The connection between man and car is far more special than what the eye can see, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. When one is in control of a car, there exists a greater bond between the two, where the car’s built purpose is in action, and the driver instinctively manoeuvres the car, sometimes perfectly balancing the thin line of the car’s limitations. This connection is not just a physical connection, but an innate response to the forces that the car’s mechanical functions impose. Whether you are a regular driver on the road, or a rally driver with a performance-optimised car, it is this innate response that ultimately determines every movement that the car makes. This is arguably one of the most important aspects of the relationship that a driver develops with their car, and it is from here that the relationship cultivates. It is here, where the car becomes animate and feels alive, where a driver becomes enwrapped and connected with a car, that the car’s soul is found. This is something that people who are not interested in cars do not understand. A quote by Jeremy Clarkson sums this up perfectly, “It’s what non-car people don’t get. They see all cars as just a ton and a half, two tons of wires, glass, metal, and rubber, and that’s all they see. People like you or I know we have an unshakable belief that cars are living entities… You can develop a relationship with a car and that’s what non-car people don’t get…”. In this essay, I want to explore the many ways one can develop a relationship with a car, and how this relationship is directly reflected in the car’s soul. To demonstrate this photographically, I will first analyse the infamous rally photographer Maurice Selden, and show how his photographs visibly express the souls of the rally cars he captured.

Jeremy Clarkson (2009). – Interview from “Love the Beast” (released March 12, 2009), a documentary made by Eric Bana, Pickup Truck Pictures (production)

Essay Introduction Draft:

 ‘The duty thus falls upon the snapshooter not to just ‘save’ moments, but to ‘immortalise’ the people who they photograph’ (Bull 2009:92) 

The notion of family is a theme that is closely exhibited within photography from a multitude of perspectives, ranging from the demonstration of healthy relationships, to more negative storytelling through nostalgic cues, being that ‘a photograph can be a site for conflicting memories’ Kuhn (2003:397). Photographers like Yury Toroptsov and Philip Toledano use conceptual methods in their work in order to implicitly give away clues about the events of their childhood. These events are centred around the memory and loss of immediate family, as well as attempts to transform an emotive notion into singular images, for example a visual representation of an intangible feeling. My personal study focuses on the difficulties and struggles of growing up with a family member who, over time, deteriorates from gaining a mental illness, this being my brother who has Bipolar disorder.

I find an analysis of Toroptsov and Toledano to be most appropriate here as my work resonates with theirs in a relative manner, allowing me to convey the difficulties of grieving someone who is still alive yet not who they once were. A dominating factor, however, lies in the direct contrast between Toledano’s project of ‘When I Was Six’ against Toroptsov’s work entitled ‘Deleted Scene’. Toledano’s project inhabits a dark tone throughout the photobook where he depicts archival material from his older sister’s life, Claudia, before she died in childhood, and characterises these images through ethereal dream-like images in between to represent disorientated emotions. I found that his still-life images of childhood keepsakes of which belonged to Claudia were able to create tension within his storytelling which is what I aim to do in my own work in order to depict life before my brother fell unwell to enable my viewer to follow the narrative in a chronological way and learn at a vulnerable perspective. Additionally, I wanted to interpret his ethereal images, which can be seen to resemble fluidity of emotion, into a more domestic setting by using a relatively low exposure and low angles. Alternatively, Toroptsov expresses echoes of his father within his home town of Russia in the form of ambiguous images through the formal elements and zooming into the more discrete patterns in his surroundings. I wanted to manipulate this into my work by showing the echoes of my brother in the areas of which we once shared pleasant childhood memories, yet these are sites of nostalgia and grief now. This obscurity that Toroptsov employs will allow me to be subjective and add a morose tone to my images.

The idea ‘snapshots did not reinforce the positive messages of the images, but instead went ‘beyond’ the album to fill in what the photographs did not record: negative memories’ (Bull 2009:94) is something I am also inhabiting in my work through the use of archived images of my brother in childhood and creating digitised alterations to further pursue this idea of change from the person he was remembered as. I looked at the work of Carolle Benitah for this concept as one of my artist references as she redefines herself by using her own archived images from family albums in order to symbolise and hint at different events of her life.

Bibliography:

Bull, S. (2009), ‘Phototherapy: The Family Album and Beyond’ in Photography, London: Routledge 

Kuhn, A. ‘Remembrance: The Child I Never Was’ in Wells, L. (ed) (2003) The Photography Reader. London: Routledge 

Essay question: How are women portrayed in art by the work of Helmut Newton in comparison to the work of Cindy Sherman’s untitled film stills?

• Introduction (250-500 words): What is your area study? Which artists will you be analysing and why? How will you be responding to their work and essay question?

