Critical Annotation Round 2
For round 2 of my online dossier, I gathered materials from numerous sources such as online journals, articles and works from various artists. What binds them all together is their relation to my current studio practise. Themes such as: Tableau Photography, Documentary Photography, Queer Art, Camp, Catholicism, Analog Photography and Gender. Sources gathered all pertain to research questions such as: why do I use Analog Photography as my primary medium? What is Camp to me? And what role does gender play in my work?
Why Do I use Analog Photography As My Primary Medium?
I started out with the article: In Defence Of The Poor Image because I was constantly struggling with how I was presenting my work. At times I felt that Analog Photography was limiting and that if I moved to digital photography the editing process would be easier and less time consuming. However I was also worried about the unpolished nature of my photography. As I am originally a painter, I often grasp the fact I have virtually no skills pertaining to photography and worry that it reflects on my work. Reading articles like In Defence Of the Poor Image validate my experience and say its ok to use film. Again this was solidified with Tacita Dean’s views on film. She cites that film gives us a sense of nostalgia and reminds us of ‘better days’. I’m influenced greatly by queer culture from the 70s and 90s and also admire the photography movements that have come out of those eras. My work, via Analog Photography, is a homage to those eras.
What Is Camp To Me?
I researched The Cockettes, Paris Is Burning and The Dark Side of Camp Aesthetics as a way to contextualise my appreciation for Camp. I am a lover of all things counterculture and underground and I view Camp as a protest of all things ‘normal’. Camp is such a huge genre and can be quite hard to define. I research Camp quite a bit in my studio practise so I think, to me, Camp is unpolished, anti establishment and anti binary. The sources I gathered are examples of how Camp is used; often by artists who have nothing but have made something from that. It’s a protest and it can be gritty and messy.
What Role Does Gender Play In My Work?
I gathered materials that contained subject matter concerning gender and I’m often attracted to work that includes subjects who are trans or gender non conforming. They make the best images and I think humans are always drawn to these individuals because they give off an energy that transcends your everyday person. It’s this energy that makes many feel threatened. Trans women and gender non conforming individuals are the most under represented in culture and as a queer person myself I don’t particularly care for work that pushes the cisgender heterosexual narrative. Furthermore, I was raised in a household that had strict gender roles that were enforced by religion; I seek to create work that is a direct response to this. I believe Catholicism is inherently misogynistic and anti women and I know that many of its male devotees suffer from internalised homophobia. Artists are great critiques of gender and are usually the first to explore this subject.