selection

Brief overview- In this photoshoot I wanted to create an idea of teens fitting negative stereotypes, by showing in the pictures that they are partying/drinking etc.

possible images

These images are inspired by Justine Kurland. I went to a woodland area where there were loads of trees and bushes and also a pond. I used the tableaux photography technique to create these images. This meant that all of these images were staged to look like real life. The people in these images were staged to look like they were having fun in the woods and I wanted to portray a sense of freedom through the photographs. I was inspired by Justine Kurland’s images in her project “Girl Pictures” :

In “Girl Pictures” they are all taken in suburban areas where the girls in the pictures were rebelling in nature. In most of my images, there are 2 or more girls, this is because I wanted to shoe the interaction between girls and the female gaze. The images were staged to create a sense of protection between them and how they interact with each other in nature instead of isolated in a bedroom. For these images, I ensured that the sun was behind the camera so that the natural lighting was on the models instead of in the back of the images. Once I got all of my images, I transferred them onto Lightroom where I started editing them. I really like how these images turned out because of the way that the sun reflects onto the models to create a natural lighting. I also like how the models in the pictures are wearing white, this could show a sense of purity and how the girls are innocently playing together and instinctively protecting each other as a society of females.

These images are inspired by Mary Ellen Mark. I chose to take portrait photos to show emotion through facial expressions. In these images the girls look solemn. My aim in these photographs was for female viewers to relate to the images just like Mark did with her photos. I chose to put these images into black and white to add to the emotions of sadness and loneliness that some females experience through life and to connect with the idea of girlhood. In Mary Ellen Marks photos, she aimed to create a narrative of vulnerability within females and also how the females view the world that they live in. Therefore, this inspired me to create my own images to show the emotions of sadness that females go through in their lives. I was inspired by these images taken by Mark :

I used both of these photoshoots in my photobook because I like the contrast between the two emotions shown in the images. For the images inspired by Justine Kurland the girls are having fun in the woods and protecting each other through the connection of their friendship. It also shows the empowerment that the girls have on their on to make their own lives in a world full of stereotypes and and gender roles. It shows the girls rebelling against these two misconceptions of how girls are perceived. I really like how the images show that the girls look out for each other, especially in the image where the girl is leading the other girl through the woods as it shows trust within each other. In contrast to this, my images in which were inspired by Mary Ellen Mark are taken to show the vulnerability of girls. I chose to take these images with the girls on their own to show the loneliness that some girls experience through their lives. The images also have a black background which could foreshadow that females often feel like they’re in the dark or that they feel empty.

My First Virtual Gallery

For my first virtual gallery, I used my images inspired by Justine Kurland. I transferred all my images from my documents onto the gallery and positioned them in a way that was clear to see them all from one position. I used the best photos out of my photoshoot, the ones that I thought best portrayed the connection of the girls with each other and nature. I put a brown border on my images to match with the brown colour of the woodland and I like how it turned out.

My Second Virtual Gallery

For my second virtual gallery, I used only my images inspired by Mary Ellen Mark. I displayed them in a way that all images could be seen fully. I didn’t add any border because I didn’t want the focus to be drawn away from the image.

Experimentation 1

For this edit, I wanted to try and make it look like there was a modern building towering behind a historic one. Firstly, I started by cropping the image and copying it to then paste it on top of the other in Photoshop. I then used Ctrl T > Distort to move the image and change the perspective to make it more realistic.

Once I had the building in place, I used the eraser tool to erase the edges that were overlapping the other building. To make this a bit easier, I lowered the opacity of the layer so that I could see the layer below.

Finally, I flattened the layers and put the image in B&W and adjusted the brightness and contrast. This was my final result. It didn’t turn out quite as good as I expected as it makes me question whether it actually looks real.

Experimentation 2

For this edit, I wanted to use an image of part of a historical building and create a background behind it using a modern building. I started off by using the quick selection tool to select the building and paste it onto the other.

Here is the building on top of the other I played around for a bit, adjusting the positioning of the layer.

I then cropped the full image and made some further adjustments.

I then erased a little part of the older building which looked out of place.

This is my final result in B&W, after increasing the brightness and contrast. I think that this image looks better than the previous but still not very realistic.

These are the images which inspire me, however they’re not edited and they are in fact real which is why mine doesn’t look great compared. I also don’t have access to settings like the ones photographed in Jersey as there aren’t many high-rise, especially ones adjacent to old buildings as the high-rises are mostly on the Waterfront which is a new/modern area.

Experimentation 3

I tried to do the same thing again for other images. I started off my opening them both in photoshop.

I then used the object selection tool to paste the layer on top then adjusted it.

I cropped the image at top and moved the layer slightly down.

Finally, I put the image in B&W and increased the brightness and contrast for my final result. I think that this looks more realistic to the previous edit of mine as it looks like it could have been taken in a built up residential area.

