How memory is connected to a sense of place and people.
A paragraph:
I want to connect to places in Jersey where I had visited as a child, re-living the memory and creating a sense of nostalgia throughout the book. Comparing and contrasting the old with the new. Focusing on the themes of memory, place and family.
Design: How you want your book to look and feel?
Paper and ink: Classic paper (118 gsm), smooth semi-matte finish
Format, size and orientation: Standard Landscape, 10×8 in, 25×20 cm
Binding and cover: Soft cover, Printed on the front cover, back cover and spine, gloss finish.
Title:
Design and layout: I plan to have my split sequences throughout the book, some on a double page spread, some taking up 3/4 of a double page spread and some singular images with a black page next to it.
Editing and sequencing: I want the images to flow nicely and have singular images throughout the photobook to break up the sequence from the split sequences.
Images and text: I will not have any text with my images. At the end of my book I will have my essay.
Mood board
In these photobooks I liked the different ways the images are presented and would like to take inspiration from the 3 photobooks when creating my own. I specifically like the grid/sequence layout Jon Ruffolo has used, using portrait and landscape images to create an interesting spiral-like shape. This will work well with my images because I have made some split sequences which are a similar shape. I also like how
For this photoshoot I focused on street photography, I took images of street art, to represent the graffiti community as well as taking images of street photography in Londons town and in the airport.
PHOTOGRAPHS OF FOOD ARE RARELY JUST ABOUT FOOD. THEY HOLD OUR LIVES AND TIME UP TO THE LIGHT.
Bright, S. Feast for the Eyes: The Story of Food in Photography (2017)
When exploring culture, food often can be the key to discovering cultural differences and similarities. The way food is cooked, served, eaten and enjoyed is interesting and can offer a real insight into specific cultures that other explorative devices cannot offer. ‘Chef’ and ‘Juice’ both provide an understanding of food culture in the US and India respectively. The food culture that both the films represent have deeper underlying links to cultural issues in both countries. Chef brings to light issues on familial and romantic relationships as well as workplace security. In Juice, it explores the systematic oppression of women. In art, food has been used to investigate culture and identity for millenniums with examples of food art being found in paintings such as “Fresco Depicting a Woman Holding a Dish” estimated to have been created between 1-79 AD, 2000 years ago. Food has always been used in art as an allegory for other substance, often being taboo subjects such as sex and pleasure but more often being used to signify power and wealth such as the commodification of the pineapple fruit to show status that only the richest in society could achieve. Photographer, Martin Parr is renowned for photographs of people and food that impart an incredibly intimate insight into different people’s cultures as well as providing historically significant simulacrum to educate years after his photography is taken, seen in work such as ‘Anniversary Tea’ and ‘Steep Lane Baptist’.
Steep Lane Baptist (1976)
Anniversary Tea (1978)
In ‘Chef’ Jon Favreau explores parental roles and the impact of social media on job security, set to a backdrop of a culinary road trip across the US as main character Carl, played by Favreau, rediscovers his passion for cooking after a career destroying social media meltdown. The beautiful cinematography and extensive mise-en-scene of Chef is what solidified it’s status as a cult film and helped to adequately explore the vibrancy of Latin-American cooking and culture. The beginning of the film see’s Carl fall victim to cancel culture as he serves a popular but boring and overused menu to a food critic who gives a negative review which sparks Carl to respond with abuse on twitter, this exchange being familiar to contemporary audiences where cancel culture is a common occurrence that many celebrities falling victim to. By using film to deep dive into food culture, Favreau effectively brings a new medium to the phenomenon of food porn. One scene in particular stands out as displaying an erotic side of cookery as Carl prepares a dish of ‘Aglio e olio’ for love interest Molly. The simple dish shows off the sensual nature of Italian cooking and culture and the scene is now iconic for the way it does this. This scene reiterates the zeitgeist of food as a love language, as the dishes mimic the characters personalities and storylines. A scene where Carl makes a grilled cheese for his son Percy shows the beginning of Percy’s own culinary journey as the grilled cheese connotes an all American and childlike personality which is juxtaposed by a later scene where father and son bond over making Cubanos. Initially Percy asks why so much effort has gone into making the meat for the sandwiches, remarking “You could’ve just bought this at the store” but soon changes his tune begging to try the dish and helping his dad run the food truck, in turn putting him more in touch with his Latin heritage showing how food has brought people together “Cooking is all about people. Food is maybe the only universal thing that really has the power to bring everyone together. No matter what culture, everywhere around the world, people eat together.1” Carl’s identity as a white male forces audiences to read the film with a postcolonial lens, as he is effectively taking from other countries cultures and profiting from it. In an era of food tourism this cultural appropriation can often be misconstrued as appreciation as epi-curious, gastronomes endeavour to boost their cultural capital, especially considering that for many Latin immigrants in North America, a food truck is their livelihood and a way to share their culture with the public whilst for Carl this is a brief fixation that will ultimately bring him back to suburban life in middle-class Las Angeles as a top chef. The film utilises overhead shots when filming cooking scenes which help to bring more attention to the dishes being made. Lots of colour is used when creating the food, making it look more appealing but also more exotic to show Carl’s peregrination from the samey and traditional menu enforced at Gauloises where he was completely restricted in his ability to create anything contemporary, to the opening of his own restaurant with the freedom to experiment. In cooking scenes with multiple chefs’, actors were instructed to improvise a majority of their lines in order to emulate kitchen banter which effectively elevated the verisimilitude of the film. ‘Chef’ heavily relies on its score to enhance to atmosphere of the film, using iconic and nostalgic music by artists such as Gente De Zono, Pete Rodriguez and Perico Hernando’s whose Lain heritage and mariachi style deepen the roots and tone of the film.
