Tag: photographic practice

Artistic Vision

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At the start of a new term and new module, I begin with a short reflection on the feedback and assessment for the previous term. Overall, I was disappointed in the grades I received as these showed a considerable drop since the first term. The feedback itself was relevant and helpful, certainly aspects that I will take on board and integrate into my future practice, particularly the suggestions to experiment with different photographic techniques and methodologies, as well as different ways of presenting a portfolio.

Work in Progress portfolio from Term 2

What concerned me the most was that I didn’t necessarily feel that my artistic vision was communicated clearly enough, or that it was fully understood, and I have been left with many questions on whether my choice of project is suitable or if my technique is good enough. I have spent the holidays feeling tremendous self-doubt and questioning my abilities as an artist. I’ve had to remind myself of my reasons for choosing to study and for selecting the particular project that I have, in order to return to the original integrity of my artistic choices and vision. This is what I now hope to be able to articulate and express clearly as I go forward this term.

“Photographs bear witness to a human choice being exercised in a given situation. A photograph is a result of the photographer’s decision that it is worth recording that this particular event or this particular object has been seen.” – John Berger (1972)

Not only do we make human choices in our photography, but we also have human responses to our subjects, whatever these may be.  The dilemma or conflict that I have encountered in my own practice is the suggestion that I should choose between two paths or contexts, namely that of documentary or art – choosing whether my work will be subjective or attempt to be objective, whether it will be narrative or emotive, or both?  Whether it will be a challenging and outward focused body of work, or a sentimental and self-focused body of work? My impulse is to attempt to find a synergy between the two, some kind of balance between apparent opposites and contradictions and this is what I attempt to achieve through the human choices I make as a photographer.

The intention of my work is to document what I believe are the last days of the areas in my city known as Stokes Croft and The Bearpit. Originally Stokes Croft referred to a section of road by this name, however, over time it has come to refer to an area surrounding this road which has a distinct cultural and community identity. This is particularly seen in the diversity of people, artistic enterprises and graffiti art which appears throughout the area, including artwork by the well-known Bristol graffiti artist, Banksy.   I do not wish to romanticise the area or make it appear more glamorous than the reality of what it is, so I acknowledge and hope to portray that this area is not without its problems – it has historically been neglected by local authorities, leading to social issues and urban decay. However, the community itself has transformed the area into a colourful space of diversity, tolerance and freedom of expression, something I value and believe is important in our city.

It is my belief that it is only a matter of time before development will completely erode the character of this area, the slow creep of gentrification has already begun and just in the time since I started the MA, the Bearpit was locked down and stripped, the graffiti washed from the walls and Ursa the Bear, a much loved art installation in The Bearpit, was also taken down. This is the moment that I feel the heart of the city was wounded and the slow creep of gentrification had become visible. I do not purport to change this or to prevent it or to challenge it through my photography, as this has already been done by various groups and campaigns – the slow creep of gentrification has been eating away at the heart of this area for years already, so my intention as an artist and photographer is to preserve what I can through photographically documenting the area across time and before the cultural identity of the place is gone forever. At the same time my own feelings of loss and sorrow are what I also hope to convey within the images, as I believe this will explain and express my human choices.

Work in Progress Project Development: September – December 2019 © Juanita McKenzie

My practice at this time might be considered as anti-establishment and anti-intentional which is even more pertinent because of the area my current project is documenting – the spirit of anarchic rebellion has always been the spirit of this place.  I am not neutral in my feelings towards the area and the way in which it has been impacted by decisions made by a faceless officialdom and authority, yet I may not overtly express a political stance due to my personal circumstances and the nature of my employment.  This is one of my limitations and also my challenge, to be able to express through image that which I cannot through verbal statement, to make clear my stance and feelings, and communicate that I am not neutral in the choice of what I photograph, of what I include in the frame and where I am located inside this narrative. 

