There are many theories of photography, ways of interpreting the meaning of photographs. When we say that it is important to be visually literate (or media literate or even photo literate) we mean that it is useful, in a world that is saturated by visual media, to have some tools with which to interrogate images of various sorts. When it comes to the essence of photographic images, the direct relationship between the photograph and the object photographed is reliant on the light that passes from one to the other. This is sometimes called an “indexical” relationship. The word comes from the American philosopher Charles Sanders Pierce whose work on semiotics (the study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation) was first published in the 1930s. He identified three types of sign: indexical, iconic and symbolic. He referred to photographs as examples of indexical signs because of their direct physical relationship to the thing photographed.

The camera does more than just see the world; it is also touched by the world. Light bounces off an object or a body and into the camera, activating a light-sensitive [surface] and creating an image. Photographs are therefore designated as indexical signs, images produced as a consequence of being directly affected by the objects to which they refer. It is as if those objects reached out and impressed themselves on the physical surface of the photograph, leaving their visual imprint…
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— Geoffrey Batchen, photo-historian

Of course, not all photographs represent objects as they look to our eyes. Writers like Susan Sontag and André Bazin recognise that, despite various kinds of distortion (out of focus, discoloured etc.) all photographs offer a kind of proof that something happened. Other writers prefer the word “trace” to describe how photographs work. Alan Trachtenberg, for example, uses the example of a shadow and a footstep as an analogy for photographs. A shadow is an indexical sign, directly related to the object and the light. A footstep, however, is an “iconic” sign that resembles its object but does not have a material connection to it. It is the trace of a human presence having left a mark on the land. A drawing of a person has a similar relationship. It is also a trace.

​Take a look at these photographs. Think about them in terms of the directness of their relationship to the things photographed. How do these images capture light and how does this affect our relationship to them? 

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What is a photograph?

This question cuts to the heart of the matter. There have been numerous attempts to define photography once and for all but these have inevitably either neglected peculiar examples or been superseded by developments in practice. Perhaps it’s only possible to assert that the one common denominator of all photographs is that they rely on radiant energy (light, x-rays, gamma rays or cosmic rays) for their existence. As we have seen, a camera is most definitely optional. Much more than this is difficult to to say.

In 2014, the International Centre for Photography in New York held an exhibition with the title ‘What is a Photograph?‘. The exhibition explored experimental photography since the 1970s, including artists who have “reconsidered and reinvented the role of light, colour, composition, materiality, and the subject in the art of photography”. These experiments are, in part, a response to the digital revolution and the role that digital technology now plays in photography. This has prompted a renewed interest in analogue photography and the hybrid creations generated when analogue and digital collide. Criticism of the show drew attention to backward-looking, fine arty-ness and abstraction of the images on display. 

The show doesn’t answer the question [What is a photograph?]. Rather, it brings together works from the past four decades by 21 artists who have used photography to ponder photography, leaving viewers to figure it out for themselves […] Several artists are committed to the processes and materials of the nearly obsolete darkroom […] It’s a strangely blinkered and backward-looking show. Nearly all the work on view has more to do with photography’s past than with its possible future.
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— Ken Johnson

Take a look at some of the work featured in the show. Follow the links to find out more about the artists/photographers. What do you think?

Writer Jacob King is also troubled by this kind of photography exhibition in which photographs are displayed as works of art, like paintings or sculptures:

the gap between the photographic “objects” on view here and the myriad ways that photographs exist and circulate today is almost comical. While the exhibition included a number of interesting works, a viewer could walk through the show without ever knowing that a photograph could be viewed on a cell phone, that it could exist as a digital file, that it could circulate on the internet, that it could be tagged, or even that it could frame and reproduce something which was once before the camera’s lens (let alone that it might exist in an application like Snapchat.) ​

Photography finds itself at a crossroads. As analogue processes become obsolete and photography culture becomes ever more digital, photographs themselves are becoming increasingly dematerialised and more technologically sophisticated. Digital photographs are computational images and their relationship to reality is more complex than that of photogram or black and white film negative. Photographs in the future may look very different to those of today. They may include much more information than simply the activity of radiant energy. 

