Research task: Reading an Archive: Photography between Labour and Capital (Sekula, 1999).

Read Allan Sekula’s essay ‘Reading an Archive: Photography between Labour and Capital’ in Evans & Hall (1999) Visual Culture: The Reader. In your learning log note down your response to this essay – and your thoughts on the discussion of globalisation above. (Boothroyd, 2020:36)

I have already read and responded to the above essay in my BOW coursework part 1. See: https://nkssite6.photo.blog/category/body-of-work/coursework-body-of-work/part-one-genres/responding-to-the-archive/

Here are my further thoughts on the globalisation discussion:

I’d not thought about the work such as Martin Parr’s tourism-based projects as globalism projects. Nor had it occurred to me to think of globalisation in terms of exchange of knowledge, or the role of art in this process.

Art is nowadays available across boundaries, physically and virtually. Ritchen suggests that sharing photography globally encourages visual similarities and strategies (Marien,2014:51), which it does. However, it has not resulted in homogenisation of cultural values across the world, despite much consumerism becoming international along with corporate identities and logos (Marien,2014 :395). In fact, globalisation has in some ways heightened awareness of local cultures.

Marien usefully suggests that in Art and photography, globalization is being differentiated from globalism (2014:503). Having sought definitions, it seems that globalisation is defined as a process by which businesses influence or operate on an international scale, whilst globalism is planning on a global basis.

This however didn’t give me clarity, so on further probing I now understand that globalism is an ideology of sharing across borders, whilst globalisation is the actual spreading of ideas, goods and services. Marian describes globalisation in art as a return to Modernism and its desire for universal values. It is possible though that after initial influences, some artists return to their original practices possibly defined by their cultures, whilst others might choose to move outside of this. The good thing undoubtedly is that we can share ideas and artwork globally and that it has the opportunity impact more widely.

The question is posed in the course material in relation to globalisation “who is really your audience? To whom do you want your work to speak?” (Boothroyd, 2020:36).

This is not an issue just of globalisation, but I think the starting point of any work. But I should also remember to ask myself particularly if my audience is not an exclusively local one, would my work be viewed differently in different parts of the world? There may be parallels with my work and another’s work from a completely different part of the world. I should also be aware whether my work might cause offensive to other of a different culture, but again this is not just an issue of globalisation but a general issue.

The idea of considering globalisation is interesting to me, as my work is based on observations of local community, and the above highlights to me the need for awareness that others may not be able to access ideas that I represent, though once again this is always a dilemma withing photographic work.  

References:

Boothroyd, S (2020) Photography 3: Body of work coursebook. Open College of the Arts. Barnsley.

Marien, M. W. (2014) Photography: A Cultural History. (s.l.): Laurence King Publishing.

Sekula, A. (1999) ‘ Reading an Archive: Photography between Labour and Capital ‘ In: Evans, J.H. (ed.) Visual culture: The Reader. London: SAGE. pp.181–192. Marien, M. W. (2014) Photography: A Cultural History. (s.l.): Laurence King Publishing

Next post: https://nkssite6.photo.blog/category/research/reading/rose-visual-methodologies/