Category Archives: Notes from discussions and hangouts

Learning Log, Notes from discussions and hangouts, Part 4 - Image and text, Photographers, Project 2 - Memories and speech

Anna Fox

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Anna Fox is a British photographer and a professor of photography at UCA, Farnham. She recently gave a talk on zoom to the OCA students. She has published several books including My Mother’s Cupboards and My Father’s Words (Fox, 1999). This is a small book that uses text to explain pictures – or pictures to illustrate text. They both have equal value. The text consists of words, aggressive, angry, violent, spoken by her father about the women in their family, more specifically her mother and the images are very quiet, simple images of the contents of the cupboards in the house. Sometime the two fit together – such as the words ‘She’s bloody rattling again’ set against a cupboard of glasses, other times less so. In a recent talk given by Fox to the OCA students she said that she collected the words surreptitiously, under the table – but simply went around the house taking the pictures. She did not attempt to illustrate the words but matched them together when they were all collected. She described the book as not simply about her mother and father but about the effect of couples living together in a patriarchal society and noted that whenever it is shown other people come out with similar stories about their families.

In another book Work Stations (Fox, 1988) Fox took a series of photographs of people in offices in London which are presented along with a line of text that she gathered from magazines and newspapers. She used the same technique in Basingstoke 1985-68 (Fox, s.d.), where the apparently banal images of Basingstoke life are matched with a series of texts culled from local papers. In both of these works sometimes the text matches the image (although with a slightly sideways match) in other the text seems to almost contradict the information in the photograph. In the same talk she said that she simply collected the texts but did not try and illustrate them – as, for her, that did not work. Fox is clear that image and texts when used in a piece of work should be seen as both parts of the work, not simply an image + a caption.  She used the work of Sophie Calle to illustrate this – where the words are crucial to the understanding and are often shown as more important (or at least more dominant) than the pictures. In another work Cockroach Diary (Fox, 2000) she made two separate books, one the diary – a copy of the diary she made which told the story of what was happening in a group of ‘dysfunctional’ people living together, and one a book of images of cockroaches – often scarcely visible (as they move so fast) and presented them together. In an exhibition of the work the pictures were shown on the walls, and the diary shown under them so you could read it all.  

In all of these works the text is important. Equal not subordinate. It needs careful thought from the very beginning of the project, it may actually precede the images and inspire them. It is not added as an afterthought, that will not work.

 In the lengthy and fascinating talk, she made several important points which I have attempted to summarise:

  • Women in photography have not often been represented enough which she and a group of other people are trying to balance in Fast Forward, which holds conferences, acts as a research project and has an online journal (Fast Forward: Women in Photography, s.d.) .
  • Women are not good at networking – possibly because focused on struggle to get seen and not enough energy left, men are better at this
  • She is inspired by fiction – fills the mind with ideas, which then become embedded and inform your work
  • Photography resembles reality – but it’s not real. Time and memory are important Are these things captured, recorded or posed in time?
  • Does it matter if the photo is ‘real’ or fictional – no but it does matter that you are honest about it if asked. Some authors embed found images in their work to make the story appear more real. Other photographers construct images from the ground up to tell a fictional story that may be more real than an actual image ever could be (Crewdson, Wells, possibly Capa).
  • All your work has a degree of fiction because you choose what to include and what to crop out – the story says as much about you as anything else.
  • She said the photographs that inspire her are the ones that surprise her.
  • You have to make yourself a good enough photographer to make the story the right way for the subjects – gives the people a voice. You need to know why you take them and use them – context is everything.

More of her work can be seen on her website: https://annafox.co.uk/

References:

Fast Forward: Women in Photography (s.d.) At: https://fastforward.photography/ (Accessed  08/06/2020).

Fox (s.d.) Basingstoke 1985 – 86 – Anna Fox. At: https://annafox.co.uk/photography/basingstoke-1985-86/ (Accessed 08/06/2020).

Fox, A. (1988) Work Stations: office life in London. London: Camerawork.

Fox, A. (1999) My Mother’s Cupboards and my Father’s Words: a short story in words and pictures. London: Shoreditch Biennale.

Fox, A. (2000) Cockroach diary 1996-1999. London: Shorditch Biennale.

Learning Log, Notes from discussions and hangouts

IAP Group Meeting – 06 June 2020

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We had an interesting discussion in the IAP group this morning. Present were me (obviously), Ben, Caroline, Mark and Julia. Unfortunately, we lost Julia halfway through – but I think most of the serious discussion was over by that point.

