#journal tasks

[samtudorjones-blog]

Seminar reviews

For our seminar on globalisation i found some positives and negatives to my work as an individual, along side my work within a team.  There were also flaws within my work, and the seminar its self, i will go through both positives and negatives. Our seminar itself was full of interesting case studies that analysed our topic of migration, with each person within the group  giving relevant information with contextual artists and photographers.

To start we began with a conceptual art piece, where an artist spilt a 'green line' of paint to show what borders mean to him. He also explains that borders shouldn't restrict how you see the world. My own interpretation is that he is saying to us that we should travel to make our own opinions and not be spoon fed other peoples ideas of the world. Although this work was very effective in demonstrating the concept of borders, the way it was presented was poor and little effort was put in by my team mate in fully grasping his work.

Secondly we looked at how globalisation has allowed the movement of images and exhibition to reach people who may have never have been given the opportunity to see the work in another country. This was very effective in showing how globalisation is effecting the work of photographers/artists. For example withe invention with the internet everyone in the world can be connected. Therefore allowing work to travel the length of the world in seconds. although this showed the connection between globalisation and photography it didn't connect to our topic or migration.

Next up was the work on A million shillings the book. Looking at the current refugee crisis happening in Northern Africa. Not only looking at how this work covers the actual struggle of what these people go through, but comparing the images within the book to those within magazines and newspapers. `this showed hoe media coverage is not able to show the full truth of what is going on when people travel across the world to escape the danger of home.  Negative aspect to this work was there was little explanation to why the magazines don't show the type of graphic image found within this photography book.

My part of the seminar was next, this was where i looked into the post ww2 migrants from colonial countries. This topic was aimed at looking at past events of migration, as well looking how this mass migration has changes the UK for the better, by diversifying our qualities as a nation. i would say a floor to my work was that i only looked into one culture that moved to the uk, so therefore only looked at one aspect of this mass migration of the UK.

The major flaw to our work was the fact that we didn't go back further in history to give a real context to migration and how it has effected every period of time since humans have existed. As i am following this subject on for my essay i will add that context to the introduction of my work.

[samtudorjones-blog]

Census 2011

Census from 2011, research on the diversity of the UK. This article summarises the main points found within the census. I have used this census to gain a greater understanding about migration and who it has effected the UK.

The 2011 Census showed that almost half (46%, 3.4 million) of the foreign-born population identified with a White ethnic group, a third identified as Asian/Asian British (33%, 2.4 million) and 13% (992,000) identified with Black/African/Caribbean/Black British.

More than 1 in 8 foreign-born residents (13%, 949,000) classified themselves as White British.

The largest group who identified as White British were German born (57%, 155,000) and over

half (56%) of them arrived before 1981. One likely reason is due to British military personnel being stationed in Germany. The next largest group identifying as White British were from South Africa (85,000).

A quarter of the foreign-born population identified as Other White (28%, 2.1 million) and the largest group were from Poland (528,000). Over 9 in 10 Polish born residents identified with Other White and the majority (94%, 496,000) arrived between 2001 and 2011, with Poland’s accession into the European Union in 2004.

The majority of South African born residents identified as White (84%) and over two fifths identified as White British (44%). Most of those identifying with White British (68%) arrived before 2001.

A broad range of ethnic groups was found with Iraqi and Iranian born residents. For Iraq, most common was Arab (39%), Any Other ethnic group (28%) and Asian (17%). For Iran, most common was Asian/Asian British (38%), Any Other ethnic group (34%) and Other White (13%).

High proportions of residents who were Kenyan, Tanzanian and Ugandan born identified as Asian (69%, 68% and 58% respectively).

Of the foreign-born population in England and Wales nearly half identified as Christian (48%) and a fifth identified as Muslim (19%). Around 1 in 7 had No religion (14%).

[samtudorjones-blog]

Globalisation seminar

As a group we have decided to focus on the subject matter of migration and how borders can be used as a boundary as a literal wall. We chose migration as it is a highly relevant topic into today’s media, politics and economy. Not only being a hot topic in today’s society, it has been at the forefront of many issues around the globe stretching back centuries. All though we could go back much further in time the furthest that we have chosen to go back too is post ww2 1950’s-1970’s. Simultaneously we have chosen cases more present such as current Syrian refugee crisis in Europe, and how photographers have aimed to capture the lengths in which the refugees go through just to make it into Europe. To accompany our work we have each chosen pieces of work by a photographer/artist who have produced work on this field and their fore have a greater understanding on the subject matter.

