Figure 1: Sebastiano Pomata & Phil Hill (May – June, 2020) Seb’s image taken in Barcelona (left) and my appropriated copy (right)Figure 2: Sebastiano Pomata & Phil Hill (May – June, 2020) Different version of the figure 1 diptych, leaving Seb’s original as scanned.
During the lock down I asked a number of people to start taking pictures of their experiences. My friend Seb, who lives in Barcelona, shot a roll of film for me and mailed it over to process and scan. I am unsure where I want to use these, if at all, for my research project. For this week’s task however, I decided it would be interesting to see how I could appropriate his images. Using a slide copier, I re-photographed his negatives and the processed the film again creating the above diptych image (Fig: 1 & 2).
On the face of it, both of these images appear to be the same, albeit with different exposures. A fairly straightforward copy, however, it can be argued that Seb’s image is once removed from the concrete world as he originally photographed it.
In my appropriated version, I have further removed the reality by copying the image onto a new roll of film, creating a positive image onto the filmstrip. My copied version is also based on decisions that I have made during the copying process. As a result, I have created an object that is mine, in the form of the new negative. I have become quite interested in how a photograph can represent its subject and it can be argued that my version is even less representative than the original. Yet, if seen in isolation, would be considered on similar merit to the original it copies.
Not shown here, but during the copying process, I also made selections and edited the order of the images that Seb took, which further decontextualises them.
I am considering taking this idea into my own images to see how I can create a sense of separation through this kind of implicit abstraction.
Figure 3: Sebastiano Pomata & Phil Hill (May – June, 2020) Another appropriated image from Seb’s Barcelona series.
To be quite honest, I think my personal reaction would come down to the context and how the use aligned with my own viewpoint. And as I write that, I am aware that an appropriation of my work may not align with my own view, yet provide a valuable meaning for others, which should ultimately be considered.
In my professional practice, I have had images taken and used without permission, which is a different issue. I have also had image used in publication, which were edited in ways that I did not intend them to be – for example, turned black and white, and in one case flipped to suit the layout of the magazine. These were both limited examples, which raised an eyebrow but I did not have too many concerns. I also have a number of images that are available on image libraries, that I have limited control on the usage in most cases, however I differentiate the images that are listed on these sites versus images for my art practice.
Figure 1: Jo Tutchner-Sharp (2018) Instagram post to highlight the appropriation of the slogan.
This does remind me of a couple of times this has occurred and dealt with differently with relation to the art practice. Jo Tutchener-Sharp created a t-shirt design ‘a superhero has my back,’ which was created to raise money in response to a period that she spent in hospital away from her children (Petter, 2018). Asda took the slogan and applied it to a range of products that had nothing to do with raising money for charity. Tutchener-Sharp chose not to pursue legal action against Asda (which would most likely come to nothing against such a large organisation), instead she mobilised her own social media audience (Fig: 1) to highlight what had happened. This quickly went viral and ultimately prompted a response from Asda to resolve it.
Figure: 2 Manny Garcia & Shepard Fairey (2008) The Associated Press objects to the use of a photo of Barack Obama by Mannie Garcia [Left] in a poster by Shepard Fairey [Right].
The ‘Hope’ poster created during Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign is another example of appropriated image being remixed and has been referred to the modern Che Guevara poster, another famous example of image appropriation (Barton, 2008). Manny Garcia took the original image and was represented by Associated press who pursued legal action against the poster’s creator Shepard Fairey. However, Fairey countered the copyright claims with his own legal action, citing ‘Fair Use.’ The case was ultimately settled out of court after Fairey was found to have destroyed evidence that linked the poster to the use of the image. Garcia is said to have been proud of the use of his image in this way but objected to the way that it was used without permission (Kennedy, 2009). The hope poster has gone on to have a life of its own, which is far beyond the intention of Garcia when he took the image as a press photographer.
In the case of Tutchner-Sharp, I do not have anywhere near the audience available to me to create a strong response in the way that she was able to. However, it seemed like a good way to resolve the situation that might have been mired in legal action, which might distract from the original intention of what she was aiming to do.
In the case of the ‘Hope’ poster, I feel that it would have been useful to see the dispute between Fairey and AP achieve a more amicable resolution – an earlier acknowledgement of the appropriation, for example. I think that I would ultimately feel similar to how Garcia did about the use as now the image has entered into our collective conscious in a way that I would never be able to do with my own photography, on my own merit. I would hope that there was a fringe benefit for my own practice that my photography was associated with such a remix.
Bibliography
Barton, L., 2008. Hope – the image that is already an American classic. [Online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2008/nov/10/barackobama-usa#maincontent [Accessed 8 June 2020].