The revolutionary change in photography’s cultural presence wasn’t led by photographers, nor publishers or camera manufacturers but by telephone engineers, and this process will repeat as business grasps the opportunities offered by new technology to use visual imagery in extraordinary new ways, throwing us into new and wild territory. It’s happening already and we’ll see the impact again and again as new apps, products and services hit the market. We owe it to the medium that we’ve nurtured into adolescence to stand by it and support it in adulthood even though it might seem unrecognisable in its new form. We know the alternative: it will be out the door and hanging with the wrong crowd while we sit forlornly in the empty nest wondering what we did wrong. The first step is to stop talking about the child it once was and to put away the sentimental memories of photography as we knew it for all these years. It’s very far from dead but it’s definitely left the building.
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​– Stephen Mayes

Inspirations and Resources

In this fascinating video, artist Marco Breuer reflects on the unique qualities of photographic paper and the possibilities that this material can offer. Breuer highlights that while photographic paper is usually labelled ‘light-sensitive’ it also remains sensitive to other forms of manipulation.

Some questions to consider:

• How do you use photographs in your everyday life?
• Do you see any connection between everyday photography and the subject you study for A level?
• What do you think photographs will be like in 30 years time?
• What will photographs enable us to ‘see’ in the future?
• Will photographs in the future continue to be physical objects?
• Will people still be using cameras as we now know them?
• Will we still need categories like art, photography or film in the future?

Wall (1948) is eager to challenge preconceived notions and expectations, also about his own work. Days before the opening of the exhibition Jeff Wall: Tableaux Pictures Photographs 1996-2013, the artist and curator of photography Hripsimé Visser stroll through the exhibition and discuss clichés, fact and fiction around his work. This video introduces the exhibition at the Stedelijk and casts a light on Wall’s sometimes mystical and at the same time monumental photography and method which moves between reminiscence, mise en scene and realism.

TASK 1: 1000 word essay answering the following question:
What is a photograph: an index or a trace?

Read the following three texts:
Batchen G (2007). ‘Introduction’ in The Genius of Photography: How photography has changed our lives. London: Quadrille Publishing Ltd.

Sontag, S. (1977), In Plato’s Cave, On Photography. London: Penguin Books

Campany, D. (2020). ‘Introduction’ in On Photographs. London: Thames & Hudson

NB: look up my text written for students newspaper on indexicality – G Batchen, Stephen Bull, D Campany

Realism/ fiction

Follow these instructions:

1. Read two texts above and select 3 quotes form each that is relevant to your essay.
2. Select two images, one that represent a mirror and another that represents a window as examples to use in your essay.
3. Use some of the key words that you listed above to describe what the mirrors and windows suggest.
   

Essay plan
Introduction (250 words): Reflect on the origin of photography and describe in your own words the difference between the two photographic processes, Daguerreotype and Calotype. Consider how they could be viewed as either a mirror or a window of the world according to John Szarkowski’s thesis. Choose one quote from Szarkowski’s text and comment if you agree or disagree.

Paragraph 1 (250 words): Choose an image that in your view is a mirror and analyse how it is a subjective expression. Choose one quote from Szarkowski’s thesis and another from Farrah Karapetian’s analysis which is opposing Szarkowski’s original point of view. Make sure you comment to advance argumentation in providing perspective.

Paragraph 2 (250 words): Choose an image that in your view is a window and analyse how it is an objective expression. Choose one quote from Szarkowski’s thesis and another from Farrah Karapetian’s analysis and follow similar procedure as above ie. two opposing points of view and commentary to provide a critical perspective.

Conclusion (250 words): Refer back to the essay question and write a conclusion where you summarise Szarkowski’s theory and Karapetian’s critique of his thesis. Describe differences and similarities between the two images above and their opposing concepts of objectivity and subjectivity.

TASK 2: Within the genre of portraiture, produce a set of 3 images that are ‘mirrors’ (subjective) and 3 images that are ‘windows’ (objective).
Add images to your essay as photographic responses to Szarkowski’s thesis and evaluate. Publish on the blog

DEADLINE: Tue 2 May
Publish essay and your photographic responses

Carolle Benitah is a French Moroccan photographer whose work focuses primarily on family, memories, and the passing of time. She often adds hand embellishment to old family snapshots such as embroidery, beading, and ink.

