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Review AND Reflect

28/11/2020 Leanne S Leave a comment

From your Personal Investigation based on LOVE & REBELLION write an overview of what you learned and how you intend to develop your Personal Study.

1. Describe which themes, medium (photography, film), approaches (documentary, tableaux, conceptual), artists, skills and photographic processes/ techniques inspired you the most and why. –

Themes –

The key theme that inspired most for my work would be ideas surrounding the binary opposition of stereotypes between male and female. Although the gender norms held against men and women are quite different, they still exist and effect both genders which is often ignored by the media. Therefore, in my film I aimed to expose some of these norms by using speeches that cover some of the struggles men may encounter versus some of the struggles women may encounter. I believe that ideas surrounding gender stereotypes can be linked into the theme of ‘Love & Rebellion’ as although more recently ideas on gender have become a lot more diverse, open and fluid there are still many negative stereotypes that have continued as well as emerged as a result of an ever-changing society and increasing use and dependence on technology.

Another theme that I focused on for the topic of ‘Love & Rebellion’ is Images of people who I love/ are close to me, incorporating the theme of rebellion by using the juxtaposition between candid and environmental images of the same subjects. This project allowed me to represent the opposition of love and rebellion in a subtle way, using the people who I loved however the rebellion between their fragmented identities as when placed in a more formal environment such as a workplace, many people change their persona and identity in order to suit the surrounding atmosphere, which is evident through the contradiction between the two images.

Medium –

Through the use of the medium of ‘film’, I was able to express these struggles and themes clearly as it allowed me to incorporate visual as well as audio messages. I think that this medium allowed me to further develop ideas surrounding gender stereotypes as I was able to input and adjust the audio first, which allowed me to form the foundations of a narrative for my film as well as plan possible shoots to compliment what was being said.

For my first project surrounding the theme of ‘Love & Rebellion’, I used the medium of still images. This allowed me to capture real emotions in one frame, from that exact moment and use this to contrast to other emotions that the same person has been through or felt.

Although by creating a film I was able to develop my ideas, I believe that a printed form of still images may better represent ideas that I wish to convey. Through the use of still images or even screenshots from a moving image, the audience is able to create their own ideas in relation to the image based upon their own beliefs, rather than being influenced by an audio.

Approaches –

In terms of approaches, for my film I primarily used a documentary approach as the use of a slightly more formal style may allow my key ideas to be conveyed clearly.

For my still images, many of which being candid, I did try to attempt a more tableaux approach in order to achieve more dramatic outcomes, primarily by using shadows and contrasts.

Tableaux Definition – noun, plural tab·leaux [ta-blohz, tab-lohz], tab·leaus. a picture, as of a scene. a picturesque grouping of persons or objects; a striking scene. a representation of a picture, statue, scene, etc., by one or more persons suitably costumed and posed.

Artists for film –

Below are the artists that influenced my ideas and outcome –

I also used and researched ideas on gender suggested by theorists such as –

Laura Mulvey
Judith Butler
David Gauntlett

Artists for Still image –

Below are the artists that influenced my ideas and outcome –

Skills –

Skills I developed from these projects –

Using tripods to have more stable shots
lighting, where and how to use it to emphasize or diffuse certain aspects of an image
Different camera settings such as changing shutter speed, ISO, White balance
How different framing or use of lenses can change the meaning of a shot entirely
How more abstract imagery can be used to create meanings and representations

2. Include examples of current experiments to illustrate your thinking.

Plan/ Current ideas and influences –

For my personal study my main influence is going to be ideas on and surrounding mental health, specifically anxiety and depression. One specific artist I have found is ‘Daniel Regan‘ who used his photography in order to represent and document his own mental health.

3. Produce a new mind-map and mood-board based around how you interpret the theme of ‘Love & Rebellion’ now using new inspirations etc.

Ideas on ‘Love & Rebellion’ then –

Ideas on ‘Love & Rebellion’ now –

4. Write a specification that clearly contextualizes how you wish to develop your project further, including theme(s), subject-matter, artists and final outcome you aim to make; photo-book or film.

Initial Ideas –

Mental Health

Daniel Regan

Statement Of Intent –

Write a statement of intent that clearly contexualises how you wish to develop your project further, including theme(s), subject-matter, artists and final outcome you aim to make; photobook or film.

