Week 1

I have continued to explore the nature of masculinity and changes within it, which has been inspired by Grayson Perry’s book The Decent of Man (2016) that looks in part, at the harm rigid masculine roles can do. The starting point for my research was to focus on my first male role model (my father) to perhaps understand how aspects of my own masculinity have been shaped by his influences. During the 1stmodule I worked to produce monuments to my Father and this was something I developed further during my 2ndmodule. In relation to this I produced pinhole images with long exposures, which required a great deal of trial and error. Justin Quinnell's pinhole photographs and in particular his solargraphs were a useful point of reference for me.

Below I have included a composition from a pinhole image(P&P) I captured which was intended as a living monument to my Father. I built upon this in the last module with another monument as below.

During the sustainable prospects module I explored several avenues that in hindsight didn’t allow me the to go into enough depth, so this was something of a weakness. That said, it was useful to explore broadly in the early modules so I could ‘try things out’ and see which areas might be most useful to revisit with further investigation. Areas covered in Sustainable Prospects were a continuation of monuments to my father, some documentary work of him fly fishing, photographing non places with evidence of male influence and finally my main focus was on documenting professional Boxing. The results from this broad exploration were mixed. The non-places work was in response to the work of Martha Rosler and Caroline Perez’s book Invisible Women (2019) though on reflection I don’t feel my approach was sustained enough to captured really meaningful content. I may revisit this during the current module. The documentary work on my father fly fishing didn’t feel as though I was finding out interesting ‘things’ about masculinity, so was somewhat of a dead end. The area that I found most revealing was the coverage of Boxing for which I drew influence from Bruce Gilden’s work on unlicenced boxing shows. It was fascinating to photograph this brutal and adrenaline fuelled environment that paradoxically seemed to become a safe place for men to release an outpouring of emotion. Below are some examples of my work, hoping to explore this further as well covering some Professional Wrestling events.

I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It's easy.

https://www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/2020/event/masculinities-liberation-through-photography

Date access 1st Feb 2020

Thoughts on the Shape Shifter

'Consider the contexts of your photographic practice might operate within' 'Whether or not there are more than one means by which we consume your practice'

My work operates within a range of context, much of the content I produce is documentary with the end purpose being the production of a photobook. Some pieces of my work for example ‘comes with instructions’ and ‘monument’ blend this documentary perspective with a conceptual fine art approach, ‘Comes with instructions’ drawing parallels with the work of Sophie Calle. The other function of many examples of my work is for use as stock through agency work with Gettys, Alamy etc.

How your own practice may be received /interpreted by viewers

My boxing work would be received in a variety of forms, from personal sales to the boxers themselves, to being viewed in newspapers sport reports to, being exhibited as documentary work or published in a photobook. These images are viewed in different ways ranging from a personal connection, as a sport and as documentary. When I consider the uses of these images it definitely resonates with Price (1994) the meaning of the work is transformed by the usage.

The use of a photograph determines it’s meaning

Price 1994 p1

The photograph is a message. Considered overall this message is formed by a source of emission, a channel of transmission and point of reception.

Barthes 1977 p 15

Do you find the Benetton ads offensive?

Personally I would not say I find the adverts offensive. General the subjects covered have the consent of the families of the subject themselves. The purpose of the advertising is ultimately to sell products so given some of the content such as the image of Aids sufferer David Kirby which was colourised and used 2 years after his death seems hard to justify. If I were involved in this campaign I would feel conflicted despite the family giving permission to use the photograph. The colourising of the image in my opinion cheapens the statement it is making with the intention no doubt being to make it resonate with the conventions of typical adverts

Provide an illustrated and up to date statement of intent about what your work plans to achieve at this point.

Week 2 : The index and the icon

Task

Spend a few moments looking back on your reflective notes from the two presentations, the Snyder & Allen (1975) article and the contributions of your peers to the forums so far. Take into account the following questions:

Did any ideas particularly interest you?
What challenged you?
Have your ideas changed?