Favreau, J. (2014) Chef. Scarlett Johansson’s character Molly makes spaghetti sexy in this scene from Chef
‘Juice’ an independently produced Hindi language film by Neeraj Ghaywan, explores gender roles in India through a dinner party hosted by housewife Manju. There is a clear divide between the men and women from the start as the husbands enjoy themselves chatting and eating whilst Manju serves them, and the rest of the wives stay in the hot kitchen cooking and cleaning, becoming domestic caregivers in lieu of guests. While gorging themselves on chicken, the men gossip (a traditional feminine activity) about the ineptitude of a female superior at work treating one of them men as a subordinate and making him send unnecessary emails. The men show little knowledge on the topic they are discussing but that does not stop them from blathering on, another man asking, “do you have a problem with the email or the female?” illustrating male entitlement and a general distain for women who are viewed to be inferior and better suited to domestic roles like their wives in the kitchen. Gender roles in India are seen to be defined in childhood as a young girl playing video games is told “Food is ready come and serve your brothers” Manju looks on disgusted by this example of systemic sexism, like much of this short film she prefers to communicate with actions and facial expressions rather than words which makes her look of antipathy much more meaningful and crucial in driving the narrative as audiences begin to see her resentment towards the patriciate that demands girls to become slaves to men before even maturing into young women. This theme of children is repeated later when a wife suggests that having children is the key to marriage “If there no excitement in a marriage just get a baby” reinforcing the idea that a child, especially one that is female, is merely a versatile tool. This links with another line “But which book of law states this that either you can raise kids or pursue a career?” as Manju questions why the hegemony has created a dominant ideology that women cannot balance life in both the workplace and the home. After burning her finger whilst cooking and being subjected to an onslaught of verbal abuse as the men become increasingly impatient in their wait for additional food, Manju takes a stand by pouring a glass of juice, dragging a chair into the living room, and sitting, sipping her drink and relaxing with the cool breeze of the fan. She then engages in a pseudo staring contest with her husband who loses when he awkwardly looks away, allowing Manju to assert her dominance over the situation and empower the rest of the wives who have gathered to watch this spectacle. As Manju goes the grab the juice the whole atmosphere changes, with a non-diegetic crescendo of dramatic music increasing tension and the diegetic quieting of background noise as the house guests are shocked into silence upon witnessing Manju’s defiance. The prop of electric fans adds drastically to the mise-en-scene and as a narrative device, effectively showing the gender segregation and discrimination between the men and women. Despite arduously working in the incommodious and uncomfortable kitchen, the women are left with a broken fan that does nothing to alleviate the wife’s malaise, whilst the men who lounge around doing nothing have the amenity of the large working fan that allows them to relax. The contrast of this scene shows a paradoxical subversion of expectations as, by western standards, women sit and gossip and men do physical handiwork such as the attempted repairing of the faulty fan. Manju disrupts this convention when she moves her chair in front of the good fan to give herself a break from the harsh conditions she has been subjected to, displaying the power of female rage which she uses to dismantle the patriarchy in the microcosm of her home as seen in the quote “In anger, I have lived more fully, freely, intensely, sensitively, and politically. If ever there was a time not to silence yourself, to channel your anger into healthy places and choices, this is it”2 ‘Juice’ displays perfectly bell hook’s theory of intersectionality, in an age of 3rd wave feminism many people in the west believe that women are now equal to men and that feminists have achieved all that they set out for however hooks acknowledged that women of colour are excluded from this narrative and face adversity from both the feminist movement and the hegemony especially outside of the western world in countries such as India where women are still discriminated against and treated as inferiors, saying “As long as women are using class or race power to dominate other women, feminist sisterhood cannot be fully realised”3
Manju finally resting to enjoy juice in front of the fan
