Summer Exhibitions
During the summer I visited 2 different exhibitions in order to gather ideas for the hypothetical exhibition task.
Travel photographer of the year - Royal Geographical SocietyTravel photographer of the year (TPOTY) is an exhibition in which all different people can enter, from under 18's, to professional photographers all submitting their photos from around the world that fit into the categories set. A panel then judge all the entries, deciding winners of each category, these are then displayed annually at TPOTY exhibition. This year (2012 photographs) were exhibited in the Royal Geographical Society in South Kensington, London. I visited the exhibition as alongside studying photography, I also study Geography so being able to view photos taken from across the world interests me, adding to this the exhibition also offers a wide range of photographs from ones taken in London where I live, to some of the most remote areas of the world, differentiating in people, cultures and landscapes, thus giving me lots of ideas for subject matter for my theoretical exhibition. |
Richard Avedon - Gagosian GalleryThe second exhibition I visited was 'Avedon women' by Richard Avedon. The exhibition presents a selection of 13 black and white photographs from the 1960s and 1970s, specifically focusing on images of women in motion. Avedon's fashion images never conformed to the prevailing standard of models posed without emotion, unfriendly and seemingly free of personality, Instead he set models in action, provoking them to appear questioning, authoritative and confidently alive. I visited his exhibition as although fashion photography, his subject matter isn't something I wish to photograph, I am interested in black and white photography a style which he is famous for.
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Leaflet Task - Cities: emotionally, psychically and geographically.
The curatorship task is the idea that me, the curator will create a hypothetical exhibition in which I display work under a chosen theme or title. To begin the project I created a brainstorm (left) in order to help with deciding what photographers to use in the exhibition and more importantly an over arching theme.
I have decided to base my exhibition on urban life and in particular 3 main cities; London, New York and Paris. There will be 3 rooms, each one displaying a different city. Within each 'city room' I aim to have 2 photographers, one that documents the people of that city and the other that documents the landscape/surroundings of the city. |
London - Simon Wheatley
Simon Wheatley, though born in Singapore in 1970, spent his teenage and college years in the UK, graduating from Manchester University in 1993. His photography is mainly documentary and shows a particular interest in youth and urban regeneration. In 2002, he began photographing London’s council estates. He started his work in Lambeth Walk, a once vibrant community in South London, that had in time, decayed into a ghetto. As time continued he was accecpted by the youth, enabling him to gain a intimate relationship with them that, when photographed, gather a true reflection of growing up on an inner city estate where problems with drug and poverty are prominent.
New York - Berenice Abbott
Born American, Berenice Abbott learned photography in Paris during the 20′s next to Man Ray. In 1929, she went back to New York and started a documentary work about the city, seen as completely transforming at the time. The series 'Changing New York' consists of 302 photos taken over a span of around 6 years (1929-1935). Abbott sought to create a broadly inclusive collection of photographs that together suggest a vital interaction between three aspects of urban life: the diverse people of the city; the places they live, work and play; and their daily activities. Inspired by Eugène Atget, her photos have an old feel, mainly being shot in black and white. She manages to capture New York in a timeless fashion, with her work has also provided a historical chronicle of many now-destroyed buildings and neighborhoods of Manhattan.
Paris - Laurent Dequick
Laurent Dequick is a French photographer although architect by profession. His architectural routes are obvious as photographing both Paris, New York and Berlin, his work captures large urban cities landscapes, attempting to portray a impression of frenzy through the use of over laying photographs. Dequick’s style can be said to be reminiscent of cubism in his representation of permanent movement. The bursts of motion and colour, overlapping of moments and fragments of everyday life are all captured and condensed in the images created.
Possible Venues
All my possible venues are centred within a large city. I did this as I feel it works hand in hand with my exhibition being all about urban city life and in addition these places are likely to have high amount of foot fall, meaning more people will see my exhibition. Hayward Gallery - SouthbankThe Hayward Gallery is located on Londons south bank. It hosts around 3 or 4 major events a year and currently does not house any permanent exhibitions. The gallery has previously exhibited the work of many high profile artists such as Van Gogh (1969) and Leonardo da Vinci (1989) as well as more contempary shows combining many artists such as The Light Show in 2013. With anual footfall along the south bank at around 25 millon people, having my exhibion here would mean many people are likely to visit it, heightening its profile.
