Opening Quote – “The whole point of photographing people is that you are not intervening in their lives, only visiting them. The photographer is a supertourist, an extension of the anthropologist.” – Diane Arbus
Introduction (250-500 words): What is your area study? Documentary photography centred around exploring the theme of identity. Which artists will you be analysing and why? Doug Dubois, his narrative style and inspiration around documentary photography and capturing the emotionof a subject. Tom Jenkins for his technical ability regarding sports photography. How will you be responding to their work and essay question? Through the medium of photography. Specifically a photobook, in which a narrative response is presented through the use of an essay and sequential imagery.
Conclusion (250-500 words): Draw parallels, explore differences/ similarities between artists/photographers and that of your own work that you have produced
What is the relationship between photography and memory?
One way in which photography and memory are linked is through the thought that photographs are a way of storing memories. For example, if you take a photograph of a special event like your wedding, you are essentially holding that as a memory and when later you look back through the photos, you will recall various events that happened that day. This may serve as a reason as to why people tend to commission professional photographs on such special days; to have a physical memory of the best day of your life, forever.
Science is on our side on this. A study conducted by Microsoft on individuals with a damaged hippocampus (autobiographical memory deficit) showed that, “photos of life events helps bypass the hippocampus and undergo processing in a different brain region or regions.” (Joshua) This suggests how photographs help enhance recall of events which is a very personal experience for the individual. Being able to recall moments in life is a divine experience since they are a tangible way to connect us to the past, feelings and stories which, again, is a very private and sometimes emotional experience. Since photographs help us connect us to the past, it’s interesting to also mention how photography is important for history. This links in with memory since historical photographs are instrumental in recording what happened in the past to people and how we got here. For example:
1918: Spanish flu. National Museum of Health / AP
This photograph powerfully depicts the state in which humanity was at in terms of medical advancements. This photograph was taken during the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic and successfully portrays a quarantine centre with hundreds of patients showing to the viewer how deadly that pandemic was. Not only that but as Stacker states, “Not only have these photographs captured our attention visually, but they’ve prompted action at times—even occasionally changing the course of history. During the 1960s, for example, images of Black children being sprayed with fire hoses brought attention to the civil rights movement.” (Cavanaugh, R. and E. Ciano 27 Aug 2020)
Black children being sprayed with fire hoses – 1960s
Photographs are typically kept either in a frame, album or archive. All alike in history but different for each individual. ? For this essay I’ll be focusing more on archival images and artists who have portrayed memories in different ways like Broomberg and Chanarin (archives) and Carole Benitah (personal memories.) For this Identity project I would like to explore my own identity. Unlike my mock project where I talked about the confusion one may have finding their sexual identity, I would like to talk about my past life before finding hope in God. To achieve this I will follow a similar approach to Broomberg and Chanarin and select biblical quotes which I keep in mind and “illustrate, contradict or subvert the text of the Bible”, (Bright and Van Erp 2019: 100).
History of Photography
In my opinion, the Shroud of Turin is the first recorded image. This is because the shroud is a long linen cloth containing a negative image of a man believed by the Catholic Church to be Jesus Christ, and in my opinion is one of the first images that did not fade quickly. How it was produced however is a mystery. Some believe the Shroud is a perfect example of Camera Obscura since some theorise that in the 13th Century men would pose in the camera obscura, have linen cloth at the back of the wall and if you waited long enough, sun rays would burn the image into the linen, i.e. The wave of the hypothetical UV radiation would have been of varying phase at the surface of the skin, yet the negative image demands the image is a minimum at the skin surface. Therefore, this links with memory because, since people believe the Shroud is the real image of Christ, believers who look at it will remember of the sacrifice Jesus made for not just them but us all. In turn, serving as a reminder that Jesus did exist and was the Son Of God.
Shroud of Turin, unknown artist and date
Contrastingly, George Eastman started a company in 1880 called Kodak. Eastman created a roll of film that did not require constantly changing the solid plates, such as, the dry plates (dry gelatine plates that were equal to wet plates, had a decrease in exposure times and meant the plates could be stored rather than made). Eastman therefore created a self-contained box camera that held 100 film exposures, the camera had a small single lens with no focusing adjustment. With Kodak, the consumer would take pictures and send the camera back to the factory where the film would be developed, printed and have a new roll of film fitted. All this while being affordable by average people costing around $1 per camera, allowing people to have a physical picture of a time they will cherish. As we can see, photography is a way for people to recall the past events they cherish (memory) and even find religious hope. In a similar fashion, Broomberg and Chanarin have found links between photography and religion.
