Dorothea Lange

Dorothea Lange was a second generation German immigrant born in New Jersey in the USA if 1895.

screenshot of google search for Dorothea Lange images

 One of Dorothea’s most famous images is ‘Migrant Mother’ taken in 1936 of a mother affected by the great depression.  Lange was working for the Farm Security Administration (FSA), who commissioned the images, giving the photographers a list of images they wanted them to get.  The FSA section head who commissioned the images described it as ‘the’ image of the FSA and that he often wondered what she was thinking.

Florence Thompson’ the woman in the image later complained that she never earned a penny from the picture. However, although she didn’t directly benefit at the time, the image did lead to food aid being sent to the camp.  In her essay; In, Around and Afterthoughts, Matha Rosler, argues that Mrs Thompson was justified in feeling aggrieved. . . she says that documentary photographs have two moments:

  1. arguing for or against the social issue it portrays and seeking to persuade change.
  2. the artistic value as a piece of art or as she calls it ‘aesthetic “rightness”.

It seems that she argues that the image becomes more about the photographer than the content and that the photographers don’t have ‘sympathy’ for the real world, but are only concerned with the aesthetics.

This resonates when compared with the Citizen Journalism which in the main is taken by those involved or suffering from a given situation.

References:

la, A., 2005. Basic Critical Theory for Photographers. Elsevier Science.

www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothea_Lange

Research List

Introduction

Part 1

Project 1, Eyewitnesses?

  • Dorothea Lange
  • Martha Rosler’s 1981 essay ‘In, Around and Afterthoughts (on documentary photography)’
  • Lewis Hine (1874 – 1940)

Project 2, Photojournalism

  • La Grange, A. (2005) Basic Critical Theory for Photographers. Burlington, MA: Focal Press
  • Martha Rosler
  • Susan Sontag
  • Abigail Solomon-Godeau

Research point
If you’re interested in the critical debates around photojournalism, try and make time to find out more about at least one of these critical positions during your work on Part One.  

Here are some questions to start you off:

(extract from Photography 1 Context and Narrative, page 27)
  • Do you think Martha Rosler is unfair on socially driven photographers like Lewis Hine? Is there a sense in which work like this is exploitative or patronising? Does this matter if someone benefits in the long run? Can photography change situations? 
  • Do you think images of war are necessary to provoke change?  Do you agree with Sontag’s earlier view that horrific images of war numb viewers’ responses? Read your  answer again when you’ve read the next section on aftermath photography and note  whether your view has changed. See also: http://lightbox.time.com/2014/01/28/
    when-photographs-of-atrocities-dont-shock/#1 [accessed 24/02/14]
  • Do you need to be an insider in order to produce a successful documentary project?
  • Roger Fenton
  • David Campany
  • Joel Meyerowitz

Project 3 Reportage

  • Eugene Atget’s frontal views of Parisian buildings and their inhabitants
  • Nan Golding

Research point
Do some research into contemporary street photography. Helen Levitt, Joel Meyerowitz, Paul Graham, Joel Sternfeld and Martin Parr are some good names to start with, but you may be able to find further examples for yourself.

  • What difference does colour make to a genre that traditionally was predominantly black and white?
  • Can you spot the shift away from the influence of surrealism (as in Cartier-Bresson’s work)?
  • How is irony used to comment on British-ness or American values?

Project 4 The gallery wall – documentary as art

  • MoMA 1967 – John Szarkowski
  • Tate Modern, Cruel and Tender, 2003
  • Tate Modern, Street and Studio (2008)

Research point
Look online at Paul Seawright’s work, Sectarian Murders.

  • How does this work challenge the boundaries between documentary and art? Listen to Paul Seawright talk about his work at: http://vimeo.com/76940827 [accessed 24/02/14]
  • What is the core of his argument? Do you agree with him?
  • If we define a piece of documentary photography as art, does this change its
    meaning?
  • Sarah Pickering, Public Order, 2004
  • Alessandra Sanguinetti, The Adventrues of Guille and Belinda and the Enigmatic Meaning of their Dreams

Project 5 The manipulated image

Project 1 – Learning Log

This has been an interesting start to the course work.  I really get the concept of ‘citizen journalism‘ and can definitely see the impact it has had on the way news is reported now. (i.e. there is more footage and stills used from ‘ordinary’ people involved in events), I did find it a struggle to find images / stories actually initiated by people.  In particular current and up to date stories.

