Division Bell

From a pure photographic form ‘The Division Bell’ album, designed by Strom Thorgerson, released in 1994 is that of two huge metal half faces in an upright position in a ploughed field looking at each other but also creating a third face, both not viewed at the same time, as Thorgerson and Curzon state

“Two heads facing, or talking to each other (‘Keep Talking’), making up a third face, which would get in the way both visually and literally, seemed like a good idea. The single eyes of the two faces looking at each other become the two eyes of a single face looking at you, the viewer. It was intended that the viewer should not see both at the same time. One was the single face, or the two profiles. If one saw both it was alternating, like an optical illusion, which was even better because it meant that the viewer was interacting, or communicating with the image directly, viscerally” (1997, p.130).

Oddly enough, this image, which is also on the front of Storm Thorgersons’ book in not displayed on or within the cover of Division Bell album, the subtle difference is that on the album the reference to talking is that of four spotlights and the unpublished image has three red flags.

This image is discussing linguistics, the act of communication either to someone else or from someone to us. The eyes look like bulls eyes from a dart board and in turn can be connoted to that of talking to your targeted audience. When viewing as two faces talking to each other, we feel like a third person, an almost non-entity within that diologue, perhaps also infringing on their privacy, yet when viewed as a full face, the eyes look menacing, due to the slightly lower angle and our looking up give it a sense of domination, one can also see a switch from two people talking to combining into a single joint force about to reprimand the eavesdropper, us.

Thorgerson, S. & Curzon, P. (1997). Mind Over Matter, The Images Of Pink Floyd. London: Sanctuary Publishing Limited.

Hero Monomyth and the Hermeneutic Code

I am addressing a lecture that we had quite a few weeks ago but has just to mind due to a friend of mine and myself have been writing a script, a melange of a few genres, though towards the end more sci-fi, although our script doesn’t follow all the usual tropes or the standard archetypal hero monomyth however we do still cover a few of these elements.

The Hero Monomyth – Joseph Campbell.

This sequence of events can be used with most adventure stories or films, which in turn usually from novels, the big three that are usually referred to, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars and Harry Potter or before then, Indiana Jones, take the story and character arc and you have pretty much what is above, yet we all love a ripping yarn, we know what’s going to happen, mostly subconsciously, that the above will be played out, albeit in various ways.

The analogy used in our lecture, though in substance far from Luke Skywalker or Harry Potter, was The Gingerbread Man, yet again this structure held true.

Roland Barthes refers to five codes, one of which was drawn to our attention was the Hermeneutic Code, the snares and snags that puts the protagonist off the scent or disrupts the outcome of a section of the story, maybe inducing another enigma to solve. One other element under this banner is the cliff hanger, usually at the end or a chapter or even at the end of the story either to signify the possibility of a sequel or handing control over to the viewer or reader to come to their own decision.

Another writer on the subject of storytelling is Robert McKee and his three act play paradigm, firstly the setting up of the story and therein the disturbance, secondly the struggle and finally the third element the resolution, although this can be associated to various stories I feel that it is a little too simple for a more involved piece.

Walter Benjamin - The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction

Walter Benjamin’s book The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction is one of our core reading books for this module, visual communication, personally I have found this book a little hard going, but have been able to get through a few chapters, he says that art has always been reproducible, anything man made can be reproduced, this reproduction can be used to a an implement for teaching, ultimately it can and will be used to make money. Ancient technological reproductions were usually made from casting or embossing, coins are one such example. Drawings were reproduced long before paintings, due to wood engraving or graphic art. Wood engraving then changed to cooper plate engraving and then lithography in the late 19^th century, this was replaced only decades later by photography. Photographic reproductions speed up to a point that is was able to capture images in sync with speech.

Regarding the reproduction, this is still very much unique within its own surroundings, this idea I personally quite like, and also its ownerships and therefore its changes in environments. Manual reproductions were usually written of or branded as fake yet with the modern reproduction, the copy is more autonomous in relation to the original.

Benjamin talks of genuineness and how the very perfection or refinement of its being since its creation to its duration through time and the event that the original holds, for instance a film slide.

This is my reckoning of the first few chapters of the book and one that I have found challenging to digest, however after re-reading elements and adapting to Benjamin’s style of writing, have found some of this to be quite interesting and look forward to reading more of this body of work.

Bradford Grid

For our photography module the first part was that of a mini project of photographing a section of the A to Z of Bradford, referred to as the Bradford Grid, this was about half a mile up Horton Road from the university. On first impression I had all sorts of ideas flying through my head, however these were all erased when I walked to area and found this task rather harder that I had expected. I have to say that I struggled on the first couple of visits trying to get a handle on a style and on a subject, however this part of the project I actually enjoyed, in some sort of masochistic way, as it took out of my comfort zone and forced me think and try, quite literally, different angles. I spoke with some of the people on my course about the images, even though we had cart blanche, was still a concern, one bit of advice was to document the place rather than try and romanticise it but I had a damn good go at doing just that anyway. Feedback was, 'nice and easy on the eye, looked like I’d taken a wander on a Sunday afternoon, gentle and easy going'; well it could have been a whole lot worse.

I have chosen these four images as they all have a pleasant bokeh, be it foreground or background, drawing the eye to the in focus element of the image yet also making the blurry area quite interesting, I think that this attribute causes images to become instantly more engaging and interesting. I feel that these, albeit every day functionally objects, can be made, as probably most objects, quite compelling when viewed from angles not normally seen.

