Category Archives: Component 1 Personal Investigation

Filters

Author:
Category:
AO3 Record Ideas, Component 1 Personal Investigation

Personal Study Introduction

Leave a comment

To what extent can we trust documentary photography to tell the truth about reality?

“The process of manipulation starts as soon as we frame a person, a landscape, an object, or a scene with our cameras: we choose a portrait or landscape format” (Bright, S. and Van Erp, H. 2019; 18) 

The quote above raises a valid point on how artists are constantly manipulating photographs, even when they are not aware, in order to create a captivating images for viewers. This point allows us to consider how photography is a form of secondary data, making our analysis of what seems to be reality within the image unreliable, creating the argument of how documentary photographs do not truthfully depict reality

My personal investigation looks at my grandparent’s lifestyle and how it has been influenced by the time period they grew up in, the 1940’s. I have explored the influence of religion and spirituality, gender roles within the family structure and social norms during this time period which are still present in their lifestyle to this day. Holding strong connections with my grandparents led me to want to base my project on them, as I know I will be able to easily retrieve useful insight into their lifestyle, enhancing the imagery I produce, on top of forming a piece of work in which my family will cherish. In this essay I aim to discuss the extent to which documentary photography accurately portrays reality, with reference to two documentary style photographers, Sam Harris and Walker Evans. In this essay I will be referring to Walker Evan’s photographic series entitled ‘let us now praise famous men’ and Sam Harris’ photographic series ‘The Middle of Somewhere’. Utilising photographers who captured imagery in two different periods of time, contextual and contemporary comparison, allows me to illustrate whether the reliability has changed overtime or stayed consistent, providing a valid argument.

The art movement of realism and straight photography looks at creating imagery which showcase life how it is, this emerged in the 1840’s. Artists who work within this area look at raising social and cultural issues relevant within society at that time, in order to make the audience aware of this issue in hope something can be done to make a change. This area looks at documentary photography and photojournalism to document the events which are occurring. Artists stick to the original techniques and purpose of photography, the use of photography for science, to create detailed, sharp images showcasing real life. With my topic being based in my grandparent’s lifestyle, I felt that using documentary photography would be the most appropriate to showcase this, as well as the project looking social issues of family structure and gender roles being raised, thus drawing connections with realism.

Bibliography:

Bright, S. and Van Erp, H.(2019), Photography Decoded. London: octopus Publishing House

AO1 Develop Ideas, Component 1 Personal Investigation

Essay Draft

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

Traditionally, throughout the 20th century photography was centred around capturing the decisive moment, however, we have come to explore the notion of creating this ‘decisive moment’ artificially, constructing scenes made for only the purpose of photography. Tableaux photographs have been made from the beginning of the medium, although Staged photography emerged as its own known genre in the 1980’s; both ideas involve composing a scene much like a painting, creating elements of Pictorialism. Anna Gaskell creates ominous photographs of women, taking themes from literature and stories, generating a dream-like narrative in her work. I chose to look at Gaskell due to her staged and tableaux approaches and how she uses her influences to warp them into her own narratives and blurring the lines between fact and fiction. I am to review the extent to which stories and literature has influence her work using her imagery for Wonder (1996-97) influenced by Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, and Hide (1998) influenced by Brother’s Grimm tale The Magic Donkey. In my own work I intent to explore the stories of the myths and folklore based in my home of Jersey. Using Gaskell as my influence to explore the notions of the boundaries of a narrative from a literacy influence in the visual work and representations. I plan to explore these notions with the narrative of the legends, through tableaux and landscape the reality of these stories and their occupation of the island.

Historical Context:

The movement that took the medium of photography and reinvented it into an art form is known to be Pictorialism. Pictorialists wanted to make the photographs look like painting and drawings to penetrate the art work, this eventually would happen and go on to juxtapose the original purpose of photographs.  In 1839 photography was first used in order to objectively present subjects scientifically, images were highly scientific, fixing the point on objects, and was not considered an art form; that is until pictorialism was presented.  The shift from photography being used to produce purely scientific and representational images happened from the 1850s when advocates such as the English painter Willian John Newton suggested that photography could also be artistic.  Although it can be traced back to these early ideas, the Pictorialist movement was most active during the 1880s and 1915, during its peak it had an international reach with centers in England, France and the USA.  Pictorialists were the first to begin to try and class photography as an art form, by doing so they spoke about the artistic value of photography as well as a debate surrounding the manipulation of photographs and the social role that eventually holds.

