Photoworks - Autumn/Winter 09/10

This issue of photoworks is devoted to relatively unknown Japanese photographers and their work, much of which has been produced in the form of photobooks rather than as prints for a gallery. This means that much of it needs to be looked a in context and in order rather than as individual images. It is therefore inevitable, that as only a small selection of any of the whole books are shown, some of the impact will be lost.

I have seen very little Japanese photography and am looking at it with an eye attuned to western culture which will effect the way I interpret the photos. I also became aware that I interpreted them differently than the reviewers, often in a more simplistic way. Next time I look at a book like this i think it is important to look at the images first – then read the review!. One picture where I had a markedly different instant understanding was in the work of Osama Wataya where the reviewer (Gordon MacDonald says ‘The most uncomfortable image……… is one of a man whose flesh seems to be melting from his body like wax’ (Gordon MacDonald, Photoworks 2009. p52. ). This image shows me a man who, in spite of his problems, walks down the street with his head held high. This difference may be because I work with people with a disability on a daily basis. Unlike MacDonald this man did not make me think of the atomic bombs, although I agree that it does show immense suffering.

Osamu Wataya - from Rumor

The images that I would most like to see more of were by Ariko, a Japanese photographer, who has taken pictures of Iceland to create pictures that are calm, with  a great sense of light and space. These images remind me of those by Dan Holdsworth ( seen earlier at the Baltic Gallery), which, although showing much more detail – have the same sense of light and calm.

Ariko - Swan Feather

Overall, this edition of Photoworks, although dedicated to Japanese photography shows a wide variety of images, some beautiful and others disturbing. It is clear that a simple label of Japanese does not immediately give an expectation of one ‘type’ of image, any more than British or American would. It is an area I will need to explore further.

Graham Clarke–The Photograph

Graham Clarke has written a very readable history of the development of photography and its genres. He initially talks about what a photograph actually is – writing with light, and how this gives us an ability to order and record nature. Once the initial development of photographic processes had begun with Daguerre and Fox-Talbot there was continuing development of both processes and cameras throughout the nineteenth century. Over 60 years this allowed the photograph to become ‘one of the most accessible and accepted means of visual representation ……. the ultimate democratic art form’. (Clarke, The Photograph, 1997, p.18).

He goes on to describe how our understanding of a photograph is very dependant on its context, small or large, monochrome or coloured, and also the genre of the image, ‘an ‘art’ photograph involves an entirely different set of assumptions from a documentary photograph’ (Clarke, The Photograph, 1997, p 10). Photography also (by its very nature) fixes a moment in time and allows us to look back at the past.

Clarke then looks at how we ‘read’ a photograph. This is dependant on our own past experience and also on our assumptions about the meaning of the photograph. There are also different levels of meaning, the ‘denotative’, which is the literal meaning and the ‘connotative’ which is the underlying or implied meaning . Over time photography has gradually developed itself to  a place where the images in themselves are important and can become ‘visual essays’ (p37).

In the nineteenth century photography often followed themes that had been used in painting, such as The Open Door by Fox Talbot which bears similarities to Dutch interiors, and many of todays genres, such as portraits and landscapes follow on from this. Photographs were understood because people were very aware of the visual language and subtexts associated with various types of paintings. I wonder if this is actually reversed nowadays – with many people much more familiar with photographs than with paintings. A further new development was ‘travel’ photography, which allowed people to see’ wondrous images of otherwise only imaging culture’ (Clarke, The Photograph, 1997,p49).

Landscape photography moves between two poles, ‘the basic elements of nature,( trees, flowers and so on) and change (light, water sky and the seasons)…………or pastoral scenes of a postcard culture.’ (Clarke, The Photograph, 1997, p 56). In the USA much early photography was associated with the government expedition and surveys, but it often reflected a ‘sense of wonder’  and is associated with Transcendentalism  where every detail is significant, and fixes a moment as part of time and space. American landscape photographers, from Watson to Ansel adams choose landscapes that are empty of people, ‘sublime and pure scenes….. a mysterious otherness’  (Clarke, The Photograph, 1997, p65. British photographers tend to more follow the picturesque route, possibly because of the lack of grand landscapes that show no signs of human habitation. England is increasingly ‘cluttered… with space at a premium’ and this is often mirrored in the recent British photographers work such as Martin Parr.

Cities give a series of different possibilities to the photographer. One may use panoramic shots, look down from above or look up from below. Another possibility is street level images, which may be empty of people or be cluttered with items and invoke a threat of danger or violence. Photographers look at a variety of street form broad avenues (Steiglitz) to small alleys. As the century advanced cities were increasingly lacking in unity and fragmented and may become ‘an invisible, at times underground city , in which the sheer density of the human presence threatens to overwhelm the camera’ (Clarke, The Photograph, 1997, p 80).  Other photographers concentrate on the human figure to give meaning to the city (Hine and Arbus), Cities can be photographed both in daylight and after dark, where they may may show deep needs, and the underside of the city.(Brassai) In the end ‘the urban space is both insistent and unreadable….. a series of disparate elements…  which remain impervious to the photographer’s attempts to capture it’ (Clarke, The Photograph, 1997, p97.

