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5.4 Conversation with a Friend

Record a real conversation with a friend. (It’s up to you whether you ask permission or not!)


Before listening to the recording, write your account of both sides of the conversation. Then listen to the recording and make note of the discrepancies. Perhaps there are unfinished sentences, stammers, pauses, miscommunications etc.
Reflect upon the believability of re-enacted narratives and how this can be applied to constructed photography. What do you learn from the conversation recording process and how can you transfer what you learned into making pictures?

Lessons Learned

Upon replaying the conversation I recognised that whilst I had my own interpretation of the discussion and the salient points, actually more things were discussed than I had remembered. Whilst I hadn’t remembered all of the detail I felt that the conversation was relaxed and enjoyable. I felt good afterwards.

Reflection

My understanding was based on a real time conversation. We have conversations every day and take for granted what is a complicated process. It takes concentration and a lot of brain power to keep track of a conversation thread whilst we translate the words into meanings, recognise and understand inflection, tonal changes, hand gestures and facial expressions.

The process of understanding the dialogue requires cultural and linguistic knowledge. Our understanding of language includes embedded semiotic codes such as; semantic codes which describe a hidden but generally accepted meaning or symbolic codes, denoting or connoting an object or its qualities.

With all this going on it is not surprising that we don’t remember everything that is said during a conversation. We latch on to what we think are the main points, but these are affected by our perspective or point of view. Our perspective is created from our lived experience, it is the sum total of all our memories and experiences. It is further affected by our current surroundings and circumstances.

The process of re-enactment relies upon a recognition or understanding of an original event or object. All such understanding is, however, flawed due to the above. Technically no re-enactment will ever be an accurate depiction of an original.The use of Semiotics within the constructed or re-enacted image is a good method for creating narrative within the tableau. In addition to the semiotic codes mentioned above , visual codes include Proairetic (or action codes), and Hermeneutic Codes (or Enigma Codes) can also be used.

A re-enacted narrative within photographic art leverages our process of understanding. It recognises that our perception at any point in time is influenced by our individual perspective. When viewing the still image each viewer’s perception will be different. If a photographic image is presented in the form of a triptych, a series of images displayed on a gallery wall or within a book, our appreciation of each image is affected by our understanding of the preceding, thus creating narrative across set. The images in Robert Frank’s book The Americans are presented in a particular order and the viewer requested to view them accordingly. Jack Kerouac likened the order of the images to a visual poem.

Where cinematic re-enactment of historical events might be broadly accurate the viewer understands that much of the underlying detail will be fictional. Nevertheless we accept the story and we are drawn into the narrative. We apply our own emotional and moral perspective, resulting our rooting for the hero, disliking the villain and feeling empathy for the characters. The same perspective can be applied to the still image.

5.3 Question for the Seller

Question for Seller re-situates images in a different context and in so doing allows for a new dialogue to take place. Reflect on the following in your learning log:

  • Does their presence on a gallery wall give these images an elevated status?
  • Where does their meaning derive from?
  • When they are sold (again on eBay, via auction direct from the gallery) is their value increased by the fact that they’re now ‘art’?

Reflection

Nicky Bird’s Question for Seller came about from an interest that she had in other people’s family photographs that appeared for sale on eBay.

“I purchased photographs that no-one else bid for, with the connotation that they were unwanted, and therefore with no significant value. The seller was approached with the question – How did you come across the photos and what, if anything, do you know about them? Their replies, however brief, are as important as the photographs they are selling – sometimes alluding to a part of a discarded family history, or the everyday, where personal photographs have long since lost their original meaning.” https://www.nickybird.com/projects/question-for-seller/ [Accessed 26/05/2021]

By placing these photographs on a gallery wall their status is changed:

  • They are no longer private or personal items their original emotional connection to the original owner is removed
  • They become an object, to be viewed by the masses and become voyeuristically attractive as they provide a glimpse into the life of the unknown subjects
  • They have been removed from their original context and are now displayed with other images with which they have no connection which creates new context and new connections.
  • They cease to be a single entity and become part of an exhibit, an art work.
  • The written background to each image creates interest for a much wider audience and as such increases the status of the image. It is transformed from a discarded, almost worthless item into an artwork.