In many ways, academia and the arts, is also a form of establishment, and this could also be translated as conformism to contextual traditions and styles. Again this is one of the challenges for me, as I struggle to balance this desire to learn and inform my photographic choices without becoming mired in conformity or colouring this project with the perspectives of establishment. I aim for a raw, honest authenticity in my work – with no artifice or sense of construction to a scene, but rather a more spontaneous on the ground feeling to the images.  I want the viewer to see the scene as it is, unapologetically flawed, imperfect and rough.  I feel that I am most resonant with the tradition of the snapshot aesthetic, a technique that was made prominent in Stephen Shore’s American Surfaces. Inspired by Stephen Shore’s work, I aim to capture the mundane, the everyday reality in a way that begins drawing the viewer in as if they are part of the scene, really there, participating in the image and not just viewing it. 

Gallup, New Mexico, July 1972© Stephen Shore, courtesy of 303 Gallery, New York – Source: Tate Gallery

I want the images to be relate-able, to connect with the people who know this area, understand it’s character and recognise the places in my images, making this aimed to some extent at a niche market. Yet I believe that there are many communities that are similar and undergoing the slow creep of gentrification, which means that it will be recognisable to others from other cities, to other people who are experiencing this same sense of loss of community and place.  The impulse to document places and their socio-cultural contexts in a way that creates this broader narrative is inspired by those photographers who have embodied the concept of the ‘American road trip’ into their work, in particular Stephen Shore, Alec Soth, Edward Ruscha. All three artists have incorporated travelling, or journeying, into their practice, be it through road trips or walking, be it across a country or simply in their own cities in a the so-called ‘on the road’ style of photography that I find tremendously authentic and honest.

“I fell in love with the process of taking pictures, with wandering around finding things. To me it feels like a kind of performance. The picture is a document of that performance” – Alec Soth (Magnum Photos, 2020).

Happiness Inn, 2005. From Niagara © Alec Soth, courtesy of the artist and MACK. Source:

These artists show a natural curiosity for the world they live in, an awareness of the beauty of the mundane and every day places and people, that tell the real story of a time and place. They are also all willing to undertake long term and large-scale projects in order to tell a compelling story of the reality of place and people. These are all aspects that influence my work and provide the context from which my work is informed despite being located in an entirely different part of the world and working in a far smaller scale. As I do most of my photographic exploration through walking, I also relate to the older French tradition of the flaneur, the urban wanderer and artist, as described by the French poet Charles, Baudelaire and embodied by photographers such as Eugène Atget and Brassaï. I also feel affinity to aspects of the related tradition of psychogeography, a concept defined by French philosopher and Marxist, Guy Debord, which brings in the psychological aspects to a place and adds a sense of the mysterious to my explorations of the urban areas in which I wander.

The act of walking is, in fact, integral to my photographic practice and my experience or sense of the places I explore, as it is this powerful and intentional act of walking which helps me to the understand and know the subtle nuances and details of a place, which is what I hope to share through my images. There is no artifice or gloss to the images or to this project as a whole, as this is what gives it authenticity – the gritty, real and tangible feel to the image – and it is authenticity that elicits a response. I believe this has been both my success and my failure simultaneously – it has been achieved but perhaps not understood without knowing the wider context of my artistic vision and the direction I am taking, something I have struggled to define and articulate. Perhaps this is related to the sense I experience daily of being ‘silenced’ by rules, regulations, systems of hierarchy and power.

Walking the line – Stokes Croft 2019 © Juanita McKenzie

Going forward, I aim to express more freely and clearly what I truly feel as I believe there is opportunity to express my subjective feelings within a framework of documentary narrative. I view the image,the photograph, as a form of communication – a way to start a conversation, engage with an issue or an audience, to tell a story and invite participation in this story. This impulse must naturally push me towards exploring street portraiture even though I am uncomfortable in this style. Conceptually, this is the next step to explore along with further immersion into the snapshot aesthetic, and possibly even exploring black and white photography as an artistic choice. I am considering exploring different techniques by using 35 mm film photography as a means to experiment initially and potentially including Polaroid to bring something a little different to the project as I move further into the process.