Experimentation 4

For this edit, I wanted to make it more interesting and have a combination of 3 buildings. I started off by selected the older building and creating another layer with just the parts I wanted. I then pasted one of the buildings in and made sure that it was the layer below so it didn’t overlap the other building.

Then, I added in another layer to the side of the image which was of another building, this building being on top of the older one.

I then erased the edges of the previous layer I had added.

Finally, I flattened the image and put it in B&W then increased the brightness and contrast to get my completed result. I personally think that this is the best experimentation edit yet as it looks the most realistic.

For this image and the previous two, I wanted to represent the difference in styles between old and modern buildings and how modern/high-rise buildings dominate and tower over old ones.

Experimentation 5

For the cover of my photobook, I wanted to have the word ‘ARCHITECTURE’ with each individual letter being and image. This is how I did it:

Here is the first A. Below I will show how I did this with another letter.

Firstly, I opened the image I wanted to use and created a background copy.

Then, I pasted the image onto the document with text and lowered its opacity so that I could see the letter below.

After that, I used the Polygonal Lasso Tool to select the image in the shape of the letter then select its inverse to delete the outside.

This was the result.

I then added in all my images on top of the letters I would like them to be. I repeated the previous process for all of the letters with straight lines.

As for letters with a curve, I had a bit of a different process.

for the C, I used a square as a guide for the edges then the eliptical marquee tool to select the outline. I then selected the inverse and deleted the extrenal area. I then did the same for the middle of the C.

I then used the Polygonal Lasso Tool to get rid of the rest.

I repeated this for the other C.

I then started the R’s by getting rid of the middle. I did this by, firstly, cutting out a circle. Then, using the polygonal lasso tool to delete the rest.

I then moved on to the middle of the U. I, once again, used a combination of the eclipse with a square and the polygonal tool.

I then finished the R’s by using both the eclipse and polygonal tools again. I used shift and alt to add and remove parts of my selection until I was satisfied with it.

These are my finished letters:

I then created a Guide Layout for the letter placement.

This is the finished product:

The final 27 images I choose for the photobook were:

Overall I like interspacing black and white with colour and I feel as though my images create a general sense of discomfort. My favourite images were the figure and moth because of their simplicity. I included a total of 10 coloured images with 5 of them houses. I was worried that maybe there were too many coloured but I didn’t want to remove the colour from any of them either. If I arrange about one colour between every 3 black and white images then I feel as though they might be spread enough.

I decided to use one of the following images on my cover But I wasn’t sure which one.

They were all black and white which I liked for the cover and had different effects. The misty trees were more muted and mysterious while the birds and butterfly were more symbolic. I liked the crows because they have certain superstitious qualities but I also like the moth because its wing was broken and it was left essentially paralysed. I felt as though they were both potentially too busy for the cover though and decided to flip and use the tree.

The final images I choose for prints were the following 6:

I want a variety of sizes with 4 A4 and 2 A5. The Lift and the sofa will be A5. The figure, moth, salt and house will be A4.

Virtual Gallery

Overall I think some of these images are much stronger than others. I think I needed more images to buff up the photobook and create a clearer narrative. I think I had enough coloured images but I should have more black and white images in comparison. I think I’ve created a strong set of images covering multiple bases of fears from superstitions to more specific scenarios such as broken lifts and aggressive dogs with additional images between to keep it constantly changing.

Within my personal project I aim to recreate older images, the sepia effect can cause an image to look aged therefore I think this will be a useful effect to use within my images when restaging them.

Origin of sepia photography

The sepia toning process was first developed in the 19th century as a way to improve the durability of photographic prints. At the time, photographic prints were highly susceptible to fading and deterioration, which made it difficult to produce images that would stand the test of time.

My sepia images:

To create this warm orange tone (sepia) I adjusted the tone curve and experimented to see which would result in this tone.

After I found settings which worked I decided to create my own preset named ‘sepia’ so that I am easily able to apply it to my other images rather than going through the same process again.

How is the work of Cindy Sherman and Nan Goldin questioning the politics of gender and female stereotypes?

“In the past, photographs of women were made by men for a capitalist economy to favour the male gaze and feed female competitiveness” By Charlotte Jansen.