Kennedy, R., 2009. Artist Sues The A.P. Over Obama Image. [Online] Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/10/arts/design/10fair.html [Accessed 8 June 2020].
Petter, O., 2018. CHILDRENSWEAR BRAND ACCUSES ASDA OF ‘RIPPING OFF’ TRADEMARK SLOGAN. [Online] Available at: https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/asda-scamp-and-dude-slogan-rip-off-accusation-trademark-childrenswear-a8223471.html [Accessed 8 June 2020].
Now that I have processed two of the films I asked others to
shoot for me, it is worth looking at how they might fit into the rest of my
project and research.
Figure 1. James Petrucci (March, 2020) Image of a concrete road bridge support
James
James is a work colleague and who I initially asked to shoot
some film for me, partly as an experiment to see how this might work with the
other images I am creating (Fig. 1). James is the Fine Art lecturer at the
college I teach, so although some of the technical aspects of the images are
less than refined, his sense of composition, space, and attention to detail are
clear in the resulting images that he shot (Fig. 2).
Figure 2. James Petrucci (March, 2020) Steps outside Watford Town Hall
The first thing that struck me when I developed these images
was a sense of the banal and topographic within some of the subjects that James
decided to photograph (Fig. 3). James has shot a series of images on his
walking commute to the college where we both work and has placed emphasis on
some of the imposing brutalist concrete structures that occupy Watford. This is
a vernacular of Watford that I am not sure I will have made the link, or even
approached to photograph myself. However vernacular in the sense of the content
and not necessarily the aesthetic of the images, which is black and white film;
vernacular photography of the everyday seems to now be the domain of smartphone
photography.
Figure 3. James Petrucci (March, 2020) Building in Watford
The overbearing grey concrete architecture is one of the
myriad of reasons why I personally have never felt connected to the place;
Watford seems to me never super welcoming as a result, so potentially an area I
can personally develop and respond to. Interestingly, James also moved to
Watford to work at the college, as I did, so I will discuss with him his
feelings towards the town. These are the everyday banal features of the place
that we both live.
Figure 4. Phil Hill & James Petrucci (March, 2020)Layout experimentation for WIPP
I made a conscious decision to provide my collaborators with
black and white film for this part of the project. For the moment at least, I
felt it was important to differentiate the images of persons collaborating with
my own imagery and this approach is starting to come together as I explore ways
of sequencing the images (Fig. 4). The aesthetic choice of black and white is
also an evolution of my initial look at FSA photography and its blanket
approach to covering small towns in the US (Fig. 5), which incidentally could
encompass working with collaborators in a similar way to Roy Stryker and the
FSA photographers. John Tagg considers the aesthetic of the FSA as what was new
way to disseminate the message of state: “Mobilising
a new means of mass reproduction, the documentary practices of the 1930s, through
equally the province of a developing photographic profession, were addressed
not only to experts but also specific sectors of a broader lay audience, in a
concerted effort to recruit them to the discourse of paternalistic, state
directed reform” (Tagg, 1988, p. 12). We collectively understand that the
black and white documentary aesthetic is ‘evidential’ and a perceived record of
authenticity. For example, when I first introduced myself to the food bank
across the road from me, one of the volunteers asked if I was going to be
taking the images in black and white because this would seem more fitting of
the subject somehow; a learned behaviour that all documentary needs to be in
gritty black and white.
Figure 5. Roy Stryker (1939) Page from an FSA shooting script on a small town
Black and white photography plays with our learned knowledge
of what is truth and evidence in photography, as Tagg goes on to state: “Documentary photography traded on the
status of the official document as proof and inscribed relations of power in
representation which were structured like those of earlier practices of photo-documentation:
both speaking to those with relative power about those positioned as lacking,
as the ‘feminised’ other, as passive but pathetic objects capable only of
offering themselves up to a benevolent, transcendent gaze” (p. 12).
The reference to ‘Documentary photography’ is closely linked to the use of
black and white, especially when considering the context in which Tagg is
discussing. Giving a camera to people that I collaborate with in some ways
rebalances the power that Tagg refers to here; they are able to tell their own
story and representation. However, I am aware that by including these images
into my own narrative I am creating a constructed ‘legitimacy’ for myself in a
number of ways. The black and white aesthetic states ‘documentary’ it also
creates a perception of authenticity that readers may engage with more fully
that merely viewing my images individually; readers expect to believe the black
and white image, and this is supported by its own vernacular and positioning
having been taken by the collaborator themselves, essentially providing more
proof of its place in the actual and naturalistic, and again Tagg informs us: “it has been argued that this insertion of
the ‘natural and universal’ in the photograph is particularly forceful because
of photography’s privileged status as a guaranteed witness of the actuality of
the events it represents” (p. 160). I use this to my
advantage when I sequence my images together with those of my collaborators,
and will need to carefully consider how the balance of power as stated by Tagg
is influenced in sequencing and if an oppositional reading is developing from
this work.
