Monthly Archives: Oct 2020

4) Exercise 2: Deconstruction Task

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The Brief

Rip out an advertising image from a newspaper supplement and circle and write on as many parts of the image as you can. Comment on what it is, what it says about the product and why you think it’s there. You could use this as the basis for your assignment if you feel it’s taking you somewhere interesting. Of you could adopt this method for your assignment preparation.

Come back to this exercise when you’ve reached the end of Part Four and see if you can add anything to your analysis.

The Advert

Advertisement from Waitrose Magazine

Here we have an advertisement for sliced ham. I have annotated the photograph in the advert with what I see as the contextual elements.

Deconstructing the Advert – what is there in the scene?

The first element that we notice when looking at this advert is the filled sandwich. It is an appealing looking roll that is arranged so that the contents are on display. The filling is made up from four distinct items, ham, cheese, some form of salad leaves and onions. The arrangement of these is such that the ham occupies the most space in the roll. Remnants of the filling are scattered around the roll on a wooden chopping board that the sandwich is arranged on. The other elements in the frame are the cloth to the left of the sandwich, the dark background that has no discernible detail detail and the light which is coming in from the right hand side. The elements that are not part of the subject, but are included in the frame are the ‘packet of ham’ graphic and the text. The text elements are divided into those that describe the product and those that inform as to the producer. One of the textual elements is contained within a speech or thought bubble that is pointing toward the roll.

Why might the elements be there?

The roll is oriented towards the viewer so that the filling is the first thing we are drawn to. It’s the vehicle for showing us the product but at this stage, it’s not clear what the ad is for. The filling is arranged so that the ham is the most visible element in comparison with the other foods. This points to the advert being about ham. The point is further emphasised by the use of contrasting colours of the other ingredients and the way that bits of them are scattered around the scene. The ham itself if arranged so that it is clear that it is sliced, suggesting that this is the type of product being advertised. The roll acts as a frame for the product, so that is what we are immediately drawn to. The blurred and contrasting background highlights the product as the anchoring point of the photograph.

The roll is placed on a wooden chopping board, which suggests that the sandwich has been naturally made. Combined with the cloth at the left of the frame, the impression created is one of the roll being specially made. The soft lighting highlights the subject in a soft way so that colour and texture are made clear without being jarring.

When considering the text separately, the first thing I noticed was the slogan. The slogan is a play on the phrase “the best thing since sliced bread”, a phrase that is recognisable by most British people. The substitution of ham for bread reveals that this is indeed and advert for sliced ham. The next noticeable text item is the speech bubble that declares the sandwich as being ‘free from nitrites’. This points to the product being healthy. The final text elements are the details of how to buy it. The matter-of-fact statements about it being available and the details of the company are there to inform the curious buyer. As a reminder of what they might be buying, we have a small graphic of a packet of sliced ham to reinforce the point.

What do the elements possibly mean?

Starting with the main subject, the roll itself and its filling are all intended to give the impression of good, nutritious food. The roll is rustic looking and it is arranged so that its contents are bursting out from it. The main ham filling is arranged so that it is honest about the nature of the product (sliced), but the supporting fillings of cheese, salad are not cooked or processed, suggesting a healthier combination. The use of contrasting colours makes us look at each individually and their arrangement, along with the scattered remnants and the rustic roll, suggests something home-made as opposed to mass produced. The wooden chopping board that the roll is sitting on suggests a kitchen rather than a factory and the cloth, although obscured by the main text, further emphasises that suggestion. The photograph used for the advert is enhanced by the use of text placement and language. The speech bubble that contains the phrase “made without nitrates” is an interesting one. The first observation is that the bubble doesn’t point to the ham, but the whole sandwich. The use of ‘made’ therefore seems to be aimed at the completed food, not just the product itself. The way that these two elements create this idea is subtle in getting the message across that the ham is a healthy product without simply coming out and saying that. In fact, nowhere in the advertisement does the manufacture make this claim directly. Instead, the viewer is led to the conclusion that it is because of the appetising-looking sandwich that can be created with the ham. The message is further emphasised by what is missing from the sandwich, the ‘nitrites’. Most of the general public is unlikely to know what nitrates are, but their use here suggests something bad. By stating that the sandwich contains no nitrites, the advert is saying that the public should be grateful that they have avoided this unhealthy thing. The use of fear of accidentally eating something unhealthy is very much in line with Derrida’s idea that a trace of what is missing is always present. The advertisement pushes health but also refers to the implications of not taking health seriously. In fact, nitrites are harmful. In processed meat, they are used to boost colour In this advertisement, there is no explanation other than that they are bad and the buyer doesn’t need to worry about it.

The other text in the advertisement tackles the ‘goodness’ of the product in slightly different ways. The main banner that announces ‘the best thing since slice ham’ pushes the message in a humorous way that this is an invention that is good for us. The play on words of the phrase ‘the best thing since sliced bread’ is intended to invoke the same idea. When bread was cut by hand in the old days, it was seen as a bit of a chore as well as being potentially wasteful depending on the person doing the cutting. The invention of sliced bread allowed for more convenience and less waste, a message that the ham manufacturer is making in this advertisement. They are making no secret that it is pre-processed and sliced (with the addition of the picture of a packed of ham), but making the point of ease of use in addition to the message about it not containing the traditional chemical additions (the nitrates) of other products. This is another point along the lines of Derrida’s trace of alternative meanings; the ham is better for you because you don’t have to do any work to use it. While this sounds odd, there are many people whose busy lives create a need, whether real or not, for time-saving food that lacks any additional hassle. The final element is the name of the product/manufacturer. The ideas that the word ‘naked’ creates lend themselves to the other messages about health and simplicity that the advertisement has pushed so far.

