Unit 4- Externally set task 2016
People and Possessions
People often have a strong and complex relationship with possessions. Cynthia Connolly has photographed people with their cars. Peter Menziel has recorded the possessions of families. Elliot Irwitt has observed the relationship between dogs and their owners. Explore appropriate examples and produce your own work.
Below I have brainstormed a few starting ideas to experiment with and what connotations the title holds for me.
Below I have brainstormed a few starting ideas to experiment with and what connotations the title holds for me.
Elliott Erwitt
Elliott Erwitt was born in 1928, in Paris France before immigrating to America in 1939. He studied photography and filmmaking at Los Angeles City College and 'The New School for Social Research'. He is most well known for his black and white photography which captures people in everyday situations, however he turns them into comical and well composed images. In 1950, Erwitt was a photographer's assistant in the United States Army and through this he was introduced to photographers such as Edward Steichen, Robert Capa and Roy Stryker, who all have a similar style of photography, whereas Elliott Erwitt includes more of a comical edge to his work. He has also been known for his film making which includes films such as Beauty Knows No Pain (1971) and Glassmakers of Herat, Afghanistan (1977). Erwitt's photography often explores intimate relationships between people and objects which is ambiguous whether or not they own. Some of his photo series such as the ones of his dogs display more obvious connections of possession and love compared to the more man made and materialistic items. This is a good starting point idea to look at the intimacy between people and the objects they hold, unknowing to both the photographer and the viewer the actual importance of the object. I feel that it would be my job to reflect this scale of intimacy in the photograph.
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Response to Elliott Erwitt
The majority of his images focus on the dog's point of view- we identify with the dog rather than the owner. This is a different perspective than what we are used to. This change of viewpoint- taking the photo from the floor gives a comical effect and instead of conveying an important political message, Erwitt is simply interested in the aesthetic and the alternative viewpoint of the dog. As a response, I will include an unusual viewpoint into my own work, perhaps exploring a floor viewpoint of people's possessions or rooms. The set of images can be found further down the page under Set 4: People's personal spaces.
Peter Menzel
Peter Menzel was born in 1948 in Connecticut, America. He is a freelance photojournalist and his work has been published in National Geographic, Forbes and Wired among many other magazines. Menzel became a professional photographer in 1970 and took interest in more technical ideas, exploring virtual reality and DNA fingerprinting. In 1994, he published his book Material World, A Global Family Portrait which explored people's material possessions from around the world. In 2002, Peter Menzel contributed to the book People and Possessions in which 30 families from around the world were photographed with their possessions. His intense focus on the cultural scale of possessions, specifically food (in his book Hungry Planet, What the World Eats), which relates directly to the theme of this unit and explores a very particular and singular element of 'people and possessions'.
His work on people and possessions is more documentary-style which contrasts to the comical and aesthetic images of Elliott Erwitt. Because his work is so distinct, a response to his work might include my own weekly shop or a documentation of each shop my family does. It could also be interpreted in a way of exploring the different meanings possessions have to some compared to others. Menzel is measuring one thing- in this case food, but on a varied scale. This highlights how the definition of possessions is most probably dependant on the person who owns the possession and could also be seen as a cultural difference too. |
Set 1: Literal Possessions
Beginning on a very basic level of interpretation, I have decided to photograph the immediate possessions of people or things that belong to someone. This includes clothing, materialistic items and bedrooms. I have experimented with different filters and used the positioning of the subject and their possession to help convey their emotions towards their possession. In some of the photographs, people have captured whilst using their possession to help reflect how they might view the object, where in other images the person is displayed next to or in front of their possessions and the photo acts as more of a comparison. Because I feel this theme is very much based on the aesthetics of photography, I have first started experimenting with staged photographs and cooperating with the subject to create an image which reflects the essence of the relationship between person and possession. However, I will experiment with capturing people who are unaware of the situation so as to hopefully reveal certain bounds we might feel to objects not as individuals but as a collective society.
I was inspired by the idea of Elliott Erwitt's style of composition where the positioning reflects an element of the person and their possession, whether this be their emotional connection to the possession or a more comical presentation or how they use the possession. Although Erwitt's photos look staged and planned, they in fact might possibly reflect a coincidental or well timed photograph. I have experimented with both staged photos and photos that were taken without much thought to the composition. The staged photos also reflect the work of Peter Menzel and how he encapsulates the possessions in a very literal and blatant way, putting them in the centre of the photograph.
I was inspired by the idea of Elliott Erwitt's style of composition where the positioning reflects an element of the person and their possession, whether this be their emotional connection to the possession or a more comical presentation or how they use the possession. Although Erwitt's photos look staged and planned, they in fact might possibly reflect a coincidental or well timed photograph. I have experimented with both staged photos and photos that were taken without much thought to the composition. The staged photos also reflect the work of Peter Menzel and how he encapsulates the possessions in a very literal and blatant way, putting them in the centre of the photograph.
After reflecting on this series of photos, I have decided that both Elliott Erwitt and Tom Hunter are exposing more deeper issues compared to the more synthetic style of what I have photographed. Their photos reflect an underlying issue which shows the most important and personal possession to people. Some of the photos the possessions are the people's lives as they do not have much else. I want to move towards this style of photography, and capture the more personal and deeper meanings to people's possessions. This could be done in various ways. I may begin by taking photos of people with a range of ages, from children to elder pensioners.
Tom Hunter
Tom Hunter was born in 1965 in England and he works with both photography and film. His first education of photography was in 1990, where he attended A Level classes at Kingsway college in London. He then went on to graduate from the London Collage of Printing in 1994. His photographs often reference or relate to classical paintings, but have also included subjects such as squatting in his series: Ghetto Series and Brick Lane series which is a more documentary style type of photography. He also often photographs his neighbourhood and surrounding area His work has been displayed at the National Gallery and across the world. His work is an intimate observation of other people and this really interests me. Sometimes his presence in the photographs feels invisible as the people in them appear oblivious to being photographed. Other times when the person is looking at the camera I personally felt that I was intruding in their business or that it was less intimate due to their knowledge of being photographed. This applies more to the Brick Lane series, as his The Ghetto Series mostly all gives the impression of a very intimate connection between both photographer and subject and the viewer and the subject. This is because of the location as being photographed in a house or bedroom immediately is an intrusion of privacy, but the subject's acknowledgement at their photo being taken creates a sense of intimacy rather than intrusion. |
Reflecting on a more metaphorical take of People and Possessions
I decided to take a deeper look into the meaning of 'People and Possessions' and instead of looking at it in a very literal way, I wanted to explore a more metaphorical sense. Below are a collection of my ideas and possible routes I may take when exploring this theme.
