the photograph as contemporary art

It took me a long time to finish one of the books of our reading list (and I've quite a few to get through yet!)  the photograph as a contemporary art by Charlotte Cotton covers an enormous amount of work and so can only ever say very little about each photograph or artist.  Because of this it rattles through, or at least it felt like that to me, without ever offering much to grab hold of apart from facts which presumably to save time and words, are given in what also seemed to me quite a pedestrian manner.  I appreciate how much work there was to discuss and see that it's a comprehensive book that gives a beginner a lot to take in.

Although it took me a long time to read, due to my interpretation that it was a quite a dry book, I did enjoy learning about different styles and approaches.  The section I felt most compelled by was Intimate Life, probably because I had heard of many of the photographers there but also because I am fascinated by these sorts of photographs even though I don't really take them myself.  The lives depicted are often quite extreme such as Corrine Day's or Nan Goldin's and far removed from my own but nevertheless fascinating and horrifying at times.  There are also more sedate moments and lives depicted but I suppose similar themes; the difficulty of life and managing aging, loss, love for instance.  I like the tenderness, boldness, honesty and bare emotion that many of the photographers in that section explore.

Although I relate to the intimacy of the photographers I mention above I was also taken with the Something and Nothing chapter.  I find these little moments of humanity just so interesting and telling about who we are.  I particularly liked Wolfgang Tillman's Suit, a photograph of a boiler suit hanging over the door like a skin that has been shed. 

It was interesting to read about many of the photographers discussed even though if only briefly and the book is I'm sure one that I will return to. Even now as I flick though though it while I am writing this I am drawn in to read about some of the ideas behind the work I'm looking at.

I guess Cotton's book opened my eyes further about photography and art - as opposed to photography as merely a good way of recording moments.  There is something so profound in many of the photographs discussed, and deeply moving.  Having just made my way though Roland Barthes Camera Lucida (which I will write up over the next couple of days) I see the little stabs of poignancy or recognition that are so difficult to express any other way, and which he discusses throughout his book.  It's very exciting for me to be delving into this - I wish my time were less limited although without my full, busy, sometimes rather trying existence I might not feel the need to find a way to express myself or learn about how others have. (Incidentally, I am fully aware that most people's lives are pretty trying and much worse at times and it's not just me who finds it a bit of struggle!  Photography does seem to explore modern lives in a way which questions all of that quite profoundly I think.)

I'm glad to have finished the book and am sure it will be be used as a reference throughout the rest of my studies and beyond.

the photograph as a contemporary art by Charlotte Cotton, New Edition, Thames & Husdon World of Art, 2004 and then 2009.

At last beginning to get on with some reading...

I took photos at a wedding for the first time recently.  Perhaps because I've never done it before, perhaps because of my personality, I felt like an intruder and a bit of a peeping Tom.  Not sure this shot will mean much to the family & couple but it said something to me about my own place at the wedding and possibly in the world.

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I felt it was probably time to write up some reflection a I’ve not been doing so with quite the same frequency as I did to begin with.  As I mentioned in the assignment reflection for Elements of Design, this isn’t because I haven’t been thinking.  In fact, perhaps it’s because I’ve been thinking more, droning on less.

I think what the last few months of work with OCA has done for me is broaden my horizons of what is possible quite considerably – and for that I am very pleased.

I know I need to read more.  Fitting it in is not easy but I’m getting on quite well with (1) the photograph as contemporary art by Charlotte Cotton. There is quite a lot in there that I have come across already which is encouraging although of course much more that I haven’t.  All of it is compelling to a greater or a lesser extent.

I think what I’m most interested in on this course for now is trying to reach something that is less about the commercial side although that is important to me (and something I must continue to learn about; marketing, sales, the actual photography) as I need very much to earn a living in the medium term.  But if I can develop the art side as much as possible for my own satisfaction then that would be great.  But I don’t think that will be easy to do – I find a lot of the stuff I’m looking at quite challenging to be honest although the Intimate Life chapter in the aforementioned book is far more immediate and resonant for me than much of the deadpan style I’d read about earlier. 

Of course, I have no doubt the two, commercial and not so commercial stuff will cross over and may be influenced by one another, and in fact I can see that happening already.   It does feel like I’m on a very interesting path and I’m enjoying it a great deal even though there are times when I feel somewhat panicked and like I might have gone off in the wrong direction.

I'm a bit nervous about the next chapter in TOAP - Colour.  Seems all a bit difficult at first glance due to the theory so will need to think carefully about it as I go through.

For now, I need to get on with writing up two photo books, and reading all the colour information on the OCA site as well as some more of the photograph as a contemporary art.

