Week 4 - Reflection
Consider the intent of your photographic practice. Has it changed?
I do not think the intent of my practice has changed during the process of this week. My intent is still to photograph the flow of Oxford Road and people that contribute to this. I think there have always been signs and symbols in the work that I produce to help communicate the place. It is worth considering who will look at the work, residents of Oxford Road and the surrounding area may have a different reaction to the work than people from outside the area. The intent is not to lean into the stereotype of the place but also not lean away from it either.
I believe the intent of the project will in the longer term because of the reading and learning I have done and will do. I am interested in what Berger writes in Ways of Seeing:
‘But a work of art also suggests cultural authority, a form of dignity, even of wisdom, which is superior to any vulgar material interest; an oil painting belongs to the cultural heritage; it is a reminder of what it means to be a cultivated European.’
(Berger, 2008)
But what is a cultivated European? Most of the subjects in my project are not European. Does this mean they will have a different relationship to an artwork? Does this mean the coding they see would be different to the coding I see or might impart on the work? At the end of the day, I do not think it matters, what matters is there are symbols are codes within the work that can be explored and interpreted by a range of different audiences from different backgrounds. Each person will bring their own ideas, opinions and insights to the work and this in turn may highlight signs that have been missed by myself or others.
Something that has made me consider my intent comes from Barthes:
‘In French, the expression nature morte refers to the original presence of funeral objects, such as a skull, in certain pictures.’
(Barthes, 1977)
This makes me think about the presence of objects within my images and how this can relate to the overall narrative I am trying to communicate. This is of particular importance as I am planning to continue producing portraits and the inclusion of objects, colours and objects will impact the reading and understanding of a subject and their place in the project and on Oxford Road.
Reconsider the visual/technical/conceptual strategies you use to achieve this intent.
The way in which I am creating my images is changing. I have started spending longer in locations and focusing on things that catch my eye.
This to a point has been unsuccessful so far. The photographs I have created where I spent time were too busy and whilst they included interesting moments, overall, the moments were lost within the busyness of other elements in the image.
Talking with people about the project is working well as a strategy and it usually leads to them opening up and revealing something about themselves which can be seen visually.
Identify an approaches/practices/practitioners that specifically resonated with you.
‘The most significant indexical power of the photograph may consequently not lie in the relation between
the photograph and it’s subject, but in relation between the photograph and it’s beholder or user.’
(Olin, 2002: 114)
This concept makes me more aware of the importance of there being signs and signifiers in my work. As the photographer I almost become the vehicle for my subjects to communicate with the wider world. When this is put into the context of Oxford Road it can be about them telling the world that their part of it, their vision for it, maybe their life on it is not as negative as others might perceive.
Outline/summarise your independent research.
Jem Southam’s practice of waiting and allowing water, birds and the world to flow around him is an approach that is similar to Paul Graham’s and is one that I want to continue to try to employ within my work.
Vanessa Winship’s She Dances on Jackson has a strong narrative and good mixture of photographs. She mixes the engaged and unengaged portrait which I find interesting.
Laura Pannack’s portraits are beautiful, she clearly builds a rapport with her subjects potentially over time which leads to relaxed portraits that allow her subjects to communicate and be read by the audience.
Evaluate the development of your own photographic practice to date.
This week has seen me attempt to spend more time in a location. All in all, it has been relatively unsuccessful so far. The images I created were too wide, too busy and didn’t on the elements I was noting in my notebook as being interesting or important.
I also continued trying to make sequences using the images I had created. Again these were unsuccessful and did not have the same feeling that the images that had not been created specifically for a sequence had when they were put into a sequence.
Reflect on the peer/tutor feedback you have received on your current/future practice.
Slow down your processes (again).
Stick to one or two methodologies when producing photographs otherwise everything will get confused and messy.
What are your action points? What are you doing next?
- Continue to slow my process down.
- Keep looking around the frame, especially when taking portraits.
- Consider quieter areas in which to produce images.
- Sit for a while, camera on lap, take in the world, the tripod is good but restrictive.
- I feel the McDonalds Drive-Thru might be an interesting place to take some images.
- Outside Battle Library continues to be an area that is interesting to me.
- Walk the road again and consider new locations, uncomplicated and organised.
BARTHES, Roland. 1977. Image, Music, Text. Translated by Stephen Heath. London: Fontana Press.
BERGER, John. 1972. Ways of Seeing. London.: Penguin Books.
OLIN, Margaret. 2002. ‘Touching Photographs: Roland Barthes’s “‘Mistaken’” Identification’. Representations 80(1), 99–118.