I decided to ask on the course forum and got some help from some of my fellow students.  This had a few benefits:

a) I think rather than searching for ‘citizen journalism’ I realised I need to look at specific events

b) most of the students shared links to their blogs, which I found really  helpful, with some great examples.

c) one of the students actually pointed me in the direction of a social movement he was involved in, which was not only really interesting but also gave me the opportunity to ask him some direct questions about it.

Whilst I definitely don’t want to copy what others have or are doing, I do really find it helpful of see what others are doing and often find that this often triggers ideas of my own. I will continue to follow them as a source of inspiration during the course.

So now armed with this new focus I’m going to revisit the brief.

Reflective Writing

As you develop as a photographer, it’s important not only to develop strong technical skills but to use them effectively to promote your ideas and intentions. Your practical work should reflect what you’ve been learning both in terms of technique and your conceptual intentions.
Self-reflective writing will help you to order your own thoughts but will also help your tutor and course assessors (if you go down this route) to understand your intentions, how you intend to carry them out and how the result meets, or fails to meet, your intentions.  Keep your reflective accounts relevant and concise. Be critical of your own practice – not necessarily negative, but thoughtful and reflective, perhaps with a little distance. Write factually about how your technical decisions, ideas and contextualisation have come together to create a successful (or, in some cases, not so successful) final outcome.  Give reasons as to why you believe the outcome is successful/unsuccessful; this will help you progress next time and will provide a basis for discussion with your tutor. At assessment it will also demonstrate how well you understand your own work, which is very important.  
Ideas books and diaries can be useful adjuncts to the learning log that records your artistic journey. Get into the habit of making notes as you go about your normal routines; these may prove very useful when you look back on them later. You’ll be using a diary in Part Three so you may wish to get a head start by keeping one from the beginning of the course.  
Overall it is our hope that you’ll combine technique, personal intention and contextualisation in the final outcome to produce compelling and coherent practical projects that evidence a depth of research and personal vision. 

Keeping this is a guide to use when reflecting on my work

I have read assignment three with regards to keeping a diary.  Traditionally I’ve never been very good at doing this, so this will be a challenge for me.  I will think about how best to approach it and put something in place.

Context and Narrative Introduction

“I think it’s certain that one doesn’t only photography with the eyes but with all of one’s intelligence.”


Brassaï (interview with Tony Ray Jones, 1970, quoted in Brittain, 2000, p.39)

Context: noun (oxford English Dictionary) – the circumstances that form the setting for an event, statement, or idea, and in terms of which it can be fully understood.

We are to think about who, what, why, where and how we create and communicate our work. To take a critical approach to other photographer’s work as well as our own and be alert to the messages contained with our own work whether or not they were intended.

Judith Williamson’s ‘Advertising’ articles in Source give some examples of this approach:

in this article, Judith critiques the content of the image and the text with the realities of the production of the tablets.  My observation is that she also brings her life view and opinions to this critique. So not only must you read the image in the context of your own experience, but also Judith’s view.

Souce: http://www.oca-student.com/content/her  [accessed 06.10.18]

Joachim Schmid and Erik Kessels have both gathered much research and work into why people love to take the same images and tell stories.

I found ‘An Interview with Joachim Schmid’ an interesting article: Not only has he evidenced the fact that we all take the same images, but that they mostly tend to be photos of the world being ‘just fine’. He makes the conclusion that “it’s more comfortable to base your life on the assumption that things will be all right”.  As someone who has now photographed a number of weddings and family events, this resonates with me and I wonder if having images of us doing the same thing as our ancestors is something that also gives us a connection to our families but also to the wider human race.  I know i didn’t feel as comfortable when I wanted to take a photo at my father’s funeral it wasn’t so acceptable, but that one photo remains one of my most personally memorable photos. 

source: https://weareoca.com/subject/photography/an-interview-with-joachim-schmid/    [accessed 06.10.18]

Erik Kessels’ on the other hand downloaded and printed every image uploaded to Flickr during a 24 hour period in 2013.  He then created an art installation with them 

Erik Kessels, 24 hrs in photos, Arles 2013

The comment being made is one of volume and how much our private lives are made public now.  We all have access to so much information, should we? why do we as photographers continue to take photos knowing this?

