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CONTEXTUAL STUDIES:ASSIGNMENT FIVE

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ADDITIONAL READING BEFORE FINAL SUBMISSION

THE PHOTOGRAPH AS METAPHOR- MINOR WHITE

Sadly, without a subscription to Artdoc I am unable to access the whole article, but the parts that I can access give a good overview of metaphor in the work of Minor White.

The author sets out that White considered Equivalence as ‘the backbone of photography as a medium of expression creation’ (Artdoc2023) and explains why. Taking the image below, they explain that it both abstract and concrete and as such a basic form of visual language.

Minor White | Portland, 1964 Gelatin silver print image, The Minor White Archive, Princeton University Art Museum, bequest of Minor White (x1980-4083). © Trustees of Princeton University

This is a contrast to the traditional idea that a photograph represents reality. However, it suggests that this may only be starting point, as they must start with something visual, but that this may develop into something more perceptual. Sying that a photograph like this can be a bridge between matter and mind, external and internal.

The article also describes how a photographer’s consciousness, social and culture background and attitude infuses what he presents. Art historian Gombrich apparently calls this ‘mental sets.

They explain that to understand what a photograph is about we need to understand the ‘concealed layers’, and this by way of the sign and the relationship between the signifier and the signified – they call this learning to read the language.

This is how a photograph can be a metaphor, representing something that is visually absent, an individual concept of reality, that has been filtered by a photographer’s consciousness. It also connects the reality we know mentally with that we understand emotionally also.

These ideas resonate with the ideas that I have explored in my dissertation and expressed in my Body of Work photography.

Reference:

Artdoc (2023) The Photograph as Metaphor Minor White. At: https://www.artdoc.photo/articles/the-photograph-as-metaphor (Accessed 19/09/2023).

ART THEORY: LAUREL MCLEOD

Mcleod writes that the art world ‘dedicates’ itself to capturing emotions and feelings. I hadn’t realised That affect originates from the Latin ”affectus” meaning disposition, which she suggests that individuals are often unaware of themselves, unlike emotion which comes later in affect theory.

She emphasises that for affect to occur there must be an object of attention, something that a viewer engages with. She describes affect as part of an unintentional conversation that arises by just being with an artwork.

She returns to that which I’ve discussed elsewhere that affect as a ‘thing of the senses’ is beyond comprehension as its beyond rational thought.

Reference:

Mcleod, L. (2020) Art Theory: Affect. At: https://www.artshelp.com/art-theory-affect/ (Accessed 16/06/2023).

REPRESENTATION & THE MEDIA – STUART HALL

Representation is one of the central concepts of media studies. Hall talks of the notion of representation and that visual representation especially is complex. He subverts the idea of representation suggesting that something that is depicted and something that stands in for something else are both contained in the term. In media he says that representation is about giving meaning to depicted objects – this could lead to work on measuring the gap between a true meaning and how it is presented.

Hall suggests representation as constitutive. Saying that meaning doesn’t exist until it has been represented, this representation can take different forms and therefore the meaning can change. Consequently, representation doesn’t occur until after an event and is constitutive of an event, the representation is part of an event.

Hall says that conceptual maps in our heads, that help us to understand the world are a system of representation. These concepts let us store and refer to objects that are no longer in our sight. These concept images are not mirror images, as they are constructed in our minds. We may have shared conceptual maps or not, so communication and language complete the circle of representation. When Hall talks of varieties of language, such as spoken, musical, gestures; anything that that can be a language. Hall asserts that we need a shared language for the circle of representation to be closed, that discourse is essential for meaning to be exchanged.

Hall also considers signification saying meaning is produced when a symbolic or signifying process has been involved, though he suggests this is often linked with having the power to assert this. Hall looks at how if meanings of representation are subjective how meaning might be fixed, but determines this can only be when power intervenes, and this power to fix a meaning may not be permanent. He concludes that it is important that subjectivity of meaning is never foreclosed by systems of power, that being able to contest meaning is vital.

This interview leads me towards further research on representation.

Reference:
Hall, S. & Jhally, S (Dir.,) (1997). Stuart Hall: Representation & the Media [Video file].

Media Education Foundation. and the transcript of this is in the references.

https://www.mediaed.org/transcripts/Stuart-Hall-Representation-and-the-Media-Transcript.pdf (accessed 12..8.23).

DOCUMENTARY FICTIONS? IAN WALKER

My Tutor suggested I read this article, as an example of how the author uses his own voice to describe theories and terms. It was a very useful exemplar of useful for this.

Reference:

Ian Walker (2023) At: https://ianwalkerphoto.com/documentary/documentary-fictions/ (Accessed 19/09/2023).