To conclude, both ‘Chef’ and ‘Juice’ explore cultural identities and dominant ideologies through the adoption of Roland Barthe’s semiotics using denotation, connotation, and myth to create a deep and meaningful narrative through a shared narrative focus on food. In ‘Chef’ cultural identities are explored through Carl’s fording of new cultural identities as he reconnects with his partly estranged son, who is Hispanic but ignorant of his own culture, by involving him in his cultural pilgrimage of southern America as Carl relearns the foundations of cookery while breaking away from the pompous and rigid principles of traditional cookery. In ‘Juice’ Ghaywan creates a microcosm to present the inequality and bigotry towards women in present day India. Mise-en-scene in the film is vital in creating nuanced inferences on difficult topics as stagecraft is cogently used to fracture dominant ideologies on the treatment of women under the guise of props because, “It is not ‘only’ food, I said heatedly. There’s meaning hidden underneath each dish.”4 My own film ‘Comfort’ explores 4 different cultural identities from Scotland, Jersey, Mexico and Yorkshire. Anti-thetically to ‘Juice’ it does not work to breakdown dominant ideologies but instead serves as a factually based documentary with a purpose to inform, embroiled with stereotypes that pander to dominant ideologies. I did this to make each culture instantly recognisable especially as some of the cultures I explored were very similar in nature. Each interview is anecdotal to ensure a personal and interesting response and is fast paced with quick cut editing to avoid boring audiences. Ultimately, through ‘Chef’ ‘Juice’ and my own film, it is evident that food can be vital in sharing culture and understanding identities.
Bibliography
Bright, S. (2017) Feast for the Eyes: The Story of Food in Photography
Favreau, J. (2014) Chef
Ghaywan, N. (2017) Juice
Parr, M. (2019) Martin Parr: Early Works
Blarthes, R. (1964) Elements of Semiology
hooks, b. (2000) Feminism is for Everybody: Passionate Politics
Reichal, R. (2005). Garlic and Saphires
Chamaly, S,L. (2018) Rage Becomes her: The Power of Women’s Anger, New York : Atria Books
Fieri, G.(2016) Guy Fieri Shares What Feeds His Attitude for Life
How has Vogue changed and influenced the development of fashion and social identities?
“Sensitive people faced with the prospect of a camera portrait put on a face they think is one they would like to show the world. Very often what lies behind the façade is rare and more wonderful than the subject knows and dares to believe.” Penn, I. (1986). Irving Penn’s Cranium Architecture
Fashion is expressive and can be interpreted in numerous ways. Fashion does outline, express, and shape our identity. We wear things because we want ourselves and the people around us to perceive us in a way we wish to be seen. Fashion and clothing are both there as a fundamental tool in which people construct themselves. The way we dress ourselves not only gives the person attired an identity but gives insight to those around us. Sometimes we all want to construct a new identity using fashion and statement pieces, but it is a matter that is often hard to accomplish as we could be drifting away from our comfort level or our perception of our authentic identity. The way we dress is like communicating without words. Whether we like it or not, people will judge us by our appearance. Our sense of style is so greatly affected by our environment, society, and our personality. Unfortunately, society will continue to demonize others who take a unique approach to fashion. Within this essay, I aim to explore how Vogue fashion photographers Guy Bourdin, Irving Penn and Global Editorial Director of Vogue, Anna Winour, impact the fashion industry and how they help people use fashion to explore and present who they really are, without caring about the judgement of others.
History of Vogue
Vogue, influential American fashion, and lifestyle magazine was founded in 1892 as a weekly high-society journal, created by Arthur Baldwin Turnure for New York City’s social elite and covering news of the local social scene, traditions of high society, and social etiquette. Condé Montrose Nast bought Vogue in 1909 and transformed it into a women’s fashion magazine focused on beauty, composure, and etiquette. Vogue soon became known for its distinctive photographs and high editorial quality. Nast hired the best illustrators and photographers of the day, and they produced covers for the magazine that were consistently sophisticated and occasionally revolutionary. In 1932, for example, Vogue became one of the first magazines to print a colour photo on its cover. Photographer Edward Steichen shoots the first color photograph ever printed in Vogue. The July cover by Steichen marked the arrival of fashion photography in Vogue.