Naked (adjective)

being without clothing or covering; nude: naked children swimming in the lake.

without adequate clothing: a naked little beggar.

bare of any covering, overlying matter, vegetation, foliage, or the like: naked fields.

bare, stripped, or destitute (usually followed by of): The trees were suddenly naked of leaves.

without the customary covering, container, or protection: a naked sword; a naked flame.without carpets, hangings, or furnishings, as rooms or walls.

Dictionary Definition of Naked [3]

This is a product that is stripped back to its basic form, is not covered or has nothing to hide. The idea that the use of this word creates is one of openness that suggests it is a product unlike the others. Again, the advertisement seeks to separate itself from the rest.

Conclusion

This was an interesting exercise. The advertisement that I chose was just one at random, i.e. I didn’t chose it because of a connection with the product or the imagery, merely selected something from the magazine that I had in front of me. In deconstructing the imagery, I found that there were many subtle meanings and distinctions from other potential ideas. The ham was being touted as healthy and natural because of the way the photography was arranged with supporting text and language. The interesting realisation for me was that although all of these elements work to create that narrative, my perspective was unchanged – I don’t believe for a minute that processed ham is healthy. This is because I bring to the image my own understanding and experience to the analysis. My wife and I eat healthily for the most part and avoid things like processed meats. I know instinctively that the messages in the advert are wrong, but there are many who do not. The target population for the advertisement is the busy person or family member who doesn’t have time to buy fresh ham. There could also be the need for convenience or lower cost or simply wanting to make food last longer between shopping trips. Whatever the motivation, the buyers that are taken in by adverts like these, are not necessarily taking part in creating the narrative as described by Barthes. Instead, the advertisers simply have to signpost the meanings through what the buyer gets (goodness) and avoids (badness) through the use of imagery and text.

I found the multiple layering of this image fascinating. The brief suggests returning to this after Assignment 4, which I will consider doing.

References

[1] Unknown, “Definition of Naked”, Dictionary.com, https://www.dictionary.com/browse/naked

On Barthes – Tools for Deconstruction

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Introduction

This paper is in response to the work on Derrida and deconstruction, where a cultural text can be essentially broken down into multiple contextual elements with supporting and contradictory narratives that can be drawn from them. Derrida considered language to be a flawed way of communicating, asserting that as language was a human creation it was no surprise that it would include inherent biases and perspectives that steer the reader or viewer to a particular conclusion. With the idea that the visual arts can also be treated as a language, we are reintroduced to Barthes and his work on semiotics. Semiotics are the signs within language that can be used to make up meaning. When I first looked at the supporting notes for Semiotics, I was immediately struck by the ‘logical’ nature of the expressions which in the cases of Signs, Signifier and Signified look more like equations than anything to do with art. Of course, the labels that Barthes is applying to contextual elements and meanings are, in a way trying to apply some sense of reasoning to the critique of a photograph.

The Semiotics

We are given the simple descriptions of the semiotic terms that Barthes postulated in the notes[1], which are:

Sign: the overall effect of the phtograph

Signifier: the actual picture in terms of its formal and conceptual elements

Signified: what we think when we look at the picture

The Sign is expressed as the sum of the other two, which esesstially combines the formal visual with the viewer’s reaction to the image. This makes sense as the sign is the impact of the image not the viewer.

Denotation: the objective translation of the image – what does it contain?

Connotation: the interpretation of the elements, which can be widely variable depending on how we see them.

We use these expressions in the English language regularly when we are trying to describe the purpose of meaning of something, e.g. “this symbol denotes the status of the equipment” and “that decision has multiple connotations”. As a former engineer turned manager, I observe these expressions in common use respectively as the former works more in absolutes than the latter.

Studium: the general status quo of the image. The undying cultural, political or social meaning which is derived from most of its contextual elements.

Punctum: an element that disrupts or contradicts the Studium.

These two are driven more by the viewer’s own perception of culture, their political leanings and is shaped by there personality. While the contradiction of the elements might be visually obvious, my initial thoughts on how they are interpreted by the viewer will be more or less impacted by how strongly they feel about them.

Intertextuality: the final factor in viewing photographs being what the viewer brings to it. Like Studium and Punctum, the life experiences of the viewer will affect how they read the image. For me, this fits neatly with the ideas from Death of the Author [2] where Barthes incites the viewer or reader to take a bigger part in the narrative of the image or text, rather than trying to seek out what the artist intended. Intertextuality then, is the core of the our reaction to something we see that distinguishes our feelings or opinions from those of others.

Practical Example of Semiotics

In looking at each of the semiotics and how they are found in an image, I elected to choose a photograph to examine. The photograph is by one of my favourite photographers Joel Meyerowitz, whom I’ve discussed previously on this course. Meyerowitz was one of the early pioneers of using colour film for street photography, arguing that colour is more representative of how we see the world as well as suggesting that instead of a distraction, it could be used to add to the subject. The image I chose is shown below.

Untitled, by Joel Meyerowitz, from his selected works ’35mm Color Street Photography’ [3]

Starting with the signifiers, the image is of a street with buildings, people and cars at either dawn or dusk. Two people dressed in large shoe costumes are walking way from the camera, while a woman on crutches is walking toward them,. She has her clearly injured leg raised, pointed at one of the shoes and a smile on her face. Another man is see heading in the same direction as the shoes.