I think that the meaning of the artwork is that the photographs are items that show how little value is associated to mementos from the past, both in monetary terms and interest. By displaying the photographs as a “collection” with explanatory text Bird has transformed the photographs into an object and objects of interest.

When the exhibition is broken down and resold through auction I believe that the items did increase in value because they were considered an art exhibit. It is not unusual for discarded items to be acquired, “polished up” and resold for a profit, the same principle applies to the photographs, albeit that this wasn’t Bird’s original intention.

5.2 The Work of Gregory Crewdson

Look up the work of Gregory Crewdson online. Watch this YouTube video about Gregory Crewdson and his work and consider the questions below. www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7CvoTtus34&feature=youtu.be [accessed 24/02/14]

  • Do you think there is more to this work than aesthetic beauty?
  • Do you think Crewdson succeeds in making his work ‘psychological’? What does this mean?
  • What is your main goal when making pictures?
  • Do you think there’s anything wrong with making beauty your main goal? Why or why not? 

Note:

The YouTube link above failed to work. I therefore used the following sources for my research:

Reflection

Crewdson creates large scale photographic images depicting dystopian tableaux set in modern day America. The images are created using large sets where everything is controlled. This extends from the people within it to the ambience of the scene. The resulting effect is cinematic in style and resembles a still taken from a movie film roll.

I think that Crewdson’s work conveys his perspective on the suffering of people in the poorer parts of society in America, many of his images depict absolute poverty, young people without hope or even shoes. Many of his subjects look beaten down and forlorn. In this respect Crewdson’s images remind me of the work of Robert Frank. Frank sought to depict the reality of life in America at the time of the depression. Frank’s black and white images also have a psychological element. Frank’s images were candid photographs of society whereas Crewdson’s are a constructed reality but each convey a similar message.

Within the tableaux are examples of previously prosperous industry. Commercial premises are now abandoned and decaying, whilst the surrounding texture of trees and the natural environment appear to be thriving.

With the exception of the carefully placed subjects the scenes are deserted giving them an eerie emptiness. The use of colour, light and the creation of mist in some images adds to the cinematic effect. There is almost too much information to take in. The viewer’s eye is drawn into an altered reality. If the image was a still within a movie the viewer would have grown familiar with the colour grading and the “feel” of the imaginary world in which it was set. But as a single image the tableau confronts the viewer, the presented reality appears slightly skewed, I believe that this is why his work could be considered as having a psychological aspect.

When I create images I want to encourage emotion in the viewer. Occasionally I enjoy creating images for the sake of beauty, but overall I am disinterested in the portrayal of beauty. I wish to make a statement with my work and seek to question the status quo. Within the social network audience to which I post my work the preference is for images that portray beauty, the most popular consisting of sunrises and sunsets. I post my work regardless of any admiration or lack thereof as I want to evoke a more emotional response than “that’s nice” or “wow”

There is nothing wrong with photographers wanting to create or capture beauty in their imagery. A huge part of the photographic industry pertains to the production of “beautiful” images, be they landscapes, fashion, glamour or portraiture. Even architectural photography seeks to create beauty within arrangement of lines with the tableau. The modern ubiquitous trend “the selfie” has created a world of budding narcissistic photographers attempting to capture their own beauty. Such is the need for personal reassurance through the beautiful selfie that there are now a plethora of photographic filters available to artificially retouch, smooth and reshape the face into something more “socially appealing” I intensely dislike these effects.

I recognise that despite my goal being to create images with which I can express my rebelliousness I still seek to compose in an aesthetically pleasing way. In that respect I am compelled to chase a notion of beauty even if it is only within compositional rules.

5.1 Setting the Scene.

Exercise:

Watch this famous scene from Goodfellas directed by Martin Scorsese in 1990: www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJEEVtqXdK8 [accessed 24/02/14] Don’t read on until you’ve answered the following questions. • What does this scene tell you about the main character?