Pictorialist photographers used a range of darkroom techniques that allow the photographers to express themselves creatively using it as a medium to tell stories.

Anna Gaskell:
  • Untitled #8 (Wonder)

Anna Gaskell is a contemporary American artist known for creating contemporary work exploring themes from literature and stories. Gaskell creates ominous images of women that nod to familiar or historic narratives, she explains her process of an attempt “to combine fiction, fact, and my own personal mishmash of life into something new is how I make my work.”, Gaskell is creating imagery by merging together reality, fiction and her own personal touches of the two warping and blurring the lines between the known stories and her own twist on them. Creating photographs that depict narratives from literature that may not be the original people know, Gaskell takes her influences and warps them into her own, stretching the boundaries of the narrative of the stories and literature that has influenced her work. Gaskell’s work dips into the notion of Pictorialism, using tableaux methods to generate her photographs. Gaskell’s photo series “Wonder” is influenced off Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, the work is produced off the back of the idea of isolating dramatic moments from the larger plots. The photographs are staged and planned in the style of ‘narrative photography’, the scenes are artificial, produced and only exist to be photographed.

AO1 Develop Ideas, Component 1 Personal Investigation

Photography Decoded

Leave a comment
  • “The process of manipulation starts as soon as we frame a person, a landscape, an object or a scene with our cameras.” (Bright and Van Erp. 2019:18)
  • “From Daguerre’s age to ours, photography has undergone a transformation, not only technologically but conceptually.”(Bright and Van Erp. 2019:18)
  • ‘The daguerreotype had aspirations to both the realistic and the theatrical, as well as to the commercial. The ‘mirror’ can serve as a metaphor for reality, whereas the red velevt evokes theatre curtains, within which the beautiful drama would unfold’ (Bright and Van Evp, 2019; 17)

Bibliography: Bright, S. and Van Erp, H.(2019), Photography Decoded. London: Octopus Publishing House

Component 1 Personal Investigation

Photography Decoded: Quotes and Sourcing

Leave a comment

Bibliography: Bright, S. and Van Erp, H. (2019), Photography Decoded. London: Octopus Publishing House

Key Quotes:

“If manipulation is the first thing someone thinks of in connection to photography, what does that say about the value of the photograph as a reflection of reality?” (Bright, S. and Van Erp, H. 2019: 17)

“under what circumstances are these images to be trusted as real?” (Bright, S. and Van Erp, H. 2019; 17)

“The daguerreotype had the aspirations to both the realistic and the theatrical, as well as the commercial” (Bright, S. and Van Erp, H. 2019; 17)

“the process of manipulation starts as soon as we frame a person, a landscape, an object or a scene with our cameras: we choose a portrait or landscape format” (Bright, S. and Van Erp, H. 2019; 18)

“what are the differences between reality and witness and points of view?” (Bright, S. and Van Erp, H. 2019; 18)

“the binding principle of photography, however, remains its relationship to reality, especially when at question is documentary photography or a picture in the news media” (Bright, S. and Van Erp, H. 2019; 18)

“from Daguerre’s age to ours, photography has undergone a transformation, not only technologically but conceptually” (Bright, S. and Van Erp, H. 2019; 18)

“it has gradually taken on an ever more ambiguous, complicated and fraught character as our ability to modify and share images has exponentially increased” (Bright, S. and Van Erp, H. 2019; 18)

AO2 Explore Ideas, AO3 Record Ideas, AO4 Present Ideas, Component 1 Personal Investigation

Devils Hole: Tableaux Photoshoot

Leave a comment

I went out on a photoshoot to Devil’s Hole and set off around 4:30pm, I unfortunately timed my photoshoot badly and found it difficult once reaching the cliff edge as it had settled to be completely dark, unfortunately this fell badly in using the camera and trying to generate well lit and produced photographs.

I was able to gain a happy accident out of the photoshoot however with an image I did not know I had taken, a blurred photograph that I feel generates a lot of effect with placing the idea of mystery to the photoshoot and the story I was trying to replicate and be influenced by. I experimented with the photograph in both black and white and in colour, I personally prefer the colour photograph due to the dark blue hue being produced in the background as well as the shape given to the figure with the red, orange and yellow tones.

