How do Robert Mapplethorpe and Karlheinz Weinberger portray ‘Lad Culture’ through the medium of portraiture?

As Robert Mapplethorpe himself quoted; “I am obsessed with beauty. I want everything to be perfect, and of course it isn’t. And that’s a tough place to be because you’re never satisfied”. I share the same desire for perfection in my own appearance, both mentally and physically. This need for perfection comes as a sort of validation, a purpose in my eyes hence why in my personal investigation, my area of study will look at masculinity, what it means to be male, more specifically looking at how adolescence shapes us as men, conflicts men often face such as body dysmorphoria and a desire to fulfil a certain mould, a mould set by society to look and act a certain way, to be the breadwinner and the hero they dreamt of being as a child. The aim is to show that you should love yourself, even if your mind wants to rebel against that. To achieve this, I will be studying both the works of Robert Mapplethorpe and Karlheinz Weinberger as well as analysing their works on male photography and the male gaze, and how lad culture is ever present in their photography.

‘Lad culture’ according to Wikipedia is a “British and Irish subculture initially associated with the Britpop movement. Arising in the early 1990s, the image of the “lad”—or “new lad”—was that of a generally middle class figure espousing attitudes typically attributed to the working classes”. This is a commonly captured stereotype, often linked with aggressive, confident and competitive behaviour, typical of alpha males and even male animals in the wild, with common themes such as excessive alcohol and drug use as well as settings often being set in pubs and club scenes globally, where party life brings out such characteristics in men.

Much of this was captured in the 60s, 70s and 80s and no doubt would’ve strongly influenced both Mapplethorpe’s and Weinberger’s photographic work. Beginning in the mid-1980s, a secret underground culture was formed by a revolutionary group of self-proclaimed “queers” who were less concerned about mainstream acceptance of their sexuality and more geared toward creating unconventional spaces where they could be themselves. Places where, essentially, someone could be gay without liking stereotypical “gay things.” in the 1970s AIDS broke out which is a disease of the immune system, caused by the virus HIV, leading to death from infections that the body is no longer able to resist. The disease had a devastating effect on the gay community in the 1980’s and many of Mapplethorpe’s friends and acquaintances were victims of the disease. Mapplethorpe died from an AIDS-related illness in 1989.

ROBERT MAPLETHORPE

Robert Michael Mapplethorpe was an American photographer who was most famously known for his work with black and white photographs. His photographs featured a large array of subjects, including celebrity portraits, male and female nudes, self-portraits, and still-life images. Additionally, Mapplethorpe as mentioned was queer, hence this was a common theme in his work as many of his models either recreated or were homosexual themselves. These photos were often aimed to capture ‘lad culture’ through the style and behaviour of men as well as the male gaze. Essentially, the male gaze is the act of depicting women and the world from a masculine, heterosexual perspective that presents and represents women as sexual objects for the pleasure of the heterosexual male viewer.

In Mapplethorpe’s work, one of his major exhibitions named ‘The Perfect Medium’ which was featured at the Art Gallery of New South Wales in 27 Oct 2017 – 18 Feb 2018, showcased a broad selection of his work, from portraits of his contemporaries to self-portraits, floral still lifes and erotic imagery. Mapplethorpe heavily explored ways identity could be captured and expressed by the camera with a certain style of black and white still portraits, almost always taken in a black or white studio and set up with the models or himself creating or imitating poses in front of the camera. Often, his traditional style of portraiture had a clear subject, and this was often the male physique as he tried highlighting both the beauty and form of the ideal male physique (virtruvian physique as mentioned in this blog post). He often captured the brutish, male image, highlighting different appearances that so-called alphas could have, however these characteristics were usually the muscular, confident ‘lad’ stereotype so to speak. Through his self-portraits, he strategically crafted a public image for himself. He often took photos of himself as well as the models that fit the roles of alpha males, and by using the styles as mentioned above, he often challenged gender stereotypes and lad culture, which is a similar theme to my personal study.