First colour cover 1932
In the 1960s the magazine redefined the look of female models, deliberately avoiding shapely figures to highlight thin, gender-neutral physiques. Vogue’s August 1974 cover was the first to picture an African American model. Beverly Johnson becomes the first black woman to cover American Vogue. November 1988: Anna Wintour’s first cover features Israeli model Michaela Bercu. May 1989: Madonna became the first celebrity or non-model to be pictured on the cover of Vogue.
First black woman 1974
In 1988 Anna Wintour became editor of Vogue and immediately transformed Vogue covers by emphasizing the woman’s body, rather than just her face, as well as by frequently featuring Hollywood actresses as opposed to traditional fashion models, thereby sparking an international trend.
Vogue has enjoyed international success, with both standard and special editions published around the globe. One of the world’s most prominent fashion magazines, it has heavily influenced the development of the fashion magazine industry and continues to shape modern fashion trends. In 2009 The New York Times christened Vogue “high fashion’s bible.”
Anna Wintour’s impact on the fashion industry
Anna Wintour is the Global Editorial Director of Vogue. Wintour moved to London and was the editor of British Vogue between 1985 and 1987. A year later, she assumed control of the franchise’s magazine in New York. Her use of the magazine shaped the fashion industry. Anna is known to have changed how the world gets dressed. Her biggest impact has been on the clothes we see on television screens and newspaper front pages. Her personal preferences have changed what we think of as stylish, “Trends,” she once said, “is a dirty word.” Wintour’s fashion advice is “Let it be unique to yourself and yet identifiable to others.” Wintour explains how the way we dress is a form of self-expression, what we chose to wear reveals a hint of who you are. She claims it is important that you are happy in what you wear and to do it for yourself instead of others. However, within this quote she explains how you are “identifiable to others” through fashion, meaning people can get to know you through what you wear and how you dress, fashion is a way of communicating your identity to others without the use of words, which can be easier for many individuals
Anna has learned that in fashion there will be several types of failures that you may face but the most important thing she learned was that sometimes you just need to take the hit and move on. Accept failure because that is how we learn. She taught the fashion industry this and in return, it gave people the confidence to try new things. No matter if they fail or not. Fashion is about getting out of your comfort zone and Anna figured out at an early age that you need to go out and try new things to see what you like and do not like. Trying new things also inspires others to think outside the box. It gives a new perspective to traditional thoughts that need to be broken. Many people are so focused on being like everyone else. Fashion is about being you and is not about wearing the same trends as everyone else. Being different is a strength that a lot of us forget is an actual strength.
Irving Penn
Irving Penn, Vogue, April 1, 1950
Irving Penn has been known to alter our perception of beauty. He spent 66 of his 92 years at Vogue magazine. Penn first appeared in the magazine in 1943 and created an unprecedented 165 covers, more than any other single photographer. These were in addition to his persisting portraits that revealed the hidden selves of the famous sitters, the luminous high-fashion compositions shot in natural light, the portfolios of indigenous people, the flower, and small trades series. Then there were his advertising and personal projects, which ranged from studies of nudes to cigarette butts.
The photographer might be described as a soul catcher as he was able to get to the essence of both people and objects; in addition, he had the rare ability to capture the spirit of things in a graphic way. Maria Morris Hambourg echoed that sentiment, saying that Penn’s “seriously arresting” photographs “get under your skin.”
Penn started at Vogue in 1943. After proving his talent as a still life and portrait photographer, he was eased into fashion work by Alexander Liberman. Penn made his couture debut in 1950, photographing the latest fashion in a rickety studio, furnished with a discarded theatrical curtain. Penn wrote, “the light of Paris as I had imagined it, soft but defining.” Penn made use of this light to interpret couture in photographs that became immediately iconic.
This image by Penn is filled with rich detail, shadow offers reliable contour to subject and the space that surrounds in an infinity of shades in white, grey, and black. The background has vast amounts of texture, contrasting with the solid black dress. Your eyes are drawn to the woman’s face as the light reflects off the high points of her cheeks.
Women’s fashions of the 1950s reflected a complicated mix of conservatism and glamour. An hourglass figure dominated the look of the 1950s, with cinched-in waistlines and accentuated hips and busts. In Penn’s photograph he captures the elegant hourglass figure that dominated the 50’s.
This image, taken in 1950, ventures away from the general stereotype of women during this time. Emerging from the losses of World War II and The Great Depression, most women, if not all, lost their jobs and became housewives, whilst men took back the jobs with dominance after coming back from the war, leaving women with no power or independence of their own, except when it came to fashion. This photograph of the 50s would have empowered women into being more confident and independent through their choice of clothes. The strong dark colour of the dress compared to the lighter background, gives the dress and the woman independent power which is the opposite of what woman had in that day and age, indicating that fashion played a massive role in women’s confidence, independence, and appearance. This led to women wearing trousers and shorts which was the beginning of the end to specific items of clothing being allocated to certain genders.