AO2 Explore Ideas, AO3 Record Ideas, Component 1 Personal Investigation

First Photoshoot : Devils hole | Smugglers Inn : Landscapes

Leave a comment

After starting some research into the legends I went out to start my first photoshoots. For this first photoshoot of landscapes I went out to Devil’s Hole in St Mary and the Old Smugglers Inn in St Brelade. I went out for this photoshoot at around midday on quite a cloudy and drizzly day. I felt this was a good time to go out to create the landscape photographs as I still had a good natural light source due to the time of day however due to the weather on the day it produced quite a gloomy and eery aura to the photographs which I feel is good and useful as I am trying to reflect something slightly eery and mysterious with the subject of these being legends and stories. The aim of this photoshoot was to go out and create a portrayal of the reminiscence on the landscapes and the island. One of my aims was to capture photographs of the actual Smugglers Inn Pub as well as the statue found on the trail to Devil’s Hole as these are some of the main aspects of the stories as well as the cave itself. Below I have my contact sheets of my photoshoot from the locations as well as the sheets from when I started to narrow down the photographs before I started to edit the photographs. I flagged down the photographs and then I also star rated them to help me decide which photographs I could potentially use in the final outcome of my personal investigation and which I would use to edit.

In order to narrow down my photographs for editing and experimenting with I had to decide and find which would be most relevant for my wants towards the final outcome of the whole investigation. For devils hole, ones with the statue and the caves where my main aim and focus to get as I feel they will help to tell the most story and be the most useful towards the outcomes and narrative of the storytelling. I have also tried to include some minimal photograph close ups of the landscape and the nature surroundings, as the landscape was so diverse. For the Old Smugglers Inn I wanted to try and mainly focus on the actual building of the pub as well as the landscaped hill leading down to it to create a narrative of the area and the surroundings of where the stories happened.

For the editing of my photographs I chose 8 out of the photoshoot to edit and experiment with, although 8 might end up being too many for the final outcome I feel if I have 8 to edit and choose from this gives me a wide range to explore with and hopefully use in the final photo-book of the personal investigation. For the actual editing part of these photographs I have explored editing the contrasts mainly and highlights and the shadows of the photographs. For some of the photographs I also experimented with some of the colour filters for the added extra effect depending on how easy the photograph was to work with in the first place as some were difficult to just adjust the contrasts and exposures deepening on how the light was sitting in that photograph.

Below are showing thew outcomes from the Devil’s Hole portion of my photoshoot. As I came to the cliff path and walk of the hole I came across some difficulties with taking pictures of the statue of the demon in the lake. It was missing it’s hands but also that it was difficult to get an up close photograph of the statue as once you were able to get quite close there was a lot of foliage and branches in the way, I have the idea that when I return to do the tableaux shoots I will retake some photographs of the statue as I will have extra hands that will help to move and keep branches out of the way. Even though the statue has been replaced over time I still feel that it holds significance to the tale and the place as the head was that of the ship that wrecked and helped to create and keep the legend of Devil’s Hole alive. The photograph I did manage to capture is a side view of the statue, with the editing and using contact effects I feel I have been able to develop at least one outcome of the shoot that I feel was successful. I was able to produce two outcomes of the landscape cliffs that are the hole itself as well as the cliffs and sea below, I think that these outcomes were successful. I liked these photographs as I feel it helps to depict thee surroundings of the legend and the stories, these cliff paths have been opened up to the public, as the main part of the legend is set on the cliff path and the cave below I feel it is important to the story to capture as when the water rises into the cave it creates such booming noises which add to the story and legend of Devil’s Hole. For my last two pictures from this shoot I wanted to capture something small and different I feel that the log going into the lake created for an interesting photograph, I enjoy the lines and shapes that are created into it as well as the green algae sitting on top of the water, after the editing I feel this has become one of my favourite photographs from the shoot. The image of the sign I created I wanted to capture something different that showed how the space had been adapted to involve the public into the legend by allowing them into the space which is something important to capture when looking into how these stories and myths have effected and occupied the landscape and the public.

