Picturing The Body - Online Exhibition Piece

Body (own)  George Rippon

View the collage close up with Zoomify.

See photos of the exhibition here. 

Self Videos

These days I seem to be spending an increasing amount of time in front of the computer. Alongside this comes ever greater opportunities for distraction and mind wandering. Whilst wandering, one has ideas.



Most of these events (or performances) actually occurred before I thought to video them, from being bored, daydreaming, imagining, performing, then laughing; and then considering to share them. Narcissism, performance, self-mockery, a desire to be funny – a lot of this rationale goes back to when I began my nude work. I'm not quite in this place with my main 'bodyscape' work, but I'm still quite intrigued by these themes, and I have some ideas for future work. Watch my space.

The Curator Calls

The 'Picturing the Body' module is drawing to a close soon (officially that is) and in the following few weeks I'm thinking of curating some of the work together into something of a collective piece. At present I'm thinking this will take the form of an online print-on-demand book/catalogue/magazine, most likely using a company like Blurb, also with an online version that can be passed around quite easily. Considering that some strong work has been produced both within and external to the university it seems to me worthwhile to try and bring it together, and have something significant of this project as a whole.

So to all Picbod contributors: please feel free to send me your work for consideration (use email on this blog, or add a link with a comment). This could be your selected final images; or your 'best of' from the weekly tasks; or if there is just one theme which you've been following strongly then send that; basically anything which you feel confident about, and which you feel is relevant to the picturing the body module (image sizes of around 1-3MB should be fine). Obviously spend some time 'editing down', I can't look at everything, I'm only human! I have been going through the links from the picbod post on the New Photographics blog and plucking out images of interest to start making a rough edit, and getting an idea of what you all have to offer.

I'm also open to receiving writing pieces for the book. This could be writing to explain your own work, or to discuss the themes it focuses on, or it could be writing on the themes in general as discussed and lectured on during the module, or it could be writing on someone else's work within the module, whatever has moved, intrigued or excited you whilst we've been doing this project. Probably best to keep this fairly concise, say 250 - 1000 words approx.

Please note their will be no positive discrimination to those in the university or those who are my 'mates'. The work will be biased in the sense of my 'curatorial opinions' as to what will go towards a strong collective piece. This means that some people's work may feature more than others, and some may not feature at all. I think it is better to have a collective piece which speaks strongly of the module and this collaborative project/exhibition overall, rather than assigning everyone an equal space in the name of fair. Having said that, I would hope that all those who have been engaged with the module will have a place in this piece.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Thoughts on Ross Rawlings' Photography

Currently studying a masters in photography at Falmouth University, and a recent graduate of Coventry, Ross Rawlings has been a keen participant of the 'Picturing the Body' free online course. His work can be seen here.

I followed Ross's work online as he went through the 'picbod' course and tackled each of the weeks briefs. There was some positive and engaged discussion on his week two work, which inspired me to write this comment piece, however I've waited till now to write it, because I wanted to see where Ross would take the work (also gives me more material to discuss). So for week one he started with some clearly considered environmental portraiture, demonstrating confidence with his process of engaging people for the camera. It was encouraging to read about.

For week two Ross made use of his method of coupling to the purpose of "creating a narrative, and an image that leaves a lot of questions unanswered." The work was responded to well and lots of talk was taken up around this idea of narrative. Personally I think narrative is not quite the right term, I think of it rather as 'suggesting'. A connection is suggested across the two images, the light leads me to think it is something ethereal or dreamlike. The narrative is to come later, with a greater number of images, when more can be inferred from the work. That is my take on it anyway, it's a term which is banded around quite a lot in photography and open to varied interpretations/uses.

There is no doubting that Ross's technical ability is flawless. He has developed and identified his own style of light – the best word I can think to describe it is 'pearlesence'. And I find his posed photography, where he locates, controls and utlises this light, to be most striking. There is a distinct emotive feel which runs through this work, I struggle to pin it down, but (as others have identified) I can relate it to Rinko Kawuchi's photography. I had a go at arranging some of my favourites. 

In the week two comments Ross mentioned an open narrative and leaving interpetation to the viewer, he then expressed a desire to present a clearer narrative. Seeing as he has now achieved a succession of strong work which is identifiable to his name, I wonder if this can be done. If he can bring together a body of work with meaning behind it, open-ended or resolved.

All images ©Ross Rawlings 2010, taken from http://rossrawlings.wordpress.com/ 

Preliminary Exhibition

Seeing that the deadline is approaching, I've started to consider what to submit for the Picturing the Body exhibition, and feeling that I have a strong body of work to draw from, I've experimented with a few different methods for editing that work. Sequences, montages, mixes, single images, and the method which has stood out most, (and hence which I'm carrying forward) collages, or grids.

