Initial Thoughts
At this initial considering of the assignment I have a couple of ideas simmering away; one being a tableau image and the other a constructed portrait. I want to look at the development of a child and association of influences rather than physical development and attempt to intimate at the various types of instructive programming that help shape children along their journey to adulthood; be that parental programming, peer influence or the wider conditioning of ever-changing societal norm’s. My aim for the assignment is to produce an image that makes the viewer feel uncomfortable with accepted realities of modern society; we live in a world bought much closer together through technologies and paradoxically the same technologies have heightened the divide in our opinion riven world.
My first idea is a tableau image along the lines of Gregory Crewdson and Alex Prager. I live in a rural community and luckily for me have one neighbour and fields surrounding us. The inspiration for this idea came from my son, who, one day wanted to fly his kite in the field. We had to go to the bottom end of the field as there are power lines and a pole close to the house. After a successful kite flying expedition, I found myself ruminating about the power lines and drifted back to the child safety films of the 1970’s, featuring the Grim Reaper (horrifying at the time). I thought of making my image a cautionary along the lines of the safety films of my youth but would give it a modern twist. My thinking is to have an adult figure lying prone near the base of the power pole with a kite nearby, and for a child to be near, either on their knees simulating crying or stood up and making a phone image or selfie. I’m more inclined to go with the latter as it could serve as a metaphor for the ill’s in society.
The second idea for consideration concerns the programming of parental political ideals into children. For this image I am thinking of making a portrait using props to enforce the idea of such. This time I’m thinking of using only my son as a model. I intend to dress him as a stereo-typical, flag waving, Trump supporting redneck. For this image I’ll need my son to do a little acting so hopefully he will be compliant or easily bribed on the day. I have a location ready and environmental props that will, I hope, reinforce the feel of a Mid-West location of typical Trump supporting heartlands. Again, with this I could add the technological twist to it as every kid firmly grasps a phone these days, but maybe that might start to become a bit of a cliché.
For both of these different ideas to work well the use of many elements from the module need to come into play. Particular consideration needs to be focused on various aspects of the reading of the image in particular that of signs, signified and that which is connoted, if this is done well then hopefully the viewer will read my intentions.
Context and Narrative 