Project The photographic slideshow

Project: The photographic slideshow.

"Slideshows, in whatever form, are linear presentations, and enjoy both the benefits and drawbacks of one image following another." Benefits for the person setting it up is that you control the sequencing and manipulation to create associations. eg using similar shapes can link images that have nothing else in common.

The slideshow can be automated or not. How each image moves onto the next impacts upon the experience of the viewer, whether or not images dissolve into each other, fade in or out or just jump to the next shot. Drawbacks can be that viewers have no knowledge or preview of what is coming next. Depending on the topic matter music and effects can be added.

Exercise: Research and analyse web slideshows.

Bearing the above in mind I had to research the websites of magazines and newspapers, examine at least six and select two examples that I consider to be effective presentations. As a starting point the notes gave us some sites to consider.

http://www.guardian.co.uk
http://www.nytimes.com
http://www.timesonline.co.uk
http://www.parismatch.com
http://www.stern.de
http://www.telegraph.co.uk

On looking at these sites initial responses are:

The Guardian:
http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/audioslideshow/2013/oct/04/month-in-photography-tim-hetherington

I quite liked this one as you could either watch it as an automated slideshow or manually click the "next arrow". As an automated slideshow it did play music which wasn't apt for all of the images and I couldn't find a mute button. However I guess that is what your speaker button is for! The images faded into each other with both options and captions could be seen or hidden. When switched on they appeared at the bottom and partially obscured the image. The option was also available to view in full screen. 22 images were included in this slideshow and thumbnail previews could be look at.

New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2013/07/15/fashion/07152013scenecity.html

This did not have an automated option you had to manually click. On doing so the screen seemed to "flick" white for a nano second before the next image appeared and this did so scrolling jumpily down from the top to the bottom. There was no option to view full screen however the captions were set to the right hand side and a link to the related news story. I didn't follow the links to discover how easy it was to navigate back as I was only interested in the slideshow itself, 13 images were available to view and as far as I could see no preview was on offer once at the end of the show it did not loop back to the beginning which was annoying.

Times
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/

Again this was not automated. 16 images had to be navigated by manual "next" arrow. The captions and arrows appeared obscuring the bottom of the image when you hovered over the photograph; without hovering the mouse you would not realise at first this was a slideshow. There was no option to view full screen. Images did not fade jumped straight away to the next image.

Paris Match
http://www.parismatch.com/Actu/International/En-images/La-tempete-534720

At first I found this one a bit difficult to navigate mainly as I wasn't sure about the translations to navigate to the slideshow! There is a link on their front page "en images" which yes I got lol, and when you click on it there isn't any indication that this is a slideshow with no obvious buttons. I rolled my mouse over the image but it wasn't until I got to the far right hand or left hand side that the arrows appeared.  These again obscure the image on display but you do get a small thumbnail preview of the next image. Not automated the images faded in and out.The captions are permanently displayed at the bottom, the photographs are large so don't need the option of full screen. Once finished the page automatically refreshes to give you the option of other slideshows to review.

Stern
http://www.stern.de/lifestyle/leute/erste-bilder-von-der-taufe-einfach-suess-der-kleine-george-2066545.html

Not automated, once you click a link to the selected story the navigation is obvious and straightforward, numbers below indicate how many images are in the set and you can jump ahead if you so wish. When you navigate forward a new page loads with information above and below this means the images do not fade into each other and there is a slight jump between pages. The images filling the page means a full screen option is not required.

The Telegraph
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthpicturegalleries/10409293/In-pictures-Natures-beasts.html?frame=2716111

Following the initial link opens a large page which makes it obvious this is a slideshow. Once again it is not automated, you can navigate by either using the arrows or the numbered page links above. Large clear images mean a full screen option is not required. When moving forward the images do not fade just appear, I don't know if it is a regular occurrence or my internet connection but there was a slight delay between each image during which I got the Telegraph logo appear. This was only for a split second and didn't really impact too much on the viewing experience. Once at the end if you click the next button a new page opens to give you options to view other slideshows.

Just for fun and looking at a site dedicated to photography I investigated the Magnum site. As expected everything is really clear and easy to navigate and once on the photographers link I chose to have a peek at the work of Steve McCurry. On his page you have a selection of his work to review via a slide show. The images slide from right to left with a small selection of the last and previous images darkened at either side. These sections resize dependent on the image displayed being landscape or portrait.

Links are provided to read photo information and the images can be viewed full screen. Back to the main artists page, links to photo essays are given below. On opening a photo essay there are options to share the image via various social media, change the viewing background from light to dark and view further information. The arrows navigate backwards and forwards on either side. All in all a most satisfying experience as you would hope from Magnum.

Having looked at these sites I can see that there are many similarities as well as differences. In response to the questions I had to ask:

Do the different websites present slideshows in essentially the same way, or are there subtle or substantial differences between them? I think the question itself could be rewritten as I take essentially the same way and having subtle differences to mean the same thing? Essentially they all present their slide shows as a series of still images within a news story or as part of a feature about photographs ie Photograph of the month, Nature Photographs etc. but not one was the same. They varied in position on the page, size of images, navigation control, audio soundtrack, how they transitioned from one image to the next, social media options and colour of background.

Are there any features that all the slideshows have in common? Again no two slideshows were the same but they did have common features such as navigation arrows in whichever form they chose, crediting the photographer and having captions.

How do the slideshows differ in the amount of choice that they offer the viewer for playing them? Is the viewer choice a good thing? Here there was quite a bit of variety depending on whether the slideshow was part of a news story/ photo essay or a roundup of non related images. On the technical side I am guessing it depends on where you live and what browser you use impacts upon a viewer's experience. Taking it as read that there is no issue upon accessing the web pages there is a difference in options offered. None apart from Magnum gave the option to alter the viewing background. On the whole most sites seemed to have black or grey, others such as The Times and Stern De had white, The Times mainly as the slideshow was embedded in the news page. Other options available on some but not others were the ability to view full screen, view thumbnails of the next images and being able too advance by skipping images (via the numbered links) or having to progress one at a time. Some ran on a loop whereas some did not. Is viewer choice a good thing? Everybody has their own preferences on how they wish to view their news or how they like to have images presented. In that respect I think it is good to offer some option of choice. If you only want to view one particular image within a set thumbnails are handy, being able to leapfrog ahead when doing reseach can save time. I understand fully that having too many options makes the programming more complicated and would possibly make for a messier webpage and these are constraints that web builders have to work on but I can see that if you don't enjoy the online experience you may decide to use different websites for information.

What are the most obvious failings, in your opinion, of these slideshows? The most obvious failings that I would pick up on are the transitions. Some work seamlessly, such as The Guardian but others are jerky or too quick, such as the NY Times or Stern De. Not obviously appearing to be a slideshow seems a ridiculous issue but one encountered a few times. Information partially covering the images to a lesser or greater degree was also an irritation. How they were positioned within a page seemed to be an issue as well, for example with Paris Match the proximity to advertising links meant I inadvertently rolled my mouse over other links which would then open up over the images; I hate it when that happens. I think it is a shame that you could not alter the background or resize in some instances.