  • How does it do this? List the ‘clues’.
  • Make some notes in your learning log. 

Findings:

The main character appears to be an influential and important person within the plot. He is well dressed and has plenty of money, this is seen as he holds wads of banknotes in his hand as he walks through the building tipping each of the staff as he goes, he even has someone to look after his car.

He is respected, everyone knows who he is and greets him in a polite and friendly way.

He is in a position of power because he can walk right through a working kitchen without any issue. The club owner sets a table up especially for him when he arrives and he also knows other people in the club who are important.

He is not the most important or powerful person there, this is demonstrated by his age and his acknowledgment of the older guy on a table close by when the guy gives him a bottle of champagne as a gift.

4.2 Advert

Exercise

Rip out an advertising image from a newspaper supplement and circle and write on as many parts of the image as you can. Comment on what it is, what it says about the product and why you think it’s there. 

For this exercise I took an image from a free magazine available at Aldi Supermarket. The advert is for various products that are due to be available in their store from Thursday 18th June.



Use of colours

There is strong use of red and yellow in the advert. Red is one of the most visible colours of the spectrum to the human eye and it has been used in the advert to attract our attention both to the overall advert and, more importantly, to the most important messaging.(J.L. Morton. Graphics and Text) This includes the price of items where high contrast (white on red) has been used to make the prices and the statements such as “super weekly offer” stand out. Yellow is the most visible colour to the human eye and it has been used here alongside red to draw attention to the most important messaging. The fruit on the righthand side of the image consists of primarily yellow and red fruit which agin draw the eye.

Use of text and symbols

The advert uses multiple symbols to communicate meaning. These symbols are generally perceived in the UK as positive signage pertaining to food quality.

  • 100% British Beef (union jack symbol)
  • Assured Food Standards (red tractor symbol)
  • Minimum 12 Month Reared (gold cow symbol)
  • Specially Selected (black/gold square text box)
  • Team GB (Lions head and olympic rings symbol)

The use of colours which are suggestive of quality (suggesting British standards recognition) and which also connote national pride, are evident in these signs. specifically black and gold and red white and blue. The national pride connotations only apply to those in the UK who feel British. It is less likely to have a positive impact in, for example, Scotland. And it would not carry such recognition in other countries.

At the top left of the advert the word “like” has been emphasised. The word is in block capitals whilst the words around it are in lower case and the scale has been dramatically increased. Each letter has been spaced further apart than is usual and a multi-coloured shadow has been applied to make the letters stand out from the page. The effect on the viewer is almost an instruction “you will like these products!”

Other regularly used words on the page include:

  • Amazing
  • Super
  • Quality

These words are repeated throughout the advert and other words are kept to a minimum. The repetition of key words helps the advert to convey a defined message and adds to the overall significance to to the intended viewer.

Iconic Signs

On the lefthand side of the page there are five separate images of cooked meat products. The red on yellow labelling acts as an anchor to each image telling the viewer what they are looking at. In each case the meat product looks freshly cooked and  succulent there is a glossiness to the outside of the meat suggesting juices from cooking. Each of the meat products is shown with seasoning applied and an accompaniment of salad or vegetables to suggest that it is being served to the viewer. The use of a dark background and hints of a marble or slate platter and napkins suggest a restaurant setting. The lowermost image includes a fork in the image suggesting that the meat is about to be eaten. With the exception of the images of burgers (which you would expect to bite into) all of the other meat images show the meat partially sliced so that the inside of the product can be seen. The interior surfaces appear moist (glossy) and the red / pink colouration connotes a succulence and tenderness.

On the upper righthand side of the page there are images of eight people, they are young, healthy looking and dressed in matching sportswear which includes a union jack motif. The image strongly suggests that these individuals are part of the British Olympic team. The people are depicted in front of the lower half of a stylised Union Jack symbol with what appears to be exploding pieces of fruit. The Union Jack Connotes national pride and the “fruit explosion” connotes freshness. There is text acting as a relay to this part of the advert stating “it’s amazing what you can achieve when you have a team like this behind you”   Not being interested in sport I am led to wonder if these individuals are olympians or store workers or perhaps olympians who also work in Aldi. The detail in this part of the image is lost on me but the overall addition to the advert is a suggestion that the achievement of health and fitness at the highest level is associated to consuming the fresh fruit and vegetables depicted on the lower half of the page.