The signified for me is the humorous way the woman is pointing her foot at one of the large shoes. The reaction on her face suggests that she finds the encounter with the costumed people to be funny, presenting her injury for them to look at in an almost absurd way.

The sign for me is an absurd encounter with some people wearing large shoe costumes with a humorous play on the contrast between the characters.

In terms of denotation, the objective meaning of the image is fairly simple. Here are two people either going to a party or taking part in some form of advertising, walking down a city street. Their encounter with an injured woman causes an interaction which is observed from Meyerowitz’ perspective. We cannot see the face of the ‘shoe’ she is interacting with, but given the smile on her face it is reasonable to assume that it’s a cheerful one. The exaggeration of her walking style looks to be fun or with some level of mimicry which could be the reason for the jovial expression on her face. The other actors in the scene (the cars and the other pedestrian) are heading in the same direction as the shoes.

It’s when we consider the connotations of the elements described above that we start to deconstruct the image. The ‘shoes’, pedestrian and cars are all facing the same way toward the light at the end of the street. The use of leading lines in the composition suggests that the journey these actors are on is a long one. The scale of the shoes could be interpreted as everyone’s shoes and the way that they positioned could mean that everyone is heading down the street. The woman is the only element in the frame that is heading in the opposite direction, which could be interpreted as rebellion or some form of struggle against the tide; her injury gives weight to the latter. The humour that was signified in the first viewing of the image could be irony, with the smile being more sarcastic than genuine. The shoes take up a lot of the sidewalk, so perhaps the showing of her injury is an ironically angry gesture to get out of the way. What we cannot see in the image is the faces of the people wearing the shoes, which could be somehow dismissive of her presence. When we consider that there are no other faces in the other than the woman’s, we could interpret that as being that seemingly nobody caring about her or her predicament.

Now considering the studium, we see a city street in what looks like Manhattan in New York City. The connotations above when considered with the fact that Manhattan is considered to be an crowded place, create another narrative about the flow of people all heading in the same direction. The punctum is of course the woman who is defying the status quo by walking the other way. Her appearance and apparent disability offer a more sinister view of the big city and the struggles that some people have to fit into that society and culture. The photograph was shot in the 1970s, which has a naturally very different political feel to modern times.

The breakdown of the photograph offers multiple meanings which is what deconstruction and post-structuralism is all about. However, in terms of my interpretation, it is the intertextuality the largely defines how I react when I look at this picture. As I said, I am a fan of Meyerowitz and know that in terms of this picture he saw the amusement in the events unfolding in front of him. I’m also a huge fan of New York and it happens to be one of my favourite places to visit. Having these two personal connections means that I can only ever see this as a funny scene. New York is a place where anything or anyone out of the ordinary isn’t noticed or prejudiced against by the majority of the residents, so seeing two people wearing giant shoes wouldn’t have caused a stir. The woman’s reaction and her exaggerated walk is a celebration of that uniqueness for me and Meyerowitz’ perspective on street photography further strengthens my feelings when I see this picture:

“A lot of what I am looking for is a moment of astonishment,” he says. “Those moments of pure consciousness when you involuntarily inhale and say ‘Wow!’

Joel Meyerowitz

The Rhetoric of the Image – Panzani Advertisement

In his paper The Rhetoric of the Image [4], Barthes analysed an example of an image used in commercial advertising, specifically a printed advertisement for Panzani food products. In his treatment of this image, Barthes uncovered multiple signs (the overall meaning) and many signifieds within the frame that support them. His systematic breaking down of the image into it’s many potential meanings explains how we as viewers we are led to a conclusion based on ours or our culture’s visual references.

Panzani advertisement used by Barthes in The Rhetoric of the Image [4]

Barthes starts by pointing out the seemingly obvious element that we see when we look at the poster, the text both on the labels and in the caption. The use of the French language in the caption Barthes argues, is a coded sign about the way the product is Italian. This plays directly into our perception of other cultures in using a European language, the stereotypical idea of what being Italian is is emphasised and then further built by the labels on the food. The Panzani name drives home the message that these are Italian products for making Italian dishes.

In terms of the visual, Barthes discusses three further individual signs or meanings that the picture creates. The first is the way that the shopping bag is dropped on the table as if returning from a market or small shop. Barthes refers to the widespread cultural belief of shopping for groceries in this way being more natural than the alternative bulk buying context. The notion of naturally fresh comes with the way the produce is allowed to fall out of the bag, in contrast to the modern packed and refrigerated reality that most experience. The second sign that Barthes identifies is the use of the colours in the scene. The red, green and white themes in the image contour up the Italian flag, even though the products and colour pantones are all different. They are not even arranged as a flag, but the visual pointers along with the names on the labels drive home the sense of the food being Italian. A further sign is signified by the number of labels in the picture giving the impression that Panzani is a ‘one stop shop’ for Italian food. The final sign is the way the image speaks to still life, the signifier being the arrangement of the products and the way they are lit. This sign is more about not sending any cryptic messages about what the products are, merely that here they are for purchase. It’s no surprise that this sign is present as the picture is after all an advertisement. The more interesting point is that it’s probably not the first and most obvious of the signs. We instinctively know what an advertisement is, so only when looking at the image closely can we see the signifier that points to the classical still life paintings we are familiar with.

