Assignment 4: A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

‘External context is the situation in which a photograph is presented or found. Every photograph is intentionally or accidentally situated within a context.’ (Barrett, 2006, 109).

Barrett’s statement holds great sway with how I view the image above. The image is a found image that I actually stumbled across. Let me explain as it gives context with how I view this image. 

My partner and I were on an ad hock holiday in The Llyn Peninsula, Wales, sleeping out of the back of a van and avoiding paying for camping sites. We found a beautiful park up on the edge of some Nation Trust land overlooking the bay at Hells Mouth; it was a glorious weekend and my partners birthday; we were totally in the moment, without distraction. I’d gone for an early morning walk and was absorbed by birdsong and blossoms when I noticed the card squashed into the tarmac. A huge smile appeared when I looked at the reverse of it and saw it was a photograph, and a historic one at that; two of my great joys. Now whenever I look at the image I am also reminded of a time and place; the image releases a memory within.

On reviewing the image, I consider many varying aspects related to its meaning, which are formed over its entire history; up to the point that I found it. Time and the interplay of human interaction have all helped shape my personal reading of the image.

‘a photograph is a trace of the past, of a past that the image is already separated from.’ (Short, 2005, 21).

Considering the studium of the image; there is a collective of males; bound by labour, in the surroundings of the workplace environment; recorded for prosperity. The image shows a particular slice of society of the era; predominantly the working-class male. A further look at that which is denoted reveals a timescale of the Edwardian period, as indicated by the style of clothing; a straw boater, flat caps, bowler hat, starched collars and bushy moustaches. We can see more from the appearance of the majority of the men that their clothing is akin to working class men of the time. The aprons the men are wearing suggest a workshop environment and the figure, six in from the left is holding a plane, coupled with the columns of timber on the right-hand side it is obvious that these are employees in a woodyard.  Looking at the incomplete signage on the building I can decipher Freehold Houses To be Sold Or Build To Suit… the rest of the writing is obscured. The employees are bookended by four authoritative figures; on the left two well-dressed gent’s indicative of ownership and management, and on the right their subordinates in authority; a workshop manager and supervisor perhaps?  Just behind the figures on the left is a row of terraced houses with multiple chimney stacks. Unfortunately, the photographer has chopped the legs of the seated figures by not being able to elevate his camera above the height of the wall or earth bank that makes up the foreground of the image. This may indicate a newness to photography or lack of professionalism on his part.


After the image has been made and mounted, we can see further denotations. The torn off corner and frayed edges; marks and stains; doodles on the chimneys and punctures, like pockmarks. On the reverse are significant markings adding to the image’s history. All of these give account of its journey through time.

‘Photographs are commonly used as evidence. They are among the material marshalled by the historian in order to investigate the past.’ (Wells, 2015, 64)

The first impression I gain from reading this image is that of hierarchal subservience. As noted earlier the group of joiners are arranged with authority figures at each end. They are stood guard over and therefore it’s as though there is no escape from their social predicament. They are seemingly cowed into submission to perform at request; perhaps even demand. The body-language; arms folded and stoic expressions on the faces of the men indicates a level of un-willingness to perform. There may be a level of distrust aimed at the photographer. The owner at the left of the men, in comparison; stands tall, thumbing his waistcoat, lofty in fashion and social position. This is an age of empires, class, race and gender dominance. To be a middle-class white male at the time, allows a level of ease and comfort through life’s passage, compared to the toil and hardships endured by the lower echelons of society.

I also read a loss of innocence in the photograph. How long before the men are led to the battle grounds of The Western Front? These men, innocently signing up to embark on a great adventure as a band of brothers; un-knowingly whistling their way to scenes of great carnage. The straw boater and bowler hats replaced by shoulder pips and sergeant’s stripes, the hierarchy remaining in place; serving the empirical vanities of the ruling classes. The wood-stack and chimney’s connoting pyres and columns of smoke rising to the heavens from the devasted battlefields. Although added later to the photograph, the indentations of the tarmac give added punctum to the image; serving as a symbol of machine gun strafing, especially with regard to the mans obliterated face, further enhancing loss.