An important concept that I must emphasise and which is always central to my practice, no matter what context, technique or aesthetic I apply, I don’t want to decide for the viewer what they will feel or think when looking at the scenes I capture.  I want them to experience it for themselves and to only become aware of my subjective feelings as the artist once they have already begun to follow the narrative as the viewer – this I hope to achieve through the small links and clues provided within the images, within their sequencing and layout, and potentially by the inclusion of text. This will hopefully invite the viewer to engage with the image and the narrative, allowing the viewer to become immersed into their own experience of the scene and only then becoming aware of my presence and feelings as a participant within the narrative, a character within the scene, in relationship with it or to it.  There should be no fixed script, but rather a fluid and unique response to the experience as this is when narrative becomes dialogue; when viewing becomes experiencing. This is my aim and artistic vision – my human choice.

References:

Methods and Strategies

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Chance, coincidence and sometimes faux pas can play a very important role in photography and this is something I am always aware of in my practice, particularly when I am photographing in the streets and urban spaces of the cities that I visit. I always have my camera ready and know that I may need to be very quick in order to capture a fleeting moment in the dynamic of the every changing and moving urban environment.

Yet still there is a moment of choice involved as to whether to capture something in that precise timing and what to include within the frame. This is what Henri Cartier-Bresson refers to in his concept of the ‘decisive moment’, implying a readiness and ability to recognise the elements of a great photographic composition. This is both the creative impulse and the technical knowledge combined to bring forward a compelling photographic image.

As walking and exploring the urban environment is so integral to my photographic practice, I am often spontaneous in my work but have found it tremendously helpful to place a focus in my mind for the particular outcomes I hope to achieve in a given session. Finding a balance between planned focus and creative spontaneity is the way I endeavour to approach my photographic process so as to remain flexible and leave room for new directions.

“Having a clear understanding of concept, the rationale for a piece of work, will inform many decisions you will make as a photographer; prior, during and after the actual picture-making event. The conceptual approach is the essence of the process and the photograph. From informing subtle choices concerning subject, materials, composition and final presentation, the relationship between concept and subject underpins all that the photographer does.” (Short, 2011)

The choice of lens, location, time of day, season and intention can all be factors that will influence my work and all involve making technical and creative decisions beforehand. The processing and editing of images afterwards are also important technical and creative decisions that are part of my photographic practice. These decisions are always shaped by knowing my reasons for a particular project, enabling a focused and meaningful process. Yet it is often through remaining open to chance and spontaneity that some of my best work is achieved.

East London, June 2019 – The unexpected pedestrian strolling into my frame adds an interesting dynamic to the composition and enhances the narrative in a way that might not have been there without this chance happening.
©Juanita McKenzie

References:

* Short, M. (2011). Subject. In Basics Creative Photography 02: Context and Narrative (pp. 40–65). Lausanne: AVA Publishing SA. Retrieved November 29, 2019, from http://dx.doi.org/10.5040/9781350088993.ch-002

Power and Responsibility

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Just as photography can have a positive social and political impact, so too there is equal potential for it to be used in negative ways.  Issues around power, responsibility and ethics are extremely important areas for photographers to consider. 

 “Photographs really are experience captured, and the camera is the ideal arm of consciousness in its acquisitive mood. To photograph is to appropriate the thing photographed. It means putting oneself into a certain relation to the world that feels like knowledge — and, therefore, like power.” – Susan Sontag, On Photography, 1977, pg 3-4

Both commercial and documentary photography are fields that are frequently criticised for the objectification of the subject and the misuse of the way in which the subject is portrayed and, indeed, the sense of ownership that is attributed to both the image and the subject by the photographer or by the commercial institutions that gather and commission images. However, these are issues that are not solely confined to these specific fields and need to be considered in all areas of photography. 