Considering the reduced size of the individual images, and the fact that I still wanted those images to be seen in detail, meant that this collage would have to be seen big. So I had a go at projecting it, taking up as much of a clear wall as possible. In this space the image held quite a presence, and so I began photographing that, and then this became the image, or rather is this now the exhibition?

Inspiration for this image came from Hiroshi Sugimoto's work of long-exposed cinema screens. 

I then thought to put myself in the picture, contemplating my own work, naked of course. The body in its natural form, considering itself in its natural form, but presented in a very unnatural way. Fascinating to see how the colours of the image become more 'real' when projected on to human skin. I am particularly fond of the eye line in the last picture.

Edward Weston

Weston was an early 20th century photographer, most famous for his abstract images of natural forms, nudes, and landscapes. His nude work is not quite macro, and I feel it has more of a pictorial consideration than my own, but it does lean toward the obscure. This manipulation of the human form both physically and with camera/lighting tricks, is what attracts me to Weston's photographs. Due to their pictorial nature, I think his works with nudes are really trying to achieve something different to my own, I wouldn't even refer to my work as being nude. Though I do like Weston's understanding of what the human form can give as a subject,

"I am stimulated to work with the nude body, because of the infinite combinations of lines which are present with every move,"

Images and quote from http://www.edward-weston.com/ 

Bodyscapes (self)

As I had decided at the end of the last shoot, I wanted this project to be about me, to be about a photographer using their own body as a subject to be scrutinised, and hence delivering a statement which isn't critical of another individual, but instead approaches from a universal viewpoint, observing the human form.

Looking over the images I'd already taken, and starting to consider how the work would come together for a final piece, I could see a benefit in making some more images using my body. This will give me a broader selection of images to work with when it comes to editing together an exhibition piece. I also wanted to revisit a few of the 'poses' to see if I could develop them, or improve the light.

The shoot was a success. With the experience of the previous macro sessions, my assistant and I were able to jump straight in there and make some exciting pictures. Pooling these with the previous bodyscapes, I now have a large and strong body of work. From here it's just a question of how or what to edit them into for an exhibition...

Ron Mueck

I was recommended to look at the work of Ron Mueck, known for his large and very life-like human sculptures. Trained as a puppeteer and model maker he entered the realm of fine art with a desire to make very realistic sculptures. There's lots of comment around his work, both critical and appraising, also opinions like "his imaginative figurative sculpture speaks directly but also poetically to fundamental and universal concerns: how did we get into these isolating skins; what is it to be a person, touching others but still separate?" I don't know about that to be honest, but what really caught my attention me was looking at these photographs of his sculptors in situ.

I was very taken aback when seeing them for the first time and suddenly realising that what could have been a human was in fact a huge sculpture, and the little people observing it – they were the real ones. Just from looking at these small images of the exhibition, really provoked a strong reaction in me. And although I found it very disorientating and disconcerting, I have to say I really got a buzz out of it. I wonder if seeing the sculptures in the flesh would have a similar effect, or is it the discreetness of these small photos that is key to evoking shock and surprise. 

Either way, Mueck's work is very relevant to my own, because again of this use of scale to alter perceptions – to 'throw off' the viewer, and when it's done with the subject as the human body, that is particularly impacting. This process, this ability, is something which greatly enthuses me. I can't say how well I have achieved it with my macro work, I may of only started to find it in certain images, or even just in elements of certain images, but I think it is a very valid concept to continue considering as this work develops. 

Bodyscapes (young woman)

Looking to broaden the subject matter further, I brought in a new model - a young woman. I was interested to see how these images would differ, when placing this after the macro body work I've done to date. Would it be easy or possible to distinguish age and gender, when the camera is this close? Such specific and detailed images of the human body, and yet potentially very vague when describing that human.

Unlike my father, who sat frowning wondering what I was up to, this model was more open to me positioning her, and hence we spent time working to find some unusual angles and body contortions, which would make for some detailed and quite odd photographs. With some shots I was a little more experimental with the light. I was cautious not to venture away from the frank and bold style, but just to control the shadows with a bit more precision.

Similar to when I was photographing my father, I again felt uncomfortable with some of these images – the same worries of exploitation. When making pictures of such an unflattering nature, and when scouring the model's body, searching for these interesting but potentially viewed as 'gross' images, I feel troubled as a photographer. I do think there is a place for this work though, for a study of different bodies, to observe the human form in all its varieties and in great depth, but not right now. 