If you were constructing a slideshow for one of these sites, list the features you would include, based on your experience so far? Based on my research and the experience of the websites I have looked at there are a few basic features that I would include:

Obvious yet unobtrusive navigation arrows
The option to alter background colour
The choice for an automated slideshow or manual navigation
Thumbnail previews
Captions/credits/information which did not cover the image
Large images to begin with or if not possible due to the webpage setting an option to view large screen
The choice of skipping ahead, eg numbered page links and an indication of how many images are contained within that slideshow
Smooth transition from one image to the next, fade seems to work really well.
Ease of navigation away from and back to the slideshow and other linked pages
Links to share via social media

What features set your two chosen sites apart from the rest? From the 6 news paper/ magazine sites looked at I think that the two I would choose as particularly effective are The Guardian and Paris Match. I liked The Guardian due to the array of options it offered: either to watch it as an automated slideshow or manually click the "next arrow". The fade transition was smooth and effective and captions could be hidden. I thought that the thumbnail previews were also a good idea. The initial images were of a good size but there was an option to view full screen. When viewed full screen the captions appear below the image and don't partially obscure it as when viewed within the news page. It was a close choice between Paris Match and The Telegraph but the transition of the Telegraph, for me, let it down. There were some niggles with both of my top two but this was more to do with the background colour for the Guardian and the red links on Paris Match. However the exercise was to do with the efficiency of the slideshow rather than its environs. For Paris Match the images were large and clear so you did not need a large screen option, the navigation to the next image was easy once found, and despite partially covering the image, which isn't that important if you have finished and navigating away, a small thumbnail for the next image was given. The information was below the image. Both webpages had good clear links to share via social media.

Having said all of the above I think Magnum wins hands down over all!

As with most things research and analysis always takes longer than anticipated. I can't believe the amount of hours I have just spent looking at navigation buttons! A really interesting exercise which has opened my eyes to the variation of these slideshows. I know that when investigating photographers I inwardly groan at some of their webpages and can't believe how complicated some make them. If I ever make one for me (highly unlikely) I now know what pitfalls to avoid when including a slideshow. Technically I don't know how to do any of it but know what I don't want to find out about!

PwDP Part 5 Professional standards

Although excited that I am finally getting to the end of this course after a torrid 18 months I am also dreading the final part, yet another essay to analyse (which I did with the others) but this has been ticked off, research and review photographic slideshows (god more research and analysis :oP)  planning coverage of an event, produce a written plan, look at marketing and develop a publishing plan, shooting and processing and finally Assignment 5 covering an event.

I am not so keen on covering event, the time pressure is there, the lack of opportunity to reshoot if images don't work. If outside the weather will have an enormous impact on people attending and the atmosphere, too bright and the contrast in shadows will be too great, rain and no-one will be there, very overcast and although you have lovely diffused lighting images can look too flat and dull.

Added to that you possibly need to gain permission to be there, possibly get permission from the subjects to publish the images when done. If necessary release forms to get completed. I always have doubt, I never think my images are clear enough or interesting enough and the idea of actually having to approach someone to suggest they PAY for them makes me feel embarrassed and uncomfortable. Not sure where I want to head with my photography in this respect I don't think that photojournalism is a route I would take based on all of my hangups. I should be more confident I guess, go and take more photographs and become more comfortable with my camera and photographing strangers. Onwards and upwards......

Assignment Four - Critical Review - Essay and Feedback

As promised here is my essay, I don't mind if people read it now I have had my feedback which was positive. If anyone pinches it then they are only cheating themselves, as only you know what you really think/feel about a certain topic and by actually doing the research discover if you feel the same way about it after and also get to understand the topic itself a little more.

Feedback:-

Thanks for submitting your ‘Critical Review’ Jan, which I thought offered an interesting debate from start to finish, including some great quotes and references in support of your argument.

In depth feedback on quotes/points and other areas of expertise included:-

Made - An interesting title - many would argue 'made' - especially the likes of Cartier-Bresson etc

JS Quote -  Excellent quote to start with !

JS quote -  An accurate observation - even many landscape photographers of the time, had a selection of 'sky's' that could easily be double-exposed over a dull / plain backdrop etc.

Have a look also at the comments Paul Delaroche (French portrait painter) made on first sight of a Daguerreotype in 1839 ... 'From this day, painting is dead!'  He was of course wrong, but the levels certainly shifted, as they tend to always do with the introduction of new technology.

This is really useful in terms of setting your stall out at the beginning of the text.

Have you already read Walter Benjamin's 1936 essay - 'The work of art in the age of mechanical reproduction'   It is work looking at.

This is a good example - This show was excellent from that respect ... the scale was incredible, but also the use of additional media really demonstrated Klein's understanding of graphic representation.

Excellent reference - 'Within an archive, meaning exists in a state that is both residual and potential'

Have a look at Charles Merewether also - He states 'the archive functions as the means by which historical knowledge and forms of remembrance are accumulated, stored and recovered.'

Agreed look at the work of Joachim Schmid - Very Miscellaneous.  This is also interesting when considered in relation to the fact more images were taken in 2012 than in the history of photography since 1837 !

I'm not sure about this, single images of conflict for example still hold power.  Look at the shot of Kim Phuc taken by Nick Ut in Vietnam in 1972 - This event was also filmed, but the footage doesn't hold anywhere near as much power as the single frame.

and in general comments...

I think you have responded very well to feedback offered to date Jan and have noticed your blog reflects much of this advice now – which is excellent to see.

So onto my essay

Photography – Made or Taken?- (is the single photograph dead?)

“The history of photography has been less a journey than a growth” 

– John Szarkowski

A Critical Review
by Jan Fairburn

 
Photography - Made or Taken? – (is the single photograph dead?)

Photography has been through many incarnations, from the first Daguerreotype, Henry Fox Talbot’s Calotype, the Kodak Brownie to eventually today’s digital camera. Not only has the technology changed but also the way photography is perceived, especially as it begins to incorporate mixed media and find new ways to disseminate. John Szarkowski in the introduction to The Photographers Eye comments on the difference between paintings and art being a basic one: paintings were made but photographs were taken (2003).  On the topic of detail he suggests a photographer shows only a fragment of a scene, but with the frame being extended by video footage, sound clips, drawings and physical objects is this fragmentation being lessened? With the current trend for contemporary photographers to create installation pieces, employ digital manipulation, borrow imagery and use mixed media to create their work, this argument possibly no longer stands. More and more we are questioning, what is photography? This essay sets out to examine some of the issues surrounding the use of mixed media – are photographs made or taken, is the single photograph dead?

Controversy has always surrounded photography with regards to reality and truth; Szarkowski believed photographers “learned that photography dealt with the actual” (2003, p. 99). Yet manipulation and additions were being carried out as early as the mid 1800’s with two distinct camps arising; those who felt that images should be left untouched and those who preferred to add an artistic flourish and hand tint photographs (Farkas & Raleigh, 2013). Then there were surrealists such as Man Ray, Hans Bellmer and Maurice Tabard who used processes such as double exposure, combination printing, montage, solarization and techniques such as rotation or distortion to create ethereal imagery (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2013). Therefore, it could be argued that photographers from the outset were experimenting with reality and exploring beyond that which filled the view-finder. The photograph Two Ways of Life (1857) by Oscar Rejlander is described as a combination print which was assembled from thirty individual negatives printed onto one large piece of paper (National Media Museum, 2012).  Much later John Baldessari, (b1931) described as a conceptual artist rather than photographer, developed his style to incorporate letters, words and photographs in his works.  In the early 1970’s he was working in printmaking, film, video, installation, sculpture and photography (Roark, 2013).

