Lewis Baltz was a visual artist and photographer who became an important figure in the New Topographic movement of the late 1970s. His work has been published in a number of books, presented in numerous exhibitions, and appeared in museums such as the Museum of Modern Art. Born in Newport Beach, California, Baltz graduated with a BFA in Fine Arts from San Francisco Art Institute in 1969 and held a Master of Fine Arts degree from Claremont Graduate School. He received several scholarships and awards including a scholarship from the National Endowment For the Arts.

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His books and exhibitions, his “topographic work”, such as The New Industrial Parks, Nevada, San Quentin Point, Candlestick Point (84 photographs documenting a public space near Candlestick Park, ruined by natural detritus and human intervention), expose the crisis of technology and define both objectivity and the role of the artist in photographs.

“I never had any profound loyalty to the idea of photography as a medium but simply as the most efficient way of making or recording an image.”

His work is focused on searching for beauty in desolation and destruction. Baltz’s images describe the architecture of the human landscape: offices, factories and parking lots. His pictures are the reflection of control, power, and influenced by and over human beings. His minimalistic photographs in the trilogy Ronde de Nuit, Docile Bodies, and Politics of Bacteria, picture the void of the other.

His work, like that of others associated with the New Topographics, challenges the nineteenth century tradition of western landscape photography represented by Timothy O’Sullivan, Carleton Watkins, and William Henry Jackson by presenting a less innocent view of the landscape. Baltz’s perception of the landscape necessarily reveals the effects of twentieth-century culture and suburban development on the nation’s topography. 

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He published several books of his work including Geschichten von Verlangen und Macht, with Slavica Perkovic. Other photographic series, including Sites of Technology (1989–92), depict the clinical, pristine interiors of hi-tech industries and government research centres, principally in France and Japan. In 1995, the story Deaths in Newport was produced as a book, Baltz also produced a number of video works.

Baltz was shooting in colour and, long before it became accepted practice in the conceptual photography world, was making large-scale prints. He was interested, he said, in representing “the generic European city”. Out of this grew a fascination with digital technology and its uses, not least in surveillance and control. In 1992, he created the monumental Ronde de Nuit installation at the Pompidou Centre in Paris, a series of images printed on Cibachrome panels that together measured 2.1m (7ft) high and 11.9m (39ft) across. 

Link to my project

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Why his work has has influenced me: The message behind his work is very important and I would like this to be reflected in my future personal study as it think that our urban environment is one which should be preserved in its current form, as future industrialisation because of Jersey’s increasing population means that there is a threat that our natural island will look significantly different in the future, with not as much of out natural landscapes left. I think the fact that Baltz that was about to visually communicate a problem that was occuring throughtout the world is quite inspirational, and the fact that these issues are still going on today means that these images are easy to create.

What I like about his work: I think that the simplicity of his work makes him more memorable and along with the monochromatic photography, this makes more unique pieces. I also like that for this time this type of photography was to demonstrate the affects of mankind on the natural environment and his work demonstrates this well as the builders are the main focal point of the images. I think that Lewis Baltz work is some of my favourite as it links in with the theme of Anthropocene, which is linked to my most successful project in photography so far. He mainly focuses on urban landscapes which was has been amongst my favourite photoshoots I have done so far. I think that’s important to note that some of my work will be taking a lot of inspiration from Baltz and the other parts will be using heavily editing to make these structures look they are not manmade at all.

Image Analysis

I have selected this image to analyse as I think the overall composition of the image is one of its main strengths, as it means that the silhouette of the mountain is the background of the image and that the main houses in the front create a focal point for the image. Furthermore, I think the lighting of this image brings and all of its features and makes it more cohesive as the lighting from under the roof trim of the house means that strong shadows are created, as the brightness of the lighting in the sky creates contrast between it and the outline of the mountains. Additionally, I think that the clarity of the image makes it stand out more as the details in the brickwork of the building and even the blinds in the windows creates contrast. This is shown as theres lots of details within the foreground of the photograph and this lack in the background, however this is not a negative as it demonstrates the rule of thirds, as the pavement, housing and mountains/ skyline and very clearly separated in this piece. It’s also important to note how important the different shapes and lines are within this image, as the vertical lines contradicts with the horizon created but the mountain, and the squares and rectangles contrast with the smooth natural landscape. This is a good example of The New Topographic’s work as their is a manmade contrast created with the lighting in this image, as a somewhat natural contrast between the housing and landscape further away in the image.

There are three island territories within the British Isles that are known as Crown Dependencies; these are the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey which make up Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man. The Crown Dependencies are not part of the United Kingdom, but are self-governing possessions of the British Crown. The three Crown Dependencies have their own varying forms of self-administration, although the United Kingdom government is responsible for certain areas of policy such as defence and foreign affairs. The King’s special relationship with the Crown Dependencies is reflected by the titles he has in them.

