Overall, I am quite happy with my final prints and the outcome of my personal study. I really liked the composition and juxtaposition of the different images in terms of sizes, content and colours of the pictures. I think the presentation could be worked on as some of the foam board was cut wrong and a few pictures were a little wonky, this is something I will work on next time.
PHOTOSHOOT ONE
Contact sheet:
Best images:
Overall, I was quite happy with how it turned out but I knew there would be a lot of edit to do to make all the images work better together.
Editing:
Final edited photos:
After the editing, I really like how the images turned out and I think they will be a good juxtaposition to the other images that I will be using.
PHOTOSHOOT TWO
Contact sheet:
Best images:
This photoshoot was less successful but the few images I do like I think are very strong.
Editing:
Final edited photos:
Overall, I like the final photos but I think I could’ve achieved a lot more from that photoshoots.
ARCHIEVE PHOTOS
These are all images that I have taken in the last two years
The final edits of the photos I used in the photobook:
“At once child and adult, innocent and sexual, protected and vulnerable, threatened and threat, in the shadows and spot-lit, girlhood occurs as a kind of ongoing moment between two reactive states.” – Claire Marie Healy (2023), ‘Girlhood’
Youth is a time of discovery and self-exploration, marked with a sense of vulnerability and curiosity; whereas femininity encompasses concepts associated with being female, linking emotions and experiences that are unique to women. Despite them being two very different concepts, each helps define the other as every girl grows into a woman. As a result, there has always been a fascination with the teenage years of girls, especially in the 21st century after the rise of social media and the ever-growing list of societal pressures, but the way teenage girls act, dress, speak, or react is still regularly questioned. Two photographers who have explored this in their work are Justine Kurland and Petra Collins, through their images they invite viewers to reflect on their own experiences and perceptions of girlhood while challenging societal norms and expressing their thoughts about the complexities of growing up as a girl.
In an article with ArtForum, Justine Kurland spoke about her inspirations, “I’m always thinking about painting: nineteenth-century English picturesque landscapes and the utopian ideal, genre paintings, and also Julia Margaret Cameron’s photographs. I started going to museums at an early age, but my imagery is equally influenced by illustrations from the fairy tales I read as a child.” – Meghan Dailey (2000), ‘1000 words: Justine Kurland’. Kurland credits a lot of her innovation to Neo-romanticism, an art movement that originated in the 20th century as a reaction against the dominant trends of modernism, it seeks to capture a sense of nostalgia, longing, and idealism; it draws inspiration from the romantic movement of the 19th century which emphasised emotion, individualism, and a connection to nature. Kurland’s photography often features young women in dreamlike and natural settings, her images evoke a sense of exploration and innocence. She uses natural light and soft colours which adds to the romantic and nostalgic atmosphere of her photographs. Whereas Petra Collins’s photographs depict young women in intimate moments, she incorporates elements of surrealism, creating dreamlike qualities that align with the Neo-romantic aesthetic.
Born in New York in 1969, Justine Kurland is a renowned contemporary photographer who is known for her captivating images that explore the themes of youth and femininity. Kurland’s images often depict girls and young women in natural surroundings such as forests, fields, and abandoned urban areas. She seeks to capture the moments of freedom, curiosity, and self-discovery of the girls while still holding onto the innocence of youth in hopes of challenging traditional gender roles and societal expectations placed on young girls. Part of her art is the expression of strength and resilience in her subjects, she portrays them as active agents rather than passive objects. Utilising unconventional situations, Kurland offers a unique perspective on the experiences of young individuals as they navigate their surroundings and identities. Her famous book “Girl Pictures” address the complexities and contradictions of growing up in a society that simultaneously idealises and restricts girls, she highlights different themes of rebellion, vulnerability, and friendship throughout the series of images. The photobook follows American runaway girls as they explore their newfound freedom; the images are visually striking and can allude to a dreamlike aesthetic. Natural light and careful composition are all taken into consideration as a way of creating a powerful visual narrative that invites viewers to reflect on their own experiences of youth and femininity. All the images were taken between 1997 and 2002 yet they feel timeless, Justine got young girls to pose as runaways under highway underpasses or next to neglected lakes, she named them her “standing army”. In an interview with AnOther, Kurland described why she felt it was so important for her to create these images, “– you can create a world for yourself, one that’s bearable to live in. I built on and corrected some of the tropes surrounding the representation of teenagers; these pictures were not solicitous renditions of hypersexualised children.” – Belle Hutton (2020), ‘Girl Pictures: The Story Behind Justine Kurland’s Teenage Runaways Series’
