” You’ve only got to read any autobiography by anyone who’s grown up in unfortunate circumstances to understand the significance of their childhood and its impact upon them. ” (Hall, A, The University of Birmingham, 2015, p.74)
In order to approach my personal study, I will be focusing on 3 main concepts, the housing crisis, nostalgia and control. A topic which I am highly interested in and am willing to explore is the housing crisis which affects a large population of Jersey, not only the immigrants but young people and the elderly all face institutional discrimination which makes it extremely difficult to get on the property ladder or be able to find housing in Jersey. There is an extreme lack of affordable housing for low income families and young people alike, who start out on the bottom earning minimum wage at the start of their careers. With the use of film, an older method of photography, I am hoping to capture images that capture a nostalgic and reminiscing feel. The fuzziness and grain which can be captured using this flash provokes ideas of the old and outdated, much like the housing in Jersey, lacking houses and slats which are safe and regulated for people to live in.
A prominent photographer which links to my area of study is Nick Hedges, photographing and recording of social housing in post WW2 Britain in the 60’s and 70’s. Mikhael Subotzky is also a photographer who closely ties in with the topics which I will be tackling, taking striking images of a high rise, low cost housing in the heart of South Africa. Using both candid photography and the surrealism of the architecture of the building, creating a photo book tackling the subject. The themes and subjects which both these photographers tackle closely tie in with the overall focus of my personal project, taking a documentary style, biographical approach to their work.
In order to respond to my personal study I will be employing the use of both a film camera and digital camera. As I will be using the theme of nostalgia, the use of a film camera will be an effective way to display this through the grainy and soft nature of the photos themselves. The subject of my images will be of the low cost, affordable housing which can be rented in Jersey. I will be contacting estate agents in order to show the contrast of the way in which housing agents glorify these homes versus what the reality of them are. I will be focusing on small and minor details which distinguish each property such as the flooring, bathrooms and kitchen cabinet. I will also be photographing the exterior of buildings, going around the dingier parts of St.Helier which depict the depressing lifestyle some people face by living in the center.
Art Movements & Isms
PICTORIALISM
Time period:
Key characteristics/ conventions:
Artists associated:
Key works:
Methods/ techniques/ processes:
REALISM / STRAIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY
Time period:
Key characteristics/ conventions :
Artists associated:
Key works:
Methods/ techniques/ processes:
This image was taken as a self portrait by Peter, he has posed in the photo jumping in “a classically gay pose” with his back leg being kicked up and saluting with one hand on his hip, he has also chosen his outfit carefully to fit the stereotypical gay mans outfit from the 70’s; with cowboy boots, a tucked in polo shirt with all buttons undone. This style fits in with his overall style of making “uncomplicated, direct photographs of complicated and difficult subjects.” This style and his approach to it in this photo is very powerful.
This image is composed with peter in the middle of it, he has chosen to wear dark clothes which do not draw attention, then the main focal point of the image is a strip of light that lines up with his head and arm which is the lightest.
YOSHIKATSU FUJII
Internet sources
Cristina De Middel
Internet sources
TIME PERIOD
1960s/ 1970s
WHAT IS POSTMODERNISM
Postmodernism developed on the themes and conceptual ideas than began during the period where modernism first grew. This particular type of photography features surrealism, expressionism and other themes that relate to this point and values. As well as this there is also a movement away from traditional rules of art, adventuring away from the norm. Artists may diverge away from the norm by placing subjects in odd arrangement or displays and in some cases there may even be an absence of a definitive subjects, which allows new contextual feelings and idea to grow.
ROOTS AND INFLUENCES
From Modernism to Postmodernism: The relationship
There are mainly two viewpoints on the relationship between modernism and postmodernism:
1. Postmodernism is a reaction to or even rejection of modernism.
2. Postmodernism is the development and new generation of modernism and they are two aspects of the same thing.
KEY CONVERSATIONS
METHOD AND TECHNIQUE
Photographs can be present in a wide range of ways for example blown up, blurred, focused, cropped etc, basically allows artist to express their feeling and thoughts of the topic that they are trying to represent. A popular technique is using repetition of the same image to project even more emphasis on key concepts.
