As part of the feedback from my tutor on Assignment Two: Collecting, I was invited to research Sebastiao Salgado, to help me develop a better understanding of meaning specifically in landscape photography. I found this TED talk that he did in 2013…
TED. (2013). The silent drama of photography. [Online Video]. 1 February 2013. Available from: https://www.ted.com/talks/sebastiao_salgado_the_silent_drama_of_photography?language=en#t-990697. [Accessed: 27 July 2017].
‘Living Shrines’ by Lisa Ross
July 15th 2017
Lisa Ross is an American photographer who lives in New York. “Ross’s work revolves around the liminal spaces in which faith, culture and abstraction meet.” (Lisa Ross, 2017). Her series entitled ‘Living Shrines’, has been exhibited in many places across the US and Europe, and is currently on show in Dubai’s Al Serkel Avenue, within the Gulf Photo Plus building.
Scattered geographically, Ross has undertaken many trips to the Xinjiang region of China where she has captured the holy shrines of Islamic pilgrimage, isolated against the barren landscape devoid of any signs of life. This provides the viewer with an experiential view, a feeling of being included rather than witnessing an event. “Lisa Ross has spent over a decade documenting Islamic holy shrines created by the Uyghur community.” (Al Serkel Avenue, 2017).
Little is written regarding the shrines themselves, so it is left to the viewer to figure out scale. In one image, a ladder is visible within the structure that suggests a size far larger than first imagined. There is no description of how long they have existed, or how often the pilgrimage is made. I would have liked to have learned a little more about their reasoning. A little more information is found on GPP’s website – “These shrines take on an otherworldly presence, having been adorned with the devotional offerings of those who pass through on pilgrimage, maintained over the course of centuries.” (Gulf Photo Plus, 2017).
It appears that the structures are built from natural materials found locally, using dried branches of trees which are driven back deep into the ground as if to deny death. Through time, with each passing visitor, sections of brightly colour materials are fixed to the frame work, reconfirming their existence and bringing them to life – the material will no doubt move with the passing wind.
Some of the images are suggestive of rituals otherwise unknown. For example a bathing structure, or in another, the subject is a close-up of a door-like structure, all adorned with the same multi-coloured material.
My favourite image is the one below. Has Ross captured the start of brand new shrine?
Ross has shot most of her images with a shallow depth of field which of course highlights the subject within the frame. There is little option for the eye to travel elsewhere, she clearly wants the viewer to focus on the shrine and stay there. There is just enough detail in the rest of the images to figure out that the landscape is very akin to this region, sand. Lots of it. And the colour is the same. This provides a fantastic muted backdrop to highlight the colours of the shrine.
Al Serkal Avenue. 2017. Shrines by Lisa Ross. [ONLINE] Available at: http://alserkalavenue.ae/en/event/living-shrines-by-lisa-ross.php. [Accessed 15 July 2017].
Lisa Ross. 2017. Studio Lisa Ross. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.studiolisaross.com/index.php. [Accessed 15 July 2017].
Gulf Photo Plus. 2017. Living Shrines by Lisa Ross. [ONLINE] Available at: http://gulfphotoplus.com/gallery/39/Living-Shrines. [Accessed 15 July 2017].
Anyone who lived through the era of vinyl, with an interest in art, will undoubtedly have an fascination with album covers.
Today’s album cover of interest is none other than The Beatles, Abbey Road. Very possibly one of the most iconic album covers of all time.
It was designed by Paul McCartney, who had drawn a sketch of his concept and the image was shot by a photographer friend of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, called Iain MacMillan.
Iain Macmillan was born in Dundee, Scotland in 1938. After a short attempt at a managerial role after leaving school, he moved to London in 1958 to study photography at the Regent Street Polytechnic. It was to be a further eleven years before John Lennon would invite Macmillan to shoot the infamous cover.
“A policeman held up the traffic as Macmillan, from a stepladder positioned in the middle of the road, took six shots as the group walked across the zebra crossing just outside the studio.” (Beatles Bible, 2017). The image was literally captured in less than ten minutes.
Wikipedia describes each of the six images…
“First Photo. John leads the group from left to right followed by Ringo, Paul and George. They kept this order throughout all the photos. There is a Mercedes pulling out of the studio behind them. John is looking away from the camera and Paul and George are in mid step. Paul is wearing sandals
Second Photo. They walk back in the same order. Good spacing but only John has a full step.
Third Photo. Left to right again, full steps this time but they are all too far left. There is now a traffic backup. There is a taxi, two vans and a double decker bus waiting to come forward. Paul is now barefoot.
Fourth Photo. Walking right to left, once again Paul Ringo and George all in mid step. The traffic has gone through but the bus has stopped to watch. This photo is the cover of Abbey Road by Brian Southall.
Fifth Photo. This photo was used for the cover of the album and is the only photo where we see Paul smoking. The only one with their legs in perfect formation. The three men on the left above Paul’s head are Alan Flanagan, Steve Millwood and Derek Seagrove. They were interior decorators returning from a lunch break. On the right side between John and Ringo’s head is Paul Cole, an American tourist.
Sixth Photo. Ringo is slightly too far behind John. The bus has turned around to leave.” (wikipedia, 2017)
The album cover is such an iconic image that there is even a dedicated webcam available online of the zebra crossing. During waking hours, not five minutes pass without witnessing a group of friends recreating the shot…
https://www.abbeyroad.com/Crossing
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The Beatles Bible. 2017. The Abbey Road cover photography session. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.beatlesbible.com/1969/08/08/the-abbey-road-cover-photography-session/. [Accessed 15 July 2017].
Abbey Road. 2017. Abbey Road Crossing Cam Live Feed. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.abbeyroad.com/Crossing. [Accessed 15 July 2017].
Wikipedia. 2017. Iain Macmillan. [ONLINE] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iain_Macmillan. [Accessed 15 July 2017].
One of the many reasons I wanted to study photography at this level, was to learn more about the great photographers, past and present.
In light of this, I recently watched a documentary on Harry Benson. I am ashamed to say that although I was familiar with his work, I didn’t know the man responsible. As a Scot, I hang my head in shame. He was born in Glasgow in 1929, although he now lives in the US, thanks in large to joining the Beatles on their first US tour, back in 1964.
One thing that comes across very clearly, is his typically-Scottish, friendly demeanour. And of course his humour. I am sure that both things have served him well in his business of capturing the ‘human side’ of celebrity.
He is clearly one of the greats who placed himself in the ‘right place at the right time’ so often in his life, most notably, next to Bobby Kennedy when he was shot. He chose to document what was happening around him, rather than shy away, defying the question of morality. I find this is an interesting subject for debate; on one hand, a man is losing his life, which is an inevitable tragedy lying in wait for all of us. A very sad and humbling experience to be witness to. On the other, he is Bobby Kennedy. It’s five years since John F. Kennedy’s assassination. The world will want to know every detail. Capture in all its deplorable glory, or, respect the privacy of a dying man?
Harry Benson: Shoot First, 2016, Netflix, [Online] Available at http://www.netflix.com/title/80095094 (Accessed July 1st 2017).
Caroline's Learning Log 