Research part 5
Contents research page:
- Article by Terry Barett and my reflections
- Assignment 5 research
- Bibliography and images
Link to analysis of images for assignment 5: http://wp.me/p7xP3C-qu
Article by Terry Barett on context and photogprahy.
This article is a refreshing look at the seriousness of context in photography. Here I research the topic further using other sources as well as the primary paper by Barett.
Much is written about the importance of evaluation, reading and contextualising photos in order to gain maximum understanding and appreciation of their message. Barett in his paper (2010) discusses the relevance of understanding context and provides a formula that is often utilised in academic institutions for the analysis of photography.
“THE SAYING “A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS” is never more true than with a photograph. Photographs have tremendous power to communicate information. But they also have tremendous power to communicate misinformation, especially if we’re not careful how we read them. Reading photographs presents a unique set of challenges. Students can learn to use questions to decode, evaluate, and respond to photographic images.” Thibault M. and Walbert D. (2003).
I find myself more in agreement with this above quote as I deepen my own understanding and practice of photography. I personally believe that there is more of a chance of simply not understanding the message of any given photo, if the image is not correctly contextualised. In todays market plethora of photos, there is greater danger that due to the sheer quantity and perhaps less time to stop and really take in the meaning of things, we skip by only superficially taking in the message of a photo (thus not understanding at all) or we come to a superficial comprehension. Therefore it would seem that to contextualise one’s work and to have some explicit elements within the contextualisation would be essential to the understanding of the work.
Barett in his paper starts his argument by looking to the photograph of Robert Doisneau’s of a couple at a Parisian cafe. He explores the picture’s original intent and then shows how a decontextualisation can lead to a change of meaning in the photo and the photographer’s original intent. The image is used initially by Doisneau in photojournalistic context. Later the photo is appropriated and used in three other contexts:
- A temperate magazine against the abuses of alcohol
- A french scandal sheet entitled: “ Prostitution in the ChampsElysées”
- Finally the image shows in art galleries in New York (fine modern art)
The change of context of the photo leads to several problems and can be seen again and again in the development of photography during the 20th century. Another example of this is the iconic photo by Dorothea Lang taken as part of the series ‘family of man’ ‘Migrant mother’ (1936):
http://www.artspace.com/dorothea_lange/migrant_mother_nipomo_california
The photo is later replicated and used in two different magazines to promote two different causes. What was the photo’s original intent? The original intent was also criticised by Pare Lorentz noting the following: …“In other words the appeal made to the viewer was premised on the assertion that the victims of the depression were to be judged as the deserving poor, and thus the claim for redress hinged on individual misfortune rather than on systematic failure in the political, economic and social sphere” (Godeau S. 1991a: 179 in: photography a critical introduction: Wells 2009:43)
This would show that either a harsh criticism has been made, maybe with some other agenda other than the apparent or that the photographer really has dissociated the image from the bigger social, economic and political ‘picture’. Generally the response that the photo gives me is more on the level of the personal (this poor person needed assistance) but in the background of my observation is generally a sense that this (the issue/problem) belongs to a bigger context although not explicit. Therefore I would argue that this case is not necessarily so. If we are completely ignorant of the context of a photo however then this misinterpretation might be more easily made.
Michael Langford (1998:4) provides us with an example giving various possible interpretations of a photo that can range wildly from a simple documentation of an event to:
- Life lived under a certain regime
- A political document
- Statement documenting the subjugation of women
- A picture of warm relationship
- A picture of dress and decor of a particular period in history in a particular culture
- Demonstrating the effect of a lighting technique
Anyone of these interpretations may be given depending upon the factors surrounding the image such as placement etc. It would be difficult to assign one meaning to the photo and the only way to be clear is to understand (as Barett points out) a number of criteria to explore the meaning based upon the photographer’s initial intent.
Barett offers a method to assess and analyse photos that consists of a number of specific criteria. He offers three main headings for the contextualisation of the photo. 1.Information evident from within the photo 2. information surrounding the picture in its presentation 3. Information about the pictures making. These translate into what Barett terms “internal context”, “external context” and “original context” The internal context are things such as title, date, maker, the “external context” means where the picture is presented i.e street, gallery, journal art book etc. The “original context” refers to the “causal environment” which relates to the psychological and physical elements that went to make the photo at the time.
With this information about any image we can then see the original intent of the photo and get closer to its intended meaning. The untrained eye tends to see the image at face value or even immediately draws a false conclusion due to lack of training or awareness about the photographic medium.
In conclusion, without a solid understanding of the context of photography we are likely to misunderstand or not fully appreciate the value of what the photo has to offer. There is a criteria that can help the viewer see the picture in its intended context gained by enquiring into the photos origin, intention and display. This criteria can also aid the practitioner of photography to deepen their practice by making more explicit the intention of the photo.
2. Assignment 5 research
Sophie Calle born: 1953, Paris
When looking for photos that drew my inspiration for this project my mind turned to Sophie Calle and her exploits in the street of Paris and Venice whereby she creates an adventure of following people and then in other episodes taking photos of peoples’ possession in hotel rooms such as in ‘Hotel room 47’ (1981).