With this project as it currently stands, I realise that I need to be back in front of the camera. If I'm to really scrutinise a body without holding back, then it needs to be my own. It comes back to this idea of a photographer holding power over their subject, and power over the judgement the viewer makes of the subject. But when the photographer is also the subject, it's like that judgement has already been made, or the option for the viewer to judge has been removed. The photographer presents herself, judges herself, and the viewer can only ponder on that, on why. Pushing the viewer to this contemplation is what I want my work to deliver. 

The Politics of Ageing, and Where the Power Lies...

Rather appropriately – considering the recent work on my father, and moreover my concerns about it – we had a lecture, followed by discussion, on 'The Politics of Ageing'

The real 'meat' of the lecture came out though when we got on to looking at power relationships in photography. It was said that all photographs have embedded within them a triangle relationship between photographer, subject, and viewer. When the subject becomes a person, the relationship is naturally of greater significance and holds greater impact. The power almost inevitably lies with the photographer, they choose the moment, they edit the world, they edit their exposures, they decide on how the subject is presented to the viewer, they have say over the meaning of a photograph. Think of Joel Sternfeld's work 'Landscape in Memoriam' where the additional text describing the crimes committed at the scenes, alters the viewers opinions and how they regard those pictures dramatically – replacing a calm non-committed stance with shock and pity.

We then thought about when this three-way relationship becomes two – when the photographer is also the subject, and how the power shifts, or seems to. The photographer casts a critical eye over themselves, and this can then come back at the viewer, potentially challenging them. Think of John Coplans, Sam Taylor-Wood, Jo Spence, Cindy Sherman. It seems the photographer holds sway over both themselves and the viewer, 'controlling' the image, and its presence.

We then thought about photographers who could be regarded as exploiting their subjects, exploiting their  power as the photographer. Martin Parr, Diane Arbus, Jock Sturges, Sally Mann. Often their subjects are not aware of the context in which these photographs will be viewed – their use (intended or otherwise) for ridicule, mockery, disgust, gratification. And so we questioned, with lots of debate, whether a photographer should be 'allowed' to publish such work.

All of this discussion was very relevant to the anxieties I have on my own work. I remember at the time agreeing that as a serious practitioner our work deserves to be free, to be spread, to be viewed. Information, pixels, want to be free, should be free, should be shared. And then I looked again over the photos I'd taken of my father's body – and had doubts. I think if a practitioner is confident with their work, then yes, they should push it out there regardless of concerns as to what others might think. But if they are uncomfortable with it themselves, and don't wish it to be widely viewed, then there's a reason for that, and it shouldn't be ignored.    

He who bears the camera bears the power... and the responsibility.

Bodyscapes (father)

I decided to try a new subject for my close-up body studies. Thinking that it would be good to go for a very different type of body – I asked my father to be a model for me. He is in his 70's and so there were some strong alterations in the subject matter and hence images, from the work on my body. 



View the set here.

The shoot went well – lighting, framing, focussing were all successful. But I felt uneasy, I felt like I was exploiting my father, particularly when I would choose sensitive areas of his body, areas which showed his age, and aim to make interesting ambiguous images of them. The problem with these images was that they could potentially be viewed as repulsive, and I was aware that I was choosing them for that reason. Not because I wanted to present my father in a negative light, but because I wanted images that would have dramatic effect on the viewer, and all of a sudden this didn't seem fair.

Narrative

I'm currently quite enthused by my latest work with body close-ups. But alongside this staged photography, I still have the desire to photograph my social natural surroundings – a process I'm most used to. I was also keenly thinking about narrative. This inspiration came from the small story piece I put together of my parents earlier on in the module. So I've been shooting some more colour medium format film (attractive and slow process). These are just the frames in the order exposed (contact sheets) but I quite like looking over the shoot and seeing the scene evolve. Also I hope the viewer gets an idea of how the  photographer works/moves/interacts within the space and with the subjects. I saw some excellent work like this by my fellow student Joanna Ornowska.

Bodyscapes

My work on nude naked was received quite positively, but with clear room for improvement (largely with the light) and a question of where to take it. I wanted to stay with my own body, stay with the macro, but enhance the ambiguity and move away from the apparent (think of the image of the ankle from the last series). Influential to this direction I was taking were the wise words of John Coplans, particularly the quote regarding alteration of scale, and the resulting transformation of our perception of the subject matter.