Narrative: noun (Oxford English Dictionary)

• a spoken or written account of connected events; a     story: a gripping narrative
• the practice or art of telling stories
• a representation of a particular situation or process

We are asked to think about the elements within the frame that add to the story of the image. The author argues that in order to deconstruct a narrative you must first understand how the story holds together. Even elements in documentary images will be held up for critical review at some point as everything in the image and outside of the image adds to the story it conveys, but the context in which it is taken may alter the meaning to the viewer.

Finally we are asked to reflect upon some of the conceptual myths about photography, such as ‘the camera never lies’ or ‘fact is stranger than fiction’.

 

Meeting Les

So today I took the opportunity to have a ‘Hang out’ 1:1 with my new tutor, Les Monaghan.  

Having only spoken with my last tutor once, I was determined to start off making time to do this for this and subsequent courses and I’m so glad I have.  Les seemed really nice and was able to give me some no nonsense advice right from the get go.

He is more than happy for me to work at my own pace and submit my assignments once I have met the brief and they are ready for discussion.  He doesn’t want me to think about them as a finished piece of work at the time they are presented to him.  In fact he felt that the real work starts after we have had the chance to discuss the work and then it can be reworked and amended as necessary.  For me this is great, but it takes the pressure off it having to be perfect first time.

So now to crack on and really get going on this course.  I have set myself a first deadline of submitting Assignment 1 by the end of October

Work Schedule

I have set myself a deadline of 30th June 2019 to submit the last assignment (assignment 5) so that have time in July to apply for the next course before the funding cycle changes and I have to reapply for a student loan again.

initial work schedule for CAN course

I have created this schedule to try and hold myself to account for getting the coursework done.  On paper it looks easy, in actual fact I know life will get in the way so having this schedule will hopefully keep my eye on the ball!  Gosh how many metaphors can I get into one paragraph lol!

Profile

Exercise
Your tutor is your main point of contact with OCA. Before you start work, make sure that you’re clear about your tuition arrangements. The OCA tuition system is explained in some detail in your Student Handbook. If you haven’t already done so, please write a paragraph or two about your experience to date (your profile). Mention any skills you already have that you think are relevant to the course. Comment on why you want to study this particular course and what you hope to achieve as a result of taking the course. Email your profile to your tutor using your new OCA email address (maximum 250 words). Your profile will help him or her understand how best to support you during the course. Also arrange with your tutor how you’ll submit your assignment work (e.g. whether you’ll email images as JPEGs or send prints in the post) and how you’ll deal with any queries that arise between assignments. This will usually be by email or phone. It’s a good idea to get into the habit of submitting at least some images as prints to help you prepare for assessment, if you choose to go down this route.

My Profile (Debra517222)

I’ve just looked back at the introduction I wrote about myself last year when I started the Expressing Your Vision course.  I still work for the NHS full time, I have continued to photograph Weddings, events and wildlife, and still love editing and fine art photography.  However, over the course of the last year, I have had much more exposure to different photographers, partly through this course and partly through attending talks by a variety of different photographers at Brighton and Hove Camera Club. I have discovered working in sets or series of photos rather than individual images and I have started to shape what it is I want to say as a photographer.

Looking forward to getting into the Context and Narrative course, although the self portraiture element may be a struggle.

Getting set up to kick start course #2 – Context and Narrative

So here we go again!

It feels pretty good setting up my new blog for my new course.  So far I’ve just had a quick look at the material and it looks like it picks up where part 5 of Expressing Your Vision ended.  

Assignment 1 looks really interesting so looking forward to getting to that and already thinking about what subject I could use!

I’ve received an email from my new tutor Les Monaghan  and hope to speak to him via a Hangout within the next couple of weeks.  I’ve noticed he’s also exhibiting at Brighton Biennial, so I might even get to meet him, which would be really great.