As I was researching possessions other than an object or physical man made item, I came across the above statement on a website which both angered me, but also made me consider how the idea of 'possession' is viewed across cultures. Even within one country, the idea of possession varies from person to person, whether that being a young adult viewing materialistic items as their most needed possessions or elder people considering their memories their most valued possessions. I will explore this idea further and take a series of images which help to reflect this adjustable view on possessions.
James Mollison
James Mollison was born in Kenya in 1973 and grew up in England. He studied art and design at Oxford Brookes University and also film and photography later in his life at Newport School of Art and Design. His work has been published globally, appearing in The Guardian Magazine, The New York Times Magazine, GQ and The Paris Magazine. He has produced a wide range of photographic books about various topics, some including pictures of children from around the world and images of their bedrooms. This slightly mimics his later work on the refugee crisis from 2015 and 2016 for Times Magazine which is shown below. Mollison took images of refugees and their most precious possession. On an initial viewing some of the items might seem quite synthetic and materialistic, but when you discover their story it can be emotional and reflect the seriousness and harsh environment they are surviving in. Role over the photo for an insight to their story.
His series Where Children Sleep also reflects the harrowing and completely different lifestyle children have around the world and their attitude towards their possessions differs from what we might expect from a western viewpoint.
I came across this article in The British Journal of Photography of German photographer Hanna Lenz's work. She spent 5 years getting to know the pensioner, Else, and through this relationship Lenz created a selection of intimate photographs of Else, capturing her in a way which is true to her personality and character. This inspired me to follow through with my earlier idea to photograph elder people and understand what 'possessions' mean to them.
Lenz's work has a soft tone and very simple quality to her work, the subject of the photo is obvious but the composition looks to be not though of intently too much. Else appears to be captured in a natural state without a planned position.
Lenz's work has a soft tone and very simple quality to her work, the subject of the photo is obvious but the composition looks to be not though of intently too much. Else appears to be captured in a natural state without a planned position.
Hanna Lenz
Hanna Lenz was born in 1986. She initially studied for a year in photography at the Ruth Prowse School of Art in Cape Town, South Africa. In 2008 she began Photojournalism and Documentary Photography at the University of Hanover to study and graduated in summer 2013 with the work "no more, not yet" from where it photographically accompanied adolescents in their final school year.
From 2010 to 2011 Hanna studied in Aarhus as part of a semester abroad at the Danish School of Media and Journalism, and during which the now 100-year-old Else know that they since then regularly visited and photographed. The work "Else" was shown in 2012 at the Copenhagen Photo Festival and received in 2013 the 1st prize of Höpfner Foundation. Hanna Lenz lives and works as a freelance photographer in Hamburg. *Source: emerg'e magazine: http://www.emerge-mag.com/2014/08/else/ *A source was used as there was a limited amount of information on Hana Lenz that I could find apart from what I have used here. |
Set 2: Personal possessions
I decided to pursue the idea of finding out what 'possessions' mean to different ages of people. I attempted to visit an old people's care home to photograph their possessions or their ideas of possessions, however gaining access was much harder than I anticipated and I was unable to do this due to the health of some of the people. This has had to make me re-evaluate which direction I take this project down. Therefore, I decided visited a few local shops such as book stores and asked the owners about their ideas of possessions. This was more of a spontaneous idea rather then a planned idea as I just wanted to find out if this type of method would be interesting and produce intriguing results.
The bookshop owner did not want to be photographed but did let me ask him some questions about his personal idea of possessions and the items in his store.
The bookshop owner did not want to be photographed but did let me ask him some questions about his personal idea of possessions and the items in his store.
- What was his most important possession in the store? A book written in 1661 about the joining of the commonwealth. Mostly because of the date it was written in.
- What was his favourite book in the store? He said he could not choose a favourite because "it's like choosing a favourite child, they're all so different, you love them all but because they're so different and unique".
This idea of not being too close to possessions because of the fragility of their presence intrigued me and made me ask a few questions to myself: do possessions have to be seen? Sometimes are possessions so personal do people rather not photograph them for others to see? I thought that perhaps in response to this I could I can try to capture the essence of a possession without actually taking an image of it. Correspond the person's face to their possession. My response is further below, included in my photographic work in Berlin.
Edited Images
I came back to these images after visiting the Tate Modern (which is further down my page) as I was inspired by Andy Warhol's photos of the electric chair but in different colours and disguising what the object was. I wanted to use different hues on Photoshop to experiment and see if this is an idea worth pursuing. I chose these images in particular because I had not used these images much and although they became quickly discarded because of my changing ideas I still wanted them to have importance in how I shaped my ideas. After editing these photos, I thought that the quality was just not as high as some of the later pictures I have taken. They also divert from the direction I was going in which was to focus more on people and have a conceptual idea of possessions. This small series has reverted that and in turn only been useful as an experiment. It was interesting to edit them and alter the object so as it was slightly concealed, however I will leave this idea for now as it has not helped to further progress my idea in the direction I want my work to follow.
Refining Ideas
I am slightly moving away from the idea of elder people due to the limited access I have been allowed, and taking inspiration from James Mollison's half frame photos I want to create a series of my own of both friends, family and random people on the street, photographing their possessions in two alternate ways: one for each half frame. To do this, I am using an Olympus-Pen half frame camera.
Before beginning, I have done some research into both half-frame photography and the practice of photographing everyday objects in a way which makes them interesting and intriguing. My research has been based around two books which I discovered:
Before beginning, I have done some research into both half-frame photography and the practice of photographing everyday objects in a way which makes them interesting and intriguing. My research has been based around two books which I discovered:
The photos below are from Neil Winokur's book and are the most intriguing to me. I think the block colour scheme behind the subject works very well and adds a simplistic feel to the images. I might experiment with this myself either using a backdrop or by editing the photos later. The content of the images could be seen to be very mundane and without much meaning, however the contrasting colours make the subject pop out and emphasise the dramatic colour scheme.