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Finished leaflet
Having composed my leaflet, I think the titles in which I've decided to use 'emotionally,physically and geographically' will work better if I change 'geographical' to 'social', as I thought geographical Is too similar to physical and also change 'emotional' to 'emotive' as emotive incorporates better the idea of how a photo makes you feel rather than simply the emotion within it. These changes also give me a wider range of artists to look at and ideas for practical response
'In the city'
More than half the world’s population lives in cities and that number is expected to 75% by 2050. The urban environment has always been a popular subject for photographers. As there are so many aspects to be photographed, and many different cities in which to do this, hundreds have attempted to capture the essence of a city through the medium of photography. At the beginning of the 20th century, photographers - particularly those connected to the ‘Photo-Secession’ movement - were concerned with the ever-changing city. They felt the most modern media for capturing the rapid growth of population, industry and urban landscape was the camera. Just over a hundred years later, at the beginning of the 21st century, we are once again faced by similar concerns of rapid growth and urbanisation, with the camera still being chosen by many to capture these issues. By the middle of the 21st century, the urban population of the world is expected to have increased from 3.4 billion (2009) to 6.4 billion by 2050. Despite a steady increase in the number of houses built over the years to deal with this increase of population, the number of homeless people has also risen dramatically, rising to just over 4,600 (2007) in London alone. Both of these increases bring to light new material for photographers to use to capture the attention of the public as well as raise concerning issues of these ever-expanding megacities.
The Shard is pleased to announce 'In The City', an exhibition showcasing six photographers who document both the social and architectural aspects of urban life. With a total of three rooms, split up into the subtitles of social, physical and emotive. This exhibition attempts to draw parallels between two different time periods, comparing the work of a photographer from the 20th century and another from the beginning of the 21st century, both coming under the same umbrella heading. This exhibition aims to explore the way in which different photographers over different time periods have captured aspects of the inner city.
The Shard is pleased to announce 'In The City', an exhibition showcasing six photographers who document both the social and architectural aspects of urban life. With a total of three rooms, split up into the subtitles of social, physical and emotive. This exhibition attempts to draw parallels between two different time periods, comparing the work of a photographer from the 20th century and another from the beginning of the 21st century, both coming under the same umbrella heading. This exhibition aims to explore the way in which different photographers over different time periods have captured aspects of the inner city.
Room 1: Emotive
Room One features work from Alfred Stieglitz and Joel Meyerowitz. Both are from New York with photographs that can be seen to capture the 'emotive' elements of the city. Stieglitz was instrumental in making photography an accepted art form, photographing the rise of the skyscraper within New York in the early 1900s. By comparison, Meyerowitz, instead of photographing the growth of the city, captured it during the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attack. Both photographers capture physical elements of the city, but their interest is not in the architecture but in the emotion and story behind what was happening at the time.
Alfred Stieglitz |
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Alfred Stieglitz
From An American Place, Looking North, 1932
In early 1902, Stieglitz announced the existence of a group dedicated to promoting photography as an art form called the ‘Photo-Secession’. The movement was to break away from the conventional ideas of photography, viewing the medium as an art instead of a scientific curiosity. The small group of photographers adopted some labour-intensive processes such as platinum printing, which involved hand-coating papers with homemade emulsions and pigments, to produce rich and delicate images. This photo shows the emergence of the new architecture, the skyscraper, with many more in construction behind. In the late 1920s Stieglitz photographed New York from his apartment on the thirteenth floor of the New Shelton Hotel, and from his seventeenth-floor gallery, An American Place, at 53rd Street and Madison Avenue. Although he had been photographing the city since the 1890s, these new spaces provided him with his first opportunity to photograph from such heights on a regular basis with between 1927 - 1937 Stieglitz producing 90 cityscapes. His photographs capture the rapid growth of the city, not as something that is good for society, but, instead as something potentially damaging.
From An American Place, Looking North, 1932
In early 1902, Stieglitz announced the existence of a group dedicated to promoting photography as an art form called the ‘Photo-Secession’. The movement was to break away from the conventional ideas of photography, viewing the medium as an art instead of a scientific curiosity. The small group of photographers adopted some labour-intensive processes such as platinum printing, which involved hand-coating papers with homemade emulsions and pigments, to produce rich and delicate images. This photo shows the emergence of the new architecture, the skyscraper, with many more in construction behind. In the late 1920s Stieglitz photographed New York from his apartment on the thirteenth floor of the New Shelton Hotel, and from his seventeenth-floor gallery, An American Place, at 53rd Street and Madison Avenue. Although he had been photographing the city since the 1890s, these new spaces provided him with his first opportunity to photograph from such heights on a regular basis with between 1927 - 1937 Stieglitz producing 90 cityscapes. His photographs capture the rapid growth of the city, not as something that is good for society, but, instead as something potentially damaging.