CONTEXTUAL STUDIES: RESEARCH

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EVIDENCE OF NOTES ON ROSE TEXT VISUAL METHODOLOGIES (2001) AND ANNOTATIONS AS I USED THEM

Reference:

Rose, G. (2001) ‘Visual Methodologies. An Introduction to the Interpretation of Visual Materials’ In: PDF At: https://www.miguelangelmartinez.net/IMG/pdf/2001_Rose_Visual_Methodologies_book.pdf (Accessed 20/3/22).

Scans of my notes on Rose showing annotations as I put them to use at various timesDownload

Further notes on compositional interpretation, semiology and discourse analysis in Rose (2001) and Iverson (1986) on Saussure and Peirce theories:

Reference:

Iverson, M. (1986) ‘Saussure versus Peirce: Models for a semiotics of Visual Art’ In: Rees, A.L. and Borzello, F. (eds.) The New Art History. London: Camden Press. pp.82–94.

CS Ass 2 research Semiology including IversonDownload

CONTEXTUAL STUDIES: RESEARCH

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RESEARCH BEFORE ASSIGNMENT 2 TO INCREASE UNDERSTANDING OF PROGRESSION OF PHOTOGRAPHY MOVEMENTS AND SEMIOLOGY MODELS

References:

Bate, D. (2009) Photography: The Key Concepts. New York: Berg publishers. To refresh my context for movements in photography

Bull, S. (2010) Photography. Abingdon: Routledge.For additional overview on semiology and indexicality

Bate the concept of photgraphy Bull Photography 2010 notesDownload

CONTEXTUAL STUDIES: RESEARCH

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Evidence of research notes and their use for Assignment 3

These short notes written for my CS Ass 3 learning log: https://nkssite6.photo.blog/category/contextual-studies/c-s-assignments/cs-assignment-3/cs-ass-3-learning-log/

O Sullivan: 

This paper explores art in the field of affect theory, asking what makes up experience and subjectivity. O’Sullivan questions how our materialist connection to the world by  a review of representation and art historical narratives. He covers the opposition between idealism and materialism within philosophy, as he believes that aesthetics affects how we experience art. By asserting the value of experiencing art O’Sullivan says we can experience art differently as a portal for our subconscious sensations, which he thinks is essential to understand art and the world around it.

A very useful paper with sources on affect – will lead me to much further exploration on affect in Art.

Edwards: This paper is mostly about placing, materiality and context of photographic images, particularly the importance of cultural and social analysis. It discusses the placing, materiality and “haptic” effects of images.

Were taken from the research notes I wrote below:

Scans f some research notes for CS assignment 3Download

CONTEXTUAL STUDIES: RESEARCH

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Evidence of research notes and their use for Assignment 2

Some topic areas suggested by Tutor but most resources found or revisited myself. See scans of my notes at the end.

These gave me an overview on tensions between artistic expression and photography to document:

Benjamin, W. (1999) ‘Little History of Photography’ In: Jennings, M. et al. (eds.) Walter Benjamin | Selected Writings 1927 – 1934. Cambridge, MA and London, England: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. pp.507–530.

Hacking, J. (2012) Photography: The Whole Story. London: Thames & Hudson.

hcp (2011) Interview: Richard Misrach with Peter Brown At:htttps://hcponline.org/spot/interview-richard-misrach-with-peter-brown/(Accessed 06/04/2022)

Mosse: Frieze (2013) Richard Mosse: The Impossible Image. At: https://vimeo.com/67115692 (Accessed 07/04/2022).

Clarke, G. (1997) The Photograph. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Then I researched White and Berger further:

Bunnell in: Cronan, T. (2014) ‘Aperture Magazine Anthology: The Minor White Years, 1952–1976, by Peter C. Bunnell’ In: History of Photography 38 (2) pp.204–206.

Jussim, E. and Lindquist-Cock, E. (1985) Landscape as Photograph. London: Yale University Press.

Hayden Gallery (1972) Octave of prayer: an exhibition on a theme at M.I.T. 27th Oct-26th Nov. 1972. New York: Aperture.

Parkin: Parkin, T. (2011) Mirrors Messages Manifestations – Minor White. At: https://www.onlandscape.co.uk/2011/06/book-review-minor-white/ (Accessed 23/02/2022).

And refreshed myself on Berger’s ideas and other ways of seeing:

Berger, J. (1980) USES OF PHOTOGRAPHY. [Email sent to Sontag, S. 1980]. At: https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxqbHMxMDZpbnRyb3RvZG9jc3R1ZGllc3xneDo0ZjVlYmEyZjk1YWUyNjdl (Accessed 23/04/2022).