Portraits in photography can be problematic. The photographer tries to express the essence of the person in one image, and show personality. This is then filtered though a series of stereotypes that are dependant on the age and sex of both the photographer and the sitter There is often a clear difference between photographs of males and females, for instance in the work of Margaret Cameron which ‘reinforce the myth of male dominance and individuality’ (Clarke, The Photograph, 1997,p 105). There is also a marked difference between those who use studio’s and those who take portraits in context, or use the situation to define the person, such as August Sander. Sometimes, in the end, the photo is more about the image and what is says about society than about the person.

The body has become a ‘pervasive’ image in our society, but it can still cause controversy. Pornography has been present as photographic images from very early on in the development of the use of the camera,(and probably simply took over from pen and paper drawings). This continues as an issue, and the majority of image of the female nude are taken by men, and are often passive or submissive in nature.  Pictures of the male nude tend to be represented differently even when overtly homo-erotic such as those by Mapplethorpe.

Documentary photography can be defined as images that give 'a truthful and objective account… of what has happened…. a series of discrete images which speak of the complexities of human experience and disaster. (Clarke, The Photograph, 1997, p 145)  The camera has often been used to expose and bring to public attention things that would otherwise remain invisible. This can be done either in a way that acts to work overtly on the emotions of others (the Migrant Mother by Lange) or, sometimes, in a very neutral stance that is the more shocking when fully examined (Bergan-Belsen Concentration Camp by Rodger). War, and its aftermath, is frequently a subject for documentary photography but one must not forget the possibility of censorship even today. The other area that needs to be considered is the possibly lack of veracity of a photograph. This has always been an issue, however is much easier to perform now. At the end, one is dependant on the honesty of the photographer for the truthfulness of the image.

Clarke then continues on to discuss photography as ‘fine art’, where the content of the image is often subsumed to the impact of the image and can make very subtle images from basic materials of life. Her also talks about images that have been deliberately manipulated to reveal the meaning of the photographer.

Overall this is a fascinating introduction to the theory and history of photography. Some of the types of image he discusses are ones I have experimented with such as landscape and portraiture, but others need investigation especially the body, and also documentary work.

Olivio Argenti

Olivio Argenti FRPS has travelled to more than fifty countries. His projects include:

• a street-photography project ―Traits d'union‖ in Tunisia;
• Losers of a forgotten conflict, a reportage in Azerbaijan and Armenia on refugees from the Nagorno-Karabakh;
• a reportage in Peru ―Atrapados [No way out] - Family violence and juvenile deviant behaviour in Lima (2005-2008), which combines photographic images with testimonials written by boys and girls met in gangs, drug rehabilitation centres, family houses and prisons;
• Wrestlers and Wrestling, a personal view on the world of Olympic wrestling (2006-2008).

He has received international awards and has published three books. His work has been exhibited in China, Colombia, Italy, Peru, Switzerland and Tunisia. (from the RPS programme)

From the RPS programme and also the book Atrapados by Olivio Argenti

Olivio Argenti gave a fascinating talk about his photographic learning curve and his present interests. He came relatively late to photography and  says ‘I originally took a descriptive approach looking for images to illustrate my work, then moved to black and white to express emotions, and now to narrative, how life can be hard, and bringing emotion into the story’.
‘Photography captures my soul… I want to let other people know what I feel is going on in the world’
‘I look for beauty, often there is suffering but beauty is .. capturing the pain in someone's eyes with dignity and respect… a moment that is unique’.
He then described and showed images of several projects he has been working on:

• Wrestling: a selection of images of wrestlers before and after their matches, including in training. They show a great physicality,  movement, and often a sense of pain and exhaustion together with pride and machismo.
• Refugees in the forgotten conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan with images of people from both sides. It is impossible to tell which are from which side, both are exhausted, and down-trodden.
• Atrapados – a long piece of work with the street children in Lima, where he talked to the people and got their stories and linked them with the photographs.Many are children who are put out of their families because of violence and abuse and find living with the gangs the only safety they have. Often they then go to a centre for 'rehabilitation’ where they are further abused. ‘a circle of poverty and violence they cannot break’.
• The Columbian Army Battalion de Sanidad -  is an on-going project looking at the rehabilitation of war wounded soldiers, often very severely injured, and thinking about what will happen to them in the long time.

Olivio says that to work with these people and to get meaningful photographs the ‘key things are: to have respect and sincerity, to say something they can hear,and to listen and not judge.’
The images ranged from the startlingly beautiful to ones that showed great despair.  The audience was left stunned and quiet for a few minutes at the end.  Many used extremes of contrast and movement, none were pretty but many will remain in my mind for a long time.. Olivio hopes to use his work to publicise the violence still common in the world. I wish him well and remain in awe of his courage and vision.
Words in italics are Olivio’s own.
I have his book  Atrapados, the words are in Italian, but are not needed to allow me to recall the fervour with which Olivio tells the children’s story and the pictures speak for themselves.

www.oliviioargenti.it

Burke and Norfolk

Simon Norfolk is a British photographer who has recently undertaken an extremely interesting project. He has undertaken a joint project on photographing Afghanistan and the effects of the war there with another photographer, John Burke. The unusual facet of this is that John Burke died in 1900. He had accompanied the British Expeditionary force to Afghanistan between 1878 and 1880, and taken images of the place, the people, both British and native, and the equipment used. Norfolk, who had been in Afghanistan 10 years ago, returned there and used Burkes’ images as a basis for his own, not replicating them completely , but aiming for a similar feel.