Alfred Stieglitz
The Terminal, 1892
The Terminal predicts by over a decade the radical transformation of the medium of photography from classic prints of rare subjects to "straight photography". In this and other photographs he took, Stieglitz used natural elements such as smoke, rain, and snow to soften and unify the image. This photograph shows four horses pulling a tram through the New York streets, with a conductor guiding the horses around the curve in the road. Taken in wintertime, the surroundings of the road show build up snow and, adding to the atmosphere in the picture, there is steam coming off the horses. Stieglitz took this picture using a small 4 x 5 camera, an instrument at the time not considered worthy of artistic photography. Unlike the unwieldy 8 x 10 view camera (which required a tripod), this camera gave Stieglitz greater freedom and mobility to roam the city and respond quickly to the ever-changing street life around him.
The Terminal, 1892
The Terminal predicts by over a decade the radical transformation of the medium of photography from classic prints of rare subjects to "straight photography". In this and other photographs he took, Stieglitz used natural elements such as smoke, rain, and snow to soften and unify the image. This photograph shows four horses pulling a tram through the New York streets, with a conductor guiding the horses around the curve in the road. Taken in wintertime, the surroundings of the road show build up snow and, adding to the atmosphere in the picture, there is steam coming off the horses. Stieglitz took this picture using a small 4 x 5 camera, an instrument at the time not considered worthy of artistic photography. Unlike the unwieldy 8 x 10 view camera (which required a tripod), this camera gave Stieglitz greater freedom and mobility to roam the city and respond quickly to the ever-changing street life around him.
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Joel Meyerowitz
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Joel Meyerowitz
The South Tower, looking west toward the World Financial Center, 2001
Meyerowitz was a street photographer living in New York when the attack on the Twin Towers took place. On his first attempt to photograph the area surrounding Ground Zero, Meyerowitz was reminded by a police officer that this was a crime scene and that no photographs were allowed. To Meyerowitz, 'No photographs meant no history' and he decided to find a way in. Within days he had established strong links with many of the fire-fighters, policemen and construction workers contributing to the clean up and with their assistance became the only photographer to be granted access to Ground Zero, with his work becoming an archive for the City of New York. This photo is a shot in a portrait format and shows the structural remains of the Twin Towers. Behind the rubble are two typical New York glass skyscrapers, undamaged by the attack. Meyerowitz intended to capture the contrast between the untouched buildings or what might have been seen as a “normal” image of New York just a couple of feet away from the devastation of 9/11, thus serving to highlight the impact of the attack. The photo is taken from a low angle emphasising the pile of debris in the foreground. Flash is not likely to have been used as light can be seen on both the centre of the pile of debris, as well as on the left side of the glass building, suggesting there was natural sunlight coming from the left corner of the shot.
The South Tower, looking west toward the World Financial Center, 2001
Meyerowitz was a street photographer living in New York when the attack on the Twin Towers took place. On his first attempt to photograph the area surrounding Ground Zero, Meyerowitz was reminded by a police officer that this was a crime scene and that no photographs were allowed. To Meyerowitz, 'No photographs meant no history' and he decided to find a way in. Within days he had established strong links with many of the fire-fighters, policemen and construction workers contributing to the clean up and with their assistance became the only photographer to be granted access to Ground Zero, with his work becoming an archive for the City of New York. This photo is a shot in a portrait format and shows the structural remains of the Twin Towers. Behind the rubble are two typical New York glass skyscrapers, undamaged by the attack. Meyerowitz intended to capture the contrast between the untouched buildings or what might have been seen as a “normal” image of New York just a couple of feet away from the devastation of 9/11, thus serving to highlight the impact of the attack. The photo is taken from a low angle emphasising the pile of debris in the foreground. Flash is not likely to have been used as light can be seen on both the centre of the pile of debris, as well as on the left side of the glass building, suggesting there was natural sunlight coming from the left corner of the shot.