The word ‘Feminist’ is often misinterpreted. Somehow the adjective advocating social, political, legal, and economic rights between women and men, has been constructed into ‘man hater’. My area of study is female stenotypes and how they differ through the years, however my argument is whether female stereotypes are formed by men in a patriarchal society. Initially, stereotypes are inevitable in society as they are a social norm. Unconsciously as humans we make stereotypes, the first reference to stereotype in English was in 1850, as a noun that meant ‘image perpetuated without change’. This predominately suggests the growth women fought for during the feminist movements as their stereotypes changed successfully. However, my other side of my study is that stereotypes for females were caused by inequalities due to a male dominated society as it caused hierarchies. This is because of expectations men have of women from the beginning such as the traditional housewife and their role to serve men. The artists I have chosen to study are Cindy Sherman and Nan Goldin as I believe they effectively portray gender politics and stereotypes. Sherman executed this through dressing up, posing and photographing her self in different scenarios. Sherman effectively critiques the way women are portrayed in popular media, such as film, television and magazines. These images challenge the viewer to question their preconceived notions about identity and the roles society imposes upon women. At first, she photographs herself playing a traditional role men expected women to be, such as a housewife. Not only this, she photographed others and herself suggesting their struggle with their own identity. Nan Goldin, expresses her view on stereotypes through a different sense. Goldin expressed her experience on domestic abuse during a relationship by photographing her own wounds of female empowerment. This makes me think about the key features of stereotypes such as strong vs weak. For example, her image that stood out to me the most ‘Buzz and Nan at the Afterhours, New York City1980′ represented male roles such as dominant and confident in contrast to naïve and vulnerable as women. However, I was mostly inspired by her New York city night club and bar photographs as it expressed intimacy, the isolation of abuse and hierarchy.

I will be responding to both of their work by including all of my inspiration from these artists and putting it in an order of a time line, specifically to the feminist movement waves and how the stereotypes changed through each wave, from the first to the fourth. My first wave photoshoot, my main inspiration is Cindy Sherman and my intention is to express the ‘traditional housewife’ stereotype. This is aimed to focus around early 20th century. The second wave photoshoot is to express more independence but the focus being educational rights, remaining inspired by Sherman. Next, the third wave photoshoot is focused around domestic abuse, heavily inspired by Nan Goldin mixed with Sherman. This is aimed around the 1990’s to the present. Lastly, my photoshoot for the fourth wave is to focus on the expectations on women due to social media. This is focused around the present and what teenagers go through my age, based off personal experience.

Artist Reference – Sherman

Cindy Sherman was known for her stage crafting, posing and role play photoshoots. This evidently linked to an element of drama, theatre, acting and film as her photos are ultimately the opposite of realism and conduct fake scenario’s but portray real themes. Especially in how it critiques and represents female stereotypes. Sherman creates elaborate sets, costumes, lighting, and props, similar to theatrical productions. Her photographs resemble scenes from plays or film stills, as they often depict a climactic or suggestive moment of a story such as 1950’s female stereotypes. Her dramatic and theatre themes comes from subjects expression. Her characters or even herself often display exaggerated facial expressions or gestures, heightening the drama and giving the impression of a moment captured mid-action. Most of the time, she does this through the ‘ male gaze’ to convey the expectations that women were to only serve men. The visual narrative is significantly important as it surrounds the theme of stereotypes and women in the 20th century mostly, however these elements still continue. Each image feels like it belongs to an unseen story. The ambiguity allows viewers to imagine their own narratives, drawing on their understanding of societal stereotypes. The roleplay comes from transforming each subject and even herself. Sherman acts as the sole subject in most of her photographs, embodying various female archetypes. She transforms herself into housewives, actresses, sex workers, society women, and more. This mirrors the performative nature of societal roles women are expected to play. She changes her identity and disguise by using costumes, wigs, and makeup, she completely erases her own identity, taking on fictional personas. This highlights the constructed nature of femininity and gender roles. Her cinematic aesthetic photographs are heavily influenced by film, particularly her famous series Untitled Film Stills (1977–1980). These black and white images mimic publicity stills from 1950s and 1960s Hollywood and European art cinema. She likes to convey ‘ frozen moments’, evidently her photos suggest moments from a larger narrative, much like a paused frame in a movie, leaving the viewer to wonder what happened before or after the shot. She critiques the male gaze by embodying these stereotypes, Sherman confronts the way women are constructed in visual culture, particularly under the male gaze. She reclaims control of these images, playing both the object and creator. Her work suggests that female identity is not singular but fragmented and shaped by societal expectations, media, and cultural roles. In my opinion, Sherman links more to ‘ mirrors’ rather than ‘ windows’ as her images do not fit into the realism category and they reflect Sherman’s experience through being a woman. Tableau is used to describe a photograph in which characters are arranged for picturesque or dramatic effect and appear absorbed and completely unaware of the existence of the viewer which Sherman typically executes.