“Bénitah seeks to reinterpret her own history as daughter, wife, and mother.” ^{(Sous Les Etoiles Gallery. Carolle Benitah. Biography)}

Carolle Benitah’s portraits often obscures the faces of figures featured – she uses this to suggest estrangement and distance which she uses to reclaim her history and past. She works into very old photos of her which I think adds an sense of reflection to her work and growing older.

Carolle Benitah uses photomanipulation to distort the figures in her images and add things previously not there. “Through the trivial objects that I create and embroider, I overthrow the hierarchy of the arts.”  Benitah uses the common domestic practice of embroidery to combat how family and her individual experience should be looked at. Benitah’s use of domestic practices to show estrangement instead of close familial relationships that are often associated with embroidery and the passing down of such practice through generations – her use of photomanipulation is a mirror of her family life and isolation. She uses thread to represent her feelings on her childhood and complicated family relations rejecting expectations pushed on to her specifically from being a young girl in the 1970’s –

I want to use archive images in this same way to reflect on my past now with the hindsight of having grown older and moving away.

A large amount of my work for this project is taken from archive images with the intent of manipulating them with the same approach as Carolle Benitah, However I plan on creating new images of landscapes and portraits.

explain what your story is in 3 words, a sentence and a paragraph:

Relationships, Loss, Reflection

Reflecting on loss of familiarity and people.

I want to explore how moving from where i have grown up has impacted my life, whilst also adjusting to and finding beauty in a new place. I want this book to primarily focus on family and my relationships with them whilst growing up.

Design: Overveiw

• I want the book to follow at least one primary colour throughout in this case I think blue as i want the ocean to be representative of the physical divide between me and where I was from
• I want standard glossy paper and all images will be printed on and i want them to look best
• The photobook will be fairly small as i think smaller items lend better to the feeling of sentimentality i also think this project is ‘quiet’ whilst still being interesting it doesn’t need to be large and ‘ in your face’
• I’m going to use a hard back cover as I much prefer the quality and it will better preserve the smaller book.
• ‘When we meet again’ is the title of my photobook i wanted to choose something sentimental that also invokes this feeling of longing for the past
• I do not want the images to be accompanied by any text I’d much prefer to keep it simple.

I decided to do a small square book – I preferred the square format to others as it made 2 page spreads easier.

Opening pages – with bird illustration.

I used the double page spreads to display my edited landscape images as they had smaller details that I wanted to be visible.

How does the work of Francesca Woodman and Carolle Benitah explore isolation through self-portraiture?

Introduction

Isolation is something that we have all experienced in our lifetimes, whether from acquaintances or environments, we have all lived estranged; the work of Francesca Woodman and Carolle Benitah perfectly explores this relationship with loneliness in how they present themselves through self–portraiture. Much of Woodman’s work can be seen as surrealist and unconventional for 1970s photography. “Even when wholly present in the picture as the subject of her self-portraits, Woodman is never quite with us, never quite with herself.” She often uses this Surrealist landscape she has created to maintain a sense of escapism throughout her work. Similarly, Benitah uses Photomanipulation to change the outward appearance of herself in relation to family and heritage. When looking at these two photographers it is important to consider that they are both women photographing themselves, and how the perceptions of their work may be skewed as a result. “In the past, photographs of women were made by men for a capitalist economy to favour the male gaze and feed female competitiveness.”  When viewing Woodman and Benitah’s work it is apparent it was not made with the objectification of their bodies in mind but made with the intent of reflecting on their experiences as people and women specifically the isolation that may come from that.

Significance of self-portraiture

The first known self-portrait photograph was taken in 1939 by Robert Cornielius using a camera obscura, later this was developed into a daguerreotype invented by Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre that greatly increased detail captured and reduced the time needed for a subject to sit. Previously photographic portraits were only made by those with wealth and the correct equipment. As photography became more accessible as did the practice of self-portraiture. Self Portraits especially photographic are often viewed with the assumption of being an act of self-indulgence and vanity but when viewing the work of Woodman and Benitah it is apparent that this is not always the case. “The reality is that any attempt at critically examining a concept of self in a wider social context is treated as taboo, as self-indulgence. We may look in the mirror only to check our appearance, not to see through it.” Woodman’s photographs whilst they do have an aesthetic quality are less about her participation within them and instead the overall atmosphere created by the presence of her body, she is consistently unaccompanied in her photographs however she successfully obscures her face and figure through low exposures disconnecting herself as the subject creating an isolating image of pure escapism, Woodman explains her place within her images “Am I in the picture? Am I getting in or out of it? I could be a ghost, an animal or a dead body, not just this girl standing in the corner?”  Whilst Woodman explains her occupancy in many of her photographs as “A matter of convenience” Putting yourself in front of a camera is mental decision and an inherent expression of vulnerability and therefore self – showing that Woodman perhaps feels isolated from her own body and experiences.

