Image Makers, Image Takers.

2 month ago I bought the book “Image Makers, Image Takers”, and so far it was one of the best investments that I’ve done this year. It is written by Anne-Celine Jaeger, a journalist and critic, who has written for a lot famous publications including The Times, The Guardian, Wallpapers and many other. I can honestly say that it is an exceptional book with incredible resources. It consists of interview of those who make pictures (famous photographers like William Eggleston, David Sims, Martin Parr, Marrio Sorenti and a lot of other famous photographers) and it also consist of interview of those who take pictures (curators and gallerists, agency directors, editors and publishers…). Through the interviews of famous photographers published in this book, I can see what motivates and inspires them, how they edit their pictures and what makes them succeed. It tells how the world’s leading photographers from the fields of art, documentary, fashion and portraiture actually work and it reveals, what it is that editors, publishers, curators are looking for when they choose an image.

I like that in every interview Anne-Celine Jaeger asks photographers what motivated them to take a certain image, where do they get their inspiration and how they shoot on the assignments. I found the answers being very useful, especially for me, who studies photography. But my favorite bit, is when she asks to give advice to a budding photographer, which is very helpful. I think this book is a perfect inspiration for everyone who has an interest in photography and who wants to get ahead…essential.   

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Jaeger, A. (2007). Image Makers, Image Takers. London: Thames & Hudson. 

Identity

Identity - a concept that shows the social nature of a human beeing, an individual, self-extracting in social relationships. However identity is not stable and can change over time. It responds to events and experience that happen in life, for example it is manifested by the ability to work, consciousness and language, freedom and responsibility, focus and temperament. From the biological point of view, a human being is the highest stage of development on earth. While the animal's behavior is completely determined by instincts, human behavior is directly determined by thinking, feeling, will, the awareness of the society and himself...and these are basically the main factors that form our identity.

Identity, is an object of a lot of studies, especially philosophy, psychology, sociology and even photography. Photography has always been one of the powerful sources of visual communication that can have an impact on human mind. Through photography we can reveal identity; we can not only show how certain person looks like, but we can tell the whole story through photography- who is that person, what are his/her interests, we can tell the gender and the race of the certain person simply just looking at the picture. Every picture has an information; every photograph reveals the information about our identity.

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Lawler, S. (2008) Identity: Sociological Perspectives. Cambridge: Polity Press. 

Image: 

Avedon, R. (1957) Marilyn Monroe [Online]. Availiable at: http://www.richardavedon.com/#s=0&mi=1&pt=0&pi=3&p=-1&a=-1&at=-1 (Accessed 26 April 2012).

Modernism and Postmodernism

The interpretation of these phenomena in science is ambiguous, generally speaking, modernism understood as artistic practices (cubism, futurism, abstractionism, surrealism, etc.) which developed in the beginning of the XX century and lasted until World War II. Postmodernism embraces all artistic movements that developed after the Second World War. The essence of artistic modernism and postmodernism are fundamentally different.

Modernism indicates the set of diverse and controversial art movements in the world of art of the last century. The energy of Modigliani, Picasso, and others modernist artists, was aimed at developing an adequate artistic look of the era; it was like a cast into the future. Modernism was building its artistic symbolism, without referring directly to reality, which led eventually to the establishment of new relations between people and the world. Then came Postmodernism, which in art, is often referred to as a new classic or a new classicism, referring to the interest in the artistic past of mankind. In this case the prefix "post" is interpreted as a symbol of liberation from the dogmas and the stereotypes of modernism. It has given modern art an infinite variety of styles and an absolute freedom of expression.

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Butler, C. (2010) Modernism: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Butler, C. (2002) Postmodernism: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Images:

Picasso, P. (1919) Guitar, Bottle, Bowl with Fruit, and a Glass on Table [Online]. Available at: http://www.pablopicasso.org/pablo-picasso-painting-gallery3.jsp (Accessed 16 April 2012). 
Warhol, A. (1987) Moonwalk [Online]. Available at: http://www.warhol.org/collection/art/Work/1998-1-2502-2/ (Accessed 26 April 2012).  

I’ve been SCREAMing all day, because Munch’s Scream is in London!

Yes, that’s right, Munch’s legendary work is on display at Sotheby’s auction house in London. However the members of public can see it only this weekend 14-15 of April, as it will be sold at Sotheby’s in New York on 2 May.

Since I heard about this on Friday, I decided that I would never miss it for the world; it might be the last time we can see Edward Munch’s Scream on a display before it goes to private collection. Though there are another 3 versions of Scream, which Norway don’t give to exhibit in another countries (due to some incidents happen when two of them had been stolen, but blessedly recovered) so unless you don’t plan to go to Norway in the very near future you should go and see it at Sotheby’s, you still have one more day to do that!