“A number of questions occur. How does the woman look? Is she forced to share the way of seeing the man, or might there be a specifically female gaze? Can the man too be the object of the gaze? Can such a clear distinction be made between male and female, masculine and feminine? “(Williams in Wells 1987:6)

Artist Reference – Nan Goldin

However, Nan Goldin’s images I am specifically inspired by are her abuse photoshoots published in her seminal photobook, The Ballard of Sexual Independency, which represent the domestic real life violence Goldin experienced through being a woman. This ultimately links to realism as it is Goldin documenting her real life experiences without adding glamour or hiding anything. Instead, her aim was to give other women empowerment to make them feel less alone due to the large proportion of women who do go through this, and are typically seen as weak. This links to stereotypes as it is stereotypical that a woman is not powerful and is weak when they are facing these issues in this society, making a man as dominant and masculine. The term ‘realism’ can mean to depict things as they are, without idealising or making abstract. Not only this, but Goldin’s work is documentary as she wanted to show her lifestyle without covering any facts. ‘Nan’s work is unfiltered and deeply personal about her life. She’s been making artwork herself about her life for decades,’ Poitras explains. ‘She just felt strongly that it was the time to talk about [her sex work] and with the intention of destigmatizing that. There’s so much stigma around sex workers, so much stigma around drug use, there’s so much stigma around domestic violence, etc. And that I think she just felt very strongly that this film could also destigmatize those issues.’ (Chiriguayo 2022) So evidently, there is some major differences but also a few similarities which helps link both these artist together under the pressures of society and women.

Cindy Sherman questions the politics of gender and female stereotypes by stage crafting and fitting herself into the male expected stereotypes. This portrays the political and societal views on how stereotypes are started within females. Therefore, I responded in a similar way to Sherman’s by starting off by exploring societal expectations and then slowly going through the timeline of the feminist movements by showering growth and empowerment. For example, I was heavily inspired by Cindy Sherman’s image conveying the ‘ traditional housewife’ as it significantly portrays the politics and female stereotypes caused by expectations from men that women are to serve men.

Untitled Film Stills (1998)

Within my response, I attempted to include similar key features such as the props and clothing. For example, the clothing increases the theme of feminine stereotypes such as caring about appearances such as the hair rollers, heavy makeup and high heels. The apron suggests her role in the household such as cooking for her husband. The ‘female gaze’ is suppose to convey the subject looking over at her husband.

One thing I did not do successfully due to lighting is that you cannot see the subjects hand over her stomach like Sherman’s image which eliminates the key feature of a woman being nurturing and ready for motherhood. Overall, my images are very staged, and link to drama as this is essentially acting through a photograph.

I experimented by changing angles to present the subjects high heels, this ultimately presents that women in the 1950’s had to look ‘perfect’ for the male in the household. This also adds a slight sexual element too it, which women were also seen for only to recreate. The look over the shoulder was significant to me as it shows a busy woman impressing her husband. This is interesting to me as heels can be viewed in different ways depending on the theme of the image. This is because in my third wave feminism photoshoot it is to signify confidence and growth through empowerment. However, in this photoshoot it is seen to impress and serve men’s societal expectations through appearances.

Another example of how Sherman questions the politics of gender and female stereotypes is through how women were seen to stay at home, and not have a right to education and work. This meant that women were viewed only to recreate and serve men through domestic appearances and motherhood. I interpreted this deeply through one of Sherman’s more revealing and sexual images such as;

Untitled Film Still #6

The first thing that caught my attention was the hairbrush in her left hand. I interpreted her aim was suppose to show feminine traits and stereotypes by fitting into the stereotype of women only caring about their appearance and beauty. The fact she is lying in bed, conveys she is waiting for her partner to come home. This is significant to be as Sherman was typically aiming for the 1950s, which was when women did not have equality rights within education and work. Lastly, her little clothing again, adds an element of sexuality as women were often objectified and sexualised during these times. This could symbol her typical role of motherhood and recreation. Overall, I noticed she frequently uses the ‘female gaze’ look which ultimately stands out to me as she is looking up to a potential dominant figure. This is literal as the image is taken from above, and she is laying down much lower. This could be to symbol the extreme dominance men had around the 1950’s and her look is to convey to stay within the role, potentially because it is all women knew.

For my image, I diversified my image by using hair rollers rather than a hair brush to include a similar element. To emphasise this theme of women serving men through appearance and being a mother I made the subject wear high heels to keep a sexual element to it. This is because Sherman executes this element successfully and frequently. The use of posing, such as a high leg really stood out for me. I put it in black and white to make it similar to Sherman’s, but also because my subjects dress was clashing with the bedsheets. This could ultimately symbolise women in the 1950’s as they decided to fit and blend into stereotypes without speaking up, linking to the subject blending into bedsheets. The black and white emphasised the blending. Lastly, the ‘female gaze’ and heavy makeup created the feminine and submissive element to my image. The heavy grain made it have more of a vintage and old aesthetic which is exactly what I was aiming to achieve.

Another example of how both Nan Goldin and Sherman questions the politics of gender and female stereotypes is through the significant key feature of fitting into the stereotype of women caring about their appearance. This is inspiring to me as men do not have the same stereotype, questioning the gender stereotypes.

Untitled Film Still #81

Both of these images give off different aesthetics in my opinion. Sherman’s portrays a sexual element to it such as the night dress and the hair and hands. I like how it is slightly blurry and can hardly see the subjects face. This ultimately creates a mysterious element to it. To emphasize this, most of Shermans images are in black and white which I personally prefer as it makes her images have a vintage and old aesthetic. The angle and placing of the camera makes it look like the image has been taken from the bedroom into the bathroom. However, Goldin’s image is less sexualised through the use of the subjects clothing such as the tank top, which isn’t seen as feminine as the night dress. Goldin’s image is clear, emphasized by the use of colour. Although, they both convey the importance of appearance through women by adding something to themselves by looking in the mirror.