Finally, I consider the reverse of the image and more added history. The image now sitting on an office desk in 1930. Maybe the young apprentice with the plane has survived the carnage of war and gained promotion through the company ranks. He arranges type blocks on a stamping tool that affirms his Welsh identity and now maybe his own authority; stamping the back of the image to check this arrangement before applying it to invoices or yard dockets. 

I’ll not know for sure what happened to these men or if my reading is accurate. All I can do is apply my own feelings on social inadequacies and a sense of history and give the picture a personal reading.

Word count 1016

Bibliography

Barrett, T., 2012. Criticizing Photographs. New York: McGraw Hill.

BATE, D., 2016. PHOTOGRAPHY. [S.l.]: BLOOMSBURY VISUAL ARTS.

Wells, L., 2015. Photography A Critical Introduction. London: Taylor & Francis.

History, 1., 2020. 1910S Men’s Working Class Clothing. [online] Vintagedancer.com. Available at: <https://vintagedancer.com/1900s/1910s-mens-working-class-clothing/&gt; [Accessed 18 April 2020].

Pt 4: Research Point

Liz Jobey’s essay ‘A Young Brooklyn Family Going For A Sunday Outing, N.Y.C  1966’ is an excellent example of how to use some of the analytical mechanisms discussed in the previous chapter; Reading Pictures. Her first line of text ‘The fictions we make about photographs are as unreliable as they are unavoidable.’ (Jobey, 2005, 67), is true, in regard of relating to individual interpretations. We all come at reading pictures from our own mindset attributed to our own personal experiences; so, interpret accordingly. If 10 different people were asked to opine on the image, 10 differing fictions would present, which would be true, all of them? Thus, the opening line sums up the intertextuality when reading an image.

The essay is then split into two different parts. The first is Jobey’s rendering of the image and the second a more forensic analysis of Arbus and underlying opinions and viewpoints pertaining to her; some of which are positive such as Szarkowski’s inclusion in the New Documents exhibition and his catalogue statement, ‘The portraits of Diane Arbus show that all of us – the most ordinary and the most exotic of us – are on closer scrutiny remarkable.’ (Szarkowski, 1967, 3), others not so; Sontag’s opinions, which form parts of her essay’s in On Photography, ‘For what would be more correctly described as their dissociated point of view, the photographs have been praised for their candour and for an unsettling empathy with their subjects. What is actually their aggressiveness towards the public has been treated as a moral accomplishment.’ (Sontag, 1977, 33). These differing opinions and other investigations help to form a wider interpretation of the image and form a vital role in the reading. 

Looking at Jobey’s reading of the image itself I can’t help but wonder if she has been influenced by some of the criticism of Arbus and her pursuit of ‘Freaks’ and the marginalised, with her persistent reference to them being victims and negative connotations connected to Arbus. ‘Are they victims of some sort of tragedy waiting to happen? Will they fight, separate, divorce, marry other people? Will they die an early death? Or will they live out the clichéd, doomed existence of a blue-collar couple in a Bruce Springsteen song?’ (Jobey, 2005, 67). Maybe this reading is more emblematic of Jobey’s own background or perhaps what she sees as signified is the broken family, whereas, my reading of signified is matriarchal dominance; as David Bates suggests ‘Unintended meanings occur, and what Roland Barthes once called “obtuse” meanings, as much as the “obvious” meanings, may be in the play in a photograph interacting with the viewer.’ (Bate, 2016, 32).

Assignment 3: Tutor Report, Rework and Reflection

k.d.tutor-report-3Download

For an assignment that initially gave me the most concern prior to starting, I have to admit to gaining the most pleasure from the whole process and final outcome including my tutors report. I really didn’t have a clue how to approach this assignment initially. Usually I have an idea or number of ideas on reading assignment briefs – not this time. To look at myself felt like therapy and I was fearful of what I might find. How much did I want to uncover/reveal about myself. 

Keeping the journal over a couple of weeks was the impetus I needed to form a foundation of reflection, uncovering details about myself that I probably would normally ignore or put to one-side. The journal helped me see a common thread within my thought process with which I could pursue as a theme. I really feel this assignment has helped me develop a working through of ideas and experimentation to reach an effective conclusion; something that I can carry forward to further assignments.

