Brief:
Write an essay of 1,000 words on an image of your choice.
The image can be anything you like, from a famous art photograph to a family snapshot, but please make sure that your chosen image has scope for you to make a rigorous and critical analysis.
Finding the Subject:
Throughout this course I have studied many photographers and almost every genre of photography. One subject I keep returning to is people in crisis. I believe this to be a direct result of my own personal struggles along with my interest in politics and socio-economic issues, both current and historical. Therefore I will begin by researching primarily photojournalists and street photographer who worked with publications such as Life (magazine) and National Geographic and covered periods of socio-economic anguish.
Life (magazine) – Mary Ellen Mark:
Originally published as a light-hearted magazine until it was taken over by Time in 1936. After this takeover, Life took to concentrating on the publication of revolutionary photojournalism and through its weekly run, brought the stories of people from all corners of the globe to its readers. Unfortunately, Life ceased publication in 2000, however its name lives on largely thanks to the fame of its featured images, many of which are still in circulation today as not just historical documentation pieces, but actual works of art, and are still revered by modern critics.
One stand out series for me was “A Week in the Life of a Homeless Family” by Mary Ellen Mark – 1987. In my earlier work for Assignment 1, I chose homelessness as my subject. Working in Manchester city centre, this horrific social issue became a part of my everyday life. I felt that I had become completely desensitised on then problem, as everyday I would pass countless homeless men and women sat out in the streets through pouring rain and freezing temperatures. Therefore, I really connected with Mark’s work and I found her level of dedication amazing as she invested herself in the lives of her subjects, getting to know them from all sides, almost becoming a part of their family herself. Below is my favourite image from the series.
There are eight images in this series and an accompanying text by Anne Fadiman which tells the day to day struggles that each family member endures. I do feel that even without the text, the images alone are strong enough to tell the family’s story, or at least portray their suffering.
“The Car. An hour and a half later, the Damms leave Crissy, a first-grader, at the Erwin Street School. The car behind them, which drops off a boy about Crissy’s age, is a Porsche. The Damms’ 1971 Buick Skylark is missing its hood and all the windows on the driver’s side. The trunk must be opened with a screwdriver. The radiator leaks. Most of the upholstery on both seats is gone; when the Damms wear shorts, their legs are indented with red impressions from the springs. The car smells. The interior damage is the work of a pit bull terrier named Runtley, who spends most of his time chained to the right front neck rest. Runtley is a status symbol, a potential weapon, a love object and a form of proof that the Damms, as Dean puts it, “are something, even if everyone thinks we’re nothing.”” (Anne Fadiman – Available at http://www.maryellenmark.com/text/magazines/life/905W-000-031.html Accessed 21/10/18)
As a result of this work, the Damm family received extraordinary donations from the readers of Life. However it appeared that all was in vain as when Mark returned to visit the family in 1995 they had fallen even further from the goal of getting off of the streets.
If I am to use this image for my essay, I will aim to delve in to the politics and social factors that were influencing the events taking place and analyse why the readers of Life were so generous towards the family, was it due to this image and if so why?
Dorothea Lange – Migrant Mother:
This is a well known image which has been commented on extensively since its publication in 1936. Lange was at the time working for the Farm Security Administration and sought to give a voice to the workers that she found to be living in abject poverty.
I have looked at this image before and still its impact is no less powerful. There were four other frames in this series, however this became the stand out image and went on to be published in a San Francisco newspaper along with an article detailing the appalling conditions these people were enduring. Just like the work of Mary Ellen Mark, it led to aid being provided for the people pictured, in this case on a federal level.
The image and its history interests me greatly. It was taken over eighty years ago, yet the issues present are still current today, the only difference being that we see such pictures and video on a daily basis through print, television and social media. I believe that had this image been created now, in 2018, it would simply be lost amongst all the other images. I feel that we, collectively as a people, have become dangerously desensitised to issues such as poverty, famine and the suffering of others whether it be domestic or overseas. My reasoning is that devices such as our mobile phones and tablets provide us with a constant stream of distressing news articles and images and this liquidated marketplace dulls the impact of what we see, combined with the barrier created by the very device we use to view them. It is simply too easy to just put that mobile phone back in our pocket and forget all about the pictures we just viewed.
Elliott Erwitt – Felix, Gladys and Rover:
I have always loved this image. Not only does it have great comedic value which allows it to remain timeless, Erwitt’s image is also a satirical look at modern culture and the politics that we all live by.
Erwitt used dogs in many of his works as he felt that they bore strong similarities to humans.
I am considering using this image for my essay as I want to explore the messages held within the frame. I wish to explore Erwitt’s politics and find out just what message he was trying to put across to the viewer.