Joel Meyerowitz
Vesey Street Staircase, 2001
The cost of the clean up for debris alone was estimated at $5 billion, taking nine months to clear. Meyerowitz photographed day and night around "the pile," as the World Trade Center came to be known, including the 800 or more people a day that were working in it. The photo has an eerie feel as everything around the staircase has been destroyed. This photo was taken in November 2001, one month after the attack and is of the Vesey Street staircase, known as the “survivors’ stairway” because it was a well-used escape route on 9/11. The staircase suffered significant damage during the nine months the site was cleared; currently it is planned to become a major feature of the World Trade Center Memorial museum when it opens to the public in May 2014.
Vesey Street Staircase, 2001
The cost of the clean up for debris alone was estimated at $5 billion, taking nine months to clear. Meyerowitz photographed day and night around "the pile," as the World Trade Center came to be known, including the 800 or more people a day that were working in it. The photo has an eerie feel as everything around the staircase has been destroyed. This photo was taken in November 2001, one month after the attack and is of the Vesey Street staircase, known as the “survivors’ stairway” because it was a well-used escape route on 9/11. The staircase suffered significant damage during the nine months the site was cleared; currently it is planned to become a major feature of the World Trade Center Memorial museum when it opens to the public in May 2014.
Room 2: Physical
Room Two exhibits work that looks at the physical aspect of cities; early 20th century photographer, Berenice Abbott who photographed the changing cityscape of 1930s New York and photographers William Eckersley and Alexander Shields who in their book “Left London” look at abandoned and derelict London. Both photographers, although with completely different intentions and in different eras both photograph the physical side of the city.
Berenice Abbott |
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Berenice Abbott
Newsstand, 32nd Street and Third Avenue, 1935.
The Great Depression took place in America around the late 1920's - early 1930s. It began with the Wall Street Crash and followed with high levels of unemployment, poverty and general lost of hope. This photo was taken just after the Great Depression and shows a man looking at a street newspaper stand. The images and magazines he is looking at are aspirational, the mans hunched posture and body language suggest he would not be someone (along with many other Americans at the time) affluent enough to purchase anything but, instead uses the magazines and images as a form of escapism from the grim reality. After photographing the city independently for six years, unable to get financial support from foundations, or private individuals, Abbott was finally hired by the Federal Art Project in 1935. The FAP, a part of the Works Progress Administration; a government organization that employed millions (mostly unskilled men) to carry out public works projects. It also supported out of work artists in the aim to provide art for non-federal government buildings such as schools, hospitals and libraries. The program aimed to demonstrate the government's commitment to the art community, giving artists a sense of participation in American life, and provide the public a stake in American art.
Newsstand, 32nd Street and Third Avenue, 1935.
The Great Depression took place in America around the late 1920's - early 1930s. It began with the Wall Street Crash and followed with high levels of unemployment, poverty and general lost of hope. This photo was taken just after the Great Depression and shows a man looking at a street newspaper stand. The images and magazines he is looking at are aspirational, the mans hunched posture and body language suggest he would not be someone (along with many other Americans at the time) affluent enough to purchase anything but, instead uses the magazines and images as a form of escapism from the grim reality. After photographing the city independently for six years, unable to get financial support from foundations, or private individuals, Abbott was finally hired by the Federal Art Project in 1935. The FAP, a part of the Works Progress Administration; a government organization that employed millions (mostly unskilled men) to carry out public works projects. It also supported out of work artists in the aim to provide art for non-federal government buildings such as schools, hospitals and libraries. The program aimed to demonstrate the government's commitment to the art community, giving artists a sense of participation in American life, and provide the public a stake in American art.
Berenice Abbott
A Window of the Empire State Building, 4.30pm, December 1932.
One of Abbott’s most famous photos, this was taken looking down from the Empire State building and displays the emerging modern city Abbott captured in her series, 'Changing New York'. The photo required a 15-minute exposure, and had to be taken before 5pm, when city workers would begin to go home and the lights would go out. The importance of the correct vantage point was to accentuate the tight layering and contrast of buildings in the city, showing the difference in feel between the older, low-rise blocks and the skyscrapers rising up sharply behind them, with narrow, tightly spaced windows. Abbott’s work was filled with the optimism of the Post Depression Era when there were jobs again, particularly in the areas she photographed, the building of new skyscrapers, roads and bridges. The sense of movement and possibility comes from both the lights on in the buildings and the light trails created by the traffic.