Another photographer whose work delves into the realms of youth and femininity is Petra Collins, born in 1992. Her images and concepts offer a unique perspective on the challenges and experiences faced by young women in today’s society. Collins focuses more on identity, body image, and sexuality while capturing moments that challenge conventional beauty standards. She heavily critiques the ‘male gaze’ and objectification of women and instead uses her work to reclaim agency over female representation. The images question and challenge the norms that have arisen from social media, advertising, and fashion along with encouraging viewers to question their preconceived notions. Through tackling societal issues, she also incorporates the themes of mental health and vulnerability, her images often depict young girls in moments of weakness, and resilience, but also self-discovery as she aims to create a space for reflection. The visually captivating and thought-provoking images that Collins creates are infused with a sense of nostalgia; she incorporates elements of fashion, surrealism, and pop culture while using lighting and colour to enhance the emotional impact of her work. My favourite collection from the Canadian photographer is “The Teenage Gaze”, it includes intimate portraits shot from 2010-2015 of teenage life from a creative adolescent perspective, it is a stereotype-free view of young girls which portrays the raw and unfiltered spirit of girlhood. The expression of her art is built on moments of joy, vulnerability, confusion, and rebellion in a transformative phase of life. Collins spoke about her inspirations in an interview with Vogue, “My goal is just to create images that generate a conversation about things that aren’t spoken about. I want to change the ways young girls look at themselves and the way women at large are looked at…. So, when I was 15 and started working, it was a time when I was going through puberty, and beginning to discover my sexuality and photography and film were a means of working that out.” – Gabriella Karefa-Johnson (2014), ‘Petra Collins on Her New Photography Show “Discharge,” Teenagedom, and the Female Gaze’.
Justine Kurland and Petra Collins explore youth and femininity in their work by rewiring the view on teenage girls, they steer far away from stereotypes without their work being too out of the ordinary. They both depict the realities of growing up as a teenage girl without the sexualisation, instead challenging societal expectations placed on young girls. While Kurland’s work evokes a sense of nostalgia and romanticism, Collins focuses more on identity and body image while critiquing the ‘male gaze’ and the objectification of women. Through their images, these photographers invite viewers to reflect on their own perspectives and experiences of girlhood, while encouraging them to challenge societal norms and pressures that continue to shape the lives of young women today.
Bibliography
Bibliography example:
Toledano, P. (2015), When I was six. Stockport: Dewi Lewis Publishing.
In his text, Toledano writes, ‘if I was alone, no-one else could disappear.’ (Toledano 2015:6)
Essay question:
How have Justine Kurland and Petra Collins explored youth and femininity in their work?
Essay plan:
Make a plan that lists what you are going to write about in each paragraph – essay structure
How have Justine Kurland and Petra Collins explored youth and femininity in their work?
“At once child and adult, innocent and sexual, protected and vulnerable, threatened and threat, in the shadows and spot-lit, girlhood occurs as a kind of ongoing moment between two reactive states.” Claire Marie Healy (2023), ‘Girlhood’
Pictorialism/stage photography
Justine Kurland + staged images of youth and femininity linked to childhood memories
Petra Collins + staged images of youth and femininity
Bate, David (2016) ‘Pictorial Turn’ in Art Photography. London: Tate Galleries.
Dailey, M. (2020) ‘1000 words: Justine Kurland’. ArtForum: https://www.artforum.com/features/1000-words-justine-kurland-162362/
Healy, C. M. (2023) ‘Girlhood’, London: Tate Enterprises Ltd.
https://aperture.org/featured/justine-kurland-girl-pictures/
Hutton, B. (2020) ‘Girl Pictures: The Story Behind Justine Kurland’s Teenage Runaways Series’. AnOther: https://www.anothermag.com/art-photography/12463/justine-kurland-girl-pictures-aperture-rebellious-teenagers-the-runaways-book
Kurland, J. (2020) ‘Girl Pictures’. New York: Aperture.
Quotation and Referencing:
Use Harvard System of Referencing…see PowerPoint: Harvard system of referencing for further details on how to use it.
DRAFT
How have Justine Kurland and Petra Collins explored youth and femininity in their work?
“At once child and adult, innocent and sexual, protected and vulnerable, threatened and threat, in the shadows and spot-lit, girlhood occurs as a kind of ongoing moment between two reactive states.” – Claire Marie Healy (2023), ‘Girlhood’
Youth is a time of discovery and self-exploration, marked with a sense of vulnerability and curiosity; whereas femininity encompasses concepts associated with being female, linking emotions and experiences that are unique to women. Despite them being two very different concepts, each helps define the other as every girl grows into a woman. As a result, there has always been a fascination with the teenage years of girls, especially in the 21st century after the rise of social media and the ever-growing list of societal pressures, but the way teenage girls act, dress, speak, or react is still regularly questioned. Two photographers who have explored this in their work are Justine Kurland and Petra Collins, through their images they invite viewers to reflect on their own experiences and perceptions of girlhood while challenging societal norms and expressing their thoughts about the complexities of growing up as a girl.