I found The Rhetoric of the Image an interesting paper to read. In breaking down the picture into the semiotic elements, Barthes changed the way that I looked at this seemingly uninteresting advertisement. The extract that I used for this post[] only dealt with signs, signifiers and signifieds, but Barthes goes on to consider the what the elements denote and connote and how our cultural viewpoints affect the reading of the image. I associate Italy and things Italian with the classical tourist impression of the country and its people. Flamboyant, brightly coloured fashions, exotic sports cars and glamour, as well as healthy food are all cultural references for me, so when I looked at the Panzani picture, I didn’t need the French caption to lead me to the conclusion that this weree good products. The thing that is interesting is that I have no evidence that beyond the tomatoes in the picture, the rest of the food is healthy or indeed any good. The visual signifiers and signifieds create those impressions in such as way as to my not wanting to question them. In his paper then, Barthes seeks to explain rather than contradict. His message lends itself to Derrida’s deconstruction idea that, that every element potentially has multiple meanings and traces of its opposite. In this case, the product looks Italian because the signs suggest so, but we also have the knowledge that we don’t know where Panzani products are manufactured. That and the many other distinctions leads us to challenge what we think we see in a photograph.

As an addendum to this, I recently revisited and completed Exercise 3 from Part 3 on Childhood Memories [5]. When I finished the work, I showed it to my wife and mother-in-law. I noticed something that I had not appreciated previously, that is the need to try to explain my photographs. I managed to stop myself from completely explaining the meaning of the image and instead observed their reaction to it. This is a key learning for me – whatever my intentions for a picture, how other people read it is dependent on my use of contextual elements and what they bring to the viewing.

References

[1] 2020, ‘Photography One – Context and Narrative Part 4, page 123, OCA Course Notes

[2] Barthes R, 1967, ‘The Death of the Author’, essay

[3] Meyerowitz J, ’35mm Color Street Photography’, Artist’s Website, https://www.joelmeyerowitz.com/street-photography

[4] Frieze C, ‘Excerpt from Rhetoric of the Image, Carnegie Mellon University Course, https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~cfrieze/courses/Barthes.pdf

[5] Fletcher R, 2020, ‘3) Exercise 3: Childhood Memories’, OCA Blog Post, https://richardfletcherphotography.photo.blog/2020/10/18/3-exercise-3-childhood-memories/

3) Exercise 3: Childhood Memories

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The Brief

Recreate a childhood memory in a photograph.  Think carefully about the memory you choose and how you’ll recreate it. You’re free to approach this task in any way you wish.

  1. Does the memory involve you directly or is it something you witnessed?
  2. Will you include your adult self in the image (for example to stand in for your childhood self) or will you ask a model to represent you?  Or will you be absent from the image altogether?  (You’ll look at the work of some other artists who have chosen to depict some aspect of their life without including themselves in the image for the next project).
  3. Will you try to recreate the memory literally or will you represent it in a more metaphorical way, as you did in Part Two?
  4. Will you accompany your image with some text?
  5. In you learning log, reflect on the outcome.  How does the photograph resemble your memory?  It is different from what you expected?  What does it communicate to the viewer?  How?

It might be interesting to show your photograph to friends or family members – perhaps someone who was there at the time and someone who wasn’t – and see what the image conveys to them.

The Memory

I’m not sure how, but I immediately settle upon a memory from my childhood when reading the brief for this exercise. I had a wonderful childhood as part of a family of 4 and then later with the arrival of my little sister.  Although I was a very anxious child, I remember thinking throughout the early 1980s that we were a lucky family.  My parents were good to us, Dad had a good job and we lived in a beautiful Cotswold town.  The memory that I guess shattered this illusion was when my parents decided that I needed fairly major dental work to straighten my crooked teeth.  I may have been given a choice but I was 12 years old in 1985, so probably didn’t know what was going to happen to me.  I was taken to the dentist and was determined to have too many teeth overall.  I had 4 removed and a removable retainer fitted to straighten the rest out.  My overwhelming memory on returning home was total hopelessness.  I couldn’t speak with the ‘brace’ in and eating was a challenge as removing it was initially painful because of the initial pressure it put on my teeth.  I lay on my bedroom floor listening to records and retreating into my own thoughts; the isolation and escapism that music offers when I am stressed remains with me to this day.  I still vividly remember the hopelessness of this new normal that I was expected to get used to for the next 2 years. Eventually I did get used to it of course and the brace became something I only really noticed when it was periodically tightened up.  I have been grateful to my parents in later life for having them sorted out when I was young, as more recently my wife has gone through similar as an adult, which is apparently even more difficult. 

First Idea

My first thought was to try to represent the change in my personality as a result of this traumatic event.  I remembered the transformations of the television series’ of my childhood, most notable Bill Bixby into Lou Ferrigno in the 1970s The Incredible Hulk.

Bruce Banner (Bill Bixby) transforms in frames into The Hulk (Lou Ferrigno) [1]

I had transformed into a relatively ordinary boy with anxiety problems to someone who never really sees the world optimistically; could I represent that in a single image? I started by shooting a number of simple self portraits with a view to manipulating them into a single frame in Photoshop later.

Although I was able to create different expressions and subsequently an impression of the transformation in each portrait, I struggled to see how I would incorporate them in a blended image.  I am not proficient in Photoshop as it isn’t a tool that interests me all that much.  My fairly recent move to back to film photography has led me to try to reduce the amount of post processing that I do, so Lightroom adjustments are the limit to my knowledge.  I experimented with Photoshop for an earlier exercise[2], but the time it took to learn the basics took away from the creative side of the exercise for me.