Farkas & Raleigh acknowledged several exhibitions in America where a group of artists could be identified as “photo mixed media artists”: “Persistence of Vision” at the George Eastman House (Rochester NY) in 1967, “Photography into Sculpture” at the Museum of Modern Art (New York City, NY) in 1970 and “Photo-media” at the Museum of Contemporary Crafts (New York City NY) in 1971-1972. They separated the works into three distinct categories, machine reproductions, soft packaged and assemblages (2013, p. 129). They cited several artists who met these criterions, notably photographer Ken Josephson, a pioneering conceptual photographer who experimented with illusion to explore and question his chosen medium of photography - known as a printmaker; he has diversified as a street photographer, professor of photography and filmmaker (Gerstheimer, 2013). His piece Anissa a child’s dress, 1978 is an assemblage (a child’s dress on a small hanger, with a framed cropped image of a little girl wearing the same dress displayed prominently on the front) which provides a physical, personal link to the subject. It gives the audience an accurate impression of perspective, colour and “the thing itself” (Szarkowski, 2003, p. 99).

Unlike René Magritte's The Treachery of Images, 1928-29 "Ceci n'est pas une pipe" which only represents the image of a pipe, the implementation of mixed media assemblage means that a single piece or whole body of work, no longer has to be a merely an illusion, it becomes three dimensional and can better express a given narrative. Most recently the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize, “an international award in contemporary photography, awarded to a contemporary photographer making a significant contribution, either by exhibition or publication – to the medium of photography in Europe,” (Deutsche Börse Group, n.d.)  has recognised photographers who employ mixed media, explore beyond the frame and push the boundaries of what is traditionally accepted as photography.

Photography and creativity go hand in hand, from the initial decision of subject matter, the process of taking the image, the choices of post-production to means of display, whether that be in a frame, album or public exhibition. Marcel Duchamp acknowledged the importance of the audience in conveying the meaning of a piece of work, he stated:

“…the creative act is not performed by the artist alone; the spectator brings the work in contact with the external world by deciphering and interpreting its inner qualification and thus adds his contribution to the creative act. This becomes even more obvious when posterity gives a final verdict and sometimes rehabilitates forgotten artists.” 

(Duchamp 1957, Cited in Brain Pickings, n.d.)

So therefore it can be considered that the audience helps to make an image, and possibly more pertinent to the topic of borrowed pictures, appropriation can restore forgotten artists.

Contemporary bodies of work are combining new images with old , constructing elaborate displays and discovering new outlets for photography; specifically exploring the new age of digital/electronic reproducibility. These bodies of work open old debates about are photographs taken or made, is it photography or art? By visiting exhibitions, examining the work and methods of delivery the opportunity is there to decide if photography is taken, made or if the distinction matters.

At his retrospective at London’s Tate Modern (November 2012 – January 2013) William Klein had on display several reworked older images. Reworked in ways that are best described as artfully vandalised; mural sized prints of contact sheets, altered by the liberal application of enamel paint, using wide brush strokes in bold, mainly primary colours. The original photographs were taken, the second made. The meaning of the original print is still there beneath the paint but the creation of a new art object makes the image polysemous. The audience may see it as a tribute to film photography and contact sheets yet Klein explains that for him it was a celebration of the physicality of taking the photograph (Klein, 2012).

Jim Goldberg, 2011 Deutsche Börse Photography Prize winner, was nominated for his exhibition Open See at The Photographers’ Gallery, London (16 October 2009 – 31 January 2010). Using Polaroids, video, text and ephemera Goldberg took four years detailing the experiences of refugee, immigrant and trafficked populations. Feeling that their perceptions were not being observed and considered (Goldberg, 2011) he allowed them to speak for themselves, writing on the images to express themselves and tell their stories, explaining that the photographs were proof of meeting his subjects, of their lives and worth. The exhibition also included video footage and a free poster which itemized various objects, such as food, lost wallets and official documentation. This helped provide a much fuller picture than one fragmented, still image. Once more this particular body of work can be both described as taken and made. The Open See project has been printed in book form and supporting the electronic age of communication is partially available online.

When discussing archives Allan Sekula wrote about the meaning of pictures being “up for grabs…(and) new interpretations are promised” (2011, p. 444).  John Stezaker, nominee and winner of the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize in 2012, for his exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery, London, UK (29 January – 18 March 2011) espoused a novel approach to found images, with the original uses definitely avoided and invisible (Sekula, 2011). Entertainingly, sometimes creepily, combining appropriated images he confesses to being a vandal and a thief and likens himself to a foster parent to these adopted images, but one who inflicts abuse due to the slicing and cutting he employs to create his work (Stezaker, 2011).

“Photographs, which package the world, seem to invite packaging” (Sontag, 1977, p. 4). Adam Broomberg and Oliver Chanarin winners of the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize in 2013 certainly seem to have taken this to heart when they packaged or rather completely repackaged Bertolt Brecht’s War Primer. Their inspiration was not only taken from Brecht’s book and his lesson on the semiology of war photography, hence the titles War Primer and War Primer 2, but also the Brecht quote “Don’t start with the good old things but the bad new ones.” This is prominently displayed on the front page of War Primer 2 (Broomberg & Chanarin, 2011) Taking bad or poor news images from the internet Broomberg and Chanarin parallel his actions of taking newspaper clippings on the subject of conflict. Originally published in 1955 Broomberg and Chanarin obtained 100 copies of a 1998 edition (Libris London) on which they based their own limited edition book War Primer 2. The simple explanation of how this body of work was created belies the controversy and debate that then arose with regards to their contribution to photography, the use of appropriated images and the distribution/availability of the book. Firstly they obtained the copies; secondly they downloaded a large selection of low- resolution photographs from the Internet dealing with the War on Terror. Next they whittled down the selection to eighty-five images which complemented Brecht’s eighty-five clippings and poetry, and then eight thousand five hundred screen prints were generated. War Primer 2 was then produced with the help of unpaid interns applying the resized silkscreen and offset prints (pasted by hand) into the one hundred copies of War Primer (Evans, 2013).

Once produced the pair picked up and ran with the educational idea. When displayed at the Photographers Gallery for the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize exhibition their creativity shone through. A series of vitrines, the proportions of a small school desk were set out in orderly rows facing in one direction. In each desk a copy of War Primer 2 was open to a different page with information for these images projected onto a blank wall, suggesting the Smart Boards used in educational establishments today. Embracing a multiplicity of channels of communication they explored various means to disseminate their work; War Primer 2 is a limited edition book, an exhibition and is also available as a free download to mobile devices via an application.

There are advantages and disadvantages to all these means of communication; an eBook can reach a much wider non-specialised audience, a book has the physicality that a mobile device lacks, whilst the book is limited to the message on the page. However in this instance the book has the scope to spread beyond the frame, become an installation piece and press home the play on words of the book being a primer and the educational set up of the exhibition. With such a range of distribution Broomberg and Chanarin have rehabilitated/introduced Brecht to more spectators, who when adding their creative act, can be in no doubt that as a body of work and installation piece War Primer 2 has been both taken and made.

Despite the discomfort of some with regards to the use of borrowed images, which is a well-established technique in terms of fine art, and the almost complete appropriation of Brecht’s book, this is an extremely clever body of work which tells its narrative well, sets new boundaries for the displaying of photography and has opened a healthy debate on the direction that some areas of contemporary photography are headed.

Marcel Duchamp, interviewed by Joan Bakewell, voiced an opinion that the word art should be done away with, that society created artificial distinctions. (Duchamp 1966, The Late Show Line Up)  Maybe this should be the way forward, concentrating on the narrative rather than the method of creation or delivery. Barthes (1968) believed the author was dead but so too may be the single photograph; more and more it is becoming apparent that the single image no longer has the potency that it did, multidimensional bodies of work are coming to the fore, experimenting with mixed and multi-media. The arguments about radical photography have raged from its beginning and will no doubt continue to do so. Does it matter if photographs are taken or made? It would appear they are both. The narrative, the multi-layered view of life is what is important rather than the distinction.