The photo above is a studio portrait of Derrick Cross in 1983, a model Mapplethorpe photographed numerous times and included in a couple of his works. This is one of many photographs in which Mapplethorpe focuses on a part of the body. The surrealist artist Man Ray had taken similar photographs of a torso, but had given greater emphasis to the face-like appearance of the body with nipples as eyes and navel as mouth. Mapplethorpe’s photograph is much more a study of muscular form and male beauty and aesthetic. With the draped fabric around his waist, similarities can also be drawn with classical sculpture. The photo was produced on gelatin silver print that gives it the clear, silver and black tones. Additionally, the photo has high contrast as a result of the models’ skin tone when compared to the very pale grey background, which emphasises the significant muscularity of the model. Furthermore, the composition is close up, with the model comprising most of the photograph, in particular his well developed mid-section/torso which evidently, Mapplethorpe is trying to emphasise and highlight the beauty of, especially considering the model has posed similar to Greek statues. Robert himself also photographed many Greek statues and compared them to the male physique, potentially taking inspiration from the philosopher Plato’s study on aesthetics who is considered by many to be “the most important philosopher who ever lived”. He is known as the father of idealism in philosophy and his new (at the time) ideas were elitist, with the philosopher king the ideal ruler. Essentially, the very phrase “Plato’s aesthetics” refers to an anachronism, given that this area of philosophy only came to be identified in the last few centuries, however even those who think of aesthetics more broadly find something exploratory in Plato’s treatments of art and beauty. He might be best described as “seeking to discover the vocabulary and issues of aesthetics”. For this reason Plato’s readers will not come upon a single aesthetic theory in the dialogues. For the same reason they are uniquely situated to watch core concepts of aesthetics being defined: beauty, imitation, inspiration. Tangent aside, Robert Mapplethorpe and his obsession with aesthetics is very evident as he clearly was more concerned with male beauty and aesthetic and sexualising males through homo-erotic staged photos in studio lighting.

KARLHEINZ WEINBERGER

Karlheinz Weinberger is another artist that shares a similar style in photography to Mapplethorpe. Karlheinz Weinberger was born on 10 July 1921 in Zurich’s “Chreis Cheib” district, a nickname derived from the Swiss German expression for ‘carcass.’ A few years later, Zurich became a centre for left-wing ideology also known as “Red Zurich” after the Social Democratic party won an absolute majority for the first time in 1928. His imagery shares the similar black and white tones as can be observed in Mapplethorpe’s work as well as sharing a similar theme where by both artists aim to capture ‘lad’ culture, although in Weinberger’s work, it is less sexualised. A striking resemblance in both artist’s work is the inclusion of male models in their portrait work, often either topless or re-enacting “masculine” things. ‘Lad culture’ is ever present in Weinberger’s work, with many of his subjects often being muscular and rather good-looking, taking the role of the confident alpha male type.

Karlheinz Weinberger’s day job may have been relatively uninspiring having worked in a Siemen’s warehouse, however the photos he took in his spare time are anything but that. Weinberger’s passion, and the focus of this book, is the rebel youth of 1950s and 1960s Switzerland, who took inspiration from American rock-’n’-roll culture and made it their own with their rolled-up jeans and denim jackets, bouffant hairdos, striped T-shirts, and customized belts. Weinberger’s free-spirited and self-confident portraits typical of alpha male/lad culture possess the defiant attitude of youth and rebellion as a response to the conservative post-war era. His book ‘Swiss Rebels’ also includes erotic images of queers, who dress as rockers, bikers, construction workers and athletes, many of whom occupy positions outside of social norms.