I have taken onboard my tutor’s comments regarding the need to diversify the backgrounds featured in the tool images. There is a repetition that needs breaking up to make the set of images more cohesive; so, I have re-worked these images.

Project 2: Reading Pictures

I complete this exercise in the time of COVID lockdown, so rather than go and purchase a supplement magazine specifically for this, I grabbed a special interest magazine from my shelves and tore out an advertisement from it instead. The magazine in question is Singletrack, a magazine dedicated to mountain biking.

When initially scanning the image, it is not completely obvious as to the product promoted in the advertisement; you have to put the relative information from text and image together to form a conclusion.

First line of sight is drawn to the figure. He’s young, looks fit and healthy and is engaged in in the physical activity of riding a mountain bike. There is a very determined, focused and concentrated look on his face, as if he would be in peril if he lost his concentration; the implication being that the figure is risk adverse. Along-side this, there is also a strong sense of masculinity, an overriding feeling of the strong, determined male; a quasi-heroic figure of Greco athletic prowess. The suggestion being that riding a mountain bike improves manliness.

I am next drawn to the bold box of text in the top right-hand corner. The word has a registered symbol next to it so I can ascertain that this is the brand and my memory fills in the gaps. I know that Gore is the shortened version of Gore-Tex, a water-proof fabric, and the logo is replicated on the breast of the figures jacket; therefore, the product is the jacket. This information is further enhanced by the text underneath the image. The slogan ‘Ride more, be better’ implies an improvement in your riding technique can only be gained by more and more riding. How can this be achieved? ‘We conceive, design and construct gear for you to ride in all weathers’, is the answer. The manufacturer is past implication now, they are telling you ‘Wear our jacket and you too can ride in all weather’s; therefore, you can spend more time on your bike and be a better rider’.

The jacket is quite stylish too. The two-tone blue banding relates to calm and gives the jacket a subtleness that hints at confidence, of not needing to draw attention to oneself. The cut and style of the jacket is best suited to those with an athletic shape to their body and could be worn out of context, yet people would still know that the person wearing it was sporty.

The imagery is made up of two composited images. First, there is the main figure, the man, intently focused with an out of focus background. Overlaid on top of this is an image of bush or scrubland with its red sand path. The way that the overlay is constructed heightens the sense of being in the outdoors. The strong diagonal composition of the overlay gives a feel of speed; of hurtling through the bush. The frozen bushes are not something that is usually seen when travelling at speed, so, to freeze them highlights the risk the rider is experiencing – that of having to pick his path through the scrub at speed. The design further enforces the slogan and product; ‘In our jacket you can ride more and be better’. Also, the graphic design of the overlay hints at experimentation and with that innovation. It says to me that the brand like to be trying out new approaches, that they don’t rest on their laurels.

The final point of interest is the hashtag slogan. Immediately it signifies youth. It is a symbol connected to those with a social media presence, commonly attributed to youth culture and it implies that the brand is part of a 21stcentaury lifestyle.

So, the advertisement is telling me that to improve myself, to be better, I need to get outdoors more and ride my bike more and the best way to do that is by wearing a stylish Gore-Tex jacket that enables this. Also it enables me to be more of a man, not unlike a Marlboro cigarette advertisement, but fitter.

Project 1: The Language of Photography

Erwitt’s image is constructed with the strong use of vertical lines, drawing the viewers eye down through the frame, eventually resting on the small dog. The lines add emphasis to the size of the dog enabling the image with comical sensibilities. Its height, or lack of, is accentuated when compared to the legs of the woman and dog standing next to it and the hat sandwiched between two oversized ears gives further credence to the images comedic value. To give further emphasis, you only need to look at the size of its legs in comparison to the small dogs legs beside it. The framing and cropping and use of space around the figures creates the emphasis in size differentials and so enables us to have a little chuckle at the small dog.

Regarding as to what the image is saying, I look at further information within the image and text. I can see that the image was made in New York and surmise through the background setting that it could perhaps have been shot in Central Park. I already know the area surrounding Central Park contains some very exclusive properties and hotels, not dissimilar to Hyde Park in London and looking at the fashionable (for the time) boots and woollen coat can further conclude that the person is obviously concerned with their appearance and perhaps also concerned with showing their self-appointed status within New York society. To further accentuate this are the dogs themselves; one being of the toy dog variety, to be fussed and petted excessively, a lap dog if you will, the other looks as if it may be a Great Dane, a form of guard dog, protector of wealth and an emblem of status associated with wealth. So, for me Erwitt is letting me see comedy not only in the size and character of the small dog but also on a social level, I am as much laughing at the absurdities of supposed social standing and status through accumulation of objects meaning to signify wealth.

