Susan Sontag

                                                     

    As I borrowed the book 'on photography' by Susan Sontag, 1977, from the library, I chose the oldest looking one on the shelf, as i wanted to feel I was reading the first edition that she ever did. I started opening the first page and as i was reading along her style of writing and her use of words got me hooked! The first chapter of the book 'In plato's cave' explains the means on photography, she believes in looking through an photograph, and explains in the book that photography is by means far more advanced and useful then any other media i.e television, as it cannot store any elements as for photography it challenges that idea and forms an instrument that captures an certain object or person or memories that has happened in past.

'Photographs furnish evidence'  she explains that a photograph is something  that shows  evidence, it gives the hint of what's real in from of an evidence.  she talks about different terms of photography, from being of general family photo album to fashion photography. she also talks about Alfred Stieglitz to Dorothea Lange's photography. She talks about Diane Arbus how she likes to take photograph of nudity. 

Sontag, S, 1977, On Photography. penguin books.

Robert Frank

He is one of the influential man in photography. He is a Swiss photographer and film maker,When he was on a two year trip across America he took over 28,000 photographs in which about eighty- three of them was in his best collection to what he is best known for was 'The Americans' which the introduction was written by Jack Kerouac. He began his career in photography in the mid-1940s before emigrating to America in 1947.By 1960s he had all his attention to film and not returning to still photography until 1970s. His last gallery show was at Pace Macgill in 2009. Today frank lives and works quielty in New York. Also his show ''looking in: Robert Frank's The Americans'' opened at National gallery in Washigton D.C in 2009.

                                                 

                                              

      

One hour book by Robert frank  is happened in New York City, 26th of july 1990 between 15:45 PM -16:45 PM he single shot the movie in that time. Its original title for french tv was ''C'EST VRAI''.Robert Frank'f Film one hour is a single- take between Frank and actor Kevin O' Connor what seems like walking a blocks of Manhattan's lower side east. The book had transcript of dialogue but also two pages of credits, half a dozen crew workers and 27 actors.

Frank R (2007),one hour,Steidl,Germany

Robert Frank . (2005). Robert Frank Biography. Available: http://www.danzigergallery.com/artists/robert-frank. Last accessed 25th April 2014.

Identity ( gender, race )

Fascination Perfumery (2014): Fig 1

      

Fascination Perfumery(2014) : Fig 2

What is identity? its the sense of who you are and what you are, it changes in terms of events and experiences. 

Female has always been the key in advertising, they are taken as an 'object'. As for today's society you could say there has been an improvement, today men are also in someway taken as 'object'.  In the photograph above (fig1), it is shown an ideal advert of an perfume for men. The image conveys the message of ' if you use the product then women come after you' not just any women the way she is portrayed, it makes her look sexy and attractive. Its the same for the men, he is shown masculine and with the tattoo representing his masculinity, and women with her bracelets showing the feminine side of her. The man in the image looks like he is not showing much of an interested in the women as she moreover looks desperately trying to get the man's attention. It goes the same for the other advert of 'Gucci' they are both naked, as if its their trademark for men and women being naked in an perfume advert! the women you can see has bit of blond hair blue eyes, is known as a 'perfect women' to be idealized by many men, to attract more costumers.  to sum this up I would say that today's advertisement has been about naked female and male, to attract our attention, in terms of gender, women are still being used for an eye as an object.

Fascination Perfumery (2014). Gucci Guilty Intense for Her. Available: http://www.fascination-perfumery.co.uk/acatalog/Gucci_Guilty_Intense__Female_.html. Last accessed 9th May 2014

Thomas Schutte Exhibition Serpentine gallery

                                          
                                           Thomas Schütte(2012)

I went to see Thomas Schutte in Serpentine gallery, his work has been mainly based on portrait; he has done several self portrait, sculpture and photographs. The self portrait painting of ‘mirror drawing’ he experiments with not only water colour but with ink and crayon, although seen as a simply drawn, there is a sharp hesitant lines which gives out boldness in his eyes, in one of his water colour with him adding the colour red it makes the portrait look even livid and fearless because he just has half of the image, and even with just part of his face showing, the first thing we look at is eyes and it is as if his eyes are speaking all, and gives the portrait control. It also give the feeling of eye following you, or asking you question with the hitch of anger. ‘you don’t make art you find it’ as the word of schutte, explains he explore the means of representation and creating the space of accident to happen.  Self portrait could be taken as a way of showing persons inner self, their identity. His sculpture portrait on ‘Memorial for unknown artist 2011’ raises the issue of emotionally stimulated, yet self-reliant because of the both hands being included and as an artist your hands are the most significant. The sculpture also confers the meaning behind isolation, yet helpless, his eye makes it look like he is tired, and the beard ages sculpture making it look even more helpless and powerless.  His work ‘united enemies’ which schutte make in the early nineties, gives out the vibe of being dystopia in context to the distorted human form, these photographs also has sense of concern with human figure. His work has meaning of unknown power emerging in one, yet they have a glimpse of comical surface with poetic and dysfunctional figure, you get the feeling of the sculpture being yourself and the darker side of human nature, or it could be challenging the meaning behind life and death. Many of his work are like a art of surreal and as if being in a dystopian world, the world of imagination. Schutte shows the conceptual art to be imaginative at the same time meaningful and give out the feeling of trying to show the darker side of the human nature.

