Personal Investigation Essay
I chose to research ideas associated with Threshold Concept #3 - Photography is multi-disciplinary both in theory and in practice’ and subsequently base my personal investigation on the psychology behind photography. This Threshold Concept focuses on how photography is an art informed by science, the social sciences and the humanities. The aim of my project is to investigate the contexts and meanings that help to shape photography.
I began this project by explaining some of the links between psychology and photography, making a clear starting point in which I intended to investigate. I've chosen to look at the effects various techniques and elements can have on the viewer, and how these can be manipulated to create purposeful feelings and meanings to a photograph/selection of photographs. In addition to this, I will investigate how different subjects alter perception in a psychological way. Initial topics I began to explain were: line, synesthesia, eye contact, visualising and verbalising, and facial asymmetry. I used the elements and ideas of colour from synesthesia, portraiture from eye contact, and line to create an outcome. I thought about different ways of combining these elements and after investigating various artists I chose to respond to the video 'I fink u freeky' by Die Antwoord and create a series of abstract portraiture photographs. I chose this video due to its striking provocative nature and dark themes. I intended to make these images provocative and sinister as well as incorporate the above elements, seeing how they made the viewer feel. I then chose to further investigate facial asymmetry as I felt this incorporated a number of the above topics, and I wanted to further understand it. I discovered that the appeal to symmetrical faces could be down to identifying good communication between the creative side, and the logical side of your personality. I experimented using Photoshop, flipping each side of my face and putting them together to create two symmetrical versions. I think the symmetrical images look somewhat sinister, rather than appealing as I thought they would have been.
I next began to investigate what I thought would really change the way a person views a photograph. I reviewed the topics I had previously looked into and felt that eye contact was a huge determinant of this change in perception. When visiting the Victoria and Albert Museu I saw an exhibition by Richard Learoyd ‘Shots in the dark’, and felt drawn in by his images, especially the portrait photographs. I was influenced to next look at the topic of intimacy as a result of this exhibition because of the emotions I felt looking at his images, especially ‘Model 1’. Another factor that influenced this choice was an exhibition I saw at the Tate Modern called 'Performing for the Camera’. After viewing the exhibition I began to look into various photographs of or about intimacy. I found that images looking into a persons life always have an interesting affect on a viewer as they feel almost intrusive, as do close up portraits, or photographs of bare skin (like in Richard Learoyd’s photographs). Upon investigation, I came across a photographer called Anna Morosini. Her images involve a lot of nudity and are discretely provocative.
The images that had the greatest affect on me were Morosini’s Polaroids. I felt that these were by far the most intimate. I like the idea of the permanence of polaroid images. I think this permanence makes a photograph far more personal as it captures a moment exactly how it is, so the photographer can't manipulate the image to distort the way it is viewed. Initially I responded to her images by capturing people's’ bodies in an abstract way. I chose to make them abstract to see if intimacy can be as well portrayed in images that are less representative of real life. When developing this response i chose to consider the subject of the images more carefully, so it’s purposely chosen rather than just being a random person as that will make the images more personal and in a way conveying a journey or story of the subject’s life. I began to investigate further Artists whose photos communicate intimacy. In the hunt for these images I came across Julian Germain's photobook 'For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness', and felt Germain's images created a similar degree and type of intimacy to the tone I wanted to create. Whilst Anna Morosini's images were personal - meaning they are somewhat private, I felt they were overly provocative to create the kind of intimacy I'm aiming for. In Germain’s book there are a series of photographs that were made over 8 years showing the 'quiet, contemplative existence of Charles Snelling'.