‘Amanda In the Mirror’, Berlin: Nan Goldin 1992

Within my image, I attempted to combine both artists. I did this by my subjects clothing such as the night dress and heels to convey a sexualised image of women, which is often a stereotype. The posing such as the high leg, and the hand on the subject’s lips ultimately portrays this significantly. The use of black and white makes the image look older. Lastly, I added a heavy grain to make it look less clear like Sherman’s and vintage.

Cindy Sherman questions the politics of female stereotypes through showing the empowerment of women through educational rights. This image inspired me as it signified the growth women gained through fighting for equality rights such as work and education. This linked to the second wave feminism movement which links to my focus for this personal study.

Untitled Film Still #13

One thing that stood out to me was the ‘female gaze’ that Sherman always includes in her images. This is significant as this image shows the empowerment and growth rather than the ‘fitted stereotype’. Her use of clothing in my opinion signifies a sense of independence as it isn’t sexualized or for men. The reach of the book on the highest shelf could symbol her independence and growth of doing things on her own, without the stereotype that females cannot do the same as men. Lastly, it doesn’t look like she is wearing a heavy amount of makeup eliminating the factor of women caring about their own appearances.

Within my response, my subject is wearing clothing that isn’t sexualised but however is still feminine. I executed this through wearing a long, flowy dress matched with a 1950’s hat. I chose to maintain the ‘female gaze’ whilst my subject was reaching for a book. The use of black and white with a heavy grain emphasizes the vintage and older aesthetic which was one of my objectives. All of my images within response of Sherman are carefully stage crafted, precise posing and relevant props to execute the sense of drama and theatre.

The Ballad of Sexual Dependency series, 1984

Lastly, Nan Goldin expresses her experience through domestic abuse. This inspired me for my 3rd photoshoot as this was a very important topic during the 3rd wave feminism movement. Therefore, I decided to merge Sherman’s posing and stage crafting with this theme. With an outcome of this,

I executed this by using feminine posing, feminine clothes and heels. However added makeup to add fake abuse onto the subjects face. The black and white relates to Sherman and so does the clothing. The lighting looks over my subject, making her the main focus and emphasizing deeper shadows. My critique is that my subject should have her face turned more so the lighting shines on the bruises etc as it is the main focus of this photoshoot.

In conclusion, there are serval parallels between both artists, being similarities and differences. The main difference that stands out to me is there photography style. Nan Goldin’s style explores in snapshot-style the emotions of the individual, in intimate relationships etc. This contrasts significantly to Sherman’s photographic style as hers links to drama, theatre and stage crafting. This is because she is essentially acting, posing correctly and set up with props to get the perfect image. Sherman’s images are often critically discussed as questions of patriarchy, desire and voyeurism. This makes both artists contrast with one another as Nan Goldin fits more into the category of ‘ windows’ whereas Sherman fits into the category of ‘mirrors’. Sherman focuses on gender roles and stereotypes whereas Goldin is well known for her intimate depictions of the transgender subculture, as well as her images of friends dying of AIDS. However, I was mainly focused by her ‘The Ballad of Sexual Dependency series‘ as it emphasised the documentary and realism factor to her images as she did not glamourize or make her images look better than the reality was. This essentially contrasts to Sherman images as Sherman’s images are glamourized and carefully crafted. Interestingly, Goldin’s abuse photoshoot was taken between 1979 and 1986. Sherman’s untitled film stills were taken between 1977–80. Both of these artists took images around the same time, however Sherman’s was suppose to be focused around the 1950’s hence her use of black and white. This created the vintage and old aesthetic whereas, Goldin’s did not. This could be because Goldin’s images are suppose to be realistic as it fits more into the documentary category. The use of black and white is because Sherman was focusing on old stereotypes and essentially acting to fit into them. Within my own response, I made minor changes such as angles, clothing and props. I aimed to execute things similarly to Sherman’s apart from my 3rd photoshoot (3rd wave) as I merged both Goldin’s and Sherman’s work. I did this by using feminine posing, clothing and makeup by linking to Sherman and still linking to her photographic style of stage crafting her images like they are a film. I did all my photoshoots obtaining this photographic style so my photobook had a sequence that flowed seamlessly. However, my Nan Goldin inspiration for these images was to obtain the theme of domestic violence as this was a massive theme during the third wave feminism movement. This meant that I had to fake abuse that appeared on my subjects face, making the image not real which differs to Nan Goldin’s documentary style. Overall, I believe that I merged both the artists I was heavily inspired by successfully and obtained the key features that had to be included to execute my initial idea of expressing the stereotypes within women through the waves of feminist movements to make my photobook seamless.