Second Idea

Once I had rejected the first idea, I paused this exercise to return to later. I was keen to progress to the Assignment 3 which was about Self Portraiture[3]. With hindsight, the learning that I did in the interim made returning to this exercise more rewarding. I had learned about how some artists play a part in their work rather than simply appearing as a traditional portrait subject and that in some cases, traces of context are used to help create narrative without being too obvious. With the completion of Assignment 3, I was also now much more comfortable in front of the camera than previously.

The second idea was to compose a scene that used props to suggest the nature of the event as seen through my now adult eyes. I wanted to include factual references about the evening after the dental work and the implied feelings that I experienced during that lonely first night. I would be play the part of the younger me in the composition.

The Image

Intent and Reflection

Here we have the final image of me lying on the floor surrounded by my stuff. What I intended here was to play the part of the younger me, so the school shirt and tie is arranged to suggest a schoolboy. The pose is intended to represent the sheer shock of the event, which left me pretty numb that first night. The arrangement of the tie and my blank ‘eyes open’ expression suggests the severity of this experience for me; as though my enthusiasm has been choked out of me. I’m holding the pliers to symbolise the way that I had a choice in the matter and the blood on my face is perhaps the most obvious contextual element in the frame; something having happened to cause injury. The rest of the frame is arranged with some key things that describe my environment. The vinyl album isn’t actually the one that I listened on repeat that evening, but is from the same compilation series that I was into as a young boy. I chose this one for the bright red die on the front cover as I felt it would work better with the blood on my face. The arrangement of the album is exposed and disorganised, which again refers to my feelings of confusion and anxiety. The headphones serve as the anchor for losing myself in music to escape the situation, while the magazine was a fortunate addition. One of the biggest issues with the brace was eating as mentioned previously. The combination of the advert for a straw opposite the famous chef was intended to represent the changes I would have to make with my new ‘disability’. On the whole, I wanted to include the colour red, not only to symbolise the harm that had been done but also because the whole situation made me angry and hurt. I had used colours in my submission for Assignment 3 to represent the same emotion.

When I look at this image, I am happy with the way that it brings together the things that I remember from the experience of having my teeth fixed. One of the things that I learned during this exercise was the way that leaving an idea and returning to it later can be really helpful. My first thought for the picture was rejected when I realised that I wasn’t proficient enough in the post-processing software. When I returned to the exercise after Assignment 3, I had a new confidence in both using my self to express how I feel and also simply being in front of the camera. I arranged the elements in the frame carefully and I think they work. When I showed the image to my wife, she looked carefully around the frame at all of the contextual elements. After she had done so, I explained what my intention was with the image and the feedback was positive. During the feedback for Assignment 3, my tutor asked if I would feature in more of my work. I believe that rather than just being an uncomfortable experience that I have historically tried to avoid, using myself in a photograph can be a powerful way of telling a story.

Contact Sheets

References

[1] Image Resource, ‘About The Incredible Hulk TV Show…’, Click Americana Website, https://clickamericana.com/media/television-shows/the-incredible-hulk-tv-show-intro-1978-1982

[2] Fletcher R, 2020, ‘The Manipulated Image’, OCA Blog Post, https://richardfletcherphotography.photo.blog/2020/04/17/project-5-the-manipulated-image/

[3] Fletcher R, 2020, ‘Assignment 3: Self Portraiture’, OCA Blog Post, https://richardfletcherphotography.photo.blog/2020/09/19/assignment-3-self-portraiture/

4) Project 2: Reading Pictures

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In Understanding Deconstruction

We are introduced to the concept of deconstruction as the idea of language being inherently flawed in its articulation of the true meaning of a communication. The theory seeks to further challenge the notion of interpreting cultural texts (written word, cinema, visual arts etc) within a preconceived structure of meanings and relationships within language. These ideas formed the basis of structuralism which relied heavily on language being an infallible method of human communication. What followed was the challenge that language itself was a human idea, therefore it’s infallibility in communicating a message was open to interpretation and potential misunderstanding. This formed the basis of post-structuralism; a theory beyond the original understanding which deconstruction plays a major part in. In his excellent video about post-structuralism[1], academic Tom Nicholas cites the example of a reaction to a message or voicemail that was intended to mean one thing and was interpreted by the receiver as something completely different. The language is constant and well understood, but the meaning behind the use of each word and the assembled message can be misinterpreted. In trying to placate the reaction, we find ourselves trying to be more specific about what we mean – the only way we can do that is to continue to explain using the same language. The many possible interpretations of writing can exist at the same time, restrained by the core use of words, i.e. the core of the subject is understood. As with Barthes’s Death of the Author where he argues that the true intent of the author cannot every be truly understood, post structuralism challenges the viewer to become part of the creation of the meaning.