Kodak ‘Brownie’ box camera, 1900
Broomberg and Chanarin
Graduates in sociology, history, and theologyseeks to interpret and validate contemporary literal events. Adam Broomberg (South Africa, 1976) and Oliver Chanarin (UK, 1971) are two London photographers who combine archival imagery and fine art documentary photography with the visual trades. Broomberg and Chanarin travelled to Afghanistan to shoot the British Army and lived in small communities in Tanzania, where they shared in photographic peregrinations. From then, they created a series of projects. For example, Broomberg and Chanarin created a project involving the King James Bible, taking the viewer on a different kind of pilgrimage through the Bible. In it, they relate biblical quotes to images from the archive of modern conflict. The idea started with the quote from Israeli philosopher Adi Ophir, “Right from the start, almost every appearance he (God) made was catastrophic… Catastrophe is his means of operation, and his central instrument of governance.” This quote suggests that, “the idea when God reveals himself, it is often to catastrophic effect for the world and humankind.” (Bright and Van Erp 2019: 100). This relates to memory since Broomberg and Chanarin are using images from the archive which, as mentioned above, is a way to tap into the past.
Broomberg and Chanarin, Holy Bible, year
Due to the time the photographer existed; we can assume that this image was originally in a digital format since it is printed in high resolution. The image of the bible seems to be taken in a studio since it is professionally digitalised with a white background. The images in the bible however are recorded extensively within The Archive of Modern Conflict, the largest photographic collection of its kind in the world, and considering the images are quite old, we can assume that a mix between film and digital cameras were used to record the images in the archive. Broomberg and Chanarin did this for personal work. This is evident because in a review on the online platform Lenscultre it says, “Broomberg and Chanarin mined this archive with philosopher Adi Ophir’s central tenet in mind: that God reveals himself predominantly through catastrophe and that power structures within the Bible correlate with those within modern systems of governance…it must be viewed in multifaceted contexts: violence, catastrophe, global and regional politics, religion, power, corruption, greed, propaganda, consumer advertising, human conflict, nature, sex, life, death…and photography as a powerful visual language that can used and abused for multiple purposes.” (Casper)
The main focal point of this image is obviously the catastrophic images of a kid acting as police pretending to hit a man with a small batting stick, and of a child holding a snake. The other main focus of the image is the Bible, which is opened in Ecclesiastes chapters 3-8 with the following quotes underlined in red: “on the side of their oppressors [there was] power, but they had no comforter”, “better is the ending of a thing than the beginning” and “for who can make [that] straight.” This quote from the Bible may suggest that it is best when something ends because, that’s it, there is no turning back, it’s ended. However, at the beginning of things, you have to go through a lot of stressful life events, hence why the author for Ecclesiastes stated that.
Author? has powerfully used the rule of thirds to compose this image as the archival images and the bible are positioned in the centre. The main colours of this image are black and white tones. They purposely used the black and white technique to create this image to create a sense of light vs dark and may also have used it to show Divine (light) vs Violence (dark).
The light in this image seems to be coming from the top and from the sides as every aspect of the image is lit perfectly. Evidently, the light seems to be quite artificial as everything is well lit, there is a white background allowing for a better exposure of colours. In the image of a child holding a snake and the child pretending to be a policeman however, the images are quite underexposed as it seems the camera is facing away from the sun. I know this because the camera was able to focus on the subject, otherwise, the image would be pure white. The artists may have purposely naturally underexposed the image to keep it in focus and so it isn’t too bright or too dark just natural. The camera is still as this is a portrait and all the details are in focus suggesting that the camera was stationary; a tripod was likely used.
The way this image makes me feel is quite uneasy because the Bible is a book of hope and light but when you present the viewer with a set of unpleasant images like this one. The Guardian states, “there is a pornographic portrait of a naked young man with an erection and others of couples having sex, as well as photographs of suicide victims, Nazis in uniform, deformities and disfigurements” (O’Hagan). This serves as a way to help the viewer think that life is not a sea of roses, there’s more we can do to make the world a better place to live in, and Thomas Hirschhorn agrees with me on this since he says, “images of destroyed bodies need to be looked at. It is our duty to look at them.” This clearly shows that these images need to be looked at for people to be enlightened and realise the wickedness of the world.
It may be argued that actually, Broomberg and Chanarin’s project, The Holy Bible, may serve as a visual way for the viewer to see things from God’s point of view. God has stated many times in the Bible that the world is wicked, the human heart is born wicked and we take pleasure in doing evil. Once we start seeing it from God’s point of view, we’ll begin to understand his behaviours in certain parts of the Bible like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. So to an extent, this project by Broomberg and Chanarin could be seen as raising awareness to the evil events of this world and to enable the user to see the world from God’s point of view.