The photo above is a candid environmental portrait, (a common theme in Weinberger’s work) and was taken by Weinberger in 1970 and is of a Wrestler in a sports club named ‘Box-Ring Zürich’ where he started to work as a freelance sports photographer for Satus-Sport, a national workers’ sports and gymnastics federation. In 1969, the photo taken above also first appeared in an underground gay magazine, called Club 68. The photo incudes a very alpha looking subject with the photo comprising of the typical black and white theme similar to Mapplethorpe’s works. Visually, the photo is black and white, with darkish tones in the background, cleverly segregating the subject in the fore ground and stopping him from blending in too much. Furthermore, there is a rough texture with the subtle grain typical of cameras of the time unlike Mapplethorpe’s work that was often very clear, although, much of Weinberger’s photography was also very clear too with minimal/to no grain what so ever. The composition is a strong one, symbolic of the alpha male/lad culture vibe and is in the form of a candid portrait that looks semi-staged and the subject is centred making for a pleasing symmetrical image that is satisfying to look at and matches the golden ratio. The exposure is a little higher in order to cancel out the shadows from dominating the image and ruining the clarity, as here the photo is very clear signifying great balance and harmony between the limited shades within the photo. Technically, it is unknown if Weinberger used natural or studio (indoor) lighting nor is it possible to determine what camera/lens he used although I would hazard a guess and say her may have used a 35mm film camera, typical of the era and likely the cause of the grain. Unlike Mapplethorpe, Weinberger isn’t asking his subjects to make poses symbolic of Greek gods, however opting for a more candid approach. Furthermore, another difference between the two artists approach to photographing males and portraying lad culture is rather than trying to highlight the aesthetic of the male physique in it’s greatest form, Weinberger finds an aesthetic in men doing manly things as a pose to looking overly muscular and posing as such. Evidently, Weinberger was more concerned with highlighting lad culture through environmental photos of men whereas Mapplethorpe was more concerned with male beauty and aesthetic by sexualising males through staged photos in studio lighting. Therefore, notice how when I referred to both artist’s work, with Weinberger I mentioned how he used ‘subjects’ and with Mapplethorpe how he used ‘models’. That’s the key difference here.

Overall, both artists capture the male gaze, however go about it in a slightly different way. Granted, both often photographed queer culture and the surrounding community, however as mentioned, Mapplethorpe used this to create more homo-erotic imagery that explored the male body’s natural beauty and form, most notably seen in his work with Derrick Cross, whereas Weinberger preferred the less staged, more natural/candid approach where photos of groups of males doing certain activities were more his kind of niche. Weinberger was more concerned with highlighting lad culture through enivonamntal photos of men doing ‘manly’ or ‘lad culture’ things, (boys being boys essentially), as he worked in a factory for Siemens which was full of these ‘stud-like’ masculine characters that weren’t afraid to get hands on and dirty. On the other hand, Mapplethorpe as mentioned, sexualised males and explored the more flamboyant, fashion side of lad-culture. This makes for a great contrast between the two artists, as both their work looks very similar in style from first observation, however can be interpreted in entirely different ways.

Bibliography

https://aperture.org/reviews/karlheinz-weinberger-rebels-without-a-cause/

https://news.artnet.com/art-world/robert-mapplethorpe-1723221

https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/robert-derrick-cross-ar00194 © Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plato-aesthetics/#:~:text=To%20the%20literal%2Dminded%20the,in%20the%20last%20few%20centuries.&text=For%20the%20same%20reason%20they,%3A%20beauty%2C%20imitation%2C%20inspiration.

https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-photographer-captured-switzerlands-biker-boys-elvis-look-alikes

http://kvadratinterwoven.com/foto-jim-zurich

PERSONAL SIGNIFICANCE + OPINIONS-

This project had some personal significance and although certain scenes were quite difficult for me to film, mentally, I believe that all in all it helped with my own recovery and I’m glad I went through with the film. I think it reflects not only some of my own story but also, more generally, it symbolises a range of experiences and feelings that people have when they are going through periods of poor mental health, not only struggles with diet.

I explored the link to the “Love and Rebellion” theme through the idea of self-love and rebellion against a toxic mindset and societal expectations. In my opinion, it was successful, although I feel as though I could maybe have focused more on the self-love aspect in the end, but as a result of the importance of the three separate chapters, I wasn’t able to spend too much time on only a single one.

CLOTHING/LOCATION-

Both the clothing and the locations were very important to me. I chose to have three different outfits: one for each chapter. Seeing as each chapter represented a different stage of the ED journey, I thought the clothing should reflect the general mental situation at the time. The first was a long sleeved shirt and a long skirt which covered up most of my body but was still fairly close to my skin, illustrating the sense of self-consciousness building before the actual disorder changes the perception of the body too much. The second outfit was a plain white long-sleeved dress, which fell a little baggy on my body and covered up pretty much all of it, showing how self-consciousness increases and the desire to hide yourself/your body in your clothing is also very prominent. In the third chapter I wore a white cropped top and the same white skirt from the first chapter to show how I was returning to my former self but changed, recovered and showing more outward self-confidence. All three of the outfits were white, for a few different reasons: white symbolises innocence and purity which can be reflected in both the first and last chapters, white stands out against the otherwise natural colour palatte of the background, therefore drawing focus towards me as the central focus of the film, and white also links to the voiceover which features the “white rabbit” from the Alice in Wonderland books.