Study Visit: Martin Parr Talk

This study visit was organised by Amano Tracy and took place at MPF Bristol on 14/12/19. The event consisted of Martin giving a personal retrospective account of his career and photographic life to date.

Parr was born in Epsom, Surrey, 1952 and was influenced by his grandfather a keen amateur photographer and member of the Royal Photographic Society.

Parr studied photography at Manchester Polytechnic from 1970-1973; explaining that the course was designed to produce commercial photographers with a heavy bias on the science aspects of lighting and darkroom etiquette. Here though, Parr collaborated with his contemporaries such as Daniel Meadows and Brian Griffin, culminating in projects based on the notion of Northern Vernacular. During this time, he and Meadows got work in a Butlins camp as roving photographers. His Diploma show ‘Home Sweet Home’ exhibited at the Impressions Gallery was to reveal many of his re-occurring tropes that would litter his work in the following decades; documentary, kitsch, collectables and domestic interior. The exhibition was also an expression of his frustration at the traditional studio-based course at Manchester.

Parr, Home Sweet Home, 1974

In 1975, Parr moved to Hebden Bridge in the Pennines. Here, he became involved in an artist’s cooperative The Albert Street Workshop ‘It was very good…people would drop in for coffee and it was very sociable. I had one wall…I displayed my photographs, and as I took new ones, I replaced them, it was a constantly changing exhibition.’ (Parr, 2014, 71). His time here would see him mature as a photographer as he engaged with local community projects such as The Non-Conformists; a project working in the community Methodist and Baptist chapels. A long form documentary project shot in black and white. He explained, when asked, that he gained permission to photograph and that he became familiar with the occupants, enough so they just ignored him, resulting in an observational style of documentary photography. While in Hebden, Parr also worked on other projects that would eventually become books, two being “Beauty Spots” and “Bad Weather”. For his project “Bad Weather” Parr purchased an underwater camera and flash because, as his project suggested, he was photographing in very inclement conditions. He told us that he became interested in the way the flash lit up raindrops and that they were to become an integral part of this body of work and that how this would inform the use of flash in his later projects.

One of his early set of collections were the postcard photographs of British tourist spots made by John Hinde, these highly saturated colour photographs and the work of influential American colour photographers such as William Eggleston, Stephen Shore and Joel Meyerowitz marked a shift in technique from black and white to colour photography. In 1982 Parr moved to an are just north of Birkenhead in Liverpool, from here he spent the next three summers photographing working class Liverpudlian seaside goers at New Brighton. The resulting book and exhibition “The Last Resort” marked a huge shift in British photography, enabling the embrace of colour as a serious representation for art and documentary photography. I honestly think that the release of this book enabled a huge leap forward for British photography especially with regard of its reach with the wider populous and the acceptance of colour as a serious genre within the British photographic sphere. The work was criticised by some for its exploration (some say, exploitation) of the working classes, but, for me it shows truth inherent in our class structure, and if by being unflinching he makes some people uncomfortable, then perhaps they just can’t handle truth. Let us not forget; photography is now, truly democratic.

Parr, The Last Resort, 1983-1985.

After receiving some criticism for “The Last Resort”, of which he said it was as equally beneficial to him as the plaudits he received, he decided to turn the camera on his own class, the middle class and so produced a body of work entitled “The Cost of Living”. The project was to coincide with the height of “Thatcherism”, which helped enable the middle class to become respectively more affluent. Photographing at such places and events as; Malvern Girls School, Conservative clubs, Laura Ashley shops, village fetes, garden parties and bowling clubs. Richard Ehrlich, writing in Creative Camera states ‘Some people criticised “The Last Resort” as being voyeuristic and/or patronising, and “The Cost of Living” will be open to the same sort of criticism, particularly as the satire is even more biting. People are most vulnerable to satire when they take themselves seriously, and the people in “The Cost of Living” take themselves very seriously indeed…Parr has caught the comfortable, confident classes at the apex of their pride.’ (Ehrlich, 1990). Personally, I’ve always enjoyed the satire in Parr’s work, I find the humour quite refreshing, after all, sarcasm, self-deprecation, the absurd and satire could be said to be inherent in British DNA.

