In assignment 2 I borrowed my parents collection of family photos that were recorded on colour slides. For that submission I picked images that were pertinent to me and overlaid them with documents that represented significant events in my life.
I would like to embark on a future project using the combination of slides, cartridges, projector and screen. Victor Burgin used projection and one idea is to produce a ‘Now and Then’ photograph, possibly a re-enactment.
William Eggleston portrait
Another idea is to look for similar famous art photographs that have commonalities to the family slides. It would be a study of the family snapshot and art.
My final idea involves a nostalgic study of the 60s and 70s holiday camp and its place in UK social history.
Question for Seller, Exhibition view, Belfast Exposed, 2006
An archive is normally a collection, sometimes stored away, but in the possession of a person who has an interest in the material. The archive is usually a valued possession such as family albums. The context of these images is clear as they are records of family moments captured in the past. The owner, even if they are not in the photos, will usually have knowledge of all the people and places in the images.
Nicky Bird’s series Question for Seller combines the concept of family image archives and the modern phenomenon of eBay. The result is a series where the images have been removed from their original context and re-created by the artist combined with text from the seller. Bird requested some information on the history of the images and why they are being sold. The responses are presented alongside each archive and displayed in a gallery.
The series is not about the images themselves but about the connection between the images and the seller and understanding why they are for sale and at such low prices – 99p. Notably all of these images were unwanted, not only by the seller but also the rest of the eBay community. The only person interested was Nicky Bird. There is a sad aspect to the series of forgotten people and unwanted photos. It is a study of relationships with the past and the value we place on it. In this series it is not only a subjective value but an actual monetary value – 99p in these cases.
The fact that an artist has had a concept, compiled a set of images with seller responses and displayed them in a gallery has made them art. The images individually may not be worthy of a gallery wall, but as an archive they have the element of time, identity and place which are all good photographic characteristics. The main feature of this exhibition is the very point of displaying it on a gallery wall and how something of minimal monetary value and interest can then, during an eBay auction at the end of the exhibition, be wanted and have their value increased.
Staging scenes to capture a single image that provides a narrative has been used by photographers since the early days of photography. Initially it was only acceptable for photographers to capture the thing in front of the lens. The ‘Truth’. It also acted as a record of nature and to capture geographical locations that people could only dream of visiting.
Some early practitioners such as Henry Peach Robinson wanted photography to be accepted as art and were influential in encouraging use of artistic creativity in composition and techniques. He not only encouraged this in atmospheric outdoor scenes but also produced indoor tableau recreating literary scenes such as his interpretation of Lord Tennyson’s 1932 poem Lady of Shalott. This is a common photographic subject as the poem is about a curse where reality can only be seen through the reflection in a mirror. These types of subject relate to the specificity of photography and alludes to its nature of capturing an image through a lens, commonly via a prism or mirror.
Lady of Shalott BY Henry Peach Robinson (1861)
In fact, Robinson was critical of his own attempt saying “It was a ghastly mistake to attempt such a subject with our realistic art and … I never afterwards went for themes beyond the limits of the life of our day”. This realisation came about because viewers were confused as they had assumed it was real scene and not an acted out tableau. In fact Robinson had used two negatives, one of the lady on the boat in the water and another for the tree lined background. It was apparent that the art world was not ready to interpret this photograph and just saw a model lying in a boat.
Streetwork by Philip-Lorca diCorcia (1989)
Philip-Lorca diCorca (b. 1951) is a contemporary photographer who researches sites and sets them up, usually without the actual subject in place. He then sets up a camera to capture his subjects, sometimes, unknowingly and other times to recreate a grabbed street photography moment. His lighting is theatrical and is a combination of natural daylight and studio lighting. In one series he set up a tripod in a Times Square with overhead strobe lighting. The camera triggered as passers-by walked past resulting in Streetwork (1998) and Heads (2001).
Philp-Lorca diCorcia’s work is a style of staged candid street photography. Another photographer who stages his scenes is Gregory Crewdson. His work differs from diCorcia as it is completely staged with actors and set design. His lighting and sets are built to a high budget movie standard. His role is equivalent to a Director/Cinematographer and does not actually handle any camera. Even his outdoor scenes are staged in ‘closed off’ roads and neighbourhoods with striking lighting giving an otherworldly feel. He generates surreal scenes and creates multiple levels of narrative, strong visual colours and clarity.
Cathedral of the Pines exhibition @ Photographer’s Gallery 2017
His work has been described as psychological and this can be seen in Cathedral of the Pines (2013). The lighting is not as dramatic as in his previous work but the psychological element is present in the form of the blank/thoughtful expressions on the subject’s faces. The combination of seeing all of the images together in exhibition large format adds to the unease and uncertainty which is not as noticeable on a screen or in a book.
The scenes appear mundane but the lighting is not a natural light which requires an artistic eye. My photography on the course to date has been to use the camera to capture accurately the scene in front of me. Lighting has only ever been key in my night assignment in EYV module. I can see that using additional lighting can emphasise certain areas of the frame and add a certain atmosphere. My problem is understanding how to use it and in what circumstances. By creating an artificial light the author needs to have a concept and story that matches the lighting otherwise it will be gimmicky.
