My Media Diary – Late changes to assignment

Although I was happy with the 20 images I had selected I felt that the presentation of five A3 pages containing 4 equally sized images was not right. They did not convey any aspect of the ‘diary’, which was a key feature of the original brief and the device that led to the choice of subject for this assignment.

I referred back to Paul Graham’s ‘The Whiteness of the Whale’ [1] book that includes a selection of the Shimmer of possibility [2] series. The layout of the images in the book and on the gallery wall raised questions about the choices taken on sizing and positioning. I knew about the notion of multiple glances which I had attempted to use but I wanted to understand sizing and placement as I could only foresee producing a random mess.

A Google search led me to a very informative article [2] by Joseph Daniel Valencia, an intern at the Getty museum who was working on a Robert Mapplethorpe exhibition in 2015. He outlined  ‘three considerations that show that even minor design choices can have an impact on how visitors enjoy and understand an artist’s work’. Planning the wall space, Orienting the frames, Contextualising the subject.

By using digital tools to design the wall layouts they could see early on what worked and what wasn’t quite right resulting in decisions to place smaller images either side of a doorway on a small wall to make it less crowded. A simple swap of two images can change an awkward layout to a balanced one. A decision they took for one of Mapplethorpe’s more contentious series was to place them in a case and not on the wall. This meant that it wasn’t on full display and was placed in the final room so that the viewer would have an understanding of the artist’s career and would be able to judge it with that knowledge.

My next find was an essay [5] by artist and theoretician Bettina Lockemann, published in the Image [&] Narrative online magazine[4]. This was a detailed discussion of the sequence of the shots and what they conveyed to the viewer. One of the key elements I learnt was ‘cadence’ and how a book allows you to control what is viewed and how it is viewed. Techniques of starting and stopping the flow, even offering the ability to go back to check a detail in a before and after scene.

‘…time and movement in the photobook are threefold: there is the photographs’ time, the pacing provided in the arrangement of the photographs, and the viewer’s time. The [Shimmer…] Louisiana sequence clearly demonstrates the three elements of temporality in the photobook. The photographs show movement or standstill. The arrangement makes the viewer turn the pages in a specific way, and each viewer will find her own timing in the perception of the book.’-B. Lockemann 

My final place of research was from a post on the OCA website by tutor Rob Bloomfield relating to a student submission for this assignment [6]. This really highlighted that it was the overall product that was successful not just the images. In fact, the images were subsidiary to the video, the interaction, the music and the diary text and layout. In addition the creator was also in the video by way of his hands turning the pages.

I decided to produce a document, specifically an electronic document to be in-keeping with the my story. I wanted it to be more that just a Word document or pdf and investigated page turning features (flip-book) which required some additional tools and understanding. After a few unsuccessful trials I found PubHTML5 allowed me to put a link in to my blog and provided the user an eBook page turning experience.

This product had the advantage of being free and not placing a watermark across the centre of the pages. The downside is the variable nature of the image quality of the finished product. The highest quality images were produced when viewing on a Mac OS platform and Android tablet.  Windows 10 web browsers ranged from being ok on MS-Edge and MS-Internet Explorer to totally unacceptable on Chrome (PC and Android). After trialling a number of export and import settings I think the final eBook is acceptable across all the platforms that I have tested it on.

I have decided to submit the pubHTML5 version for this assignment and then make a decision, after tutor feedback, on the assessment submission format. In fact this is apposite to my experience of software applications and the multitude of devices and platforms available. A paperback book could be read in most places but now you have an Amazon Kindle version, a proprietary Android version and an iTunes version. Compatibility has become more troublesome than in the days of knowing whether your record player could play 78s, LPs or 7″ singles.

Although I have embraced new technology, as this assignment demonstrates, I am still left with a feeling of nostalgia and reminiscing about simpler times.

References:

1. Graham. P, Whiteness of the Whale, MACK, 2015
2. Paul Graham, Shimmer of Possibility, 2007 [accessed 24/11/2017]
3. Designing an Exhibition Wall [accessed 16/12/2017]
4. Image [&] Narrative  Vol 16, No 3 (2015) , Lockemann [accessed 16/12/2017]
5. Beyond the Decisive Moment: Temporality and Montage in Paul Graham’s A Shimmer of Possibility, Bettina Lockeman, 2015,[PDF]
6. Blas Gonzales- Putting Yourself in the picture, OCA post, Rob Bloomfield [accessed 16/12/2017]

Research and Inspiration

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’.