The next books he produced focused his gaze outside of the UK as he covered the topics of tourism “Small World” and globalisation “Common Sense”. Parr is a prolific producer of photobooks and also a huge collector too. He famously sold his collection of over 12,000 books to the Tate, widely recognised as one of the greatest collections of photobooks. His collecting interests didn’t just stop at photobooks as over the years he has gathered all sorts of different ephemera such as: Saddam Hussein watches, Margaret Thatcher plates, Space Dog ephemera and much more.

In 1994 Parr became a full member of the Magnum picture agency. The vote to include him into membership was one of the most divisive in the history of the agency, with Philip Jones Griffiths circulating a letter decrying his inclusion. He was voted in with a two thirds majority by just one vote. He became president of the agency in 2014; a post he upheld until 2017.

In 2014 Parr set up the Martin Parr Foundation in Bristol. The building it is located in (and where this visit took place) houses Parr’s own archive in a massive database, his collection of book dummies and other acquired photobooks and is a centre for promoting British photography and photography concerned with Britishness.

After the talk there was a Q&A with Martin covering a wide range of topics from student’s questions. For me one of the most revealing insights came from a question asked by Helen Rosemier. Asking about the ethics of representation and Parr’s thoughts on the subject, considering controversies surrounding some of his images, and also whether he’s had blowback from people who thought they’d been misrepresented; he answered that he’d very rarely received comments from people featured in his images with regard to misrepresentation and that generally the reactions were positive. Regarding ethics he said “In terms of the ethics, you just take anything and then you decide later whether you use it and what context you use it in.” Answering Helen’s question on exploitation he said, “Photography by nature is somewhat exploitative…it doesn’t bother me because I think it’s important to have the creative freedom to be able to photograph anything that you want to.” Reassuringly, even someone as renowned as Martin has hundreds of duff images for each success, “It’s the nature of the beast when producing work that is reactive.”

I found this a very worthwhile day. To gain insights into the practices and thoughts of one of Britain’s most eminent and well-known photographers is quite a coup for OCA and I was surprised by the number of people who dropped out of the visit at the last minute – their loss.

Authors own image.

Bibliography

En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Martin Parr. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Parr&gt; [Accessed 12 March 2020].

Martinparr.com. 2020. Martin Parr. [online] Available at: <https://www.martinparr.com&gt; [Accessed 12 March 2020].

Pro.magnumphotos.com. 2020. Magnum Photos Photographer Portfolio. [online] Available at: <https://pro.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP3=CMS3&VF=MAGO31_10_VForm&ERID=24KL5357TF#/CMS3&VF=MAGO31_10_VForm&ERID=24KL5357TF&POPUPIID=2S5RYDWKAOY8&POPUPPN=39&gt; [Accessed 12 March 2020].

Nytimes.com. 2020. Will Martin Parr’S Photos Change The World? He Doesn’T Think So. [online] Available at: <https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/17/lens/will-martin-parrs-photos-change-britain-he-doesnt-think-so.html&gt; [Accessed 12 March 2020].

Williams, V., 2014. Martin Parr. London: Phaidon.

Assignment 3: Submission

The largest part of our lives are spent sleeping in our beds, the second could be argued is spent in our workplace. Like it or not the jobs we hold form a significant part of our identity. Some of us shift about in varying career environments, whereas others are happy staying put in one place, and perhaps with one role for a lifetime. I have shifted around and returned to the job I trained in on leaving school – that of a plumber. My diary entries mainly focused on aspects of my job; the toll of manual labour, dissatisfaction of chasing payments, the bond between colleagues, the freedom of self-employment. I guess my diary entries are reflecting a shift in thinking with respect of my future and how I wish to progress.