Write a brief summary in your research journal.

How might your photographic practice be considered a ‘peculiar practice’?
Think about how viewing context(s) might affect how people view your practice

The notion that Photography is somehow more authentic than Painting is hard to dispute. As Barthes (1980) suggests ‘Painting can feign reality without having seen it. Contrary to these imitations, in photography, I can never deny the thing that has been there’

The phototographic process does in my opinion as Sontag suggests, takes a trace or a stencil from the real. This ‘generally’ provides a more trustworthy interpretation of the real, but it should be remembered that this still only an imitation, whether it’s dots of silver halide on a film or a digital image made by capturing light on a sensor. Then of course the impact of the photographer has an impact on this authenticity, they decide when to push the shutter to capture Bresson’s ‘decisive moment’ so to speak. They frame the image, decide what will be in focus and perhaps most importantly they decide how to edit the image. The editing process has taken of greater significance in the digital age because the trickery available to the photographer has grown exponentially. That’s not to suggest this trickery is new when you consider the infamous Cottingley Fairies (1917)photographs, a seemingly obvious forgery now but at the time it was adequate enough to fool many including reportedly the author Conan Doyle. Audiences may be more visually savvy now but a more sophisticated deception may still fool a 21st century viewer. The photograph may have the potential to be a near accurate representation of the truth but it’s creator is likely to impacted by their own beliefs and opinions to represent their own perceived truth. It’s key to remind ourselves that the photographer is the creator of this visual artefact, the work creator suggest control.

It would be simple to suggest that the message or truth has become distorted, but this suggests a dishonesty of the photographer. Yes there has been cases of arguably staged images for example as discussed in the lecture the winning image of the Wolf (2014)withdrawn from the wildlife photographer of the year competition of the many questions surrounding Robert Capa’s D-Day landing photographs (1944), Even one of the most influential Documentary films ever made Nanook of the North (1922) which followed the lives of eskimos has many staged elements and deceptions.

For the most part the photographer may consider they merely showing the truth as they perceive it, their truth, but truth none-the-less

Week 3: Constructed Realities

Constructed realities

The photographer I either a hunter or a farmer?

Wall 2012

A snap judgement would lead me to believe that I am typically a hunter in regard to my photographic practice. My focus is generally to explore my subject through a documentary means. In this case I am unable to or unwilling construct images down to the level of detail that Jeff Wall would. There is of course some element of construction employed as photograph in terms of the decision making process e.g when to push the shutter, the perspective etc. I have a background in filmmaking so often when I shoot still documentary work I look to construct narrative in the still frame and in the editing/ sequencing process, much like a documentary filmmaker would.

Am I a hunter or a farmer? I’d disagree with Wall’s statement, surely it is possible and rather probable to be both. It’s a fluid label in my opinon.

From hearing the debate in the webinar, I’d have to agree with my peers that I also tend to float between the two. Typically I work more from the perspective of the hunter, but in many cases I have used documentary images in conjunction with other elements which could be found elements such as the image ‘Comes with Instructions’ (2019).

I am influenced by film in my practice, my knowledge of film is fairly extensive and during this module I have come to realise that the impact of this in my work is more significant than I thought. Other elements too such as Paintings and Photographic work have been connected to my work so this intertextuality is something that has been a common feature in many outcome I have produced. For example ‘Comes with Instructions’ (2019) resonated with Sophie Calles use of letters in Take Care of Yourself as well a play on words used by the Barbara Kruger and the way the light fell on the sheets was something I saw in Rene Magrittes Les Armans (Lovers) 1928. Can we still be original in the post modern world when all of these elements were were an aspect of the construction of this image? It still had personal elements so perhaps only partial originality is possible except under rare circumstances. This intertextuality is continually being built on in texts and this validate Barthes statement further that the ‘text is a tussue of quotations’. Many successful films Shrek as was discussed in the lecture and television shows such as The Simpsons have been crafted around this intertextuality, the way in which it references many aspects of popular culture, the Simpsons is packed full of these, some subtle and some very obvious, from references to films such as Citizen Kane or to historical events.