This reinforced what I already hoped to do, focus on a single subject. Although I liked the idea of presenting these as Polaroids I still wasn’t entirely sure. I came across Joan Fontcuberta’s book ‘Pandora’s camera’ where he briefly discusses polaroids, describing them as a step forward in documentary photography. He states how polaroids are immediate, which is useful because they are fast and capture a moment, but also because they can't be later manipulated. Joan Fontcuberta also points out that polaroids are useful if a person is a witness to events due to the fact they have a greater proximity to the truth by eliminating the possibility of 'trickery' resulting from manipulation in the darkroom. He also points out two benefits of polaroids which are from a somewhat interesting perspective. Firstly that polaroid introduced a dimension of fun and made the act of taking a photograph more playful, and secondly that an instant print was a guarantee of privacy and thus ideally suited to intimate situations, as this prevents you from worrying that staff in the photoshop or the dark-room might sneak a furtive look at your pictures. This second point is particularly relevant as I intend to use polaroids exactly in this way, to capture intimacy and intimate moments. Looking at Joans' view on polaroids really enforced my reasoning for wanting to use them to create an intimate series of photographs, so as well as the image itself, and the concept itself being intimate, the medium in which the images are taken is also in itself intimate which perfectly ties the whole idea together.
In response to this work I intended to create a response that incorporated Anna Morosini's images and concepts, Julian Germain's photobook, and Joan Fonticuberta's views on polaroids to create series of polaroid images based on the concept of intimacy. I decided to have a subtle, bare tone to the photographs, which I chose to do in response to the tone of Anna Morosini's images. The series of images will be based on one subject, as is in Julian Germain's photobook, and create the images around the subjects everyday life, almost as a window into their world. I chose to have the images as polaroids initially as I was influenced by Anna Morosini's polaroids, and this initial intention was then confirmed by Joan Fonticuberta's justifications of why polaroids are used. I felt these images perfectly demonstrated my intention - all the images in the series are intimate, some in terms of the subject and some atmospherically. Whilst these images accurately portray the theme of intimacy, I think it would be more interesting to begin to display them in a way to provoke the intimacy within them. You can take an initial image with an initial meaning and easily transfer that message to the viewer - what's harder to do is use an image with one meaning to create a totally contrasting one. In doing this you provoke the viewer - the more they are provoked the better the meaning of the initial image is portrayed. I wanted to use these photographs to execute this idea so I could really understand the level of intimacy portrayed by the initial images. As this outcome was focusing on intimacy I next chose the three most intimate polaroids that I felt worked well together as a tryptic. I then decided to position these three images in public places where they would not be expected to be placed. Having them in public places contradicts the idea of intimacy giving a new meaning to the images I took. I want to create this contradictory meaning to make the images more provocative, provoking an entirely different reaction from the viewer. When photographing this response, people walking past commented on the images and looked at them. One older man asked what they were, so I explained, and he seemed surprised at the content of the images. Putting the tryptic in these public environments made the intimate tone amplified (which was evident from public reactions). I wanted to next look at a more personal side to intimacy rather than an almost sexual one, as I felt this would provoke a more emotional reaction rather than a shocked one.
From this idea of looking at a different kind of intimacy I began looking at James Mollison’s photographs. Mollison took images of refugees and their most precious possession. On an initial viewing some of the items seem quite synthetic and materialistic, but when you discover the story of each person, it can be emotional and reflect the seriousness and harsh environment they are surviving in. In response to his work I decided to create a series of my own diptychs looking at people and their possessions. Initially, I chose to have all of the photos in black and white so not to take away from the other part of the diptych, but upon reflection I chose to only have the photograph of the person in black and white, and the personal possession in colour. This creates a feel that the portrait is only there for identification purposes, and the object is the focus of the diptych - also the possession being in colour makes a more emotional connection to the object, really showing its colour and texture, making it more sentimental.
