‘Human subjects, occupying different roles in the event of photography, do play one or another part in it, but the encounter between them is never entirely in the sole control of any one of them: no one is the sole signatory to the event of photography.’ When I first read the above quote I almost dismissed it thinking the photographer is in charge, in full control-he, she, control the intent ergo the event. Then I came across a book ‘To make their own way in the world The Enduring Legacy of the Zealy Daguerreotypes’ the book is about 15 daguerreotypes taken in 1850 of Alfred, Delia, Drana, Fassena, Jack, Jem and Renty, men and women of descent enslaved in South Carolina. The images were taken by Joseph T Zealy for Harvard professor Louis Agassiz to support his warped theories about race and the superiority of white over black. The photographs were discovered in 1976 in Harvard’s Peabody Museum and since then have caused considerable debate. The pictures themselves are taken in a detached style, the subjects had no choice, and their intent was to support theories that were scientifically bankrupt and morally repulsive. Looking at the images 170 years […]
Write up your research on the decisive moment in your learning log taking care to give a proper account of the three differing views offered above, and any further research you’ve undertaken independently. What do you feel personally about the decisive moment as a visual strategy, or just as a way to take pictures? Conclude your post with your own perspective on the debate at this point in time. Lamour de court Watching the L’amour du court I was struck by the way the different artists-photographers, painter, musician, expressed their approach to their art (and the artistic gaze) and how all expressed, albeit in different ways, a higher level of awareness that transcends the ordinary to make something unique, and an aspiration to do so. For Cartier-Bresson, it was the confluence of recognition, geometry, form, and even luck; for Aviigdor Arikha it was the losing of learned recognition and stripping things down to their barest form to allow pure perception to take over, while the musician Paulo Beschi accepts the uniqueness of very performance and accepts rather than be terrorized by it. Cartier-Bresson When talking about taking photos (or making images) he says “ the basis is geometry..I go for […]
I’ve wanted to do a photography degree for a while now. I’ve been taking photos for years – my camera comes everywhere-, but I’ve come to a point where there are some fundamental questions I’d like to be able to answer with more confidence. For example, what makes a great photograph? Is it in the eye of the beholder? Is it because someone of note gave it a good review? or is there something more fundamental going on? What do you need to consider when putting a series of photos together? What style or genre of photography do I really want to pursue? How do I develop my style? How do I put aside my prejudices and nurture objectivity? Intent? Today, I was reading one of the course books, The Photograph-Graham Clarke-which I’m enjoying very much, but in one section he talks about a photo by Diane Erbus – Identical Twins 1967- he uses it to discuss (very well) the complexity of reading a photo. While he described the photo, it struck me that he talked a lot about Arbus’s intent-now for one photo there was a hell of a lot of intent! Now, I don’t know if Diane Erbus […]
Some photographs in Country doctor can be encountered on their own with each providing its own narrative- see examples below:
