New York Trip – Nov 2017

New York GalleriesI went to New York in November, to meet up with my old school friends from Scotland. This was my fourth or fifth visit to the big apple, so while my friends shopped until they dropped or visited the tourist attractions, I used my time more wisely by squeezing in as many photographic galleries and exhibitions as possible. It proved to be a very useful and well-timed trip, considering I was at the point in my coursework where I was beginning to learn about context. The selection of galleries in New York are far superior to those I have on my doorstep in Dubai, and visiting so many really helped things to click into place. I realised that the meaning or concept behind a body of work doesn’t always have to highlight a social issue or raise awareness of something important, it can be much more simple, yet still be effective.

I have listed all the galleries and specific exhibitions below, with a short description.

INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR PHOTOGRAPHY

ICP Alumni Exhibition

I attempted to visit the current exhibition by Lauren Greenfield at the ICP, however, I didn’t realise that the gallery was housed in an entirely different building to the school. However, all was not lost, as there was an exhibition of alumni work on show throughout the corridors of the school, which I was allowed access to visit. It was very interesting to see such variation in the concepts utilised by the students. There was some really off-the-wall installations to be viewed. Some weird and wonderful. There were a couple that didn’t make any sense to me visually, and even when I read the original context. The one thing I realised as I wandered around, was that I enjoyed being in the university environment, surrounded by like-minded people. I sat for some time, soaking it all up.

‘Generation Wealth’ by Lauren Greenfield

This exhibition begins with a film that documents the concept and shoot. For me, the concept resonates rather loudly, not only because of where I live but also my personal feeling about the trend of our society, and the obsession with material goods and appearances.

There were a huge amount of images, divided into geographic sections. Each section has written content to help communicate the specifics of the region / people / places. Unsurprisingly, there is a section on Dubai.

Everything has been shot in colour, in a documentary style with a person posing, very aware of the camera. Some of the images show great wealth in very obvious ways, others denote the flip side where everything has fallen apart. Some of the people’s stories are very harrowing. The takeaway emotion for me is quite strong, all surrounding a general feeling of disappointment in society. This series feeds the longing I have for a more fulfilled society that places more importance on living simply and valuing who people are, rather than what they have.

HOWARD GREENBERG GALLERY

This is exactly what a gallery should be like, it’s a nice open space with good quality work on show by multiple, well-known photographers. Friendly staff. There are multiple chairs dotted around so I could sit and ponder the works, and also write in my journal. I didn’t feel at all like  I was unwelcome, despite being a mid-town, sales gallery.

Henri Cartier-Bresson

This was the first time I have seen any of Cartier-Bresson’s work in a gallery environment, and suffice to say i am delighted to experience this. However, his works occupied a very small area of the gallery, like a connecting hallway to the back of house. Had more than two people been in there, it would have been very crowded. Not what I expected for one of the masters. However, I was there on my own and subsequently had the section to myself. Seven pieces of artwork adorned the walls…

1. Ile de la Cite, 1952
2. Picnic on the banks of Marne, France, 1938
3. Seville, Spain, 1933
4. Sale of Gold, Shanghai, China, 1949
5. India, 1948
6. Alicante, Spain, 1933
And of course, the brilliant 7. Behind the Gare, Saint Lazare, 1932

‘In India’ by William Gedney

Possibly my favourite series from the whole New York gallery experience, was Gedney’s In India selection. The set is purely black and white, and depicts life in India, circa 1969-1971. I have written a separate entry for this exhibition, and can be read HERE

‘Bombay’ by Raghubir Singh

In-keeping with the Asian theme found throughout the HG Gallery, Singh’s work populates the main gallery space as soon as you walk in. His work depicts life in Bombay through the medium of street photography during the timespan of 1970s through to the 1990a. Rather interesting, he has chosen to shoot all his images in colour. His series is raw and gritty, something that I have tried to achieve when shooting the ‘other’ side of Dubai, in my square mile assignment. It is possible to peel away at the layers of his images to reveal a little more in the way of context. As with many of the ‘greats’ images, I find little niggles in Singh’s compositions that i didn’t find in Gedney’s work, for example small details creeping into the frame that don’t fully reveal themselves nor do they add any value. Or slightly skewed angles that do little more than annoy. Having said that, these things do add to the ‘of the moment’ feeling. Seeing these types of things really helps me to understand what is important to me, as both a photographer and a viewer.

‘Eternal Light’ by Kenro Izu

This series was in a room of its own, and rightly so. The pictures are in response to the question “where are people heading in this life and after?” The images are all very peaceful and enchanting perhaps helped, in part, by their location within the gallery and despite the fact that some capture the very clear images of deceased individuals. The pictures are all almost square in format which is quite unusual. I notice a set of four images arranged closer to each other than all the rest, which must denote a connection. The series within a series appears to depict the various stages of the local customs of dealing with human remains, after death. There are no strong colours used on any of these images, they are all muted colours as if to soften the harsh reality of death.