A Window of the Empire State Building, 4.30pm, December 1932.
One of Abbott’s most famous photos, this was taken looking down from the Empire State building and displays the emerging modern city Abbott captured in her series, 'Changing New York'. The photo required a 15-minute exposure, and had to be taken before 5pm, when city workers would begin to go home and the lights would go out. The importance of the correct vantage point was to accentuate the tight layering and contrast of buildings in the city, showing the difference in feel between the older, low-rise blocks and the skyscrapers rising up sharply behind them, with narrow, tightly spaced windows. Abbott’s work was filled with the optimism of the Post Depression Era when there were jobs again, particularly in the areas she photographed, the building of new skyscrapers, roads and bridges. The sense of movement and possibility comes from both the lights on in the buildings and the light trails created by the traffic.
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Left London |
William Eckersley and Alexander Shields
#6 Putney Hospital, Putney (2006)
Eckersley and Shields, originally inspired by squat raves they had attended, subsequently photographed the abandoned and decayed aspects of London. Taken over a 12- month period, they created the book 'Left London' which portrays the empty and derelict places within the city before they were finally demolished or re-developed. The book is divided up into four sections: Industry, Transport, Health, and Leisure, all areas that relate to ordinary public life. The photo shows an abandoned X-ray room, left untouched since the building closed. General clutter along the side of cabinets and old material is left strewn around the room giving the photo an eerie sense. It’s almost as it has just been left but in fact it has been derelict for many years, still retaining the sense of the events that could have taken place in the past. Putney Hospital, closed services to patients in 1998. It has remained vacant ever since. Wandsworth Council now has permission to demolish the site in order to make way for a new primary school, fundamentally displaying the aim behind of capturing a place before it disappears
#6 Putney Hospital, Putney (2006)
Eckersley and Shields, originally inspired by squat raves they had attended, subsequently photographed the abandoned and decayed aspects of London. Taken over a 12- month period, they created the book 'Left London' which portrays the empty and derelict places within the city before they were finally demolished or re-developed. The book is divided up into four sections: Industry, Transport, Health, and Leisure, all areas that relate to ordinary public life. The photo shows an abandoned X-ray room, left untouched since the building closed. General clutter along the side of cabinets and old material is left strewn around the room giving the photo an eerie sense. It’s almost as it has just been left but in fact it has been derelict for many years, still retaining the sense of the events that could have taken place in the past. Putney Hospital, closed services to patients in 1998. It has remained vacant ever since. Wandsworth Council now has permission to demolish the site in order to make way for a new primary school, fundamentally displaying the aim behind of capturing a place before it disappears
William Eckersley and Alexander Shields
#7 Hornsey Road Baths, Holloway (2006)
The idea behind the book, “Left London” was partly down to the arrival of the 2012 Olympics during which London would undergo its biggest re-development yet and many old, derelict buildings would simply vanish. When Hornsey Road Baths opened in 1932, it was the largest complex of its kind in the UK, with four swimming pools, a public washhouse and laundry. After damage during the Blitz in 1941, the main baths were extensively rebuilt during the 1960s, and eventually closed in 1991 due to lack of funds. Since closure it has been redeveloped into 212 homes, a nursery and community space plus 40,000sq ft of new offices for Islington Council. The photo taken in 2006 shows the inside of one of the main pools left derelict with the deep end still left with some water inside it. The deterioration of the building is obvious, paintwork is chipped away along the sides of the pool, as well as graffiti spray-painted 'death' at the back of the room
#7 Hornsey Road Baths, Holloway (2006)
The idea behind the book, “Left London” was partly down to the arrival of the 2012 Olympics during which London would undergo its biggest re-development yet and many old, derelict buildings would simply vanish. When Hornsey Road Baths opened in 1932, it was the largest complex of its kind in the UK, with four swimming pools, a public washhouse and laundry. After damage during the Blitz in 1941, the main baths were extensively rebuilt during the 1960s, and eventually closed in 1991 due to lack of funds. Since closure it has been redeveloped into 212 homes, a nursery and community space plus 40,000sq ft of new offices for Islington Council. The photo taken in 2006 shows the inside of one of the main pools left derelict with the deep end still left with some water inside it. The deterioration of the building is obvious, paintwork is chipped away along the sides of the pool, as well as graffiti spray-painted 'death' at the back of the room
Room 3: Social
Once again the work of an early 20th century photographer and a more current 21st century photographer are side by side as the final room showcases the work of Henri Cartier Bresson and Simon Wheatley. These photographers represent a specific time and place through photographing the people of a city. Cartier Bresson is one of the most famous photographers of the 20th century and considered the ‘father of photo journalism’, as he pioneered the use of small-scale cameras. His series of street photography was collated into his first book called 'The Decisive Moment', published in 1952. The ‘Decisive Moment’, refers to capturing an event that is short-lived and spontaneous, where the image represents the essence of the event itself. In contrast, the photographer Simon Wheatley has focussed on the underground ‘urban’ music scene in London and life on council estates. He joined Magnum, the internationally renowned photography agency founded by Cartier Bresson and Robert Capa, in 2005. Both photographers seek to capture what is around them with photojournalism.