Carolle Benitah’s use of herself within her work is to observe her past and combat her history. “The photos reawakened an anguish of something both familiar and totally unknown … I decided to explore the memories of my childhood to help me understand who I am and to define my current identity.” She manipulates archive images of herself with family, however many of her family photographs contain large groups of people and it is never made apparent where and who Benitah is in each image – this works to express her theme of finding herself whilst simultaneously being unable to move away from her ‘roots’ and expected family dynamics. Benitah’s most well-known work ‘Photo Souvenirs’ is made up of three parts that correspond with three stages of life: “Enfance,” “Adolescence,” and “Adulte” compiling images of herself and family at all stages using self-portraiture as a form of documentation. The nature of the images are unsettling, family often being something we think of fondly she uses a harsh black and white when contrasted with the red of her threads to show that something is off creating a sense of dread and discomfort instead of nostalgia – The overcrowding of the pictures no longer feels homely and instead claustrophobic.

How can their work be seen a surrealist?

Surrealism as an art and cultural movement emerged in 1920s Paris around the theories of André   Breton in the aftermath of World War One as a rejection of seeing the world rationally; it originally grew out of the earlier Dada movement that was characterised by its ‘anti-art’ a nihilistic approach to creating an ‘anti-aesthetic’ that defied all earlier art focusing on darker more taboo topics such as dreams, desires, and death. Surrealism focused on expressing the shifted perceptions of sanity and reality after the violence of the war. Photography came with a new challenge to the surrealist movement whilst painters could pull straight from imagination Photographers found new ways of manipulating images to achieve this aesthetic. Woodman’s work can now be called surrealist with the benefit of hindsight, in trying to appraise her work and fit it into the vast history of artistic practice it is easy to forget that woodman was a young not yet fully realised artist having committed suicide at the age of twenty-two. “We should never let go of the fact that these pictures were first created by a schoolgirl, then a student and in the end a young woman.” Woodman was still absorbing the influences around her, and we often make the mistake of viewing her work as fully complete, meaning that we ignore the raw experimentation of her photographs. Whilst her images are uniquely her own, through her use of objects inspirations such as Man Ray can be seen mimicking his use of props to create narrative. Woodman came from a family full of artists and was consistently encouraged to create, later developing an interest in mythology, you can see this fantastical element in images such as her creation of imagined landscapes places her as the main subject out of any clear time period, making her images confusing and alienating. Woodman uses commonplace domestic objects in bizarre ways to obscure herself and create uncanny haunting images.

Carolle Benitah similarly can have her work applied to the conventions of surrealism with her use of photomanipulation to distort the figures in her images and add things previously not there. “Through the trivial objects that I create and embroider, I overthrow the hierarchy of the arts.”  Benitah uses the common domestic practice of embroidery to combat how family and her individual experience should be looked at. Themes throughout her work could also be called surrealist focusing on the rejection and estrangement from family an often taboo topic that is not explored in conventional art.

Representation of Women within their work

Throughout history women have been given a very specific way they should be perceived and fit into art – often something to look at instead of understand. It is recent that there has been an acknowledgement of this place women occupy within visual media. “We see photographs of women everyday, but we are used to looking at them in a few specific contexts: on products and billboards, in shop windows and magazine covers, in erotica and pornography.” Women’s bodies have now become a representation of consumerism – something to be looked at and associated with pleasure but never attached to human emotion. Most portraits of women were exclusively made by men until recently when many female photographers have become more present in mainstream media and photographs of women taken by women are now commonplace with the accessibility of modern photography. There is sentiment pushed onto many images of women created by women that it is an act of feminism, that these images are made to directly disobey the notion of the patriarchy and male dominated spaces, this in turn highlights societies issues with viewing women in art – as soon as a depiction of a women does not adhere to the preconceived ‘rules’ of how women have been depicted in media throughout history, the image is labelled as ‘feminist’ and is then often written off by the male consumerist gaze refusing to understand the image as an depiction of humanity instead of a display of ‘femininity’. “If we aren’t able to see more than an expression of feminism or femininity in a photograph of a female figure, how can we expect to see more than this when we encounter women elsewhere?”.