‘variations on a theme by John Burke’, to think ‘what would he photograph if he were there now?’ because he had such an inquisitive eye. So it was more kind of using him as a guide book, like  Lonely Planet Kabul 1880 edition’  (interview with Simon Norfolk for the magazine Don’t Panic.).http://www.dontpaniconline.com/magazine/radar/simon-norfolk

The book is a very beautiful production with photographs by both intermingled.It is divided into 3 sections, the place, the people and the military (although they are not directly called that).

Sha Shaid , The Bala Hissar Gate. John Burke.

Jaw Akar Faizal Nahman and his daughter. Simon Norfolk.

Landholders and Laborers. John Burke.

A De-mining Team form the Mine Detection Centre, Kabul. Simon Norfolk.

and my personal favourite

Timur Shar's Mosque.

The book gives a fascinating glimpse into the Afghanistan of the past, and as it is now, there are probably more similarities than differences, in spite of the high rises and modern vehicles. The mountains still overshadow all, the land is as harsh and the people are as proud.

The Photographer’s Eye

The Photographer's Eye by Michael Freeman is the core text associated with this course, and many of the chapters are amplifications of the material in the course book. Two sections I found particularly helpful were Gestalt Perception and Reaction.

Gestalt perception discusses the theory that there is a holistic approach to perception, that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts and the ‘ the mind takes a sudden leap from recognising the individual components to understanding the scene in its entirety.’ (Michael Freeman , The Photographer’s Eye, p38.)
The Gestalt Theory of perception stems from work by German psychologists in the 1920’s. Gestalt = ‘organised whole’. http://www.users.totalise.co.uk/~kbroom/Lectures/gestalt.htm describes the original theory and gives examples of the 6 main principles of it. These principles act as a form of mental ‘shortcut’ to help with perceptual understanding.  Making a photographic image involves assessing a complex scenes and somehow organising it to make an image  that shows the main features.
Many of the activities in this course involve separating out he parts of the image making process so that we are Aware of them, however, it then becomes important to reassemble them into a coherent and rapidly utilisable whole when taking an image which one might only have limited time to acquire.

Reaction (p.164) discusses this further, and talks about practising ‘techniques ‘until they become instinctive, which then allows you to put them all together rapidly to take the shot. Freeman discusses the similarity of the concept to Zen thinking, especially as described in the book ‘Zen and the Art of Archery’ by Herrigal. ‘a lightening reaction which has no further need of conscious observation’. This clearly applies more to street photography rather than still lifes, but even here the less the brain has to consider techniques the more the brain can consider the image.

Therefore – practice, practice and more practice.

Henri Cartier-Bresson

Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004) is probably one of the most well-known photographers there is, many of whose images are instantly recognizable, such as the man at Gare Saint-Lazare jumping over a puddle. He made the term  ‘decisive moment’ a familiar one, and was one of the founder members of Magnum. In his early years he was involved in the Surrealist Movement, who believed that the main purpose of art is to show instinct over reality, which may be achieved by removing an object from its usual environment to give an unusual clarity to it. Throughout his long career he was involved in both still photograph and making films. He was a very disciplined photographer and would frequently look for the perfect position, move to it and then wait for the subject to move into it. ‘To me, photography is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second,the significance of an event as well as the precise organisation of forms which give the event its proper expression’ (Cartier-Bresson, The Decisive Moment, 1952).

 Madrid 1953

Cartier-Bresson photographed an enormous variety of subjects, from Communist China to office workers in New York, to portraits of famous personalities. His portraits often showed a gesture that was representative of the person, as is shown here in the portrait of George Balanchine.

Cartier-Bresson was always more interested in where he was going next and the next photo than what was happening to photographs he had already taken. His work, by the end, reached across the world and though  a lifetime of major cultural changes. He wrote in The Decisive Moment ‘ It is though living that we discover ourselves, at the same time as we discover the world around us.’

On looking at a large collection of Cartier-Bresson’s images very soon after looking at the images of Claude Cahun I was struck by the extreme difference between them, in spite of the similarities in their social class, imprisonment by Nazi Germany, time span (at least for the first half of Cartier-Bresson’s life) and early influence by the Surrealists.Cahun has ‘internalised’ her work, all is about self and changes to self, while Cartier-Bresson has ‘externalised’ his, all is about looking at the world with a clear, almost dispassionate, view.

I found Cartier-Bresson‘s images en masse  stunning. The range is fascinating, and the sheer clarity of his view amazing. Some are, inevitably, more engaging to me than others, but overall they are images I will return to regularly.

 Hamberg, Germany 1952-1953

(with thanks to my tutor  Alan Whetton for pointing me in this direction)