Guy Bourdin
In 1955, his first fashion photos were featured in Paris Vogue in February, and he continued working for the magazine until 1987. Between 1967 and 1981, Bourdin produced some of his most memorable work under the employment of shoe designer Charles Jourdan, who became his patron. His work for Jourdan employed humanlike compositions, suggestive narratives and explored the realms between the absurd and the divine. His surreal aesthetics were delivered with sharp humour and were always eagerly anticipated by the media. After four years, he refused to accept the award Grand Prix National de la Photographie by the Ministry of Culture, France. Despite this, his name was preserved on the winners list. In the second half of the 1900s, Bourdin was among the most recognized fashion and commercial photographers. His style of photography exceeded the boundaries of traditional advertising – it was daring and had narrative supremacy.
Widely considered to have changed the face of fashion photography forever, French photographer Guy Bourdin’s innovative voice and visionary work is no longer seen solely in the context of commercial photography but is well esteemed in the historical records of contemporary fine art.
Man Ray, one of the greatest visual artists of the day, his multidisciplinary attitude instilled in Bourdin the idea of working without constraints. He turned his back on his formalist training and adopted a rigorous understanding of surrealist principles. Man Ray taught him to use graphic imagery and exaggerated lighting in his photography, and this period of apprenticeship was fundamental in influencing his style for the rest of his career. By 1968, he was continually finding new and exciting ways to challenge perceptions of commercial fashion photography.
For Bourdin, fashion was more than just clothes, his work was very abnormal and extraordinary. His photographs featured vivid colors, partially told stories and strong use of sexual imagery. He is often referred to as one of the most important visual artists of the last century, and his bold, graphic style of imagery continually challenged the long-held traditions of what fashion photography could be. His work strongly influenced the fashion industry, Bourdin thought outside the box when it came to his photographs, they include bright solid colours and were somewhat graphic. He didn’t care when it came to what people thought and that is one of the reasons he became so successful, his carelessness lead him to be highly appreciated within the fashion industry, and this influenced many other fashion photographers to explore what they love, instead of what would be socially acceptable.
What lead his work to being so abnormal was his past. Guy Bourdin was a disturbed and complex man. The leading French photographer was obsessed with death, and always had a difficult relationship with women, he was abandoned as a child by his mother, he often maltreated his models, while at least two of his former lovers committed suicide. Bourdin had enough of seeing a pretty girl in pretty clothes in a pretty environment. Instead, he decided to created obscene and voyeuristic scenes that were at once erotic and subversive, a weird mix of death and desire, and the beauty and the beast. This therefore lead Bourdin in to completely remaking the fashion industry. He taught people how to express themselves through fashion with no limits. His work completely deferred from social norms. Bourdin’s photography was sensational, exotic, sinister, provocative, sensual, and surrealistic. His influences included Edward Weston, Luis Buñuel, Balthus, Magritte and Man Ray. Guy Bourdin has been a great inspiration for young photographers working in the fashion industry.
This is an image of the bottom half of a woman’s body, significant to Bourdin’s style of photography involving his images being overly sexualized. This image suggests a narrative behind this woman as she embeds mystery into the image. Why is she in this position? Was she pushed? Is she looking for something? The two solid colours don’t take the attention away from the woman which makes the sense of mystery even stronger.
Bourdin captures an image that is playful, fresh and bold. It has strong outlines instead of shadows, and bright, vibrant colours instead of dull shadows. This relates to Bourdin’s personality, strong solid colours and objects are straight to the point, like Bourdin, he doesn’t hold back when it comes to his images and fully expresses his personality and creativity when taking his photographs.
Guy Bourdin
Irving Penn
The main resemblance between Bourdin and Penn’s images is the strong sense of mystery, firstly in Bourdin’s image where you question why the woman is in that position, and secondly the expression on the woman’s face in Penn’s photograph where she appears stoic, as if she is on the verge of tears.
Bourdin constantly explores colour throughout his images, compared to Penn’s deep, dark shadows and contrast. Penn’s photographs create a sense of misery for the viewer, with the negative expressions and deep tones of grey. This is in contrast to Bourdin’s fun and vivid images that uplift the viewer.
Women have been taught from a young age that there are certain things we can and cannot wear at different stages of our lives. Bourdin influenced women being more free with what they wear. Bourdin was appreciated during a period of time where woman mainly had to do what men told them to do, this involved fashion and what they wore. Bourdin explores nudity and sexualized women within his images. Although some women may have found this offensive, this will also have been a break-through for most women in expressing themselves through fashion.