References

Barthes, R. (1968) Death of the author UCSC [Online] Available at: http://artsites.ucsc.edu/faculty/Gustafson/FILM%20162.W10/readings/barthes.death.pdf [Accessed 30 September 2013]
Broomberg, A. & Chanarin, O. (2011) War primer 2. London: Mack
Broomberg, A. & Chanarin, O. (2011) Deutsche Börse Group Photography Prize. London: The Photographer's Gallery 19 April - 30 June 2013
Deutsche Börse Group, (n.d.)  Deutsche Börse Group- deutsche börse photography prize. Deutsche Börse Group [Online]
Available at: http://deutsche-boerse.com/dbg/dispatch/en/kir/dbg_nav/corporate_responsibility/33_Art_Collection/25_photography_prize
[Accessed 20 September 2013]
Duchamp, M. (1957) The creative act. Brain Pickings [Online] Available at: http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/08/23/the-creative-act-marcel-duchamp-1957/
[Accessed 24 September 2013]
Duchamp, M. (1966) The late show line up [BBC TV Broadcast] 5 June 1966 cited in The European Graduate School [Online] Available at: http://www.egs.edu/library/marcel-duchamp/quotes/ [Accessed 20 September 2013]
Evans, D. (2013) Occupying brecht: broomberg and chanarin's war primer 2 BLOG The Photographer's Gallery. [Online]
Available at: http://thephotographersgalleryblog.org.uk/2013/06/15/occupying-brecht-broomberg-and-chanarins-war-primer-2-david-evans/
[Accessed 25 September 2013]
Farkas, S. & Raleigh, H. P. (2013) A review of the use of photo mixed media in the USA.  JSTOR [Online]
Available at: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1577984
[Accessed 19 September 2013]
Gerstheimer, C. (2013) C gerstheimer kenneth josephson essay for encyc of 20thc photo  Academia.edu. [Online]
Available at: http://www.academia.edu/3801980/C_Gerstheimer_Kenneth_Josephson_essay_for_Encyc_of_20th_C_Photo
[Accessed 21 September 2013]
Goldberg, J. (2011) Open See - in conversation with jim goldberg. SEESAW Magazine [Online]
Available at: http://www.seesawmagazine.com/jimgoldberginterview/jimgoldberginterview.html
[Accessed 26 September 2013]
Goldberg, J. (n.d.) Deutsche Börse Group Photography Prize. London: Presented by The Photographer's Gallery shown at Ambika P3 at the University of Westminster 5 April - 1 May 2011.
Klein,W. (n.d.) William Klein + Daido Moriyama. London: Tate Modern 10 October 2012 – 20 January 2013

National Media Museum, (2012) The Two Ways of Life-National Media Museum-The Royal Photographic Society-National Photography Collection-Collections-National Media Museum. National Media Museum [Online]
Available at: http://www.nationalmediamuseum.org.uk/collection/photography/royalphotographicsociety/collectionitem.aspx?id=2003-5001/3/39373/1
[Accessed 24 September 2013]
Roark, E. (2013) MoMA The Collection John Baldessari  Museum of Modern Art [Online]
Available at: http://www.moma.org/collection/artist.php?artist_id=304
[Accessed 24 September 2013]
Sekula, A. (2011) Photography between labour and capital. In: L. Wells, ed. The Photography Reader. Oxon: Routledge, pp. 444-445
Sontag, S. (1977)  On photography. London: Penguin Group
Stezaker, J. (2011) John Stezaker- vandal and thief- british journal of photography. British Journal of Photography [Online]
Available at: http://www.bjp-online.com/british-journal-of-photography/interview/1940374/john-stezaker-vandal-thief
[Accessed 26 September 2013]
Stezaker, J. (n.d.) Deutsche Börse Group Photography Prize. London: The Photographer's Gallery 13 July - 9 September 2012
Szarkowski, J. (2003) Introduction to the photographer's eye. In: L. Wells, ed. The Photography Reader. Oxon: Routledge, pp. 97-103
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, (2013) Photography and surrealism/thematic essay/heilbrunn timeline of art history. The Metropolitan Museum of Art [Online]
Available at: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/phsr/hd_phsr.htm
[Accessed 20 September 2013]

Biblography
Barthes, R. (2000) Camera lucida. London: Vintage
Freeman, M. (2010) The Photographers Mind. Lewes: The Ilex Press Ltd
Klein, W. (2012) William Klein:ABC. London: Tate Publishing
Letinsky, L. (2010-2011.) Ill Form and Void Full. London: The Photographer's Gallery 18 January 2013 - 7 April 2013
Routex, D. (2012) Crazy Photography. London:  Vivays Publishing

*update feedback Here
*update reworked essay to be in assessment folder but can be viewed on my external website Here

Assignment Four Critical Review - Essay - Ideas and Research

Assignment 4 is to research and write about photography. According to the course by now I should have a clearer idea about my own photography and what I like. When trying to analyse this in some ways I do and in others I don't!

I know what my weakness' are for sure, I don't like to use flash or artificial lighting, am better at taking photographs of stationary objects, prefer candid unaware portraits rather than posed, crowds...why do I get nothing but a view of backs of people heads and nothing of interest? I do use a variety of lenses, I do experiment with shutter speed and aperture. I either seem to prefer a really shallow DoF or a large DoF. In between seems a bit bleugh. (like the technical term?) When looking at other peoples images I don't mind softer/grainy images but prefer mine to be sharp.

My likes? Well in that respect I actually have a varied taste. I like landscape, though not brilliant at capturing landscapes myself, like street photography, surrealism/manipulation really fascinates me as does the increasing trend towards mixed media.After seeing the recent Motherhood exhibition I realise I don't enjoy nudity for the sake of it, though having said that I do really love Robert Mapplethorpe and you don't get more controversial or naked than that! Am happy to look at any genre although steer away from pretty kittens or vases of flowers unless they actually have more of a message to send other than don't I look nice.

Looking through the suggested ideas:

• Technological developments and their impact on the market for photography
• New vehicles for photography - mixed media environments
• Representations of gender, race and ethnicity in photography
• The display and exhibition of photography
• Photography and control - power relations between photographer, subject and audience
• Photography that deceives - disinformation through photography
• Histories of Photography, eg postmodernism, surrealism, war photography or a multidisciplinary field such as anthropology or scientific photography.

I decided that I wanted to investigate the use of mixed media, not so much the video/gallery/Internet type more the use of collage, installation and ephemera. How does this affect display, storage etc. On contacting my tutor he thought this would be a very interesting topic to research and write about.

Flicking through my learning logs came up with several artists to look into,John Stezaker, Noemie Goudal, Luis Gispert, Laura Letinsky, Mishka Henner, Christina de Middel, Nicole Wermers, Sara VanDerBeek,  Broomberg and Chanarin, William Klein and Jim Goldberg to name a few. I really appreciated my learning logs, this exercise emphasising just how important it is to take notes and images where you can and that visiting many exhibitions has more than one benefit.

Pages from my learning logs with exhibition leaflets and postcards, annotations are either around the image, behind or on the back of the cards.

As I looked into academic writings to use to give my essay legitimacy there were not many essays or articles concerning the exact aspect that I wanted to cover, over the following weeks my ideas gradually evolved, I emails 2 academics/photographers who were interested in this field ( I won't name them) but neither responded which was disappointing. I narrowed the photographer's down that I wanted to mention, found some books/book sections and articles in journals that I could quote/ use as references and set about writing. I have to admit it took a long time to do so fingers crossed that it gets favourable feedback. It followed a set structure of paragraphs with a title, introductory paragraph, historical introduction, outline of argument, body of argument and conclusion. All within a remit of approximately 2000 words.