The locations I filmed in were also significant. Most of it is filmed in and around my house, which references how EDs often stem from issues at home and revolve around routines and habits done at home. This is similar to the way the Laia Abril’s book “The Epilogue” revolves around the house of a young girl who suffered from an eating disorder. The rest is filmed in a patch of nearby woods, which at the same time references Alice in Wonderland and the popular metaphor of “going into the woods” as meaning going on a dangerous and challenging quest with reasonable doubt as to whether one would return safe. It also meant that I was able to work in an environment that was quite colourful, and the time of year meant that the green was quite vibrant, and the weather was often rainy which added general atmosphere and mood to the film.

SEQUENCING/CHAPTERS-

The chapters were a vital aspect of the film to me; they showed the journey one goes on with an eating disorder in three separate stages. The titles reference the Alice in Wonderland books and mark the stages of before, during and after. When evaluating, I think they worked effectively in portraying the sense of the passing of time that I wanted them to.

I also use some repeated shots, like the “getting ready” morning scene and the close up of eyes opening and looking around. I intended this to give the audience a sense of how the subject’s mental health changes over time, relying on the artistic trope of the eyes being “windows to the soul” to portray this.

Sequencing the shots and generally organising the narrative was an aspect I put quite a bit of thought into, and I ended up making a fairly detailed storyboard which I then annotated with details for me to use when actually shooting; I found this really helpful throughout the whole process, especially when editing. It was quite effective in that, when re-evaluating some shots later on in the process, I was able to cut them out easily and maintain the whole narrative of the rest of the film without missing out on anything important. In my opinion, it was definitely worth the extra time spent in the planning process.

VOICEOVER-

From the very beginning, I had planned to record myself doing a scripted voiceover, with the visuals matching up to whatever was being said at the moment. I debated either reading out a poem from the book “Alice Through The Looking Glass” or to write something myself, and in the end the poem in particular was too short and didn’t link up with the subject matter of the film enough, so I wrote a short three-piece text, making sure to include imagery that fit with the theme of eating disorders and Alice in Wonderland, then went through the process of editing it to the right length and omitting any parts that didn’t particularly work out in the way I liked. Certain key lines and phrases, however, were important to keep in as they gave sense to the visuals and added to the overall tone of the film.

For example:

“Little white lies stick like cotton wool in my throat and nothing is the same anymore.” 

The white lies refer to the deception involved in hiding an ED from friends and family, and the cotton wool refers to a popular method of appetite suppressing by consuming cotton wool.

“I got stuck and I got hurt/ And I got help”

This is from the third and final chapter and it shows the period of self-reflection that is necessary for recovery where often things that were complicated at the time become simple and much clearer to understand.

“My childhood seems a blur to me/ Although I don’t really know why” … “My childhood is still blurry, but it’s soft and sweet and sad, and I tell it to take its time coming back to me”

These two quotes are from chapters one and three respectively, and they illustrate how much personal growth occurs during recovery and how often there is an increased sense of acceptance of past pain and upsets, rather than holding on to them and hurting oneself any further.

Overall, the extra effort involved in scripting, recording and editing in a voiceover was most definitely worth it, in my opinion, and I am pleased with the final effect it had. It added a personal touch to the film and made a lot of the imagery clearer to understand, as well as adding more depth to other parts. It also allowed me to explore a different side of the creative aspect when making films, and increased my awareness of the importance of audio and soundscapes.

OVERALL SUCCESSES + CRITIQUES–

Technically, I think my film was fairly successful. Visually it looked good, as the colours I wore stood out against the various surroundings, and the exposure was properly calibrated. As a whole the narrative was clear, conveyed through both visual and audio aspects together. It had a range of close ups and long shots, and the establishing shots at the beginning set the scene effectively. The editing was also varied enough to keep it engaging, switching between several fast-paced montages and some slower, longer scenes. I mainly used a tripod to keep the camera steady which tested my multitasking skills and improved my overall filming/directing techniques, as well as allowing me to use myself as the main subject.

