Sally Mann

I looked Sally Mann’s work which I think is extraordinary.

I understand the controversy created by the publishing of Family Pictures. The images are quite beautiful but I can imagine that some would be uncomfortable with the nudity. It’s a sign of the times that when I was researching the subject I was concerned about what others would think of my observing them. Interestingly, I found it quite hard to find anything on line that specifically criticizes them. There are articles that refer to the concern of others but little else. I expanded my search looking for Christian or Bible Belt references but again found none of the indignant rants that I was expecting. Could this be because the images have been in the public domain for some time?

Or perhaps there is a self-imposed censorship of the issue? I came across a forum discussing the hypocrisy about photography nudity. The post below was made in response to a photographers concern about making images of models below 18.

Im not worried about it because about 10 years ago, I made a business choice. I started shooting nudes and adult stuff ( since there is really only a difference to photographers and some people with a bit of skill),at the that time we stopped working with anyone under 18 for any reason or any project. 

It is totally silly and I will be the first to agree that it dumb as hell, but it has kept me out of trouble and so many people have gotten in trouble for doing nothing wrong, you will not believe until it happens to someone you know.

There are crazy laws on the books, about protecting kids, even if it is Non-Nude some people still thing it can be child porn. The pay and model release are different ( esc. in calf because of the abuse parents have had with kid actors)

Now if I shoot a nude girl that is artist.. You have to assume that not everyone is going to agree with your ideas of art or artist. Often (even if you don't agree with me in general).. it breaks down to this 

• if you shoot nude = you are a porn person and some people can't see the difference between artist nude and porn.. Since you are now creating porn ( artist nudes) then people think of you the same as you shooting hardcore PORN..you are viewed no different than Max Hardcore.When people see you as Max Hardcore.. They don't want you working with high school kids or wedding or **** like that. They will tell there friends "I heard you let a pornnographer take pics of your daughter for high school pics" or some other stupid ****.. "OMG.. you are having a PORN person taking pics at your wedding, I don't think I want my kids around at your wedding, so I will not be coming"I have known Max Hardcore for about 10 years. How many of you would let him work with your kids or work in your high school. Remember to a lot of people there is NO difference between Max Hardcore and artist porn.. not saying it is right or wrong.. it is just the way it is, I can see the difference, most people on this board can see the difference, but that doesn't mean everyone can, if they could then they would call ZchDnn a porn photographer..

Sally Mann seems generally to have been accepted as an artist (because she is a woman) where a man (Jock Sturges for example) is thought by some as a pornographer and is persecuted.

Amateur research

I am working through 'The Photograph as Contemporary Art' and thought I'd canvas the views of friends regarding the interpretation a single image and compare theirs to that of the author.

Dear Friends,

I am working on a photography project. So I thought I would do a fun test with your help! Can you tell me what the picture below says to you? I would be really grateful if you would!

I will give you feedback of what the author says it represents after I get your responses.

No cheating! No research!

Their responses compared to the views of the author are printed below.

Dear All,

Thanks for your comments on the photograph I sent you. I can’t believe that 12 of you took the time to answer! That’s the point of Art I suppose, creating a debate and dragging us away from work in the office ;o). I have listed them below. At the bottom I have included text from the book I’m reading.

  

A.      … pretty stumped, but perhaps something about the whole world being outside the window, but as it is inside it's making you think about... then got lost

B.      Firstly, composition - the walls seem dark and brooding, the window is lit by sunlight, so it draws your attention to the window and what's within it, dulls everything around it so I'd assume from that they're asking for focus there.

Secondly - the globe. I'd also refer it to meaning the world. For me I think it is that everyone has their own world inside their home, so the globe represents the insular world that the people inside live in. Darkened walls show that the outside doesn't matter, the light from the window shows that the environment, the atmosphere, that family and their "world" is behind that window and that matters?

Alternatively you could go waaaay out there. The picture is generally dark and depressing, cold and uninviting. Stone, shadow, minimal light and positivity. The globe is a "comical punctuation" to the image, brightening the view. Perhaps the globe print on it is irrelevant, more a by-product of the shape or that it is just a toy, showing that there is fun and frivolity behind the window pane, giving "light" to a dark image from both a theoretical and physical POV.

It's all wank to be quite honest

C.      The reflection looks like barbed wire so the globe gives the impression of someone that yearns to travel the world but is trapped.  One almost feels sorry for the person behind the curtain, although I am not sure why.

But then again it could just be bullocks ;-) 

D.      I think the picture says: Olympics - window on the world (but then I have been up since 3am...)

E.      Somebody wants to travel .Every time they look at the horizon through the window after they open the curtains which is often (which is why the globe is on the window) they have a look at the globe which they keep on the window because it reminds them of travel. What is odd is the light.

F.       An eye. The eye is the 'window into the soul,' as they say; the soul, I suppose, each person's world.  (You've got the pupil and lid thing going on as well...)