The representation of gender roles and stereotypes have been interpreted in multiple ways and in many different forms throughout history. As a society, the world has begun to slowly adjust its ways and modernise values upon women into an equal balance between genders. However, along the way artists and photographers have shone light onto areas of society and media which demoralize and objectify the female gender for others’ gratification. Traditional gender stereotypes have been criticized and modified as individuals fight for attention to their true and deeper self instead of reducing them to mere physical appearances, By exploring how women are portrayed in art by different photographers throughout time, I am able to shine light on different views and interpretations from artists, both past and present. “Photographs alter and enlarge our notions of what is worth looking at and what we have the right to observe.” (reference quote using Harvard system of referencing) This quote portrays the purpose of exploring human perception of the world and highlighting the beauty in appreciating the smaller details that are essential to be exposed otherwise might go unnoticed by us as a society. This quote relates to my work as I am focusing on an area of the world which raises ethical and philosophical questions around the topics of overstepping a boundary and distorting female identities and worth to fit narrow beauty standards.

(in the introduction you need to describe which artists and their work you will be investigating and how you will be responding to their work producing new images – see points below)

• Think about an opening that will draw your reader in e.g. you can use an opening quote that sets the scene. Or think more philosophically about the nature of photography and its feeble relationship with reality.
• You should include in your introduction an outline of your intention of your study, e.g.
• What are you going to investigate?
• How does this area/ work interest you?
• What are you trying to prove/challenge, argument/ counter-argument?
• Whose work (artists/photographers) are you analysing and why?
• What historical or theoretical context is the work situated within?
• What links are there with your previous studies?
• What have you explored or experimented with so far in your photography project?
• How will your work develop.
• What camera skills, techniques or digital processes have you used, or going to experiment with?

• Pg 1 (500 words): Historical/ theoretical context within art, photography and visual culture relevant to your area of study. Make links to art movements/ isms and some of the methods employed by critics and historian. 

The idea of ‘The Male Gaze’ was introduced by Laura Mulvey who explored this concept of the way ‘straight, white men’ see women in TV, cinema and print work. Throughout time, movements such as 1st and 2nd wave feminism protested for men and women to be treated as rational beings and women have the rights to social and political rights. Sexism and misogyny are continuous stigmas between women and men. However, the Women’s Liberation Movement introduced the process of ‘Consciousness Raising’ in which they highlighted and opposed the systematic ways in which boys and girls are brought up with the assumption that the male is always superior to the female. By raising movements such as these, groups such as the Suffragettes announced their beliefs on equality and succeeded in raising awareness as feminist critical thinking became much more prominent and pronounced during the counter cultural movements of the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. Laura Mulvey’s work on ‘The Male Gaze’ in cinema and TV contributes to my work as photographers such as Helmut Newton, focus on this target audience of a ‘straight white man’ in order to increase sales and engagement. The concept of ‘Scopophilia’ and ‘Narcissism’ perfectly portrays Newton’s work and its purpose which is to give a patriarchal audience the opportunity to view images disguised as fashion promotion in a normalised voyeuristic manner. The quote “Cinematic codes create a gaze, a world, and an object, thereby producing an illusion cut to the measure of desire.” 9reference quote using Harvard system of referencing) applies to my view as I believe that small elements such as lighting, angles and editing all contribute to an audiences perception of this particular repeated narrative of voyeurism and female objectification in order to satisfy the heterosexual male viewers.

• Pg 2 (500 words): Analyse first artist/photographer in relation to your essay question. Present and evaluate your own images and responses.

PARAGRAPH 2- Helmut Newton+ Image Analysis+ theorist

• Pg 3 (500 words): Analyse second artist/photographer in relation to your essay question. Present and evaluate your own images and responses.

PARAGAPH 3- Cindy Sherman+ Image Analysis+ theorist

• Conclusion (250-500 words): Draw parallels, explore differences/ similarities between artists/photographers and that of your own work that you have PRODUCED.

that perpetuate harmful stereotypes and unrealistic expectations.

• Opening quote

Photographs alter and enlarge our notions of what is worth looking at and what we have the right to observe.

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

What needs to be done:

Literary sources: Go to this blog post here: Theory: Literary Sources and copy relevant key texts relating to the subject of your essay and list in alphabetical order in your bibliography. In addition, find your own key texts in relation to artists selected for in-depth analysis in your essay and list these too. These texts could be interviews with the artist, or reviews/ critique’s written by others. See useful online sites/ sources here .

• Research and identify 3-5 literary sources from a variety of media such as books, journal/magazines, internet, Youtube/video that relates to your personal study and artists references .
• Begin to read essay, texts and interviews with your chosen artists as well as commentary from critics, historians and others.
• It’s important that you show evidence of reading and draw upon different pints of view – not only your own.
• Take notes when you’re reading…key words, concepts, passages, page number to be used for in-text referencing etc.

Essay Question

• Think of a hypothesis and list possible essay questions
• Below is a list of possible essay questions that may help you to formulate your own.

possible-essay-questions-to-investigate

Some examples of Personal Study essays from previous students:

Essay Plan
Make a plan that lists what you are going to write about in each paragraph – essay structure

Essay Draft:

Essay question:

2 possible questions:

• To what extent are photographs an accurate portrayal of memories and the past?
• How can photography represent the realities or truth of war?