Caroline shared her work for A4. She was on the review post tutor input. The original work was a series of overlaid images showing 2 view of herself – what she is doing now (in England) and what she might have been doing in Dubai.  We all agreed that we liked the images, but they were quite complicated to look at and difficult to follow her theme. I wondered if both images should have been given equal visual weight – but Caroline said she had tried that, and it did not work well. She has redone the series using torn and joined together prints. We all agreed that this gave a much clearer view of what she was doing – very effective. All liked the physicality of the torn images.  Discussed about the text – whether to change the dates so it did not risk being linked to Covid as the separation was not because of that.

Zoe showed her A3 series with the new images and order as suggested by the tutor. People liked some of the pictures, especially the Star Wars in front of face. Long discussion about what order to show them in to tell a story. Ben suggested to change so that there was more of a conclusion. Agreed that the issue is whether this is a straight documentary – so did not need a more personal take – or a tale about a group that I was involved in – so personal images would be better. Impossible to reshoot – so simply maybe write up as a learning experience.

Julia shared her beautiful images for A4. This is her original take and she had already decided on some changes. She said her tutor always asked her “Why?” And what makes her like any given images – which is both an important question and one that is difficult/impossible to answer! Julia commented that she struggles with using words with images and often found them pretentious – so used quotes (very effective). We spent some time discussing fonts and how to choose them. Julia is thinking about making the images into a book. (I did not say so at the time – but think it could make a beautiful book – but would be nice rather longer).

Ben – has been working mainly on his CN assessment work but he described his A1 work on the Glasgow City Mission, deadpan images of the people there. He told us about his working practice – talking all the time, telling people exactly what he was doing. He took the people into a separate room so they wouldn’t be embarrassed – unfortunately some of the best images the subjects didn’t want shown. He commented that his tutor was encouraging him to research more.

Mark is just finishing off CN and not started IAP yet.

General points:

  • We all get asked ‘why?’ – by our tutors
  • We need to think about why things work (so we can do it again)
  • How to use text – and what font – maybe ask Caroline for advice on that!
  • Lockdown makes you think harder – work within the imposed limitations
  • Some discussion about cameras and the use of both digital and analogue – varying things can give you more opportunities.
  • Noted the Learning Outcomes are different in the course manuals (even on OCA Learn) than they are in the assessment guidelines – so be careful to check

Plans:

Learning Log, Notes from discussions and hangouts

Susan Bright Lecture

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I attended both the Susan Bright lecture and the question and answer time that followed it. Susan talked about being a curator and what it meant to her. She describes herself as a curator and a writer (and a teacher) and said that she had spent considerable time thinking about what those terms meant to her She explained that the original meaning of curator was ‘keeper’ and that most curators worked either within a museum or with a collection to work to keep it, expand on it, write about it and produce exhibitions . She is, however, an independent curator, which effectively means that she works on what she wants to, usually in collaboration with the artists involved. She chose this role to allow her to be involved with exhibitions that she was interested in.

While talking she noted several things:

  • There has been a long-term underrepresentation of women in art. This culminated in a backlash in 2019 at Arles where it was particularly noticeable
  • Women are still underrepresented, even in the present Covid situation with a lot more online talks, and after the ‘me-too’ discussions
  • Art remains mainly white – not that art is white but that the art that is shown in major exhibitions and sold does not cover the breadth or depth of art (including photography) that is available.
  • Photography appears to favour speed, youth and moving forward while she favours emotion, slowness and listening to history.
  • She considers herself to be a ‘feminist’ curator – and tries to reflect feminist values within her work
  • Collaboration is crucial, and in practice has always happened although is not always acknowledged. It can be across generations and also between various roles
  • The role of a curator is not to ‘be nice’ but also to say the hard things
  • She doesn’t censor work – but the gallery or a publisher might

Bright then talked about several of the exhibitions and artists she has been involved with.

  • Home Truths both in the exhibition and the book that followed it was born from a lack of images and discussion about ‘mothering’ in all its complexities and range. Each artists work was different and presented differently.it initially came out of her own need to make sense of her own conflicted feelings about motherhood. Talked about both abundance and loss, endurance, and emotions.
  • Deja vu in Spain (for an essay on this see : https://www.photomonitor.co.uk/dejavu_bright/
    • Elina Brotherus – she has had a long history of working with her following an initial email. She had originally been reluctant to show her work Annunciation as very personal, so SB became a virtual gatekeeper for it.
    • Clare Strand – Discrete Channel with Noise – a collaboration between her and her husband – sending information across a phone – to produce an image – working on issues of communication and electronic/virtual engagement
    • Sharon Cox – who copies paintings – but something is always a little ‘off’
    • Délio Jasse – looking at ideas of identity, obsolescence, and work across generations
    • Patrick Pound  – another curator – using algorithms to collect things and then make into others i.e. a pan pipe (related to wind) links to a fluted cooking pan. Looking at chance in how things fit together.

