“Under this mask another mask. I will never finish removing all these faces.”
Early life:
Claude Cahun, born with the name ‘Lucy Renee Mathilde Schwob’, was a French writer, sculptor and photographer. Cahun was born into a wealthy Jewish family. In her late teens and early twenties Cahun had been looking for a new, gender-neutral name for a while. Around 1914, she changed her name to Claude Cahun. Cahun is most known for her self-portraits that portray her as ambiguously gendered and as different characters. Cahun started taking her first self-portraits around 1912, when she was 18, and continued taking images of herself throughout the 1930s, creating a lifelong obsession with examining gender, using herself as subject. Marcel Moore, born Suzanne Alberte Malherbe, and Cahun met when they were only 17 and 15. From this onwards, they created an artistic and romantic partnership together. The two became step-sisters in 1917 after Cahun’s divorced father and Moore’s widowed mother married. During the early 1920s, they settled in Paris together. She and Moore then returned to Jersey to live, taking up their old names and letting people assume they were sisters. For the rest of their lives together, Cahun and Moore collaborated on various written works, sculptures, photomontages and collages.
Work:
Most of Cahun’s work was often collaborated with Marcel Moore, her long-life partner. Cahun used her artwork as a parallel to her real life. In an untitled portrait from 1921–22, Cahun erased the visible traces of femininity by shaving her head, wearing masculine clothes like a dinner suit, and avoiding jewellery and makeup. Since Cahun’s photographic self-portraits were never publicly exhibited, art historians have asked whether these photographs were intended for public viewing at all. In this particular image, Cahun’s facial expression intends to make the audience feel uncomfortable. She is intensely staring into the camera and it looks as though her eyesight is towards the photographer, and not the viewers.
Artist inspiration
For all of my photoshoots, I was inspired by Claude Cahun. I have picked this particular photo because we tried to recreate one of Cahun’s artworks as much as possible. As you can see, both of these images are in black and white, and the subject holds a miserable face towards the camera. I think this is really effective as it makes the viewer question what the story behind the image is.
Photoshoot 1: For this photoshoot, I am planning on taking photos in the snow with the nature as a background. We will use the flowers and trees to add more of a feminine aspect. I will try and include elements of masculinity by using props, for example a motorbike or a car.
Photoshoot 2: For this photoshoot, I am planning on taking photos in the studio focusing on femininity by taking photos of a female doing her makeup. We will use props like makeup and a mirror. I am also going to take photos of my model dressing up as a boy and using props to support these masculine images.
Identity politics is a term that describes politics which is based on a particular identity such as religion, race, gender, social background, class or another identifying factor form. Identity politics aim to eliminate negative behaviours towards particular groups/identities or rectifying injustices suffered by a group of people. Many social issues over the past few years — same-sex marriage, police shootings of unarmed black men, trans people in bathrooms, the fluidity of gender and trigger warnings — are all typically the kinds of issues people mean when they refer to identity politics.
Different political identities:
The groups most commonly associated with identity politics in today’s political environment center on:
race
ethnicity
religion
gender
sexual orientation
An interesting reference point in this regard comes from Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign website, on which he listed 19 different identity groups for which he had specific plans. These included:
tribal nations
women
people with disabilities
Black Americans
military families
union members
rural Americans
older Americans
the LBGTQ+ community
veterans
the Catholic community
students/young Americans
immigrants
the AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) community
the Indian American community
the Jewish community
the Muslim American community
the Latino community
the Arab American community
Others would point out that White conservatives or political liberals can also constitute political identity groups.
Jersey Identity Politics:
Identity Politics can also be seen in Jersey, through the local identity / language of Jèrriais. Jèrriais is the traditional language of Jersey, which is closely related to French.
It is very important to the locals of Jersey because it is a part of their heritage. Jèrriais used to be Jersey’s first language and was used during the occupation as people could speak Jèrriais without the Germans understanding, this is why it was very important. Jèrriais was used until the 19th century as a first language for the majority of the population of Jersey; even as late as the beginning of the Second World War. The reason for the decline in using this language is due to the fact that Jèrriais was banned in schools just after WW2. “There was a feeling that English was the future. It was socially desirable to bring up English-speaking children. Speaking anything but English marked you out as a peasant. People were made to feel ashamed. They were ridiculed. There was a perception amongst native Jèrriais speakers that this is our language but it’s a thing of the past. And we’ll die with it.” Jèrriais was then called ‘farmers language’ and anyone who used it was called poor or a peasant.
Before the 1960s, the majority of schoolchildren no longer spoke more than a few words as there was no Jèrriais education in schools, and by the 1980s and 90s, the language had almost completely disappeared from everyday use. Since then, a coordinated campaign has been made to bring the language back since it declined. Over the last decade, the development of an education programme has improved, which means all Jersey children can learn the language at school. By teaching Jèrriais to children we can make sure it has a future and stays a language. There are very few parents able to teach their children the language, so it’s important that it’s taught at school.
Although Jèrriais has slowly become forgotten, and few people use it as an everyday language, there’s still elements of Jèrriais all around the island. For example, it is reflected on street signs all around the island to increase the language’s visibility. This is highly linked to identity politics as people are campaigning to try and bring this language back, to allow people to communicate with a choice of English or Jèrriais. Locals think that having the choice between languages would increase a sense of belonging as an island and bring people closer as they would then have the opportunity to have something in common which is unique and only locals would be able to speak and understand the language fluently.
Culture wars:
Culture wars are types of conflicts between groups that have different cultural ideals and beliefs. The term is commonly used to describe contemporary politics in western democracies with issues such as abortion, homosexuality, transgender rights, racial viewpoints and other cultural conflicts based on peoples views and values. Some people claim that culture wars do not describe real behaviour, or that it describes only the behaviour of a small political elite. Others claim culture war is real and widespread, and even that it is fundamental to explaining Americans’ political behaviour and beliefs.
One example of a culture war is the Black Lives Matter movement, a political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people, and promote anti-racism. This first emerged in the Us in 2013. While the movement spread beyond the US over the following years, what really transformed it into a global phenomenon was the murder of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, in May 2020. An estimated 15 to 26 million people participated in the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests in the United States after the death of Floyd, making it one of the largest movements in the country’s history. Black Lives Matter protests have been overwhelmingly peaceful; when violence does occur, it is often committed by counter-protesters. Despite this, opponents often try to portray the movement as violent.
Femininity: Femininity is a set of attributes, behaviours, and roles generally associated with women and girls. Femininity are socially constructed gender profiles, like masculinity is, and there is also some evidence that some behaviours can be influenced by both cultural factors and biological factors. Femininity is usually associated with characteristics such as empathy, nurturing, gracefulness and kindness, often including qualities like emotional intelligence, supportive, communication and collaborativeness. Women were often valued for their looks and not their actions, for example, having soft, clear facial features, curvy figures and bright eyes. Historically, the only things women were supposed to be were housewives and mothers to their children, and women that were forced into working environments outside of their household were viewed negatively by society.
Masculinity: Masculinity is typically the social expectations of being a man. It is a set of attributes, roles or behaviours which are associated with males, such as physical strength, authority, power and independence. Regardless of biological sex, anyone may exhibit masculine traits. Masculinity can be influenced through other people and socially constructed, but there is also evidence that some behaviours considered masculine are influenced by both cultural factors and biological factors. In the early 1900s, men were usually relate to politics or working jobs outside of the household. At the beginning of the 20th century, average families had only one income-earner, the male. Men were the leader and dominant spouse in the household. In addition, the government entirely consisted of men; they ran the entire country because they had the power to.
Binary Opposition: The themes of ‘Femininity and masculinity’ are a binary opposite, which is a pair of related terms or concepts that are opposite in meaning.
Common stereotypes of men:
Self Sufficiency: Men should be independent and figure things out on their own without help from someone else.
Physical Attractiveness: Male characters are likely to be shown as unusually muscular or good looking in the media.
Heterosexuality and Homophobia: “…men should avoid being gay or perceived as being gay.”
Acting Tough: Men on television are less likely to show emotions compared to the female characters, including empathy.
Aggression and control: Men should use violence and the power they hold to gain respect and should always have the final say about decisions in a relationship.
Common stereotypes of women:
For women, there are usually only four basic kinds of gender stereotypes.
Personality traits: Women are often expected to be accommodating and emotional, while men are usually expected to be self-confident and aggressive.
Domestic behaviours: Some people expect that women will take care of the children, cook, and clean the home, while men take care of finances, work on the car, and do the home repairs.
Occupations: Some people are quick to assume that teachers and nurses are women, and that pilots, doctors, and engineers are men.
Physical appearance: For example, women are expected to be thin and graceful, while men are expected to be tall and muscular. Men and women are also expected to dress and groom in ways that are stereotypical to their gender (men wearing pants and short hairstyles, women wearing dresses and make-up.
Nowadays in the 20th century, women finally feel accepted and equal in society and can be whoever they want. Lots of women feel as if they don’t fit into the ‘feminine’ category for them, so they now have the freedom and opportunity to be comfortable as a transgender male.
Photomontage is the process of changing photographs by rearranging and overlapping two or more photographs into a new image. This means that having a combination of several shots joined together creates an effect of creativity and imagination.
Examples:
Brno Del Zou – ARTIST INSPIRATION
Brno Del Zou is a French photographer, sculptor and artist, born in 1963. In his work, he takes pictures of faces and bodies at various angles and combines the different photos into one. The result is a combination of several prints, leaving a distortion to the face or body.
Examples of his work:
My Contact Sheet:
My edited photos:
For these photos, we went to the studio and experimented with different facial angles to figure out which one worked better with montaging. I used the same image but edited them in different ways to experiment. I used photoshop to edit these images, and I also then produced them in black and white which makes the image more interesting due to the contrast.
I took inspiration from Brno Del Zou because I really like the artistic effect of his work, and I wanted to try it myself.
I think my final images were really successful because they look similar to the artist’s, and her face is changed around to seem distorted.
‘Diamond Cameo’ styles of photography is where four oval portraits are presented of usually the same individual person but they are positioned at different angles. The four oval portraits create a diamond shape when they are placed in a certain layout. Sometimes, artists decide to use different people which makes this technique really unique.
Examples of Diamond Cameo methods:
Artist Inspiration– Henry Mullins
Henry Mullins was a British photographer who moved from London to Jersey in 1848, which he then set up a studio known as the ‘Royal Saloon’ in the prime location of the Royal Square, St Helier. Initially, he was in partnership with a Mr Millward, but by the following year he was working alone and continued to work out of the same studio for another 26 years. He produced thousands of portraits of islanders between 1848 and 1873 at this highly successful studio. While numerous photographic studios opened across the town of St Helier in the 1850s and 1860s, Mullins continued to be the photographer of choice for leading members of Jersey society and successful local and immigrant families.
Examples of his work:
My Contact Sheet:
My edited photos:
Here is a few examples of my attempt at using the technique of Diamond Cameos. I used four portraits of the same person in different positions and facial expressions so it could look as effective as possible.
I think these Diamond Cameos are really successful, and I like the way in the last one that the added filter creates an old-fashioned affect. I experimented with three different ways of presenting these images. Personally, my favourite is the vintage-like one, as it holds the most emotion behind the presentation of images. The photos have a yellowish, warmer tone to it as this brings an affect of nostalgia. I was inspired by Henry Mullins’ artwork as I love how his photos look really old and vintage, so I tried to similarly do the same with mine.
Double/multi exposure photography is a technique that layers two or more different exposures on a single image, combining more photographs into one. Double/multi exposure creates a surreal feeling for your photos and the two photographs can work together to convey deep meaning or symbolism.
Examples:
Artist Inspiration- Man Ray
Man Ray (1890-1976) was a famous American photographer, who used the technique of Double/multi-exposure images to improve his photographs. His exploration of multiple exposures allowed him to create images that were layered with meaning and symbolism. Man Ray “used chance and dislocation of ordinary things from their everyday settings to surprise his viewers into a new awareness.”
Man Ray’s photographic efforts with combining the seemingly unrelated in the same composition began in earnest with his Rayographs, which he started producing in 1922. To create them, he arranged objects onto photographic paper and then exposed the composition to light, creating a series of photographs that transform the banal into meaningful and complex imagery.
Examples of his work:
MyContact Sheet:
My first photoshoot:
For my first photoshoot, we used a really low shutter speed to create the blur effect. This gave me an idea of how I would like my photos to turn out like, although I will continue to edit and finalise these photographs.
My edited photos:
This was my first go at trying to use this technique, so I didn’t achieve the final product I would’ve liked to.
My second attempt went well and I really like the outcome. I used photoshop to create the multi-exposure effect.
The three different images represent different facial expressions and emotions, which I was hoping to achieve.
I also tried using less images to create a double-exposure headshot. To get to this final product, I used two images where the subject was looking in opposite directions. I then overlapped the two and used the option ‘screen’ to help with the blending of the two images. Finally, I cropped the unwanted parts out of the photo so the subject could be the main focus.
Evaluation:
Overall, I really enjoyed this project and I’m very happy with the final outcomes. These photos were really fun to make as it was really creative.
For my first photoshoot, I will be taking photos to use for double/multi exposure. These photos will be portraits of a singular person, using different facial expressions. I will try and have a contrast of lighting by using a dark backdrop and light illuminating the face with no shadows, so their face is clear and focused. Finally, I will use photoshop to edit these photos to create to multi-exposure and blur effect.
Photoshoot two:
For my second photoshoot, I will be taking passport-like images to therefore use for Diamond Cameo. These photos will need to also have one subject, but with a straight facial expression. I will choose whether or not I want to use a light or dark backdrop and I will use a bright, artificial light.
Photoshoot three:
For my last photoshoot, I will be taking photos to create a photomontage. For this, I will be experimenting with different facial expressions to see what works best. Then, I will edit these images by cutting, rearranging and over-lapping the images to make a final result.