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(1) the photograph as a contemporary art, new edition by Charlotte Cotton, Thames & Hudson 2009

Spontaneity vs planned, structured, choreographed work

One of the photographs I took on Tuesday for Vertical & Horizontal exercises.

It has been very difficult to make time to for this part of my life this week. I planned a day photographing on Tuesday and managed to get some shots for the exercises but I have not been able to sit down and order or upload them.  My deadline looms but between now and then there is a half-term filled with activities as well as editing and processing some work stuff.  I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed to say the least and really questioning the costs/benefits of putting assignments in for assessment or aiming for a qualification.  I have a degree already and am not doing this to achieve another.  I already feel that the little reading, thinking and work I've done for Part 1 has had a tangible impact on my work and I am enjoying learning about and recognising photographers.  So it's certainly worth doing the course but I'm not sure adding pressure about achieving grades is going to be very helpful to me. 

There were a couple of things that struck me this week that I wanted to record.  While reading through The Photograph as Contemporary Art (1) I was encouraged to read that 'strategy here is about constructing an environment that draws the subject out, first through the photographer's choreography and then through the responses of the individual sitter' in relation to Helleen van Meene.  According to the commentary there is a 'deliberate putting aside of her prepared 'script' and her 'photographing of what then spontaneously unfolds' creates a tantalising ambiguity about what what she is presenting.

I was interested by this not because I think I am aiming to present some form of 'allegorical' study of anything in particular or any 'other worldly protagonists' in a kind of production but because it is interesting to consider how others work.  I am always worried I don't give enough direction and guidance when photographing portraits.  I'm not really interested in posed photographs or images that are choreographed as things stand - maybe that is a fault or a negative in me.  And I think there are times when I should be taking more charge in certain situations.  But I think I'm really trying to capture whatever it is that the subject wants to present either consciously or otherwise.  Perhaps this is just down to the fact I don't know what I'm doing and maybe if I did I would give more direction, and have a firmer idea about what I'm after.  But that then becomes something about me and not about the person I'm photographing and I think the photo should be about them.  Is this something I need to reconsider I wonder.  Certainly people might feel lost at sea without any guidance whatsoever but I think I prefer to provide a sense of security by appearing to be in control of my own responsibilities - taking the photographs rather than providing a choreographed highly directed style.

Another thing I have thought about this week is how some family portrait photography seems to present its subjects in the same way as expensive merchandise might be. I suppose if I'm honest I'm speaking about some forms of newborn photography in particular.  I can't help wondering if I'm being dismissive because I'm referring to a style of photography that I simply can't do!  Perhaps - but I was struck by a couple of photos doing the rounds on social networking sites which deride an assumed amateur's attempt to photograph a baby lying down over a rug and compares it to a highly polished professional very beautifully taken photograph of a baby posed in a typical position on a sheepskin rug.  The thing about the professional photo and the many similar available to see online, is that the baby is presented in the same way in my mind as a pair of designer boots.  The baby becomes a commodity.

I've been asked to do a couple of baby shoots and I'm not sure I ever want to do that sort of image - which is a shame because people will pay a lot of money for such photos.  But even if I wanted to I'm not sure I could.  In fact, I took some earlier this week and there was one photo in particular that I was very keen to pop up here as it a starkly different to what I've described above.  This photo wasn't a beautifully posed portrait of a baby in a basket or propped up on a sheepskin smiling (actually wind every time in newborns) and snoozing quietly.  The baby in my photo is naked and being held facing the camera straight on and crying - and I loved it.  It was so alive and real and genuine - an authentic moment in the life of a newborn human being.  Sadly for me the parent was adamant that I could not use any of the images online.  The thought of her child being posted online anywhere whatsoever made her extremely upset and in the end I have to respect that.  I do have T&C's stating that I will use images from shoots in my own promotional online presence but I'd forgotten to point these out as it was for someone I know from a few years back.  Even so, had she read the T&Cs she may have changed her mind about having the shoot done and I'd never have taken the photograph in the first place which would have been a shame.

Perhaps I'll never take another photo like it as as I've mentioned earlier I don't tend to structure, style and choreograph and my preferred way of working is relatively spontaneous at the moment.  I can't help wondering if this is just due to lack of experience.  And I suppose this is something I need to think about.  If I'm going to be a professional then I need to get shots that clients are after and there is likely a balance to found between my desire for spontaneity and the the need to be able to produce what is required.

Goodness, I hope I am able to produce what is required for the exercises and assignment of Part 1 on time!

1. The Photograph as Contemporary Art, new edition, 2009, Charlotte Cotton, Thames and Hudson World of Art; page 33, illustration 25.