https://www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/2020/event/masculinities-liberation-through-photography
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Date access 1st Feb 2020
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Men in a safe place which contrast the context,, .
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Looking at local history
Kindly provided by the Torquay Community boxing gym. Hoping to cover some more of their boxing shows during this module.
On cleansed - Reviewing some images from the previous module, what's my approach going to be this time?
This idea of releasing the aggression, this cleansing process, almost like a religious experience. Like a baptism, after the fights the men embrace as though there is great sense of relief, a sense of brotherhood, gone are the menacing stares, replaced with smiles of respect and elation. Refs to baptism rites of passage
The look for attention, the camera and the audience as though this further validates their valour.
Vitruvian men
Women, whilst perhaps not the strongest composition, it is poignant when considering this male dominated environment, the scale of the shot is revealing in the sense of the women being minimised, the reality was that there role of timekeeping was very important.
Chris Matthews (2019) Submitted as part of Sustainable Prospects
The idea of producing some posters that can be used to encourage discussion around masculinity is something I`hope to achieve as part of this assignment. I'm not a graphic designer so this will take time. Currently I'm looking at a range of boxing posters, magazines, propaganda and well just anything that crosses over really.
Arguably the greatest fight in history, Hagler Hearns in 1985, I think this could be something I could work from. The aggression shown in this fight was extreme, it's iconic in the sport. I'd like to perhaps play with the words and subvert it in some way.
The guerrilla girls work has been on my radar for a few years, I saw a show at the Whitechapel Gallery in 2016, I'd heard of the movement but had never seen any pieces in person. Some common ground her in terms of gender and the use of text to make statements, thinking about ways in which to use language.
https://www.gallery.ca/magazine/exhibitions/its-a-jungle-out-there-guerrilla-warfare-in-the-art-world date: accessedMarch 6th 2020
I still remember watching this fight live from Las Vegas, it had. profound effect on me and led me to take up boxing at 17. Mike Tyson was ferocious, a monster and convicted rapist, He was no role model. But Holyfield came in as underdog with little chance of win. It was one of the biggest shocks in boxing history when he defeat Mike Tyson. It made me believe anything was possible. A real turning point in my life as at the time my outlook was rather bleak, more than just teen angst. I was lost, without a purpose other than to look after my father. Boxing game me an outlet and led me several trainers who became mentor/father figures.
They Live, John Carpenter 1988 make cleaver use of subliminal messages. This has been hugely influential, and references to it are still used widely e.g Obey etc. I've no doubt Barbara Kruger must have been an influence on the film as she produced examples in the early 80's that established her unique style.
'I fight therefore I am' - could produce some variations on this this
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Other options
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I fight therefore I am man
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i'm desperate
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Chris Matthews (2019) Taken during Positions and Practices Module August 2019, use as reference only. I was looking at men working in harsh environments that were traditionally masculine, Tis was taken whilst in Mauritius at a rum distillery. Other than tourism, much of the work in Mauritius is linked to sugar cane in some way.
Perry produces these comedic but revealing illustrations for the The Decent Of Man. This is tone I'm going for with he poster. I felt there was a risk of Perry almost looking down on some of the groups on men he encountered during his journey through modern masculinity. But quite often he found common ground and in the episode Hard Man in the TV companion to the book. He commented that to him having an art show was similar to these men having a fight. It was still an expression, an outlet, a way to be assessed by our peers. It was interesting to see him note how the cage fighters seems to have a release valve and could be more open than the traditional male.
Grayson Perry (2017)
Chris Matthews Mauritius (2019) again thinking about looking at photographic male dominated environments, maybe building sites?
Fight Club, no great war to fight
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“We’re the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War’s a spiritual war… our Great Depression is our lives. We’ve all been raised on television to believe that one day we’d all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won’t. And we’re slowly learning that fact. And we’re very, very pissed off.”
― Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club
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Loved the book and the film raised some interesting issues at the time, Men seem to seek conflict, to play out the narrative in their mind that Grayson Perry refers to.
Slide Film Experimentation E6 Process.
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From researching the posters, I can see that the images often used very bright colours a bit like the transfer dye process that William Eggleston used. This process was used for advertisements to make them eye-catching to consumers. I have used slide before and have always liked the way colour is replicated in them, they have a quality to them. I feel this may be useful for the images I capture to use on the Poster style image. The only significant issue at this stage is the light levels I will be working with, Typically slide film is very fine grain and it is difficult, perhaps impossible to find anything over 400 ISO so this may require some 'pushing' in development. Traditionally slide film can't be pushed as there is little latitude, but with the newer chemistry available there is some 'wriggle room'. I could experiment with some faster C41 film though the colour from these is less impressive in my experience. Below are some experiments with slide film development with a range of images I shot in daylight but late afternoon when the light was not so bright. I was happy with the results which were shot on a Leica M6 Rangefinder and 50mm lens.
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Continuation of the monument series
Continuing on with the monument set I have explored during the past two module I intend to produce a conceptual piece entitled "The Undeveloped Film' . In the previous module I considered how to approach the production of this monument to my father. The undeveloped film refers to a film I shot over 20 years ago when my father's alcoholism was its worst. I took some images of him when he was drunk and helpless, in the hope that images might have some kind an impact on him getting treatment. Ultimately I could not bring myself to develop the film, the pain of what was contained within it was too much to bear. I chose not to develop the film at the time and the film cannister took on new meaning as a symbol of the pain and helplessness I, my family and my father felt at that point. I am unlikely to ever develop the film, in reality, I can't be certain the actual film still exists, so long has it been that it's possible it got lost or mixed up with another film. I. It's an item that a I locked away both physically (in storage with all my old negative and metaphorically. If I were to develop the film it might not be the right one, or over time it may have become damaged.
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Looking at the conceptual work of Marcel Duchamp and Damian Hurst, like them, I was interested in taking a seemingly mundane object that had greater significance than a casual viewer would expect. Initial I explored the idea of suspending the film canister in a clear case before experimenting with freezing the film in an ice block, which I felt highly relevant as that moment had been frozen in time so to speak. Other substances that I explored the use of were mouldable plastics which came in white and black colours. Finally, I went to visit the Antony Gorley exhibition in London and was an interest in the use of clay. My father has been a keen potter and the significance of using clay added another aspect to the meaning, He began pottery as an outlet to help him in his battle with alcohol, ultimately the stroke he suffered 6 years ago ended his ability to throw pots. So there was a bittersweet connotation to the clay. Hope and despair encased within. I have begun to experiment with making the piece which will then be photographed.
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Taken at the Anthony Gormley exhibition at the Rota Academy London, images taken when looking at the pieces. Gave me a few ideas about working with material and purchased 6 kilos of clay to experiment with.
Damien Hurst 1991- A controversial piece. He got a fisherman to catch a tiger shark in Australia. When asked, 'anyone could do that' he said 'But you didn't did you' Observer article Barber Lynn 2003 Bleeding Art.
Duchamps, Art for art sake or elevating the status if the mundane?
During look down Ive been exploring Abandoned things, have been looking at Eggleston and Stephen Shore (American Surfaces)
https://i-d.vice.com/en_us/article/mbvjnp/lessons-from-william-eggleston-about-william-eggleston date accessed 24/4/20
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William Eggleston
Louisiana (1971)