If I had to critique any part of it, I would probably say that I could have spent a bit more time during the actual filming part in making sure that everything was in focus. This was only really an issue in the first parts that I shot, the close-ups particularly, and even though it was hard to be behind the camera while also being the subject of the camera lens, I feel as though if I were to do it again I would know to spend a lot more time on things like this and end up with a slightly better result. Another thing I would change if I did this project again would be to include more scenes of a more abstract nature, like the photography of Francesca Woodman, which would be open for interpretation in various different ways and provide a more creative and artistic demonstration of the main subject’s mental state.

To conclude, I’m pleased with the way this short film project turned out and I believe I was successful in the various things I meant to include. The artists I studied beforehand were very useful in developing my ideas and the style that I went for, as well as providing examples of work covering similar sorts of subjects. I feel like I managed to incorporate a personal aspect in tackling a difficult and fairly emotionally challenging topic, and I put a lot of effort into making sure that I provided as accurate of a representation to my own experiences as I could, without making it overly specific and opening it up to a more general interpretation of mental health issues, the concept of losing childhood nostalgia, rediscovering one’s own identity, and just generally growing up.

Sound was very important to me in this film project, and I spent a lot of time scripting a voiceover to have underneath the video, to combine both the audio and visual aspects together. But I also wanted to use a lot of natural sounds, the sort of ambient noise that would be present in the outside environments I filmed in. Initially I believed this would be best done by using sounds downloaded online, but I tested out my camera’s audio and found it worked well in capturing exactly what I wanted. This accounts for the most part of the ambient background noise, excepting the hospital sounds at the end of “chapter two”, which I had to source online.

BACKGROUND/AMBIENT SOUNDS-

Above I am splicing the original clip from inside a hospital room I got online into separate shorter pieces, as it had a recurring background sound (like an aggressively loud beep) that I didn’t like, so I marked out all the sections it was heard and cut them out. I was anxious that the end product didn’t sound too jarring or mix-and-match, but luckily it worked perfectly well first time, and I only had to cut the whole clip to the right length and no further editing was necessary.

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In order to aid me in my photo book creation, i want to take a look at other photobooks and photobooks in general. A photobook is a book in which photographs feature hugely and contribute to the most of the overall content. There are many different ways that photo books can be used to tell a story. Some people use them to tell a personal struggle, some to tell a view or opinion, some to show a family holiday and many many others. They have had a whole range of different styles which has showed me that there is no limitations and your own conceptual meaning can be portrayed to the viewer in any way you would like. I hope to implement these ideas into my photobook and i hope to remember that there are no limitations.

MASCULINITIES / LIBERATION THROUGH PHOTOGRAPHY

This photographic exploration comes in the form of a well crafted photobook and draws together the work of approximately sixty artists of different ethnicities, generations, and gender identities to look at how ideas of masculinity have evolved since the 1960s. Each of its six themed chapters features bold and arresting work “by some of the world’s most celebrated photographers” one of which being Robert Mapplethorpe (my chosen artist of study) and combining various other artists of all genders, ages and backgrounds and offer a 21st-century perspective of maleness through the lens of immigration and global politics. Each chapter in the book opens with an essay by a key thinker in the worlds of art, history, culture, and queer studies. Spanning decades and continents, this exploration shows how increasingly difficult it is to define masculinity.

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In my personal investigation, I will be looking at the corona virus pandemic, how it has affected my family, social life and the world as a whole.

We were naïve to think that this virus, COVID-19, originally starting in China would never spread to Jersey. Living on an island the effects of the pandemic have not impacted us to the same extent as many other countries around the world, nerveless it has impacted us all in some form. I have decided to focus on the affects it has had on us for example all the new regulations, restrictions and changes we have adopted into our everyday lives. To show this I will be photographing the signs and changes made to our island to reduce the spread of COVID-19.  I will be mainly focusing on affect it has had on my 21-year-old sister as she has had to adapt to the new ways of interacting when it comes to her work and social life. I will be analysing the work of my two chosen artists which are Sarah peart and Joanna Fursman. I will be studying their work to see how they how they have pursued this topic and how they have presented it to the public. I have chosen these two photographers because I like the way they take and present their photographs in their hometowns to show the effect that this pandemic is having on everyone around them. Both artists take a range of different types of photographs from portraits to landscapes, close, mid and far shots. This allows the photographers to have a greater control on what they want the viewer to focus on. Furthermore, I have also been inspired by a  a number of photographic organisations and institutions such as QUAD Format Festival, The People’s Picture, Cortona on the Move – Covid 19 Visual Project and Ballarat International Foto Biennale There has been a global call out for civilians and photographers around the world to make images that reflect what Covid-19, isolation, lockdown etc. looks like using Instagram and other forms of social media. This could compare this to the historical Mass Observation Archive, this was a programme that was rolled out to record everyday life in Britain in 1930-50s.