A selection of the books and web resources used during research

When completed I set it aside for a few days, gave it to 2 different people to read to make sure it made sense and that my referencing technique was ok. Harvard referencing is NOT plain sailing! After a few suggestions and altering a few bits myself it was ready to submit. Proofreading is difficult when you read what you think is there rather than what you have actually typed. I hit the send button a few weeks ago and am still awaiting feedback. As soon as I get a response I'll either be smiling or crying! I'll keep you all updated!

Home Truths, Photography and representations of motherhood. Exhibition Review

Home Truths, Photography and representations of motherhood.

I always look forward to attending study days and this was no different despite me having had a really busy week and Friday evening, completing a round trip to Cheddington via the M25, arriving home and trekking straight into London.

The exhibition was curated by Susan Bright, an independent curator and writer based in New York. She was formerly Assistant Curator of Photographs at the National Portrait Gallery, Curator at the Association of Photographers and Acting Director for the MA at Sotheby’s Institute of Art.

Spread over 2 galleries we began at the Photographers Gallery with plans to move on to The Foundling Museum. I had had a quick glance at the information pack sent but not had time to really research the photographers on display so most of it was new to me when I walked in. Almost immediately you knew that Home Truths, Photography and representations of motherhood was going to be a challenging exhibition as you encounter the sign advising photography was not allowed, children under 12 were not allowed and those aged under 16 had to be accompanied by an adult.

There is a lot of photography to take in, with work from twelve international photographic artists on display. All said to challenge “the stereotypical or sentimental views of motherhood handed down by traditional depictions” and how “photography can be used to address changing conditions of power, gender, domesticity, the maternal body, and female identity.” All in all a meaty topic and as a mother I wondered how I would react to some of the ideas being put forward and would I identify with those images more as a child or as a mother? I wondered how the males in the group would react, would they feel that fatherhood is equally as misrepresented in the media or what would their take be on something that they could not  experience (although I think the feelings of parenthood can be similar for a man) being brought to the fore. Even after discussing at length with a few, I still don’t know. They either declined to comment, laughing it off or commenting on the amount of psychobabble used to cover up what the images are really about.

The opening gives us a definition of “Home Truths” basically a key or basic truth, especially one that is discomforting to acknowledge. As a rational person I know that the media always portrays anything to the extreme, either sugar coated or vilified so why should I be surprised that they treat motherhood in exactly the same way? As a mother I am even more aware that the happy smiling faces shown in papers/twitter feeds and Instagram are only one side of the story. Anyone who posts reality, on whatever topic, is often accused of washing their dirty laundry in public. Although I feel we need more realistic images out there (Dove with the natural Beauty Campaign for example) as a child and a mother I didn’t need educating in some home truths, I've lived/ am living them. I’m not sure I needed a photographic exhibition to give me the message. Is there anyone out there who truly believes motherhood is perfect? Only the very young and very naïve, with some of the artists it was like instead of whispering gently that Father Christmas does not exist, taking a sledge hammer to every Christmas ornament, or a shotgun to every poster and blasting away every recognisable vestige of that happy smiling face. Like motherhood, Christmas Day isn't always perfect and exists in a small web of lies…, I'm not sure that this exhibition taught us something we didn’t know, just a new way to show it? I am not so sure we needed some of the errrrm explicit depictions seen here.

Like some of the other students I felt not so much discomforted by the images themselves but rather how they were achieved. I felt there was a lot of staging going on, despite the genuine feelings and motivation behind the shots. Some of that staging I thought was manipulative and took advantage of innocent children who may not really have been aware of their participation in wider projects. It reminded me of Sally Mann, how she relentlessly photographed and published images of her own children to further her career, and didn’t really worry about the consequences of her children being constantly in the public eye.  Much of the work featured is highly personal, this makes for very strong images and messages, not all easy to look at or disseminate.

Re-reading all of the above I have written a lot and not spoken about the images/photographers themselves. It is very powerful and in that respect, a successful exhibition. I’m not sure I liked it or enjoyed it, I’m not a prude, I don’t shock easily but with some I felt, really? Do we really need to see that? Did you need to photograph it that way to get your message across? Would I recommend going to see it? I’d say yes even if it is only to question your own reaction to it and why you feel that way.

So onto the actual images:

Elinor Carucci produced a body of work called “Mother” after giving birth to twins. Discovering the highs and lows of motherhood she documented intimate moments and the wide range of emotions experienced over a period of 9 years. She followed her babies as they grew into toddlers, then children. In places quite graphic, post op pictures of her naked body, I felt her images showed the joy and frustrations of motherhood and as the blurb about her book states moments that are “at once personal and universal.” I loved her use of light and shadows, in some they made me feel that despite the loving poses the shadow behind told us that not everything was sweetness and light. Despite liking her work I did also think some of the images were voyeuristic, we all grab a camera to capture a moment, even with evil cynicism as a child smears themselves with food or falls asleep in their dinner but there lurked the thought of the photographer pausing and thinking too hard before the snap was taken.

Janine Antoni is a contemporary artist, who creates work in performance art, sculpture, and photography. Symbolism abounds in the Inhabit series. What I found more interesting than the image itself is how the final image grew from a simple idea that to be achieved had to meet certain criteria:

It came to me first as a very simple image. I imagined that a spider had created its web between my legs. As I started to research the process of actualizing this image, things became complicated. Would a spider actually cooperate? How would I remain still in order to facilitate its weaving? After speaking with several entomologists, and learning about the extreme sensitivity of spiders to motion, I looked into getting a harness that would immobilize me. That led me to the world of harnesses, where I found a particular design that enabled me to be attached to a structure from many points on my torso. I realized that my body could be suspended in a way similar to a spider in its web. But I would need to build a cage around my legs in order to keep the spider in that particular area of my body. And it also became apparent that the spider would be too sensitive to build directly on my body due to body heat. It’s worth mentioning that, from the beginning, I equated the spider and its web with my daughter, and myself, the mother, with the support structure. Suddenly I thought of turning the spider’s cage into a doll’s house, as a way of incorporating the spider into the photograph. I now have an image that is a web within a web, a house within a house.

So Antoni hovers, spider-like, from a rope web wearing a doll house skirt, her legs filling rooms and pressing against the walls and miniature furniture, my first thought is “I wonder if she waxed or shaved?” quickly followed by “that must have been damn uncomfortable!” A large piece that dominated the smaller close up views of each room, I was more impressed by the scale furniture than the content/message. Maybe there was too much going on, it was very busy, or maybe the symbolism was too obvious, yeah trapped by the house, caught in a web, the main support in the house……blah, blah, blah….maybe I am being too dismissive.

Leigh Ledare - When you Google this exhibition many of the press pages are devoted to him. Sean O’Hagan of the Guardian titled his article Oedipal exposure: Leigh Ledare's photographs of his mother having sex.  So in some respects I don’t need to go into any more detail. However not every image is of her having sex, in some she just gleefully pulls her labia apart to reveal what she just had for breakfast, and it was probably one of her numerous toyboys! There is supposedly a serious message here with regards to his relationship with his exhibitionist mother, acknowledging her being still sexually active and her fear of  approaching age/infirmity. I think it can be summed up by saying, his mother was an exhibitionist and he didn’t worry about photographing it and publishing it for the world and its uncle to see. Nudity exists, porn exists, some families are less inhibited than others but I think they crossed a few lines to make this body of work. I found it all a bit creepy. Did they get across the message that not all mothers are the same and that motherhood is different for all? Yes. Did I think it needed to be as candid? No. If that says I am uptight, so be it. Labelled as art it becomes acceptable? What I did find interesting is that as with many other contemporary bodies of work he did not stick to just photographs; he included ephemera and video to good effect.