Below are a selection of Luke Fowler's 'two-frame films' which I feel influence me the most and I will respond to with my own experimentation using a half-frame camera. In some of his work there is a more obvious link between the two halves of each photo and in others there is less of a connection. However in a majority of the photos, the composition of one side mimics or is a subtle reflection of the other, where Fowler creates a similarity in the positioning of the people. In a few of the images, the textures in the photograph contrast, creating a stronger distinction between the halves. This raises the question of how the photographer wanted us to view the photos, as one continuous image or realise the differences between each shot and see them as joined halves. What influences me is the simplicity of the images and how they convey a detached viewpoint of the subject but also quite intimate as the subject is often alone or not surrounded by anything else. The two photos of where the person is looking directly into the camera contrasts to the more observant images, however I feel that despite the visual contact with the camera, the subject is more distant than the observant photos. This could be because of the more unnatural and posed photo which suggests their hesitation and awareness and being photographed.
Set 3: Berlin People and Possessions (Digital camera)
I went on a trip to Berlin where there were many opportunities to capture photographs of people and possessions from a different culture and place compared to where I am used to. Below is a large selection of some unedited images I have taken from the trip. This was using my Nikon DSLR, I also used a half-frame film camera which is displayed further down. I found that I was drawn to people on the street more than anything in Berlin and I focused mainly on the different characters on the street that I came across. Although there are not many photos of this on the digital camera, the film camera captured many more of this style of photography. I am slightly developing my project to gear more towards the people aspect of the theme and I will turn my attention to the possession side later as I feel that can be interpreted in many ways I need to consider myself how I want to portray the meaning of 'possession' in my work. As for the 'people' side I have naturally geared towards street photography and capturing people in a relaxed and unaware state which I feel works much better than posed and thought-out images.
Edited images
From the series above I have taken a few images and edited them using the app 'Darkroom' to add a more subtle tone to the photographs to coordinate more with my film camera images. I think they have worked well and although the essence of 'possessions' is not as strong in some images compared to others, I feel the people and different characteristics are very much present. This set of images links back to my idea about exploring how people embody and possess different characteristics on a metaphorical level rather than exploring physically and materialistic possessions. In the images where the homeless and buskers are captured, their lack of possessions is undoubtedly visible and in that sense captures a more simple take on the theme. The first few images of the boy with the turned back reflects the timid and introvert characteristic of his personality. Having him face away from the camera allows a lack of distinction and recognition which enforces the idea that he is more of an inward person compared to some of the photos which are zoomed in and faced-on to the subject. This reflects the person's outgoing attitude and more extrovert personality. In the group of three, although being a more spontaneous shot, again the more introvert character is blurred and in the background of the shot, compared to the more central figures reflecting a contrast in characters. This is also a response to my earlier series of the bookshop owner and how I wanted to capture the essence of a possession without actually photographing it. In this sense I have captured the essence of someone's personality but because emotions and characteristics are not physical I was not able to literally show this through objects.
Berlin & London (half-frame camera)
I feel that the half-frame images have mostly worked well, some are unfortunately underexposed due to shooting into the light, but are still interesting to work out their subject. I might try and edit them and turn the exposure up so the subject is more clear. In response to Luke Fowler's work I feel that I have captured some with an obvious link to each side, showing two reflections of the same people, and in other photos there are less obvious connections. Using the camera was a practical project as I had not used this type of camera before, a majority of the photos are missing as they were under exposed and did not process. Half of the ones I captured of possessions did not develop. To work round this, I will probably only use a small selection of the images anyway, as I am interested in the common theme of how people are presented in my work. Each person I had captured using the half-frame camera is displayed in a different way to the next. I feel that people's characteristics are shown through a selection of the images. This observation had led me to draw connections between the whole selection of photographs I have taken over this course (unit 4). I explore and analyse this connection further down under the heading Refining Ideas.
Set 4: People's personal spaces
As my next series, inspired by James Mollison's work of taking photos of people's bedrooms, I want to go to a number of my friend's houses and take images of their personal spaces without them in the photo to convey their character and personality which ties in with Hanna Lenz's work with Else, as some of her photographs did not include Else but instead captured her essence. I want to capture people with a wide range of ages so as my photographs have variety and diversity and so people are able to view the difference in character that comes with age. This incorporates both Hanna Lenz's series of 'Else' and James Mollison's half-frame camera work. I think I will not sure a half-frame camera, simply so the image gives full impact without taking away the attention of the viewer from one picture to another. I want each photo to be separate and compliment each other as a whole series rather than pairs of photos.
The way in which I will take the photos incorporates my earlier idea of how Elliott Erwitt changes the perspective of his photographs to identify with the smaller dogs rather than the owners. When I take photos of people's personal spaces I will get on the floor and capture it from a viewpoint, perhaps including just the feet and bottom legs of the person who's room it is.
The way in which I will take the photos incorporates my earlier idea of how Elliott Erwitt changes the perspective of his photographs to identify with the smaller dogs rather than the owners. When I take photos of people's personal spaces I will get on the floor and capture it from a viewpoint, perhaps including just the feet and bottom legs of the person who's room it is.
Tate Modern
To help further my project I visited the Tate Modern. There were a few pieces that really inspired me including the work of Simryn Gill below. I loved the way how the faces are obscured by fruit, but more so the fruit representing the Malaysian culture suggests how culture and society are concealing their true identity. The obscure and surreal look of the photos might initially draw your attention from their meaning, however after being surrounded by these photos in a room I felt that Simryn Gill was reflecting how the Malaysian people live mundane and stagnated lives- as all of the subjects are standing or sitting still, either alone or collectively. Although surrounded by objects, the only people who are utilising these objects are the children on the swings- perhaps reflecting their innocence and their not corrupted mind set to the Malaysian society. On an aesthetic level, the photographer may have just perhaps requested the stillness of the subject for photographic purposes. The tone of the images is beautiful yet slightly faded, perhaps simply for visual quality or showing how the Malaysian people are unconnected and not bound to the Western world and our ideals. What I also found interesting was if the photographer did not want us to see the faces of the people then she could have asked them to turn around and face backwards, however the placing of the fruit suggests she specifically wanted to draw attention to that area and indicates there is a stronger meaning behind the use of fruit over the faces. My initial reaction was if the fruit was actually on their heads or if it was edited onto the photo. After close inspection in the gallery I think the fruit is physically placed on the heads of the people, meaning the photos to me personally are more meaningful and in a way, comical.