Suite Ventiene (original title: L’Hotel, Chambre 47)
[7]“On Monday, February 16, 1981, I was hired as a temporary chambermaid for three weeks in a Venetian hotel. I was assigned twelve bedrooms on the fourth floor. In the course of my cleaning duties, I examined the personal belongings of the hotel guests and observed through details lives which remained unknown to me. On Friday, March 6, the job came to an end.” (Quoted in Calle, pp.140-1.)
Though my own project has not been so intimate as to be looking at others’ possessions and making photos of them nor can I say that own life “remained unknown to me”. The revelation that comes from looking into the lives of others holds a certain interest and at times fascination for us.
I feel in particular in this case that although her photos are far from exceptional photography she has given us an insightful look into how others behave. The way other people seem to live holds for us a kind of deep interest in the sense that we naturally compare ourselves with others in at times a somewhat conceited way. For me I wanted in a sense to share my circumstances of day-to-day life as a photographic diary. This is not the same as calle’s work but the material she uses is what has provided me with the ideas to do what I have presented in the assignment.
Evaluation of research and how it influences my own photos
Whilst I’m not entirely convinced that looking at and photographing a group of possessions of another person will give any deep insights into the persons personality and predilections, still it does point in some ways to a way of seeing people and what they associate with or identify with. It will tell us something. Also, in Calle’s photos of the hotel rooms we are not seeing people in their own habitat. We could draw more information from seeing their possessions in their place of normal use. A hotel room is sometimes treated as nothing like our own home. Therefore we can only draw limited conclusions from such a set of photos as Calle’s. It was on the basis of this conclusion that I have tried to show things in use in their place. Also, my presentation is tidy and homely whereby Calle’s is clearly a temporary stopping place whereby people will not have the same relationship to the place as their home. However, to give Calle credit, she has I believe inspired the project that I have done, even though the unfolding of it came quite spontaneously and did not require a huge amount of reflection.
My idea has certainly been inspired by Calle who I first discovered in 2015 whilst doing the OCA foundation course. However, I feel that I have taken the ideas that she presents and developed them in a more independent way that gives another feel to the work. So she has influenced what I have done but not overly dictated the outcome. I have allowed myself to explore her original idea in my own way. This was a very enjoyable process, although as I say elsewhere, some of the photos are less than riveting. However, I have created the feel that I wanted to create. The Idea of presenting the photos of things in their places was to emphasise that ‘things’ have a place in space and time. That they are inanimate in one sense, but indispensable to daily life on another.
When in 1983 Calle produced her well-known and highly controversial work ‘Address book’ it seems that she was marking out her territory as an artist and defining her main interest in art. The theme of identity gets explored and constructed and Calle makes contact with the people in the address book that she finds in the street. One thing that I like about Calle is this inventiveness based upon what she comes across in her environment. She seems to have a capacity to be triggered into creativity simply by seeing something that she resonates with. We can see the idea of identity coming out in Calle’s work.
In ‘The Hotel, Room 47’ Calle again is constructing identities albeit this time through possessions rather than phone books. This constructing of identities is an interesting subject although one that has been readily exploited in art. Within a series of photos of people’s hotel rooms we see their belongings. From this Calle creates identities that are visual for us to observe. We naturally start questioning and looking for clues in the possessions as to who the person is and what they are about.
This helped me to develop the ideas of photographing myself via my most frequently used possessions and the places in which I use them. Although initially I thought to shoot the photos with myself present in them, I later decided to simply group the items together and shoot them and then the place, as a way of suggesting my own presence. As to what conclusions the viewer will draw from what they see in the photos, I await to see.
4. References
1.Thibault M. & Walbert D. (2003) First quote: “THE SAYING...”http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/677 [accessed March 2017]
2.Barett.http://www.terrybarrettosu.com/pdfs/B_PhotAndCont_97.pdf PhotAndCont 97 (2010) Available at: [Accessed: 14 March 2017].
3. Lange D. (1936) ‘Migrant Mother’:http://www.artspace.com/dorothea_lange/migrant_mother_nipomo_california [accessed March 2017]
4. Wells E. Photography a critical introduction (2009) 4th Ed. Routledge.
5. Image 1. Hardy B. (1949) ‘Picture Post’ in: Langford M. Advanced photography (1998). Focal Press.
6. Images 2,3,4 Calle S. (1981) suite Vienetienne https://es.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search;_ylt=AwrIRlRgPNpYh2gAh0._.wt.?p=photos+of+sophie+calle+pictures+of+hotel+rooms&fr2=sb-top&hspart=GenieoYaho&hsimp=yhs-fh_hp&type=a87160058 [accessed March 2017]
7. Quote by Calle: Calle S. (1981) http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/calle-the-hotel-room-47-p78300 [accessed March 2017]
Assignment 5
OCA log level 1 Photography 