Henri Cartier Bresson
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Henri Cartier Bresson
Untitled
Cartier Bresson's photographs are all taken using black and white film, with no use of flash and are rarely cropped or altered in any way which makes his composition all the more remarkable. He was originally inspired by a photograph taken of three black children running towards the shoreline of Lake Tanganyika, in 1930 by Hungarian Photojrnalist, Martin Munkacsi. Cartier Bresson would wait for hours with his camera, waiting for the 'decisive moment' in which to capture his subject. Here, a passing cyclist is captured at the end of a spiralling staircase. He was able to do this kind of reportage work through developments in small format cameras. Although influencing a generation of photographers, today, this idea of the 'decisive moment' and waiting for hours to capture the perfect shot, could be said to be gone with phenomenon of the ‘snapshot’ revolutionized by the rapid progress and wide availability of digital media.
Untitled
Cartier Bresson's photographs are all taken using black and white film, with no use of flash and are rarely cropped or altered in any way which makes his composition all the more remarkable. He was originally inspired by a photograph taken of three black children running towards the shoreline of Lake Tanganyika, in 1930 by Hungarian Photojrnalist, Martin Munkacsi. Cartier Bresson would wait for hours with his camera, waiting for the 'decisive moment' in which to capture his subject. Here, a passing cyclist is captured at the end of a spiralling staircase. He was able to do this kind of reportage work through developments in small format cameras. Although influencing a generation of photographers, today, this idea of the 'decisive moment' and waiting for hours to capture the perfect shot, could be said to be gone with phenomenon of the ‘snapshot’ revolutionized by the rapid progress and wide availability of digital media.
Henri Cartier Bresson
Andalucia, Seville, Spain, 1933.
Much about Cartier Bresson's early work remains unknown. For this reason, his personal scrapbook of his best work from his early period (1932–46) provides an insight into his artistic development, documenting both his travels to Spain and Mexico. Some of his photos from Spain recorded the destruction in Seville, which took place during the Spanish Civil War. Children were a common subject in Cartier-Bresson’s work. This photo shows a group of boys playing in broken parts of concrete spread on the floor. Whilst the boys’ activities seem innocent enough, their actions remain unclear; a closer look exposes a sense of mischievousness and even a disturbing cruelty in the throwing of stones at the disabled boy. The photo is composed with Bresson positioned looking through a hole created in the wall as if he's looking into the children's lives.
Andalucia, Seville, Spain, 1933.
Much about Cartier Bresson's early work remains unknown. For this reason, his personal scrapbook of his best work from his early period (1932–46) provides an insight into his artistic development, documenting both his travels to Spain and Mexico. Some of his photos from Spain recorded the destruction in Seville, which took place during the Spanish Civil War. Children were a common subject in Cartier-Bresson’s work. This photo shows a group of boys playing in broken parts of concrete spread on the floor. Whilst the boys’ activities seem innocent enough, their actions remain unclear; a closer look exposes a sense of mischievousness and even a disturbing cruelty in the throwing of stones at the disabled boy. The photo is composed with Bresson positioned looking through a hole created in the wall as if he's looking into the children's lives.