Elina Brotherus shows a series of photographs from her body of work Annunciation. The Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary or Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the announcement by the angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary that she would conceive and become the mother of Jesus. In this series Brotherus records herself through 5 years of failed IVF treatments. Apparently they are full of art historical references, and am presuming if I knew which ones I would have a better appreciation of this set, but I can see how her images would stand in sharp contrast to the traditional scenes and symbolism of Annunciation paintings. However I felt only one image truly revealed her pain and that is the portrait of her crying. All the others came across too staged managed, whilst I know she was feeling pain and anguish the deliberate placing of pregnancy tests injection needles and test results removed some of the immediacy and intimacy of the rawest moments she must have felt. Once again with some of the shots I thought really? Naked again? Why? Is it relevant? At first I thought it might be something to do with vulnerability but looking at more of her work it seems that to get her message across about how she feels and how her life changes she thinks being naked is the way forward. Glad I don't do self-portraits in this mode! Also, barring a few women, we all have periods, we all know what a toilet bowl of blood looks like, if I walked into a public toilet and was confronted by it I’d be highly irritated that someone hadn't flushed, I wouldn't stand and stare fascinated wondering what the narrative behind it was. I know it is part of this story; it brings the message home but really? Hard to explain, half of me thinks it’s a normal bodily function why am I bothered, also it could be food colouring for all I know, in which case it is merely a representation and isn't as intimate but I still thought not needed. Labelled as art it becomes acceptable?

Ana Casas Broda produced an expansive project called Kinderwunsch, which charts her desire to have children and “the connection between photography, memory and the construction of identity.” The tableau of 25 images “touch on the sensuality and intensity of physical contact” so uhuh, more naked bodies. I find it quite surprising that working independently all came up with the idea of no clothes….There is more of an innocence about some of the shots, especially where the children are young, others where they are fast asleep in their pyjamas where Broda is sitting naked between them made me feel more uncomfortable. I don’t know why, nakedness has never been taboo in my house, my children bathed and showered with me until they were fairly old, doors aren’t locked and while I don’t prance about naked I don’t scream and hide if they walk in on me (they might lolol) It was refreshing to see a woman showing what the majority of women do look like after having 2 children, excess skin, cellulite and saggy breasts, normally we see images of “can you believe Colleen only gave birth a few months ago?” Big whoop for Colleen who probably has nannies, a personal trainer and the odd nip and tuck! Suffering from post-partum depression Broda used photography as a form of therapy, and I think the lighting within this series suggests these darker periods or the way the darkness tinged her life. She says of one of the images where her children are drawing on her “This image captures the physical bond between myself and my sons. I am their canvas: they play with me and change me.” Broda tells us that many of the ideas and games are suggested by her boys. I wonder? How many young children would say, get naked I want to draw all over you, get naked I want to smear you with play-doh. I know lets bathe in milk……”

Hanna Putz is not a mother; rather she captures friends who have just had babies. I rather liked her simplistic shots with white backgrounds or the uncluttered approach in people’s homes. As a mother you get so used to having bits of your body on display, first poked about during pregnancy, then giving birth and afterwards, and with children they know nothing of privacy or respecting personal boundaries so I guess it isn't surprising that there are so many images of naked women about. Yes, Putz has them too. Despite capturing private and personal moments there is an air of non-interaction and detachment from the subject.  “Colours and composition are of importance to me – I like working with people as if I were working on a sculpture, moulding them together,” she says. “This is one reason I wanted to work with mothers and their babies, but it’s still about getting a feeling or an idea across, too. It’s never solely formal. I prefer to show ‘moments’ or compositions of two people together that might provoke a certain feeling within the viewer, rather than showing someone’s facial expression as a means of trying to say something. I’m trying not to expose anyone’s personal, private moments. For me, that should just stay with them.” I find this statement hard to equate when I've just looked at a naked woman revealing all on her sofa?

“I started photographing friends who [had] just had their first babies, and noticed how different it was photographing people who don’t have their full attention on the act of being photographed as their attention is mainly on their child, and who are also in some kind of a transitional phase, as they are adjusting to the new role that has just been given to them.”

Katie Murray provides a video performance piece for this exhibition called Gazelle. Quite a clever video as the exercise machine Murray is seen huffing and puffing on is named the Gazelle– Total Body Workout Exercise Machine. Trying to lose weight after the birth of her second child she becomes frustrated by her family’s constant interruptions so straps her two children to herself and continues to run, one on the back one on the front. Whilst the video of Murray carrying her 2 children plays it is intercut by scenes of a gazelle in the wild fighting off an attack by cheetah cubs. The metaphor cannot be missed, the children hanging off her, the cheetahs hanging onto the gazelle, the gazelle struggling to be free, the mother trying to be free. I could empathise, I remember come evening time not wanting to be touched any more as I had been clung to all day, I remember trying to use my step/video workout and trying to avoid accidentally kicking a demanding toddler. However I gave up, and vowed to continue when I did have the time. I found it a little disconcerting to see Murray pounding away with her kids bouncing about all over the place, more concerned about making a performance piece, ignoring their pleas to “get off now.” I know how wearing it is to face constant demands with no time for yourself but if you choose to have children, until they are of a certain age, there are times when I am afraid your wishes have to come second no matter how much it rankles. Some found it funny. I didn’t. The truth of trying to balance things was too close to home to be amusing and I found it disturbing that in this instance she put her needs as an artist before her children’s. I know people may say lighten up it wasn't for long but the health and safety aspect kept shouting in my head what if she had fallen over?

Fred Hüning presents his work as a touching trilogy of books. Originally he intended to make only one but the idea developed into three; Einer, meaning “Someone” or “the one” rather than just a straight translation of counting “one,” is about the artist’s still born son.  Zwei is more about Fred and his partner coming together again after experiencing such profound loss. They had to learn to grieve and trust and love again while the third completes their journey with their new son. There were a few people around this display and I must admit to not spending as much time as I could have investigating the imagery. That is the problem with some exhibitions :o/

Over coffee the people I had chance to chat with seemed as unsettled or as unsure as me when it came to what to think, what to say and what we felt. Definitely work to be considered before reaching any conclusions. There was an air that there was some exploitation going on, not so much that children were being shown but how and why. Did we really want to see Tina’s bits n bobs…..

The second part at the Foundling Museum focuses more on Motherhood and Loss. Thankfully no more nudes! There are only so many drooping bits I can face, besides I can see that when I come home and look in the mirror! The venue seemed appropriate to depict loss as the Foundling Museum was founded in 1739 for abandoned babies.

Annu Palakunnathu Matthew, originally from India but now working in the US, has a long history of creating photographs and videos based on identity, place, family, and memory. Through digital technology, old and new images “flow into one another, revealing the blurring spectrum of the generations” through the matriarchal line. She said “The final ephemeral animation is built from archival images and recent photographs of three or more generations of women. The digital technology and animation makes it appear that the old and new images magically flow one into another. This malleable flowing object leaves the viewer to wonder where the past and present overlap and warp. Here, history is distorted, evoking a new dimension of memories, which is uniquely digital.”

I loved this body of work. I found it really interesting that she incorporated old, new and mixed media. In Open Wound, created during her 7 month Fulbright fellowship in India, she effectively tells the story of the Partition of India and Pakistan. During her time in India, she met families who were affected by this in 1947. It has been 65 years since the Partition, where 12 million people were displaced within three months and over a million died. But unlike tragedies such as the Holocaust, there is no memorial to those impacted by the Partition. The work was displayed/framed in a copy of a 1947 year book open on a map of India. The images faded in and out with hand written notes telling a sad family history.