Bright’s background is in art history, leading on to a dissertation on curatorial practice. She feels that for her type of curation the academic background is crucial. She collaborates with the artists, but it is a very different role from that of an art critic. She pointed out that collaboration starts – but it also needs to stop – to allow both of you space. The question she always asks of the artist is “Why?”

Bright talked about the things she feels are crucial if you contact a curator (or ask someone to look at your work):

  • The work must be coherent
  • Don’t get defensive (they are there to criticise not just agree with you)
  • Grow a thick skin
  • Research the person and present work they may be interested in
  • Be clean and polite!

Making an exhibition:

  • Be careful about the details
  • Frame things well if they are to be framed.
  • If you don’t use a frame – have a reason
  • Make a maquette (software available)
  • Think about the flow though the exhibition
  • Faces are welcoming – so a good starting point if there is one
  • Be careful with text – a hook/explanation at the beginning – but do you need more?
  • Have lots of people look at it – not just photographers
  • Attend as many exhibitions as possible and take notes

Lecture available at:

https://oca.cloud.panopto.eu/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=4eb5bd63-7530-4374-b550-abba00728e02

Conversation event available here:

https://oca.cloud.panopto.eu/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=a0e279c7-5c46-4af6-9756-abce011d65fb&autoplay=false&offerviewer=true&showtitle=true&showbrand=false&start=0&interactivity=all

Learning Log, Notes from discussions and hangouts

Politics of Portraiture

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A zoom tutorial with Arpita Shar

I have just attended the fascinating and very informative zoom with Arpita Shar on Politics of Portraiture. I ended up taking 8 pages of notes over 2 hours! So, I will attempt to summarise them.

Arpita started by discussing the ethics of photography and the need for ethical responsibility. This was a recurring theme throughout the talk. She directed us to the work of Anthony Luvera and the website Photography as a Social Practice which I have just managed to take a brief look at. http://www.asocialpractice.com

Luvera said something like (unfortunately I was not quick enough to get the whole quote) – ‘Photographers are storytellers who speak about the world and can shake preconceptions.’ He is involved in a journal called ‘Photography for whom?’  about socially engaged photography. Arpita emphasised that when you were taking photographs of people there were several things you should consider, including:

  • Who is the work for?
  • Who benefits?
  • How do you measure the subjects experience?
  • What is the outcome?
  • Ownership
  • Authenticity
  • Consent

Everybody’s code of practice is slightly different – but you need to really think about what you are doing.

Consent is crucial. It should be informed and transparent. Parents should consent for children. The consent form should include everything that you are planning to use the images for and if you change that you need to revisit the consent – so you need to keep a way of contacting people. She kindly sent us copies of 3 consent forms, her own, the AOP one and the RPS one which are all slightly different.

Arpita also directed us towards the website of the Photography Ethics Centre which has many articles to make you think about what you are doing and why:

https://www.photoethics.org/

Words to remember are respect, integrity, accountability, dignity

Arpita then spent some time taking us through her work from her very early work as a student to what she is working on now. She is mainly interested in looking at migration and movement of families and the ensuing diversity that produces. She started this as she became aware there was little representation at women of colour in photography (more so nowadays – but still limited). Her work is clearly informed by art history, paintings, and miniatures as she is interested in how the past and the present can be layered within images. She uses nature as a metaphor for displacement in many of her photos. She also tries to challenge stereotypes where possible – such as Indian teenagers are always socially poor (obviously they are not) and the meaning of various head coverings that different races and religions use. She commented that it is important to be clear with people not just what you are using the images for but also what you are expecting of them. Are you going to move their furniture around? How long is it going to take? Inside or outside? Yes, they can see the images, but she will retain final choice of which ones she is using? Yes, they can back out – but please tell her.

We then went over several portrait photographers work, some in more detail than others as unfortunately we ran out of time. I will just summarise these very briefly as I want to do more research on most of them! (Time might be an issue).