For a while I was confused as to how to progress with the assignment. I had varying ideas but couldn’t settle on an outcome; whether to follow one strand or multiple. I knew I wanted to pursue a still life approach to show the unseen aspects of my work with a leaning towards abstraction or something visually appealing. I also decided early on to complete the assignment with my phone camera as this was the best way to make workplace still life’s.

On seeing Tom Sach’s Rockeths installation I also realised that the best way to convey the physicality of my work and to emphasise the labour required would be to make some more still life’s of the tools I use. I have a love hate relationship with this equipment, they enable me to maintain a level of pride in what I do, but, also, they are beginning to exact a toll on my body and I have become weary of them.

The final piece of the jigsaw was me. I felt it was important to show a little of myself, to allow my imprint on the story. I wanted to show signifiers that enable the viewer to understand the environment without spelling it out. I also wanted it to be reminiscent of  snapshot images from old family albums, so I went in close with flash on, to give a stark shadow or highlights off reflective surfaces.

Assignment 3: Further Progression

Viewing Nigel Shafran’s and Tom Sach’s work has helped inform the direction that I wish to follow with this assignment. Looking at their work has been beneficial in helping decide to follow a multi-strand approach to the brief. By that, I mean to incorporate still life scenes (aide memoire images), still life objects equated to labour (power tools) and self-portrait representative of workplace environment. As much as the assignment is about self-portrait I also want to establish a connection to labour and manual endeavour.

For a while I’ve wrestled with the notion of including images of me undertaking my work, thinking that it would be good to include actual work-based practice. I can’t say that I was particularly pleased with any of the resulting images though, they tended to lack dynamism or visual impact, they were just boring and if I had seen them anywhere else I’d have probably thought…yeah, so what!

So instead I decided to follow a more abstract version of myself, one that alludes to the rigours of labour and that is less obvious, making the viewer make their own connections.

I also made a couple of short time-lapse films https://vimeo.com/user4294756, but am as of this moment unsure about including them in the final submission. Although I like them they do have a slightly gimmicky quality – time-lapse to me, means Benny Hill. No, actually, those last words mean I am sure, they can stay on the cutting room floor.

Assignment 3: Additional Research

As I was developing a variety of strands for this assignment I pondered on how objects could represent self. A internet search didn’t reveal to much in respect of photographic practice, but I did stumble upon an American artist call Tom Sachs and in particular a piece of work entitled, Rockeths (2017).

Tom lives and works in New York after moving there from LA via London where he studied architecture at the Architectural Association School of Architecture. His contemporary art practice combines mixed media and sculpture, working with a wide variety of materials. His works are mainly concerned with consumerism, labour and an obsession with space.

Rockeths forms part of a series of works based around the German notion of Wunderkammern – cabinets of curiosities, dating back to the Renaissance period. The items contained within the carefully curated and structured works are objects of his fascination and often relate to labour intensive practice, he states, ‘I want labour to be the point, because everything in our lives is miraculously made with no idea of how it’s done.’ (Sachs, 2017). This resonates with me because my assignment equates specifically to the subject of labour inherent in my working identity. A particularly poignant element of his piece is the chair chained to the work surface, for him it represents slavish dedication to hobbyism, whereas, with relation to my own work it could represent a different notion of slavery, that of slavery to a capitalist model.

Sachs, Rockeths, 2017.

Bibliography

Magazine, W. (2020). Tom Sachs shapes a self-portrait through things, found and fabricated. [online] Wallpaper*. Available at: https://www.wallpaper.com/art/tom-sachs-sperone-westwater-objects-of-devotion [Accessed 22 Feb. 2020].

Tomsachs.org. (2020). Tom Sachs: Exhibitions / Objects of Devotion. [online] Available at: https://www.tomsachs.org/exhibition/objects_of_devotion [Accessed 22 Feb. 2020].

Artnet.com. (2020). Tom Sachs | artnet. [online] Available at: http://www.artnet.com/artists/tom-sachs/ [Accessed 22 Feb. 2020].

Huck Magazine. (2020). Tom Sachs – The Curse of Creativity. [online] Available at: https://www.huckmag.com/art-and-culture/art-2/tom-sachs/ [Accessed 22 Feb. 2020].

En.wikipedia.org. (2020). Tom Sachs (artist). [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Sachs_(artist) [Accessed 22 Feb. 2020].