Within this part of the presentation I aim to look at the post ww2 migration of the populous of colonial countries towards the UK. I chose to include this topic as it complements the current situation of Syrian refugees, in that it should show what happens when immigrants arrive and the struggles in which they go through once they have arrived in the new country (UK). The photography book in which I have used is by Paul Gilroy, called Black Britain. The motive of this book was to show the injustices and current situation in which black colonial migrants where found in. Alongside this it also looked at the cultures that the migrants had brought with them and how they were changing London for the better. Although migration can split opinion and divide a country it can also bring one together. Whilst within this lecture we must show the negative connotations of migration and the downside to migration. In large parts migration is important and helps to develop a society that is multicultural and yet has its own identity as a whole.  

[samtudorjones-blog]

week 5

exhibition- exhibition- the exhibition showed many piece of art work from feminist artist. From work produced in the seventies till the present. With patterns forming int he feminist movement in the 1970's such as artists using everyday items to make work from, such as tins's. Avant garde art movement that breaks with tradition. due to the vast majority of artists prior to the 1970's ,and during, being male. For example it was around 95% male. This forced the hand of many female artists who turned to video and or photography.  Female photographers often tried to capture the relationship between males and females. To show the disparities equality. With women often being oppressed in certain aspects of life.

When women did get their own shows/exhibitions it was rare to get an all female show, as a result many women within this era were held back from showing artwork. Often the show would be broken up into different sections/domestic chores. Alongside this many male artist implied a sexual narrative when working with a female model. 

During this period some female artists looked into the beauty of the female body. Used as performance art female artists looked at gestures, exaggerated female behaviour and how by dressing up you can become someone else. Sexual liberation in the 60's gender not excluding race as well. The pill was one of the major causes for this liberation as women were empowered with contraception that they could control. This liberation was shown in films, novels and photography. During this period males were becoming attached to beauty. For example cosmetics and fashion became apart of the male interests. 

Within todays culture women and men are subject to technology that can alter their appearance to suite the magazine of example, whereas in the 70's this wasn't the case. With times changing feminism need to adapt. With a small amount of women today saying they are feminist but still believing in equality between males and females. This is due to the fact that feminism has turned away from equality and focuses of man hating, as a result many women and men have become aware of this and have begun to disassociate the meaning of equality of the sexes with feminism.

[samtudorjones-blog]

Week 7 reading week

With this week, reading week I have started to look into which question I shall use for my essay. After,  reading through all the options I have decided upon the question: 'Choose an image (or a single case study, such as a book, with a number of images) and discuss it from the viewpoint of the ethics, aesthetics and/or ontology of photography.' I chose this question because it gives me the opportunity to use what we have learnt within the lectures, use methodologies that we have been taught and therefore fully analyse a series of photographs.

By following the structure of the question my intention is to start by tackling ethics and how different viewpoints can both be correct, However one might be more factual where the other is speculation, One exemplification of this is when a photojournalist photographs a migration of a populous whilst living in poor living conditions. Is this then considered beneficial to whom, does the photographer donate her earnings to a charity or help whoever she photographs by highlighting their struggle. This would as a result help the subjects in the photograph, therefore become ethically correct. On the other hand if the photographer produces a book or hold an exhibition and the work beautifies their struggle, and doesn't show the real story whilst hiding the negative aspects of their struggle in their day to day lives, does this then imply that the photographer is unethical?

For the other two parts to the question ,aesthetics and/or ontology of photography, i will have decided to use them as a fully analytical tool to analyse the pieces of work I have chosen. Consequently this means I'm able to review both the contexts behind the series and the actual images within the series.

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History as a Field and method of photographic research.

Within in this blog post i shall explain why history can be used as a tool to develop your understanding of an image. The the two ways that history can be used is as a field and method. Each way can be used to analyse different aspects of an image while allowing you two ask meaningful questions about the work.