In the very small print at the bottom of the page there is a statement “Photography shows serving suggestions”

References

J.L. Morton (n.d.) Color Matters – The meaning of red [online] J.L. Morton.
Graphics and Text (website) Available from: https://www.colormatters.com/the-meanings-of-colors/red. Last Accessed 17/06/2020.

 

 

 

 

 

4.1 Elliot Erwitt’s Dog Image – Composition Notes

Exercise

Before you read any further, look carefully at Erwitt’s image and write some notes
about how the subject matter is placed within the frame. How has Erwitt structured
this image? What do you think the image is ‘saying’? How does the structure
contribute to this meaning?

Notes

download

  • The rule of thirds has been used which should direct the viewer to both of the dogs but the central positioning of the human makes her legs equally important.
  • The three subjects are equally spaced away from the sides of the frame and their feet lay along the the lower horizontal third line.
  • The eye is led from right to left rather than the usual left to right, perhaps this is because the perspective of the camera was aligned to the small dog’s eye line and the dog is looking into the camera (eye contact) and the dog’s positioning is the strongest in the frame (between the upper and lower third lines and sited on the left hand vertical)
  • The field of view is shallow meaning that the foreground and background are blurred whilst the main objects are sharply in focus making the subject matter very apparent.
  • There is part of the large dog’s hind leg showing in the upper left of the frame. This helps the viewer to realise that the rest of the dog continues outside of the frame but to me it appears undesirable as it distracts from the clean edges .

3.3 Childhood Memory

Exercise


Recreate a childhood memory in a photograph. Think carefully about the memory
you choose and how you’ll recreate it. You’re free to approach this task in any way
you wish.
• Does the memory involve you directly or is it something you witnessed?
• Will you include your adult self in the image (for example, to ‘stand in’ for your
childhood self) or will you ask a model to represent you? Or will you be absent
from the image altogether? (You’ll look at the work of some artists who have
chosen to depict some aspect of their life without including themselves in the
image in the next project.)
• Will you try and recreate the memory literally or will you represent it in a more
metaphorical way, as you did in Part Two?
• Will you accompany your image with some text?
• In your learning log, reflect on the final outcome. How does the photograph
resemble your memory? Is it different from what you expected? What does it
communicate to the viewer? How?
It might be interesting to show your photograph to friends or family members –
perhaps someone who was there at the time and someone who wasn’t – and see
what the image conveys to them.

Approach

As we live our lives we create memories, as we get older some of those memories do not appear to last as long as those we made in our younger years. I wanted to recreate a very strong memory from my childhood, the emotion I felt on the first day at school. This was a significant milestone in my life, one in which I had to move away from a place where I felt comfortable into an unknown and seemingly daunting environment. There have been many more such moments in my life but this one holds the strongest memory. 

I am absent from the image because my memory is one of a witnesses perspective. I decided upon a semi-literal representation for my image. I captured an image of a school campus viewed from the entrance but this was not my school. It is not possible for me to travel to my old school on the mainland so technically this is a metaphorical representation but equally it is  literally an image of a school. The camera was positioned at a low angle to simulate my perspective at the age of five. I think this choice of representation is the strongest mechanism with which to convey my message. The viewer will, I hope, recognise the same moment in their lives and reminisce about their first day at school, therefore the choice of school is no longer of significance. 

I titled the image in order to guide the viewer’s perception through “relay” but I chose not to add any further information. For the viewer to achieve reminiscence I felt that the image needed to be impersonal and flexible enough for them to relate to their own experiences. 

Final Image

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3.4 Nigel Shafran – Washing-up 2000.