ARTIST ASSOCIATION
MODERNISM
TIME PERIOD
1900s/1960s
WHAT IS MODERNISM
The invention of modernism photography posed a significant aesthetic change to photography artistic history and lead to a shift in the way in which the production of photography is made and utilised the overall forum. The overall movement from old photography into modern photography is defined by a departure of traditional artistic fronts, such as painting and the movement of continuous attitudes. Photographers began using the camera as a direct tool compared to the idea of manipulating the images, modern photographers eventually disrupted the wider conventions of the art world by expanding both what was considered art and what was deemed an acceptable subject matter for it.
ROOTS AND INFLUENCES
By the late 1930s, more experimental photography began to emerge, influenced by Pictorialism and avant-garde photography such as Surrealism, German New Objectivity, and the photograms of László Moholy-Nagy and Man Ray
KEY CONVERSATIONS
METHODS/TECHNIQUES
It was common that photographers projected there images in a black and white form which believed to help emphasis the sharp details in the images and added more focus on different parts of the image, as well as large frames sizes, adding to the over picture.
ARTIST ASSOCIATION
Bibliography: Bright, S. and Van Erp, H. (2019), Photography Decoded. London; Octopus Publishing House.
‘Photography emerged into a 19th-century world that was undergoing rapid transformation in almost every aspect, and as such the new medium answered a deep human need to see and explore this changing landscape in unprecedented detail.’ (Bright, S. and Van Erp, H. 2019: 17)
‘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? And what does a ‘real photo’ even look like: is it something you can hold? Is it something you can see on a screen and alter?’ (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)
‘The binding principle of photography, however, remains it’s relationship to reality, especially when at question is documentary photography or a picture in news media: we are convinced that ‘it happened’- that the events they represent are real, that they actually took place.’ (Bright, S. and Van Erp, H. 2019: 18)
“Daguerre’s technique gave a unique image : it can only be copied by being re-photographed – something that already suggests photography’s complicated relationship with reality.”( Bright and Van Erp. 2019:17 )
“If manipulation is the first thing someone thinks of in connection with photography, what does that say about the value of the photograph as a reflection of reality?” ( Bright and Van Erp. 2019:17 )
“And what does a ‘real photograph’ look like: Is it something you can hold? Is it something you can see on a screen and alter?” ( Bright and Van Erp. 2019:17 )
“The daguerreotype didn’t make up what was in front of the camera, as a mirror doesn’t lie.” ( Bright and Van Erp. 2019:17 )
“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)
Bibliography: Bright, S. and Van Erp, H.(2019), Photography Decoded. London: Octopus Publishing House
Bibliography:
Bright, S. and Van Erp, H. (2019), Photography Decoded. London: Octopus Publishing House
Quotes from the text:
“we can still ask ourselves in every single instance: under what circumstances are these images to be trusted as real?” (Bright, S. and Van Erp, H. 2019: 17)
“the lack of human subjectivity makes it an example of ‘true reality’.” (Bright, S. and Van Erp, H. 2019: 18)
“The process of manipulation starts as soon as we frame a person” (Bright, S. and Van Erp, H. 2019:18)
“we are convinced that ‘it happened’- that the events they represent as real, that they actually took place” (Bright, S. and Van Erp, H. 2019: 18)
“One can then ask: what are the differences between reality and witness and points of view” (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 is a subjective impression that is at the same time both fleeting and enduring- just like any good piece of drama.” (Bright, S. and Van Erp, H. 2019: 18)
HARVARD SYSTEM OF REFERENCING:
EXAMPLE:
Sherman, C, Published: 2006, Retrospective, New York: Thames & Hudson Inc.
~~~~~own writing~~~~~ (critic/art historian etc.) says: “Drawing on feminism as well as phenomenology, I also suggest here that Sherman’s work participates in a particular mode….” (Sherman, 2006, 33 (page No.)), ~~~~~comment/state opinion on what the author has said~~~~~
POIGNANT QUOTES:
“Daguerre’s technique gave a unique image: it could only be copied by being rephotographed – something that already suggests photography’s complicated relationship with reality.” (Bright, S. and Van Erp, H. 2019: 17)
“for the lack of human subjectivity makes it an example of ‘true reality’.” (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)
“One can then ask: what are the differences between reality and witness and points of view?” (Bright, S. and Van Erp, H. 2019: 18)
“The appeal of this work lies in the use of documentary elements in combination with the artist’s obsession and the sense of voyeurism that this evokes.” (Bright, S. and Van Erp, H. 2019: 18)
“Initially described as a means of capturing freezing ‘real life’, 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)