The main aim of my personal investigation is to explore and represent different mental health issues that many people who struggle from them find hard to articulate or represent visually. Although I am to research and explore multiple mental health issues, I will mainly focus on anxiety and depression as these are two that have impacted me and many people I know. In order to express these ideas and representations, I am going to use a mix of documentary landscape photography as well as conceptual portraiture photography as I feel that these two different styles will complement and also juxtapose one another, creating a form of distortion and confusion to the narrative of my book, simulating a similar effect to that of these two mental health disorders. As well as this, I am also going to research some different literacy texts such as different poems to include as little monologues to go along side some images throughout the book, prompting and also describing the narrative.

Another theme that I wish to explore in this project is the juxtaposition between moods that these mental health issues can create. As some days may be exactly the same and some days may be durastically different, it is almost impossible to interpret how each one will effect the individual. – Some days are good and some days are bad. I believe that this is an important factor to represent as it shows how significant these small, yet happy moments or days are to a person who is struggling.

In terms of more technical plans, I am going to use my Canon camera for the majority of photoshoots as well as a tripod as this will allow for clear and concise images to be taken, though in order to incorporate multiple perspectives I will use different lenses and angles. My shoots will be taken in many different locations, with more subject-specific ones being centred in a studio like setting in order to enhance shadows, lighting and expression. In terms of medium, my final product will take the form of a photo-book as I feel this will allow viewers to have a more personal relation to/with the images and ideas, though I think that I might make a short-film of some of the key stills or extra images I take.

5. Plan your first photo-shoot as a response to initial ideas. Must be published on the blog by Wed 2 Dec.

Photo-Shoot 1 –

Claude Cahun was a prolific writer and she famously wrote ‘Under this mask, another mask. I will never finish removing all these faces’.

28/11/2020 Leanne S Leave a comment

Essay Question: In what way can the work of Claude Cahun and Shannon O’Donnell be considered political?

Through their work, both Claude Cahun and Shannon O’Donnell tackle controversial ideas surrounding gender and identity; despite the difference between the times their work was produced they do share many similar political and cultural messages. Identity politics can be defined as the political alliances formed based upon gender, race, religion, or other contextual factors that may influence ones identity. Originally, identity politics emerged as a result of discrimination against those of a certain background by those who are presented as ‘normal’ through false dominant ideologies. Some key examples of different identity politics would be the emergence of Civil rights, women’s rights and LGBTQ+ rights due to the amount of discrimination previously held against them, new actions were demanded in order to secure political and social equality. Identity politics is a key ideology that can be used in order to decode the messages in the work of artists such as Claude Cahun and Shannon O’Donnell.

Identity politics and Cultural wars both have massive impacts on society both positively and negatively. For example, the idea of having a group that allows individuals to feel connected and valued based upon shared ideas or themes is obviously positive and emphasises greater actions to be taken in order to protect and support these groups. On the other hand, due to these groups societies have been completely changed, which could be viewed as a positive or negative based upon individual thought. Similarly, it also allows for the development of more extremist groups, who may use their group in order to gain power and therefore influence and enforce their own ideas rather than allowing each individual to harness their own. Which then links into an idea suggested by Noam Chomsky called ‘Manufacturing Consent’, which is the idea of how mass political powers (those at the head of Governments i.e Trump) use their power in order to control and manipulate the population and those that are underneath them via mediums such as propaganda, forcing the public to follow his views, falsely imitating the idea of consent. Those who may oppose his views would therefore be positioned against those who agree which would then lead to matters such as a cultural war. Without identity politics, movements such as the ‘Suffragettes’ and ‘Black Lives Matter’ would have been a lot less likely to occur and have the impact of which they did.

In relation to Claud Cahun, who’s work primarily focuses on tackling gender norms or societal constructs evolving around individuals in terms of identity and gender, identity politics can be used in order to decode some key messages in her images. Born under her birth name, ‘Lucy Schwob’, later changing it to the non-gendered ‘Claud Cahun’, was born in France in 1894. Put simply, Cahuns work can be considered political as her work is radical in relation to the norms generally accepted by society, the norms usually being ideas expressed by higher or ruling powers such as government. In her autobiography, Disavowals, she wrote: “Shuffle the cards. Masculine? Feminine? It depends on the situation. Neuter is the only gender that always suits me”. Claude Cahunwas a prolific writer and she famously wrote, ‘Under this mask, another mask. I will never finish removing all these faces’. A common variable or ‘theme’ evident throughout Cahun’s work would be the representation of a double or fragmented identity. This can be decoded in terms of semiotics and specifically, Iconic, Indexical and Symbolic signs.