On Saturday morning, I headed down to Sotheby’s auction house; the atmosphere there was like in the airport, because to see Scream I had to go through 2 security gates. So when security and queue control was behind I was there in the small dark room with my favourite art creation. My dream came true! Though I more prefer the painted version of 1893 (it’s more dramatic to me); however the version that was presented at Sotheby’s is unique in its own way. It is different from the other three paintings with bright color palette. An estimate of £50 millions has been put on this work,  however the real price we can find out on 2 May when this painting will be sold. 

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Sotheby’s (2012). Sotheby’s. Available at: http://www.sothebys.com/en.html (Accessed: 14 April 2012).

Image: taken with my mobile phone camera.

The Crazy World of David Lynch

Why every time after watching David Lynch’s film you might have a feeling that you need to watch that film again, because you didn’t understand anything. Well, there can be only one answer- it’s David Lynch. I admire this person not only as an artist, film director but also as a singer and a songwriter and the follower of Transcendental Meditation. But for now, I am going to talk about his films that inspire me a lot.

Lynch doesn’t make simple films; his every film is a puzzle, a mystery, something unknowable. However there’s no need in watching his films several times again and again, trying to pay attention to every detail and still try to put them all together. For example Mulholland Drive-it’s not a puzzle, though you can give a really good task to your brain while watching this film. It’s a thriller, a classic thriller, which was directed by a real Master.  

Mulholland Drive – is a very complex film. Most of the people after watching it might think that Lynch just made fun of them, nothing was clear, where’s the line between sleep and reality and so many other queschions remained unanswered… But that what Lynch is all about, and I think you can respect him for that. Because David Lynch, unlike the huge number of other directors, really makes you wonder. And even those who call this movie a total delirium- they still think about this film. For the same reason, it doesn’t even matter whether you figured out the idea behind this film or not, because the main reason is to make you think and analyse.

I liked "Mulholland Drive". This is a very clever and intellegent film, though quite difficult to perceive. If you didn’t understand it – don’t worry. You just need to give yourself a bit of a time to think, reflect, analyse, and compare some pieces of the film. You might ask, what for? Simply for the brains to work out. Well, I understand it might me easier to watch these stupid comedies and sci-fi films that ocupied movie market these days, the creators of which are just competing against each other, but do you really need that? If you still haven’t seen this film, I highly recommend to watch it.

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Mulholland Drive (2001) Directed by David Lynch [Film]. California: Universal Pictures. 

Image:

Saunders, C. (2012) David Lynch. Facebook [Online]. Availiable at: https://www.facebook.com/davidlynchofficial (Accessed: 13 April 2012). 

Picasso & Modern British Art

London's Tate Britain presents Picasso and Modern British Art, the first exhibition to explore Pablo Picasso's impact on British art. This exhibition is taking place between 15^th of February and 15^th of July.

I wanted to attend this exhibition for a month and finally I made my way to the Tate Britain. The exhibition is fantastic that fitures not only Picasso’s works but also the works of those artists who were inspired by Picasso, such as: Duncan Grant, Wyndham Lewis, Ben Nicholson, Henry Moore, Francis Bacon, Graham Sutherland and David Hockney. In this exhibition we can see the influence of Picasso on a modern British art. Even today, Picasso remains one of the most important artistic geniuses of the twentieth century, that changed the face of modern art. Visiting this exhibition, I could trace the journey of Pablo Picasso to Britain and how his reputation developed in this country, from his first visit to London in 1919, through the time when London was “unready” for Picasso, and to his post-war reputation when Picasso finally became established in Britain.

If you haven’t been at this exhibition yet, you HAVE to go- this exhibition is a treat!

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Stephens, C. (2012) Picasso & Modern British Art. Exhibition held at the Tate Britain, London, February-July 2012 [Exhibition catalogue]. 

Image:

Emwood, J. (1960) Daily Mail 6 July 1960 [Online]. Available at: http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/exhibition/picasso-and-modern-british-art/picasso-and-modern-british-art-selected-artwor-10 (Accessed: 12 April 2012).   