Simryn Gill- A Small Town at the Turn of the Century
Sheba Chhachhi- Seven Lives and a Dream
Sheba Chhachhi's work appears to have a very soft and delicate tone, perhaps reflecting the idea that the women chose how they wanted to be presented. There is a strong connection between my current work of the bedrooms and her portraits of the woman photographed both in her room and her room without her in it. This is a more literal take on what I was trying to achieve by capturing the essence of the person without being there or without photographing their faces. The women are often staged showing a methodical approach to the series. I personally like how the photographer has completely surrounded the person with their possessions, suggesting that the possessions make up a person to who they are today- almost like the possessions are synonymous to experience.
Yutaka Takanashi- Towards the City & People in Tokyo
Yutaka Takanashi takes a more different approach, often photographing the subject as unaware of the photographer's presence. The series feels like a documentation of life in Tokyo and the people who inhabit it. The photos appear to be mundane and everyday situations which have been captured in a way that draws in the attention of the viewer with the unusual composition. In some images the people are not central and often spill over the frame- only allowing us to see a section or part of a person. This adds a sense of mystery and intrigues the viewer into looking closer at the images. In a majority of the photos, the viewer feels like an invisible intruder, as the subject is often not looking at the camera. We feel like an observer looking into the lives and culture of a part of the world which is relatively unknown to the western audience.
Other interesting Influences
I documented a few other pieces from the Tate that I really liked or which intrigued me. These do not necessarily have any connection to the work I am currently doing, but I feel they might be interesting to refer back to later in the course as inspiration.
Refining Ideas
After going back over my previous images, I have found that there are links within my work with the subjectivity of the photographs. I thought whether these photos could be defined as portraits, however I came to the conclusion that they are not due to the space there is to breath within the photos. Instead I would say they are the beginnings or a typology series of one person just in different states. However I realised the subject is viewed differently to me compared to the viewer, as the subject is a friend of mine and I understood and monitored his behaviour and actions through the lens, whereas the viewer only has one limited frame of my time with him. This intrigued me and I also realised that in one image the subject is detached and aloof, while in another he is in a conversational mode. I captured both of these different states as an intimate observation. Within these two images there are completely different levels of intimacy and subjectivity and this has given me an idea to create two separate series- one of people I do not know in a more distant and detached way perhaps in black and white, and one of people I do know- perhaps in colour to contrast and give a sense of more knowledge about the picture to other viewers. I want to capture this divide between performative and detached and focused and unaware, naturalistic behaviour in my work. In an effect I will be creating layered portraits of the same person.
Set 5: People in natural states
To start creating these two contrasting series I began to photograph people in the street who I was either following or I saw as I was walking around. I based it much on the style of Tom Hunter and his series 'Brick Lane' where people were captured in natural poses and states. I wanted to create a sense of relaxation or softness to the photo combined with a person's sense of vulnerability. This was done by their unawareness to my presence and the whole idea of capturing them in a state which was natural and not forced or staged. The images also have the subjects facing away from the camera, both giving the viewer a sense of being a third person in the photo, watching without being seen by the subject. There is something calming and vulnerable about the subject facing away- they are under no influence apart from the people who's presence they are aware they are in, this also reflects the relationship they have with themselves and others which is not including the camera.
Following on from Set 5: The unaware subject
I really found a niche in photographing people who are unaware of my presence and who often have their backs to me or not looking towards the camera. Although this may seem like a heavy focus on only people, what I really want the viewer to think and what my whole series is about, is the characteristics and emotions these people possess. I want to steer people away from viewing possessions as objects and look at the word in a more metaphorical and obscure way to what they usually are used to. I want to convey this by emphasising the different characteristics of people on the street and also in the comparisons between my black and white series of people I do not know and the colour series of people I do know. I think I want to merge these two sets of photographs together (Set 5- People in natural states and set 5- The unaware subject), to make my first series of the unknown people before moving on to capture the people I do know.
Reviewing my work
Instead of having lots of different ideas over my website I am now tying all my ideas together to form a solid idea and experiment with different interpretations of this one idea. This one idea will be basis for working towards my final piece and may still be edited until I have reached a final idea. This idea will be me showing people through photography how different people possess different qualities and how we should view the idea of possessions as not simply an object and something to own, but rather a more metaphorical and obscure idea of possessions. Although the visual focus of my work is based around people, my whole idea and the conceptual focus is heavily focused on possessions and how we can interpret this word. This is the idea I will develop and experiment with until I have reached a final piece.
Karen Knorr- Belgravia
I used Karen Knorr as inspiration to help draw all my ideas together that I have been experimenting with, as she encompasses the black and white photography while documenting the dramatic types of wealth within London. Observing her photos, her composition also explores ways to present the subject- sometimes they are facing the camera, sometimes they are facing sideways and in other images they are not present at all. This ties in with the work I have done on subjectivity and exploring how people can be viewed through the composition of the photograph. Within her work the lines and objects are almost symmetrical and give a very geometrical look to the photographs, the sofas are always central which grounds and enables the rest of the image to be based around that object. Although Karen Knorr explores the extreme wealth of the city, I too have photographed areas such as the Kings Road, Soho and Borough Market although have not focused so intently on the wealth of people but more so how they carry themselves. There might be a fine line between this connection, however I believe Karen Knorr's work resembles portraits where as my work focuses not only on the person but the surrounding space- not objects like Knorr's work.
The writing underneath of the images makes the picture for me, as it sums up and gives the viewer an inside glance of the type of person being photographed. We are let into their own personal ideas which draws a closer understanding from the viewer to the subject. I personally want to try and experiment with this writing by asking all the people I photograph the same question and recording their answer below. I will do this with the people I do know rather than random and unknown people on the street as I feel I am able to expose the people I do know more than the people I do not. Meaning, I want to create this large divide between what we do not know about people and what we do. Asking the people I know the question will enable me to give the viewer more intimacy towards the subject than if I were to do this with someone I did not know.
The writing underneath of the images makes the picture for me, as it sums up and gives the viewer an inside glance of the type of person being photographed. We are let into their own personal ideas which draws a closer understanding from the viewer to the subject. I personally want to try and experiment with this writing by asking all the people I photograph the same question and recording their answer below. I will do this with the people I do know rather than random and unknown people on the street as I feel I am able to expose the people I do know more than the people I do not. Meaning, I want to create this large divide between what we do not know about people and what we do. Asking the people I know the question will enable me to give the viewer more intimacy towards the subject than if I were to do this with someone I did not know.