The Channel Islands were part of the Duchy of Normandy when Duke William, following his conquest of England in 1066, became William I. In 1106, William’s youngest son Henry I seized the Duchy of Normandy from his brother Robert; since that time, the English and subsequently British Sovereign has held the title Duke of Normandy. By 1205, England had lost most of its French lands, including Normandy. However, the Channel Islands, part of the lost Duchy, remained a self-governing possession of the English Crown.

What do you want to explore?

In my personal study, I want to explore my immediate family, specifically the women I grew up with. I want to explore the generational female identity of the women in my family, the unique relationship they each have with the island, their life experiences, and their relationships with me. I want to try and photograph and respond to the complex relationships between mothers and daughters, but through multiple generations.

Why it matters to you?

Photographing my grandma and my mum is important to me as they are the two most important people in my life. My mum brought me up with no help and the presence of strong women has always been something present in my life, which is why I wanted to focus on it for my personal study. I want to document my experiences of growing up with only women around me, telling a story of my life so far as well as my grandmother’s and my mum’s. I think I have had quite a unique upbringing with the strong influence of women in my life, and I want to show this in my work.

https://www.hannahaltmanphoto.com/indoorvoices#28 An artist I am inspired by for this project, who documents the delicate relationship between a mother and daughter – Hannah Altman and her project “Indoor Voices.”

How do you wish to develop your project?

I am going to develop my project with lots of different types of shoots and ideas. I want to develop my project from my previous work photographing my mum and grandmother, which I think was my most successful work so far. I enjoyed photographing my family and it made the process a lot more enjoyable as I was producing work with personal meaning. I would like to produce multiple series of portraits of my mum and grandmother, in their homes and places significant to them and their lives in Jersey. I also want to use archive images as part of my project, which is something I included in my last project with my family which I loved. I want to create images of important places for my family as well, such as my home and my grandmother’s. As well as photographing landscapes, I want to photograph closer-up still-life images of particular things in my house as well as my grandmother’s, specifically things linked closely to family and personal identity.

Humour, intimacy, and sincerity: celebrating family photography

I also want to conduct interviews with both members of my family on the subject of family, and also other things related to my project. I will do these handwritten, so I can include them in my photo book and create photo collages. Photocollages are a medium which I love to use in my photography and have been previously successful in my past work on family, and I want to develop this in my personal study. I want to incorporate the words and ideas from my interviews with my family into my later work, both to help me with the direction of my shoots and also actually include them in photomontages.

Below is a link to my previous photomontage work, an example of successful outcomes on the idea of family previous to this personal study.

Final Images

As well as this, I am interested in the idea of having my family write on images of themselves and each other, and contrasting the ideas they write of each other and themselves. This is inspired by the photographer Jim Goldberg, who used this technique in his projects, specifically Raised by Wolves, and Rich and Poor. This inspired me as the subject’s opinion of a photo of them or someone else in the project is often overlooked, and I think in my documentation of family, this is an interesting way of showing relationships and different feelings towards ourselves and each other.

When and where do you intend to begin your study?

For my personal study, I want to begin by gathering images of my own home and my grandmother’s home, as well as objects within the home more closely. After that, I then plan to begin portraits of my mother and grandmother, both separately and then together. An important part of my family is the relationship between the two, and I want to include a series of the two together in my grandmother’s house. It is tricky when photographing your own family, and am doing some research into the problems that can occur when doing this. So far, I have read this article, which I found super helpful.

https://witness.worldpressphoto.org/the-ethics-of-documenting-your-own-family-7225ca8bd59a

I am thinking of starting with photographing around the homes which I’m focusing on because this will familiarlise me with the light in both my house and my grandmother’s, and will also help me to gain inspiration for places to shoot in both homes and the further direction of the project. Another starting point for my project is starting with portraits, specifically double portraits. The idea is that I could include myself in these portraits, to produce outcomes all 3 generations of women in my family in front of the camera. This will be challenging as I haven’t made self – portraits before, but it is something I’m willing to try. If it doesn’t turn out well, I still can show all 3 generations but without me in front of the camera.

Make sure you describe how you interpret the theme of ‘islandness’, the subject matter, topic or issue you wish to explore, artists’ references/ inspirations and outcome – photobook or film. 

What makes Jersey special to you?

Jersey is special to me because of the way it influences Identity. I think that my family, the focus of my project, have especially been influenced by Jersey – the environment, the attitudes towards things here, the way they act and their interests. I think Jersey has unique characteristics and attitudes towards things, making it very special to me.

What are the distinct qualities of island life?

There are lots of defining qualities of island life in my opinion. For example there is a strong sense of community in the island, within different cultures and parishes. Furthermore, in Jersey there are outstanding areas of natural beauty which make the island unique.

A sense of place and identity?

For a lot of islanders, there are specific places that feel at home to them. This may be a beach, a parish, a home or even within a community. These places give comfort and hold strong memories for Jersey residents and are crucial parts of many people’s identities.