Darius
Figure 6. Darius Dabrowski (March, 2020) Cassiobury Park protected tree
I met Darius at the food bank who is a regular user of the service, and asked him to shoot a roll of film for me, I decided to not give a great deal of instruction just yet, only to go and tell his own story so that we could talk through the images together. When I processed these images, I was surprised to find that the majority of them were shot in Cassiobury Park here in Watford (Fig. 6), Darius has chosen to photograph the picturesque in contrast to James’s view of brutalist concrete (Fig.3). I find this representation of himself interesting and wonder if Darius sought to photograph scenes he thought would fit a picturesque photographic aesthetic (Fig. 7) owing to the average perception of photography which occupies the learnt visual style of publications, such as National Geographic, which I have discussed at length (View Post) and have set the mythological status of the picturesque image.
Figure 7. Darius Dabrowski (March, 2020) Somewhere in Cassiobury Park
The concern here is that Darius’s images is that they are
not representative of his story insomuch as they are a projection of what he
thinks that I am looking for. The same can be said for James’s series that has
sought to look for aesthetic compositions within its banal brutalist look at
Watford. This does not however mean that the images do not hold value when I
create a sequence of the work. As Perter Lamarque writes of representation: “So to write a story or paint a picture is
(usually) to bring into being a new story or picture world. This makes the existence
of fictional worlds, unlike that of possible ones, a contingent matter” (Lamarque
& Olsen, 2004, p. 354), which clearly puts
the new sequence into the realm of the constructed narrative and was always
going to be the case as I seek to blend the collaborative narrative together.
The picturesque images that Darius took, were surprising to me because of my assumptions of the life that Darius might lead outside of his visits to the food bank. This was not based on any other information other than my knowledge of Darius and the Food bank and highlights to me that I clearly have some bias in the expectation of what I might see when I processed the images. Looking at Darius’s set, there are some images that could really work with the narrative, for example figure 6 is an iconic view of the well-known protected tree situated in the park and would really provide context to the place I am photographing, where I have yet to shoot this kind of panoramic landscape.
Choosing to sequence my work next to that of my
collaborators presents an interesting question about authorship. Logistically
speaking, I have asked everyone involved to sign an assignment of copyright
agreement to in essence give me ownership over the images to use as part of my
project. Lamarque posits that authorship has a relationship to legal rights, which
is, as Lamarque suggests, the basis for Foucault’s argument of the author (Lamarque
& Olsen, 2004, p. 434). I am appropriating
these images, for sure, but my intention is to create a narrative that
considers the Barthesian idiorrythmic concept of everyone living separate lives,
whilst also living together in the same places: “Where each individual lives
according to his own rythym” (Barthes, 2012, p. 178). James and Darius,
directed by me, have created a series of images that allow me to view parts of their
iddiorrythm, and I aim to contribute mine.
Figure 8. Darius Dabrowski (March, 2020) Watford Town centre
Bibliography
Barthes, R., 2012.
How to Live Together: Novelistic Simulations of some Everyday Spaces. Translation
ed. New York: Columbia University Press.
Dubrowski, D. & Hill, P., 2020. Cassiobury Park protected tree. [ Photo ].
Dubrowski, D. & Hill, P., 2020. Somewhere in Cassiobury Park. [ Photo ].
Dubrowski, D. & Hill, P., 2020. Watford Town Center. [ Photo ].
Hill, P., 2020. Layout Experimentation: Mark and Concrete support image. [ Photo ].
Lamarque, P. & Olsen, S. H., 2004. Aesthetics
and thne Philosophy of Art. 2 ed. Massachusetts: Blackwell.
Library of Congress, 2011. Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Written Records: Selected Documents. [Online] Available at: Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Written Records: Selected Documents [Accessed 11 12 2019].
Petrucci, J. & Hill, P., 2020. Steps outside Watford Town Hall. [ Photo ].
Petrucci, J. & Hill, P., 2020. Building in Watford. [ Photo ].
Petrucci, J. & Hill, P., 2020. concrete road bridge support. [Photo].
Tagg, J., 1988. The Burden of Representation:
Essays on Photographies and Histories. 1st paperback ed. Basingstoke:
Palgrave Macmillan.
Figure 1. Phil Hill (March, 2020) Mark from Elim Foodbank
I have made a recent connection to the food bank over the road from my house. In order to create some images, I have also been volunteering to build relationships with some of the people that attend. I have also handed out some compact point and shoot cameras for some of them to photograph and collaborate with, in a similar way to Anthony Luvera’s approach with his assisted self-portrait series and something that I have mentioned in my post on Martin Parr (Fig. 2). Once I have collected in and processed these images, I will create a full reflection.