In an article with ArtForum, Justine Kurland spoke about her inspirations, “I’m always thinking about painting: nineteenth-century English picturesque landscapes and the utopian ideal, genre paintings, and also Julia Margaret Cameron’s photographs. I started going to museums at an early age, but my imagery is equally influenced by illustrations from the fairy tales I read as a child.” – Meghan Dailey (2000), ‘1000 words: Justine Kurland’. Kurland credits a lot of her innovation to Neo-romanticism, an art movement that originated in the 20th century as a reaction against the dominant trends of modernism, it seeks to capture a sense of nostalgia, longing, and idealism; it draws inspiration from the romantic movement of the 19th century which emphasised emotion, individualism, and a connection to nature. Kurland’s photography often features young women in dreamlike and natural settings, her images evoke a sense of exploration and innocence. She uses natural light and soft colours which adds to the romantic and nostalgic atmosphere of her photographs. Whereas Petra Collins’s photographs depict young women in intimate moments, she incorporates elements of surrealism, creating dreamlike qualities that align with the Neo-romantic aesthetic.
Born in New York in 1969, Justine Kurland is a renowned contemporary photographer who is known for her captivating images that explore the themes of youth and femininity. Kurland’s images often depict girls and young women in natural surroundings such as forests, fields, and abandoned urban areas. She seeks to capture the moments of freedom, curiosity, and self-discovery of the girls while still holding onto the innocence of youth in hopes of challenging traditional gender roles and societal expectations placed on young girls. Part of her art is the expression of strength and resilience in her subjects, she portrays them as active agents rather than passive objects. Utilising unconventional situations, Kurland offers a unique perspective on the experiences of young individuals as they navigate their surroundings and identities. Her famous book “Girl Pictures” address the complexities and contradictions of growing up in a society that simultaneously idealises and restricts girls, she highlights different themes of rebellion, vulnerability, and friendship throughout the series of images. The photobook follows American runaway girls as they explore their newfound freedom; the images are visually striking and can allude to a dreamlike aesthetic. Natural light and careful composition are all taken into consideration as a way of creating a powerful visual narrative that invites viewers to reflect on their own experiences of youth and femininity. All the images were taken between 1997 and 2002 yet they feel timeless, Justine got young girls to pose as runaways under highway underpasses or next to neglected lakes, she named them her “standing army”. In an interview with AnOther, Kurland described why she felt it was so important for her to create these images, “– you can create a world for yourself, one that’s bearable to live in. I built on and corrected some of the tropes surrounding the representation of teenagers; these pictures were not solicitous renditions of hypersexualised children.” – Belle Hutton (2020), ‘Girl Pictures: The Story Behind Justine Kurland’s Teenage Runaways Series’
Another photographer whose work delves into the realms of youth and femininity is Petra Collins, born in 1992. Her images and concepts offer a unique perspective on the challenges and experiences faced by young women in today’s society. Collins focuses more on identity, body image, and sexuality while capturing moments that challenge conventional beauty standards. She heavily critiques the ‘male gaze’ and objectification of women and instead uses her work to reclaim agency over female representation. The images question and challenge the norms that have arose from social media, advertising, and fashion along with encouraging viewers to question their own preconceived notions. Through tackling the societal issues, she also incorporates the themes of mental health and vulnerability, her images often depict young girls in moments of weakness, resilience, but also self-discovery as she aims to create a space for reflection. The visually captivating and thought-provoking images that Collins creates are infused with a sense of nostalgia; she incorporates elements of fashion, surrealism, and pop culture while using lighting and colour to enhance the emotional impact of her work. My favourite collection from the Canadian photographer is “The teenage gaze”, it includes intimate portraits shot from 2010-2015 of teenage life from a creative adolescent perspective, it is a stereotype free view of young girls which portrays the raw and unfiltered spirit of girlhood. The expression of her art is built on moments of joy, vulnerability, confusion, and rebellion in a transformative phase of life. Collins spoke about her inspirations in an interview with Vogue, “My goal is just to create images that generate a conversation about things that aren’t spoken about. I want to change the ways young girls look at themselves and the way women at large are looked at…. So, when I was 15, and started working, it was a time when I was going through puberty, and beginning to discover my sexuality and photography and film were a means of working that out.” – Gabriella Karefa-Johnson (2014), ‘Petra Collins on Her New Photography Show “Discharge,” Teenagedom, and the Female Gaze’.