Exercise

Shafran’s work is mainly derived from his personal life and includes information about his eating habits and his wife’s whereabouts. In the series Washing-up, through beautifully lit and composed images of sink areas after washing-up time, and accompanying text, Shafran gives us an intimate insight into his daily routines and family life. Objects and information, tastes and preferences shine through what on the surface appears to be banal and homogenous subject matter. The more you look at the images, the more distinctions you can make and the more insights you get. His use of everyday domestic environments gives the viewer a point of resonance and a sense of shared experience in the commonplace activity of ‘doing the washing up’

Go to the artist’s website and look at the other images in Shafran’s series. You may have noticed that Washing-up is the only piece of work in Part Three created by a man. It is also the only one with no human figures in it, although family members are referred to in the captions.

• Did it surprise you that this was taken by a man? Why?
• In your opinion does gender contribute to the creation of an image?
• What does this series achieve by not including people?
• Do you regard them as interesting ‘still life’ compositions?
Make some notes in your learning log.

010washing_up

Research and reflection

Until it was mentioned in the text of the exercise above I hadn’t noticed that washing-up was the only piece of work in part three created by a man. I can however see how the viewer of such an image may make such an assumption. Perhaps this would be the “unseen” element of any image, the capacity to promote an assumption in the viewer based upon visual clues and the viewer’s social context and life experience?

Surprise was not a word that I would associate with the recognition that images of washing-up had been taken by a man rather than a woman. Individuals of  either sex and any gender are unique in how they view and react with the world around them. It is equally possible for either a man or a woman to photograph domestic scenes. The images of washing-up included elements that were possibly, and I mean possibly in the mildest sense, indicative of male presence, notably the paintbrushes and lager cans on the draining board. It amused me as I later browsed Shafran’s other works to note that it was Shafran’s wife that was pictured wearing decorating overalls as its reminded me of the socially ingrained gender bias to which I had almost succumbed.

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The sex or gender of the photographer contributes to the way in which they create an image. The photographer’s eye is influenced by a multitude of things including ethnicity, age, sex, gender, upbringing, wealth, in fact all manner of lived experience.

Much has been written about the “male gaze” in describing the photographing of women. John Berger stated that ” Women are depicted in quite a different way from men – not because the feminine is different from the masculine – but because the ideal spectator is always assumed to be male.” Charlotte Jansen argues in her excellent article in BJP that as the number of female photographers, whether professional or as is most prevalent social media posters increase so the “female gaze” is bringing balance to what was once a patriarchal medium. She states “Do women photograph women differently to men? Certainly.  And female subjects interact differently with the camera when a woman is behind it” “Women see the world differently – in just as much colour and nuance. We are beginning to see that world, everywhere we look.”

The Washing-up series represents a modern take on still life imagery. By not including a person the viewer is not distracted from taking in all of the details from the image. If a person was to be included in the image the viewer’s gaze would be drawn initially to the figure and a narrative reasoned from visual clues offered by the figure with the remainder of the image only seen as background. Without a figure in the frame a narrative is created from the scene alone, the viewer noticing the smallest of clues as to what has gone before or may come after this moment.

002washing_up

Still life is not my favoured photographic genre, however after spending time browsing Shafran’s website I found myself enjoying some, but unfortunately not all, of his work. I found Washing-up a far more interesting visual read than I had expected and this is reflected in my approach to Assignment 3.

References

Bainbridge S. (ed.) (2017) The female gaze [online]. BJP website. Available from:  https://access.bjpsubs.com/female-gaze-issue-download/?submissionGuid=f8a8a8ed-ebd6-4822-9062-755c49489f1d. Last accessed 04/06/2020.

Berger J. (1972) Ways of Seeing . London. Penguin Books Ltd. p64.

Bibliography

Shafran N. (2000) Washing-up 2000 [online]. Nigel Shafran website. Available from: http://nigelshafran.com/category/washing-up-2000-2000/page/7/. Last accessed 04/06/2020.

Smyth D.(2018) Everyday beauty with Nigel Shafran [online]. BJP website. Available from: https://www.bjp-online.com/2018/05/shafraninterview/. Last accessed 04/06/2020.

