Photography Research: The Family of Man

 In this post, I am going to talk about an image from The Family of Man.  This exhibition was; 'to showcase the beautiful universality of human experience. Its mastermind, Edward Steichen, honed two million pictures down to 503, capturing everyday life in 69 countries. It started out at MoMA in 1955 then toured the world, being seen by nine million people.' (“The Family of Man: Photography That United the Planet – in Pictures”:2015)  The image below shows an empty forest with a naked child (a girl) in the foreground.  The light plays in the background on the higher ground in the top third of this image, the middle third is undulating dark ground covered in forest leaves and in the last third in the foreground, the naked child lies slightly off-centre.  The immediate question is; Is the child dead or alive? Barbara Bullock Wilson, the child in the image now states on her site, the questions that were asked of her family about the image of the child asleep or did something dreadful befall her? Does she belong where she is, did she come willingly, or was she brought to this place forcefully and then abandoned? Perhaps the figure is not a living thing at all, but rather a statue.

Child in Forest, 1951, by Wynn Bullock

Barbara Bullock Wilson also states; -  'He [Wynn  Bullock, her father] would invite them to look at the photograph again. "Be with the child, feel her presence, see the leaves adorning her hair. Put yourself in the forest, watch the light, sense the life." He would go on to say, "There may be a mystery here, but it isn't sinister. It's the mystery of difference and of oneness, of universal forces and relationships, of dimensions we can only begin to glimpse."' (Wilson Bullock B:2015)

The relationship in the image of the forest to the girl is interesting, her naked and innocent body lies exposed to the elements and the forest has created a soft bed for her to lie on, the forest around could be seen as protective and warm.  It also represents the idea of life and creating life as the forest holds so many eco-systems and child perhaps grows like the trees.  The light falls on the white skin standing out from the dark of the forest and this white against the dark heightens the innocence of the child against perhaps darker forces of nature. This image has many readings and that is the success of this image

Looking wider at where this shot was shown in the exhibition of the Family of Man the exhibition took place at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, from January 24 to May 8, 1955. The U.S. Information Agency popularized The Family of Man as an achievement of American culture by presenting ten different versions of the show in 91 cities in 38 countries between 1955 and 1962, The images came from Life magazine and also Vogue or Ladies Home Journal. Photography agencies such as Magnum, Black Star, and Rapho Guillumette these images were then cut down to the final images and curated by Steichen and grouped in thematic sections that 'narrated a generalised story of human life' (“The Family of Man: Photography That United the Planet – in Pictures”:2015)  The exhibition was criticised by Barthes as he felt there was no historical context and it was an essentialist depiction of birth and death.  Miriam Webster Dictionary states; 'Essentialism is the practice of regarding something (such as a presumed human trait) as having innate existence or universal validity rather than as being a social, ideological, or intellectual construct' (Essentialism definition & meaning: 2024). It was also criticised by others as being liberalist, from a Western point of view, cultural colonialism, and silencing photographers and Steichen creating his own narrative. This was probably true and it certainly was Stecichen's vision of humanity and how it should be presented to the world.  This is the interesting thing about curation when others place a narration on your images the story will change and it may not have been at all the vision of the original photographers and all the images were taken from their original context.

As time has passed critics have been more forgiving and saw the exhibition as historically important and representing views and ideas of the time from a Western perspective. What is interesting is how non-western photographers viewed the world and the study of the original images in the exhibition and how they are presented is still much debated today. 

References

“The Family of Man: Photography That United the Planet – in Pictures.” The Guardian, 6 Nov. 2015, www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2015/nov/06/the-family-of-man-photography-united-the-planet-edward-steichen. Accessed 29 Jan. 2024.

Tīfentāle, Alise . “The Family of Man: The Photography Exhibition That Everybody Loves to Hate.” FK, July 2018, fkmagazine.lv/2018/07/02/the-family-of-man-the-photography-exhibition-that-everybody-loves-to-hate/. Accessed 29 Jan. 2024.

Barbara Bullock Wilson (2015) “Wynn Bullock Photography - Child in Forest, 1951.” Www.wynnbullockphotography.com, 2024, www.wynnbullockphotography.com/highlights/palm-beach-2012/child-in-forest-text.html. Accessed 29 Jan. 2024.

Essentialism definition & meaning (no date) Merriam-Webster. Available at: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/essentialism (Accessed: 04 February 2024). 