I set about making a set of photographs of this nature - these landscapes, or rather 'bodyscapes'. The process was quite straightforward – a plain white background, one umbrella-reflected light above the camera, and then myself and my assistant took our time exploring my body, searching and finding potential images, keeping an eye out for the abstract, the interesting, the unusual etc.

I don't really see this work being about nudity anymore, certainly not in an explicit sense. And as it's so close up and of varying parts of the body, no decisive judgement can be made as to what counts as naked and what doesn't – which I think is just great, especially with the potential to mess with the viewers when they start to get worried or 'grossed out' by what they are looking at. I don't feel that this work is really about humour anymore either, at least not in as obvious a way, there may be undertones, but I think that's now down to the viewers response rather than an intention of mine to incite humour directly.

Below should be a slideshow of all the images, if not working the full set can be viewed here.

John Coplans

My most recent work on Nude Naked is a rather dramatic change in both the subject matter and the method  in which I usually take photographs. It's all very new and different for me, but I'm finding that very exciting and inspiring, and hence am eager to continue it further. A photographer's work who is very pivotal in this area is that of John Coplans.

Coplans spent many years photographing his own naked ageing body in as honest and unflattering a manner as possible. He doesn't take himself seriously with this work, but instead laughs at himself, and adopts a cynical approach to the perceived ugliness of old age. His face never appears because he doesn't wish the work to have any reference to his identity, but rather to be a universal portrayal of humanity. He wishes to challenge the negative opinions towards the appearance of ageing.

"I'm not dealing with a perfect body, I'm dealing with another kind of truth - that is how the body is. And why don't we accept it because that's our norm?"

I am very drawn to the frankness and the humour of his images. As well as holding the pictures in high regard, I also think Coplans speaks brilliantly about his work, and so I've included a couple of quotes from Channel 4's series on taboo photography - Vile Bodies. Some of the points he makes are very relevant to where I'm thinking of developing my own work.

"I'm a terminal man reflecting on being a terminal man, but I don't really deal with old age per se. It's merely a condition that I'm in that I have to make use of as best I can. I pretend to be young. I want to be as young as I can because I want to be like every man."

"It's a timeless space, there's nothing that connects it to today, no hint that connects it to a contemporary event, except the mere fact that it's a photograph. ... My photos are pre-linguistic, they're not to do with language, they're to do with being, conditions of being, which have nothing to do with our modern idea of language or communication."

"It's all about perception. The world has a certain size or scale through us, through the relationship of our body and our eyes to it. But when I take a camera and I take it very close, suddenly it's transformed; and I shoot a hand, I do this and it becomes a woman, I do something like this and it becomes some primitive sexual organ. We see everything in a way which we have accumulated, which is a norm; and the moment we focus on parts of the body, then we've changed the scale of how we see - which is one of the things that interests me enormously. I photograph my chest - my hairy chest and my two nipples - and isolated it becomes a face. So in changing the scale of how we see with the camera, there's a slippage occurring, what I've taken looks like something else and I haven't done anything except change the scale. It's a transforming process, they are what they are, and they aren't what they are."

Nude Naked

This was the theme for last weeks task of 'Picbod'. I wasn't really interested in photographing other people, mainly because I had no original ideas as to what I'd do with them; and if you're going to get someone to take off their clothes in front of your camera, you need to be confident in what you want. So I turned to my own body, which - being the self absorbed type - I had lots of thoughts and ideas about.

I recognise the dangers of vanity but I'm also aware that I'm susceptible to it, i.e. when I get out the shower I'm not disinclined to glance in the mirror and gain a confidence boost. So I wanted to acknowledge this shallow opinion, by mocking it. I do find a lot of humour in observing all the little 'ugly bits' of my body, such as the straggly thin and very dark hairs which sprout around my nipples. I suppose I'm still something of a spring chicken, however I do feel I'm past the watershed, so from here on out It's all getting fatter, uglier, hairier, and more wrinkled. Hence I decided to make unflattering studies of all these bits.

From The Inside 2

A continuation of the theme from the previous post. This time I was working with digital, and so moving with a quicker pace. Again I'm not really looking for any winning images (I'm not even sure there are any) but the shoot was a good example of me finding ease with expression, and enthusiasm. Hence I have uploaded the contact sheets, so that the progression of the shoot can be observed. I've also picked out a few images of worthwhile interest.

I've developed an interest in photographing peoples interactions - whether these be conversations, physical contact, or even just a shared presence. When frozen (and edited) by photography, these moments of communication are obviously inaccurate and subjective. It is then intriguing to see what inferences a viewer can draw about these people, when observing these 'paused instances'.