Nicholas’ treatment of deconstruction is interesting as it points to events and visual references that I had not considered until now. One of the examples was the deconstruction of the narrative around Apartheid and how the word itself was steeped in the European way of viewing racism in South Africa. Far from being an accurate way of separating the European ideals from the horrors of what was going on ‘over there’, the suggestion by deconstruction was the inherent presence of racism in that ideal. By pinning a label on racism, the very people using it could alternatively be revealing their own racial prejudices that stemmed back to the days of colonialism. I started to think about more recent examples where deconstruction of an event could yield an alternative interpretation. One thing that came to mind was an event that occurred at the start of the global COVID-19 pandemic that caused outrage among many people via social media platforms. A small group of famous Hollywood actors led by Gal Gadot, produced a video of them singing John Lennon’s Imagine [2]. The reaction to the video was brutal, with people immediately accusing the actors of turning the spotlight onto themselves and being detatched from the reality of the pandemic, which at the time meant millions of people across the world being locked down. When I watched the video, I found it to be achingly embarrassing. None of them could really sing, the video was recorded using mobile phones and as a result looked to me like many other pointless social media posts. My structural assessment of the video was not unlike other people’s and I recognised a solidarity in its derision in the media. In deconstructing it though, we consider the fact that like many, the actors were confined to their homes also. We have a perception of them as being somehow attention-seeking because of what they do as a profession, yet don’t necessarily consider that their profession is entertainment. The use of Imagine, perhaps Lennon’s most famous solo record and regarded as having a socialist theme and messages of human unity was clearly intended to be galvanising. Yet the opposite seemed to be the case, with many citing the terrible singing and production as sacrilegious. Whatever the motives behind the video, it can be interpreted as trying to make people feel better (Gadot was self-isolating with symptoms at the time), engendering unity and strength (even famous people aren’t safe). Like the racism discussion, perhaps the general interpretation is more about our having made these people famous and the resentment of what we perceive to be their world that is so different from our own. Deconstruction suggest that we should challenge what we think we know. In this case, we think we know celebrities because we are responsible for their creation, but in actual fact we cannot really know how they feel under the same set of circumstances that we are experiencing.

The 21st century technology and availability of information through 24/7 news coverage and social media has meant that we are presented with multiple cultural texts about the same subject. Does this help support the idea of post-structuralism or is it simply making more structures by which our interpretation of a subject is informed? Personally, I believe that the amount of information doesn’t absolve us from challenging what we see or read, but instead makes it even more important to take the time to do so.

References

[1] Nicholas T, 2019, ‘Poststructurualism: WTF Derrida, Deconstruction and Poststructuralist Theory Explained’, Youtube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2eb52fUgTk

[2]Gadot G, 2020, Instagram Post, https://www.instagram.com/tv/B95M4kNhbzz/?hl=en

[3] Caramanica J, 2020, ‘This ‘Imagine’ Cover is No Heaven, The New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/20/arts/music/coronavirus-gal-gadot-imagine.html

Part 4: Exercise 1 – Erwitt Analysis

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The Brief

Look carefully at Erwitt’s image (below) and write some notes about how the subject matter is placed in the frame.

Dog Legs (1974) by Elliott Erwitt from Magnum Photos [1]
  • How has Erwitt structured the image?
  • What do you think the image is ‘saying’?
  • How does the structure contribute to this meaning?
  • Did you spot that the image is framed in stages of three?
  1. How has Erwitt structured the image?

When I first saw this shot, I immediately noticed the shallow depth of field that throws the background completely out of focus. Erwitt wants attention to be on the three subjects in the foreground of the image. The next structural element that I noticed was the placing of the subjects. The feet sit on the lower third line in the frame and if we were to draw a centre line through the subjects, they sit on the left vertical third, the centre and the right vertical third lines. The obvious difference in scale of the subjects is emphasised by the way the larger pairs of legs extend out of the top of the frame, leaving the small dog as the only ‘complete’ subject. The image looks as though it is severely cropped, which I’ve seen in other pictures of chihuahuas in Elliott’s series – I used them in my blog article about my selection and editing workflow in EYV[2]

2. What do you think the image is saying?

When I look at this image, I see a humorous take on the attitude of small dogs. The obvious scale is emphasised with the owner’s legs, but we we see the humour in the other pair of legs belonging to a huge dog, this initial reaction is questioned. As the notes suggest, this funny combination of subjects could prompt the viewer to move on from the shot. However, for me as a so called ‘dog person’, I want to continue to look at the chihuahua. The little dog has the natural stance for the breed, which has an almost confrontational feel to it, particularly compared to the big dog’s straight-legged gait. The addition of the hat makes the chihuahua almost anthropomorphised, saying ‘here is a small but mighty dog’ with a human-like personality. When I look around the frame I further get the sense that the small dog is being restrained by its owner through the use of a tight leash. The image now makes me think of a commentary about the little guy being held back by the bigger one.

3. How does the structure contribute to this meaning?

The image structure emphasises the small dog and its expression as the only whole subject in the frame. The difference in scale is emphasised by the way the large dog and the owner cannot be seen beyond just their legs. Using the top of the frame as a hard limit for the perspective forces the viewer to continue to look at the lower parts of the frame. Composition ‘rules’ tend to suggest that using the edge of the frame to cut off part of a subject can distract the viewer from the main subject. However, Erwitt uses it to create enough of an impression of what might be outside of the frame without reducing the impact of the main subject. Even the inclusion of a small part of the larger dog’s belly and back leg are not sufficiently distracting, instead making it clear who the second pair of legs belong to.

4. As I mentioned in 1, the composition in threes was one of the first things I noticed about the image. The use of threes (the thirds lines, the three subjects etc) gives the picture balance.

Further questions raised from the analysis of this image were:

  • Does he like to help the underdog?
  • Does he prefer dogs to humans?
  • Is he making a statement about giving everyone a voice?
  • Or is he just making a joke?

The notes state quite reasonably that we cannot answer the questions from one single image, particularly when it is part of a body of work about dogs. The point about the context of the image as part of the series is naturally what we have been studying throughout Context and Narrative, so it comes as no surprise. My conclusion about the image as described previously tends towards the support of the underdog and the equality of voice raised in the above questions. However, when I look at the other images in the series that conclusion is challenged. For example:

Poodle, Birmingham, England (1991), by Elliott Erwitt – from Magnum Photos [3]

In this shot we see a poodle standing on its hind legs at what looks like a dog show. The pose of the dog and the way it looks at the same unseen subjects that the people around it are, again anthropomorphises the animal. In this image, I don’t create the same underdog narrative as in the previous shot; instead there is humour and beauty and a suggestion that our dogs take on our personalities. Along with every other shot in the series, Erwitt’s affection for dogs is very evident. Humour is a clear contextual element in the photographs, so our interpretations of the images have common themes. The differences come from our own experiences and interests. As the notes suggest, an alternative interpretation of the photograph could revolve around its location, perhaps of more interest to people of the UK than Erwitt’s native US with it having been shot in Birmingham.