Marla Rutherford

Last semester I was in the university library looking through portrait photography books and happened upon a couple of photographs that, as I am sure you’ll agree, stood out from the opposing pages, I was really quite taken with these images, one of them shown here, the striking model juxtaposed with the chintzy small dining area cum snug, which doesn’t look at dissimilar to that of a static caravan. Having looked into her work, she has quite a large repertoire and this latex fetish side is only one of many facets, however they all have this rich, bright and very high detail quality about them.

One element I really enjoy about this type of work, is that it is so wonderfully playful and quirkiness, for me it is quite refreshing, it touches on an area that is rarely discussed and presented in a non-vulgar way. I have to say that I feel quite inspired and that Rutherford, for me, really stands out as one of the top contemporary photographers.

She has a set of photographs and watching a video of her talking about her work, of putting this often darker side of peoples characters, that is usually only performed indoor in the comfort of their own home out of prying eyes, unless they are either very confident or just don’t care what other people think, and put into all sorts of wonderfully ‘boring’ roles, such as mowing the lawn.

This photograph has a clear structure, from as mentioned, juxtaposed woman against the kitsch setting to the contrasting coffee mug, after all the photo is titled Fetish Coffee, plus the to be read paper on the opposite side, perhaps there is her partner out of view and then on to the yet again striking yellow sunflowers in the vase to finish of the abundant yet contrasting normality. The angle of the bench on the right advertises it’s vacancy save the magazine and hints of a will be soon filled impression.

Roland Barthes – Photographic Message and the Photographic Paradox

I have just read the first part of the first chapter of Roland Barthes Image Music Text, the first chapter is The Photographic Message and the section read, The Photographic Paradox. I have decided to attempt to write this up in my own words, mainly for my own understanding and hopefully I have got this right, there can be a fine line between interpretation and mis-interpretation, hopefully this blog will be the former.

Barthes uses the press photograph as an analogy for this section of text, he states that there are three sections to a press photo, firstly the emission, that is the creation of the photograph and the staff involved in producing it, secondly the reception, the reader and the third and final, the channel of transmission, the actual paper, the physical copy. With the paper, the photograph can change meaning depending the ownership and for the intended reader, be it a left or right wing publication and that all press photographs are shown in conjunction with one other element, a title, be it text or a caption, this is always an accompanying element to all press photos. These two elements are viewed together however they are still separate. Text is the linguistic element and the photo is the visual aid made up of lines, texture and shading, each are equally defined yet are contiguous.

One element is very familiar and that is language but the other is still very much to be learnt about, the language of the photograph. What does the photograph transmit? It is a snapshot of reality, though reduced by proportion and colour; there is no need for a relay, a dialogue between image and supplementary text, this is accepted as reality, even if the perspective is also reduced. There is no code required to decipher the image, it is a continuous message.

Reproductions of reality do not need a code, paintings, drawings, theatre, this is on first sight, the first meaning, or initial message, the initial style of the reproduction and accepted as such. The second meaning is created from the signifier, the physical form, the representation of reality put forward by the creator; the signified is how this representation of reality is decoded and how the message is received by the viewer. So this representation is transmitted via two messages, a denoted, the physical form and the connoted, the message or signs within, however it is, rightly or wrongly, digested by the individual, collective group or indeed society as a whole. This is across all reproductions and interpreted as such, no one thing can be viewed without this duality.

However a drawing, created by human hand, cannot come across without having some sort of style visible; similarly a film has an inferred motive.

Barthes says that a photograph in its very existence is viewed as a picture and the message is clear from what it stands as, this is the first order message and because of this there is no second order message or connotation, its statement removes any further dialogue.

So the photographic paradox, according to Barthes, I think I have this right, is the co-existence of the non-coded, the photographic analogue and the coded, the art or rhetoric of a photograph, the artistic dialogue, so the coded message is created from the message without a code.

‘The photographic paradox can be seen as the co-existence of two messages…one without a code [and] the other with…it is that here the connoted (or coded) message develops on the basis of a message without a code.’ Barthes (1977, p19).

Barthes, R. (1977) Image Music Text. London : Fontana Press.

Peek-a-boo

I was out taking some sample photos for my photographic project, dealing with folklore and myths, this was taken at Barden footbridge, a bridge noted in a local fantastical poem. I feel that one of the qualities of this photo is the peek-a-boo feel, almost predatory as you can see the walks happily wandering towards us, the calm before the storm, with the weather giving a feel good, vibrant vibe. If the focus had been on the walkers, I do not feel that this would have been quite as strong or charismatic. The eye is being shown to two striking elements, one of the moss and the texture of the wall, for those with an appreciation of Yorkshire sandstone plus local flora, but also the eye is drawn to the two small figures walking towards us, neatly placed within the cut away of the top two stones of the wall. The tones within the wall are darker than the archway in the bridge yet are all still similar enough not to be too distracting. Regarding the rule of thirds this can be divided up cleanly in to the 3 horizontal sections with the aid of the brick work in the bridge and the wall, plus the shadows leading the eye in from various starting points. 

However, ultimately I find the photograph would have been better with the walkers closer than they are and another change I would make if I have the opportunity again, would be to use my 50mm prime lens to get a cleaner more defined bokeh, plus one additional quality is that prime lenses have less distortion.