Below show my outcomes from the Old Smugglers Inn from the photoshoot. I found this place harder to capture as I couldn’t take photographs inside the building as it is an indoor public space and I cannot avoid not taking pictures of people inside so was only able to capture the outside of the building and the surroundings of the pub. For my photographs I tool pictures of the actual building and connecting cottages and tried to experiment with some of the angles I was using to create the photographs, for example the one with the writing of the Old Smugglers Inn I tired to shoot it from a lower angel looking up to create a different effect than I had done with the other photographs in this portion of the shoot which is why I chose that photograph to edit and explore. For the photograph of the building and the connecting cottages I walked further down the road towards the beach to capture it looking up the road rather than head on and flat to the building as I felt it created for a more of an interesting photograph to experiment with and I believe helps to give then sense of the surroundings and showing how the legend is somewhere in everyday life of the public and the landscape. I took the photograph towards the beach to include something slightly different and away from actually looking at the legend but instead just the surroundings and the parts connected that are just everyday life, as well I feel it helps to connect the other parts of the legend with the idea of pirates staying and lodging in the Old Smugglers Inn which would have come from the slip paths from the beaches. The last photograph from the shoot I have chosen to edit is one that I again took up the road, I edited this photograph a little differently by putting a filter over the top while editing in Lightroom as I felt it made it more interesting and gave it more character compared to when I just edited with the contact and exposures normally, I feel that the warm tones and the photograph not being completely crisp but still clear create an effect of it being older and more mysterious which is something I wanted to gain out of this photoshoot and editing to produce the idea of it being a mystery, legend and story incorporating its way into our lives which I feel I have been able to start to suggest in the photographs.

AO1 Develop Ideas, AO2 Explore Ideas, Component 1 Personal Investigation

Devils Hole and Smugglers inn Planning

Leave a comment

Smugglers Inn

The parish of St Brelade is a quaint community well known for its rural fields and stunning coastline. With history dating back as far as the sixth century it is difficult to get away from a sense of that history, including the peace and solitude as well. Despite what you may experience in modern St Brelade, this seaside parish was once a haven for buccaneers. The Old Smugglers Inn on Ouaisne Bay was the place they came to not only rest, but to hide out when the heat was on. Due to this many expect the histories and myths to come from one of these bloodthirsty cut-throats haunting the Old Smugglers inn, which is however not the case, instead it is said to be the ominously named Woman in Black. It is said to be here in one of the above and surrounding cottages that a man sitting in bed noticed a women who he assumed was his girlfriend sitting on the edge of the bed wearing a black dress. A few moments later his girlfriend walked into the room. The witness of this event reported not being scared by the incident but instead found in calming. For many years both patrons and staff have reported encountering the mysterious figure of a ghostly woman in a black dress.

Although this is not one of the most well known legends of the island I feel is one I find interesting and one that I could create good photographs out of with tableaux effects as well as landscape and surrounding images. I feel with the use of costume and effects this is something I can produce well and create. For this I would use two females and a male model in the tableaux scenes. I will generate the two sets of photoshoots with landscapes and tableaux to show and portray the legend, with also varyings of lights and times, eg. daytime, nighttime, to use the natural lighting I can as well as artificial to generate effect which can help with the editing later on.

Devils Hole

Before I went out to portray the myths and legends of devils hole I went out to learn the story of what it exactly entails. The legend surrounds a night in October 1851 when a French cutter ‘La Josephine’ struck the rocks off the north coast of Jersey and was wrecked with the loss of one of the crew. The ships demon figurehead was washed up inside the hole and the ship itself was also said to be curse. The figurehead, adapted carved by local Jean Gifford,  created a statue of the devil which was set up above the crevasse for people to see. The location that I am planning on using for my shoots will be the site of Devil’s Hole itself. This natural site is a crater in one of Jerseys cliffs, measuring about 100ft across and 200ft deep. The hole is a natural formation probably caused by the sea eroding a cave until the roof of the cave collapsed to form the crater we now see.  At high tide the cave floods and water is forced through the tunnel and out of the hole, creating a booming noise, which is a feature of many St Mary legends. Today there is a pathway deigned to allow the public visit this natural attraction. The lower part, once quite dangerous, now has wooden steps and handrails. However, the access path ends at a large specially constructed viewing platform.