Bibliography-

Chiriguayo, D. ( Dec. 05, 2022). Artist Nan Goldin shines light on stigma around abuse and addiction. [online](https://www.kcrw.com/news/shows/press-play-with-madeleine-brand/mahsa-amini-scotus-sackler-johnny-cash/beauty-bloodshed-nan-goldin) [accessed 28 January 2025]

Wells L. (1998). ‘The Photographic Gaze’ in Photography: A Critical Introduction. London: Routledge.

THEORY: LITERARY SOURCES

I am creating a soft cover A4 booklet with 20 pages, relating to girlhood.

The front and back cover is going to be one image in the middle of a pink boarder with a black bold title “Girlhood”, the pink will go round the back too, with my name in the top left corner.

The first page is going to have a poem on it about girlhood.

You can also see the lay out in the top left corner.

Page 2 and 3 is a whole spread page is one image of two girls posing and leaning in front of a car.

Page 4 and 5 is going to be a side by side comparison of a normal photo and then a black and white image.

Page 6 and 7 is going to be one image on the right hand side.

Page 8 and 9 is going to be two images on the right hand side then one full spread on the left.

Page 10 and 11 is a full spread of just one image.

Page 12 to 13, another wide spread image on both pages.

Page 14 to 15, two images on the left an done image on the right.

Page 16 to 17, just one image on the right hand side.

Page 18 to 19, two images on the right hand side with one image on the left, full bleed.

On page 20-23 goes my essay.

Here is the final look on lightroom.

I really like the way the images are set out, I focused on capturing cute girly moments. I used to colour pink colour to show the ‘stereotypical’ girl type. There are different tones and settings, like the beach and a car where the girls are singing and eating food which I think captures the scene of girlhood, the girls are giggling and enjoying spending time together with no boys there. The images are set out in a certain way to try and capture this element of girlhood which adds value to the images.

The lighting is natural with a warm colour temperature and the arrangement of the images is specific to try and capture each image by itself so nothing blends in. There is a sense of repetition within the images as they are all interlinked and are very similar. The idea behind this work is that Gen-Z have a very different lifestyle when growing up, therefore I’m trying to capture this within my images. The essay provides a detalied text of what my project is really about and its very important for my photograph’s and photobook.

To what extent does Cindy Sherman and Justine Kurland explore female stereotypes.

‘To collect photographs is to collect the world’
Susan Sontag, On Photography 1977

To explore stereotypes means to focus on something that is a set idea that people have about what someone or something is like, especially an idea that is wrong. They are able to shape our perceptions of groups of individuals which can lead to misunderstanding and sometimes discrimination. I am going to be looking at the area of female and teenage stereotypes. The artists I want to explore are Cindy Sherman and Justine Kurland. I have chosen Cindy Sherman as she focuses on female stereotypes within her work, her photography is important because of the way it depicts how women are viewed in society. I have also chosen Justine Kurland as her focus in photography is on girlhood. Her images are representations of both childhood adventures and current experiences. Both artists explore the issues with stereotypes and draw attention to it. Both photographers stage their photo shoots instead of them being documentary photographs. Cindy Sherman regularly alters her appearance beyond recognition through make-up, prosthetics, and costumes. To create her images, she assumes the multiple roles of photographer, model, makeup artist, hairdresser, and stylist. She becomes the character in the story she is attempting to portray through her images. Justine Kurland also sets up her images but not with herself, instead using real people she approach in her elaborate staging of photographs. Kurland has used staged tableaux to explore the social landscape of girlhood, life on communes, and life in the wilderness. Both photographers’ images represent mirrors. Mirror images are usually called this when the photographer is trying to demonstrate or reflect something that they feel about themselves. John Szarkowski in his text, said a mirror is ‘reflecting a portrait of the artist who made it’ and ‘a mirror- a romantic expression of the photographer’s sensibility as it projects itself on the things and sights of the world (Szarkowski 1978). These two artists are mirrors as Cindy Sherman is a women herself and is trying to reflect her feelings and opinions on it to the viewers, and Kurland mirrors her own childhood through the use of other girls a representation.