Martin Parr

Martin Parr is very different from his fellow colleagues photographers, he doesn’t try to capture something great and eternal, he is more interested in something that is momentary and insignificant. To my mind he plays a role of a collector, collecting everything around- bored visitors in a cafe, picnic parties, tourists in the museums, seagulls eating chips on the beach, flowers at a gas station, etc. Parr’s photographs allow us to see something strange, funny and sometimes even vulgar that we usually don’t notice in the ordinary world. Martin Parr was born in 1952 in the British town Epsom, Surrey. At the age of 14, he was influenced by his grandfather to start doing photography. He uses small/medium format cameras; even in daytime he uses flash, loves bright colors, thinks outside of the box and finds something extraordinary in the ordinary things. In 1994, Martin Parr became a member of the Magnum agency even despite the fact that many members of the agency were against his admission. His provocative style created intense debates, though to my mind he is truly amazing, at least for that never-ending passion for street/documentary photography. 

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Tagliaventi, A., Leonelli, L., Mauro, A., Zanot, F., Curti, D. (2009) Foto: Box. Translated by Jimena Bargados, Catriona Cappleman, Clare Costa, Grace Crerar-Bromlow and Luisa Nitrato Izzo. Reprint, London: Thames & Hudson Ltd, 2009.  

Images: 

Parr, M. (1997). Spain, Benidorm [Online]. Available at: http://www.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP3=ViewBox_VPage&VBID=2K1HZS6ZPXSFB&IT=ZoomImage01_VForm&IID=2S5RYDZFBA7L&ALID=2K7O3R13MVJE&PN=23&CT=Album (Accessed: 4 April 2012).

Parr, M. (1983-85). GB. England. New Brighton. From “The Last Resort” [Online]. Available at: http://www.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP3=ViewBox_VPage&VBID=2K1HZS6ZPXSFB&IT=ZoomImage01_VForm&IID=2S5RYDZE3ZS6&ALID=2K7O3R13MVJE&PN=38&CT=Album  (Accessed: 4 April 2012).

Parr, M. (1992). The Pyramids. [Online]. Available at: http://www.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP3=ViewBox_VPage&VBID=2K1HZS6ZPXSFB&IT=ZoomImage01_VForm&IID=29YL53IWK_7&ALID=2K7O3R13MVJE&PN=56&CT=Album (Accessed: 4 April 2012).

Semiotics

As we know that semiotics is the study of signs and sign processes in the society. We often perceive the meaning of symbols like as we see images, hear sounds and feel smells. Our life is full of signs; they can be found literally everywhere. Advertising is one of the media branches that widely uses semiotics. 

Advertising has always been using visual signs of an established value, causing the usual associations, which take the role of rhetorical assumptions. For example, the image of a young couple with a child refers to the representation, "there is nothing more beautiful and important than a happy family" and therefore then comes your (you as a customer) conclusion "if this happy family uses this product, why my family don’t use it?" The same applies to branding, where it takes the form of applied semiotics approach. For example, branding- is a unique communicative element, allowing the product to bind to a particular object of the symbolic world, like in Marlboro cigarettes, where we initially think about cowboys. 

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Bignell, J. (1997) Media Semiotics. Manchester: Manchester University Press.  
Image: 
Marlboro (1971) Marlboro [Advertisement]. Available at http://home.honolulu.hawaii.edu/~pine/Book2/marlboro-ads.html (Accessed: 3 April 2012).   

August Sander. People of the 20th Century.

‘The essence of photography is by nature documentary” that’s how August Sander, the most influential photographer in history explained his view on photography. He mainly focused on the portraits, but even behind them there was a political purpose.  A good example would be his set of works “People of the 20^th Century” in which August Sander wanted to show the aspects of social and professional group. The work “People of the 20^Th Century” is divided into seven categories: The Farmer, The Skilled Tradesman, The Woman, Classes and Professions, The Artists, The City, and The Last People.

All these categories show us different type of people of Germany in 1920s and 1930s- working class, philosophers, students, doctors, soldiers, aristocrats, his family and even politicians. In the “Woman” section August focused on women at all their diversity- from those women that devote themselves to raise children to those who seek to make a career. The last section of the series, is not without a reason called "The Last People”. It is devoted to people which were removed from the society - the disabled and mentally ill people, dying people, beggars and vagabonds. The pictures from this section have caused particular disappointment with the Ministry of Culture of Nazi Germany, because these photographs questioned the idea of ​​the German race as a heroic and pure nation. Nowadays, the series consists of photographs, which managed to survive after the repression that followed the destruction of the album. In these works of "People of the 20th century," August Sander tried to discover the deep essence of the human being, his membership in a particular social and cultural type. He believed that the camera makes this process more significant than any other visual tools. 

 

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Tagliaventi, A., Leonelli, L., Mauro, A., Zanot, F., Curti, D. (2009) Foto: Box. Translated by Jimena Bargados, Catriona Cappleman, Clare Costa, Grace Crerar-Bromlow and Luisa Nitrato Izzo. Reprint, London: Thames & Hudson Ltd, 2009. 

