Topic 8 - Audiences and Institutions - Activity
‘To get us think about tastes in photography, and perhaps visual culture more broadly, post whatever aspect of photography you can’t stand, and would like to banish to George Orwell’s ‘Room 101’.
It might be a certain technique you find grating or overused, or a cliched subject you could gladly live without seeing an example of ever again,
The ‘selfie’ (it’s a self-portrait, get over yourself…) in a mirror, particularly the celebrity self-portrait in bathroom mirrors.
Topic 7 - Words and Pictures - Activity
Fig. 1 Bruce Adams, 2023. Daily Mail. 5th October 2023. Page 1.
This image is supposed to convey and reinforce ideas of stereotypical gender roles between man and woman. Sunak is closer to the camera and seemingly looks bigger than Murty, which connotes traditional values of males being the dominant or important person in a relationship. Murty is looking at Sunak with support, admiration and pride, reinforcing the previous connotation. They are both dressed in stereotypically gendered clothing, blue for Sunak and salmon pink for Murty.
The text has dramatically influenced this reading of the photograph and further reinforces the negative connotations surrounding relationships, gender, and gender roles. The image caption defines Murty as Sunak’s wife, which suggests she is lesser and an object.
The subheading of the front-page expresses the message of family and stereotypical gender identities, which further explains the image. The term ‘wokery’ comes from ‘woke’ which is defined as: ‘alert to and concerned about social injustice and discrimination’ (Oxford University Press, 1989), but is presented as a negative in relation to the Labour leader Keir Starmer. This further reinforces the stereotpyes presented in the image and text.
An alternative reading could relate to the text above the headline, Barthes doesn’t address the multifaceted nature of newspaper front covers and the potential confusion that could happen when connotations are mixed, for example, whilst Murty looks at Sunak with ‘love’ how do we know she still fancies him?
Oxford University Press (1989). The Oxford English dictionary. 2nd ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press; Oxford.
Topic 5 - Interdisciplinary Practice - Activity
How are why does your practice relate to a particular discipline?
My photographic practice has similarities to the geographical planning and reviews completed as part of council’s self-assessment of the areas that they control. I have been reading the ‘Reading – Historic Area Assessment, Reading HAA – February 2023.’ A 226-page document on the historic environment, its character and heritage assets in the town. This text, statistical and image-based approach to reviewing the town helps me highlight areas that could be good or valuable to photograph.
What I find most interesting about the publication is that each section of the town is broken down and the buildings are assigned based on their ‘…Relative Contributions to Character’.
These do not consider how people in the town feel about the buildings that are being categorised, but the opinion of the company doing the study for the council, with the view to future development/redevelopment.
- How does this link to my practice?
I want to connect with people to understand their perception and opinions on Reading, what if one of their favourite buildings was designated as a ‘detracting contributor’?
Is this study based on what is popular within town planning and development? What about what is unique to Reading?
- JACKSON, Sam, Charles WAGNER and Mary NEALE. 2023. Reading - Historic Area Assessment. Reading Borough Council. Abingdon: Built Heritage Consultancy. Available at: https://images.reading.gov.uk/2023/05/Reading-HSHAZ-Historic-Area-Assessment-2022-Approved-27.2.23.pdf [accessed 24 Oct 2023].