Inner City
Hackney Life
Quirky Architecture
It's still life
Crime and punishment
For art's sake
Wednesday, 24 April 2013
Assignment 4: A sense of place
I chose the borough of Hackney in east London for this assignment.
Inner City
Inner City
Saturday, 6 April 2013
Light from the Middle East
After missing out on the OCA study visit earlier this year, I was glad to have a free day to catch this exhibition before it closed. This was my first visit to the V&A and it was busy, perhaps because of the Easter holidays.
This exhibition looks at photography as a powerful and persuasive means of expression. The introduction to the work says that the 'immediacy and accessibility' of photography make it an 'ideal choice for artists confronting the social challenges and political upheavals of the Middle East today'.
The work presented is by artists from across the Middle East who live in the region and the diaspora. From my reading I have learnt a great deal recently about the language of photography and this exhibition explores this language and the various photographic techniques. The camera can be used to record or bear witness. But how reliable is photography in relation to truth? Some of the photographers work refutes this process revealing the unreliability of the photographic image.
The work includes documentary photography and images that are staged. It also examines the role of heavily manipulated images in relation to truth and meaning.
Light from the Middle East is divided into three sections: Recording, Reframing and Resisting.
Recording
Photography is usually thought of in terms of a tool for recording people, places and events. I think it is taken for granted by many that what the camera produces is real or the truth. But how reliable is this truth and what role does the photographer play in this?
Despite the fact that photography appears to have authority when it comes to showing reality it and the photographer can trick or deceive the viewer. Images are not always as simple to interpret as we are led to believe. Meanings and interpretation of an image is affected by context, cropping and captioning. We are very much in the hands of the photographer as he/she decides what we do or don't see and how we see it.
This section of the exhibition shows how photographers use a variety of approaches to exploit and explore the camera's ability as a recording tool. The first images in the series are from Abbas whose work shows how photographs can have various uses. In one image a photograph is being burnt - what is this a symbol of? In another, victims photographs are displayed outside the US embassy in Iran. Is this photography as a means of identification? Abbas' images explore the role of photography in evidence, propaganda, memento and as objects that can be destroyed.
Newsha Tavakolian's portraits from Mothers of Martyrs is an interesting take on the genre as a whole. In her series mothers hold the pictures of their dead children in front of them making a double portrait. In these images we can see what their children meant to them. It is an interesting use of the photograph within the photograph - the children are immortalised in the image.
A strong example of how the photograph is unreliable can be seen in Ahmed Mater's Magnetism I and II. In these images he has used a magnet and iron filings to construct a well known image - pilgrimage to Mecca. Here, viewing from a distance the iron filings look like people and it is only on closer inspection we see what they truly are. This is one of the ultimate deceptions but it challenges the way we perceive and anticipate things.
The images in this section ask difficult questions of the viewer. Can you rely on what you see? How do you know what you are looking at is real or the truth? How do you feel when the truth isn't what you expected? How do you deal with viewing things that set out to deceive?
Reframing
This section focuses on artists who imitate images from the past in order to make statements about the present. The focus is primarily on studio style portraits or fashion photography. By using a number of techniques these artists question what we know about the past and present, East and West and fact and fiction thus reframing existing images in new ways.
One of the most interesting of these artists is Shadi Ghadrian. These images depict the results of East meets West in an unusual way. Focusing on the old Qajar fashion these portraits look like old images. However, this is revoked when the viewer notices the Western props in the images like Pepsi cans and stereos. These images portray the uneasy tensions of East and West.
Also interesting is the portrait work of Youssef Nabil. His series focuses on the last of the Yemeni men to settle as shipworkers in the north east of England. The portraits were shot in black and white and then Nabil hand colours them in the style of 20th century Egyptian studio portraiture. The results are very interesting and look unreal. I find the fact that what looks unreal is real in this series of work. This I feel this really throws the reliability of photographs debate wide open.
Resisting
The artists in this section of the exhibition question the idea that a photograph can actually tell the truth by altering images. Their aim is to produce work where effort is required to interpret or draw meaning from . This demonstrates the fragile nature of the photograph and the actual power the medium has to influence and control propaganda. These artists resist the claim photography has to authority and accuracy.
I found this section really interesting and it has opened my mind to new ways of manipulating images and the various meanings that can be derived from manipulated work. Sukran Moral uses what he referred to as 'digital nightingales' in his portrait or a group of migrant workers. The nightingales are a symbol of hope, love and separation. Unlike the migrants they are free to fly away. I feel that this adds a new layer or meaning to the image.
In Nemine Hammam's work based on events in Tahir Square we see 'bored' soldiers transported to fantasy settings far from the reality they find themselves in. They end product looks similar to a postcard making Tahir Square a tourist attraction that draws the eyes of the world.
Taraneh Hemami's Most Wanted made a point - a rather blunt point. Her image consists of a series of mugshots from US government website of the most wanted post 9/11. She has blurred the identifying features of the subjects and has also scratched the surface of the prints. The visual information that remains is sparse. But what is left represents westerners views of Muslims, for example, headscarves. I like the way in which the person is stripped down to leave only the stereotypical symbols we have come to think of in relation to these people. This serves a reminder of the dangers of prejudice.
This exhibition was very interesting and it explored many themes in relation to photography as a medium and explored them well. It opened up the debate of truth and reliability in photography and backed it up with good examples of the various ways this can be questioned and subverted.
I particularly liked the layout of the displays into three distinct sections. The information about the pictures which was displayed by their sides was very informative and guided you to look for certain elements in the frame.
I was quite surprised by the number of female photographers who were included in the exhibition. I think the stereotypical view of the Middle East is that women are downtrodden and their place is in the home so it is enlightening to see this is not the case when it comes to photography. I wonder if this would be the case if the focus was on the western world and western artists.
This exhibition looks at photography as a powerful and persuasive means of expression. The introduction to the work says that the 'immediacy and accessibility' of photography make it an 'ideal choice for artists confronting the social challenges and political upheavals of the Middle East today'.
The work presented is by artists from across the Middle East who live in the region and the diaspora. From my reading I have learnt a great deal recently about the language of photography and this exhibition explores this language and the various photographic techniques. The camera can be used to record or bear witness. But how reliable is photography in relation to truth? Some of the photographers work refutes this process revealing the unreliability of the photographic image.
The work includes documentary photography and images that are staged. It also examines the role of heavily manipulated images in relation to truth and meaning.
Light from the Middle East is divided into three sections: Recording, Reframing and Resisting.
Recording
Photography is usually thought of in terms of a tool for recording people, places and events. I think it is taken for granted by many that what the camera produces is real or the truth. But how reliable is this truth and what role does the photographer play in this?
Despite the fact that photography appears to have authority when it comes to showing reality it and the photographer can trick or deceive the viewer. Images are not always as simple to interpret as we are led to believe. Meanings and interpretation of an image is affected by context, cropping and captioning. We are very much in the hands of the photographer as he/she decides what we do or don't see and how we see it.
This section of the exhibition shows how photographers use a variety of approaches to exploit and explore the camera's ability as a recording tool. The first images in the series are from Abbas whose work shows how photographs can have various uses. In one image a photograph is being burnt - what is this a symbol of? In another, victims photographs are displayed outside the US embassy in Iran. Is this photography as a means of identification? Abbas' images explore the role of photography in evidence, propaganda, memento and as objects that can be destroyed.
Newsha Tavakolian's portraits from Mothers of Martyrs is an interesting take on the genre as a whole. In her series mothers hold the pictures of their dead children in front of them making a double portrait. In these images we can see what their children meant to them. It is an interesting use of the photograph within the photograph - the children are immortalised in the image.
A strong example of how the photograph is unreliable can be seen in Ahmed Mater's Magnetism I and II. In these images he has used a magnet and iron filings to construct a well known image - pilgrimage to Mecca. Here, viewing from a distance the iron filings look like people and it is only on closer inspection we see what they truly are. This is one of the ultimate deceptions but it challenges the way we perceive and anticipate things.
The images in this section ask difficult questions of the viewer. Can you rely on what you see? How do you know what you are looking at is real or the truth? How do you feel when the truth isn't what you expected? How do you deal with viewing things that set out to deceive?
Reframing
This section focuses on artists who imitate images from the past in order to make statements about the present. The focus is primarily on studio style portraits or fashion photography. By using a number of techniques these artists question what we know about the past and present, East and West and fact and fiction thus reframing existing images in new ways.