However, linking back to my key theme, memory, we can powerfully see how archival imagery are a collection of “memories” in a sense since they are visual stimuli to trigger memories. Therefore, by using archival imagery in their project they are allowing people to recall information of the event which is being portrayed and trigger other memories.
Finally, I will follow a similar approach in my project using bible quotes that impacted me along with images I find relate to the text as well as who I am and gone through and an explanation on a separate page illustrating what the images and quotes mean to me and how they have influenced me, especially in my past romantic dates.
Carole Benitah
Carolle Bénitah, a French Moroccan photographer who was a fashion designer for ten years until 2001 where she found her love for photography. When she found photography, she started getting involved with the themes of memory, family and the passage of time. She did this through embroidery on old family photographs in an attempt to reinterpret her history as, not only a daughter but also a wife and mother. She reflects on memory by creating embroidery using images from old family albums. Bénitah states, “there is nothing subversive about embroidering, but I corrupt it through my intentions…I use its falsely decorative artifices to reinterpret my history and to denounce its failings.” She continues, “each photograph lifts the veil from the past. It is a story of revelation. It is work related to emotions.” (Bénitah) Through this deeply personal re-examination of family ties and childhood memory, which according to the artist can be likened to archaeological work of the soul, Bénitah seeks to discover more of her identity and uncover a history of family secrets.” (Bénitah)
artist, title, year
The main focal point of the image is the family posing for the picture. The photographer has clearly composed the image using the rule of thirds in order to keep the family at the centre of the image. The one thing that is singled out and catches my eye, personally, is the red outline and filling on the shadows. Considering Benitah has stated before that she wanted to portray how she felt as a daughter, wife and mother, the viewer can powerfully interpret that she feels connected to her siblings and father. I think this is because she outlines them in red, leaving everyone behind which may also be suggested that she prioritises family over anyone.
The main colours the photographer has used are black and white but this may be due to the common film used at the time since the image is part of the family album. Apart from that, red is the main colour of the image. Red represents love (pain, hurt?) and health (and family bond/ blood). Knowing this we can assume that she wishes her family nothing but goodness and health, but also that she loves her family. Another perspective which links to the key theme of memory in this essay is that red may signify her nostalgia. I believe this because she specifically outlined her family in red in this image. Anyhow, this successfully links back to the key theme of memory since these are family photos and Benitah has used embroidery to show how she misses old times and how much she loves her family.
However, in her photo-book, Photos-souvenirs, she states that her “needlework, which suggests conflict, drama and pain, evokes the dark matter of family history that is precisely absent from photographs…” (Benitah) This suggests that the threads may not be about her having nostalgia over her family but rather serves as a coping mechanism for Carole since she also mentions that the “precise and slow process is a metaphor for the shaping of one’s identity and for the passage of time.” This completely contradicts my claim. This being said, the viewer may interpret that maybe her family has mistreated Carole since she’s highlighted them in thread, or maybe she felt left out; like she did not fit in.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I agree to a large extent that there is a correlation between photography and memory. Not only is it a way for people to recall moments in their life and “relive” in a way and have that feeling of nostalgia but also serves as a way to recall past events in history as a way to explain what we see in the present and helps give hope to believers. Through Broomberg and Chanarin we could powerfully see the usage of archival imagery (recall of events from the past which links to memory) and the bible as a duo to show why God sometimes acted in ways which make no sense to us because we have never been assigned the position of “god”. Through the project we could see through God’s eyes in a way, seeing the wickedness of this world. You may however argue that if “God so loved the world that he gave his only and begotten son” (John 3:16) for us then evil would not exist. On the other hand, God gave us free will so most of the evil that happens are because of human greed and power. So, you can see how Broomberg and Chanarin’s project, The Bible, can be seen as “seeing through God’s eyes”.
Similarly, as mentioned above, Carole Benitah “…reflects on memory by creating embroidery using images from old family albums. Bénitah states, “there is nothing subversive about embroidering, but I corrupt it through my intentions…I use its falsely decorative artifices to reinterpret my history and to denounce its failings.” She continues, “each photograph lifts the veil from the past. It is a story of revelation. It is work related to emotions.” (Bénitah) Through this deeply personal re-examination of family ties and childhood memory, which according to the artist can be likened to archaeological work of the soul, Bénitah seeks to discover more of her identity and uncover a history of family secrets.” (Bénitah)”
As a response, I will attempt to recreate some memories from my past love experiences using biblical quotes that have helped and influenced my decisions in these experiences and use archival images to reflect these quotes. This links to Broomberg and Chanarin since I am using archival images and I am talking about my own, personal experiences which links to Bénitah.