There have been a variety of different art movements due to COVID-19 to express people’s views and mixed emotions about the affects it has had on their life and surroundings. After researching this area of study, I have chosen to analyse in depth the historical programme called mass observation archive as it caught my attention and influenced me to focus on this specific area of study (COVID-19). To keep it short and simple “The Mass Observation Archive specialises in material about everyday life in Britain. It contains papers generated by the original Mass Observation social research organisation (1937 to early 1950s), and newer material collected continuously since 1981 (Mass Observation Project). The Archive is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation”. They have created a page publishing life events that have impacted the world by asking people to keep journals of your personal experience of the COVID-19 pandemic to then be published through social media.as I am from jersey Channel Islands, I thought this would be a good approach to go through with due to being an island which once had 1,000 cases. Therefore, this would allow me to show people in bigger countries and city’s all around the world the difference between smaller and bigger affected place. I have been inspired by this to create my own project based on COVID-19 as I believe it a good way to document life changing events in the world that we can all look back at in the future. This can be compared to the Ballarat international Foto biennale which is an international photography festival and gallery of photography Ireland to create a visual record of the COVID-19 crises on Instagram. This event is free to be taken part of as you can send through your best photographs of your own COVID-19 experience to be posted on there Instagram. This is a way to share everyone’s thoughts and experiences as they state “2020 is becoming a hugely significant moment in time and mass isolation is an opportunity to find lightness, to share experiences and build our faith in humanity’s ability to survive”. Both movements have the same intensions which is to help spread awareness and peoples experiences through this pandemic however, Ballarat international Foto biennale have used Instagram which is a popular source of social media that a high percentage of people use nowadays. This allows their page and photographs to be seen all around the world. It is a community to allow people to get together and share their opinions and views during these hard times.  Therefore, this had a huge impact on my area of study which is COVID-19 as it has inspired me to create my own photobook on how this worldwide pandemic has affected me, my family, and the people around me.

Sarah Peart is a female photographer from Stoke. The work that closely focuses on my work called “aftermath”. In this project she has photographed the effects of COVID-19 and lockdown in her surroundings (stoke, Trent). Throughout her book she uses a variety of different photograph from street photography, portraiture, and signs to express the effects of this worldwide pandemic. The city she is currently in has had a massive impact to COVID-19 therefore, she has shown how this has affected families, friends, and everyone with those she photographed encapsulating people’s views and opinions on the pandemic and their strength in continuing their way of life as best they can. Her work is a way to show people the affects this has had on lives however, I believe she has also done this top help people around the world cope and stay positive during these hard times we are facing. I have used Sarah’s work to inspire me with certain photographs in this project for example, using props such as signs helps the viewers understand how COVID-19 has gradually changed the way of living in the world. I shown this through social distancing and mask signs in my photobook with reflects on they way she also presented COVID-19 in her work. Furthermore, she used the use of individuals to communicate their personal experience in the pandemic. She has photographed individuals with masks outside store and more to indicate the impact it has had on them. I have also used this method throughout my project however in a different sense. I captured photographs of 1 individual indoors due to being in isolation.  This includes a mixture of different photos that the subject did daily throughout isolation, from cleaning, working, and resting. The photographs in her work have been placed in a sequence-order as it goes from a negative to a positive which helps manifest happiness throughout. This is shown as after one photograph of the impact of COVID-19 to individual in stoke the following photograph will be a portrait of them smiling with a personal positive quote alongside it. This suggests Sarah is trying to spread happiness and positivity within her work. Each photograph has a meaning behind it which makes them more special towards Sarah and the people involved. Including a quote of their own thoughts and experience allows us as the viewers to relate and get to gather as a community. One quote that I think expresses positivity and hope is the following “Despite this new, slightly dysfunctional environment however, people have made the most of being in lock down, whether it’s focusing on health or family. Now with a bit of care and cautious optimism we can start to rebuild, we can start to carry out long awaited plans and slowly adjust to the new unpredictable way of life”. This therefore shows the sentimental value that this photobook has to the people involved and the city as it is now something that can be looked back on in the future.