Berger, J. (1980) USES OF PHOTOGRAPHY. [Email sent to Sontag, S. 1980]. At: https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxqbHMxMDZpbnRyb3RvZG9jc3R1ZGllc3xneDo0ZjVlYmEyZjk1YWUyNjdl (Accessed 23/04/2022).

Berger, J. (1992) About Looking. London: vintage.

Berger, J. et al. (1972) Ways of Seeing. London: British Broadcasting Corporation.

Meinig, D, W. (1979) ‘The beholding eye: Ten versions of the same scene’ In: Interpretation of Ordinary landscapes. Oxford: Oxford university press. pp.32–47.

Walker, I. et al. (2005) Image & Imagination: Le Mois de la Photo À Montréal 2005. McGill-Queen’s Univ.Press. At: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=0qyuzQEACAAJ (Accessed 28/5/22)

I began to find research on John Blakemore:

Badger, G. (1977) ‘Introduction’ In: British Image 3: John Blakemore: Exhibition. London: Arts Council. pp.7–10.

Then returned to researching Minor White in more depth:

Szarkowski, J. (1970) Mirrors Messages Manifestations. In: The New York Times 08/03/1970 At: https://www.nytimes.com/1970/03/08/archives/mirrors-messages-manifestations-mirrors-american-manhattan.html (Accessed 21/04/2022).

Szarkowski, J. (1978) Mirrors and Windows: American Photography Since 1960. New York: The Museum of Modern Art.

Szarkowski, John (1978) Mirrors and Windows: American Photography since 1960 [Press Release] (accessed at MOMA 21.4.16) – http://www.moma.org/momaorg/shared/pdfs/docs/press_archives/5624/releases/MOMA_1978_0060_56.pdf?2010 (Acessed 21/4/2022).

Jaskot-Gill, Sabina (2012) Subjective Photography in the USA. An essay included in Photography The Whole Story edited by Juliet Hacking. London: Thames and Hudson 

Scanned notes showing annotations:

Some scanned research notes for CS Assignment 2 v2Download

BODY OF WORK MAJOR PORTFOLIO OF WORK: EVALUATION

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Where did I begin?

The areas of interest that developed during my Level 2 Landscape and Documentary work brought me to the beginning of this work. I acquired a curiosity about layers of truth. I also had a desire to continue exploring landscape but in an immersive slow manner with attention to the ordinary, drawing on my subconscious. Having recently moved to a new location I chose to focus on two things in my then current experience, firstly the ancient woodlands that drew me in, and secondly the disharmony and animosity to ‘incomers’ in the local community.

My intention was to represent my feelings about community through equivalents in the unnoticed and ordinary within the woodland landscape. I began by exploring visual representations of elements of ancient woodland communities as metaphors for characteristics that could be beneficial in human communities.

Other Influences on my Body of Work

My research for Contextual Studies on ‘affect’ and ‘effect’, or ‘mirrors’ and ‘windows’ in landscape photography, particularly in the work of Minor White, opened further possibilities for my Body of Work photography. My work in both the courses was symbiotic – they developed and enriched each other.  A broad range of photographers influenced my work from Alfred Steiglitz, John Blakemore, to contemporary photographers such as Rob Hudson. Guy Dickenson and Gregor Radonic. I have also been affected by critical feedback from my peers given in student hangouts I have shared my work, just as with my Tutor.

Experimentation

I experimented with a variety of visual strategies such as changes in scale and perspective, macro and micro, abstraction, blurring, and symbolism. As I worked into the project I became more concerned with being a ‘mirror’, than opening a window for others to a world of realism. To do this I developed a keener sense of seeing, slow looking, and immersion in my surroundings, and experimented with psychogeography and mindful photography. Eventually my looking became increasingly defocused, or ‘bottom up’, led by the landscape and my subconscious, rather than led by conscious intent. This to the point towards the end of the project where I was less keen to photograph and happier to pre- visualise; certainly, my image capturing decreased significantly.

Difficulties I encountered

Initially I struggled to get to the knub of my idea and to focus my intent. It took until assignment 3 to drill down into this enough to move forward more confidently. Another difficulty, which I am still working on, is how to signpost my subconscious ideas and messages for viewers. Also adapting to the dynamic natural environment that I was photographing was challenging, but I enjoyed finding ways to overcome the constant changes, turning them to my advantage and overcoming technical difficulties.