The way we dress is like communicating without words. Whether we like it or not, people will judge us by our appearance. While we shouldn’t let our self-confidence be affected by the opinions people have of us, what we receive from people throughout our lives will have a huge impact on shaping our identity. Anna Wintour socially influenced this by telling people to dress how you feel, you will not need to explain yourself as your fashion will make you “identifiable to others”. What we wear constructs an identity of how we want people to view us, Wintour explains how you shouldn’t hold back when deciding what to wear, “let it be unique to yourself”.
I imported the images into Lightroom.Rejecting the images which I do not like.Flagged images.Using the star and colour rating system after developing each image (editing the lighting).Creating virtual copies and editing them into black and white to help with the selection in the book.Final selection of images.
In my final selection I wanted to keep different orientation of images (portrait and landscape) so that I could pick and choose which ones would fir best in the book when I have all my images.
In this shoot I wanted to focus on the landscape and get different angles of the same location in a way trying to tell the story of the landscape. I chose Greve de Lecq because I have some old images from my archive from this location and I wanted to re visit it in the present day focusing on location rather than memories or people.
The lighting in these images is slightly different to what I intended because I wanted a more natural softer light to match my first shoot at St Catherine’s but the weather had changed and the sky was grey. However it is a different location and the images do not look too harsh or high-contrast which can work in the book.
When comparing my images to my artist references this shoot also resembles the work of Shipla Grupta because the focus is on the landscape and she uses similar compositions in her work. When I develop my images further, splitting them and creating double exposures they will relate more to my artist references but for now I am focusing on the compositions and lighting of each image and once I have all my shoots I will start to manipulate them more.
I took images from my own personal family’s photo album of me outside around Jersey. I chose images that have a clear location that I can go back and photograph and certain places that have multiple images. When I go to the locations I will be focusing on the landscape around that certain area. I also chose a few images which did not have other images that matched them, but I picked them with the intention that they could potentially work well alone.
To get them on the computer for editing my photobook I used a tripod which was positioned directly over a blank piece of paper facing downwards towards the ground. I then imported them into Lightroom so that I can edit them.
Cropping each image to get rid of the white boarder.Rotating each image so they are facing the right way.I used the colour ratings to group together the images from the same days so that it was clearer.
These are the best unedited images from my documentary photography shoots for my photo book:
I used Adobe Lightroom Classic to edit these photos;
First i imported the images and rated them 1-5 to organise them:
I then used the develop tab to edit the individual photos. I altered the images to look similar to film photography to resemble the style of Paul M Smith’s project ‘Make my Night’:
These are my best edited images from the documentary shoots:
What role does photography play in celebrity culture?
‘Society beauty, spy and mistress of Napoleon III, was so concerned about her image that she constructed it with her personal photographer’1.
Post card of Lillie Langtry (1880’s)
For my personal photobook project, I wanted to find a topic that I find fascinating and can also be linked to my own identity. Because of this, I decided to investigate how photography affected the lives of celebrities from the past, and how that compares to the role of photography in relation to celebrity culture in modern times. For this essay I will be looking into historical figures such as The Countess De Castiglione and Lillie Langtry. I will compare these figures to a more modern and controversial personality, Kim Kardashian. Celebrity culture and fame can be seen as a very contentious topic for most, especially today, with the newly found trend that is ‘cancel culture’, which can ruin the reputation of celebrities within a day. Photography plays a huge part in the film and social media industry, but whether this is a positive thing can be heavily disputed. For example, some may argue that with the development of technology, capturing important moments in our lives have been made much more accessible and easier than ever before. Sharing images to friends and family online has also had a huge positive impact for people worldwide, especially during the height of Covid. On the other hand, the evolution of photography has become a threat to the careers and lives of many others. Celebrities and those heavily involved in social media are largely at risk with the access of photography to all, as a simple controversial photograph can turn fans against them and even end careers. Contemporary photography can capture anyone at any time with the invention of mobile phones, which can be extremely damaging to those in the public eye. I have looked at the positive and negative effects of the development of photography within the celebrity world, and the issues of photography as a career rather than a hobby. Photography can be seen as an issue when it comes to a way of making money, as some may focus on creating their content as a need to make a living rather than a pastime, meaning they will go to extreme lengths to get their photos, to the extent of ruining a celebrity’s career or even their own life.