Beginning ideas for the final piece.
Incorporate my Set 5- People in Natural States with Karen Knorr's writing next to the image. Print my images as black and white on photographic paper- size A2? which possibly only means a selection out of both series and have the writing underneath. A more aesthetic display rather than conceptual although I do heavily want to enforce my idea of how people possess different qualities and characteristic. I may have a series of these in a line- or how Simryn Gill's were displayed at the Tate- in a square around you so as you are surrounded by the differences of people, in an attempt to celebrate all types of people. This is only a rough idea and my project may develop in a completely new way before I settle on a final idea.
Set 6: Performative and Aware
This series is ultimately the other half of Set 5- The Unaware Subject. In this series the subjects are all friends of mine and are completely aware of my presence and that I am photographing them. I wanted to capture the more relaxed and conversational style of people in comparison to the more aloof and unaware subject that I have previously been capturing. That is also why these images are in colour, so as the viewer is brought closer to the subject and feels less a sense of 'unknown' compared to the black & white images of strangers on the street. The subjects in this series are all facing the camera which contrasts to the strangers that I photographed, enabling the viewer o understand and be brought closer to the subjects. At some points the subjects are looking directly into the camera which creates a very intimate connection between the viewer and the person being captured, further emphasising this bond through the lens.
Further thoughts
After thinking about this idea for a final piece, I reflected back to the exam question and thought about what it was asking. I decided that the question put a heavy influence on the notion that the possessions were literal, for example Elliott Erwitt's dogs series and Peter Menzel's documentation of food from around the world, the idea of possessions in these photographer's work was very obvious and literal. I decided that perhaps my direction was beginning to become too vague towards the question, therefore I went back to a more direct approach and photographed more literal possessions again, just so I gave myself a clearer direction and lead myself towards a less metaphorical route of this project.
Set 7: Possessions- Phones
To help me refocus on the question that was set, I decided to do an almost typology series of people holding their phones and looking into how much as a society we use and rely on our phones. Below is a series from around my school environment, the people were aware of my presence and being photographed, however they were using their phones at their own will and I recorded them. There are a few photos which break the idea of being attached to your phone and that is the photos of the paint brush. I included these because I thought they juxtaposed well with the modern and negative connotations to being attached to a phone.
Set 8: Further exploring the phone
This set of images follows my work on people holding their phones as this was an object I felt I could play around with as the object relates to almost everyone. This means the images I could create would mean more to a wider audience and where there is familiarity between the viewer and the photo, I could play around with how I capture the phone rather than having to accommodate a sense of familiarity in the photos which the viewer did not really relate to. I wanted a very minimalist style photo with a sightly absurd subject so as to draw the attention of the viewer and force them to relate and question the composition of the image. I decided to wrap the phone with a wire so it was attached to the person to help reflect the idea of how physically connected we are to our phones and how we rely on modern technology without realising the addictive impact it leads on our lives. The white background enables the hand and the phone to have the complete attention of the viewer and the hand being central focus also helps to emphasise this. With this series I am referring back to the idea that began the investigation with the person clutching the CD in my first set of images, which has also been present throughout the project. I want to have fun with the possessive quality- have people's possessions stuck to parts of their body, this highlights the possessions part of the theme and almost satirises it to really emphasise what has previously been missing from my work. This shows that I am not ignoring my other work that I have done, I am just recognising that it does not fit the question.
Paul Strand at the V&A
I went to visit the Paul Strand exhibition at the V&A and found it awe inspiring. The photos were a selection of his travels throughout the world, including places such as Mexico, Ghana, Italy, Egypt, Romania and France. The exhibition chronologically documented his work from his early photos including the 'Blind Woman' through to his final photos of the nature and plants in his Garden in Orgeval. I personally am drawn more towards the photographs of people as I feel it conveys both the culture of the person and it also shows them in a relaxed although staged environment. His photos often capture the energy of the modern city and reflect on the lives of the people within it. Paul Strand worked closely with Alfred Stieglitz in the early years of his life before having a creative clash later in life. His images of his first wife, Rebecca which were mostly close ups, reflect his adoration of the features of his wife, despite her being distant and aloof.
Strand's work uses people a lot and is very influential, both with the composition and context of his work, however it much relates to what I was previously experimenting with which includes a lack of the possession. His work more explores the relationship of people and their surroundings more than possessions which highlights the range of cultures throughout his photos.
Strand's work uses people a lot and is very influential, both with the composition and context of his work, however it much relates to what I was previously experimenting with which includes a lack of the possession. His work more explores the relationship of people and their surroundings more than possessions which highlights the range of cultures throughout his photos.
Set 9: People and their Possessions
What I learnt throughout taking this series of images, was how I wanted to display the possessions. I began by photographing people holding their possessions, however the more I took images I decided that I wanted to display the possessions separately to the people in the style of James Mollison who I have researched earlier. I had the idea in my head that I would display the person's possessions in a separate photo that was next to a portrait of the person. I also wanted to incorporate the style of Karen Knorr's work, so I asked each of the people the same question about their possessions and with this information I will create a text that goes under the photographs. Below are the unedited versions of some of the photographs and a few experiments.
I then edited some of the photos I thought would perhaps be included in my final piece. I separated them into colour and black and white because I have not decided which to print them in yet. I feel like I might stick with my original idea of keeping the people I know in colour, also I think the images look better in colour than black and white. The colour of the photographs enable the viewer to understand the subject in more of a way than if the images were in black and white. The colour of the photos creates extra intimacy. I have paired each person next to their object below.
Developing ideas
I want to make my idea involve a sense of touch- haptic intelligence. This will now be a key feature in my work until I develop my idea until my final piece. I have noted that there is a common theme in my work of people's relationship to their objects. I want to reinforce the possession element back as it has been lost to the people element. The object people choose for me to photograph will be a metaphor for the person anyway which still includes my pervious idea, as I have stated previously that I do not want to ignore my other work but simply recognise it does not fit the question entirely that the exam board wanted. This haptic intelligence is now what I will carry through my investigation, re-creating this heightened sense of touch.