Jobey L. (2008) Photographer Nigel Shafran: domestic harmony [online]. The Guardian website. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2008/oct/23/nigel-shafran. Last accessed 04/06/2020.

Bainbridge S. (ed.) (2017) The female gaze [online]. BJP website. Available from:  https://access.bjpsubs.com/female-gaze-issue-download/?submissionGuid=f8a8a8ed-ebd6-4822-9062-755c49489f1d. Last accessed 04/06/2020.

Jansen C. (2017) Girl on Girl. Hong Kong. Laurence King Publishing Ltd.

3.2 Masquerade (Nikki S. Lee and Trish Morrissey)

Nikki S Lee

In her various Projects, Nikki S. Lee (an American of Korean origin) finds subcultures,
transforms herself physically, and includes herself in the picture so that she blends in
with the group and becomes one of them, or infiltrates a particular subculture and
appears as though she is genuine. For example, she has ‘become’ a Chinese tourist, a
Puerto Rican woman, a hip hop fan, a runner, a bride… the list goes on.

  • Is there any sense in which Lee’s work could be considered voyeuristic or even
    exploitative? Is she commenting on her own identity, the group identity of the
    people she photographs, or both?

Nikki S Lee, born in Korea and later naturalised to the US wanted in her youth to be a film actress. She was dissuaded from this career path by her parents, but moved to a career in photography because they approved of it.

I think that it was Lee’s fascination with acting, with the inherent taking on and presenting of other personas that drives her exploration of how people present themselves in terms of culture, social norms or work in her Projects series (1997–2001)

The National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) described Lee’s work on these projects as: “She practiced and performed the codes and visual signs of specific American sub-cultures, including yuppies, swing dancers, drag queens, hip hop fans, and senior citizens.  A point-and-shoot camera, wielded by a member of the selected group or a passerby, recorded her transformation and interactions. Lee believes that individual identity is fluid and that her Projects were extensions of herself.”

I don’t believe that the photographer’s intention was to exploit those that she chose to mimic in her images. Lee is commenting on her own identity by exploring how she is able to adjust how she looks, behaves, talks etc. (the codes and visual signs) to integrate with and pass as a member of another group or sub-culture. In this work she is becoming the actress that she wanted to be in her youth.

L2008.87 128

These images capture a moment in the lives of each group or sub-culture but they do not appear exploitative. As far as the question of voyeurism in concerned, I think that all visual media appeals to the our innate voyeuristic inquisitiveness and these images are no different.

Beyond her Projects series (1997–2001) Lee has continued to investigate the fluidity of human social presentation with her series “Parts” (2002). When describing this work in Susan Bright’s Art Photography Now Lee said ” You can see that it is one person [Lee] throughout and that her identity shifts and changes depending on whom she is with.”

 

Trish Morrissey

For the series Front, Trish Morrissey found groups of family and friends, strangers to her, on beachfronts in Britain and Melbourne, swapped clothing with one of the women
and adopted their position within the family unit or the group. When you look at each
image individually, the guise is faultless.

  • Would you agree to Morrissey’s request if you were enjoying a day on the beach
    with your family? If not, why not?
  • Morrissey uses self-portraiture in more of her work, namely Seven and The Failed
    Realist. Look at these projects online and make some notes in your learning log.

Trish Morrissey has published many projects experimenting with fluidity of personal presentation in photography. In her interview with Lens Culture (2016) Described her approach as “Weaving fact and fiction, I plunge into the heart of such issues as family experiences and national identities, feminine and masculine roles, and relationships between strangers.”

Hayley-Coles

I found a gentle her humour in her work which after reading her Lens Culture review I understand to be intentional. Unlike Gillian Wearing who goes to great lengths to achieve a near perfect deception Morrissey’s depictions are deliberately not perfect. It is quite possible when viewing her images to identify her place within the image.

Racheal-Hobson

Personally, Morrissey’s use of humour and the lack of intent to achieve a perfect deception makes her work far more appealing. Would I acquiesce to her request to swap places with a family member for a photograph? Yes, I think that I would providing I understood her intention at the time. I think that humour is an attractive argument, who wouldn’t want to be part of such fun?