After creating these diptychs I came across the mind issue of a magazine by Ladybeard, feminists who claim they are not just for women, they want to play with gender, sexuality and identity, rather than dictate their terms. After buying this book I began reading it and became particularly intrigued by the section ‘ways of seeing' where I came across Aneta Grzeszykowska's 'Album' which explores themes of self-awareness and identity.The series 'Album' is a collection of 500 family photographs from which she had erased her own image. By doing this, Aneta overthrows the traditional notions of autobiography associated with the family photo album. This inspired me to further investigate identity, where I came across Edward Honaker who took a series of photographs trying to raise awareness to what it is like living with mental illness. Seeing his images then lead me to further investigate this idea of capturing and understanding mental illness. As a result of this I next discovered Joshua Lutz’ documentary of his mother's’ schizophrenia in his photobook ‘Hesitating Beauty’. After seeing the images in 'Hesitating Beauty' i looked further into Joshua Lutz work, and came across another photobook he had made 'Meadowlands'.
'The Meadowlands is a place to pass through and forget on the way to someplace else. Not unlike a neglected child, The Meadowlands has grown up without guidance, constantly unsure of what the future holds. It is this loneliness and solitude that continues to bring me back year after year. These disparate images tell different stories; like songs on an album that build upon each other. Each one may be about something specific. More often than not, the specifics are less important than the feelings conveyed.' .
I Liked this idea of photographing passing places and showing their meanings, rather than focusing on places that are easily noticed and frequently captured. I wanted to - like Lutz - try capturing these passing moment and the emotions attached, creating a disparate series of images. I began to respond to this by capturing places that cooincided with Lutz’ concept, but upon reflection i began to think about other things that are passed and not notices, not just places. This lead me to consider the homeless, and subsequently my final outcome development.
Once i had taken images - and selected the most striking ones, that i felt worked well together - I began thinking about where to go with them. Looking back over my investigation so far I chose to further develop the idea of contrasting intimate images with less intimate ones. I chose vibrant images taken in Central London and began experimenting with ways to present the images together. I first did this using photograms as I thought - like polaroids - they cannot be manipulated and are permanent. When selecting the photographs of places to use in these photograms, I was looking at which images had high contrast and had some element that lead you to focus on light. When developing these images in the dark room, as they were digital images, they didn't come out as I had intended. This could have been due to the fact they were digital or the fact they were originally in colour, but they lacked the high contrast that the original images had and the reasons I chose each one. I realised that using a dark room was definitely not the best way to achieve a double exposed look as it simple took away from the image, so I chose to return to digital processes. I began trying to create a double exposure/ layering effect using photoshop. I started to consider the element of colour more strongly as before I didn't consider it due to the fact I could only develop them in black and white. I chose to keep the image in the foreground in colour and put the image in the background in black and white which will allow the viewer to focus on the image in the foreground.
When reflecting upon the first set of digitally layered images I had created I again focused on the colour in the images. I realised that maybe the background image shouldn't be overpowered by the image in the foreground as I started to see that they were equally important. This links with Mollison's idea of capturing places that go unnoticed and reminded me how I wanted to portray this through the idea that the homeless also go unnoticed. With this, I realised that the contrasting image in the background should almost overpower the subject in the foreground. As a person walking through central London, the bright lights and striking scenery do overpower the people you see who have to live on the streets, and who don't have homes. I want my viewers to see that in reality these people should be what is striking to a person, not the material things around them. I feel like the series of images I created show this in their own way. I like that the bright, high contrast images in the background almost take away from the intimacy that these images of the homeless bring as an image on their own. This series portrays the ignorance of the public and the concept that 'ignorance is bliss'. Although this strays from my initial intention of having contrasting images to provoke a reaction from the viewer and create a more controversial meaning to the newly combined images, I instead used this technique to reinforce an ignorance that is already there. In a way this makes the series far more intimate and relevant to my theme as instead of provoking a response out of controversy, these images simply open the viewers eyes to their unconsciousness of this reality.
I thought of a lot of different ways to present these four images, trying to convey the concept behind them not only through the images but also how they're displayed. I considered placing them on the ground against the wall to enhance this idea of being unnoticed, but i realised that i don't want these images to go unnoticed as I want the viewer to realise their ignorance. After thinking of abstract ways to present them I decided the I should simply present them in a conventional, formulaic way (like the image on the far right, and second to left). This will set an expectation for the content of the images, so when the viewer looks at them properly the photographs subject will become more striking.
