The Photograph as a Construct? – Lecture Notes and Analysis

The Photograph as a Construct?

NOTES:

• shared ideas of what photography is
• question how we may define it
• photography theory – truth in photography
• documentary photography has more authenticity and integrity than overly  constructed images
• nan goldin/ corrine day /
• gregory freedom – more carefully constructed, high production values – maybe more cinematic,
• could find value in either of these
• paul hyman – untitled, from ‘Sefrou’ series “the shopkeeper’s gesticulations appears to be aimed at the camera but were in fact directed at the drari, the crowd of young boys, gathered behind Hymanu
• reproduction of real events
• close to the truth ?
• simultaneously a truth and a lie – photography
• in the book “Photography and Anthropology” Christopher Pinney says – authoritative nature of the image – the truth that lies behind the image (referencing the quote above)
• good example showing that what you expect from an image is not what actually happens
• Jeff Wall – Mimic 1982 – observes moments in reality and the everyday and reconstructs them, appears to be snapshots / documentary style but they’re constructed images, reinvented and reappropriated to make you question something – in this image – an action in the street, questioning if something is racial aggression or a gesture, questioning the context behind it, what’s happening before and what’s happening after
• title “Mimic” reflects the way the photograph has come about and been built and set up
• difference between documentary and snapshot photography:
• “first, let us consider the snapshot, or instantaneous photograph. The snapshot is a theft: it steals life. Intended to signify natural movement, it only produces a petrified analogue of it.” – Thierry de Duve
• suggesting snapshot = fluency of time
• capturing an incident as it happens
• freezing time
• photo left behind from this moment – impossible posture, moment has been performed and the moment is frozen
• recollect images that have been captured as snapshots – candids- red eyes and things that you didn’t see before come to surface, funny faces- not reality but also super reality
• document – decisions on what to capture and what to include but the snapshot seems more informal and spontaneous = inner fakery if the audience assumes to much abt the element of chance involved
• capture – creating images with a camera – outside of ourselves, otherworldly quality
• snapshot – lo fi / amateur aesthetic – purposeful style
• Martin Parr – prejudicing in relation to photography – exploitation, utilising these if properly understood – “photography is a naturally exploited medium, i’m not ashamed at the fact that i exploit people. one of the things that i am very interested in is generating the idea that we are all part of the problem
• two way dialogue when looking at imagery; content / context – position that it’s given to us from, more sympathetic to image depending on what it is, bringing cultural understanding to image
• in praise of the snapshot : Bill Jay states “the snapshot has a dignity and an honesty that many professional photographers would dearly love to find in their own work”
• alternative way of looking at the snapshot
• example he suggested: mother watching over her children on the beach- he speculates she’s watching with concern as well as love = unexpected emotional response / drive in her to take a snapshot- argues that she is closer in spirit with the best photographers that she would realise = subject is the essential ingredient of the picture not the photographer or the process of the photography
• not concerned about her style of photography, she’s taking it in the purest form – like a recording than an imposition – construction vs reality
• Wolfgang Tillmans – Lutz & Alex climbing tree – documentary photography AESTHETIC = adds weight and personality and experience
• image FEELS natural, doesn’t matter if it’s constructed or not but looks fun and authenticity of the illusion, captures an expression on the girls face- expression of movement – what happened before and what’s going to happen
• Steven Meisel- Madonna, Like a Virgin album cover
• reveals itself as a portrait as an era in music and culture
• nostalgia to it
• idea of authentic = truth
• outtake from the shoot
• important to consider the photograph as a construct – power of photography as a construct, documentary pictures can appear to seem simple or pure might have been constructed to get the perfect “natural image” = might be more a deception than an image that you know of constructed because the audience is aware of it from the start – more honest and revealing truth about its intention
• converse ways of looking at truth in photography
• A good article – image flow called Artifice of Photography by Nathan Lomass (in study materials) – talks about a lot of contemporary photographers – questioning understanding of reality – truth in photography comes from the revelation of an artifice
• Clare Strand – A girl in two halves, from the series Conjurations 2007-9
• Photographic practice during lockdown :
• Julie Cockburn – balancing act – photographers gallery london
• uses found imagery and appropriates the image and therefore changes its meaning (close to what i enjoy doing)
• by mark making on the surface of the image (try this !)
• her work refers to covid – personally she finds it hard to look at her work without seeing it through the lens of the pandemic
• “like everyone, i carefully negotiated my way through the news bulletins and supermarket isles, cautious not to become overwhelmed with the enormity of the pandemic. while in isolation i noticed how much we connected by sharing our creativity on social media in an act of sharing and being seen, our bread, our gardens, our dances, our cardboard generated projects, this is my show and tell.
• Elena Helfrrcht – inwards – isolation diary during the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak 2020-? Shown at 15 (fifteen gallery) as part of a group showcase called Hurry Up its Time
• Semblance – look at the artist statement in case you typed it wrong
• “inwards is a series of photographs, examining my time in isolation in london, uk, the images have been taken inside of the house and in nightly walks in my neighbourhood in london, focusing on symbols and representation of the world within and the events around me. when thinking about self isolation in quarantine, the concept of inside and outside changes its weight and context. the current circumstances forced me to retreat inside in a double sense; in house and into myself. as being secluded from the outside world and all of its distractions is an invitation for introspection which is almost impossible to decline. moreover, i am hiding inside because i fear something from the outside might enter my body, or the body of those i love, an uninvited guest, the thing unpredictable inhabiting me, making a home within my fresh nesting within my breathe until there is no space left for me”
• untitled by elena helfrecht / the onion tree by elena helfrecht
• Nick Knights zoom photography – linked article that explains his processes and a separate article on a models view on creating virtual photoshoots- several photographers have explored different ways of doing this through a computer screen/ video chat etc.