 

References

Lens Culture. (2016) Trish Morrissey [online] Lensculture (website). Available from: https://www.lensculture.com/trish-morrissey. Last accessed 14/05/2020.

National Museum of Women in the Arts (n.d.). Nikki S. Lee Born 1970 [online]. NMWA.com (website). Available from: https://nmwa.org/explore/artist-profiles/nikki-s-lee. Last accessed 14/05/2020.

Bibliography

Trish Morrissey (n.d.) Trish Morrissey.com (website). Available from: http://www.trishmorrissey.com/index.html. Last accessed 14/05/2020.

Bright R. (2005). Art photography now. London. Thames and Hudson.

Cotton C. (2014). The photograph as contemporary art. Third Edition. London. Thames and Hudson.

3.1 Self Portraiture (Woodman, Brotherus, Wearing.)

Exercise:

Reflect on the pieces of work discussed in this project in your learning log and do
some further research of your own.
Here are a few questions you might ask yourself:
• How do these images make you feel?
• Do you think there’s an element of narcissism or self-indulgence in focusing on
your own identity in this way?
• What’s the significance of Brotherus’s nakedness?
• Can such images ‘work’ for an outsider without accompanying text?
• Do you think any of these artists are also addressing wider issues beyond the
purely personal?
Make some notes in your learning log.

Reflection:

I have really enjoyed the opportunity to “live with” and to reflect upon some of the published self portraiture portfolios of Francesca Woodman, Elina Brotherus and Gillian Wearing. It took me some time to move beyond my initial discomfort at gazing upon and reading images of individuals who are naked. I put this down to a very conservative upbringing and a level of social conditioning that tells us that naked is bad and to gaze upon such nakedness can only be voyeuristic. I discovered that the longer I spent with these images the easier I found it to understand the reasoning behind the images and to appreciate the messaging within the images.

When I consider the semiotics of Woodman’s and Brotherus’ work I feel both artists have confronted the traditional, male-centric objectification of the female form. John Berger states that “Women are depicted quite differently to men”….. “the ‘ideal’ spectator is always assumed to be male and the image is designed to flatter him” Both Brotherus’ and Woodman’s images do not, in my opinion, flatter the male viewer. There is no “calculated charm” expressed towards the viewer. There is purely self, naked rather than nude. Berger described this difference as “To be naked is to be oneself. To be nude is to be seen naked by others and yet not recognised for oneself”.

Model-Study-4

 

I found both Woodman’s and Brotherus’ images moving. Woodman’s work felt dark, moody and at times confrontational. Brotherus’ work, which is extensive, ranged from quirky and amusing to tender and very personal. Her project Annunciation when viewed chronologically needed no explanation. Her pain throughout was palpable and despite the intensely personal nature of the subject matter I didn’t feel as though I was intruding. The conscious viewer/viewed relationship disappeared leaving me with overwhelming sensations of sympathy and empathy.

 

Wearing’s work baffled me. I had to admire the considerable effort and the craftsmanship that went into the production of such lifelike and accurate silicon masks. The difficulties that Wearing encountered in lighting the portrait due to the different light reflecting properties of the silicon were fascinating. I appreciated the dedication needed to create these images including ensuring the detail of the backgrounds are true to the original snapshot image,  but I didn’t really feel the intended meaning of the artist just through viewing the images.

Self Portrait as My Brother Richard Wearing 2003 Gillian Wearing OBE born 1963 Presented by Tate Members 2014 http://www.tate.org.uk/art/work/P81098

Wearings images presented self portraiture in entirely the opposite way to Woodman and Brotherus. Rather than the openness and brutal honesty of the nude or naked image Wearing presented a mask or a barrier to understanding the person beneath. Wearing described her intentions in Susan Bright’s book Art photography Now, when discussing the portrait of her mother, as: (when wearing the mask) “[I could] with my eyes and posture convince the viewer I was her” With this work Wearing appears to have inverted the entire notion of self-portraiture as that of an image of oneself. It is an exercise in artistic, sympathetic deception. For me it held less appeal than the work of Brotherus or Woodman.

