Week 1: The Global Image
So my first introduction to the module was ‘A Worldwide Medium’ which was an overview of the role of photography from its early days of inception, through history acting as a visual diary to the politically changing landscapes that have shaped our known world. Starting with the pioneers like Daguerre and Fox-Talbot who experimented with the original processes to capture scenes within their immediate physical boundaries, to the likes of James Presley Ball who gained widespread acclaim for his 19th Century portraiture of distinguished people.
‘At its best photography is a symbol that not only serves to help illuminate some of the darkness of the unknown, but it also serves to lessen the fears that too often accompany the journeys from the known, to the unknown’
~ Wynn Bullock (1902 - 1975) ~
The process of photography in its earliest forms and the use of it documenting the ever changing world soon became widespread across the planet. People with the means and access to camera’s were soon breaking down physical boundaries across borders with images that would both educate and dictate the way civilisations saw themselves and their neighbours.
One area of research I have already begun is the work of early colour photography, resourced and funded by the Frenchman Albert Kahn in the early 1900’s. The introduction of ‘Autochromes’ a process by which glass plates could be colourised with the chemical reaction of light on ordinary potato starch particles, brought the corners of the world to people through the medium of images, in colour. The impact of this cannot be understated as a historic document which changed how photography was perceived, and how cultures and landmarks where judged and in some cases recorded before fading away forever. For more than two decades Kahn dispatched ‘operateurs’ across the globe where approximately 72,000 autochromes were taken. This pictorial library preserves like no other medium can, the developing world in a dawning age of photography.
The images below were taken in 1913 by Marguerite Mespoulet and Madeleine Mignon-Alba in GALWAY, IRELAND. They are just a small but important entry in Kahn’s ‘Les Archives de la Planete’
‘It is one thing to photograph people. It is another to make others care about them by revealing the core of their humanness’
~ Paul Strand (1890 - 1976) ~
Figure 1: MESPOULET, Marguerite / MIGNON-ALBA, Madeleine. 1913. Mother Of Seven Making Fringes For Knitted Shawls, Galway, Ireland 29 May 1913.
Figure 2: MESPOULET, Marguerite / MIGNON-ALBA, Madeleine. 1913. Two Fisherman & A Boy, An Spideal, Galway, Ireland 31 May 1913.
Figure 3: MESPOULET, Marguerite / MIGNON-ALBA, Madeleine. 1913. Main Ni Tuathail, A 14 Year Old Girl From The Claddagh, Wearing Traditional Claddagh Dress, Galway, Ireland 26 May 1913.
Figure 4: MESPOULET, Marguerite / MIGNON-ALBA, Madeleine. 1913. Man Cutting Turf, South Connemara, Galway, Ireland 29 May 1913.
‘Windows of the World’ made us look at the early concept of framing the image from the comfort and safety of the photographers immediate surroundings. The early photo’s were often captures from a literal window, or indeed of the window itself. This almost metaphorical composition of a ‘scene’ boxed in to a uniform shape was possibly an extension and evolution of the artist’s canvas. Where before pictures had taken considerable time and patience to capture by a skilled artisan, often at great cost if done so outside of one’s native country, now an instant portrayal (in truthful representation) was available at the clicking of a shutter.
It its earliest iteration of course, the image taken was of either poor quality or lacking in the emotive and colourful interpretation of a painter. However, the scientific community saw beyond the output, and focused mainly on the concept.
There is also the argument that a photograph through a window was also a reflection (or mirror) of the photographer. The intimacy and relationship the photographer has with the scene is fundamentally a GPS of the eye. As the technology and interest grew of course, the camera developed and travelled to regions and situations well beyond the confines the room.
Photographs became a commercial drug for those with an appetite for topography, and political awareness. The world began to shrink as knowledge was reshaped from just the written or pictorial, to an evidential and unlimited medium of visual geographical and cultural porn. In parallel with the fast moving evolution of photographic principals and technology was of course the moving picture. The two have been comfortable bedfellows through history, and of course share the same subject matter albeit with differing aspects and values of appreciation.
My reflections from watching the video clips are reinforcing my interest about the origins of Photography and less about where the technology currently is going. This yearning to trace back my camera’s ancestry may or may not be something I can incorporate into my final project. There is an innate beauty and transcendant skill I see in the Albert Kahn library of work. His fall from grace from success and wealth and reputation though the Wall Street crash is almost poetic given the invaluable legacy he left behind. With George Eastman pioneering paper film in the same lifetime, plate photography for all its delicate and refined beauty had competition, and Kahn died in relative poverty.
I was asked to take a picture which was from a window as part of the forum contribution. Without overthinking the challenge I chose to take an image on my iPhone of the window below. This is a very poignant window for me as it was the one my late mother and I used to look at each other though during the Pandemic. My mother died in the Summer this year as restrictions at the time forebode us from being in the same room. This is the view mum had of the outside world with me looking in. It was her window on the world, and the clock on the mantlepiece marked time for her on my visits. My photograph therefore represents another persons perspective, and not my own but it is none the less valid in my eyes. I also took it on my phone in homage to how we would communicate if the window couldn’t be opened. I used to be a public exponent of mobile phone photography (or iPhonography) many years ago, giving talks at the Photography Show in Birmingham on its merits and being interviewed by magazines like BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOGRAPHY.
It’s no longer a medium I choose to promote or indeed practice unless spontaneity offers me no alternative.
Figure 5: TIPPING 2020. Window On The World
I also observed the theory of a window being a mirror and how that can also also reflect the photographer, their practice, and their viewpoint. The following image was taken on 35mm Illford film during my first week on the course. As much as I hate being in front of the lens, I will concede and accept a reflection as a compromise. This could be classed as a self portrait of sorts, as I am in the image, however I see it more as my contrived alter-ego.
One of our assignments this week was to show up to three images with the theme of the ‘Global Image’. I chose the following two to represent ISOLATION and CONSUMERISM, two subjects which I think are very relevant under the current COVID Pandemic umbrella.
The first one of the old lady was shot for a magazine feature on me by Black & White Photography. This was taken on my iPhone as part of a series and achieved some relative success in a few international photography competitions. The second one was taken at a music festival and was quite opportunist, but makes a very clear point about consumption and waste, and its impact on the ecological state of the planet we find ourselves concerned with.
Figure 6: TIPPING 2017. Isolation.
Figure 7: TIPPING 2018. Consumerism
Reflection & Recap:
Looking back over the first week I have enjoyed looking at the work of my peers most of all. The postings on the forums have been fascinating and the standard of photography quite inspiring, and scary at the same time. Whether I will be able to match expectations, and indeed produce work worthy of this course still remains to be seen.
The Global Image was a nice history lesson about the origins of photography, and fitted in nicely with my own fascination of the medium at the beginning of the 20th Century. I think for me the most obvious development has been that of ‘reportage’ and the way politics has been informed and evaluated by the work of photographers in war zones. Harrowing images which have found their way into the media will have undoubtably changed our perspective of the world we live in. But equally the view of the Earth taken from the window of Apollo 8 on Xmas Eve 1968 by Bill Anders has shown how an image of such beauty can have as profound an impact, as that of suffering. People have posted some very cool photo’s of their windows on the world, and although mine had a bittersweet theme to it, the importance and resonance of that image will live with me forever, even if the quality of the photo was somewhat minimal.
I also believe the analogy of the still photograph being more impactful that a moving image to be true. A still image takes a moment in time, freezes it and allows the viewer to focus on the story, the message, and the composition. Multiple frame images may expand and develop that story, but fail to pinpoint one moment of time and allow it to be framed and embedded in the mind. Its been a very educational first week.