We talked about socially engaged photographers and how they plan (but do they always?) empower the people to be involved in both the taking of the pictures and their use. Giving the voice back to the people. Challenging preconception. Use of dialogues.

  • Dawoud Bey: very long-standing photographer of black Americans, looking at marginalised groups, originally in Harlem. The images showed a proud people. Contrasted his work with the earlier work of Irving Penn (fashion photographer who in his spare time took images of people of ‘other’ races). Very different feel about the 2 groups. Bey reminded me of the work of Gordon Parks.
  • Dana Lixenberg with her fabulous Imperial Courts where she as a white woman from Europe managed to integrate herself enough with the coloured population in a poor area of Los Angeles over 22 years to make a BOW that is a stunning view of time in that area. Clearly thought about the background and how best to show the people. Note: she is an outsider
  • Mahtab Hussein – working with young adult Asian men in Birmingham – studies showing their Britishness but also (I thought) the sadness in some of their eyes You Get Me? He apparently picked the people by walking around the streets and making conversation, but he also gives them a degree of choice in what images are used. Note: he is an insider in the population
  • Maud Sulter – a very different type of work questioning black female identity and using staged portraiture to riff on ancient muses (need for knowledge of history and fables/ myths to interpret
  • Liz Hingley – a fascinating work on a street in Birmingham looking at the multiplicity of different faiths found there. Often photographed indoors. People not looking directly at her, looking either away from or into the light. (Under Gods).
  • Margaret Mitchell – working with her family and the children – showing the poor background against the rebellious teenagers they are becoming (social photography) – reminded me that I first saw this in St Andrew’s – major contrast.
  • Handsworth self-portraits – used a pop-up booth to get people to take their own images – consent may have been an issue. – but not really considered then.
  • Anthony Luvera – self assisted portraits of the homeless, he also included pictures taken by the subjects on disposable cameras. How much choice do they really have? Within the community the images make sense – but what happens when outsiders see them? Also consider the work of Julian Germain where he offers street children the cameras to express themselves alongside writing and interviews.
  • J.R. – photos taken, blown up and shown on the floor, on buildings, anywhere – a very playful use of the photography.
  • Bieke Depoorter – Agata – a Lon-term work about one person’s life, where she sometimes directs what photos are taken, ands when they are shown will come and write about them on the gallery walls. Very much a collaborative project.
  • Ashfika Rahman and Sam Ivin – ran out of time to discuss but thinking about ways to protect the identity of people who are at risk/have been abused.

As you see: a very long and wide-ranging tutorial accompanied by lots of further reading and links to follow up.

Thank you Arpita.

Learning Log, Notes from discussions and hangouts

IAP Support Group Inaugural Meeting

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Who am I

Today was the inaugural meeting (on-line of course) of the IAP support group. It was set up at short notice, so I was delighted that 6 people including me attended. Oddly enough a high proportion were from Scotland. As it was our first meeting, we started by telling each other a little bit about ourselves and where we are:

  • Zoe (me) – I am a retired paediatrician and live in Dunfermline and decided to take a degree to keep my mind awake. I have taken pictures all my life as my stepfather was a professional photographer. My long-term interest is in working with the stories of people with ASD (autism). At present I am waiting feedback for A3 and am working on A4.
  • Iain – from Edinburgh – says he has always been ‘into’ photography but having seen the work of someone he worked with that was different from what he was used to he was hooked. He’d started the degree as he felt he was in a rut and has learned more than he expected to. Presently on A4.
  • Julia – from Norfolk and also retired, said I love photography and started it following her grandmother’s footsteps who was a refugee, initially from Russia then Germany, and also a photographer. She is presently doing archival work with her grandmother’s images. She commented the OCA work has taken her to places with her photography that she would never have thought of going. A reluctant reader of formal texts. Presently on A5 and awaiting feedback for A3 and A4.
  • Caroline – living in the north east of England and recently returned from Dubai(?). Works for a graphic design company so very up-to-date and confident with all the technical stuff. Was initially frustrated as she couldn’t get the photos to tell the story she’s wanted. Likes the creative challenge given her by the OCA. All of her assignments have been autobiographical as recently returned to England and in ‘virtual lockdown socially’ even before the real one began.  Presently on A5.
  • Debra – from Brighton and works full time in the NHS. Has done photography since a child. She loves the creativity of the courses. She wanted to do a degree to prove she could. She is doing this to be able to be in contact with people who are of a similar mindset and also wanting to expand their knowledge. She is a member of a very supportive camera club having checked out several that were more rigid. Presently on A1.
  • Ben – from Devon but living in Glasgow at the moment is a military photographer and videographer which has taken him on several amazing journeys including to Antarctica where he worked with WWF and the navy. He has also done political photography. He is taking the degree because he wants to be able to move into teaching/lecturing and needs the academic side to back up the practical side. He finds the art degree far removed from his usual day to day work. Presently on A2 band just submitting CN (good wishes for that).