Is there an element of narcissism or self-indulgence in focusing on your own identity in this way?

Narcissism can be defined as an “inordinate fascination with oneself; excessive self-love, vanity.” (dictionary.com) Self-indulgence can be defined as “indulging one’s own desires, passions, whims, etc., especially without restraint.” (dictionary.com)

I do not recognise any of the negative connotations of  narcissism in these works. In comparison to self portraiture on social media where people only present the best of themselves Woodman and Brotherus are brutal in their honesty. I find no sign of vanity or self love in their images. Both artists definitely demonstrate a fascination with  self. This kind of fascination is an entirely natural process that we all go through at some time in our lives and it is necessary for us to develop a sense of self. The differentiation here is that Woodman and Brotherus are prepared to share their intimate fascination with the viewer.

All three artists display self-indulgent traits within their work, but isn’t that one of the requirements of artistic output? I think that artistic endeavours necessitate a level of self indulgence in order to produce the best work possible.

What’s the significance of Brotherus’s nakedness?

There may be many motivations for Brotherus choosing to be naked in her images. I have already mentioned the apparent fascination with self that appears throughout her portfolio. In addition to this within her project “Annunciation” her nakedness, the absence of barriers, positively impacts the narrative. By showing herself to be naked in what appear to be intimate and distressing situations Brotherus conveys a sense of honesty, vulnerability. She exposes her pain and distress without any form of barrier.

In Brotherus’ later work she continues to photograph herself naked however she differentiates between her earlier autobiographical work and her more recent projects, stating on her website “Personally, I see a clear difference between my autobiographical photographs, for which I know the emotion in question, and the other ones where I appear as a model. In the latter, there is not necessarily any emotion that I could identify. It’s about composing a picture with a human figure in a space, and it can represent anything you want.”

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Can such images ‘work’ for an outsider without accompanying text?

I needed explanatory text in order to make sense of Wearing’s imagery when first viewed. In this case the text explained the process the artist underwent to produce the images and this enhanced the viewing experience.

I didn’t find the need to textual explanation for Woodman’s or Brotherus’ work although I found that I needed to spend time with the images in order to more fully understand the narrative or meaning. In fact the more time I have spent considering the work the more I have gained from it.

Researching these works I found many texts and critiques that explain either the experiences of the artist at the time of the works or the motivation or original meaning of the work. These texts served in the main to enhance the viewing experience but were not a necessity.

Do you think any of these artists are also addressing wider issues beyond the
purely personal?

The work that I felt most addressed wider issues than just personal exploration was Brotherus’ project “Annunciation” which deals with the issue of infertility.  Other work by all three artists deal with issues that whilst being personal to the artists are also equally personal to some viewers.  Messages contained within such imagery will be recognised by many and their personal emotions projected onto the viewed work. As such these works will all deal, perhaps to a less degree to works such as “Annunciation”, with wider issues.

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References

Heikka E. Rastenberger A-K. (2016). The rules of the game [Online]. Elina Brotherus (website). Available from: http://www.elinabrotherus.com/texts. Last accessed 14/05/2020.

Berger J. (1972). Ways of seeing. London. BBC and Penguin Books. P45-64.

Bibliography

Cooke R. (2014). Searching for the real Francesca Woodman [online]. The Guardian (website). Available from:

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/aug/31/searching-for-the-real-francesca-woodman. Last Accessed 14/05/2020.

Bright R. (2005). Art photography now. London. Thames and Hudson. P51, 42-43.

Cotton C. (2014). The photograph as contemporary art. Third Edition. London. Thames and Hudson.

Bate D. (2009). Photography the key concepts. Oxford. Berg. P82-83.

Brotherus E. (n.d.) Elina Brotherus.com [website]. Available from: http://www.elinabrotherus.com/. Last accessed 14/05/2020.

Tate. (n.d.) Gillian Wearing CBE born 1963 [online]. Tate.com (website) Available from: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/gillian-wearing-cbe-2648. Last accessed 14/05/2020.