Joanna Fursman is a Birmingham based artist, academic and educator. Her research combines the distinct fields of the photographic image, art practice and pedagogy to examine contemporary appearances of school. Collaborating with schools and students in Birmingham on the days they returned to the classroom in 2020 she makes the experiences of young people in school more visible and explores how returning to education in a landscape newly shaped by the pandemic looks and feels. Therefore, Joanna work represent COVID-19 through photographs of objects that allows us as the viewers to see the rules that have been taken in place in schools to improve the spreading of this virus. She has not tried to make this situation seem any better than what it is as her images are straight forward and direct on what is happening in the real world.

My project was highly influenced by Joanna’s project called “from 2 metres” because of the way she used objects to show the impact of COVID-19. Throughout her project she has photographed a variety of objects such as masks, signs and more in a Birmingham school to see how students and staff have reacted to the new regulations that have been put in place to protect people and prevent the virus from spreading. I took this into consideration in my project as I decided to take photos of signs and objects which the subject in my photobook did on a daily to stay safe during this worldwide pandemic. I took a similar cup close photo of my sister sanitising her hands as this is one of or the most important thing to stay safe and prevent the spread of the virus. I believe that this helps the viewers understand the importance of self-care as these regulations have been put in place in schools such as the school that Joanna photographed to keep work and social life on going. My sisters experience of being tested positive for COVID-19 is similar to the pupil’s experience in school due to having to clean after themselves and being limited to what they can do. I tried to show this through photographs of my sister wearing masks, sanitising, and working from home. Although I have taken photos of my sister in my project, I have also used Joanna technique of using objects instead of humans to demonstrate the impact it has had on people and society. I think doing this has allowed me to show a wider range of different styles of photography as it will help and give the viewers a more open view of the project. Joanna’s project “from 2 metres” is closely linked to my project due to the use of objects to show the regulations and impact it has upon people in society. This has allowed me to express this to my viewers in a unique and different ways which shows different skills and techniques used throughout the project. I have also tried to use different objects to Joanna’s work to make it unique but however still has a resemblance to her work which has inspired me.

In conclusion, my analysis and research of my chosen artists has inspired and influenced me during the photography process on my photobook when trying to communicate the impact of COVID-19 through photos. In my opinion, I believe that used similar methods to both Joanna Fursman and Sara Peart however I did not solely focus on one as I also included different range of photos to make my work unique. The focus of my photobook is all associated indoors which reflects more to Joanna Fursmans work as her photos Varey from in and outdoors. This is because I based my work on being in isolation which refers to being indoors 24/7. I will be photographing signs and COVID-19 related props which both artists have done as I think it’s a great way to show the new regulations and how this worldwide pandemic has affected everyone as a community. Having a close relationship with my sister allows me to demonstrate her feeling more effectively using photos instead of using outsiders to show this. Therefore, I believe that my project has an even number of differences and simulates to my chosen artists due to me being inspired my their work and also including different type of story as it makes it personal and creates more sentimental value to me and my family. Overall, having my project based on one induvial allows my work to be unique and different anyone else’s as it comes from a personal event and change that the subject as faced to adapt to.

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• Bibliography: List all relevant sources used
• http://www.massobs.org.uk/about/what-s-on/205-covid19
• https://ballaratfoto.org/massisolationaus/
• https://grainphotographyhub.co.uk/portfolio-type/joanna-fursman/
• https://grainphotographyhub.co.uk/portfolio-type/sarah-peart/
• https://www.derbyquad.co.uk/about/news/massisolationformat-experiences-covid-19

How has snapshot photography developed from its origin in Victorian times to our digital age?