A link to it is here  http://www.annumatthew.com/Portfolio_Open_Wound/index.html

I find I am increasingly drawn to work which includes mixed media, in fact my essay (which I have sent off but waiting to get marked) was on the topic of mixed media and is the single photograph becoming less important. Also I have been tracing my family tree for several years and love coming across old sepia photographs and trying to spot the family resemblance. I have managed to trace some of my tree back to the Huguenots and the Revocation of the Treaty of Nantes. Although this happened a long time ago there was much I could relate to within this body of work.

Tierney Gearon “is an acclaimed Los Angeles based contemporary photographer, who has gained both critical and commercial recognition for her powerful and intense colourful photographs.” And has been said to be "pushing the envelope of contemporary photography”

On display are images taken from The Mother Project in which Gearon explores the relationship between herself, her children and her schizophrenic mother. Again some of these are not easy to look at, not because of the masks or the subject matter but due to the inclusion of her children.  You find yourself wondering where the artist stops and the mother begins. Her exploration of this loss is characterized as a “private world depicted in detailed scenes of playful costume changes.” The costumes may appear playful but this is in contrast to the scenes we witness in some shots where her infant son has been left to cry.  I found a review which described a different incident: “one of the most arresting images produced from the project is of blonde-curled Michael, wailing in pain, with Emilee's red-clogged foot anchoring the frame just behind him. But we don't see that image until after an amazing scene in which we watch Emilee deliver an unprovoked kick to her brother's shins, at which point their crazy grandmother starts babbling about how she's almost certainly "kicked a hole in the bone," likely doing "permanent damage." As Michael continues to scream, the grandmother asks her daughter -- who has been off camera and strangely quiet throughout the incident -- to calm her son down. "Go rub [his leg], Tierney,” she says. The camera pans over to Tierney ... who is frantically snapping pictures.”

Whilst creating this work, exploring how difficult it was to be with her mother I wonder if she realises her children are feeling the same? A review of the film of the same title states “But Tierney’s mother is not the only one in the picture: Tierney herself is put under the spotlight, especially when she unexpectedly becomes pregnant with her third child. We see how her kids struggle with their mother: a theme sustained down the generations. Younger son Michael admits that sometimes he’s glad when Tierney goes away.”

http://www.sneersnipe.co.uk/review_title.php?id=353

I know when creating my own projects how infuriated my son is when I want him to pose and how I occasionally blackmail him with chocolate and pocket money if he will stay still for another 5 minutes but at least I don’t document his every move 24/7 and click away while he is in pain or need.

Miyako Ishiuchi’s photographs are, in contrast, delicate quiet images which capture objects once belonging to her mother. Once again I could relate to this work as my mother recently passed away. I am surrounded by keepsakes, personal items and objects which I keep meaning to record in some way.  These items are said to act “as a poignant reminder of the mother that once was” and they do.

Finally to Ann Fessler and an extension of her book The Girls Who Went Away which deals with the women who were forced to give their children up for adoption in 1950’s and 1960’s America. Playing on a loop is her video, Along the Pale Blue River so named due to the fact Fessler, herself an adoptee, discovered that the river which ran through her childhood home also ran through the town where her mother came from, inextricably linking them. The nine-minute film features contemporary video shot by the artist and black-and-white archival footage from the period in question. The film traces her steps to discover her birth mother, which she narrates. I found her voice to be quite unemotional and at odds to what we were seeing. The film ends and although we know she discovered her uncle, without revealing her true identity, we don’t find out if she ever traced her mother. I had to know so Googled it. The interview I found says they are in contact but at the time of writing her mother had not told her other children of her existence. An interesting film to watch knowing the background of the piece. I think the mysterious ending was apt as many people never do get to discover the truth surrounding the adoption process.

So there you have it, if you are still with me after that very wordy review. In conclusion I think a lot of the work resonated, I may not have enjoyed the total visual experience but could empathise with the emotions and frustrations being portrayed. A few of the scenarios were to the extreme and whilst I don’t object to controversial or explicit photography I think there were a few where the shutter didn’t need to have been pressed. Susan Bright set out to curate an exhibition where Motherhood was portrayed in a different light. In this she succeeded. Home Truths were told. Motherhood is hard, frustrating, unrewarding, your life is never the same, your body is never the same, you feel tired, dragged down and you support your children more than they realise or appreciate. Aspirations you have get put on the backburner, trying to juggle more than one thing at a time is difficult, aging parents need care, roles are reversed and eventually you lose them. If you talk to your friends and family you know this is a shared experience and laugh at the latest offering from Hello magazine, this pap is a form of escapism. Anyone who shares Leigh Ledare’s upbringing must be relieved that finally someone else out there enjoys investigating certain taboos and Pretend You're Actually Alive, will no doubt be on their wish list.

PwDP Assignment 2 Re-Worked

Assignment 2 was to design a book cover and I chose The Dice Man by Luke Rhinehart, investigations, research and analysis of the novel can be found in an earlier post here

 http://janfairburnoca.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/assignment-two-photographic-book-cover_25.html

feedback wasn't particularly favourable at the time and with personal circumstances being what they were it got put onto the backburner as I was researched out and wasn't sure how to progress, develop a different idea? Do a different book?

http://janfairburnoca.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/assignment-two-feedback.html

on that post there are some of the ideas I bounced about in my head when thinking about it. Since then I have seen more photographers' work incorporating surrealism/manipulation of people, for example Levi Van Veluw, Alberto Seveso and Giuseppe Mastromatteo.

http://www.levivanveluw.nl/
http://burdu976.com/
http://www.giuseppemastromatteo.com/

The features that interested me about these photographers were the digital manipulation, plain backgrounds, the difference between subtle colour palettes and the vibrant colours and the use of foreign objects covering facial features. Annotated images from these 3 can be found in my physical learning log.

Keeping the main book layout more or less the same I set about experimenting and building up a more surreal approach to The Dice Man. As an aside I found it interesting to note that several other students had chosen to submit covers with a single image yet feedback to these were favourable and they were not advised they were limiting their choices, as per my original feedback. I guess the view of your tutor impacts upon feedback?

Firstly I approached a friend and asked if he would mind sitting for a portrait in which I wanted him to look slightly "evil" and could I also photograph his hands/arms as I quite liked his tattoos which fitted in with the theme of the book... Terry has in the past been quite heaving involved in acting and theatrical events so had no issues about posing and knew all about model release forms. Useful information about legalities can be found here http://www.apogeephoto.com/mag4-6/mag4-6model_releases.shtml

Both images were shot using natural light coming through patio doors and velux windows, a reflector was used to bounce light upwards to remove shadows from under Terry's eyes. Black velvet was used as a backdrop. I had originally thought to shoot an image of his face, then one with his hands over his face and blend them together using layers but his hands were not long enough to get the effect I required so shot them separately. This meant it was also easier to clone out blemishes and jewellry marks. As I was going to convert the images to black and white I was not too concerned with regards to the perfectly normal difference in colouration between his face (out in all weathers) and his arms which had spent the Australian winter under wraps. (yes, the poor man came to visit all the way from Australia and got nabbed to pose for me!) Wanting a more symmetrical face I created a duplicate layer of the left hand side and flipped it. Hands/arms were elongated and made thinner.

Portrait, complete with adjustment curve layers, black and white conversion and then initial blending results looked like this....