Thomas Schütte. (2012). Thomas Schütte: Faces & Figures Installation view, Serpentine Gallery, London. Available: http://www.serpentinegalleries.org/exhibitions-events/thomas-sch%C3%BCtte-faces-figures. Last accessed 11th April 2014

Jeff Wall

He is a canadian photographer, he has exhibited his work internationally for 25 years. He also played a key role in establishing photography as a contemporary art form. He has done many black and white photography as well as colour.

A Sudden Gust of Wind (after Hokusai) 1993 photography by Jeff Wall

 

Travellers Caught in a Sudden breeze at Ejiri. Katsushika Hokusai. ca. 1832. Woodcut

   One of his iconic image is taken to be as 'A sudden Gust of Wind( after hokusai) 1993', his recreation of hokusai is phenomenal. He has made even the paper blow out the same way, as of the painting. He sets his studio and people in a way that has been modern, but at the same time looks like the old painting. By having his people in suit and tie it conveys the message of them being tired of their work. In the old painting they were farmers which has been recreated into man who look like office workers.  He has managed to recreated even the hat in the painting by replacing it with a plastic bag. Even the lighting on the images has created the same effect as the painting.

Tate (2014). Jeff Wall Photographs 1978–2004. Available: http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/jeff-wall. Last accessed 4th April 2014.

zoowithoutanimals. (2014). A Sudden Gust of Wind. Available: http://zoowithoutanimals.wordpress.com/2014/01/28/a-sudden-gust-of-wind/. Last accessed 28th March 2014.

Semiotics

  Semiotics means the meaning behind an object and symbol, a sign. Signs are all around us. it plays an important role as part of our daily life. It comes in many forms.

 Migrant mother, Dorothea Lange. Oxford  University Press (2009).

This is a photograph by Dorothea Lange, is an iconic photograph of an migrant mother, she is mostly known for her black and white photographs in depression era. In this picture the use of black and white adds texture and depth of field in the photograph. Black and white challenges the aspect of the modernisation making the photograph to be more effective and more realistic. If added color in an image it could have washed out the real life stories involved and created a more dull piece. The depth of the blacks contrasted with the lighter colours give emotion showing the worries and the sorrow in her eyes and between her facial lines and help to create that role of juxtaposition in work. The composition of the photograph as just showing the women's face specially her eyes which are looking into distance and her children to look away provides the message that she wanted her children to look away from the depression era and sorrow she was going through, pass through the moment in blink of a eye or perhaps the pain and suffering of the children is not as excruciating as what she has been through. however if he look deeper into the women she looks relaxed, which bring ambiguity to if she was so used to in this pain and sorrow.

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS (2009). Dorothea Lange (American, 1895–1965). Available: http://www.moma.org/collection/artist.php?artist_id=3373. Last accessed 21st March 2014.

Jacques Henri Lartigue

                  

Jacques Henri Lartigue, bibi and me in the mirror during our honeymooon.Hotel des Alpes, Chamonix, January 1920.© Ministère de la Culture-France/A.A.J.H.L.

The photograph above was that got my eye, the way that lartigue has setup this photograph, tell us more about their relationship and although it was during their honeymoon, you could feel the sense of distance between them in this photograph. to support that, it seems like there is only her clothes hung and the only chair in the shot and mainly the fact that he is the person on the mirror and whereas her,she looks like she is waiting for him.

The time when I went to see Jacques Henri Lartigue at photographers gallery, in was in the first floor. As I entered the room, the dim lights confused me to where I should start looking from, I started viewing the first one on the right and started walking into the second photograph realizing that after first few photographs this was his journey, his story about 'Bibi' his wife, in fact after a while I found out that Bibi was his first wife and mother of his only child. The exhibition was the first international showcase. It has several black and white photographs, mostly photograph of his wife Bibi and his loving days to when they had a child, and how they got separated.  

Culture24(2004). Lartigue And About Face - Contrasts At The Hayward Gallery. Available: http://www.culture24.org.uk/art/photography-and-film/art23490. Last accessed 20th March 2014.