Conclusion

This exercise has been interesting from the perspective of how we consume all of the parallel information in a photograph and draw our own interpretation based on our personal interests and experiences. There is a danger of overthinking the meaning behind each and the acceptance that where a viewer takes their narrative is beyond the control of the photographer are both important learning points. One can describe an image in such a factual way as to reveal the contextual elements included by the photographer, but when putting ourselves in the picture and interpreting meaning, the variances can be significant. What isn’t clear to me at this point is how a photograph can be a language for consistent communication. I guess that will become clear as Part 4 progresses.

References

[1] Image resource, Magnum Photos Fine Art Collection, https://www.magnumphotos.com/shop/collections/fine-prints/18-new-york-city-1974-dog-legs/

[2] Fletcher R, 2019, “The Process of Selection”, OCA Blog Post, https://richardfletcherphotography.photo.blog/2019/07/05/the-process-of-selection/

[3] Image Resource, “The Year of the Dog Dogs”, Magnum Photos, https://www.magnumphotos.com/arts-culture/art/elliott-erwitt-dog-dogs/

Reflecting on Assignment 3 Feedback

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Introduction

I’ve just received the feedback on my submission for Assignment 3 on Self Portraiture. As with all of these video sessions, I find the constructive criticism really helpful and it often points me in the direction of photographers that I might be interested in. They may be artists that work in a similar or contrasting way to what I was trying to achieve in the assignment and they might inspire me to improve the series before submission. Whatever the connection, I find that I am looking at artists that I would not necessarily found through my own research.

The feedback was very positive about the originality of my idea, technical execution and how the images connected back to my diary. There were some good recommendations, such as re-visiting the cropping to more emphasise my face and reduce the dominance of the background colour. When I looked at the example my tutor shared, I could see how it would improve the shots by making a portrait crop. Other ideas included experimenting with the background, not just in terms of colours but also whether the setting could add to the narrative. Key among the comments were the recommended artists to look at.

Zhang Huan (1965 -)

In his series Family Tree[1], Chinese artist Zhang Huan challenges the viewer by gradually covering his face in text until his skin is entirely obscured. He asked three calligraphers to write the text, which comprises Chinese folklore and commentaries on culture and the impact on family life, on his skin. The effect is a powerful one, with the ornate script that would be recognisable by someone who can read the language, slowly descending into a continuous covering. By the end of the series, the only features of Huan’s face that are recognisable are his eyes and lips. Like Morrissey’s work [2] that inspired my assignment, his expression is blank which becomes increasingly uncomfortable to look at as the series progresses. As suggested by my tutor in our feedback session, there is something disturbing about modification of the human face. The example of tattoos reinforces this sense. While they have become increasingly popular and widely accepted as body art during this century, there is still a stigma associated with them on the face. There a many stories of people struggling to get or hold onto a job because of tattoos on their faces as some people find it uncomfortable or somehow unacceptable to modify what is the main focus of communication between human beings. In his series, Huan was telling the story of culture and cultural change becoming so overwhelming that it almost smothers our sense of identity. His compositions suggest this overwhelming feeling but the ever present eyes and lips articulate his view that it can never take away our individuality that we have from birth. Huan’s series is very multi-layered when we look at how it came about. His fear of a serious health issue was the starting point for the series, which as a contextual element helps us understand Huan’s expression in the images – one of desperation or panic. The gradual build up of black ink on his face both gives us a sense of being smothered, but also shows us a gradual darkening of his normally pale skin. Huan himself indicates that this darkening is the passage of time from being born to old age or the way that a day turns into night. This is echoed in the way the background light gradually fades. The point made in my feedback about experimenting with backgrounds is made here. Huan uses a simple outdoor setting in natural light where the changes are noticeable as the series progresses. My series had consistent studio lighting that was effective but uniform from frame to frame. Perhaps I could have added the context of mood by including a more natural background with the colours represented in objects or textures that were more naturally occurring. The last of Huan’s frames is also slightly blurred, either by being deliberately out of focus or just as a result the dying light. Either way, the last frame suggests that Huan is still identifiable despite his environment. It reminded me of the Dylan Thomas poem that I used in an earlier exercise [3] – the idea of raging against the dying of the light.

Family Tree, by Zhang Huan (2000) [1]

When I look at the images, I recognise the similarities to Morrissey with her face painting. The storytelling is superb and the layers really emphasise the artist’s discomfort with modern life and his sense of mortality. The multi-layered story, like Morrissey reveals small details the more we look at the photographs. During our call, I mentioned that my impression of Morrissey and her relationship with her daughter was at the centre of the series. However, while we agreed that the references to child development and expression were very clear, I said that my initial reaction was that this was a little girl with an extremely cool mum. Who wouldn’t want a parent that lets them paint their face while all the time calling it ‘work’? This was something we both found amusing.

The main differences between Huan, Morrissey and what I had done in Assignment 3 was that they had actually modified themselves whereas I had added something in the way my face was lit by using the projector. While there was nothing wrong with my approach (indeed it was felt to be an interesting take on the brief), it was clear to me that the impact of the physical modification was higher than mine.