In terms of iconic signs, this image can be decoded as the mask is a literal, physical representation of a second identity, a way of disguising her true or ideal self. Even based on this initial analysis, there is a clear opposition between two narratives, the positioning of the mask used to suggest Cahuns dominance and rejection against the dominant ideology. When refering to indexical signs in relation to this image, the mask can signify more hidden and metaphorical ideas such as the idea of identities being a combination of different, fragmented ideals – identities aren’t solid and are forever changing based on factors such as ones socio-economic climate, gender, sexuality, religion and occupaiton. Finally, this image can be decoded in terms of symbolic sings and symbols. For example, in more arbritary terms the message Cahun is intending to convey to viewers is culturally specific, and will likely change between each individual based upon their own thought porcess.

When these images were taken (during the WW2 period) camera technology would have been significantly limited, especially during the occupation of Jersey whereby many resources were scarce. The time these images were taken and the radical messages in which they intended to convey also suggest Claud Cahuns political stance and ideologies. For example, for the time period (early/ mid 1900s) hetronormativity was very prominent and ideas realting to fluidity in sexuality were very restricting. Cahuns work is a visual representation of her hatred and opposition to this, her and her partner, ‘Marcel Moore’, as same sex relationships were highly oppressed during this time, their photographic work allowed them to protest against a patriachal society. Ideas around gender norms were also expressed in the article – ‘Investigating Identity’ (on MoMA Learning), stating that ‘Since the mid-twentieth century, philosophers, social scientists, and historians have theorized that gender—the roles, characteristics, and activities that distinguish men from women—are not innate but socially constructed.’ This idea of gender norms being a social construct are very evident in the works of Claud Cahun, especially through her opposition against dominant ideologies and powerful institutions such as government (notably during the Nazi occupation over Jersey during WW2)

Similarly, Shannon O’Donnells work can also be considered highly political, especially in terms of gender, sexuality and identity. For example, in this image, Shannon can be seen dressed in a stereotypically ‘male’ viewed outfit. This first representation focusses on tackling gender norms in society and how generally, especially applicable to the media industry, women are expected to dress a certain way in order to ‘satisfy the needs of men’. This is expressed in many theories, one being the ‘Male Gaze’ theory, coined by Laura Mulvey, which is the concept that texts present females through the eyes of a heterosexual male, often objectifying the physical form for gratification. Furthermore, the setting also plays a significant role in the representation of gender, sexuality and identity. The setting of this image is evidently very religious and holy, with intricate architecture, symbolic figures and holy-like patters/ cloths used to represent this. This background juxtaposes the foreground of the fluid subject as historically, many religions have been against evolutionary ideas around gender and sexuality, the comfortable/ careless positioning of the subject can also be viewed as a representation of opposition against these heteronormative ideas.

O’Donnells work was highly influenced by artists such as Claud Cahun, suggesting that the political ideologies surrounding gender and sexuality in both pieces are similar in their intentions to combat social norms. When relating the two artists, it is also important to consider the dominant ideologies present in society during the production of their work as this could change the messages conveyed significantly. In an article titled ‘Claude Cahun: The trans artist years ahead of her time’ from the BBC, Claud Cahun is described as “100 years ahead of her time”, which is one reason why I believe that her and Shannons work share so many ideas, as ideas on gender were highly controlled during the 1940s, her work would have been highly opposed; in contrast to modern society, where ideas on gender are so much more fluid and abstract and highly more accepted.

PERSONAL STUDY PHOTOSHOOT PLAN

28/11/2020 Aimee O Leave a comment

Essay

28/11/2020 Diana DR 1 Comment

In what way can the work of Claude Cahun and Shannon O’Donnell be considered political?

Claude Cahun is a French Photographer, best known for their controversial portraits which helped change the idea of gender as they often wore “masculine” clothing and even shaved their head in a way of rebellion against what society depicts a “women” to be. Cahun was also a writer and sculptor who changed their name from Lucy Renee Mathilde Schwob to Claude Cahun as it was more gender neutral and therefore “neither masculine nor feminine, so there is no good reason to force either of those identities onto them.”. In Cahun’s own words they describe their gender as “Masculine? Feminine? It depends on the situation. Neuter is the only gender that always suits me.”