The Reichstag by Norman Foster: Research

 In this piece of research, I intend to explore the transformation of The Reichstag by Norman Foster.  I am writing about the is as it will inform my own architectural design which is a transformation of The Palais de Dance in Leicester.

The Reichstag Transformation (2015) By Norman Foster

Norman Foster states of the Reichstag architectural design;  “Our transformation of the Reichstag is rooted in four related issues: the Bundestag’s significance as a democratic forum, an understanding of history, a commitment to public accessibility and a vigorous environmental agenda.” (Douglass-Jaimes 2018).  I have chosen the transformation of the Reichstag as my own building design is also a transformation and has a history in Leicester and as Foster in his design, I want this to be publicly accessible and to have excellent sustainable credentials. 

The Palais de Dance (2024) Leicester

Foster in his redesign chose to leave the outer shell of building untouched and wanted the weight of history that was etched into its walls still be seen and felt by this coming into imposing structure. Foster had many obstacles when designing this precious monument and had to work with the German parliament to ensure that there was an agreement on how the redesign would work so every part of the transformation had to be agreed right down to final colour scheme of the interior, Arch Daily states; 'Although he initially refused to consider adding a dome, a separate proposal from a German architect to add a reconstruction of the historic dome threatened Foster's vision for the building's interior spaces, and he began exploring ideas for what he came to call the “cupola.” And it was not just the dome that was subject to the whims of the politicians. Then-Chancellor Helmut Kohl insisted on a brighter color scheme for the interiors than the neutral palette of whites and greys that Foster had originally proposed' (Douglass-Jaimes 2018).  In my own redesign of the Palais de Dance I will need to check the building's status as it is probably now listed which will mean I will need to retain many of the original features just as Foster needed to do in The Reichstag. 

The redesign of the Reichstag involved the construction of a dome that illuminated the space and dominated the transformation.  The construction of the dome or cupola became a symbol of renewal  and Foster and Partners states; 'The cupola is now an established Berlin landmark. Symbolic of rebirth, it also drives the building’s natural lighting and ventilation strategies. At its core is a ‘light sculptor’ that reflects horizon light down into the chamber, while a sun-shield tracks the path of the sun to block solar gain and glare.' (Foster & Partners:2024)  This was also intended to be a highly sustainable design so the electricity is powered through using bio-fuel which is refined vegetable oil which would reduce the carbon footprint by 94% (Foster and Partners: 2024).  Also, the building actually produces more power than it uses and therefore it is also a mini power station.  The dome construction was built by Austrian steel and glass specialist Waagner Biro.  They created a technically complex design that; 'consists of 24 major steel ribs, which are supported on a lower ring beam and tapered to an upper ring beam. The horizontal bracing is secured using 17 steel rings. They are an essential part of the design: they also bear the scale-like 3,000m2 of glazing, constructed from 24 panes of glass per row, and the observation deck. This observation deck is accessible over two interlocked, co-rotating spiral ramps made from spatially shaped steel plates.' (Waagner Biro: 2024)  There are also rows of mirrors and a computer-controlled shading element made of aluminum panels which means that the sunlight entering the building is controlled. 

Foster & Partners, The Reichstag Transformation

Dome structures are complex and expensive and when looking at the Palais de Dance a dome actually would be an addition to this building that would once again make this a real landmark in Leicester City Centre and attract a new clientelle.  This would certainly not be on the scale of  The Reichstag but a steel and glass dome with mirrors and shading on a much smaller scale would certainly be a possibility in my own redesign. 

The Palais de Danse on Humberstone Gate, Leicester circa 1950-60s

The nightclub now is in a dilapidated state inside and its last owner Soshi ripped out much of the interiors.  Therefore, it would be better to begin again and completely strip the interior retaining any original features remaining, and then it would need a consultation on the exterior over features that need to be retained and restored back to it's former glory.  

Interior The Palais de dance (2014) 

This could be a very exciting project, I have been able, as yet to obtain, the site/floor plan however this would be my next step to begin my own transformation for this architectural project.

References

Douglass-Jaimes, David. “AD Classics: New German Parliament, Reichstag / Foster + Partners.” ArchDaily, 25 Oct. 2018, www.archdaily.com/775601/ad-classics-new-german-parliament-reichstag-foster-plus-partners. Accessed 26 Jan. 2024.

Foster and Partners (2024). Foster + Partners. [online] Available at: https://www.fosterandpartners.com/projects/reichstag-new-german-parliament [Accessed 31 Jan. 2024].