I then gave a quick plug for the Scottish OCA Study group as several people her are from Scotland or the north of England. Meetings will restart when possible:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/oca.photo.scot

We spent some time discussing tutors and their role. Most people have had generally good experiences. There is a general awareness that the tutors all have multiple students and little (not enough) time to give to each one and also that they work to a strict timetable – so if you submit work without it you may well have to wait. Iain noted that his tutor had helpfully suggested that he look ahead at all the up-coming work needed so if he had and opportunity to take relevant images he could. People are finding the additional tutorials given by Andrea Norrington very helpful. All her talks so far can be found at:

https://oca.padlet.org/andreanorrington/laq2kvhc5mpg

We spent some time discussing the new arrangements for assessment. Ben (who is going though it now) had the formal information to hand and will send it on to the group (has done, thank you). His tutor had suggested that he spent some time looking at other photographers’ websites to see how they lay them out and bring attention to their images with the pictures usually being the first thing you see. I suggested looking at the information that came up on the recent assessment zoom by Dan Robinson:

https://discuss.oca-student.com/t/photography-specific-adaptations-to-covid-19/11641/85

We all agreed that one of the difficulties is getting critical and informed feedback on out work (especially in the work up stages) and also when we had changed it in response to our tutors’ feedback. We thought this group would be a useful way of taking that forward.

Future plans for the group:

  • Next meeting in 2 weeks time (Sat 6th June at 1000). Ben will set this up via zoom.
  • Everybody to share blogs together with any specific questions they would appreciate feedback on before then
  • Everybody to look at those blogs!
  • Zoe to set up a Padlet to hold relevant information which should be easier than scrolling down a (very) long email trail. Done:

 

With thanks to all for attending. I had a great time and found it very helpful

Learning Log, Notes from discussions and hangouts

Research Zoom

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I have recently attended a zoom meeting with Andrea Norrington on research. The PowerPoint for the meeting is available here: https://oca.padlet.org/andreanorrington/laq2kvhc5mpg  (Norrington, s.d.) and here: https://discuss.oca-student.com/t/tutor-led-zoom-for-level-1-2-photography-may-session-research-how-and-why/12031/19 so I will not repeat everything in it, just give my own thoughts and note the ‘activities’ it has caused me to do.

Why do research?

  • This seemed a rather superfluous question to me – but apparently some people don’t think it is necessary or relevant
  • The question about the ‘risk of copying’ other people’s work came up. Andrea pointed out that this is one of the best ways to learn. Certainly, I understand that it was always part of any Fine Art curriculum until recently.
  • It is actually hard to copy – everyone has their own style and ways of doing things. Copying something may well give you new ideas.
  • She showed the Rankin shoots Bailey clip and suggested that we should look at some of the others on the series
    • Note to self – do this
  • I was just looking at the work of Julia Fullerton-Batten (as she was one of a group of artists offering to sell prints in aid of charity) and saw the image Ophelia , which is directly based on the John Everett Millais work of the same name. She went to vast effort to copy it accurately. See here for the picture: https://www.juliafullerton-batten.com/gallery.php?gallNo=87&photoNo=4&catNo=1 (Fullerton-Batten, s.d.) and here for the explanation https://www.juliafullerton-batten.com/galltext.php?photoNo=603&catNo=1&gallNo=87 (Fullerton-Batten, s.d.)

Research:

  • Think laterally
  • Explore the whole time period
  • Use books, films, poetry (and presumably music) to inspire
  • Think outside the box, follow up references and footnotes – they may take you off on a completely different but productive stream
  • Be curious
  • Go down that rabbit hole (just remember to come up)!
  • Be critical of sources

Referencing:

  • Be rigorous
  • Use a rolling bibliography
  • I have been using MyBib – but had not realised that the version of Harvard the OCA uses is slightly different from standard
    • I am now checking all my references
    • I have installed Zotero (with some difficulty) and am trying that out

Be Practical:

  • Think about what you can read and when
  • Try setting up a regular time of day
  • Used the 30 second rule to take really quick notes after you have seen/watched /read things
  • Have an organised system for keeping notes and storing resources
    • Try Evernote
    • Try Notion
    • Problem is I do most of my immediate work on a tablet and not much seems to work with that,
      • Find one that does
    • Keep notes and mark if good or awful so you don’t waste time going back to something that is useless
    • Remember that something you read now may be useful later

Plan for myself:

References:

Fullerton-Batten, J. (s.d.) Ophelia ,. At: https://www.juliafullerton-batten.com/gallery.php?catNo=1&gallNo=87&photoNo=4 (Accessed  17/05/2020a).