Images:
Sander. A. (1928). The Right Eye of My Daughter Sigrid [Online]. Available at: http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?criteria=O%3AAD%3AE%3A5145&page_number=22&template_id=1&sort_order=1 (Accessed: 3 April 2012).
Sander. A. (1928). Bricklayer's Mate [Online]. Available at: http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?criteria=O%3AAD%3AE%3A5145&page_number=25&template_id=1&sort_order=1 (Accessed: 3 April 2012).
Sander. A. (1930-31). Children Born Blind [Online]. Available at: http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?criteria=O%3AAD%3AE%3A5145&page_number=30&template_id=1&sort_order=1 (Accessed 3 April 2012).

James Nachtwey

  "When one group of people hates another group of people so profoundly that they can torture and murder babies and children, we have a serious problem on our hands"  Hogg & Vaughan 2005

Being discriminated quite many times, I developed an interest to study the nature of prejudice, discrimination, and the role of society. During my studies I noticed the works of James Nachtwey and they really impressed me.

For over twenty years James Nachtwey is sharing with us the darkest, the most evil recesses of our world and the horror and pain of human existence. I can’t even imagine how many people are actually not aware of what is happening in the world. Recent years have witnessed monstrous violence in Somalia, Bosnia, Croatia, Kosovo, Rwanda, Chechnya, Afghanistan and Iraq. The last century was by far the bloodiest in systematic human Slaughter and James Nachtwey has been first in line to witness those events. “What allows me to overcome the emotional obstacles inherent in my work is the belief that when people are confronted by images that evoke comparison, they will continue to respond, no matter how exhausted, angry or frustrated they may be.” James Nachtwey

A remarkable speech by James Nachtwey accepting his 2007 LED prize is worth watching. 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGKZhNK_pHw

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Hogg, A. M., Vaughan, M. G. (2005). Social Psychology. (4). Essex. Pearson Education Limited.   

http://www.jamesnachtwey.com (Accessed: 1 April 2012)

Tagliaventi, A., Leonelli, L., Mauro, A., Zanot, F., Curti, D. (2009) Foto: Box. Translated by Jimena Bargados, Catriona Cappleman, Clare Costa, Grace Crerar-Bromlow and Luisa Nitrato Izzo. Reprint, London: Thames & Hudson Ltd, 2009.  

TEDtalksDirectror (2007) James Nachtwey: TED Prize wish: Share a vital story with the world. Availiable at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGKZhNK_pHw (Accessed: 1 April 2012). 

Image:

Nachtwey, J. (1994). Survivor of a Hutu death camp, Rwanda [Online]. Available at: http://www.jamesnachtwey.com/ (Accessed: 1 April 2012)   

Nan Goldin

Nan Goldin started doing photography at the age of 15. She succeeded in taking photographs of herself without limits, fear and shame. Through her photographs, we can see the whole journey of Nan Golding and the path that she chose with her friends. In her interview she said that she wanted to show the “real” world, the world that she was a part of, where people partied all the time abusing drugs and alcohol, loving and living…and finally dying. Most of her friends didn’t survive 90s but Nan Goldin managed to cheat the fate once again, going through several rehabs of drug and alcohol addiction…death was coming closer but she survived. 

This photo appeared on the cover of the book "The Ballad of Sexual Dependency" and became the quintessence of poetic cycle. She successfully portrayed the essence of an intimate relationship and the eternal dialectic of the sexes. According to Nan Goldin, there’s a certain distance that always present in intimacy. This book also introduced Nan Goldin as a powerful figure onto the art Scene.

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Tagliaventi, A., Leonelli, L., Mauro, A., Zanot, F., Curti, D. (2009) Foto: Box. Translated by Jimena Bargados, Catriona Cappleman, Clare Costa, Grace Crerar-Bromlow and Luisa Nitrato Izzo. Reprint, London: Thames & Hudson Ltd, 2009.  

Klein, W. (2000) Nan Goldin. From Contacts Vol. 2, Portraits of Contemporary Photographers. Part 1 availiable at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Z3sihEuiEk (Accessed: 8 March 2012). Part 2 availiable at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=PL&hl=pl&v=L9VWSCuKM1Y (Accessed 8 March 2012). 

Image: 

Goldin, N. (1983). Nan and Brian in Bed [Online]. Available at: http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?criteria=O%3AAD%3AE%3A7532&page_number=11&template_id=1&sort_order=1 (Accessed: 1 April 2012).