I began this project by explaining some of the links between psychology and photography, making a clear starting point in which I intended to investigate. I've chosen to look at the effects various techniques and elements can have on the viewer, and how these can be manipulated to create purposeful feelings and meanings to a photograph/selection of photographs. In addition to this, I will investigate how different subjects alter perception in a psychological way. Initial topics I began to explain were: line, synesthesia, eye contact, visualising and verbalising, and facial asymmetry. I used the elements and ideas of colour from synesthesia, portraiture from eye contact, and line to create an outcome. I thought about different ways of combining these elements and after investigating various artists I chose to respond to the video 'I fink u freeky' by Die Antwoord and create a series of abstract portraiture photographs. I chose this video due to its striking provocative nature and dark themes. I intended to make these images provocative and sinister as well as incorporate the above elements, seeing how they made the viewer feel. I then chose to further investigate facial asymmetry as I felt this incorporated a number of the above topics, and I wanted to further understand it. I discovered that the appeal to symmetrical faces could be down to identifying good communication between the creative side, and the logical side of your personality. I experimented using Photoshop, flipping each side of my face and putting them together to create two symmetrical versions. I think the symmetrical images look somewhat sinister, rather than appealing as I thought they would have been.
I next began to investigate what I thought would really change the way a person views a photograph. I reviewed the topics I had previously looked into and felt that eye contact was a huge determinant of this change in perception. When visiting the Victoria and Albert Museu I saw an exhibition by Richard Learoyd ‘Shots in the dark’, and felt drawn in by his images, especially the portrait photographs. I was influenced to next look at the topic of intimacy as a result of this exhibition because of the emotions I felt looking at his images, especially ‘Model 1’. Another factor that influenced this choice was an exhibition I saw at the Tate Modern called 'Performing for the Camera’. After viewing the exhibition I began to look into various photographs of or about intimacy. I found that images looking into a persons life always have an interesting affect on a viewer as they feel almost intrusive, as do close up portraits, or photographs of bare skin (like in Richard Learoyd’s photographs). Upon investigation, I came across a photographer called Anna Morosini. Her images involve a lot of nudity and are discretely provocative.
The images that had the greatest affect on me were Morosini’s Polaroids. I felt that these were by far the most intimate. I like the idea of the permanence of polaroid images. I think this permanence makes a photograph far more personal as it captures a moment exactly how it is, so the photographer can't manipulate the image to distort the way it is viewed. Initially I responded to her images by capturing people's’ bodies in an abstract way. I chose to make them abstract to see if intimacy can be as well portrayed in images that are less representative of real life. When developing this response i chose to consider the subject of the images more carefully, so it’s purposely chosen rather than just being a random person as that will make the images more personal and in a way conveying a journey or story of the subject’s life. I began to investigate further Artists whose photos communicate intimacy. In the hunt for these images I came across Julian Germain's photobook 'For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness', and felt Germain's images created a similar degree and type of intimacy to the tone I wanted to create. Whilst Anna Morosini's images were personal - meaning they are somewhat private, I felt they were overly provocative to create the kind of intimacy I'm aiming for. In Germain’s book there are a series of photographs that were made over 8 years showing the 'quiet, contemplative existence of Charles Snelling'.