Historical context: Feminism

Both of he artists I am focussing on have images published between 1977-2002. Cindy Sherman’s Untitled Film Stills composes of over seventy black and white photographs made between 1977 and 1980. By 1970, feminists had inspired women and men across the United States. Whether in politics, the media, or private households, the topic of feminism was everywhere. The representation of women in art in the past shared the idea that women were good enough to be painted, but not to paint. They were usually represented for their physical appearance and not as the ones who would do the paintings. Theorist L van Zoomen said, ‘a core element of western patriarchal culture is the display of woman’s spectacle to be looked at, [and] subjected to the gaze of the (male) audience.’ (van Zoomen 2019). I agree with this quote as it was usual for women to be in the paintings and not be the painter, usually posing in certain ways that would be more appealing for a male audience. Historical female photographers include artists such as Julia Margaret-Cameron and Claude Cahun. Cameron (1815-79) revolutionised photography and immortalised the age of the eminent Victorian through her monumental photographs with their muzzy focus and dramatic use of light. Cahun presents herself in a variety of guises, adopting different personas and exploring the fluidity of identity. She dresses as both men and women when exploring the theme of identity and gender roles. A quote she said was: ‘Masculine? Feminine? It depends on the situation. Neuter is the only gender that always suits me.’ (Cahun, Claude (2008). Disavowals: or cancelled confessions. The MIT Press. p. 151.) This shows her link with the theme of masculinity and femininity as she does not care which identity she takes and in a few of her photographs you can see her looking more feminine than others. Cindy Sherman’s work is one of the most direct link with the male gaze in art history. her images show woman in roles hat seem disempowered. she makes the image appealing but also leaves the viewer to interpret certain things which can often be unsettling as they wonder what the real meaning is behind the image.

Cindy Sherman
Cindy Sherman makes her photos come to life by using herself as the main aspect. She doesn’t merely represent stereotypes, she embodies them in different ways which then draws attention to the roles she plays which captivate the viewers. Sherman is known for creating fictional characters in her photographs, often using props, makeup and clothing to transform her appearance which is seen as an exploration of identity. Sherman uses elaborate makeup and costumes to create transformations in her appearances and characters. This allows her to explore issues of identity, subjectivity and gender, while challenging the conventions of visual representation. Cindy Sherman said, ‘I never thought I was acting. When I became involved with close-ups I needed more information in the expression. I couldn’t depend on background or atmosphere. I wanted the story to come from the face. Somehow the acting just happened.’ Being a woman, she is able to share her ideas possibly from her own experience which could make the images more personal to her and important to her. Sherman satirizes the audience’s gaze on the female body and solidifies female aesthetic standards. Cindy Sherman’s work has had a major impact on contemporary photography. Many artists were influenced by her work, and her technique of deconstructing stereotypes and conventional representations is still an important reference for many artists today. Sherman’s work is often credited as a major influence for contemporary portrait photographers. One such photographer is Ryan Trecartin, who manipulates themes of identity in his videos and photography. Now 30, he began taking pictures of himself and his friends role playing and cross-dressing while still in junior high school, when he was also introduced to Sherman’s work. Sherman’s influence on other artists work was known as “The Cindy Sherman Effect”. She focusses on stereotypes to the extent where it has an impact on the community where she considers social and political issues surrounding stereotypes and woman in general such as female representation in popular culture and the performative nature of identity. In the image below, It could be interpreted by the viewer that Sherman is impersonating a stereotypical house wife from the late 1950s or early 1960s. This can be clear by the objects she adds to the image to subtly create this thought. The use of the sauce pan and soap bottle suggest to the viewer that she could be pictured in a kitchen. As well as this, she is also wearing an apron. The construction of the picture hints at a number of possible narratives and is open to a range of analyses. One analysis a viewer could make is a negative event occurring. The black and white can cause an ominous feeling or sense of tension and the tone of the image makes it feels like a dark and scary moment for the woman. she can be seen to be looking over her shoulder and the viewer can interpret that to what they like but it was usually be a negative thing she may be looking at as her eyes look concentrated on something that could be making her scared. Sherman is also seen holding her stomach which could be a usual comfort for a woman so this could further suggest something to make her uncomfortable is going on and further shows how she depicts the theme of vulnerability in her photos.

Justine Kurland
Justine Kurland focusses on themes of freedom, rebellion, and the defiance of gender expectations. Kurland’s main project was called Girl Pictures. Kurland started this project in 1997 when she was a graduate student at Yale. Kurland decided to reverse certain stereotypical representations by rather than showing girls as passive or vulnerable, she represented them as strong, confident and free-spirited. The main environment of her images are usually in wild settings like rural or urban places which would be the opposite of a typical environment where girlhood would be imagined to be placed. She first photographed a fifteen year old girl called Alyssum who was the daughter of Kurland’s partner at the time. As well as this she also photographed groups of friends who were teenage girls and she staged the images where she depicted life on communes and life in the wilderness. In her project Girl Pictures. writer Rebecca Bengal says, ‘one in six of us will never figure it out. One in six of us will never leave here. One in six of us is bound to disappear. One in six of us, she’ll surprise you’. (Bengal 2020) This quote important as its showing how every teenagers life is different and the decisions they make now will impact where they end up. She represents the stereotype of a teenager who is figuring things out at the same time as going through things. The lighting in the image below is natural and seems to be at either sunrise or sunset. The lighting sets a feeling of calmness to the viewer as it looks tranquil and relaxing. The warming tone also contributes to the idea of tranquillity. In this image, Kurland is photographing her partners daughter, Alyssum. This image shows Alyssum in the centre of the image holding onto a tree. The way she is holding onto he tree creates a sense of fear as she seems to be clinging onto it and not wanting to let go. Her being in the centre of the image I think works really well to create a deeper meaning of the image. the water next to her seems to be travelling one way on the left of the image whereas the direction of the headlights of the cars suggest the road travel the opposite way. as well as that, there’s a pathway on the grass which is also creating a direction. Alyssum’s body faces the road whereas she’s looking over her shoulder at the water which creates the idea that she doesn’t know what direction to go in or what path to take and seems to be lost. This links to stereotypes of young people as its showing the confusion of the mind and having the ability to make decisions for yourself but still not knowing which direction to go. Teenagers could relate to this image as they may also not know what to do or where to go as they enter the part of their life where their decisions have a major impact on their futures.