Hew Locke (1959 -)

Another artist mentioned in the feedback was Hew Locke. Locke is known as a sculptor rather than a photographer. He used both media to create his series ‘How do you want me?’, which portrays the many aspects of his Guyanan culture layered with the impact of history. Locke plays the central character in each photograph, although his features are almost entirely obscured by the props and elements he uses. An example can be seen below:

‘Tyger Tyger’ from the series ‘How do you want me?'{2007), by Hew Locke[4]

In ‘Tyger Tyger’, Locke presents himself in a solider stance, brandishing a decorative staff. His appearance is almost regal with what looks like a traditional head dress and lots of jewel-like decorations. The photograph is very busy with lots of props and potential contextual elements. When we look closer at the figure, it becomes clear that Locke is wearing a British Red Coat uniform that is synonymous with the colonial military that featured in many African conflicts in the 19th Century. The uniform is adorned with symbols of wealth such as pearls and ornate chains as well as contrasting symbols of African culture (exotic fruits and what looks like tribal heads). The whole scene is a mashup of cultures and eras that come together in what Locke calls “messed-up beauty”. When we first look at this image, it’s unclear as to whether this is a person or a statue. It’s only when we look more closely that the parts of Locke’s body that are not covered can be seen. Locke’s hands tie in with the rest of the composition through his skin colour, but the eyes are present but somehow missing. What we see is a pair of empty peep-holes that Locke is looking out through. It’s a very unsettling visual effect as we can relate to the weight of culture and cultural clashes in the piece, but we cannot see how Locke is reacting to it. Is he suffering under the physical and symbolic weight of the props and costume or is he revelling it it? What I see when I look at this image and others in the series is something closer to absentia than self portraiture. Locke uses himself as a canvass as I did, but his presence appears little more than a mannequin. With the similar discomfort, there is a great deal to look at with the series. Locke’s canvass works in a similar way to the others, but the sense of him is implied through his ancestry as opposed to the more obvious presence in the work of the other artists.

W M Hunt – The Unseen Eye

The final artist mentioned in the feedback discussion isn’t actually a photographer, but more a curator. W M Hunt has published a number of books of curated photographs on themes and the one that was raised was The Unseen Eye. This book is a large collection of photographs where the subjects either have their eyes obscured in some way or are deliberately not making eye contact with the viewer. The images are further examples of how unsettling it is when the face is modified in some way. The act of covering or averting the eyes makes us feel uncomfortable because it deprives us of our primary source of communication and our ability to read emotions. An example of one of the photographs from the book is seen below.

Execution of Ruth Snyder (1928) by Tom Howard; The Unseen Eye, W M Hunt [5}

This image of murderer Ruth Snyder being executed in the electric chair is in itself disturbing. Howard smuggled a tiny plate camera into the prison strapped to his ankle. He shot this image at the point Snyder was electrocuted and the result courted controversy across America regarding the cruel and unusual nature of the electric chair. However, it is included in the collection by Hunt because of the disturbing way that Snyder’s face is covered by the mask. She has no facial identity in this photograph, just the effect of the electricity on her body being observed by a slow shuttered camera. I find the ghoulish nature of this image interesting as a piece of the history of capital punishment in the USA. However, I have to force myself to look at Snyder’s face area because of the way the mask dehumanises her. Deserved or not, Snyder is experiencing her final moments and is pretty much invisible during that time. Looking at the image for a period of time conjures sadness as well as disgust.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the approach that I took with the use of my face as a canvass for my words was a sound one. Projecting the words onto my bare skin and using colour to reflect and evoke mood was thought to be a strong narrative. However, in looking at these three artists I realise how my series could have been made even more impactful through making it more personal. What I mean by that is the actual contact with or act of modifying me. Huan used ink in a similar way to Morrissey, but told a story of the passage of time with the ink coverage increasing to the point where he was almost lost in the image. The work of Locke also used the canvass approach but to much greater effect, almost asking us to question whether the subject was a real person or just a representation of a culture with all of its riches and threats. In the collection by Hunt, the subjects are almost dehumanised by their lack of engagement with the viewer or obscuration of their faces. Dehumanising is almost the way that all three work, but at the same time they are putting themselves in the picture, which is of course the topic of Part 3 of Context and Narrative. I found this research and reflection to be enlightening. My tutor asked me if I would feature in my work in such a personal way in the future. Despite not being comfortable in front of the camera, I can see from these three artists, in addition to the others in Part 3, that there is much more scope for experimenting with self-portraiture to tell a story.

References

[1] Huan Z, 2000, ‘Zhang Huan’s Family Tree – Whole face painted black’, Public Delivery Website, https://publicdelivery.org/zhang-huan-family-tree/

[2] Morrissey T, 2011, “The Failed Realist”, Artist Website, http://www.trishmorrissey.com/works_pages/work-tfr/statement.html

[3] Fletcher R, 2020, ‘Exercise 3 – Poetry Interpretation’, Blog Post, https://richardfletcherphotography.photo.blog/2020/07/06/exercise-3-poetry-interpretation/

[4] Locke H, 2007, ‘How do you want me?’, Artist Website, http://www.hewlocke.net/hdywm.html

[5] Zelony-Mindell E, (unknown date), “Efrem Zelony-Mindell on W M Hunt”, Rocket Science Magazine, https://rocketsciencemagazine.com/contents/efrem-zelony-mindell-on-w-m-hunt/