9 months ago
via thenmyrasaid
Untitled, 2010
I was going to write about Marlo Pascual’s Untitled before we took an office field trip to the SculptureCenter, which sits in the far off land of Long Island City, but after seeing this piece in person I knew I definitely had to write about it. The piece was originally a photograph, made into a three dimensional object.
I really like this piece because it reminds me of Walter Benjamin’s The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. If you haven’t read it, the main point raised is basically this: through reproduction, is there a loss of aura? The aura represents the originality and authenticity of a work prior to reproduction. So for instance, a painting has an aura but a photograph does not.
The SculptureCenter Limited Edition Photo Portfolio 2010 features five photographic prints that question the materiality of a photograph and the difference or relationship between photography and sculpture. I find Marlo Pascual’s piece interesting because though originally a photograph, it was manipulated into a one of a kind sculpture. However, because it was a reproduction to begin with, this three-dimensional object could potentially be made again, but never in exactly the same way. So in creating this original sculpture, did Pascual create an aura from something which, according to Benjamin, had no aura at all? Does this sculpture have more of an aura than the photograph it took to create it? Is that even possible?
Always an advocate for photography, there was something special evoked for me in seeing this piece in person. It seemed as if this figure was slipping into another world through an invisible door, and physically I saw it and felt it. Something about the reference to an unseen dimension makes the figure seem as if she is stepping into her own mind. The sheet crumpled at the bottom made me think of “between the sheets,” and the line drawn down the middle by a shadow cast from the crease made me think of “reading between the lines.”
In this specific case instead of shutting down Benjamin’s opinion, as I am used to, there might be a point to be made here—even though I don’t want to admit it. There was something new, special and dissimilar about looking at a photograph meant to be flat that had been turned into something totally different. It was a feeling I enjoyed very much and have not experienced a lot. -JACKI
via dailyartspace
1 year ago
Panopticism
I created these three images in response to the topic of surveillance & voyeurism in today’s society. I took the images without the knowledge of the subjects and wanted to capture a sense of being a voyeur. Also looking at the sense that we are always being watched whether we are aware of this or not.
Critical Studies. Panopticism & Photography.
Panopticism is the social theory developed by French philosopher Michel Foucault. It is interesting to consider how surveillance and society affect our behaviour, this is because of the effect it has on our human consciousness. A simple example are CCTV cameras, always watching and constantly around us represent a institutional gaze. The panopticon is a symbol of how this power is played on by those in power (the few) over the many.
In photography surveillance and voyeurism are two concepts which explore the idea of an internalisation. The idea that we as photographers can begin to watch ourselves through the eyes of those watching. Where do the boundaries between surveillance and voyeurism begin and end? Surveillance describes an act of detached observation which is both unmotivated and passive, where as voyeurism is a person who gains sexual pleasure from watching others. The contrast between the two show is that one is of a ’deviant’ nature and one is accepted as the ‘norm’.
The following images have been selected with the exhibition ‘Exposed’ in mind (http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/exhibitions/exposure/default.shtm). Each photographer was part of the exhibition but these images have been brought together from work created outside of this.
Helmut Newton.
This first image by Newton captures a beautiful model posed provokingly in front of a TV. If we read into these connotations I get the sense that this women is escaping the idea of performing for a institutional gaze, by juxtaposing the subject with the TV the women is placed in a status of power. She is all knowing, she is seen watching and seeing what the person in the TV is doing, whereas behind closed doors she is being who she wants to be and baring all. By photographing this image however Newton contradicts this because us as viewers are exposed to her act, I think this contradiction forces us to question our own internalisation and behaviour in society. I think people may raise concern with the objectification of the women; however I get the feeling of sexual freedom and beauty which I think is what Newton wanted to portray here.
Nan Goldin
Self Portrait with Dickie, The York Motel, NJ 1980.
This second piece offers a different unusual reading. Nan Goldin exposes her own body and the photographer is placed directly into the frame. In 1973 she held her first solo exhibition exploring gay and transexual identity. Her work brings to the forefront people and ideas we may not view to be in the ‘norm’ of soceity. Here photographys direct manner is clear, a sexual act seems to be playing out and this puts the viewer into a uncomfortable situation. I think the photographer wants to question the ease in which our activities can now be watched and accessed, but also about the morality around what this image is ultimately achieving. Has she gone too far? Newton used a subject to convey his message where as here Goldin places herself dirctly under the spotlight. I feel she is connecting with us more provokingly by immersing herself into the issue. This also raises the question about ethics documentary photography.
Robbert Mapplethorpe
Plate 99. Untitled (Eddie) 1973.
Robbert Mapplethropes work is contraversial with his subject matter and also how directly he attempts to communicate to the viewers. I think the mirror here is symbolic of a reflection upon oneself, I think this represents the idea of an internalisation. Here the subject is looking upon his self naked, reflecting but we know not what of. I think here Mapplethorpe is allowing the viewer to place himself in the soul of the sitter, by actively introducing the mirror as a visual barrier, we break this down by placing our own identity and emotions into the image. It is similair in framing like that of Goldins yet the mirror offers a different angle upon the topic. Are we meant to feel like a voyeur here?
1 year ago
(Source: kari-shma)
via kari-shma
“Arbus`s interest in freaks expressed a desire to violate her own innocence, to undermine her sense of being privileged, to vent her frustration at being safe.”
- Susan Sontag, p43.
1 year ago
I love how documentary images - whatever that means today?! - help us to question our value judgments about a person, place or even an object. Diana Arbus took the word FREAK which is filled with meaning and gives the viewer a sense of something out of the ordinary and turned the meaning upon itself to create something totally new and inspiring.
The images I have included here explore the theme of Religion. Photographed by Ruth Kaplan - Some kind of divine, I have realised how cathartic photography can become, and through my current project Passion,Pride & Glory I hope to push this and create something which is for the audience too. Religion, such a wide and daunting subject matter but this is exciting to me and I think we must always aim to learn something new by putting yourself into situations where we meet new people, experience new things, I think this is where my passion for the medium comes from.
1 year ago
Brighton is such a beautiful place full of culture and art.
1 year ago
“Photograph the things which you feel are important, otherwise they may never be photographed”
- Martin Parr