Fullerton-Batten, J. (s.d.) Ophelia – Story,. At: https://www.juliafullerton-batten.com/galltext.php?photoNo=603&catNo=1&gallNo=87 (Accessed  17/05/2020b).

Norrington, A. (2020) Tutor Led Zoom for Level 1 / 2 Photography – May Session – Research: How and Why. At: https://discuss.oca-student.com/t/tutor-led-zoom-for-level-1-2-photography-may-session-research-how-and-why/12031/28 (Accessed  17/05/2020).

Norrington, A. (s.d.) Photography Zoom Talks 2019/2020. At: https://oca.padlet.org/andreanorrington/laq2kvhc5mpg (Accessed  17/05/2020).

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Learning Log, Notes from discussions and hangouts

Reflective Writing

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I attended a recent zoom led by Andrea on reflective writing. I found it interesting and it pointed up several issues I have had about the topic. Like many of the people attending the zoom I have been reflecting after the event! Using reflection as ‘looking back’. This can be helpful, but it does depend on how long after something you are doing the reflection. I have recently read Annette Kuhn’s Family Secrets (see….for and extended review) – and she points out that when looking back over an extended period the memories become increasingly changed with the time, the viewpoint alters and other things become entangled in the memory.

During the zoom we discussed reflection from a different angle – looking forward rather than backward. Using reflection to think about what you are doing and where you are going. I found the revolving arrow a helpful way of looking at it, as are the questions around reviewing the issue and action to be taken forward.

Andrea suggested regular journaling or note taking as a way to keep reflection real and of the actual time. I started this earlier this year (having been given a diary) and try to write down what I have read and what I thought of it together with what I am doing. It does make it easier for my (roughly 2 weekly) progress reports. But I think I could take it further and write down more of my thoughts about where I am and where I am going.

Afterwards Kate suggested an essay by Mike Simmons with 3 core questions:

  • What?
  • So what?
  • Now what?

These are very useful points to consider as are the suggestions from Karen:

  1. One thing I am going to do is
  2. One idea I’m taking away is…
  3. I am going to think about…
  4. I have found out that…
  5. I’d like to know…
  6. In future I am going to…

The overall zoom was very helpful (even though I kept getting interrupted by family matters). I was reassured by Andrea’s comments that the tutors and assessors find the evidence of reflection valid – I have not really been adding to my blog – but will do so from now.

Reference:

Norrington, A. (2020). OCA Discuss. [online] OCA Discuss. Available at: https://discuss.oca-student.com/t/tutor-led-zoom-for-level-1-2-photography-students-february-topic-reflective-wrtiting/11374/52 [Accessed 25 Feb. 2020].

Read, S. and Simmons, M. (2017). Photographers and Research: the role of research in contemporary photographic practice. New York: Focal Press.

Learning Log, Notes from discussions and hangouts, Notes from papers and essays

Jacques Rancière

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Notes on the photographic image

I joined the OCA photography reader group yesterday for a discussion about Rancière’s essay. Prior to the discussion I had read the essay and looked up various references that he made. I admit that I ended up confused and lacking in any real understanding of what point(s) he was making. Some of the confusion might have been because of the translation from the French, but much was probably because I simply don’t have the background knowledge.

Points thought about prior to discussion:

  • Need to read Benjamin – I think the point is that Benjamin felt that the mechanical nature of photography allowed for interpretation of signs and information by allowing people to see them as art via their senses. ?Sensible = uses of senses (vision, hearing etc) rather than ‘common-sense’
  • Invasion of large format images into galleries especially those of portraits of indifferent (?meaning not famous or rare) people are ‘mysterious’ – similar to much earlier portraiture eg Dijkstra’s teenager on the beach = Botticelli’s Venus, re-links an image as a representation and also art.
  • Barthes (need to read Camera Lucida) – studium (information) and punctum (affective/emotional) redefining as the transfer of one absolute (the photographed object) to a separate absolute (the viewer).
  • Lewis Hine’s photograph of disabled children – Barthes talks about the small details as being the punctum eg the bandaged finger – but he uses a coincidence of the French language to (same word for doll and bandage) to make the point, also Danton collar – a figure in French history. If you don’t speak French or know the history (as I do not) neither of these would have struck you. The words are only valid within a certain knowledge base. For me the punctum is the expression (or rather lack of expression) on the girl’s face. Was she forced to stand there? Did she even know what was happening? Why did Hind take this image? His images of working children show people who are clearly aware – and may even have been bribed?
  • The image of ‘the handcuffed man’ (Lewis Payne) – in itself tells you little, you need the backstory – then the questions start. Same about Avedon’s former slave. I think the point Rancière is making is that without information the photograph is meaningless. What the viewer takes depends on that (and where, how and when it is seen).
  • The photograph tells you nothing about the internal thoughts of the person who is being photographed.
  • Photography without people – shows absence? of what – containers filled with their own absence – I would have liked to be able to ask the photographers what they were thinking about – was it a metaphysical question or an aesthetic one? Rancière says both – the presence of the forms and the mystery of the merchandise.
  • Walker Evans farm kitchen – lots of possibilities discussed about why he took that particular image, and who was responsible for the art – the photographer or the farmer who built it (assuming that it wasn’t a ‘set-up’).
  • Taking about Flaubert and Madame Bovary – assumption of knowledge of this literature – probably more common in a French speaker – but – does make the point that photography is not alone, and that assumptions we make when interpreting images are impacted on by our other learning, reading, watching cinema etc, and also that the photographer’s mindset will have been similarly influenced – life is not a vacuum.
  • Fried – again I need to read further – talks about how the absorption of a person in what is happening separates them from the spectator (and the rest of the world)
  • ‘The photo does not say whether is is art or not … it tells us neither what the person who laid the planks and the cutlery in this manner had in mind nor what the photographer wanted to do’ (Rancière, 2009) and Kant’s idea that an aesthetic idea prompts much thought but no determinate thought …. can be adequate – quoted by Rancière – from Kant, Critique of Judgement, 1987.

Additional thoughts garnered from the discussion:

  • When Rancière talks about indifference he is meaning that the object you are photographing is indifferent and it is up to the viewer to give a meaning (which may be different the the one assigned by the photographer
  • Any photograph can have multiple meanings, art, documentary etc
  • When identifying something as documentary you need to define the ‘truth’ – long discussion about whether set-ups are valid, remembering documentary originally meant to tell a story about something
  • Photography is special (different) as you take an image of something that is non-art and make it into art – the indexicality of photography – there is always a thing/where/when – rather than in a painting when the painter starts from a blank.
  • In films the realism is critically dependent on the soundtrack
  • All the concepts around image/construction/validity depend on where the image is going to be used and who will see it

The group were very helpful about pointing me towards further information sources

I think I am going to be reading and taking notes for the next millennium!

Reference:

‌Rancière, J. (2009).

Learning Log, Notes from discussions and hangouts, Notes from papers and essays

Bates – The Memory of Photography

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Today I attended the Photography Reading Group at which we discussed The Memory of Photography by David Bate which is available on line (link is in the group forum)

https://discuss.oca-student.com/t/photography-reading-group/5646/397

My Initial thoughts:

I found the paper fascinating. Thoughts I had (on second reading) were:

  • The presence of multiple archives effects one’s own feelings about your own archival material. What do they tell us? And who actually ‘owns’ them?
  • The concept of photography as a ‘time machine’ – I have recently been reading H.G.Wells Time Machine (published 1895) in which he refers to photography and pictures taken at different ages of a person forming a time line, and also the vividness that can come form recalling a specific instant in the past.
  • Freud talks about ‘artificial memory’, differentiating it from ‘natural memory’ and notes that the forms of producing it are modelled on human sensory functions – this has been occurring for millennia, probably starting with the earliest cave drawings in the Upper Palaeolithic , 40000 years ago, well before the invention of any form of writing. I find it interesting that the first aide memoire was visual.
  • Freud also comments on the ability of the camera to retain the fleeting visual impression. This reminded me that only some impressions are ever recorded, and they will only every show a partial truth and therefore must be carefully interpreted bearing in mind the adage that history belongs to the victor (a quote that itself is variably attributed to Winston Churchill or Péter Esterházy).
  • What is the effect of photography on memory? Is memory altered by looking at photographs of an event? Do you remember the event, the photograph or a hazy mixture of both? Is the truth altered? Memory is a combination of vision, sound, smell and touch – producing the mnemic trace – therefore a photograph is limited.
  • Archives were initially produced on behalf of governments. So – what is chosen to be archived will not be everything, and not be neutral. The role of the librarian is vital. Information can also be lost, or deliberately destroyed. Other forms on public memory are formed though building memorials (victors, soldiers, events) other the simpler and more poignant placing of written tiles on the street in Prague.
  • Family archives in the form of albums have mainly been replaced by photos published on social media – does this fulfil the same role? Will they last as long? Are they seen by the same groups of people? These images allow people to make links with others they may never meet, to form pseudo-families, to form identities and relationships. Are the images shown in this a context truthful? They may be or may be entirely artificial.
  • Derrida says, paraphrased, an archive is about the future not the past. So, do we have a duty to the future to keep truthful records, and does truth = neutrality? Information = power.
  • Photographs are an important source of visual memory because they can record anything the meta-archive. But they also record things that you were not expecting – the ‘bits around the edges’, the backgrounds, often the unwanted bits that change the meaning of an image.
  • The sheer number of images taken nowadays by any person, within a day, a week or year, multiplied by the number of people taking images, in your town, country, the world is impossible to comprehend. No-one cam look at them all. But can a machine – and what information can the machine draw from them?
  • Do photographs show what actually happened – or what some people think is important out of what happened and, somewhat scarily, if an image is shown over and over does it become true?
  • Memories are not always ‘live’ in the brain. They need a trigger. What is the role of what Freud calls ‘screen memories’? Memories can be manipulated and falsified. Do photographs help produce real memories? Do your memories make up your life? And what happens when they collide with someone else’s memories that are different?
  • Involuntary memory = An involuntary response to an image. An unexpected response to something in the past. Voluntary memory = studium – information that comes externally. Memories are a combination of a complex interaction between artificial memories, from a photograph, a book, or other external information with an ‘natural’ , internal memory.
  • Public memorial buildings and archives are often produced retroactively which leads to a question about accuracy.
  • Photographs demand analysis not just an emotional response – this applies to looking at others’ images and considering ones own.

 Thoughts following the discussion:

 Having read the paper, I was interested in other people thoughts on it. Unfortunately, my system was playing up and I found that I was missing the thread of the conversation at times. I did eventually find a ‘button’ that automatically transcribed the speech, with some hilarious obvious errors.

 I did take some notes, shown below, not attributed to the author, and in no particular order:

  • The overall text is useful and is relevant to everything we are studying at all levels
  • There is an idea that is someone is leaving something, a home, a school etc archival images of yourself and the others involved are need for maintaining the memory
  • Caroline Wright? – did some work on things that are no longer in use and how do we value these (not sure about this -may have been in context of archives)
  • How are things curated and archived? The role of missing memories, for instance those that were deliberately destroyed in Cambodia. How can people find these memories – either personal or ethnographical?
  • What is so important about the idea of not being in an image, either that you were deliberately left out of the photos, or you were not at an event? Should you photoshop someone in (or out)? And – my thought now – is this different from the practice of cutting people out of a printed photo post a relationship break up? But – more importantly – if you are not in a photo what does it say about you and how other people feel?
  • Everybody assumes that digital archives are everlasting – but how long do they really last. You delete images as the phone memory is full. What happens in an apocalyptic scenario with no electricity? What is the role of the cloud?
  • Photographs act as a container/trace of our own memories – but so does music, art, plays and books.
  • The role of ‘fire hosing’ – so much information is put out online that it becomes impossible to tell what is true and what isn’t. The role of ‘fake news’ – you tend to look at and agree with things that back up your own viewpoint of the world. It is easier to source this now because of the internet.
  • Why do we take photographs? Is it for the memory? Is it to show someone else? And when am I going to look at all these memories?
  • How many photographs of our lives are taken and shown now? The constraint between private images and those taken of other people and their children – leading to the need for adequate formal agreements about the use of them

 Suggested further reading:

  • Sophie Calle – Parcue Que – seems to be in French, but I think there is a very recent version called Because in English
  • Okwui Enwezor – Archive Fever: available on line at:

http://artsites.ucsc.edu/sdaniel/public_record/OkwuiEnzewor_ArchiveFever_PhotographyBetweenHistoryAndTheMonument.pdf

With thanks to Emma for organising this interesting group.