I want to change my work from digital to analog. This is because a digital photo is a copy of the situation that was photographed, whereas an analog is an exact capture of the situation, everything is how I saw it even down to the light. To reinforce and strengthen the idea of possessions, I have asked the people to carry around the image of their possession so the photograph is now a possession of the person- not just a photo. The act of them carrying it around for a few days brings back this intimacy and emphasises the idea of possessions. The photo now technically belongs to the person who's object is in the image, I am simply displaying it. I also asked the person to write a small side of what their relationship to the object is and why it is important. I did not want to type it as the different handwriting adds to the individuality and uniqueness of the object. It again reinforces the closeness the person has with their possession. This is also incorporating Karen Knorr's idea of having writing under the image which is unique to the person. It includes something they have said and relates to the specific person and possession.
I want to change my work from digital to analog. This is because a digital photo is a copy of the situation that was photographed, whereas an analog is an exact capture of the situation, everything is how I saw it even down to the light. To reinforce and strengthen the idea of possessions, I have asked the people to carry around the image of their possession so the photograph is now a possession of the person- not just a photo. The act of them carrying it around for a few days brings back this intimacy and emphasises the idea of possessions. The photo now technically belongs to the person who's object is in the image, I am simply displaying it. I also asked the person to write a small side of what their relationship to the object is and why it is important. I did not want to type it as the different handwriting adds to the individuality and uniqueness of the object. It again reinforces the closeness the person has with their possession. This is also incorporating Karen Knorr's idea of having writing under the image which is unique to the person. It includes something they have said and relates to the specific person and possession.
Evaluating other work- side work
I was asked to write an introduction for a fellow student in my school which analyses his work in a poetic way. I used Robert Frank- The Americans introduction by Jack Kerouac to help give me ideas and inspiration on how to write an introduction for a photographic book. His photos were taken in Berlin and were mostly abstract in style. I was given access to the photos and spent some time thinking about how they made me personally feel and then conveyed this in the paragraph of writing. The section of text incorporates both my own personal ideas combined with some information the photographer gave me himself to include.
The Final Process of the final piece
I first began by putting the photos of the coloured objects into Photoshop and turning them into black and white and then inverting these. I printed them out onto A4 paper and trimmed them to a square, this then prepped the image to be suitable to use in the darkroom. My first experiment in the dark room came out not quite how I had planned, there was a grey and black border and I needed to expose the image for a bit longer to make sure there was more detail. In order to fix this I cut out a template which protected the photographic paper from being exposed by the light. I also then exposed the image for 20 seconds which was double the time I previously had done. I found this gave me the desired look that I wanted and repeated this process for the rest of the images. However, I had to complete two remaining images on another day, the first came out like the rest but I had run out of paper for the second. This meant that I had to experiment with different paper, aperture and strength of light. I used a more glossy paper and exposed the image for 20 seconds however the whole thing turned black and it turned out the photographic paper was damaged. I then tried another type of paper, however exposing the image for 20 seconds made a completely black square. I then found some more matte photographic paper which was slightly bigger than the first lot I had used and turned the strength of the light down and exposed the image for 20 seconds. This time the image came out just like the previous images. It had a more hazy and worn look to the image, however this worked well as the object was the oldest that I had photographed (from WWII) and gave the image a used look which corresponded well with the object.
Below is a selection of the inverted images I created on Photoshop before using them in the darkroom.
Below are the prints I created in the darkroom and after a few days of people carrying them around how they look. They really include that haptic sense that I wanted which I personally feel is really successful. Some of them are in colour and some in black & white, as I chose which presented the actual piece more truthfully. For example, on some there are coffee stains and paint which show up best on a colour scan rather than a black & white. However the creases show up better on the black and white scan. One of the scans (the first one) is an anomaly (which was intended), as it must be displayed portrait rather than landscape like the rest. This is because it is the only image where the person is actually holding their object, which emphasises the sense of intimacy and gives the impression that the viewer is in the room with the person and this draws the connection between viewer and subject. Some of the scans are slightly cut off due to the size of the image compared to the scanner. I have tried to capture the most interesting, detailed and creased parts of the photos, but the effect is sometimes lost from the scan. This is why my display choices are so vital, as the sense of touch and texture of my work must be as clear as possible for the most impact for the viewer. This is also why I have not decided to frame any of my work and simply used a pin to hold the image up, as it lets the image hang in anyway it wants and enables each one to hang differently from the next, emphasising the individuality of each print, and enables the viewer to observe all the tears and creases on a more detailed scale.
Below is the writing from each person about their relationship to their possession. The writing is in the same order as the person's object. When displaying this, I would like the coloured portrait to be pinned to the wall with their object directly next to it (on the right) and then their passage of writing underneath both the image of the object and the portrait as shown further below. I think the geometric and simple display works best as the actual piece has many parts to it and I feel that it is important to keep every other aspect as simple as I can.
This is an example of how I would like my work to be displayed. I would have the rest of them in a line next to each other, all in the same order. However, I want to display the single portrait image at the beginning of the series, simply because this is how I have always worked with the order of my photos and it was the first image taken from the series. Therefore, the series actually physically reflects my own thought process when being displayed. Each photo is in almost entirely in the same order that I originally took it. I feel that this gives the series an extra level of meaning, which while although unknown to the viewer, lets me personally reflect back onto my own work and see the development and chronological process in which I worked.
Evaluation for Unit 4
Throughout Unit 4 I have researched a variety of artists, discovered through recommendations and both gallery visits and photographic magazines. Some of the artists include Tom Hunter, Hana Lenz, Karen Knorr and James Mollison who was the prime influence for my final piece. I have learnt different things from each artist, for example Tom Hunter’s work creates the feeling of distance between the photographer and the subject, as they appear to be oblivious or relaxed to the presence of the photographer. This became a strong theme in my work as when I began to take a more metaphorical approach I put heavy influence on the relationship with the photographer and the subject and how different subjects respond differently to their relationship with the photographer. I experimented with working with strangers and friends to display the difference in how the subject can be viewed through the eye of the lens. With Hana Lenz, her work was also quite observational and very intimate, reflecting the relationship the photographer had built up with the subject. The age of the subject put the idea of possessions into perspective as we understood her age to be something to respect and inspire us to see how simple items and possessions can mean the most, and how it is the memories rather than the utility of the object that is the more interesting and meaningful. With Karen Knorr, I learnt that her work was a much more direct and straight forward idea of possessions, as she captured the subject's relationship to their surroundings in a very extravagant way and flamboyant setting. What I took from her practice was instead of focusing on the wealth of people I was more interested in how they carried themselves depending on their surroundings. However, what was most inspiring from her work was the text underneath that revealed more detail about their character. This idea of text has been developed throughout my project, as originally I wanted to use the text to reveal more about the surroundings of the subject, but then I developed this idea to be more personal to the person and giving the subject control over how they are presented. To incorporate the text into my final piece, I decided to allow the subject to write the importance and their relationship to their object which introduced a sense of intimacy and uniqueness to the possession. The individual handwriting created a closeness between the subject and the viewer, tying in my pervious ideas of intimacy between photographer and subject, but in this case I am creating a closeness between the subject and the viewer with my role being the connection between this relationship. James Mollison was an artist I researched towards the beginning of the course, however I returned to him and his style of photographs for my final piece. From his practice I took the idea of displaying the idea of people and possessions in a very literal and simplistic way. This helped me to move away from the metaphorical element that I was previously exploring which was becoming too vague from the question that the exam board had set. To make this James Mollison style of photographs my own I then included the idea of making the images include a sense of touch and convey the idea of touch with the object. To do this I put the images of the objects into black and white and inverted them to take them into the darkroom and then gave the product to the person to carry around with them fora few days. This reinforces the idea of touch and possessions as the photograph then becomes a possession of the person.