As photographers we need to consider very carefully why we are choosing to take a photograph of a particular subject and why we choose to take it at a particular moment in time.  The moment of decision and the selection of a particular moment in time to capture, is in itself an act of power.  The concept of the decisive moment was first proposed by Henri Cartier-Bresson in 1952 and has since been largely misunderstood by photographers and photojournalists as being a technique to be employed in the pursuit of the perfect image rather than a reference to the sensitivity that is required by the photographer in deciding when to take an image. 

“His work, widely published in magazines and in a series of superb books, only rarely reported newsworthy events. It provided, rather, a broad description of a place, its people and culture, and the texture of its everyday life. And it helped create the image of the photojournalist as an alert and sympathetic, but also knowing and detached, observer — an image that dovetailed neatly with the notion of the “decisive moment” and in the process limited its meaning. Under the rubric of photojournalism, the decisive moment is not only a pictorial climax that yields a satisfying photograph but also a narrative climax that reveals a truth about the subject.” – Peter Galassi, Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Early Work, Peter Galassi, pg 9

We also always need to remember that without context an image can be misused or misrepresented, therefore, as photographers we need to consider very carefully how an image can be interpreted, or misrepresented outside of the original context and meaning.  We have to take responsibility for how the subject is portrayed and how the image could be used, manipulated or interpreted. 

An example of this is photojournalist Jeff Mitchell’s image of refugees crossing from Croatia to Slovenia in October 2015 which was used controversially by the UK Independent Party during the 2016 referendum campaign to leave the European Union. This is discussed in greater detail in an interview published in The Guardian newspaper which can be viewed here.


Refugees cross from Croatia into Slovenia in October 2015 (c) Jeff Mitchell/Getty Images https://goo.gl/gtrmU6

This is not to enter into political discussion or to debate this particular incident, nor is it a criticism of Jeff Mitchell who I do not believe anticipated such a use of his image. Rather, this is to emphasise that as photographers we have to consider very carefully where we sell our work and just how much ownership of it we are prepared to give away. We always have a moral and ethical responsibility that is implicit in our work which means we need to be aware of the nature of any contracts we enter into, whilst also being aware of the power of the image and the way it could be used.

References: Galassi, P. (1987). Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Early Work. New York: The Museum of Modern Art. Sontag, S. (1977). On Photography. London: Penguin Books The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/jun/22/jeff-mitchells-best-shot-the-column-of-marching-refugees-used-in-ukips-brexit-campaign

Journal Reflection – Positions and Practice,Week 4

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This week our coursework was focused on creative collaboration and learning how this could support and develop our photographic practice. The task was set to work in creative partnership with one or two of our peers to create and deliver a micro-project by the end of the week.

To find our creative partners, we were tasked to post something in our forum discussions, text or image, that we felt a connection to and which represented something about ourselves and our work. We then looked at the contributions shared by our peers to find a post that resonated with our own and from this established our groups.

I chose to post the following quote as it is how I approach much of my urban photography:

“To me, photography is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place… I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.” – Elliot Erwitt

This immediately connected me with my peer, Dean, who posted these song lyrics: ” Life is just a bowl of All-Bran. You wake up every morning and it’s there. So live as only you can. It’s all about enjoy it ’cause ever since you saw it , there ain’t no one can take it away.” – lyrics from Happy Days Toytown by the Small Faces.

We both felt an immediate connection around finding beauty in the ordinary things and this became the foundation from which we structured our project. We had been given complete freedom to choose a theme, the content and creative direction of the project with the only specifications being that we needed to create a small body of work in it’s own right which was formed in collaboration and which could be presented in a digital format.

Dean and I had a conversation on the phone about the project and very quickly came up with a simple project idea and process. We agreed to take a walk in our respective cities with the parameters being the same day of the week, the same time and duration, and it had to be in a local context. The aim would be to look for the beauty in the ordinary along the path of the walk and this would generate a body of images we could then collate.