In Erren Michaels book ‘Jersey Legends’ gives one of the best descriptions of the tale. Erren Michaels description gives me inspiring information that will help me in my attempt to accurately portray this legend. This includes a description and detailed illustration of the devil character; “The devil stood before him, tall and terrifying. The cold light of the moon framed the creature in silver. Its eyes were filled with sorrow and wrath as it looked down upon him”. As well as an insight into the importance of the statues and surrounding area where the cursed ship sank. 

To show and produce this legend well I will be generating at least two sets of shoots, one of the landscape and the surroundings and one in character with tableaux elements of having it all staged with costumes and maybe props. Below I have some historical landscape photographs as well as some images found at the location I am hoping to be able to use these as inspiration and help towards the tableaux and landscape shoots.

Component 1 Personal Investigation, Uncategorized

Statement of intent

Leave a comment

For my personal study I will be exploring family and the relationships I have with the ones who I live with in Jersey and the ones who live in London, who include my parents and younger brothers. I originally lived in London until last year so my relationships have changed over the time I have been here, so I believe this would be a good topic for me to look into. Since most of my family live in London, there is some sort of disconnection between us as we don’t see each other as much as we did before, and the family who I live with in Jersey have closer relationships with me since I have moved over. Although Jersey is similar to the UK, it was still quite difficult getting used to the new areas and starting fresh at a new school, and my family in both London and Jersey were here to help me with that. During the occupation, family would have been the only thing the people of Jersey would have really had close to them, and they were still somehow able to connect with their loved ones who lived outside of the island even though communications were extremely limited.

I am planning to take 2 photo shoots before Christmas break and 2 during Christmas break, with three of them being in Jersey and one being in London. I’d like to take a look at my family in London and Jersey, and take images of them as they would be naturally in their daily lives to compare the differences of lives and relationships between the two.

Component 1 Personal Investigation

Jeff Wall

Leave a comment

Known as both an artist and art historian Jeff Wall is a Canadian photographer and writer whose work simultaneously showcases and challenges some of the most dominant assumptions about art and art-making. Wall’s early photograph shares qualities and themes with Conceptual art as well as aspects of appropriation art of the 1970s and 1980s, by investigating the assumed, required elements of fine art and borrowing narrative and visual details from outside the established art world genres.

Wall stages the scenes he photographs, intricately designing every detail to achieve his desired visual effects. Ironically, the final images often appear to be mid-action, spontaneous and candid moments. In Wall’s earliest photographs of the late 1970s and 1980s clear references are made to some of the most famous paintings in the history of art since the Renaissance. Wall admits nodding toward the titans of early modern painting such as Delacroix and Manet.

I have chosen to look at Jeff Wall as one of my artists for the way in which he stages his photographs but also for the way in which his photographs also focus on the surroundings as well as the people inside. The landscape and parts of the island relating to the legends is something I want to try to focus on slightly so have take Jeff Wall as a photographer to see how he takes and stages photographs without any people in to still make an impact and mean, show and hint at something without the use of people. I am going on to do a photoshoot of landscapes in the places that I want to centre the stories around, unlike Jeff Wall who stages the photographs to create his photographs I am going to be taking the photographs of the landscapes as they are however I have similar intentions.

Jeff Wall’s Work:

The Destroyed Room (1978)

The Destroyed Room from 1978 is one of Wall’s first and most iconic photographs. The work consists of a large photograph printed as a cibachrome transparency within a fluorescent Lightbox. Around 5 by 8 feet in size the work is both vivid and imposing. Offering a stark and intrusive view of a seemingly ravaged space the image forces the viewer to confront the destruction of items found within the typically intimate space of a bedroom. Visually we can see clothes are spilling out of the drawers of the wooden dresser, a bed is turned on its side with its pale green mattress slashed, possessions such as clothing and accessories are strewn about the floor and large pieces of the red wall are missing, exposing the pink insulation underneath.

With this photograph Wall first began making overt references to some of the most famous examples of classical painting from the 19th century. In The Destroyed Room, the large scale oil painting titled The Death of Sardanapalus, painted by Eugene Delacroix in 1827 is the source of inspiration. The Death of Sardanapalus depicts an act of violence that occurs, Wall shows an aftermath. Wall has purposely left remnants of the staging process of the scene in the final image, making the fabrication of the room obvious.