My critical positioning and personal voice

My work is a combination of landscape and conceptual photography. By representing my feelings through equivalents and metaphors in visual objects, I can transform abstract ideas in my head, my subconscious, into something concrete, via a physical representation of another subject. I can put something of myself in the landscape without intervening in it, and believe that my voice, my subconscious, is in my images. I edit purposefully, with stronger confidence, and combining instinct with intention. I have discovered and show how a photographer may use the landscape to form new relationships and meaning. This is my emerging voice.

What I will take forward

I am enjoying and will continue to use visual metaphors and put my subconscious in the images. This will be in tandem with going deeper visually and spiritually into ancient woodlands.

I am still developing methods for signposting my intentions or messages. I have tried various techniques to signpost images to increase access to their meaning, definitions as captions, poetry, poetography, and binary pointers. Looking forward I need to find ways to share the messages in my photography with an audience, whilst not excluding the opportunity for viewers to decide for themselves what meaning they take from the images.

My intention is to build on this body or work and refine my publishing ideas to create a photobook, or Zine to realise a publication for Sustaining Your Practice.

BODY OF WORK LEARNING OUTCOMES

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BODY OF WORK: LEARNING OUTCOMES

LO1 produce convincing visual products that communicate your intentions, using accomplished techniques in complex and unfamiliar environments, with minimal supervision from your tutor.

  1. My final visual product includes images, which have been developed and are presented as visual metaphors for my feelings about community. These are accompanied by poetry that I have written as signposting to communicate my intentions. See – Submission Major portfolio:  https://nkssite6.photo.blog/category/body-of-work/submissions/bow-ass-5-submission/a5-bow-submission/
  2. My subject and environment are constantly changing with the seasons and the weather. To reach my final product I have moved through several stages of experimentation both visually and technically. See – Assignment 4 Reflection against Learning Outcomes:
  3. To communicate my intentions, I have tried many ways of signposting the intention behind my images, culminating in the poetry presented in the final work. In assignment 2 I assigned the close-up woodland images dictionary definitions to highlight the attributes that they show that could be ascribed to humans. See – Assignment 2 Submission: https://nkssite6.photo.blog/category/body-of-work/submissions/bow-a2-submission/a2-bow-submission/  

LO2 demonstrate comprehensive knowledge of your area of specialisation and be able to situate your own work within a larger context of practice in your field.

My work is led by photographic discourse on photographs metaphorically as ‘mirrors’ expressing a photographer’s thoughts and emotions, as well as ‘windows’ which project reality before us; this informed by my work in Contextual Studies on ‘affect’ and ‘effect’ in the practice of Minor white.

  1. My practice research is influenced by many photographers who work with the landscape metaphorically. My Assignment 5 research post summarises some of these. See: Assignment 3 reading post: https://nkssite6.photo.blog/category/research/bow-research/bow-research-part-3/  
  2. To gain a deep understanding of my visual subject I researched trees and other woodland species, as well as photographers who work with these subjects. See- Assignment 2 research post: https://nkssite6.photo.blog/category/research/bow-research/other-photographers-same-material/  
  3. Before I experimented with using poetry to signpost my work I researched Poetography. This post summarises the research, with my reflection at the end of it. See – Assignment 4 research post: https://nkssite6.photo.blog/category/body-of-work/bow-assignments/bow-assignment-4/research-poetry-photography/

LO3 transform abstract concepts and ideas into rich narratives and integrate them in your images.

It was a concern to me throughout how I might transform the abstract concepts behind my work into a tangible narrative for my viewers. My photographic work depends on the same premise that I researched in my contextual studies, that ‘affect’ a representation expressing an emotional response, as well as one documenting reality ‘effect’ can be present in photographs. The woodlands are a visual metaphor for my feelings about community.

  1. Representing the concept: A turning point for me in transforming my abstract concept into a narrative was during assignment 3, when I had drilled down into the crux of my message, that diversity can be harmonious, and I presented this  with the woodlands as a visual metaphor for the concept, using image titles to provoke thought. See – Assignment 3 Submission: https://nkssite6.photo.blog/category/body-of-work/bow-submissions/bow-ass-3-submission/a3-bow-submission/
  2. Forming the narrative and integrating with my images: To consider what I would share and how I would narrate this in my final work, I reflected on the internal reflective and external visual journey that I had undergone. These are detailed at the beginning of my learning log for assignment five draft. See- Assignment 5 Major portfolio learning log: https://nkssite6.photo.blog/category/body-of-work/bow-assignments/bow-assignment-5/bow-a5-portfolio-learning-log-bow-assignment-5/
  3. Creating the narrative and integrating with my images is detailed in my learning log for my submitted Major Portfolio. In summary I chose and formed a series from a small set of the strongest images. I added a narrative to this in two ways, firstly by integrating with my own poetry as signposting and secondly by including as footnotes images captioned with definitions to add a final focus to the work. See – Major Project Portfolio for Submission Learning log: https://nkssite6.photo.blog/category/body-of-work/submissions/bow-ass-5-submission/bow-5-post-feedback-learning-log/

LO4 critically review your own work and evaluate it against desired outcomes.