‘The Countess De Castiglione’ – Pierre-Louis Pierson (1895)
The Countess of Castiglione (1837-1899), was an Italian aristocrat, who is considered to be an important figure in portrait photography. La Castiglione was brought into disrepute as a mistress of Emperor Napoleon III of France, and became known as an significant icon for portrait photography, she was also widely considered as the most beautiful woman of her day. The Countess had an obsession with her own appearance, she was so obsessed to the point that in her later life she decorated her entire house in the colour black with the blinds drawn and banned mirrors and would only leave her house at night, so she would not have to confront her deteriorating beauty through old age. During her peak of youth, she was photographed over 400 times by Pierre-Louis Pierson and others, causing her to eventually go into debt. These images were taken between 1861 and 1896, with Pierson also taking around 110 images of her son and 5 others of her dogs 2. The Countess used photography to her advantage and had full power over the picture that was made of her and how she was going to be perceived, and were considered as ‘one of the first postmodern portraits’3. La Castiglione controlled nearly the whole process of her modelling, including the title of the image and the camera angle, therefore being in control of her whole image that was to be portrayed into the media. Although the media had little power then compared to now, La Castiglione used it as a form of self-advertisement and self-expression, and stated as someone who ‘was bold enough to appropriate the male gaze for herself’4. She became a popular socialite because of this and attended masked balls and soirées and recreated her looks again within her portraits. She would often ‘flirt with the camera like a fan dancer’5, to achieve a playful yet promiscuous reputation. Following her death, her legacy of a woman of beauty and mystery continued, and a substantial portion of her photographs are kept at the Metropolitan Museum, as well as numerous biographies detailing her life and even a film to further explain her experiences and obsession with beauty. For this reason, she is labelled as an important figure in photographic history, and represents the brighter side of photography and media within the lives of celebrities.
‘Mrs Langtry in “As in a Looking-glass”‘ – Falk, B.J (1887)
Lillie Langtry in ‘Pears Soap’ advertisement (1882)
Another historical figure to feature in the public eye is Lillie Langtry. Lillie Langtry’s story inspired my essay as she is a distant relative to my family from my grandfather’s side, with her birth name being ‘Le Breton’, therefore linking my essay to my own identity. Born in Jersey as Emilie Charlotte Le Breton in the October of 1853, Langtry married and moved to London with her husband, Edward Langtry, in 1876. Langtry became well known in London through her acquaintances and mutual friends, and had multiple painted portraits made of her which became popular on postcards. Through this publicity, Lillie was able to further her career as an actress and featured in plays such as ‘She Stoops to Conquer’ and ‘As You Like It’6. Langtry was also photographed by photographer Rupert Potter whilst she was visiting Scotland. Langtry can be considered as an early example of celebrity endorsement, as she used her huge public profile to endorse products such as cosmetics and soaps, proving her to be a kind of historic ‘influencer’. Soon enough, word of Lillie’s fame reached the Royal Family which led to her era of bad publicity through the media. Langtry was invited to a dinner party with the royals, in which she was sat next to The Prince of Wales, Albert Edward. Edward (who was also married) became infatuated with Langtry, which led to them engaging in an affair of three years. Langtry also had a brief affair with the Earl of Shrewsbury, however this ended due to Langtry’s secret relationships being revealed all over the media in newspapers. Lillie was admired for her astonishing beauty, which lead her to once-in-a-lifetime opportunities for a young girl during her time and this was further celebrated in the media, however, the media started to turn against Langtry once finding out about her affairs with the royals. This led her to be responsible for divorces through those she cared about, and damaging relationships between her and her loved ones. Langtry was left to find her own way in the world and support herself financially, which led her to become an actress, at the suggestion of her good friend, Oscar Wilde. Langtry’s stage career was a success and further projected her to fame, she decided to continue her career in Jersey and even officially opened the current Opera House7 . Lillie Langtry’s story is proof that the history of media, through the use of newspapers, that controversies were quickly forgiven for those they think deserve it. This suggests that photography for the most part still had a positive impact on the lives of celebrities during this century, as ‘pretty privilege’ is most definitely a factor during controversial times. This means that the public do not hold the same standards for all celebrities, and the more attractive are most likely to be forgiven than those who are not.