Paul Graham, Shimmer of possibility 2004-06, Google images

References:

1. Bate. D, Photography, Bloomsbury, 2016, pp137-160
2. Nigel Shafran Washing-up [accessed 24/11/2017]
3. Abellardo Morell, Childhood, 1986-1991 [accessed 24/11/2017]
4. Paul Graham, Shimmer of Possibility, 2007 [accessed 24/11/2017]
5. M. Rainbird, Paul Graham Whiteness of the Whale post, 2016
6. M. Rainbird, Gregory Crewdson – Cathedral of the Pines post, 2017

 

Diary ideas

The diary continues. The diary confirms I spend a lot of time with Bluetooth headphones on, listening to Amazon Music and watching You Tube and Netflix. These are part of my leisure routine in addition to this course which involves blogs and internet research. This course has also re-introduced me to good old fashioned books.

I noted that I played a CD the other day which was the probably first time this year. This made me think about the analogue to digital media age, including photography. I had already noted the things I now take for granted around the home – books on shelves, DVD cabinet, CD Cabinet, Vinyl LPs tucked away.

I had an idea that would be a continuation of Assignment 2 which was about the negative events in my life using nostalgia and ephemera. I thought I would develop a new idea which looked at the nostalgia relating to listening to vinyl and CDs reading books, watching DVDs (most of my VHS went to a charity shop many years ago). I would present these images as a narrative about who I am, what my interests were and are now. These collections of archives and currently used media are all on display or in cabinets around the living space, not stored in lofts or cellars.

It will be a ‘self absented portraiture’ piece, tackling the mundane, like Nigel Shafron’s Washing Up. I will attempt to produce a narrative of my interaction with analogue and digital media which will tell the viewer a lot about me without me being present. I don’t want the images to be too staged as I want to make it like a wander around my home. The older media will be shown in cabinets fairly well organised and unused. The modern media will be shown in current use.

I was also intrigued by the notion that stress in the modern age is on the increase due to humans not keeping pace with technology and how quickly technology has moved on relative to mankind’s existence. We used to be ‘deep divers’, reading books, LP sleeve notes. Now we are ‘jet skiers’ skimming across readily available digital media.

Lighting and composition are going to be key to the success of this assignment. I want mundane day to day but also ‘photographic’. I’ll try flash and soft boxes to see what effect this has. I want the viewer to be able to read the titles of the books and CDs but I don’t want to get in to close as it is about the mundane day to day and the movement of time – analogue to digital.

I will research Nigel Shafran and Abellardo Morell as a starting point.

   

   

       

   

   

  

  

Early ideas

I have found myself being intrigued by Nigel Shafran’s Washing-up series. I was dismissive of his work in an earlier post but it raised questions as to why I liked Wolfgang Tillmans’ Studio Still Life and not Shafran’s. They are both showing us something about their daily life and the places where they spend a lot of their time. I started taking Shafran a little more seriously after reading an interview he had with Charlotte Cotton where he described his process.

http://nigelshafran.com/

Nigel Shafran and Charlotte Cotton interview 2004

This assignment is the culmination of ‘Putting yourself in the picture’. This assignment raises some challenges whichever route I take. If I was to include myself I would have to overcome my technical limitations of lighting and composition of a person. In this case me! The alternative would be to convey something about me without ‘me’ being in the image at all. This would be compounded by my reaction to ‘Washing-up’ which I found trivial and cold on first viewing.

I would learn something by taking either route. I am favouring the ‘self-absented’ route as I have seen contemporary artists tackle the ‘mundane’ and I feel I could learn a lot from researching it.

I need to develop my diary as instructed in the course notes. Up to now it has been a bullet point list of things that have happened in my day. I decided to stop until I had the makings of an idea. I would then write the diary based on my chosen subject.

I think I want to tackle ‘bookshelves in my home’. We have a number of bookshelves dotted around the house. Two in the study, two in the living room, one in the kitchen, one in my wardrobe and another collection in front of my bedside table. The kids have books on shelves but unsure whether to include these as they are in their personal space. That’s at least six images.

I think I will write a diary of my interaction with the bookshelves. Walk past, sit next to, interaction with nearby objects eg. hi-fi, ironing. Do they say anything about me and my family? What compositions can make them of interest? Pictures replacing words? (Wolfgang Tillmans) Maybe I should include the kids bookshelves as they are few and dominated by other items DVDs/technology?

A psychologist Dr Linda Papadopoulos recently said that humans are struggling to evolve to keep up with advances in technology which is leading to an increase in stress related health issues. Historically we studied books and analysed subjects in depth. Now we have access to a large volume of content but tend to skim across it. She likened the two to deep divers and jet skiers which I thought was an interesting analogy.

Abelardo Morell produced images around the house following the birth of his son. He was obviously spending a lot of time in these surroundings and studying subjects from a child’s perspectives. ‘There, a more reflective and private world of perception could be found quietly in operation everywhere he looked’[1]. He also has a number of images of books and dictionaries so some research in to this work will be useful.

Early shots – need to consider lighting and angle of view.

1. Woodward. R.B, Abelardo Morell, Phaidon (2005)