Waagner Biro (2024). Reichstag Dome. [online] Waagner Biro steel and glass. Available at: https://www.wb-sg.com/projects/reichstagdome/ [Accessed 31 Jan. 2024].

Goldie87 (2014). Report - - Palais de Danse (Sosho), Leicester - May 2014 | Leisure Sites. [online] 28DaysLater.co.uk. Available at: https://www.28dayslater.co.uk/threads/palais-de-danse-sosho-leicester-may-2014.90144/ [Accessed 31 Jan. 2024].

Photography Research: Paul + A

 Paul Jeff is a professor, experimental artist, and photographer who has worked under various pseudonyms for the last 30 years.  The project that I will be exploring here is Paul + A which was a series of collaborations with a different female artist for each project.  The project was named Life is Perfect and it involved the artist being locked in a hotel room for 24 hours and a series of 'ambitious, repetitive scenarios based on theatrical directions...where they acted out fifty passionate love scenes, all of which ended in a brutal murder' (Bright, 2010)

Man & Woman in a Hotel Room (2004) Paul + A, Life is Perfect

In this image above the metal coat hanger in her hands is wired to the mains plug.  I chose these pieces as they are performative and each image ends in a death.  As stated I am interested in the photographic disappearance and this could also be photographic death, the moment of death, people used to make death masks of the dead which captured their last 'face' now amongst the prolific images it would be good to focus on the final moments, Walter Schels did this and photographed the subjects before and after death (with their express permission)  

Heiner Schmitz (2003) By Walter Schels, Life Before Death

However, going back to the staged image, I was interested in these as they all take place in a hotel room and the environment itself is artificiality, there is no connection between the participants to their surroundings which is perhaps why the images are cold and a murder taking place does not seem out of place.  In my own images, I am very much connected to the rooms in my images, I am in all my images, without being in them as my presence is everywhere.  In the top image here, the participants only are present as the characters they have chosen to play. Jeff in his practice here; 'The sublime moment of death and sexual congress are collapsed metaphorically into the photographic instant, which constitutes both testimony and fiction' (Bright, 2010:192)  Two murders were committed every hour and it was unknown how the images would come out, as Bright states the chances of failure were high.  I enjoy the thought that there may be failure and every shoot I do I know there is always the risk of failure.  This is why it's always interesting, as failure is often so much more useful than success if I want to develop a piece of work.  Jeff's pictures do end up looking like a crime scene but in these images, the perpetrator is still in the image.

Man & Woman in a Hotel Room (2004) Paul + A, Life is Perfect

In the image above the couple have drank a glass of champagne for every cut they have made on their bodies and now they hold a scalpel to each other's throat. So here the setup environment, and the play-acting make these images a compelling read as the participants may not know each other, but maybe they do, the impersonal here becomes deeply intimate as we the viewer (voyeur) stare into the abyss of these frames. In both these images you can see the photographer has a remote trigger in his hands and the wire leading out of the frame of the image to capture the moment that he chooses us to see.  We as a view are now also complicit in this scene, we are the witnesses.  In my own images, the question would be why bother to photograph disappearance, why not just disappear?  I think the answer is that my images are a warning of my disappearance a premonition, perhaps.  Just like the before and after death images - perhaps this is a last look ...

I leave you with a further image from Walter Schels as these really do have sublime beauty and we are privileged to be allowed to view these images of the most private moment.

References

ray.yorksj.ac.uk. (n.d.). Dr Paul Jeff - Research at York St John. [online] Available at: https://ray.yorksj.ac.uk/profile/2082 [Accessed 28 Jan. 2024].

Bright, S. (2010). Auto focus: The self-portrait in contemporary photography. London: Thames & Hudson.

Another, J. (n.d.). Paul Jeff. [online] morebeautifulthangod. Available at: https://morebeautifulthangod.wordpress.com/tag/paul-jeff/ [Accessed 28 Jan. 2024].

Rosenberg, D. (2014). How One Photographer Overcame His Fear of Death by Photographing It. [online] Slate. Available at: https://slate.com/culture/2014/08/walter-schels-life-before-death-includes-portraits-of-people-before-and-after-dying-photos.html [Accessed 28 Jan. 2024].