We both ended up wandering much further than we anticipated and went off the intended routes but the result was rather interesting. When we looked at our images side by side, we began to notice similarities in the forms, the themes, the subject and mood despite being in very different cities.

Harmony ©Juanita McKenzie
Image from the project. Full project slides can be viewed here.

I had a good eye for pairing up images so that each page of our presentation has a side by side image by each photographer. Dean was brilliant at designing and compiling the presentation. We chose the images together, agreed on the layout and edit of the final compilation and created the text together. The entire process felt incredibly easy and fluid because we made such a great creative match based on the shared vision in our work.

When we presented it at our webinar, we both spoke about our images and why we took them, also looking at why we paired them the way we did. I felt that it was a balanced dialogue between us and the creative vision was easily articulated to our peers and tutor. We got very positive feedback at the webinar and also when we shared it in our discussion forum.

Looking at the work produced by our peers, it was very exciting and inspiring to see how others had approached this micro-project and the way they had chosen to present it. I was also amazed at the way in which certain themes repeatedly came through in each of the projects, for example environmental issues, the celebration of day to day life, finding meaning within the ordinary, and home or sense of place.

This was an incredibly valuable experience as I mostly work on my own and did not realise how working collaboratively can actually take the creative process into new directions and out of the usual comfort zones. It was a great activity and I learned so much from my peers and from working in creative partnership!

Nature finds a way ©Juanita McKenzie
Image from the project. Full project slides can be viewed here.

Thinking Away From Photography

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The coursework this week set a task of finding a piece of work that was not a photograph but which linked in some way to our own practice or research interests. I actually found this to be quite a difficult task, not because of thinking away from photography, but rather because of the amount it revealed.  I realised that there are a number of influences in my photography and in my life, some of which go quite far back.  These influences range across music, films, art, documentaries and many different genres but through exploring these in the context of this discussion, I realised there is a common thread. 

From Blake to Banksy….poetry to graffiti….what is the connection?  For me it began a long time ago with William Blake’s ‘Songs of Innocence and Experience’, a collection of poems that show two very different states of the human experience and reflect upon the inequality inherent in the industrial society of that time.  Banksy on the other hand, is one of the most controversial and well known street artists of our times. His work is often political and satirical, critical of authority, inequality and the human suffering that results. This is the theme that I have found in common across the many different artists or genres that influence my own practice or research interests.

Looking at my current work, street art is one of my research projects and one of my favourite street artists is British street artist, Stik. His work has definitely inspired me to photograph the streets, the street art that appears there, the people that live in these areas, the urban environment and the relationship people have with it, as well as to capture the character of places before they are gone.  In a way I feel that photography is a means of documenting the rapid changes happening in our cities and communities, but also preserving something of them before they are gone. 

Large scale mural by Stik - Nelson Street, Bristol ©Juanita McKenzie
Large scale mural by Stik – Nelson Street, Bristol
©Juanita McKenzie

Stik uses simple stick figures to convey meaning through simplicity – the subtle bend in an arm, or position of the dot for an eye, can convey so much expression and emotion.  He makes use of colour, line and environment to create artworks that represent the community and reflect the vulnerability of the human being while also giving hope.  His artwork has not only inspired me but has also been a source of tremendous comfort and joy to me at various times in the past few years. (This is discussed in my oral presentation which can be found here).

I feel a connection to Stik’s artwork because in my own practice, I also try to capture similar themes in my photography – the vulnerability of people in the harsh environment of the city, the inequality and contrasts that are so much a part of urban life (really a microcosm of the global inequality), but also the tremendous courage, community and spirit that arises from this. 

I hope to capture the vulnerability but also the fragile beauty in the cities, the dialogue between the opposites, the dance between old and new, the tension and friction, and the constant process of metamorphosis. 

The clip below is by Stik and discusses some aspects of his work and community: 

Visit Stik’s website for further information about his work: http://stik.org/