My influences for Assignment 3 were still-life pieces (Nigel Shafran (b.1964) and Abellardo Morell (b. 1948)) that initially look mundane but gives an insight to the photographer. Obviously the context of such series is that we know that these are scenes from their own lives. The reading of the images would be different if we found that these were scenes of an unknown person. As a result these are examples of self-absented portraiture rather than just still-life.
Although I say ‘just still-life’, I now find that I’m agreeing with David Bate [1], that this genre is ‘one of the most neglected‘. Bate goes on to identify similarities between portraiture and still-life which combine features of subject/object and background/expression, all achieved through lighting, camera angle, lenses and props to give context.
Paul Graham’s (b. 1956) Shimmer of possibility (2004-06) was an influence due to the style and sequence of shots that I wanted to take to convey a mini story. The difference with this series is that he is telling a story of a stranger that he has come across. In addition he has produced a piece that uses photography to convey the process of looking.
Nigel Shafran – Washing-up[ 2]
Nigel Shafran’s Washing-up series is really growing on me since I first saw it as part of the self-absented portraiture section of the coursework. I was dismissive of it but looking back it made reference to ‘gender’ which seemed to antagonise me. Even if there is a gender politics aspect to it I can now read as an insight in to the artist’s life and relate it to my routines and domestic chores.
Further reading of the images I start to see a staged Gregory Crewdson (b.1962) scene [6]. Add a slightly wider angle, a couple of steps back maybe, and a person standing at the sink contemplating life.
Abelardo Morell – Childhood [3]
Abelardo Morell has covered a range of subjects in his career including experiments with Camera Obscura (2004) and use of projection. His Childhood series came about from being at home following the birth of his son. All of his work at this time is black and white although I’m not sure of his reasoning but I feel they would be more accurate and interesting in colour. His main concept is the viewing angle from a child’s perspective but the suggestion is that a child cannot see in colour. Maybe it describes the simple world of a child’s mind and imagination. One aspect I take from this series is that he’s happy following the birth of his son but trapped creatively within the home.
Paul Graham – Shimmer of possibility [4]
Gallery image of A Shimmer of Possibility - Image by Pier24.org
A Shimmer of possibility (2004 – 2006) was originally brought to my attention on my EYV module by my tutor as a reference following my Square Mile assignment. Shimmer…is a series of stories made up of individual moments in time. He uses sequences to mirror the human ability to instantly study a scene – the man, his hands, what is behind him. Graham describes a single photograph as selecting ‘one piece out of the whole’ He calls that ‘spotlight consciousness’. Whereas Shimmer isn’t spotlight. Insteas he calls it ‘lantern’, where there are multiple frames of the same scene. He expresses it as ‘moment arriving, the moment, moment after’.
References:
- Bate. D, Photography, Bloomsbury, 2016, pp137-160
- Nigel Shafran Washing-up [accessed 24/11/2017]
- Abellardo Morell, Childhood, 1986-1991 [accessed 24/11/2017]
- Paul Graham, Shimmer of Possibility, 2007 [accessed 24/11/2017]
- M. Rainbird, Paul Graham Whiteness of the Whale post, 2016
- M. Rainbird, Gregory Crewdson – Cathedral of the Pines post, 2017
Martyn Rainbird 