Conclusion

Both Cindy Sherman ands Justine Kurland are two of the most important photographers when it comes to themes such as identity, gender and roles in society. They have different techniques such as Sherman taking her images as self portraits which have been constructed an staged way. Whereas Kurland takes her images of other individuals and not herself in open naturalistic aesthetics where the environment is a rural wide-space. Though they have differences, their main themes are femininity, gender roles and identity. Both photographers attempt to present themselves in their images when focussing on the theme of identity however they do this in slightly different ways. Sherman uses her identity to show her opinions on the stereotypical female roles through using herself. She embodies them in different ways which then draws attention to the roles she plays and ultimately captivates the viewers. She is able to transform her appearance which is seen as an exploration of identity. Kurland shows her opinions and thoughts by using other people to reflect herself onto them. In her work Girl Pictures she depicts young women in wilderness settings and shows the ongoing theme of freedom and rebellion where she often places the individuals (herself) in natural environments in the wild. Another difference is how they explore identity in different ways. Sherman shows the stereotypical female societal roles in her images where she sticks to showing how woman are viewed where they are presented as disempowered and link largely with the male gaze. Whereas Kurland shows the female identity in opposite ways by depicting girls rebelling and being out in fields and rural areas where hey seem to be empowered rather than disempowered which would usually not be the typical image of a female. Both artists don’t just use their images to represent themselves, they represent everyone who can relate. Sherman represents every woman and Kurland represents most teenage girls. Though the artists approaches to this theme differ, they both manage to challenge the reality of being a woman. With the work I have produced, I would say it is more similar to Kurland’s work than Sherman’s. In one of my photoshoots, it focussed on group of my friends who were all girls. This is already a similarity between Kurland’s work and she also takes images of groups of girls. The settings of hers and my work could be seen as fairly similar as I also used places such as fields to take my photographs and got the subjects of the images to engage in activities such as tree climbing. In terms of Cindy Sherman, as a large majority of my images surround females I am able to compare mine to hers as a similarity. My photographs are images of others which links with Kurland’s work rather than Sherman’s as she tends to do self-portraits instead. I also believe that, like Kurland, my images would be seen as mirrors as I am reflecting my life through the use of my friends. in comparison to this idea, some of my other photoshoots could be seen as windows as I photograph the subject engaging in activities that is normalised for them (for example dancing) and so this would be a window as its taking a look into someone else’s normal activity that I don’t relate to. One of the photoshoots that focuses on one of my friends dancing links to Cindy Sherman and the idea of female stereotypes as dancing could be considered a female stereotypical sport (especially in the past).

Bibliography

Feminist theory
van Zoomen, L. (2019). ‘Feminist Theory’ in Dixon, M. Media Theory for A-Level Students. London: Routledge.

Justine Kurland

Bengal, R. (2020) ‘The Jeremys’ in Girl Pictures. New York: Aperture.

Historical paragraph Claude Cahun

Cahun, Claude (2008). Disavowals: or cancelled confessions.

For my second photoshoot I decided to focus on photographing my mum in the same style as older images of her.

Selecting images:

I selected 4 images that I was going to restage. I chose a variety of images with various different angles and poses. When doing my photoshoot I aimed to use similar props to the original images such as the cap.

Photoshoot:

I went through my images and selected my best images as white flags and the ones which aren’t as successful as black flags.

Best images:

I then went through and chose my favourite image for each category (each photo I recreated). These are the images which I will focus on editing.

Editing my images

I created a total of 8 edits from the 4 selected images, these are basic edits I have created where I have just adjusted basic settings. I also made a black and white copy of each of my edits so I can decide which one I will prefer to use within my photobook.

Edit 1:

Edit 2:

Edit 3:

Edit 4:

Experimental edits:

Edit 1:

I set up my screen like this so I was able to adjust the tones of my image to match the original one. I experimented with adjusting the tone to make it more pink/ purple like the original image.

To make further editing easier I chose to create my own preset so I am able to apply it to my other edits.

Other edits with this preset:

Evaluation:

Overall I think this shoot went well as I managed to recreate multiple old images in a similar way. I was also able to edit them in similar ways to the original images.