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Simon Wheatley |
Simon Wheatley
Untitled #33
Initially drawn by what he called “the tragedy of late 60s and 70s social architecture” – i.e. council estates, this is a photo from Wheatley’s series 'Don't Call Me Urban' that began in 2002 on an estate in Lambeth Walk. Drug paraphernalia surrounds a young girl lying on her bed with knives scattered around casually, the soft toy reminds viewers that the girl is not far into adulthood but yet is surrounded by all these serious issues. It is taken from an angle above her head with the viewer looking down on the scene. The photo attempts to portray some of the common issues (knife crime, drugs, etc.) faced by teenagers living on the estate who are part of a “grime” culture. To those outside of it, the word "grime" creates images of hooded youths and violence. 'It’s an attempt to go a bit deeper into a complex issue and to go beyond the stereotypes of the right wing media', Wheatley has said. His work takes a more personal look, not only showing the violence and crime but also exploring the people behind the hoods, who are generally kids who've grown up in in an environment of poverty and crime.
Untitled #33
Initially drawn by what he called “the tragedy of late 60s and 70s social architecture” – i.e. council estates, this is a photo from Wheatley’s series 'Don't Call Me Urban' that began in 2002 on an estate in Lambeth Walk. Drug paraphernalia surrounds a young girl lying on her bed with knives scattered around casually, the soft toy reminds viewers that the girl is not far into adulthood but yet is surrounded by all these serious issues. It is taken from an angle above her head with the viewer looking down on the scene. The photo attempts to portray some of the common issues (knife crime, drugs, etc.) faced by teenagers living on the estate who are part of a “grime” culture. To those outside of it, the word "grime" creates images of hooded youths and violence. 'It’s an attempt to go a bit deeper into a complex issue and to go beyond the stereotypes of the right wing media', Wheatley has said. His work takes a more personal look, not only showing the violence and crime but also exploring the people behind the hoods, who are generally kids who've grown up in in an environment of poverty and crime.
Simon Wheatley
Untitled #14
This photo shows three boys in lift. The boy in the middle, pulling a face and exhaling smoke, is the main focus of the photo. The photographer has used shallow depth of field as shown by the boy on the left being out of focus where as the other two are. The subjects are very relaxed, showing the trust Wheatley had cultivated between himself and his subjects, with them allowing him, over time, to gain a real insight into their daily lives. The small, confined, setting of the lift, questions if it is possible for a photographer to create a more intimate relationship than the one Wheatley has with his subjects here in this photo.
Untitled #14
This photo shows three boys in lift. The boy in the middle, pulling a face and exhaling smoke, is the main focus of the photo. The photographer has used shallow depth of field as shown by the boy on the left being out of focus where as the other two are. The subjects are very relaxed, showing the trust Wheatley had cultivated between himself and his subjects, with them allowing him, over time, to gain a real insight into their daily lives. The small, confined, setting of the lift, questions if it is possible for a photographer to create a more intimate relationship than the one Wheatley has with his subjects here in this photo.
Conclusion
Dividing the city up into the three different aspects of social, physical and emotive encouraged me to look at a city from different perspectives. Analysing photographs by a range of artists throughout different eras gave a greater understanding of the different ways that can be chosen to represent the urban landscape and the common themes that have been represented throughout. For example, looking at this work has made me realise that all photographers can attempt to do is capture the shifting landscape of a city at a precise point in time. Berenice Abbot was photographing New York at a time when the city was rapidly expanding, the economy was booming and it was a time of optimism whereas Joel Meyerowitz photographed the same city in the aftermath of a tragedy, when the mood was very different. In my practical, what I aim to do is capture London, socially emotively and physically. Looking at a range of photographers has highlighted how technical advances have changed the way they work: the light portable camera, for example, allowed Cartier Bresson to create the 'decisive moment.' My intention with my practical work is to look at all of the sub categories as through my research I’ve found they interlink greatly, so therefore focusing on one wouldn’t represent the feel of the city. I may lean more towards one or another within my work, but this is yet undecided.
Bibliography
www.magnumphotos.com
www.metmuseum.org www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/stgp/hd_stgp.htm www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/a/alfred-stieglitz-exhibition/ 'Alfred Stieglitz New York' Photo Exhibition' - Huffington post joelmeyerowitz.com/ www.pbs.org/newshour/art/blog/2011/09/joel-meyerowitz-documented-ground-zero-aftermath.html http://www.dontcallmeurban.com/ Simon Wheatley interview - Dazed & Confused magazine |
www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-13608668
www.digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/explore/?col_id=160 Berenice Abbott - The Guardian Henri Cartier Bresson - www.biography.com www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/henricartierbresson www.henricartierbresson.org www.stuccopress.com/books/left-london/ www.williameckersley.com/projects/left-london/ Personal emails with William Eckersley |