When looking at the work using history as a field there are four parts, for example:

Individual practitioners (their lives and works, who worked with whom, when and where, how and why they did what they did)

Period (what kind of work was created during a specified time period)

Styles ( how styles interacted with each other - what influenced what/whom)

Movemonets (how movements came and went, how they interacted with each other)

Each way that history of photography is investigated allows me, for example, to understand and question how and why an image is the way it is in terms of history and contexts to its surroundings in the time present and previous to the image.

In our lecture we were given example of the questions we could use when analysing an image:

What exactly happened in a period x–y? Why did it happen? How was it possible that it did happen? Why an individual/set of individuals acted in a certain way.

All photographs are produced within a context. A photographer works with materials (camera, computer, prints etc.) within a definite social place and time. These materials and the choices the photographer exercises over them, whether conscious or not (i.e., not ‘thinking about it’) organizes the look of the picture. (Bate, D. 2009, p.16.)

We say pictures are of x, y, z (‘it is a picture of a dog, house, park, etc.) But history as method of analysis/thought/research can significantly change/add to what we think the picture is of...?

[samtudorjones-blog]

The Labyrinthine City

The lecture examined two aspects of the city, the spectacle and the everyday. These two aspects of the city and city life can be analysed by different methodologies, for example globalisation theory and urban theory. Like these two parts of the city it also has traits as if it was alive. One half being the gathering of people allowing for new perceptions of cultural ideas to be found and developed in a faster rate than if the population was dispersed. However it is also where cultural issues thrive and undermine the positive evolution of society.

When photographing the city, it is more likely to have captured the everyday. This is because it is what we see the most, people getting up then going to work or out for the day. Often when this is captured it is of one act of a daily structure. Therefore when this everyday is capture in photography its likely to fall into the category of documentary photography due to it being apart of a series of one place or peoples life. When analysing this many methodologies can be applied to ideas of the everyday. For example psychology can be used to determine why we do our routines on certain ways, why we dress in style and not the same everyday.

On the other hand there is the spectacular, the events that go down in history, that we remember. Often these images have a grand scale to them, wether this scale is from within the image or due to the amount of images in a series, the work often has a presence surrounding it. For me this is what it means to be a spectacle. In some cases the spectacle involves a natural disaster , this can lead to methodologies such as environmental theory or globalisation theories to be use in analysing the word. As a result the word can then be looked at from multiple side developing a greater understanding for the work and what surrounds the piece.

[samtudorjones-blog]

Philosophy as method: Ethics, Aesthetics, Ontology of Photography.

Going into the lecture i was apprehensive about the title and what the lecture entailed. However by taking each section in steps i was able to grasps the key concepts of ontology, ethics and aesthetics. Alongside the key ideas, i was able to understand how this would be applicable to most analytical essays or tasks.

The first method that we tackled was ontology. Put quite simply the science of being. From what i understood ontology asks the question of, what is photography? Throughout the history of photography there have thought to be signs or ways of distinguishing or separating it from other mediums. A couple of these ideas was that a photograph should be sharp, another that photography is truthful, and finally that it was reproducible. Although these three ideas can be found within photography, there is work by many photographer that proves these to be false. For example Jeff Walls work is not truthful, as the image is staged. As a result the image is no longer truthful.

Ethics the second topic for me was more easily understood. This method took to questioning the ethics of photography and pertain to applied ethics. The two ways taught to us about questioning the ethics of an image are consequentialism and deontological. consequentialism is if the consequence is good the act is also good. Where as deontological is you have to do your duty, for example you want to tell the truth even if the consequence is wrong/bad. Both these methods can be used to question a photographs ethics but each oppose directly what the other is say, so most of the time they can be both used.

Often, aesthetics is thought to be the theory of the beautiful in art and nature. As well aesthetics is often thought to be the theory of formal properties in images: what colours are used ( if any). However in photography this is disputed, especially in documentary photography where often the beauty is not dealt with or the main priority. From the lecture this lead to further questions, such as is photography in fact an art at all? For me this is hard method to compare the whole of photography to as there are so many different branches of the medium.

Overall i found this lecture to be helpful in my understanding of the module and how to further my analysis for the essay at the end of the module.