Week 4: Into the Image World

Beach Body Ready

Dominant Reading - Thin is beautiful and should be aspired too.

Oppositional - The objectification of woman, a sex object. The suggestion that super skinny can be a dangerous example.

Negotiated - Being fit and healthy. On some level it could be argued that the woman is in a position of power as denoted by the low angle shot.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jun/27/beach-body-ready-america-weight-loss-ad-instagram

Week 5 Gazing At Photographs

Where does my gaze sit? I suppose I look for narrative and find it in the things I see and photograph. Rather than construct this narrative through staged images, I function more as the ‘Hunter’ searching for narrative often in a still image or by arranging them in a sequence, typically a photo essay.

‘To photograph people is to violate them, by seeing them as they never see themselves, having knowledge of them they never have, it turns people into objects that can be symbolically possessed’

(Sontag 1977)

Sontag’s statement resonates with me as a harsh and bitter tasting truth, I do feel that I’m somewhat voyeuristic in my photographic practice. Waiting to capture the moment that portrays my subjects in the way that I have chosen too and perhaps to capture something secret or unseen. Her statement has stirred me to question this intent as I often photograph people. Also, this week the concept of ‘recognition of self’ was interesting to me in relation to the way in which I photograph, looking for elements that are often a reflection of myself in some way.

Week 6 A Sea of Images

I share my work in a variety of ways, I must confess I have been reluctant to use Instagram in recent years purely because I generally prefer to feature my work on platforms where I’m more likely to receive some return financially, it’s nice to get paid even if it’s a small amount. I appreciate that Instagram can be lucrative for those with a large following, but my celebrity status remains non- existent! During the course I’ve started to share selected work more through Instagram to get feedback on my work from my peers. I’m more likely to feature work with picture agencies such as Eyeem, Snapwire, Alamy, Gettys as these would be more visible to a range of buyers including newpapers, brands, magazines etc. The work I’d feature in agency portfolio would be more commercial in nature.

I’d like to exhibit my work locally, I’m hoping a body images that I have worked on for over 20 years might form the basis of this. There are small rentable gallery spaces in my home town that would be suitable, so this is something I’d like to consider during my FMP. I suppose this would be a significant next step for me and something I feel is achievable during my MA.

Week 8 Responses and Responsibilities

Mike Wells (1980)

Mike Well’s image of a starving child during the Ugandan famine still shocks me, though it’s interesting that a close up image such as this removes the element of identity and draws further significance to the stark differences between to two hands in the image. Wells was working in other countries in Africa for Save the Children and happened to capture this image on a side trip to Uganda. He said that he was ashamed of the photograph which won the world press photograph of the year, a competition the photograph was entered into unbeknownst to him. The image had a significant impact in highlighting the plight of those suffering the famine, but due to the oppressive Idi Amin dictatorship of the country it’s unlikely that it made a significant impact in terms of aid.

Another example springs to mind of Dorethea Lange’s Migrant Mother which was taken a one of the ‘Hooverville’s’ during the depression era in the United States in the 1920’s and 30’s. Arguably this is one of the most iconic images from that era which reportedly led to increased aid at the time. The link to the article in the New York Times article below explores many of the questions around the image and its subsequent usage.

Are we desensitised? probably, as we are bombarded with imagery, often graphic in nature. However I would argue that we are more perhaps more conscious of injustice. These injustices are more visible in the digital age for obvious reasons due to the ability to share information more readily. We have perhaps higher expectations in the modern world and when we see injustice, we challenge it (hopefully!)