Figure 2. Phil Hill (February, 2020) Reflection on Martin Parr and Patrick Waterhouse
I created a number of portraits of Mark (Fig. 1), who is a food bank volunteer for nineteen years and also uses the service for himself. Primarily, I wanted to add some portraiture as part of my work I progress portfolio looking at my own community. My technical approach to shooting portraits, has always been to have the camera set to the continuous mode in order to shoot a few frames side-by-side, which was to ensure that I gain a focussed image of my subject. This is a hangover from my freelance practice, where it was crucial that the shot is in focus. This approach creates a number of ‘similars’ that have little variation shot to shot, from which I select the most focussed image (Fig. 3).
Figure 3. Phil Hill (March, 2020) Unused Portrait of Mark from Elim foodbank.
Figure 4. Phil Hill (February, 2020)Evidence experiment shootFigure 5. Phil Hill (February, 2020) Retouching layer from ‘Moth Trap’
To further explore that here, I have decided to overlay the series of images that I shot of Mark, to consider the idea that in some ways could be more representative of him than a single frame ever could (Fig. 6). That said, the result creates an image where much is lost in the actuality of the subject, even though it is still an indexical trace of Mark, the subject, being present for the photograph. The subtle variants, as exampled in Figure 2, show that Mark was not completely stationary between the shots and there is movement and slight shifts in facial expression. This nuanced series of images shows more of the subjects individual trait and allows them to be more represented in the image. However, it could also be argued that Mark movements are as a result of my direction and not a naturalistic expression of him as a person either.
Figure 6. Phil Hill (March, 2020) Overlaid images of Mark.
Figure 7. Phil Hill (March, 2020) De-saturated overlaid images of Mark.
I was interested in Uta Barth’s challenge to the reader in
the way that she is asking us to consider looking, and the way that we can
derive meaning from the image, Barth states “One
goes out into the world and points it [the camera] something of beauty, something
of importance, a spectacle of some sort” (Barth, 2012) and goes on to note
that the subject and meaning can be interpreted as being the same (2012). Barth’s response to
this is to remove the reader’s attention on the subject and create an all-encompassing
experiential sense of ‘looking.’ John Berger asserted much the same in his use
of the term, ‘sight:’ “The explanation, never quite fits the sight” (Berger, 2008, p. 7) where the image of
the actual is perhaps too much of an explanation, or a kind of overarching
exposition; we are confronted by the assumed meaning of the image because it is
presented in its naturalistic format, depicted by the lens.
Figure 8. Uta Barth (1994) Ground #42
Through Barth’s work, emphasis is placed on readers, and reading, Barth actively encourages those to become aware of their reading (Barth, 2012). Barth’s work is about perception, but still indexical. When I photograph a portrait, I almost always set of to photograph with a shallow depth of field to throw the background out of focus, which creates a separation of the subject and the environment. It is this reason that I shoot my images with the continuous mode set. When I look at Barth’s work (Fig. 8), it is almost as if the image was composed to have a person present but has left the scene, leaving the camera to capture the remains. Where I feel this applies to my own work is how Barth’s approach is her visual perception that seems to segue with the concept of social abstraction, or how we disregard the unnecessary details from our lives. For example, the food that we eat is presented packaged and ready – we do not need to understand to process of how this packed item came to be.
At this stage, I want this to be purely an experimentation
where I can explore ideas, potentially one that I might come back to at a later
date. Currently, this is not something that fits my intent photographing my local
community. I have created a naturalistic approach to the shoot so far, the
overlaid image, feel out of place and potentially an obvious interpretation of
the ideas that I am discussing. It has been useful to explore it however, and I
will aim to subtly introduce elements of this into my narrative.
The portrait of Mark (Fig. 1) fits really well into how this
is starting to develop from my other shoots and portraits that I have been
creating (See Posts), although I am still keen to allow this to continue
developing in the same way Todd Hido approaches his ‘Paper Movies’ (Hido,
2014, p. 114)
and discusses the need for ambiguity for the reader’s own narrative (p. 28).
As I have written previously, I am also interested in the way Snyder and Allen
discuss the index (Snyder & Allen, 1975, p. 159) and how I am
interpreting this as representation being a consensus of opinion as opposed to
a whole truth encompassing the many nuances of individual personality. In
essence, for my current work in progress at least, I want my images to be based
in the actual as John Berger terms (Berger, 2013, p. 8), and all of my work created so far has
been looking at these actualities and the dominant reading of this work should
also follow this.