‘Kim Kardashian’ – Photoshoot for ELLE Magazine (2016)
Kim Kardashian featured in ‘OK! Magazine’
Contemporary photography is considerably more dangerous to the livelihoods of celebrities today. As mentioned before, the invention of mobile phones has become both an advantage and disadvantage to the celebrity world. Theorist Clay Shirky states that the audience now have power to become media producers and to share the content they make8. On a positive note, celebrities can take advantage of this and use the audience as a form of self-promotion. This can be seen when the public post images or videos of interactions with celebrities, and positive interactions being shared online can increase the fan base of the celebrity. However, negative interactions can cause the opposite affect and can lead to the public creating negative connotations with the celebrity, reducing their fanbase. Linking this to the theory of ‘cancel culture’, celebrities are more at risk than ever. ‘Cancel culture’ has become a recent trend in the last few years, and is considered a modern-day form of ostracism in order to hold celebrities accountable to their mistakes. Oftentimes, celebrities are ‘cancelled’ due to the use of racial or homophobic slurs, or being exposed for how they have treated others, and to ‘to suggest that those with fame are only human’. Another addition to the threat of celebrities in terms of photography, Is the role of paparazzi. The job of paparazzi is to pursue celebrities in order to get photographs of them. This means that people working as paparazzi will go to extreme lengths to get these images, and since controversial images sell the most successfully, they are the most desirable due to ‘cancel culture’ articles selling the more than most other stories. ‘Trendy’ celebrities are most at risk as the media surrounds them, celebrities like Kim Kardashian. Although the Kardashian family have been seen in the public eye for years now, they are still very relevant in current times. Kim is seen as an idol for fashion, makeup and for her luxurious lifestyle in general, however the origins of her fame are controversial. Kim was associated with many other celebrities before her own fame; however, she was boosted to fame thanks to her explicit photos and videos that had been leaked through the media. This scenario can prove how dangerous photography can be in the celebrity world and how invasive it can become, however for the Kardashian family it started a domino effect of fame for them, as each member became more famous than the one before. The whole success from the Kardashian family has risen through the use of photography and social media, with promotional photoshoots for their modelling and brands, movie features and their reality show ‘Keeping Up with the Kardashians’. Although the family have had success with the progression of photography, it also carried a lot of negativities in their lives. The stress of constantly being stalked by paparazzi and having their privacy invaded sparks the debate of whether the lives of celebrities are as idyllic as we depict them to be. This debate also shows the negative impact that photography has over the lives of celebrities, and that the role of photography in the celebrity world is equally negative and positive.
When comparing the role of photography throughout history to present times, there is clear similarities and differences. Some of the roles of photography will always stay the same, like using photographs as a form of self-expression and self-advertisement. In the past, photography was a revolutionary form of art, and those who were able to get their photograph taken were considered more important and superior, and their photographs certified this. In modern times, anyone can take a photograph or be photographed, meaning the superiority complex of those who are photographed has been lost; you do not have to be rich or famous to have an image taken of you. However, because of the wide accessibility to photography amongst the public, those who are rich or famous can have their image taken at any time, including in their times of struggle, or perhaps committing actions that could be considered morally wrong. Celebrities must act as though they are always being watched in public to defend and preserve their reputation, which becomes more difficult overtime as technology and cameras develop. The role of photography in modern times within celebrity culture is to catch the good and bad sides of celebrities to sell stories rather than to prove their importance, which was considered it’s role in previous centuries. My images relating to this theme focus more on the role of photography in the past, and to show the model as glamorous and successful. This will be shown through excessive clothing and settings as well as props and professional lighting.
1 G.Badger (2007) ‘Face to Face’ in The Genius of Photography. United Kingdom: Quadrille Publishing Ltd.
2 Wikipedia – Countess of Castiglione
3 G.Badger (2007) ‘Face to Face’ in The Genius of Photography. United Kingdom: Quadrille Publishing Ltd.
4 G.Badger (2007) ‘Face to Face’ in The Genius of Photography. United Kingdom: Quadrille Publishing Ltd.
5 G.Badger (2007) ‘Face to Face’ in The Genius of Photography. United Kingdom: Quadrille Publishing Ltd.
Imported images from shoot 1.Rejecting and selecting images.Filtering out flagged images.Rating using the stars.Rating using the colours.Filtering out the red images for editing.Selecting images using X and Y view to compare and select the best one.Selected images before editing.Using the develop tool to edit.Synchronising settings with similar pictures by pressing sync settings.creating virtual copies and editing those into black and white.Final selection of images.
I wanted to keep similar images within the final selection so that when I construct my photobook and can choose which compositions work better with the other images in the book.
In this shoot I wanted to focus on the landscape and have different perceptions of the heavily photographed places where people usually get an average sunset picture. I did this shoot to get some interesting images to fill the photobook as I do not have any old photos which link to this location but still wanted to include it because as a family we visit St Catherine’s often and is one of the rare moments where we do something all together.
The soft lighting in these images is something I intend on having in all my future images if possible.
When comparing my images to my artist references this shoot resembles the work of Shipla Grupta, because in her project Altered Inheritances- 100 (Last Name) Stories some of the images in the sequences have a similar composition. In certain images she has focused on one thing and photographed that in the centre of the image, making it the clear focal point.