Assignment 4 image by Martyn Rainbird
I have already identified that when I take my camera out I need to have a concept in mind. I am now unlikely to take pictures just to record being there. I may take some family pictures and have started to use shallow depth of field for those. I certainly get closer in the my subject which is usually an historic building or woodland.
I have never staged a scene apart from moving a few things around to tidy up scenes for Assignment 3. These images captured my home as it is so I would not count it as staging and there were no human subjects included.
The scene being studied is from the film ‘Goodfellas’ (1990) Directed by Martin Scorcese (b. 1942) and Cinematography by Michael Ballhaus (b. 1935 – d. 2017). The sequence can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJEEVtqXdK8
I had not watched this film prior to seeing this sequence however, it grabbed my attention and I have since watched the film and read reviews and news stories relating to the film.
The film covers a time period from 1955 to 1980 and follows the mobster life of Henry Hills. The film is an adaptation of the non-fiction book ‘Wiseguy’ (1986) by Nicholas Pileggi (b. 1933). As a result the whole film has to be careful with continuity and props to ensure they are in keeping with the period. The ‘movie mistakes’ websites have had a field day with this film as there are inconsistencies with brand logos, car models, gun makes etc. but most of them are only a couple of years out (apart from a contemporary baseball hat worn by a member of the kitchen staff). From a viewer perspective these ‘errors’ do not impact the feel of what you are watching. All of them are ‘of the period’ and would have been known by the props department and production team.
The song playing over the 3 minutesequence ‘Then He kissed Me’ (1963) by The Crystals and produced by Phil Spector. Continuity wise this is correct as the couple get married in 1965. It is a very recognisable song and instantly places the scene to an era. The lyrics also add a narrative to the scene. Interestingly the use of the song and limited dialogue makes this a self contained story. You do not have to have seen anything of the earlier scenes to be able to read what is happening and understand the characters. Having now seen the film in its entirety this scene is in the first half of the film which is a little lighter than what comes later. The song choice is the main device to emphasise this feeling in this scene.
The scene follows a couple, Henry Hill and his date Karen Friedman, walking from their car, which is parked across the street from the restaurant, to their table situated at the front of the stage. The Steadicam operator follows the actors about two paces behind as they walk swiftly, descending stairs, weaving through corridors, through the kitchen and past a crowd queuing to get a seat in the busy restaurant.
Henry is wearing a black suit and white shirt. Karen is wearing a black evening dress. Throughout the scene Henry is meeting and greeting acquaintances placing cash in to the hands of the people he knows. The camera does not emphasise these transactions. Rather than move around, the camera remains at head level and pointing in the direction they are walking. It suggests that all of this is normal activity and emphasises that this has happened many time before.
Everybody knows who he is even if they do not talk to him directly such as the kitchen staff. It is obviously not unusual for ‘guests’ to be entering through the ‘back door’. He appears to be popular, friendly and very generous, joking with people along the way. As soon as the Head Waiter sees him he arranges for the couple to be seated in the best seat in the house. In fact the waiting staff have already picked up a table and are carrying it to its place even before the Head Waiter has signalled to them. The waiters know who he is and know what needs to happen.
Karen is surprised how much money he is handing out and surprised at the excesses of paying a hotel doorman to look after his car. We, the viewers, are effectively in her position, taking this all in for the first time. Getting to know the man on her date, the places he visits and his associates. When she asks him what he does he lies and says he is in construction. She doubts this and he responds that he is a union representative. At this point the there is a comedy drum roll from the stage which acts as a full stop to that conversation and also adds some humour to what has until then been a suspicious entrance. Although there has been no violence or anger we have seen already that this is only just under the surface.
Visually it is a dark scene, black and white clothing and uniforms used throughout with vibrant colour splashes of red, red curtains in the corridor, red alarms on the wall, red fire hydrants. In this scene the red not only connotes passion but also blood and violence. The dark lighting suggest secrecy and intimidation. The pace and sharp changes in direction describe the type of life Henry leads. Fast paced, ducking and diving, meeting and greeting. He is a generous loveable rogue and if Karen can accept his white lies then so can we, the viewer.
One of the ‘movie mistakes’ I read said that Henry did not need to go through the kitchen to get to the main dining area. This would not have been a mistake. The walk through the kitchen would have been for Henry to let all the kitchen staff know he was at the venue and to be on top of their game, and to show Karen how influential he was. It had the added benefit for the viewer to tell us the same information. Karen would have been so overwhelmed with everything dashing past her she would not even have noticed, the same as us.
I would like to embark on a future project using the combination of slides, cartridges, projector and screen. Victor Burgin used projection and one idea is to produce a ‘Now and Then’ photograph, possibly a re-enactment.
Another idea is to look for similar famous art photographs that have commonalities to the family slides. It would be a study of the family snapshot and art.
My final idea involves a nostalgic study of the 60s and 70s holiday camp and its place in UK social history.
Martyn Rainbird 