Tutor Feedback
Overall Comments
Observant and engaging stuff, Sean, and there’s plenty of ambition on display here: good. You’re clearly very committed to your studies, and what you’ve produced here bodes well for the more extensive written work you’ll be required to do in later levels of study.
Assessment potential
Assignment 4 Assessment potential
I understand your aim is to go for the Photography/Creative Arts* Degree and that you plan to submit your work for assessment at the end of this course. From the work you have shown in this assignment, providing you commit yourself to the course, I believe you have the potential to pass at assessment. In order to meet all the assessment criteria, there are certain areas you will need to focus on, which I will outline in my feedback.
Feedback on assignment
Demonstration of technical and Visual Skills, Quality of Outcome, Demonstration of Creativity
- A more obvious attempt to introduce and conclude the essay would be welcome.
- There are some really observant and aware moments in this piece of writing. I particularly like the way you consider the image in terms of notions of class.
- Re ‘Black and white however, removes such restrictions and allows the viewer to interpret what they see far more freely. I believe it also allows the image to become timeless.’ I disagree completely with the first part- why should b/w make an image any more ambiguous? Re the second part, I take your point, but it does seem rather cliched. Yes, one of b/w’s primary meanings tends to be something to do with ‘time’, but you could have more effectively grappled with this notion. Admittedly, the essay length didn’t give you much room to manoeuvre, but this section could have been a little more deftly handled.
- Re ‘Is he perhaps using this image as a commentary on the forced resignation of President Richard Nixon which took place in the same year’, this is a nice idea but I think you could have pursued it a bit more, ahem, ‘doggedly’. In any case, you don’t need to be so fixated on whether or not the photographer ‘intended’ this- your reading is just as valid as his. This raises an issue that Richard Salkeld explores in his Reading Photographs book: ‘The potential meaning of any photograph, as perceived by the viewers, may exceed, or even contradict, what the maker intended. Indeed, the maker cannot control the readings made by viewers: in effect, the meaning of any image is actually produced by the viewer’ (2014: 62). Take a closer look at this, and perhaps use this in the essay.
- The photograph is one that says quite a lot about the ‘cultural work’ that animals do for people, and this is something that you’re broadly tuned into. I wonder if some further research around the literature in this field might help? (see below).
- More explicit references to wider research would have helped- essays should be conceived of as ‘dialogues’ that you’re entering into. You quote a couple of people, but perhaps could have gone slightly further afield.
- Referencing is something you’ll need to look at. You’re broadly in the right area, but will need to get this right with future written work.
Suggested reading/viewing
Context
- The Animals Reader, edited by Kale and Fitzgerald
- Dogs in Cars, Martin Usborne.
- Humans and Other Animals: cross-cultural perspectives on human-animal interactions, Samantha Hurn.
- Richard Salkeld’s Reading Photographs.
Pointers for the next assignment
One more assignment to go! Given your personal difficulties over the course of the unit, it’s extremely commendable that you’ve got to this point without too many delays. As ever, do carefully comb through all aspects of the work you’ve done on the unit and make sure that you’re happy with what you’ve produced. The final assignment certainly represents quite a stern challenge, but also presents a fab opportunity to really leave your mark as you prefer for the next point in your studies. Give me a shout if there’s anything I can do to support you. Good luck!!!
References & Reading
Image of the Damm Family – Mary Ellen Mark, for Life magazine 1987, Available at http://www.maryellenmark.com/text/magazines/life/905W-000-031.html (Accessed 21/10/18)
Image of Migrant Mother – Dorothea Lange, for the FSA 1936, Available at https://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/dorothea-lange-migrant-mother-nipomo-california-1936/ (Accessed 21/10/18)
Image of Felix, Gladys and Rover – Elliott Erwitt 1974, Available at https://pro.magnumphotos.com/Package/2K7O3RZ7T9S#/SearchResult&ALID=2K7O3RZ7T9S&VBID=2K1HZO4O9SSOOG (Accessed 21/10/18)
Photography Masterclass – Paul Lowe 2016, Published by Thames &Hudson
Picturing Atrocity Photography in Crisis – Geoffrey Batchen, Mick Gidley, Nancy K. Miller, and Jay Prosser 2012, Published by Reaktion Books Ltd
Historical events of 1974 – http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1974.html (Accessed 25/10/18)
Publications by Elliott Erwitt – https://books-teneues.com/ (Accessed 25/10/18)
Publications by Elliott Erwitt – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUL2CcojZEU (Accessed 25/10/18)
Publications by Elliott Erwitt – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LF1wdbViR8s (Accessed 25/10/18)
Elliott Erwitt’s interview with the Telegraph – Misha Erwitt and Elliott Erwitt 2013, Available at https://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/27/elliott-erwitt-coloring-outside-the-lines/ (Accessed 25/10/18)
PH4 Context and Narrative - Learning Log 