One of the most interesting of these artists is Shadi Ghadrian. These images depict the results of East meets West in an unusual way. Focusing on the old Qajar fashion these portraits look like old images. However, this is revoked when the viewer notices the Western props in the images like Pepsi cans and stereos. These images portray the uneasy tensions of East and West.
Also interesting is the portrait work of Youssef Nabil. His series focuses on the last of the Yemeni men to settle as shipworkers in the north east of England. The portraits were shot in black and white and then Nabil hand colours them in the style of 20th century Egyptian studio portraiture. The results are very interesting and look unreal. I find the fact that what looks unreal is real in this series of work. This I feel this really throws the reliability of photographs debate wide open.
Resisting
The artists in this section of the exhibition question the idea that a photograph can actually tell the truth by altering images. Their aim is to produce work where effort is required to interpret or draw meaning from . This demonstrates the fragile nature of the photograph and the actual power the medium has to influence and control propaganda. These artists resist the claim photography has to authority and accuracy.
I found this section really interesting and it has opened my mind to new ways of manipulating images and the various meanings that can be derived from manipulated work. Sukran Moral uses what he referred to as 'digital nightingales' in his portrait or a group of migrant workers. The nightingales are a symbol of hope, love and separation. Unlike the migrants they are free to fly away. I feel that this adds a new layer or meaning to the image.
In Nemine Hammam's work based on events in Tahir Square we see 'bored' soldiers transported to fantasy settings far from the reality they find themselves in. They end product looks similar to a postcard making Tahir Square a tourist attraction that draws the eyes of the world.
Taraneh Hemami's Most Wanted made a point - a rather blunt point. Her image consists of a series of mugshots from US government website of the most wanted post 9/11. She has blurred the identifying features of the subjects and has also scratched the surface of the prints. The visual information that remains is sparse. But what is left represents westerners views of Muslims, for example, headscarves. I like the way in which the person is stripped down to leave only the stereotypical symbols we have come to think of in relation to these people. This serves a reminder of the dangers of prejudice.
This exhibition was very interesting and it explored many themes in relation to photography as a medium and explored them well. It opened up the debate of truth and reliability in photography and backed it up with good examples of the various ways this can be questioned and subverted.
I particularly liked the layout of the displays into three distinct sections. The information about the pictures which was displayed by their sides was very informative and guided you to look for certain elements in the frame.
I was quite surprised by the number of female photographers who were included in the exhibition. I think the stereotypical view of the Middle East is that women are downtrodden and their place is in the home so it is enlightening to see this is not the case when it comes to photography. I wonder if this would be the case if the focus was on the western world and western artists.
V&A print room - update
Just a quick update on the OCA visit to the V&A print room. I have a place! I visited the V&A for the first time yesterday to catch the Light from the Middle East exhibition before it closed and I was very impressed.
I am really looking forward to this visit as I feel it will tie in with the books I have been reading lately on the history of photography.
OCA visit
http://www.weareoca.com/photography/va-print-room/
I am really looking forward to this visit as I feel it will tie in with the books I have been reading lately on the history of photography.
OCA visit
http://www.weareoca.com/photography/va-print-room/
Thursday, 4 April 2013
Visit to The Public
I ended up in the West Midlands for Easter this year and was very disappointed that nearly every art gallery or place of interest was closed on Good Friday. In London, Bank Holidays are one of the busiest times of the year for museums and galleries.
However, I did find a hidden gem in West Brom called The Public. This place is relatively new and the building costs have soared and caused controversy in the area. The Public is modern and bright and houses plenty of interactive tools for kids to get involved and enjoy the learning process. It focuses on various aspects of learning so there is a wide range to see.
The Lower Level of The Public. It is rather pink!
Once I got over the initial bright pink area on the ground level, I discovered there were a couple of photographic exhibitions on. The most interesting for me was Richard Billingham's Ray's a Laugh which I will write about first.