Photographic Project Disappearance: First Shoot

 As I had planned I shot these images on Sunday morning in my home, I wanted the morning light coming through and I was blessed with the sunlight.  I chose to use my Olympus E-2 as I have a remote trigger for this and a screen that I can see whilst shooting self-portraits. I began with F3.5 and I was expecting to adjust exposure compensation as the light changed continually throughout the shoot as the sun went in and out of cloud cover. I shot in both RAW and High-Quality Jpeg and I shot in both black and white and colour so I could decide which would work best for these shots in the finished work.  I used a tripod for the majority of shots however I took some hand-held test shots while testing the framing and light.  

After the shoot,  I then created contact sheets and began examining the shots. Please see contact sheets here; 

After looking through I much preferred the colour shots and I do think that these will work better for what I have in my in terms of my disapppearance, I actually didn't really want me in the shots at all as my presence is everywhere with the shots of the room s of my home however in the spirit of this project (perhaps spirit, is the word, as I intend to become one) I will use these shots and see what works - this is my first shoot and I liked the living room and bedroom shots but the office shots did not work well there were issues with space and too much in the background - I will rethink this one and I will also shoot further shots in the kitchen.

One shot I thought would work quite well is this one on the bed..

F5, 1/200, ISO 400, +3, 14mm

This shot I experimented and first edited as per the Cohen shots I discussed in my earlier post - deleting myself entirely

I did this on Photoshop simply by selecting myself and then deleting me from it.  Next, I tried using a lens flare and opacity 

This one I preferred as I disappeared into a flash of light, I may experiment with this one further.

The second image I liked from the shoot was by the window 

F3.5, 1/100, +1, ISO 400, 14mm

Using the lens flare does look I am dsappearing or being eliminated it seems harsher that the bedshot so I will continue to work on this and I will also output these images to consider them more fully.

I will complete another shoot as I have further ideas about the shot now around the house. My personal favourite shots are the empty rooms 

SMART Objective: Major Photographic Project

Andrea Sunder-Plassmann

Mensión, 1988

Analoge Großbild Fotografie (13x18)

 This term I will be creating a photography project based on portraits, the concept will be my own disappearance.  I am aiming to create a collection of 10 images, these will be created using an Olympus OMD Mark II and I may also use a polaroid camera, I will also use Photoshop as I may create my disappearance through post-production as well as in-camera in the portrait images.  On the polaroid I can use different film and camera techniques that will affect a partial disappearance in the image and on the Olympus I can use overexposure, flash and other methods such as slow shutter speed. The final portfolio will be completed the beginning of March and will be a photographic gallery on my website.

Studio Portraits Practice

 We spent yesterday completing studio and natural light portrait practice.  I stayed in the studio as I was directing the model and tutoring the students in settings. I took some test shots and created contact sheets

We began this shoot using ISO 100, Aperture priority and then we adjusted setting as we took different set ups.  I will now discuss some of the shots, the set up, composition and settings for each shot.

We have arranged the different poses through visual research and the model had the poses in front of her so we could change these quickly in the pre-planned set ups.  This is the model pose that we used 

F5.6, 1/8 ISO 100. 0 exposure bias

This is the final result, my shutter was a little slow here but the pose and the high key set up worked well here in colour with the bright clothes.

Another set up was on a low key background and using over the shoulder poses so that there was a good contrast with the light skin and dark clothes and a more moody set up 

F5.6, 1/6, ISO 200, -1.3, FL 42mm

In this shot the expression of the model and the framing work really well low key light - the shutter speed is a little too slow here and if I was doing a longer session I would have used a tripod to ensure a higher level of sharpness to this shot.

F5.6, 1/8, ISO 200, -1.7, 34mm

Again good framing and composition and the light work really well here but the shutter still too slow and this is a little soft, the use of exposure compensation heightens the low key set up. 

F5.6, 1/13, ISO 100, O step, FL39mm

This is  a good clear,, high shot that I took just at the beginning of the set up to test light as can be seen I used a low ISO of 100 and there was no expsure compensation as the skin colour and brightness was correct here. 

F5.6, 1/13, ISO 100, O step, FL46mm

A closer-up shot using the over-the-shoulder pose but in high key again really highlights the model's face and this brings the viewers' attention to her eyes, this shot does have some good impact. 

This was a good shoot, obviously, I have only the test shots here as I was setting these up for students but it was a good introduction to studio work and some good use of camera settings and I'm hoping it will assist students in the use of the lighting set up in the studio. 

Milanote: Exploring Research Ideas

 For my major project I want explore absence and my own in disappearance in the photographic.  I created a milanote with my ideas of what I am intending to research.

Milanote: Absence in Photography