Essay Plan+

Opening quote:“I am a passionate lover of the snapshot, because of all photographic images it comes closest to truth […] The snapshooter’s […] pictures have an apparent disorder and imperfection, which is exactly their appeal and their style. The picture isn’t straight. It isn’t done well. It isn’t composed. It isn’t thought out. And out of this imbalance, and out of this not knowing, and out of this real innocence toward the medium comes an enormous vitality and expression of life.” —Lisette Model

Introduction: Introduce subject of essay Explain why interest came from, begun from student films for my own film.

Intro (First page of Say Cheese) – The term snapshot as a photographic medium has only been around for a century. The term defines something that is captured instantaneously, typically captured by an amateur and often candid and imperfect. However through time this idea has developed from formally staged and stiffly structured images in the Victorian era, with a long image develop time; all the way to its modern uses, expressed both artistically and mundane due to is easy accessibility through technological developments. i have chosen this topic because i have been look

Pg 1: historical context
Discuss origin of snapshot aesthetic in Victorian times alongside technological invention of camera technology / Kodak box camera etc. Also comment on photography becoming more affordable for professional/ middle classes. Read key text and select appropriate quotes
Select a key image from Victorian period and analyse in more depth, in terms of its subject-matter, technical aspects, composition and interpret how this image may comment on the economic growth and prosperity of the middle classes who could afford to buy a camera and begin to depict their own lives. Photograph themselves on holiday, enjoyment in leisure time showed modernity, time off work and changes in society – building photography in modern form

Pg 2: How snapshot became an aesthetic style – art. Discuss how photographers such as Nan Goldin adopted the snapshot aesthetic in her work – the sexual dependency book. What the aesthetic is and its meaning, the look, following an amateur approach. Analyse image from the book, same aspects as earlier. Look at interviews from her and quotes.

Pg3: Digital age of snapshot aesthetic, accessibility of camera (mobile phones) and share easily online, with subject matter changing to more everyday, uneventful things. Link back to change in earlier era.

Conclusion:

vernacular photography – snapshot style, amateur footage

old camera snapshot, modern mobile phone snapshot , current photographer aesthetic, snapshot aesthetic can be adopted by prof artists

How does vernacular photography, supported by the mainstream production of kodak, present an idealised perspective on moments – draft question

How is vernacular photography, supported by the mainstream production of kodak, an overlooked artistic style – draft question

How has snapshot photography developed from its origin in Victorian times to our digital age?

references: student films, numb by liv mcneil, sadie withers pd11, erik kessels, nan goldin – mark in the red car, cookie w max in hammock, dieten and wolfgang at the O bar, nan and brian in bed,

photographers snapshot aesthetic

Women photographers and the ‘snapshot aesthetic’7

Snapshot aesthetic

intro what why how

Essay Plan+

Opening quote:“I am a passionate lover of the snapshot, because of all photographic images it comes closest to truth […] The snapshooter’s […] pictures have an apparent disorder and imperfection, which is exactly their appeal and their style. The picture isn’t straight. It isn’t done well. It isn’t composed. It isn’t thought out. And out of this imbalance, and out of this not knowing, and out of this real innocence toward the medium comes an enormous vitality and expression of life.” —Lisette Model

Introduction: Introduce subject of essay Explain why interest came from, begun from student films for my own film

Pg 1: historical context
Discuss origin of snapshot aesthetic in Victorian times alongside technological invention of camera technology / Kodak box camera etc. Also comment on photography becoming more affordable for professional/ middle classes. Read key text and select appropriate quotes
Select a key image from Victorian period and analyse in more depth, in terms of its subject-matter, technical aspects, composition and interpret how this image may comment on the economic growth and prosperity of the middle classes who could afford to buy a camera and begin to depict their own lives. Photograph themselves on holiday, enjoyment in leisure time showed modernity, time off work and changes in society – building photography in modern form

Pg 2: How snapshot became an aesthetic style – art. Discuss how photographers such as Nan Goldin adopted the snapshot aesthetic in her work – the sexual dependency book. What the aesthetic is and its meaning, the look, following an amateur approach. Analyse image from the book, same aspects as earlier. Look at interviews from her and quotes.

Pg3: Digital age of snapshot aesthetic, accessibility of camera (mobile phones) and share easily online, with subject matter changing to more everyday, uneventful things. Link back to change in earlier era.

Conclusion:

From Two Metres