I have already become a fan of Billingham and it was interesting to view his work in a gallery in the heart of the Black Country. I felt it breathed more life into the display. The exhibition itself consisted of two enlarged prints which were displayed on the wall and the series of 6x4 prints that were displayed in glass cases. I found this a little disappointing as I was expecting to see them larger and on a wall. However, looking back on it now I think seeing as they were snapshots the decision was made to display as such. I feel that it made you, the viewer, feel that you were looking at a friend's photo collection. Billingham developed many of his films in local places or by using Truprint. Truprint was a mail order type film processing service that was cheap and cheerful if you didn't mind waiting a while to get your prints back.
Billingham's film Fishtank was also being shown which worked well with the exhibition. This provided more insight into the family. I did find that the screen was rather large and due to the close proximity of the seating area it made it difficult to view.
I have already covered the series of images in an earlier post but I would like to add the following thoughts about the work having seen it exhibited. I feel that the series is more of a personal work having viewed the images. Or should I say it feels more personal. I feel that I have more empathy for the characters or perhaps more of a longing to know more about them. I think the way the images were shot and presented reflects the desperation it sets out to depict. I also feel that I saw more love in the characters than I had done previously. Perhaps the photographer's decision to distance himself from the subjects and not be sentimental shows more respect for his family and allows their voice to be heard without any interference from the photographer.
Another exhibition at The Public was the A41 project by Colin McPherson. This project is a photographic exploration of the A41 road which runs from Merseyside to London and passes through West Brom. McPherson collaborated with The Equality Trust for this project. This organisation looks at how we express the issues behind inequality in our society and its consequences from a visual perspective. The themes that that are explored in this series of work include the impact of inequality, the widening gap between rich and poor, life expectancy, social inclusion and social mobility.
The images were taken from various places on the road focusing on the West Brom area. I found this project interesting because of the themes it explored and the way it did so. Captions played an important role in each image exhibited. I feel that without these the narrative wouldn't hold together. I also found it interesting to see how another photographer created a sense of place for a diverse area. However, one draw back from me was the way in which the images were displayed - on one of the walkways to the upper floors. This made it difficult to view the work or to reflect on it. I can imagine that if the place is busy it would make it even harder to view.
Last but not least was the permanent, albeit small, collection of Martin Parr's work from Black Country Stories. There is about five images in this collection and they are spread out across the building. They focus on the local people at work, at play or at leisure. I feel that although the images are strong which is what you would expect from Parr's work, they fall a little flat somehow. I think this may be to do with the way they are and the location of where they are exhibited.
Overall, this was an interesting visit to an interesting place. I was really glad to be able to see Billingham's exhibition. I think I will take a lot from how work is exhibited from this venue. I feel that the underlying theme of fun can be seen everywhere but is this at the expense of being able to see the messages coming from the more 'serious' work on display. For me the jury is out on that one.
Another exhibition at The Public was the A41 project by Colin McPherson. This project is a photographic exploration of the A41 road which runs from Merseyside to London and passes through West Brom. McPherson collaborated with The Equality Trust for this project. This organisation looks at how we express the issues behind inequality in our society and its consequences from a visual perspective. The themes that that are explored in this series of work include the impact of inequality, the widening gap between rich and poor, life expectancy, social inclusion and social mobility.
McPherson's images are displayed on the left hand side of this walkway
The images were taken from various places on the road focusing on the West Brom area. I found this project interesting because of the themes it explored and the way it did so. Captions played an important role in each image exhibited. I feel that without these the narrative wouldn't hold together. I also found it interesting to see how another photographer created a sense of place for a diverse area. However, one draw back from me was the way in which the images were displayed - on one of the walkways to the upper floors. This made it difficult to view the work or to reflect on it. I can imagine that if the place is busy it would make it even harder to view.
Last but not least was the permanent, albeit small, collection of Martin Parr's work from Black Country Stories. There is about five images in this collection and they are spread out across the building. They focus on the local people at work, at play or at leisure. I feel that although the images are strong which is what you would expect from Parr's work, they fall a little flat somehow. I think this may be to do with the way they are and the location of where they are exhibited.
At play in the Black Country
Overall, this was an interesting visit to an interesting place. I was really glad to be able to see Billingham's exhibition. I think I will take a lot from how work is exhibited from this venue. I feel that the underlying theme of fun can be seen everywhere but is this at the expense of being able to see the messages coming from the more 'serious' work on display. For me the jury is out on that one.
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