Opening quote:

“Photography cannot change the world, but it can show the world, especially when it changes.” – Marc Riboud

Introduction (250-500 words): 

What is your area study? Which artists will you be analysing and why? How will you be responding to their work and essay question?

Draft Introduction (250-500 words). Think about an opening that will draw your reader in e.g. you can re-formulate the essay question. You should include in your introduction an outline of your intention of your study, e.g. what area of photography, or subject-matter are you exploring? Which artists/ photographers are you going to investigate/ analyse/ interpret? Why does this subject/ work interest you? What are you trying to prove/challenge, argument/ counter-argument? What historical or theoretical context is the work situated within? Include at least 1 or 2 quotes for or against. What links are there with your previous studies, if any? How has this subject and chosen artists/ photographers inspired your own images/ responses? How will your work develop? What camera skills, photographic techniques or processes have you experimented with, or are you going to experiment with?

• Paul M. Smith + Michiel Peters.

Within my study I will explore the lives of German soldiers stationed at La Corbiere. During the period of the occupation, many soldiers on the island were found cut off from mainland Europe, with limited ways to communicate to their families, for example some, such as Engelbert Hoppe found it a hard time to be away for so long. Like the islanders, many also felt imprisoned. Through the Using a combination of both tableaux and documentary approaches to photography, I will depict their lives as they lived them in their fortifications and present the documented lives of such Germans. For my inspiration, the artists I have chosen are Paul M. Smith, a UK artist behind the series ‘Artist Rifles’ (1995) and Michiel Peters, a Belgian photographer who, through re-enacting archive images, creatively visualises and re-tells the lives of soldiers of the Second World War. Both artists share the theme of war, however through their depictions, varies greatly in the meanings and purpose behind them. I find that Smith’s work falls into the artisanal category, using himself as the subject behind photoshopped scenarios, his which can be analysed to be a reflection of his own experiences involving the military. Peters’ work on the other hand, focuses more-so on the documentary category of photography, creating a tableaux to re-tell events surrounding areas of historical significance in Belgium and France.

Through both of these interpretations of war, I find it interesting to see how both explore the subject, in either a personal or educational method manner. With an often generalised view on the subject of war, being that of death and violence, I find these artists in their respective ways, present the humanity which can be found in those who were involved; their stories and experiences. Applying similar Through these photographic methods and techniques, I wish to combine the two, to present a personal interpretation and to educate people on the lives of some of those stationed within Jersey during the Second World War. With scars of the war still residing through concrete emplacements along our Islands coast, this also creates the personal factor of heritage and history, which I wish to remind and educate viewers about a pinnacle point in our local history.

Through these artists, I find that they will inspire me to create an informative and unique take on documenting history that reflects both on their creative qualities of editing. Using photoshop skills I have picked up during my studies from creating similar projects such as with my work on the Anthropocene topic and the framing and composition for images for the environmental portraits topic , I feel I have a good basis on how I can go about creating my project. For my project I would like to recreate some original images of the Germans soldiers’ stories I’m visualising. To do this, I will edit them to appear in a similar manner to the quality and feel of the vintage film aesthetic. In addition to this, I would also like to create that de-saturated grittiness of Peters photographs, as I feel it creates a sense of realistic immersion. From correspondence with Peters himself, he told me “my inspiration comes more from movies and TV than other photographers, such as with Band of Brothers, Saving Private Ryan, the Longest Day, and some others.”. To merge these two aesthetics – photography and cinema – I will include filler images that fade like a gradient between them.

Pg 1 (500 words):

 Historical/ theoretical context within art, photography and visual culture relevant to your area of study. Make links to art movements/ isms and some of the methods employed by critics and historian. 

Discuss differences in approach to image-making, truth, realism and storytelling between documentary and tableaux photography.
Example: Joe Rosenthal; Raising the flag of Iwo Jima. –

Pg 2 (500 words):

 Analyse first artist/photographer in relation to your essay question. Present and evaluate your own images and responses.

• Paul M Smith.

Pg 3 (500 words): 

Analyse second artist/photographer in relation to your essay question. Present and evaluate your own images and responses.

• Michiel Peters. – He uses Robert Capa’s Quote, “If your pictures aren’t good enough, you aren’t close enough.” to tell me his thought process when recreating WW2 photos.

Conclusion (250-500 words):

Draw parallels, explore differences/ similarities between artists/photographers and that of your own work that you have produced

Bibliography: List all relevant sources used:

• A short PPT on Documentary Photography

• Sontag, S. (1977) ‘In Plato’s cave’ in On Photography. London: Penguin Books.

• A short PPT on Tableaux Photography
• Bate, D. (2016) ‘Pictorual Turn’ in Art Photography. London: Tate Galleries.
• Bright, S. (2005). ‘Narrative’ in Art Photography Now. New York: Aperture.
• Cotton, C. (2009). ‘Once Upon a Time’ in The Photograph as Contemporary Art. London: Thames & Hudson.

Essay writing: Here is a link to another blog post which will provide you with guideline about how to structure each paragraph in your essay.