Whilst on the subject of being desensitised, over the weekend I photographed a white collar boxing show. I've covered many of these, closer to the action than even the ringside seats and I have to wonder if I've become desensitised to the brutality of it. Several times I had to ask the question 'When should I put the camera down?' At one point I looked over to the other photographer covering the event, he had chosen to stop shooting following a knockout. Perhaps he was asking himself the same question? Or perhaps he had just filled his SD card....

https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/starving-boy-missionary-uganda-1980/.

Image Mike Wells (1980)

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/28/lens/dorothea-lange-migrant-mother.html

Image Dorethea Lange (1936)

Week 10 Presentations and Feedback

Unfortunately I wasn't able to prepare a presentation in time for feedback, the impact of recent events has hindered me significantly, but I still was able to view many of the presentations and offer some feedback.

I've left the name of the student out, but these were the comments I posted on on the forum.

I found the presentation interesting and very personal, the discussion of preserving the past through photography was something I really connected with as part of my research involves photographing family members too. It was particularly useful to be made aware of Larry Sultan’s documentation of his parents which I was not previously aware. The connection between the window and voyeurism made me think about how as photographers we photograph our families in ways that might seem too intrusive or too revealing in comparison to photographing those we are not related to. With family I feel we often capture something raw and unfiltered, though it does raise the question of how much we should reveal given the impact of revealing such things.

I remember researching Richard Billingham’swork on his parents which was very much ‘warts and all’ as he documented his father’s struggle with alcoholism in ‘Ray’s a laugh’(1996). I watched an interview with him on Canvas, not sure how I found it but it’s on there somewhere, so might be useful

Also with regards to your outcomes I found the personal nature of them intriguing, the personal possessions the spaces etc. Obviously, they would have a very difference context to you as these are fragments of your homelife. A couple of thoughts popped into my head whilst looking at the examples in terms of references that may or may not be useful. The first was the way in which the exteriors building were photographed which sparked a memory of John Smith’sexperimental film The Black Tower (1987)the other was the way in which you worked with natural light and shadows and this resonated for me with Uta Barth’s work. Not sure this will help but thought I would mention them.

Webinar with Ashley Rose on Critical Review

I viewed a recording of the webinar with Ashley Rose, a former MA student who discussed the process of producing the critical review. This was useful in planning the structure and tone of the review. Also helpful in further clarification of the requirements such as word counts, using illustrations etc. This have been useful information for redrafting my Critical Review.

Week 11: Feedback from Group Seminar

Feedback from seminar

Had some sound issues in the seminar, my mic didn’t work. Fortunately, I was still able to should examples of my work and communicate my intentions via the chat function. The feedback I received was very positive. The conceptual pieces were well received with the plaster prints triggering many questions on how this was produced. It was suggested that perhaps I would be better placed to show only one of the pieces of plaster rather than the original and it 3-week aged counterpart. I can see the rationale behind this point of view, however I that having the transition between the original and the faded print captures the element of duality of life and death that was intending to capture. This was difficult to explain in full detail in the chat function so I may not have been fully clear with my intentions. The undeveloped film provoked some interesting debate, in so ways it was interesting to present the group with this image initial without explanation before I presented the relevance of the film. After explaining that the film was a film that I shot of my father 20 years ago whilst he was drunk (or at least the canister was symbolic of this) there were some interesting questions regarding how my involvement in boxing may have been linked to this trauma in some way. I have to admit that it my father’s alcoholism certainly was a driving factor in me taking up boxing as form of release and escapism. It was also suggested that maybe I should consider developing the film to use in some way but at this stage I still feel as though I may never develop the film. Perhaps one day I will feel some kind of release by developing the film, but for now it remains both metaphorically and physical locked always, frozen in many respects.