G.     The grass is always greener on the other side... there is a world inside your window that you don't appreciate

H.     it looks quite dark..like looking out to a world you won’t get to see coz you is in prison yeah…lol.  I see barbed wire..the building looks like a huge institution…

But the light is like a glimmer of hope…

I.        I think that this is a window onto the room of someone who dreams of other places. They would probably love to visit them given the chance and although their window only looks out onto the terrace opposite for them the globe is a window on the world they hope to see someday.

J.        Early evening, last of the sun, late Autumn/Early Winter. Child’s room. Makes me feel slightly sad and lonely.

K.      Reflection of trees…

L.       The message I see is education vs fun/freedom. The house and the window are dull, lifeless and the bards across the window look almost like prison bars. Likewise, the grey wall and bricks of the building associate to a prison setting. Where I see education is the atlas in the window - showing that beyond the curtains is even more of a learning environment.

The sunshine that hits the walls is the freedom of a pleasant summers day that waits outside, and this is mirrored in the window, but it can only be seen when you pay particular attention to the reflection, signifying that it is far away from the person within.

Locked in, learning, but would like to be out having fun - or at least the house represents that to the person who lives there - that's what I got!

M.    The World Inside Your Window. The fragility of reflection. The fragile restraints to our world.

Below is the description I was struggling with (my emphasis):

“Jennifer  Bolande’s ‘Globe’ contemplates the innocent yet meaningful placing of objects in unexpected positions. From Street level, Bolande photographed globes stored on the window ledges of homes. By means of this very simple gesture, our perceptions of the world are brought into consideration. Most obviously, these photographs draw our attention to the way in which we receive knowledge about the world from a dwarfed, simplified model. They demonstrate how partial our perception is, framed as it is by the windows out of which, and into which, we look. Human understanding from micro to macro-cosmic proportions is repeatedly explored through Bolande’s work: a sense of constrained human understanding is visualised through simple and subtle observation”

This says that Jennifer Bolande thought “I want to explore human understanding from micro to macro-cosmic proportions”. “Through simple and subtle observation, I’m going to convey a sense of constrained human understanding”. Having seen the globe in someone’s window, Jennifer then goes on to think “capturing a photograph of that will draw attention to the way in which we receive knowledge about the world. That globe will show that we use dwarfed, simplified models.” “And the window will show that our views are only partial”.

Tutor comms

Hi MIke- some comments made while looking at your blog

There is much hypocrisy in the privacy issue. Much of this of course has been fuelled by the celebrity- embracing the camera when it suits making publicity, but shunning it on a whim. The children issue is a massive subject area worthy of study. I have had many students (male) confronted by police on a public beach. What are your views? Don’t be afraid to think out loud on your blog. It can promote debate if you ask others to contribute.

At the same time that parents are refused cameras for snapping their loved one at the pantomime press photographers publish pages of children’s photographs from a variety of events. Have a look at Sally Mann’s work and seek out the debate around this.

regards

dave

Observation

Out looking for locations / subjects for my next assessment when I realised something very obvious indeed. With the exception of flowers and fruit the natural world is almost exclusively green and brown. Almost all of the colour that assaults our eys today is man made.

Try finding anything 'natural' in a city that isn't green or brown is a tough order. The most colourful natural things I could find were cut flowers and a vegetable stall.

Obvious now but a surprising revelation.

Project Colour Relationships - Exercise Colour into tones in Black and White

Colour - as taken

Black and White - as taken

Black and White - with Red filter

Black and White - with Yellow filter

Black and White - with Green filter

Black and White - with Blue filter

The photograph as contemporary art - Deadpan

I was struck by the truth expressed in Rineke Dijkstra view that there is a point of vulnerability as a person leaves the security of the sea and joins the anonymity of the beach crowd.

There must be hundreds of other transition points that would make interesting subjects for study.
Given the vulnerability if the subjects though, is it entirely fair to capture these moments for public scrutiny? This could be a particular issue where children are involved. Being a woman, Rineke, taking these pictures would have been less problematic.

This also applies to the series of deadpan pictures taken by Jitka Hanzlova of women in the street. I suggest that suspicion of men's motives limits their participation in these types of deadpan projects. Unless there is a good 'excuse', for example the party environment used by Albrecht Tubke , a man is likely to be rebuffed.

I suspect that a professional is less likely to have this experience. An interesting study is to be had here. The male photographer with a compact camera versus one with a bag over one shoulder and two SLRs  slung round his neck. This would be a study in sexual psychology than one in photography.


Interestingly, this is not a new problem as witnessed by this poster at the National Media Museum.

With the advent of digital camera functionality in the modern day Smartphone, the issue of privacy has again become a concern.

Use of colours in a public space

Here is a copy the paper version of this story. Traders on this East End high street are really happy with the make-over for the Olympics (with one exception). The on-line report has no 'before' images.

Apart from the obvious brightening up and doing away with the awful mix of cheap signage, some really interesting colour blends have been used. On the top floors of the above image complementary colours have been used with the shop branding below them.

Ladbrokes branding of Red is paired with its opposite of Green. For the others, they have been matched with adjacent colours on the wheel. Blue with yellow makes a similar pair, as do red and yellow, as do blue and green.

On this part of the high street a different approach has been taken. Black matched with grey, dark brown paired with light brown, mustard with brown.