B&W and Surrealism

'From a perspective of documentary photography, surrealism should not be regarded as a genre with solid boundaries. For surrealism to be of any practical benefit in documentary it needs to be seen as a

distinctive visual and conceptual strategy...'

Surrealism as a creative movement means to record our pure and subconscious mind, uncontrolled by any reason or moral predispositions. This theory when applied to documentary photography, often results in rich and very emotional photographs, the emphasis on strong emotional message is often underlined with such technical tricks like double exposure or purpose blurring. Pictures are often suggestive and with a strong sexual essence. Strongly defined composure, unusual angles, focus on geometric shapes and introduction of grids and lines can also be often observed. And undoubtably an element of dream like quality is an essential element of a surrealist photograph.

                                                                                                                                                                        

Graciella Iturbide

                                                                                                                                                                           

                                                          Andre Kertesh

Brassai

Eugene Atget

Paolo Pellegrin

FSA

In 1935 Farm Security Administration decided to begin an ambitious project of photographing the influence of the Great Depression on American nation, primarily on rural parts of the country. The most vulnerable farmers, landowners, refugees, and migrant agricultural workers were photographed over the period of 8 years by 18 photographers. Today, we question the level of exploitation involved with capturing the photographs, after all the FSA set up the project in order to justify government's decision to begin 'rural rehabilitation'. A program involving such drastic changes as purchasing of land owned by poor farmers and re-grouping them together on more efficient government owned farms.

I believe that story of the aftermath of the great depression had to be told, but without a doubt the subjects of the photographs for the FSA project were exploited to some extent in order to validate the upcoming social changes. Photography and specifically documentary photography can be a very exploitative craft, after all the photographer will always approach its subject with a view of producing a premeditated statement or a very specific comment.

Below are a few examples of the photographs produced for the FSA project.

Sheldon Dick

Walker Evans 

Dorothea Lange 

Russell Lee 

Edwin Locke 

John Vachon

Humphrey Spender - Mass Observation

Humphrey Spender's work as part of the 'Mass Observation' project can be called sensitive and observant. His sympathetic approach towards his subjects and his lack of involvement in the scene show us the real face of the working class of Bolton.

Exercise - 'In the American West'

Avedon's 'In the American West' presents us with many issues that documentary practice can often pose. To begin with we must question to what extent the universal objectivity can be practiced? The selection and portrayal of the subjects, especially presenting the topics forced and fashioned will always be based on our individual views, so therefore very often the document can focus on the photographer, rather than the subject that is meant to be documented. Avedon's portraits of the West are detached from the backgrounds, edited in such way that the viewer is to focus purely on the exaggerated features and the characteristics of their occupation. The selection of the subjects is also very questionable leaving us wondering why only manual, dirty workers were chosen to be selected for the project. And this further expands to the bigger issue relevant to the whole world of art, not just photography - the fashioning of public tastes and creation of the art and the position of the artist. A very relevant read here would be Tom Wolfe's 'The Painted Word'. A piece of art can be seen as a promotional material for the artist, the museum and the sponsor. The criticism of the art is often manipulated and can also be very much based on the previous achievements of the artist. The public opinion can be therefore very easily shaped not by the art, but by how the art is perceived by the ruling critics and the press.
Lastly the issue of exploitation must be mentioned here. We must question the extent of the portrayal of the subjects as artist's vision. Diane Arbus was another photographer often accused of extended exploitation. If I was to voice my opinion here, I would have to say that all photography can be exploitative. We, as photographers are meant to be expressing our views and opinions and if we are to be successful they must transpire into our photographs and therefore an element of exploitation is often unavoidable.

Graphic Design module

My image on OCA home page (old, but has not been posted here before!).

B&W portraits as a documentary strategy

Zed Nelson's 'Disappearing Britain' B&W project was captured in impromptu studios setup on locations such as mine shaft or the harbour. By removing and separating the subjects from their natural environment we are able to learn a great deal about the individual characters or in this case their classification as a specific worker, but furthermore we are able to find out about working methods or even working conditions. Like Jeff Walls 'Backpack', which was closely based on Manet's 'The Piper', such minimal portraits teach us as much about the individual person as about the ideas of a specific time and era.

                    

                   


















Similar qualities can be found in Irving Penn photographs from the project 'Small Trades', again the subject is removed from its surroundings and placed in studio environment in order to supply with a type of classification. Such simplification allows to categorise with ease and with the use of a single photograph.

The Father of social classification was August Sander, a German photographer, who spent most of his life photographing ordinary individuals with an ambition to create a classification of the 20^th century German society. Despite dedicating to the project over 40 years of his life, August Sander never completed it.

Sander assigned his photographs into seven categories: ‘The Farmer’. ‘The Skilled Tradesmen’, ‘The Woman’, ‘Classes and Profession’, ‘The Artists’, ‘The City’ and ‘The Last People’, which included the elderly and people with disabilities, birth defects and mental issues. Sander believed in the hierarchy of occupations and this can be clearly seen in the way the photographs were captured, i.e. intellectual classes were photographed against plain backgrounds in studio environment, whilst physical labour in their natural working surroundings, often with tools of trade included.

August Sander had a very clear vision of the German society of 20^th Century. The accuracy of his vision was often questioned back in his day, with Nazis banning him from working for the lack of glorification in his photos. Today, we can appreciate the photographs as a comprehensive collection of social types and classes of Germany, mainly because of their natural capture and lack of artistry.  

I can’t help but to wonder if such classification would work today, i.e. in such vast society as England is? Can we really summarise a modern adult by inserting him or her into a single frame and therefore into a single category? I would hate to think that I am only a PA due to the task of working occupying most of my daily routine. Zed Nelson in his ‘Disappearing Britain’ was successful with his classification, because he concentrated on a niche topic of the disappearing trades and traditions. But without a doubt to create the classification of social types of today would present a great challenge.