I have been used in previous lives to being a reflective practitioner, reflecting throughout my processes and enjoy learning in this way.

  1. I record my reflections against the Learning Outcomes for each assignment. In my reflections against Learning Outcomes for assignment 2, those noted against LO1 and LO4 are good examples of critical reflection. See: https://nkssite6.photo.blog/category/body-of-work/bow-assignments/assignment-2/bow-a2-reflections-againgst-learning-outcomes/
  2. I use learning logs to reflect on my progress as I develop my work. My learning log for Assignment 3 demonstrates how I reflect on the various stages in the process, from changing concepts, influences from research, and my responses to shooting and particularly my final check on my image selection during editing. See: https://nkssite6.photo.blog/category/body-of-work/bow-assignments/bow-assignment-3/bow-a3-learning-log/
  3. I am open to input from others, which is part of my critical review process. After discussing my draft Assignment 3 with my tutor I experimented as suggested with cropping my images to a 5:4 ratio, this led to me to photograph from Assignment 4 onwards in this ratio – I usually compose in camera and rarely crop postproduction. After this I also used padlets when editing images for series as a virtual tabletop. See: https://oca.padlet.org/nicola514516/bow-draft-assignment-3-image-crop-sizes-td51x6mcq2sijad0

LO5 demonstrate management, leadership and communication skills and have deployed them during the negotiation and production of the final body of work with your tutor and third parties.

  1. Throughout the process I have shared my work with peers, this course necessarily mainly virtually in group ‘hangouts’. Interacting with peers has been invaluable; verbalising my work and ideas, inviting critique, and then making decisions what to assimilate to my work has contributed to my final body of work. See example: https://nkssite6.photo.blog/category/body-of-work/bow-assignments/bow-assignment-5/bow-a5-peer-portfolio-review-oca-hangout/
  2. I have benefited enormously from formative feedback and have particularly enjoyed video call feedback where I have been able to discuss and negotiate in real time. All my submissions changed following my first drafts. Following Tutor feedback sessions, I record and set actions and reflect on the outcomes. My reflections on tutor feedback after Assignment 3 demonstrates the way I experiment with feedback given, and subsequently adopt/integrate elements into that particular work, carry some ideas forward, and discount others after further thought. See example: https://nkssite6.photo.blog/category/body-of-work/bow-submissions/bow-a3-reflections-on-formative-feedback/

BODY OF WORK ASSIGNMENT 5: MAJOR PROJECT PORTFOLIO

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This version is changed from my draft submitted to my Tutor.

The introduction to my work below is also included in the presentation of the work in my slideshow included below.

WHAT LIES BENEATH

Introduction

The work

This body of work is a personal response to a dynamic landscape, both internally and externally. Ancient woodlands are complex communities, with trees at their heart; they envelop your senses, encouraging you to slowly absorb what you see and feel, wake your subconscious, and inspire reflection.

The photography here explores the possibility of transforming abstract ideas in a photographer’s subconscious into something concrete, via a visual representation of another subject. It positions an ancient woodland as a visual metaphor for community.

Through this work I have learnt that combining the world within my head, with the one in front of me, can be cathartic. This internal and external passage through the landscape, has helped me to accept and heal some of the wounds that inspired it’s beginning. This said it is important to acknowledge that a photograph carries no fixed meaning, and that viewers themselves may complete gaps in the meaning.

Influences on the work

The work is informed by research on ‘affect’ (expressing what is in a photographer’s mind) and ‘effect’(realism), in landscape photography. In essence this is the difference between photographing a subject realistically, and photographing to represent something else, including abstract ideas.

This has been influenced by twentieth century and contemporary photographers who created images as metaphors for something beyond the subject being photographed; thereby combining photographically the world within us, and the world outside us.

The concept of the work is stimulated by humans, though they are not evident in the images. The stimulus is my experience of the local community which seems often disharmonious and driven by difference, in contrast to the many harmonious characteristics of these ancient woodland societies. Qualities such as cooperation, support, diversity, resilience, inclusion, networking, mutual exchange, and adaptation, could in my opinion be beneficially applied to some human communities.

______________________________

What Lies Beneath

My final Submission as a slideshow can be seen in the video below:

South, N. (2023) What Lies Beneath At: https://vimeo.com/864896760 (Accessed 15.9.23)