Shannon O’Donnell is a Jersey born photographer also known for her controversial photography questioning what our society views as “gender” and why. O’Donnell focuses on bringing “to light the inequalities of social standards as well as challenging how we as a society see one another.” She has many short films and photobooks such as her work in “Shrinking Violet” where she shows her mother’s role at home as a women and she questions and almost mocks it as this is what society sees as “women’s expectation”. Her short film “The way the river flows” further questions gender norms and tries to express her feelings towards societies views on “femininity and masculinity”

Both Photographers can fall under the Identity Politics side of the debate. Identity politics focuses on aspects such as race, gender, sexuality class and more; where these topics are discussed. Here both Claude Cahun and Shannon O’Donnell focus on Gender. This can be seen controversial as not everyone agrees with the work that they put out; however, I think they would argue that this is exactly what reaction they want. They want to be outrageous and outspoken in order to get their point across that it is okay if you can not conform to your biological sex and want to explore and break those gender norms that society has put down.

I do see both Claude Cahun and Shannon O’Donnell as political as they are both Role Models in controversial and taboo subjects and furthermore encourage others to follow in their footsteps.

Here I think Shannon O’Donnell’s image clearly shows the politics side of her work as this image of her in a man’s suit which pulls on the gender side of politics as it shows her gender and body dysphoria through the non-traditional feminine clothing which I think helps highlights the struggle that many of us face in meeting the requirements to society’s expectations, as many of us feel the need to fit in and to not get teased to bullied; however O’Donnell works on breaking that barrier by photographing her thoughts and making it public. This is a bold choice as many people might judge her for it, but I think that in this moment in time she aware of the choices she made and got to the stage where Shannon doesn’t care anymore about what others think and instead used her platform to inspire others.

The other side to this image is the Society and Patriarchal side; all our lives women are told what to do and when to do it, and to grow up, find a husband and obey to the traditional housewife lifestyle. This although may not be as serious of an issue in 2020, gender inequality is still a major problem and we still live in a society run by men. And also where if people don’t conform to gender norms we get pushed and punished until we do conform, this has been seen in examples of gay conversion therapy and online negative comments where people tell others that they don’t like the way the other people are dressing. Its crazy how such an image can have so many underlying meanings and be powerful in many peoples struggle in finding their true identity and being comfortable in their own skin. The oppression that women still deal with topics such as gender pay gap, sanitary products being a “luxury” item and abortion among others are all topics that governments (generally run by middle ages white men) decide on which highly impact female lives or lives with uteruses.

Claude Cahun highlights these exact same spots, due to Shannon O’Donnell’s work being vastly inspired by Cahun’s work; however, the main difference being the timescale and century. Cahun had to deal with gender dysphoria and breaking gender norms in World War 2, where most peoples views where unheard and seen as being irrelevant as Nazi Germany began their take over and only saw Hitler’s opinion as the important opinion. Here society expectation where even higher as Hitler believed that the supreme race were blonde, blue eyed, strong non-Jewish soldiers; which made many people terrified to express a simple opinion never mind a whole battle on cross dressing and gender neutrality.

Claude Cahun (CC) began taking photos in the early 1912 and continued taking self portraits up until 1930s. In 1937 CC settled in Jersey following the occupation in France and Germany. Later on Cahun and Marbelle (CC’s stepsister) “became active as propagandists. Fervently against war, the two worked extensively in producing anti-German fliers. Many were snippets from English-to-German translations of BBC reports on the Nazis’ crimes and insolence, which were pasted together to create rhythmic poems and harsh criticism. The couple then dressed up and attended many German military events in Jersey, strategically placing them in soldier’s pockets, on their chairs, etc.”

Additionally, CC can be seen as political for again the same reasons of breaking the gender barriers and this started by her shaving her head, they wrote that when people couldn’t tell what gender CC was, it brought them joy.

To conclude, Cross dressing, which both Claude Cahun and Shannon O’Donnell explore, isn’t just about annoying elders and making people angry but rather about finding creative ways to express ones selves and show off our personality and style. When we find a way to dress that lets us feel comfortable and confident it brings a new light in our lives and allows us to live more freely, we become happier as we are proud of what we put on our bodies and stop caring about what others may or may not think. Cahun and O’Donnell I think pair together well to help give everyone confidence in not compiling to what others and society want us to and to instead do what we want which I think is incredibly important and the fact that they could express their thoughts and feelings through the medium of photography and film I think was very courageous but exceedingly important.