I explored the theme of people and possessions, my first thoughts about the theme was that it was a very literal theme where possessions only meant an object or item that someone owned. However, after researching Elliott Erwitt who viewed dogs as possessions I then began to question the meaning of possessions and how it is viewed differently around the world. This was the first stimulus for my evolving ideas of possessions. I then began to question if possessions could be a metaphorical idea and brainstormed all the different types of things someone could possess. Within this list was the idea that people could possess different qualities, characteristics and personalities. I spent some time developing this idea and journeyed through relationships with myself and the subject and also different types of people within certain areas of London. As I began to drift further away from the original question I went back to my original idea of literal possessions and put a heavy influence on the person and their possession. Although my investigation ultimately ended up where I started it took me on a journey exploring a variety of different meanings of the theme which influenced me to get where I was for the final piece.
Throughout the unit I have experimented with different conceptual ideas as well as different medias. My different media experiments include the darkroom and both digital and analog photos. The analog and half-frame photos reflected the altering states of the same person, showing how one person can be viewed in many different ways. Although I started with digital, the majority of my photographic work was done using analog. I then began to move into digital work to photograph people on the streets and on the tube, the digital element expressed the more modern viewpoint of being engrossed in yourself and not being completely aware of your surroundings. I then incorporated both methods together, putting the digital images into black and white and inverting them to use in the darkroom, reintroducing the analog element. From an early stage I took to photographing people and have been doing so throughout the project, I mainly developed the way I included 'possessions' into my work. I continuously refined what 'possessions' meant to me and throughout the project passed through many altering ideas which in turn led me on to the next idea. My first set of photos was a very basic and literal take on people and possessions, with the person holding an object without much thought into its meaning to them, more so how they interacted with the object. Tom hunter's work inspired me to research into the deeper and more personal possessions that people owned, which then led me to photograph the differences between possession in ages, from children to older people. I came across an access barrier and was not allowed access to any old people's homes or care homes and I did not know any elder people myself so unfortunately this idea was not terminated but had to be adapted to fit what was accessible to me. My research led me to come across Luke Fowler's two-frame films which then stimulated my idea for capturing alternate states of people, both detached and performative. Around this time I began to accumulate a variety of ideas which stunted how I progressed as I was working with too many ideas rather than perusing one. What was challenging was having all these different conceptual ideas and not focusing on one idea. To help me get back on track I took one idea which I felt had the most potential and used different elements from each idea so as not to disregard my other work but simply adapt it and work with it. This idea was having two different states of people- some unaware and some more performative and aware of my presence. I took two sets of photos, incorporating both digital and analog to reflect the two different ideas of being both distant from the photographer and being relaxed in my presence. However after settling on this idea I then thought back to the original question and how much of a heavy influence it put on literal possessions, which what I was not entirely doing. This then led me to refine my idea even further and reintroduce what had been a continuous theme throughout my work- how people react and their relationship to their possessions. I refocused on being very literal with displaying and photographing possessions, incorporating James Mollison style of portrait then the object. I still included past ideas such as using colour to give a sense of intimacy and give the viewer a closer relationship to the person, however I kept their objects in black and white so the element of possessions was highlighted and let the subject have that intimacy with their own possession rather than the viewer being allowed complete access to their object. What worked well was sticking with one idea and developing this, still using previous ideas and techniques to further refine my idea. Once I understood the conceptual meaning I was trying to convey, the quality of my responses increased and the loose strands were tied up to create one larger conceptual idea that represented everything I had experimented and worked with for the duration of the investigation.
The final outcome is printed 12X8 portraits in colour which will be pinned against the wall next to their corresponding object which has been made in the darkroom and which the person had been carrying around for a few days. This is so the haptic sense is included and the photos are not just sterile images that I have taken but instead actual possessions of the people who's object it is. This reinforces the idea of possessions that was not so strongly present throughout the middle of the course. There will also be a small square of paper underneath the possession written by the person about their relationship to the possession and why it is so important. This is influenced by Karen Knorr and how the use of text in her work gave the viewer a more detailed impression of the person. In my work I hoped that it draws a stronger sense of intimacy between the viewer and the subject. At the beginning of the course I was hoping to create a piece of work that challenged the original conception of possessions, but once I progressed through the course I decided I wanted to create something that was more literal but created a sense of intimacy between the viewer and the subject rather than the photographer and the subject or viewer. I feel like I was somewhat successful in this as the photos I took became less in my control and more so of the people I photographed. I also feel like I have explored the question well, as I have experimented with many conceptual ideas and interpreted the question in various ways which gave me many ideas and led me down many paths before settling on the final idea. When displaying my final piece, I wanted to include Simryn Gill's simplistic way of pinning the unframed prints onto the wall, letting the haptic touch element stand out more and be more visible and therefore more interesting for the viewer. I feel that because of the heavy focus on the conceptual side I want to display the images in a simplistic way so as not to detract from this. What is personal about my work, is that all the people are people I know well and I have been able to influence but not show these people what to do. This gave the whole series a softer and more relaxed feel and helped to create both a good aesthetic and conceptual ideas. Also, the final piece is a complete embodiment of all my ideas throughout the project, enabling me to put all my personal ideas about people and possessions through this photographic practice. When viewers view my work I hope they will understand that the simplicity of the work helps to draw attention to the intimacy that can be created between the viewer and the subject through the piece. This intimacy can arouse feelings of nostalgia and viewers can relate the photos to their own personal items and people that they know. Ultimately, although the piece is more meaningful to me, it can be adapted to mean something to anyone if they feel the connection between the piece and themselves. If I had more time, I would like to have experimented with different ways I can create this sense of intimacy, creating more images and contact prints made with paper negatives so there is enough to surround an entire room and envelop the viewer so they really feel connected to the people who I had photographed.