Undertaking this lecture, although not necessarily focusing on photography as my specialism, allows me to still understand the concept of different types of narratives used within the construction photography in terms of authenticity and capturing different moments whether that be for an editorial or a more candid style. I found this lecture particularly interesting because I have always been fascinated by the careful manufacturing that comes with a photographic shoot for an editorial as well as being interested in documentary photography/more candid and natural shots. Even though I might not want to focus on photography for my final major project, potentially including it within my own collage work could be an outcome I could work towards, as well as the fact that it is always useful to understand ways of critically analysing photography.

Photographers such as Corrine Day and Nan Goldin construct their images, but the way they present their subject appears in a more authentic way which comes in correlation with the way they position their models, the makeup, setting and context behind it. Such as Corrine Day’s several shoots with Kate Moss; she appears to be having a natural facial expression, not overly posing or creating a scowl or intimidating expression on her face similar to a lot of editorial modelling shoots, and the clothes she is instructed to wear are not usually flamboyant or overly glamorous, such as her being in something mundane such as jeans and a t shirt or her underwear, but not in a sexual tone. 

The argument between these images being more authentic compared to actual documentary photography intrigued me as the latter is seen as the ultimate natural style of photography, however seeking out the opportunity to photograph a specific scene in the hopes of finding people that fit the image that the documentary photographer wants to take, which is therefore planned, could be seen as more staged than if a model were to pose naturally in order to fit a brief. A documentary photograph could be seen as a reconstructed image, as it’s a snapshot of the real world but taken carefully and chosen to capture something in particular, similar to an editorial. However, the difference between a snapshot and documentary photography was also pointed out, a snapshot being far more candid and less thought out conceptually, a pure emotional response to a situation in order to freeze a feeling and hold on to an emotion forever saving it as a “fluency of time.”
 

Another argument suggests that snapshot photography could be seen as more informal, due to the fact that there haven’t been days spent seeking out a location, constructing outfits and styling with makeup and hair products and therefore is more unceremonious. This does not necessarily have to have a negative connotation though, this could add more legitimacy to an image and make the audience feel more accustomed to buy into this type of material as it could therefore having more meaning.