PETRA COLLINS
“My goal is just to create images that generate a conversation about things that aren’t spoken about. I want to change the ways young girls look at themselves and the way women at large are looked at…. So, when I was 15, and started working, it was a time when I was going through puberty, and beginning to discover my sexuality and photography and film were a means of working that out.”
– Petra Collins with vogue
Petra Collins has been working since she was 17, and over the last 13 years she has explored many creative forms from shooting everyone under the sun to art shows to clothing lines to directing. A photographer, artist and model, Petra became known for her dreamy female lens shooting intimate moments of the teenage years in her home city of Toronto, going on to define a new generation of photographers. There are two of her projects that I want to explore: “the teenage gaze” and “24hr psycho”.
THE TEENAGE GAZE
In “the teenage gaze” by Petra Collins, she explores shared experiences of adolescences from their perspective rather than the stereotypical views, aiming for a ‘fly on the wall’ style. The intimate portraits shot from 2010-2015 takes advantage of the lighting, location, and props within the shots in order to create beautiful imagery.
Collins’ wanted to explore the juxtaposition of the early developmental stages of a girls life and her teenage years. The shift from what is labelled as period of innocence and purity, pretty dolls are shoved into her hands and tiaras placed upon her head transforms into a strange reality of catcalls and the fear that no matter how a girl decides to dress or act, she simply cannot win. If she wears makeup then she is giving into societal beauty standards and if she doesn’t, she simply won’t be pretty enough. “Pretty” is a word that girls learn to strive for before they can understand that they do not have to please anyone other than themselves in order to be beautiful.
24HR PSYCHO
“The constant battle within oneself, having to balance oppositional ideals of virgin, whore, mother. I was depressed at a very young age – mental illness runs in my family, especially on the female side… When we are angry, sad, depressed, or manic, we are immediately seen as unfeminine, or ugly, or weak”
– Petra Collins
For this project, Petra Collins wanted for women to take control of their emotions and to show that emotions should not be ladled as “negative”. It shows young women’s emotions in states of sadness and emotional suffering, moments of vulnerability then become acts of empowerment. Fragility and emotionality are emotions stereotypically associated with the female gender; Petra Collins wants to emphasize these characteristics and wants to show the world what it means to be a girl who lives adolescence today, constantly in contact with social media. These images, deeply intimate and private, face the complex question of a generation that does not know the world and people, if not through a screen.
ANALYSE
I want to explore “girlhood” which is the period when a person is a girl, and not yet a woman, or the state of being a girl. In this I want to delve into what I consider the parts of growing up as a girl (both as child and a teenager), shared experiences, the coming of age memories/moments, friendships, and the societal ideas of femininity. This matters to me because I grew up in a house with 3 brothers so I only had my mother to identify with in my development. Despite my love for dolls and stereotypical ‘feminine’ toys growing up, I would instead find myself playing with cars and sports (stereotypically masculine) with my younger brothers as I spent a lot of my childhood looking after them while my parents worked. To express this project I have thought about many different ways of capturing it: still life close ups made in the studio of personal items or items I link femininity to (childhood teddys, personal cards/notes, beauty products, etc.), and portraits based around friendship (groups of girls hanging out together, helping each other etc) and femininity/growing up (close ups of facial features, hair, wrinkles, etc). These photos will be a mix of documentary and tableaux which I will put in a photobook. I want some images to be very simplistic and structured (close ups), and some to be chaotic and busy (portraits), this is because I want to display the messy way that we grow up (and signifying the ups and down in life). Additionally, I want to try and keep my images faceless (apart from the close ups of faces) so that its not too personal that any girl can identify/relate with the photos.
GIRLHOOD
MIND MAP:
I really enjoyed my project on femininity and masculinity. I liked that there were many different areas and perspectives that I could look into without the project getting repetitive or boring; there was always more I could add and develop. I chose to do portraits for this project but I could very easily add still life images in. Overall, I think the project was a success and I would love to explore it more.
In the project I looked into Claude Cahun, Clare Rae, Francesca Woodman, and Milica Marković which I think gave me a broad understanding of what I could produce and explore in this project. However, I still believe that there is a lot of areas that I can still look into and delve into further. Here are my responses to Milica Marković’s portraits:
My landscape project was very successful and I loved how they turned out. I think my final pieces were very strong and they were good illustrations of the artists I had looked into. Once again, there would be so many areas I can expand on (either different places or different ways of editing). However, I do think I am less likely to explore this theme in my personal study as I think I would be able to be a lot more creative and express the theme of nostalgia a lot better.
I looked into the work of Stephanie Jung and Michael Wolf and these are my responses to their work:
How to use adobe premier pro:
EFFECTS
How to create a fade:
We used a fade at the beginning of the videos (for the first clip and the title) and then again for the last clip before the credits.
As our footage was handle held, some were very shaky, this is how we fixed that:
