How is sexuality and gender identity explored and represented in photography?

Exploring sexuality and gender identity within photographs are usually captured and addressed from an outsider perspective, a viewpoint that is commonly objectifying and misleading. Instead, this intimate proximity, seen through Nan Goldin’s insider delineation of her close community, enables her to portray an extremely personal, and at times, voyeuristic perspective of her lived experiences. This narrative showcases a tableaux and uncompromising representation of Goldin’s and her found family’s feelings and familiarity within the queer community. Being in the same artistic circle as other photographers who predominantly photographed on film New York’s queer subculture, Goldin dedicated these portraits to preserving and capturing the essence of relationships, sexuality, gender exploration, and addiction during the 70s and 80s. As photography serves as an archive, there are many photographs exploring sexuality and gender identity which are immortalised, especially within the 19th and 20th century as photography began to become a popular and accessible medium of art and documentation. Situated within the fluidity and ambiguous notion of sexuality during these important and representative eras, these relaxed and fluid forms of identity captured within art and photography avoids distinct labelling, imposing a flexible identity of the individual.

Historical/theoretical context

Representation within art, photography and visual culture is to accept responsibility for the portrayal of the subject, and to deepen the understanding of the shared adjacent bond between the subject and the artist or photographer. The dichotomy between a subject’s essence being captured by someone outside their own community compared to inside their community

(You need to show evidence that you have read Solomon-Godeau’s key text Inside/ Outside and incorporate a couple of quotes that you can use to agree/ disagree with to develop a critical argument.) Then use the example below with the portrait of Oscar Wilde. )

Convert JPG to PDF online – convert-jpg-to-pdf.net

In circa 1882, the photographer Napoleon Sarony photographed portraits of Oscar Wilde, a poet and playwright in Victorian London, which positioned Wilde in the frame with his usual flamboyant and dandy personality, characteristics of the art movement of aestheticism which valued appearance of art over functions. The society of this time explicitly expressed disdain against sexual debauchery, which included the outlawing of all homosexual acts for ‘gross indecency’ under the 1885 Criminal Law Amendment Act, which Wilde was one of the first and highest importance figures prosecuted and put on trial for. This opens the discussion whether photography not only serves as an art form, but also archival material and an account of history.

Nan Goldin

Utilising a narrative within photographs which conveys a deeply personal bond between Goldin and her subjects, she is often notably recognised for this inner representation of the communities and subcultures she shares space with. In her book ‘The Ballad of Sexual Dependency, she initially shared the photographs within with those photographed in frequently visited clubs and venues, and an immediate reaction from these peers contributed to its growth and ultimately its final presentation

‘I look at Ballad and see the dynamics of both love and hate, tenderness and violence, as well as all kinds of ambivalence in relationships.’ (reference is using Harvard system – see link below for guidelines)

Personal Study

(For other critical perspectives on Goldin and her seminal book- see this special issue of Aperture Magazine and other texts written about her work and its influence.)

Nan Goldin Archives | Aperture

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?

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

key words: aesthetic, formalism, indexicality, representation, narrative

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

• Essay question:
• Opening quote
• 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?

Nan Goldin – outside/inside view of queer communities, issue of representation

history of portrayal and representation of the queer community in photography and the exploration of sexuality and gender identity within visual culture

• 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. 

History of sexuality and gender identities in photography

aestheticism in art – oscar wilde, napoleon sarony portraits, historical representation

• Pg 2 (500 words): Analyse first artist/photographer in relation to your essay question. Present and evaluate your own images and responses.
• Pg 3 (500 words): Analyse second artist/photographer in relation to your essay question. Present and evaluate your own images and responses.
• 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

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.

Possible Questions:

How does Nan Goldin utilise the snapshot aesthetic to document her experiences and sense of belonging within her community?

How does the work of Nan Goldin document her experiences, sense of community and identity utilising a snapshot aesthetic?

How does Nan Goldin document her experiences, sense of community and identity through utilising a snapshot aesthetic in her photographs?

How is sexuality and gender identity explored in the photographs of Nan Goldin?

How is intimacy, exploration of sexuality and gender identity represented within photography?

In what way does the photographer Nan Goldin represent intimacy and identity in her works?

How is intimacy and identity explored through the portraiture of Nan Goldin?

• Nan Goldin
• Ed van der Elsken

Snapshot aesthetic photography

Documentary photographs

Nan Goldin- identity – representation

Quotes: Nan Goldin

‘[Journalists] talk about the work I did on drag queens and prostitution, on “marginalised” people. We were never marginalised. We were the world. We were our own world, and we could have cared less about what “straight” people thought of us.’

‘It’s as if my hand were a camera … The instant of photographing, instead of creating distance, is a moment of clarity and emotional connection for me. There is a popular notion that the photographer is by nature a voyeur; the last one invited to the party. But I’m not crashing; this is my party. This is my family, my history’

‘As children, we’re programmed into the limitations of gender distinction … But as we grow older, there’s a self-awareness that sees gender as a decision, as something malleable … Rather than accept gender distinction, the point is to redefine it … there is the decision to live out the alternatives, even to change one’s sex, which to me is the ultimate act of autonomy.’

‘I look at Ballad and see the dynamics of both love and hate, tenderness and violence, as well as all kinds of ambivalence in relationships.’

Bibliography

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

Goldin, Nan (1985) ‘The Ballad of Sexual Dependency’

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nan_Goldin

Solomon-Godeau, A. (1994), ‘Inside/ Out’ in Photography At The Dock: Essays on Photographic History, Institutions, and Practices. Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press.

Here some helpful resources on ethical questions regarding the photographer’s position of being inside or outside from PhotoPedagogy.

Bull, S. (2009), ‘Snapshots’ in Photography. London: Routledge.

Zuromski, C. (2009) . ‘On Snapshot Photography: Rethinking Photographic Powers in Public and Private Spheres’ in J.J. Long, Andrea Noble, Edward Welch, Photography: Theoretical Snapshots. London: Routledge.

Kotz, L. (1998) ‘”Aesthetics” of Intimacy’ in Bright, D. (1998) The Passionate Camera: Photography and bodies of desire. London: Routledge

Contact sheets:

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My selection of best photos to edit:

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Statement of Intent

For my project, I would like to explore personal identity and the visual elements of abstraction and imperfection within a photograph which is taken spontaneously; as a response to things around me, a collection of portraits, landscapes, and objects as a way of documentary and observational ‘snapshot aesthetic’ photography. I would like to present my images taken of my friends, myself, my family, and various locations and objects with a photobook. In this book, I could possibly present these photos alongside accompanying text or a notebook page, and manipulation or change of my photographs, either by applying paint, ripping/tearing/burning them, cutting a subject or something out, or re-joining the same or a different photograph with thread. Another way I could possibly change the photographs is merging or overlaying these photos digitally to create a blurry effect in certain areas.

To develop my project, I have looked closely at the photographs and books of Nan Goldin, Ed van der Elsken, Cindy Sherman, Francesca Woodman, and Josh Kern, to inspire the way I take and present my own photos. Goldin’s intention especially behind taking her photographs resonates with how I feel about capturing photographs for this project, where for a part of it, not entirely planning who I will photograph and where – instead the people I am with at a certain time and observe where I see a photograph opportunity, or not, and making it appear somewhat randomised, focusing on the disjunctions and juxtapositions of the individual photographs.

These types of candid, documentary photographs can only be genuinely captured through carrying a camera around with me in order to capture unexpected moments, in a variety of different locations, both inside and outside. Because of this, some photographs will be captured on my small digital camera, for times I don’t have my digital film camera. Although, I will have some photographs which are staged, I would like them to still have an almost spontaneous appearance, and these ‘photoshoots’ of a subject in an environment may not initially be planned beforehand. This take of impetuosity on these photographs links back to the ‘abstract’ part of my mind map – for example, a use of abstraction of portraits with parts of the body blurred, obstruction between the subject and the camera, imperfections in the photo, camera movement/slower shutter speed, or flash photography.

I may also sequence frames from videos taken on my small digital camera and present them as a small component of my book, an idea I have is through a film strip layout. By aligning the photographs in this way, I’ll be displaying both the clear and blurry frames side by side as a juxtaposition, along with presenting an object (e.g. film strip, receipts, or any ‘rubbish’ I have collected from when I am out taking these photos) through possibly photocopying them or editing them in digitally to the layout. The layout of my other photographs will be presented differently from image to image, as some might be a double page spread, or one photo on its own, two beside each other, or in a grid sequence showing ‘unused’ photographs (crossed out with pen, depicted as a physical contact sheet), etc. This decision to include multi-media and text into the project I believe will make it more personal to me, as I can directly express more through how my images are presented.

Goldin’s work documents her life and the lives of these people close to her in a tableaux, uncompromising manner, showcasing stories and intimate details of their lived experiences. Goldin explores the intimate emotions of the individual, in relationships, and in LGBTQ subcultures, where her beginning interest in photography was found in her loved ones who were drag queens, and she admired them for stepping outside of societal and gender norms. These photographs she took during this time and earlier were included in her first book which compromises fifteen years of work, ‘The Ballad of Sexual Dependency’. This book is a very personal depiction and documentation of her life from 1979 and 1986, and the photos hold a raw intensity which feels spontaneous. She stated about her way of capturing these moments; ‘I don’t select people in order to photograph them; I photograph directly from my life. These pictures come out of relationships, not observation.’ With her photographs, she is able to capture the world without glamorisation or glorification, and preserve the sense of peoples’ lives, to make those in the pictures stare back.

In Nan Goldin’s work around this time, her photos were dominantly taken inside and by night, they embodied a sort of ‘snapshot aesthetic’, where the subject matter is often presented without an apparent link within the images and instead rely on the juxtapositions and disjunctions of the individual photos. Goldin stated; ‘That series is stark. It’s all flash-lit. I honestly didn’t know about natural light then and how it affected the colour of the skin because I never went out in daylight.’

Mind Map: Observe, Seek, Challenge

Moodboard: Artist and Photographer Inspirations

Through capturing photos of familiar subjects in domestic or seemingly unknown, juxtaposing locations, the photographers Cindy Sherman, Nan Goldin, Ed van der Elsken, Josh Kern, and Silken Weinberg could be exploring a deeper personal perception of the photographer’s self and the world around them. I am inspired by these photographers for my project because their photos appear to depict the world and their experiences in an uncompromising manner.

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Through capturing either a candid or staged photo of a familiar or unfamiliar subject(s), the photographers Daidō Moriyama, William Klein, Janette Beckman, Richard Bellia, and Henri Cartier-Bresson observe the people around them with their photography. The feel of impetuosity, or a ‘decisive moment’ within these photographs inspires me for my own photographs.

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Photographers who connect the human form and nature through a series of juxtapositions, photos of a natural form, or an abandoned man-made building overtaken by nature are Eva Voutsaki, Carla Ellens, Robert Frank, Stig Marlon Weston, Diane Fenster, Jeff Cowen, María Tudela, and Alicja Brodowicz. Some of these photographers also adapt and change their photographs after it is taken using a variety of different medias, either applying a layer of paint or texture on top or writing over the photo, and also such as Josh Kern.

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Caravaggio, Frans Hals, Rembrandt, and Édouard Manet are artists I have looked at for this project to inspire different compositions for my photos, and to further consider the depth and lighting of a photo in relation to how a painting/drawing of it would appear.

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Definitions

OBSERVE

To observe means: Watching, noticing something – exploring/observing

onlooker, watcher, commentator, voyeur, spectator, witness/eyewitness, bystander, sightseer, notice, perceive

Artists throughout history have observed the world around them and presented their artworks in a documentary style.

SEEK

To seek means: Attempt to find something / desire to obtain or achieve something

search for/look for, endeavour, detect, discover, pursue, strive, hunt, chase, quest

Artists throughout history have portrayed the human desire to seek and explore through different mediums in their creations.

CHALLENGE

To challenge means: A call to prove/justify something – usually competitive

question, opposition, defiance, dispute, confrontation, objection, exception, protest

Artists throughout history have challenged ideologies and conventions of their times, and have used their artworks to protest.

(Unfinished)

1. Read two texts above (John Szarkowski’s introduction and review by Jed Pearl) and select 3 quotes from 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.

Essay draft

Mirrors and Windows, an exhibition of American photography since 1960, is John Szarkowski’s attempt to categorise the work of photographers which largely seek to explore outside of themselves. Whether an image is a mirror or a window is dependent on the photographer’s own sensibility, and whether or not it is a reflection of self.

Photography was said to be invented in 1839, that was the year that Louis Daguerre, a Frenchman, and Henry Fox Talbot, an Englishman, played an important role in announcing rival processes that would ‘fix the shadows’, to adopt a physical form to these images. The beginnings of photography were ultimately about the struggle to see which method would thrive. With how money and industry was a huge focus within the early beginning of photography, and had huge impact on what photography looks like at the present date, the method which photographs could be reproduced at a quick and commercial rate triumphed.

One of these processes innovated by Louis Daguerre, daguerreotypes, are photos which have a different kind of connection which is more intimate, as the process features no separation between the material the image is being shot with and the finished result. This is because the same plate within camera is the same plate which is eventually displayed as the photograph. Despite this method’s unbelievable range of values and detail, presenting the brightest whites and the deepest blacks, these photographs, if not gilded, could easily be wiped off with the slightest touch. Although a downside of this method was that only one image could be made from daguerreotypes, which was not ideal for the market photography was creating, which focused on money and industry.

The other process innovated by Henry Fox Talbot, calotypes, are photos much more reproduceable, ‘Talbot recognised that human communication was through paper’. Ultimately, Talbot’s method of making photographs dominated the Daguerreotype as multiple copies of the same captured image could be created, instead of one which could be lost quite easily, which was not in the market for photography at the time, as businesses wanted photographs for commercial use instead of sentimental purpose.

Paragraph 1 (250 words): Choose an image that in your view is a mirror and analyse how it is a subjective expression and staged approach to image-making. Choose one quote from Szarkowski’s thesis and another from Jed Pearl’s review which either supports of opposes Szarkowski’s original point of view. Make sure you comment to advance argumentation in providing a critical perspective.

(key words) tableaux, subjective, romanticism, fiction, staged, personal, reflective, manipulated

Images that are mirrors in photography are a romantic expression and a personal reflection of the photographer’s sensibility, as they project themselves onto things and sights of this world. Cindy Sherman, a photographer who explores this intimate aspect of photography, explores a personal perception of self identity and behaviours within the world around her. The collection of photographs named ‘Untitled Film Stills’ which Cindy Sherman produced in the 1970s and 1980s seem to deliberately rely on caricatures of female subjects in movies, staging these photographs by taking on the role of the actress, instead of adopting a performative approach in the creation of her works. She stated, “Once I set up, the camera starts clicking, then I just start to move and watch how I move in the mirror. It’s not like I’m method acting or anything. I don’t feel that I am that person. I may be thinking about a certain story or situation, but I don’t become her. There’s this distance. The image in the mirror becomes her—the image the camera gets on the film. And the one thing I’ve always known is that the camera lies.” (C. Sherman, quoted in Ibid., p. 23).

Sherman delves deep into exploring an enhanced personal perspective of self identity and the world around her, aiming to address how she perceives the projective eye which invokes a violent penetrative gaze on women during the 1970s and 1980s for the viewer, rather than expressing her own identity. Her performative artistic production of what could be an untitled film still of a woman under the pressure to act for the male gaze in film and other types of media relates directly to the concept of a mirror photograph, reflecting Sherman’s own sensibility. The idea of Szarkowski’s mirrors and windows theory is a very binary stance on photography, and I believe Cindy Sherman’s photographs, whilst objectively being viewed as a mirror extend further than simply that, and are able to criticise a much deeper issue within the world of public media.

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

(key words) documentary, objective, realism, candid, public, straight, optical, views

Henri Cartier-Bresson

Images that are windows in photography act as a window for the viewer to see something primarily factual and external to the photographer’s own sensibility, where the exterior world is explored in all its presence and reality. Henri Cartier-Bresson, a photographer who coined the term ‘decisive moment’, explores a factual and documentary-based way of photographs, and capture a moment in time which is usually not staged.

Conclusion (250 words): Refer back to the essay question and write a conclusion where you summarise Szarkowski’s theory and Pearl’s review of his thesis. Describe differences and similarities between the two images above and their opposing concepts of objectivity and subjectivity, realism and romanticism, factual and fiction, public and private.

Bibliography:

Cindy Sherman Retrospective – Thames & Hudson p.33

What are the differences between photographs that are Mirrors and Windows?

Mirrors and Windows, an exhibition of American photography since 1960, is John Szarkowski’s attempt to categorise the work of photographers which largely seek to explore outside of themselves. Whether an image is a mirror or a window is dependent on the photographer’s own sensibility, and whether or not it is a reflection of self.

“Is it a mirror, reflecting a portrait of the artist who made it, or a window, through which one might better know the world?” – John Szarkowski, 1978

Mirrors

Images that are mirrors in photography are a romantic expression and a personal reflection of the photographer’s sensibility, as it projects itself onto things and sights of this world. Mirrors explore a personal perception of the photographer’s self and the world around them.

(key words) tableaux, subjective, romanticism, fiction, staged, personal, reflective, manipulated

Windows

Images that are windows in photography act as a window for the viewer to see something primarily factual and external to the photographer’s own sensibility, where the exterior world is explored in all its presence and reality. Windows are factual and documentary-based, and capture a moment in time which is usually not staged.

(key words) documentary, objective, realism, candid, public, straight, optical, views

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I believe that this photograph by Nan Goldin is a mirror image. Although the image appears to be staged, it could depict a moment which factually took place in their relationship, exploring the reality of the situation, making the photo a personal reflection of Goldin’s self.

What was the involvement of Jersey mariners in the Canadian cod-fisheries and the Transatlantic carrying trade?

Which ports did Jersey ships sail to and trade with?

What type of goods did Jersey merchants exchange for cod-fish?

Jersey cod merchants exchanged cargoes of wine, brandy, dried fruit, citrus fruit, oil, skins, furs, coffee, sugar, salt, and tobacco for cod-fish. Most of the cod was sold to Mediterranean ports, because of the large demand of fish in those countries. These cargoes were brought back from these ports, and often taken straight to an English or Northern European port, then returning home to Jersey with a third cargo, though some would come straight back to Jersey.

To what extent, has the island of Jersey benefitted from its constitutional relationship with Britain and the legacies of colonialism based on a slave plantation economy during the first Industrial Revolution (1760-1840)?

Contact Sheets

These are the photos I took at St. Malo, inspired by Henri Cartier-Bresson and ‘The Decisive Moment’.

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Chosen Best Images – Unedited

These are the photos I believe are my strongest from the St. Malo photoshoot, and will edit some of them as my final edits.

These are the photos from my Anthropocene project that I chose as my best photos:

Comparing and Contrasting

George Marazaki: ‘A Cure for Anthropocene’

My photographs relating to the Anthropocene:

Evaluation and Critique

For this photoshoot, I chose this location and took photos with inspiration from George Marazakis’ series called ‘A Cure for Anthropocene’. I decided to focus on man-made structures that are surrounded by nature that is predominant to the landscape or overgrown, for example, the radio tower at the top of the rocky cliff, the lighthouse atop the rocks out at sea, and the damaged, abandoned rock quarry surrounded by bushes, all showing the juxtaposition between nature and infrastructure.

I feel like my planning for this photoshoot helped me understand the overall composition and deadpan approach in Marazaki’s photographs, and I was able to take inspiration from those. In my photos, the natural light differed from each spot, which I paid attention to and adjusted my settings accordingly for the different locations. However, In my contact sheets, I noticed that some of my photos were underexposed, and I corrected them when editing by increasing the exposure or applying a mask on the darkest areas and increasing the exposure or brightness.