Reading.

Reading.

A Dream of England: Landscape, Photography and the Tourist’s Imagination. John Taylor.

Having read the essay, “Landscape for Everyone”, from, “A dream of England: Landscape, Photography and the Tourist’s Imagination”, I thought the book would be worth examining further.  It proved to be worth the effort.  

It gave a neat history of not only the mechanics of photography but also the social development and democratisation of it from early pioneers, using glass plates that produced themselves, through to Eastman Kodaks easy to use box cameras.  

The examination of the work by the then modern practitioners was also useful if somewhat dated.  We are now more used to seeing politicised images of ruined landscapes and don’t find them as challenging and shocking as perhaps we ought.

Since the book makes no challenge on the claim that the coal mining industry was ended by Mrs. Thatcher I would point out that more mines were closed under the stewardship of Harold Wilson.  Wilson 272 against Thatcher 154.  I show no source for this as neither did the claims in the book.

Although now dated I found the book an absorbing read and an interesting insight into how political photography can be.

The Photographers Eye. John Szarkowski.

It was good to open a book that presented brilliant images without further explanation.  All one gets by way of information is the title, the photographer and the date.  I particularly enjoyed the sections The Detail and The Frame.  

Too many photographers to name but not a poor print in the book.

Viewfindings. Women Photographers: “Landscape and Environment.    Editor Liz Wells.

First published in 1994 his book seems rather dated, reflecting as it does on attitudes of “them” and “us”.  I would hope that these boundaries, although still felt by some, have softened.  Ingrid Pollard’s section on the acceptance of black people seems particularly dated as this country has opened it’s doors to the world and people of different colours and beliefs can be found in every town and city and in all walks of life.

Reading this book has helped me in differentiating between masculine sublime photography and feminist picturesque photography. 

Landscape and Power. W. J. T. Mitchell.

I read this some time ago and on picking it up to record my thoughts I realised none of it had stuck other than a memory of a tough read.  Taking it with me to Spain next week for a re-read.

Seeing, Observing and Thinking.  August Sander.

One of my favourite photographers.  The way he engages with his subjects is lesson to all.  No flattery or pretence here, just honest portraits of real people. 

I noted that, with the exception of river boats, his landscape images show little human activity.  Roads and bridges are devoid of traffic and footpaths empty of walkers. These pictures are obviously well researched and beautifully taken.

Landscape and Western Art. Malcolm Andrews.

A very readable history of western landscape portrayal showing its progress from landscape images as background to religious and mythical figures to the wrapping of islands in plastic.  It introduced me to the work of Richard Long which led me to me led me to the work I submitted for Assignment Two where I took a walk round my home town taking a picture of whatever was in front of me at three minute intervals.  This may be the basis for a future submission using a camera mounted in my car.  I have already carried out a couple of dummy runs.

I’m a Real Photographer.  Keith Arnett.

Quirky and rather self indulgent by never the less interesting.  The sections on dog walkers and gardeners are very August Sander like with the subjects square on and looking straight into the camera.  Miss Graces Lane is great document and I am looking to use some similar ideas regarding the despoliation of my local beaches.

Exercise 4.5: Signifiers-Signified

Signifier-Signified.

Before embarking on this exercise I read both Rhetoric of the Image by Roland Barthes and Decoding Advertisements by Judith Williamson.  Both went far beyond what is required for this piece but gave an insight into how adverts are constructed and aimed at their target audiences.

The Advert I have chosen is one for a new Dulux paint.  The picture shows a man mixing a tin of paint and adding new ingredients.  The man is not dressed as a shopkeeper in a hardware store but as a cocktail waiter and his surroundings are those of a cocktail bar.  The paint tin is plain metal and the added ingredients are pouring from the sort of beakers more normally found in a scientific laboratory.  On the shelves, instead of bottles for use in cocktails, are ranged glass test tubes of various colours.  

What is being signified by what signifiers:

  I’ll start with the space and its appearance of opulence.  It is clearly not a place where one would normally find paint being mixed.  What is signified is this is a place where one finds the finer things in life.  This is signified not only by the decor but also by the man himself, with the perfect cut of his clothes, his crisp white shirt, the real bow tie and the well manicured moustache.   

 The science behind the product is signified by the use of the laboratory glassware signifiers which are clearly labeled with the new ingredients, “Moisture Resistance”, and, “Soft Sheen”.  The plain tin signifies the newness of the product that as yet appears to have no name.

 On the shelves in the background are coloured containers that invite you to consider a connoted connection and think about what colours you might employ.  The shiny wood of the bar connotes at what is possible and the clean cut bar man denotes ease of use.

 Even the placing of the verbal massages is carefully thought out.  I have already mentioned the flasks so I will move on to the “Mix more than colour....” message.   It is nicely placed nearer to the paint can than to the flasks indicating the acceleration of the fluids as they fall.  The AkzoNobel logo is adjacent to the largest container in the picture and is a signifier of an industrial giant lurking benignly in the background.  The placing of the “Dulux lets colour” logo at the bottom right is deliberate as the western eye will most likely scan out of the picture at that point with “Dulux”  the last word read.  