In the novel Rhinehart writes lists of things he could do and rolls the dice to see if he will carry these out therefore I wanted to incorporate a list, I didn't want a clean square piece of paper so ripped a piece out from a pad until I got one the size and shape I liked, wrote a few scenarios onto it and shot it from different angles. Wanting to incorporate dice somewhere but not sure quite where I also shot some of these. Again using natural light and black velvet the other elements looked like this.....

Putting It Together...

Version 1

This gave me a rough idea of how it looked what I needed to alter with positioning and brightness/contrast. So I could also get an idea of what each element would look like I split the back, spine and front. 

I posted onto the OCA Flickr forum and my personal Facebook page for initial feedback. I didn't want to continue developing the idea if initial reactions were totally unfavourable. Luckily for me they weren't. (Terry was pleased with his portrait, an added bonus) Suggestions were the black was too stark and the single red dice possibly drew the eye too much. I also thought that when split into sections the front image looked unbalanced and needed a corner continuation of the list.

Version 2

Although I had thought when split the die did not lead the eye away, I did still have lingering doubts as to its impact therefore reduced the size and added  the second. So with two dice instead of one and the list added the cover looked more balanced, however I noted that I needed to brighten the corner as it did not show up very well. I ran test prints to see what it printed like and found that despite calibration and thinking my monitor was set up reasonably well the colours were not as punchy and the whole cover printed out rather dark.

Version 3

Although uploaded here as versions 1-3 there were actually more than this created and saved as each subtle alteration was done, but too many to inundate the blog with. Eventually I was happy with the brightness of the main image and could think about reducing the impact of the black background.

Version 4

At first I experimented with gradients but none of this was working to my satisfaction, on chatting to a colleague at work who is an art teacher he suggested using a textured overlay and that concrete, bark or lichen was rather effective. Playing about I decided lichen worked for me, reduced opacity, a blending mode of Screen then feathering the edges using the rectangular marquee tool seemed to give me the subtle result I was after. Shadows were added to the dice so they didn't look like they were just floating mid air.

Analysis

Personally I like books that have simple plain backgrounds and research showed that there is a trend towards this kind of cover as shown by my earlier research. The plain background works especially well with a surreal approach as you can focus on the main image being presented. The list and the dice allude specifically to events that happen within the novel. If you are aware of the story you immediately pick up the visual clues, if unaware then they give implied meaning. Red in our culture infers danger and also picks up the colour in the publishers logo helping to retain a limited colour palette.

The model was deliberately chosen - being male, of the correct age and his appropriate tattoos worked within the story line.

The hands have many interpretations: when you have problems you put your head in your hands, as a psychiatrist Rhinehart dealt with his own problems alongside those of others, he held their lives in his hands with the advice he gave, hands are used to roll the dice. The split indicates a split personality, one supposedly in control- the psychiatrist- and the other with a personal life he felt was falling apart; of the two choices you can make, do it, not do it. I feel that the image is striking enough to gain the potential audiences' attention and make them pick the book up to read the blurb. Combined with the list, the complete cover gives a fair indication of what in contained within the pages without being obvious.

Often the first view of a book is its spine. This design has all the information you need; the title, the author, the publisher's logo and an image of an usual list of things to do which should intrigue potential readers. The list was positioned so that the audience would read "Be anybody" "Steal" and "Rape" along the spine, if the book was displayed on the shelf this would hopefully intrigue them enough that they would pick it up. The white text a contrast against the dark background with the texture adding interest. The limited color palette keeps the overall effect clean and clear.

The next thing you look at is the front cover. Facial features, especially eyes, will grab the attention immediately. There is then an implied triangle between the text with the diagonal lines of the hand written list to lead the eye around the page. The texture adds visual interest and makes the plain black background less harsh. The monotones, along with the crisp, serious gaze, create a menacing atmosphere which suggests the novel contains dark themes.

The back cover contains the blurb and other useful information, such as reviews and price. The text being kept to two colours, the red and white, is in keeping with the design as a whole. Red is an extremely dominant colour and even a small amount will draw the eye. It's the colour associated with love, passion, anger, heat, fire, and blood.Within the art world red is often said to symbolise excitement, energy, passion, love, desire, speed, strength, power, heat, aggression, dominance, danger, fire, blood, war, violence, all things intense and passionate. As many of these were themes within the book it seemed logical to opt for red dice and some red text.

It is important to note that the symbolism of colour does vary within cultures, in China for example red is associated with joy and happiness!

The tumbling dice represent the dice in the title and the story, the diagonal corner of the list invites you to turn over and look at the front.


As a book cover would ultimately be printed and I want to provide prints for assessment I experimented with papers and settings. As I have a fairly basic Epson printer which I cannot get profiles for the other manufacturers paper I tend to stick with Epson papers. I chose to print on Matt Archival, Premium Glossy and Semi-gloss papers. I also printed on Epson paper through my Kodak printer just to see the results. I also printed using Relative Colorimetric v Perceptual.

• The Matt Archival paper didn't seem to print the image out as sharply as I prefer and didn't resemble a book cover. Also the portrait image came out quite grey.
• The Premium Glossy for me was too shiny
• My favourite paper was Semiglossy
• The red Dice did not appear as close to the image colours when using Perceptual
• Final images at first were coming out a little too dark. reset the brightness and contrast, recalibrated and the results were much improved.

Catherine commented as to whether or not I would mock up a book. I decided I would and after playing about with foam blocks pieces of paper to cover and printing the cover to fit here is the final result.....

to send the final image to a publisher research has shown that they prefer to have PDF files useful information was found here

https://www.createspace.com/Special/Enterprise/Publisher/submission_guidelines.jsp

Conclusion

I am glad I decided to rework this book cover and am much happier with the final result. Taking more time to think about what I was going to do and further research into surreal images and manipulation of the human form gave me more ideas to work from. Feedback from my tutor gave me much food for thought, constructive criticism can be very useful although at the time (and even now) it still seemed more critical than constructive in places.

Technically I worked with only one light source, set a custom white balance and thought about how I would pose my model and take individual photographs of each element to build up the final design. Images were shot in RAW, any adjustments made in RAW and then saved as Tiff's. I worked on a tiff image building up the layers as I added each element.

Photoshop has enabled me to create the final image. Many layers, blending modes etc were used for each section with layers grouped together for the spine, back and front of the cover. Saving each version individually gave me the opportunity to adjust elements and go back to things I felt had worked better without starting from scratch.

Doing test prints help me decided if elements were positioned correctly or if my calibration/monitor was ok. I think I need to adjust the brightness of my screen slightly as this was really the only main issue I had. The hard work of text/layout design had been done previously on my initial submission but some minor adjustments were made to text size, position and colour.

If I were to redo this assignment there are some simple things I would alter from the outset, for example ask my model to remove his necklace, although not a huge issue it was something that I had to initially remove from the portrait shot. I'd also ask them to pose without a t-shirt as the neckline caused more work when adding and blending the arms.

Overall I am pleased with the final design, think it sums up the book, fulfils the brief and has given me the chance to explore several aspects of photography: portrait, still life and manipulation.

What have I learnt from the re-working? That it is always good to reflect subjectively on constructive criticism. To be prepared to let go of original ideas and go back to the drawing board. Leaving projects to one side for a time can be useful. Brushing up on technical aspects of lighting or your camera is always a good idea. Approaching people inside and outside of photography for feedback is brilliant as you get ideas from technical and visual aspects. Looking at other photographers work can give you inspiration and switch on a light bulb.

research links

http://www.levivanveluw.nl/
http://burdu976.com/
http://www.giuseppemastromatteo.com/
http://www.apogeephoto.com/mag4-6/mag4-6model_releases.shtml
https://www.createspace.com/Special/Enterprise/Publisher/submission_guidelines.jsp