This reinforced what I already hoped to do, focus on a single subject. Although I liked the idea of presenting these as Polaroids I still wasn’t entirely sure. I came across Joan Fontcuberta’s book ‘Pandora’s camera’ where he briefly discusses polaroids, describing them as a step forward in documentary photography. He states how polaroids are immediate, which is useful because they are fast and capture a moment, but also because they can't be later manipulated. Joan Fontcuberta also points out that polaroids are useful if a person is a witness to events due to the fact they have a greater proximity to the truth by eliminating the possibility of 'trickery' resulting from manipulation in the darkroom. He also points out two benefits of polaroids which are from a somewhat interesting perspective. Firstly that polaroid introduced a dimension of fun and made the act of taking a photograph more playful, and secondly that an instant print was a guarantee of privacy and thus ideally suited to intimate situations, as this prevents you from worrying that staff in the photoshop or the dark-room might sneak a furtive look at your pictures. This second point is particularly relevant as I intend to use polaroids exactly in this way, to capture intimacy and intimate moments. Looking at Joans' view on polaroids really enforced my reasoning for wanting to use them to create an intimate series of photographs, so as well as the image itself, and the concept itself being intimate, the medium in which the images are taken is also in itself intimate which perfectly ties the whole idea together.
In response to this work I intended to create a response that incorporated Anna Morosini's images and concepts, Julian Germain's photobook, and Joan Fonticuberta's views on polaroids to create series of polaroid images based on the concept of intimacy. I decided to have a subtle, bare tone to the photographs, which I chose to do in response to the tone of Anna Morosini's images. The series of images will be based on one subject, as is in Julian Germain's photobook, and create the images around the subjects everyday life, almost as a window into their world. I chose to have the images as polaroids initially as I was influenced by Anna Morosini's polaroids, and this initial intention was then confirmed by Joan Fonticuberta's justifications of why polaroids are used. I felt these images perfectly demonstrated my intention - all the images in the series are intimate, some in terms of the subject and some atmospherically. Whilst these images accurately portray the theme of intimacy, I think it would be more interesting to begin to display them in a way to provoke the intimacy within them. You can take an initial image with an initial meaning and easily transfer that message to the viewer - what's harder to do is use an image with one meaning to create a totally contrasting one. In doing this you provoke the viewer - the more they are provoked the better the meaning of the initial image is portrayed. I wanted to use these photographs to execute this idea so I could really understand the level of intimacy portrayed by the initial images. As this outcome was focusing on intimacy I next chose the three most intimate polaroids that I felt worked well together as a tryptic. I then decided to position these three images in public places where they would not be expected to be placed. Having them in public places contradicts the idea of intimacy giving a new meaning to the images I took. I want to create this contradictory meaning to make the images more provocative, provoking an entirely different reaction from the viewer. When photographing this response, people walking past commented on the images and looked at them. One older man asked what they were, so I explained, and he seemed surprised at the content of the images. Putting the tryptic in these public environments made the intimate tone amplified (which was evident from public reactions). I wanted to next look at a more personal side to intimacy rather than an almost sexual one, as I felt this would provoke a more emotional reaction rather than a shocked one.
From this idea of looking at a different kind of intimacy I began looking at James Mollison’s photographs. Mollison took images of refugees and their most precious possession. On an initial viewing some of the items seem quite synthetic and materialistic, but when you discover the story of each person, it can be emotional and reflect the seriousness and harsh environment they are surviving in. In response to his work I decided to create a series of my own diptychs looking at people and their possessions. Initially, I chose to have all of the photos in black and white so not to take away from the other part of the diptych, but upon reflection I chose to only have the photograph of the person in black and white, and the personal possession in colour. This creates a feel that the portrait is only there for identification purposes, and the object is the focus of the diptych - also the possession being in colour makes a more emotional connection to the object, really showing its colour and texture, making it more sentimental.
After creating these diptychs I came across the mind issue of a magazine by Ladybeard, feminists who claim they are not just for women, they want to play with gender, sexuality and identity, rather than dictate their terms. After buying this book I began reading it and became particularly intrigued by the section ‘ways of seeing' where I came across Aneta Grzeszykowska's 'Album' which explores themes of self-awareness and identity.The series 'Album' is a collection of 500 family photographs from which she had erased her own image. By doing this, Aneta overthrows the traditional notions of autobiography associated with the family photo album. This inspired me to further investigate identity, where I came across Edward Honaker who took a series of photographs trying to raise awareness to what it is like living with mental illness. Seeing his images then lead me to further investigate this idea of capturing and understanding mental illness. As a result of this I next discovered Joshua Lutz’ documentary of his mother's’ schizophrenia in his photobook ‘Hesitating Beauty’. After seeing the images in 'Hesitating Beauty' i looked further into Joshua Lutz work, and came across another photobook he had made 'Meadowlands'.
