s work is bold, and the use of bright colours and the presentation of caricatures, in which Sherman creates a character and emphasizes all of their facial features in order to present a more cartoon-ish and extreme version of the stereotypes of a woman, meant to force the viewer to consider the influences and effects of stereotypes and expectations on women, and the way that women are presented in the media. Sherman claims that her desire to dress up and create characters out of herself was born from her anxiety about not being able to fit into her own family as a child, and the way she changed herself to fit what she believed her family wanted of her, she states, “I thought: if you don’t like me like this maybe you will like me like this? With curly hair? Or like this?”. Here, it is clear that her observation of being able to change ones self to suit the desire of those in society, began at a young age, and her desire to portray the way that media and society stereotypes women is a project that is personal to her.

Cindy Sherman, 2003

The above image stands out immediately to viewers due to the bold colours. The bright background (meant to represent a sunset or sunrise) draws immediate attention of the viewer, and the positioning of the subject (Cindy) directly in front of the camera, making eye contact with the viewer allows the viewer to feel directly involved and part of the image. In the image, Cindy presents herself as an over the top example of a female tourist, with dark tan, heavy makeup and clearly visible tan lines. For this image, Cindy is accentuating the stereotypical features of a tourist women, and in doing so creates an almost satirical example of what society and the media portrays as a stereotypical female, while also forcing the viewer to recognise the fact that the image is a parody, and therefore challenge their view on women in the media.

Overall, Sherman’s work focuses heavily on drawing attention to the stereotypes of women in the media, and creates a parody of these stereotypes using her own imaginary characters, where she is able to form over exaggerated, almost disturbing versions of the stereotypes that women are often presented as. Sherman’s work is heavily influenced by personal identity, and the way that people display themselves to others while hiding their true self (a concept also found in the media), and Sherman was heavily influenced by her own experiences of wanting to alter her identity to fit her family, society and the worlds view on who and what she should be. A concept faced by many women throughout their lives.

Case study: Diana markosian

Markosian is a Russian American artist of Armenian descent. She war born in Moscow and in 1996 she left to go live in California with her mother and her brother. Until the age of 23 she had no contact with her father. After 15 years of not seeing him she travelled to Armenia to see her father.

Markosian’s body of work called “inventing my father” is what I will be analysing and exploring in this post.

Throughout this project Diana explores her father’s absence throughout her life through the use of archival imagery, landscape images of important locations and also through photographing objects, letters and newspaper articles. This particular project is very personal, and the artist projects very raw emotion onto her audience through the use of black and white images and through portraits of her father.

“For most of my life, my father was nothing more than a cut out in our family album”Diana Markosian

I have decided to use Diana as my case study, as one aspect of my family history I feel is important to incorporate into my project is my parents’ divorce. I wanted to see how the artist approached photographing and portraying the absence of a parent through images, as I will need to portray the same.

“I often wondered what it would have been like to have a father. I still do.” -Diana Markosian

Diana also has a project “mornings (with you)” which is almost a part 2 to the above photo series, where she meets her father, gets to know him, and documents it through images of them together in the mornings.

Analysis:

In this image we can see a printed photograph of Diana, her mother and we can also see that her father has been cut out of what would otherwise be a family photograph.

We then learn that Diana’s mother had cut out her father. This image is captioned “This was the closest thing I had to an image of my father: a cut out in our family album.”

Conceptually, It is clear that the absence of her father in the photo reflects his absence in her life. The lack of her father also further emphasises her mother. Which reflects the importance of her mum in her life after loosing her father figure.