I explored the theme of people and possessions, my first thoughts about the theme was that it was a very literal theme where possessions only meant an object or item that someone owned. However, after researching Elliott Erwitt who viewed dogs as possessions I then began to question the meaning of possessions and how it is viewed differently around the world. This was the first stimulus for my evolving ideas of possessions. I then began to question if possessions could be a metaphorical idea and brainstormed all the different types of things someone could possess. Within this list was the idea that people could possess different qualities, characteristics and personalities. I spent some time developing this idea and journeyed through relationships with myself and the subject and also different types of people within certain areas of London. As I began to drift further away from the original question I went back to my original idea of literal possessions and put a heavy influence on the person and their possession. Although my investigation ultimately ended up where I started it took me on a journey exploring a variety of different meanings of the theme which influenced me to get where I was for the final piece.
Throughout the unit I have experimented with different conceptual ideas as well as different medias. My different media experiments include the darkroom and both digital and analog photos. The analog and half-frame photos reflected the altering states of the same person, showing how one person can be viewed in many different ways. Although I started with digital, the majority of my photographic work was done using analog. I then began to move into digital work to photograph people on the streets and on the tube, the digital element expressed the more modern viewpoint of being engrossed in yourself and not being completely aware of your surroundings. I then incorporated both methods together, putting the digital images into black and white and inverting them to use in the darkroom, reintroducing the analog element. From an early stage I took to photographing people and have been doing so throughout the project, I mainly developed the way I included 'possessions' into my work. I continuously refined what 'possessions' meant to me and throughout the project passed through many altering ideas which in turn led me on to the next idea. My first set of photos was a very basic and literal take on people and possessions, with the person holding an object without much thought into its meaning to them, more so how they interacted with the object. Tom hunter's work inspired me to research into the deeper and more personal possessions that people owned, which then led me to photograph the differences between possession in ages, from children to older people. I came across an access barrier and was not allowed access to any old people's homes or care homes and I did not know any elder people myself so unfortunately this idea was not terminated but had to be adapted to fit what was accessible to me. My research led me to come across Luke Fowler's two-frame films which then stimulated my idea for capturing alternate states of people, both detached and performative. Around this time I began to accumulate a variety of ideas which stunted how I progressed as I was working with too many ideas rather than perusing one. What was challenging was having all these different conceptual ideas and not focusing on one idea. To help me get back on track I took one idea which I felt had the most potential and used different elements from each idea so as not to disregard my other work but simply adapt it and work with it. This idea was having two different states of people- some unaware and some more performative and aware of my presence. I took two sets of photos, incorporating both digital and analog to reflect the two different ideas of being both distant from the photographer and being relaxed in my presence. However after settling on this idea I then thought back to the original question and how much of a heavy influence it put on literal possessions, which what I was not entirely doing. This then led me to refine my idea even further and reintroduce what had been a continuous theme throughout my work- how people react and their relationship to their possessions. I refocused on being very literal with displaying and photographing possessions, incorporating James Mollison style of portrait then the object. I still included past ideas such as using colour to give a sense of intimacy and give the viewer a closer relationship to the person, however I kept their objects in black and white so the element of possessions was highlighted and let the subject have that intimacy with their own possession rather than the viewer being allowed complete access to their object. What worked well was sticking with one idea and developing this, still using previous ideas and techniques to further refine my idea. Once I understood the conceptual meaning I was trying to convey, the quality of my responses increased and the loose strands were tied up to create one larger conceptual idea that represented everything I had experimented and worked with for the duration of the investigation.
The final outcome is printed 12X8 portraits in colour which will be pinned against the wall next to their corresponding object which has been made in the darkroom and which the person had been carrying around for a few days. This is so the haptic sense is included and the photos are not just sterile images that I have taken but instead actual possessions of the people who's object it is. This reinforces the idea of possessions that was not so strongly present throughout the middle of the course. There will also be a small square of paper underneath the possession written by the person about their relationship to the possession and why it is so important. This is influenced by Karen Knorr and how the use of text in her work gave the viewer a more detailed impression of the person. In my work I hoped that it draws a stronger sense of intimacy between the viewer and the subject. At the beginning of the course I was hoping to create a piece of work that challenged the original conception of possessions, but once I progressed through the course I decided I wanted to create something that was more literal but created a sense of intimacy between the viewer and the subject rather than the photographer and the subject or viewer. I feel like I was somewhat successful in this as the photos I took became less in my control and more so of the people I photographed. I also feel like I have explored the question well, as I have experimented with many conceptual ideas and interpreted the question in various ways which gave me many ideas and led me down many paths before settling on the final idea. When displaying my final piece, I wanted to include Simryn Gill's simplistic way of pinning the unframed prints onto the wall, letting the haptic touch element stand out more and be more visible and therefore more interesting for the viewer. I feel that because of the heavy focus on the conceptual side I want to display the images in a simplistic way so as not to detract from this. What is personal about my work, is that all the people are people I know well and I have been able to influence but not show these people what to do. This gave the whole series a softer and more relaxed feel and helped to create both a good aesthetic and conceptual ideas. Also, the final piece is a complete embodiment of all my ideas throughout the project, enabling me to put all my personal ideas about people and possessions through this photographic practice. When viewers view my work I hope they will understand that the simplicity of the work helps to draw attention to the intimacy that can be created between the viewer and the subject through the piece. This intimacy can arouse feelings of nostalgia and viewers can relate the photos to their own personal items and people that they know. Ultimately, although the piece is more meaningful to me, it can be adapted to mean something to anyone if they feel the connection between the piece and themselves. If I had more time, I would like to have experimented with different ways I can create this sense of intimacy, creating more images and contact prints made with paper negatives so there is enough to surround an entire room and envelop the viewer so they really feel connected to the people who I had photographed.