I showed the poster that I had produced in response to the Hagler Hearns and Propaganda posters I had been exploring. Graphic Design is really out of my comfort zone, so I was apprehensive about receiving feedback. Prior to this meeting I shared the poster with a colleague who has a design background and has recently produced Poster from an Eric Clapton tour so I felt that his opinion and advice would be valuable in fine tuning the final outcome. Upon showing him this piece, he was positive but explained that he felt ‘The War’ text should be larger to create a frame shape with the image and other text. Otherwise it had a tapered effect that aesthetically was not so pleasing. It seemed strange I hadn’t notice this but I think being less confident with graphics I sometimes had to resort to flattening layers to make it more manageable for which limited the changes I could make, leaving me with a somewhat uneven scale and placement of several of the elements. Fortunately, I had saved several versions so was able to go back into a previous layered version. I was able to adjust the size of the text and also made further minor adjustments just to tidy the piece up. This significantly improved the poster in my opinion, so this was the version that I shared at the webinar. The feedback was very positive, and I was little surprised at how effective they though my graphic design skills were. I really had to invest time in this to produce something that I felt at least has some level of professional quality. I chose a fairly simple design to produce before attempting something more complex. I would like to produce further examples, but perhaps this will have to take place in future modules as I don’t feel I can devote the time to producing them at this stage of the current module.

Finally I asked the group for feedback on the documentary work, again this was very positive. In particular they felt that it was fortunate that I was able to get so close to the subject. I’ve always followed Robert Capa’s often repeated creedo ‘That if your photographs aren’t good enough you’re not close enough’ I explained that I had a close connection to the boxers, having a long history of involvement with the sport. The images were all in black and white which seemed well received.

Overall the met up with members of the group was very useful in seeing diverse range of work being produced. It was also beneficial to get some feedback on my outcomes to help me select final outcome. One comment echoed feedback I had from a tutor in a previous module and that was whether I should consider mixing all the images up in a sequence. I understand the intentions of this, but I don’t feel the content I am currently producing would be effectively presented in this way. I’m certainly not adverse to using sequencing but I tend to keep specific subject together.

Week 12- Reviewing work

On Monday I attended Steph's webinar to run through final considerations for the assignments submissions. It was a good opportunity to ask questions as well as I wanted to clarify any wriggle room within the 2000 word maximum for the Critical Review. She clarified that 'waffle' should be avoided in the critical review but that plus or minus 10% wouldn't be an issue so I think this should allow me enough room to cover the outcomes I wish to discuss. Although I had started writing my critical review it did help me to further plan the structure of it. Normally I would have to listen to these webinars on a recording as I would be at work teaching. However due to the lockdown and as I'm working at home I was able to listen in use the chat function to ask questions. This was fortunate as these were not recorded webinars. I was also advised to check in with my online tutor this week so that they were familiar with the context of my work, so I have booked in to see them on Wednesday. I have a WIP portfolio ready for review and have a rough draft of the Critical Review.

Reflection on Tutorial with Sarah Hayes

24/4/20

Had a very useful catch up with Sarah today, she was able to review my progress so far. It has been difficult to arrange a meeting before due to work, but now as I’m working at home it has been easier to book in.

After speaking with Steph at a webinar I took her advice to write a list of questions before the tutorial so this was useful in having some focus points for me.

Overall the comments were that the practical work in WIP was technically very strong but that the written content needed development. This was no surprise as the written aspects, specifically the critical review is still some way from completion. She noted that I needed to get my quotations in order, so I will be working on this over the next few days to get the assignments submitted on time. She noted that I was more descriptive in my writing rather than analytical which I’d agree with, so I really need to review this making the discussion more critical and appropriately supported by relevant sources.

We discussed my instinct to work with narrative in my work and adopting an approach that sequences images and given my filmmaking background this is no surprise. She suggested that I know my work best so whilst taking on board feedback from peers and tutors I should make final decisions based on my own intuition.

I may still add a couple of examples to the portfolio in terms of the boxing images, particularly the audience images which I feel were quite revealing. A few tips on referencing were helpful, I always find this difficult but know the importance of it.

Will four days to go before the deadline I feel reasonably on track, it’s mainly the critical review that needs work so I will focus on getting this completed first.