 When looking at the work of Francesca Woodman and Carolle Benitah its important to acknowledge that they are both women using themselves as primary subject. Much of Woodman’s photographs are of herself nude however often her face is obscured by an object or blurred by low exposure and slow shutter speed creating a representation of detachment between mind and body. Woodman drew large amounts of inspiration from gothic literature and art, this influence can be seen in how she posed and used her body to imitate women within the gothic genre – Famously being filled with tropes of damsels in distress. “Feminist scholars scrutinizing nineteenth- century  Gothic texts could see within their representations of femininity the effects of patriarchal structures.” Looking at works such as ‘The Nightmare’ by Henri Fuseli we can see how Woodman takes inspiration and recreates the poses of women that can be seen as vulnerable using them instead to represent herself and her mind in strange and uncanny ways. Woodman’s use of her body is outside of gender she often uses her figure to put space into perspective within her work – using her body more as a tool to take up space- young women are often taught to avoid ‘taking up space’ Woodman’s work would not exist without her physical body and is therefore in direct defiance with the notion of women being ‘seen and not heard’ which was a strong push back to the feminist movement in the 1970’s.

Carolle Beitah’s work reflects on her experiences as a young girl, a young woman, and then a fully-fledged adult. Many details within her work “echo the tense social and gender relationships of Benitah’s childhood and reflect the cultural expectations for young women in the 1960’s and ‘70s.” Benitah’s use of embroidery and commonly domestic objects reflect these expected gender roles whilst being used as defiance to these expectations from her family.  “I use the falsely decorative function of embroidery to give it a different meaning than it had in family mythology.”

 Benitah’s ‘Chez le photographe / at the photographer (2009)’ depicts a happy family portrait of Benitah and her siblings.  She has almost completely covered her older brothers face with red dots – leaving only his mouth and chin, whilst her and her sisters are uncovered apart from their mouths sew shut with the same red thread. Benitah does this to represent the silence that is often expected of young women whilst young men can take up space and conversation without scrutiny.

Conclusion

In conclusion Both the work of Francesca Woodman and Carolle Benitah explore Isolation in different ways. Woodman uses self-portraiture to highlight that she is the sole person within the image reflecting herself and her inner state. Whilst Benitah’s crowded family photographs use subject matter and photomanipulation to invoke a feeling of solidarity. Woodman uses objects to make the viewer question the narrative behind the image and look closer to understand Woodman’s inspirations, Woodman is always with an object but never with another person within her images adding to the growing sense of loneliness throughout her work. Like woodman Carolle Benitah takes commonplace household objects and practices and use them within a new context to directly defy their preconceived connotations. Benitah’s use of domestic practices to show estrangement instead of close familial relationships that are often associated with embroidery and the passing down of such practice through generations – her use of photomanipulation is a mirror of her family life and isolation. Both Woodman’s and Benitah’s do not adhere to the male gaze and instead explore their experiences as young women often discussing topics outside of gender focusing on human experience with isolation. Woodman treats her gender as irrelevant within her work focusing purely on the existence of a body within her created spaces attempting to transcend societies notions of what she should be. Benitah instead focuses on the often toxic expectations of her as a young woman growing up in her household and the shared experience of many young girls and children isolated from their family.

Bibliography

Jansen. C Girl On Girl : Art And Photography In The Age Of The Female Gaze (2017)

Healy. C . M Girlhood (2023)

Townstead. C Francesca Woodman (2006)

Kelly. A Self Image in Wells . L The Photographic Reader

Carolle Bénitah – Tique | publication on contemporary art

Five things to know: Francesca Woodman | Tate

Surrealist photography · V&A (vam.ac.uk)

The Intricately Decorative Yet Deeply Emotional Work of Carolle Benitah | Artsy

Carolle Benitah | French Moroccan photographer (souslesetoilesgallery.net)

Link to final book – Jilted Generation

This is my final photobook; titles twos a crowd

Here’s a link to my photobook Soul sisters

Here is a link to my photobook, Left Behind.

Final Layout –