On a practical level I would also point out the lack of protection in the way of clothing, gloves, eye protectors, and secure stands for the containers.  

The advert hints at much while revealing almost nothing.  All paints have moisture resistance; it’s the very reason we use them.  Soft sheen has about as much meaning as radiant hair or glowing skin.  All that is truthfully being said is that Dulux make a range of paints, the rest is fluff.

Exercise 4.4: Of Mother Earth and Marlboro Man.

Of Mother Nature and Marlboro Man.

At the time of her writing the above piece, 1985, Deborah Bright noted that landscape photography was extremely popular and that books featuring the subject were selling well.  In this essay she examines the reasons for this and the cultural meanings of landscape photography.

• Her first thoughts were that such photographs are seen as timeless, pure, and stand apart from the modern world.
• She next conjectures that this is too simple an explanation as such images are more that  what happens in front of the camera.  The whole construct of landscape is a modern one that has its roots in Europe and the tradition of showing, often imagined landscapes, as a background for religious and other mythical figures, or real landscapes as a frame for the owners to be depicted.  Only later would the landscape be painted and appreciated in its own right.
• Landscape will always reflect its cultural home.  Some will find comfort in these representations while others who have no stake in the landscape will feel out of place and not represented in them.
• Landscapes images record the changes in land use and the attitudes of both the photographer and the viewer.  She asks questions about the ideologies of photographers and their masculine eye.
• In America following the slaughter of the indigenous there was a popular movement for the now white population to discover their wild pioneer country.  The rapidly expanding rail network and later road network assisted no end in transporting into these now safe areas.  Pieces of wilderness were preserved close to towns.  
• With the parks came codes of conduct as to how to behave in the wilderness.  The camera was almost compulsory.
• These views became the standard that the next visiter looked for and became the backdrop for both the popular westerns of the 20th Century but also a means of selling beer and cigarettes.
• The western American landscape means different things to different people.  To some it  is a tourist destination neatly packed and marketed.  To others it represents unchanged wilderness, although it comes with permissions, passes and rules.
• The fact that landscapes change according to current taste and politics is not always reflected in photography.  
• Photography of the American School of the early 20th C was very much about what the photographer felt about the scene rather than a true representation of it.
• In the 1960s John Szarkowski introduced a new way of taking and viewing by using a new way of talking about landscape.  He applied these techniques when he view earlier works by the likes of Timothy O’Sullivan.  
• The accusation is made that the exhibition, Before Photography, and the book, American Landscapes, almost ignore the feminist voice or view.  A further complaint is made that, with the exception of Hilla Becher, all the New Topographic photographers were men.  This group concentrated on realism rather than style.
• The accusation is made that the way these Topographic landscapes were displayed and exhibited gave then a gravity they may not have deserved.  This tended to form a feed back process about how important they were.
• A number of these photographers, and Adams in particular developed consciences about their work, especially around industrial scenes but soon realised that his social conscience was not shared by those he deemed to be suffering.
• A comparison is made between two bodies of work, Power Places by John Pfahl and Three Mile Island Calendar by Lisa Lewenz.  The work of Phahl shows nuclear power stations as part of the landscape in such a way as to beautify then and make them look acceptable while the calendar by Lewenz displays the dark potential of nuclear power through the mishap at Three Mile Island with the possibility of collateral damage in the case of an accident.  

  A complaint is made that the environment is designed by men for the  

entrapment of women and asks how different it would look if designed by women.

• Even at the time of writing Bright sees little hope of women photographers breaking the mould and finding success in what is still seen as a male preserve. Men are judged as exploiters of nature while women are part of it.
• The way landscapes are exhibited, and reviewed needs to be re-examined with the view to examining what they represent.  Are they about the myths of a civilizations history and meaning, or do they stand for a timeless view of the world.
• Bright sees them as records of the societies we made at any given time that can be studied by future generations.

Before I started on this piece I read Decoding Advertisements by Judith Williamson with a view to understanding this feminist and left wing view of the world.  I found both to be thoroughly dated, equally biased and very predictable.  

This style of feminism was a product of its time and has little relevance today.  The battle for equality has been pretty much won.  The masculine voice and the feminine voice have achieved parity.  Yes they may be different, but both can now be heard.

A note on the “disaster” at Three Mile Island.  It has been estimated that there may have been two additional deaths in a ten mile radius due to the mishap at Three Mile Island. That’s two possible additional deaths over an area of more than 300 square miles.  I Googled both the above artists.  I found many images from the Power Places portfolio but only one from the Three Mile Island Calendar.  Despite the wide distribution of the Calendar no-one now seems interested.  Draw your own conclusions.