'The Meadowlands is a place to pass through and forget on the way to someplace else. Not unlike a neglected child, The Meadowlands has grown up without guidance, constantly unsure of what the future holds. It is this loneliness and solitude that continues to bring me back year after year. These disparate images tell different stories; like songs on an album that build upon each other. Each one may be about something specific. More often than not, the specifics are less important than the feelings conveyed.' .
I Liked this idea of photographing passing places and showing their meanings, rather than focusing on places that are easily noticed and frequently captured. I wanted to - like Lutz - try capturing these passing moment and the emotions attached, creating a disparate series of images. I began to respond to this by capturing places that cooincided with Lutz’ concept, but upon reflection i began to think about other things that are passed and not notices, not just places. This lead me to consider the homeless, and subsequently my final outcome development.
Once i had taken images - and selected the most striking ones, that i felt worked well together - I began thinking about where to go with them. Looking back over my investigation so far I chose to further develop the idea of contrasting intimate images with less intimate ones. I chose vibrant images taken in Central London and began experimenting with ways to present the images together. I first did this using photograms as I thought - like polaroids - they cannot be manipulated and are permanent. When selecting the photographs of places to use in these photograms, I was looking at which images had high contrast and had some element that lead you to focus on light. When developing these images in the dark room, as they were digital images, they didn't come out as I had intended. This could have been due to the fact they were digital or the fact they were originally in colour, but they lacked the high contrast that the original images had and the reasons I chose each one. I realised that using a dark room was definitely not the best way to achieve a double exposed look as it simple took away from the image, so I chose to return to digital processes. I began trying to create a double exposure/ layering effect using photoshop. I started to consider the element of colour more strongly as before I didn't consider it due to the fact I could only develop them in black and white. I chose to keep the image in the foreground in colour and put the image in the background in black and white which will allow the viewer to focus on the image in the foreground.
When reflecting upon the first set of digitally layered images I had created I again focused on the colour in the images. I realised that maybe the background image shouldn't be overpowered by the image in the foreground as I started to see that they were equally important. This links with Mollison's idea of capturing places that go unnoticed and reminded me how I wanted to portray this through the idea that the homeless also go unnoticed. With this, I realised that the contrasting image in the background should almost overpower the subject in the foreground. As a person walking through central London, the bright lights and striking scenery do overpower the people you see who have to live on the streets, and who don't have homes. I want my viewers to see that in reality these people should be what is striking to a person, not the material things around them. I feel like the series of images I created show this in their own way. I like that the bright, high contrast images in the background almost take away from the intimacy that these images of the homeless bring as an image on their own. This series portrays the ignorance of the public and the concept that 'ignorance is bliss'. Although this strays from my initial intention of having contrasting images to provoke a reaction from the viewer and create a more controversial meaning to the newly combined images, I instead used this technique to reinforce an ignorance that is already there. In a way this makes the series far more intimate and relevant to my theme as instead of provoking a response out of controversy, these images simply open the viewers eyes to their unconsciousness of this reality.
I thought of a lot of different ways to present these four images, trying to convey the concept behind them not only through the images but also how they're displayed. I considered placing them on the ground against the wall to enhance this idea of being unnoticed, but i realised that i don't want these images to go unnoticed as I want the viewer to realise their ignorance. After thinking of abstract ways to present them I decided the I should simply present them in a conventional, formulaic way (like the image on the far right, and second to left). This will set an expectation for the content of the images, so when the viewer looks at them properly the photographs subject will become more striking.