‘Blue’ by Kenro Izu

Occupying a small room off the main gallery, Izu had a second collection on show. This collection of seven images focus on the human form, capturing sections of a person’s body showing curves and shapes, sometimes cropping close, for example a set of hands, sometimes showing an entire body, but never the face. This suggests a definite disconnect from portraiture. The interesting part of this series is the connection of colour – the images are all duotones of black and blue with the same line used throughout.

PACE MACGILL GALLERY

I thought this was a wonderful gallery space that has obviously been an apartment in a previous life, from the layout. The floors were all a beautiful wood, and the walls were painted a mid-grey, which is quite unusual, gallery walls are often kept white so as not to distract. However, I felt awkward in this space, as it was clear that this gallery was more about the selling of art, rather than the viewing of art. Perhaps because of this, I didn’t really connect with the work on show. There was no obvious theme, and subsequently it all felt a little disjointed. I didn’t understand it and there was no written context to inform me better.

‘Here on Earth Now – Notes from the Field’ by Emmet Gowin

MOMA

‘At Work’ by Lee Friedlander

No trip to New York would be complete without a trip to the Museum of Modern Art. And if never disappoints. Unless you specifically want to experience photographic exhibitions, which was my intent. There was a lack of such exhibitions at the time of my visit. I did however, find a collection of images by Friedlander from his ‘At Work’ series. The images were shot during the 1980s, of computer operators as they stared at their relatively new work tool. We can obviously deduce that they are of course hard at work, however the emotional state of each operator can be read as boredom. It evokes you to feel sorry for the operators, however, you then begin to imagine what you look like when you work. The conclusion is that you must appear exactly the same. Thirty years later, the images have a wonderful vintage feel to the style of the people and indeed their surrounding offices.

THE APERTURE GALLERY

This is a very cool space. This gallery was founded by Ansel Adams, amongst others. There is an obvious difference in atmosphere being down in Chelsea, from the uptown galleries. There is more of a buzz, and it’s obviously less stuffy. This is reflected in the footfall, it is much busier – literally with crowds of people. However, I noticed that the volume of people made it more difficult to really look at the works on show and spend time analysing.

‘Imperial Courts’ by Dana Lixenberg

LIxenberg has a series of images in the gallery that depict the ‘other’ side of LA which is a far cry from the wealthy, celebrity fueled lifestyle that most people will connect with LA. I like this approach, and I have tried to do something similar within my square mile assignment, in Dubai. Lixenberg really captures the emotion in her subjects, there is an absolute honesty emanating from each piece of work. She began this project in 1992 by traveling to the south side of LA after the Rodney King incident. She was there on an assignment but felt the need to stay longer and document the rebuilding through her portraiture. She felt there had been a very one-sided reporting on the incident.

I am always very drawn to photographic bodies of work based on social documentary. Perhaps its because I find it very easy to understand, as an avid people watcher.

Dana’s work won the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize 2017.

Awoiska Van Der Molen

Of all the bodies of work I experienced while in New York, Awoiska Van Der Molen’s probably taught me the most. My initial reaction was that I simply didn’t understand it, and, I was almost tempted to move on. But I decided to loiter and challenge myself. The connection between each piece appeared to be ‘nature’. Each piece was large format, big and bold against the white gallery walls. And dark, very dark. You need to almost search for the detail. After much pondering, my conclusion was that the images are suggestive of the disappearance of nature. I saw darkness where I should have seen glorious colour. I found it difficult to see any real detail, where I should have been bombarded with the multitude of patterns that nature provides. As I was standing, allowing my eyes to roam over the compositions while figuring out the photographer’s intent, I realized that it almost didn’t matter. What struck me was the simplicity of the result, and the connection of all the images. This was fine art photography at its best. And it suddenly all made sense, the concept of concept can be anything you want. It can be so simple but still achieve amazing effective results.

I thought I had somehow missed the original context of the images in amongst the crowds of the gallery, but researching the artist online afterwards, I discovered that this is an intentional factor.

Awoiska’s work was shortlisted for the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize 2017.

LIK SOHO

A friend of mine wanted to visit the Peter Lik gallery to enquire if her pieces of his work had appreciated in value . I must confess that I hadn’t heard of him, prior to this trip. I was immediately struck by the blast of colour that he has adopted as his signature style. If artwork could shout, it would sound like this. But i like it. I constantly battle with colour images, as I almost always favour black and white, however seeing such vibrancy has ignited an interest in colour in me. I have since researched Lik, and my findings are rather interesting – he didn’t study in any way, neither practical or theory, and he claims to know or be interested in any other practitioners, either contemporary peers or the masters. The art world and critics are not a fan of his, which i wonder if this is because he is an outsider. Had he studied or been more respectful to the industry, would he have been more accepted? many have described his work in a very negative light, claiming the over saturation as an abomination. In 2014, Like sold a piece of work for a reported $6.5m which was at the time, the highest price paid for a piece of photography. Not bad for an outsider. He creates a demand for his own work by intentionally increasing his prices for his limited edition pieces as time goes by, this ensures that by the time he only has a few pieces left, they are much more expensive. This also ensures that keen buyers are quick off the mark. He is a shrewd businessman.

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Bibliography;

The International Center of Photography. 2018. Inernational Center of Photography. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.icp.org. [Accessed 18 January 2018].

Generation Wealth by Lauren Greenfield. 2018. Generation Wealth by Lauren Greenfield. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.icp.org/exhibitions/generation-wealth-by-lauren-greenfield. [Accessed 18 January 2018].

Howard Greenberg Gallery. 2018. Howard Greenberg Gallery. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.howardgreenberg.com. [Accessed 18 January 2018].

Howard Greenberg Gallery. 2018. Henri Cartier-Bresson. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.howardgreenberg.com/exhibitions/henri-cartier-bresson. [Accessed 18 January 2018].

Howard Greenberg Gallery. 2017. William Gedney: In India. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.howardgreenberg.com/exhibitions/william-gedney-in-india. [Accessed 18 January 2018].

Howard Greenberg Gallery. 2017. Raghubir Singh: Bombay. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.howardgreenberg.com/exhibitions/raghubir-singh-bombay. [Accessed 18 January 2018].

Howard Greenberg Gallery. 2017. Kenro Izu: Eternal Light. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.howardgreenberg.com/exhibitions/kenro-izu-eternal-light. [Accessed 18 January 2018].

Howard Greenberg Gallery. 2017. Kenro Izu: Blue. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.howardgreenberg.com/exhibitions/kenro-izu-blue2. [Accessed 18 January 2018].

Pace MacGill Gallery. 2017. Pace/MacGill Gallery. [ONLINE] Available at: http://pacemacgill.com. [Accessed 18 January 2018].

Pace MacGill Gallery. 2017. Emmet Gowin. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.pacemacgill.com/show_installation.php?item=168. [Accessed 18 January 2018].

MOMA. 2017. MoMa. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.moma.org. [Accessed 18 January 2018].

Aperture. 2017. Aperture. [ONLINE] Available at: https://aperture.org. [Accessed 18 January 2018].

Aperture. 2017. Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize 2017. [ONLINE] Available at: https://aperture.org/exhibition/deutsche-borse-photography-foundation-prize-2017/. [Accessed 18 January 2018].

Peter Lik. 2017. Lik Soho. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.lik.com/theartist/photos/likgallery/soho.html. [Accessed 18 January 2018].

 

‘In India’ by William Gedney

 

‘In India’ by William Gedney, is exhibited in New York’s Howard Greenberg Gallery. At the time of viewing, the gallery appeared to feature either Asian photographers or bodies of work shot in Asia, or with an Asian influence in some way. In one of the galleries was an exhibition of William Gedney’s work, entitled ‘In India’. The gallery felt very welcoming and had chairs dotted around, so I was able to sit and take in his work at my leisure.Gedney’s images are a selection of works spanning two decades, starting at the end of the ‘60s, throughout the ‘70s and into the early ’80s. The street photography images depict scenes of everyday life and are shot exclusively in black and white.

I see a strong link in Gedney’s work with architecture, as shown in fig 1 and 2. Not only the visual correlations between the human forms and the statues, but also in his framing and alignment – he pays very particular attention to his composition.

Fig 1

Fig 2

I find this very pleasing. My eye is always drawn to ‘the line that doesn’t run parallel’, or ‘the edge of the thing that is otherwise out of shot’. I find these types of things quite distracting. But there is nothing of the like in Gedney’s work. For the first time, I felt a confirmation that it’s okay to feel this way.

Each of his images stands on its own merit, telling its own story; the connection comes from place and time. Together the series shows the difference in culture between my own and that of India. There are images of people taking an afternoon nap on the street, which is not something that happens in Western culture. There are also images depicting washing of clothes by the river, again, not a usual experience within Western culture. At first glance, the series appears to tell the story of hardship, however, when you look more closely at the images, there is no actual evidence of this. Facial expressions are relaxed and calm, see fig 3 and 4. These images are more of a documentary of normal, daily events.

Fig 3

Fig 4

Although most of the images are composed of a relatively close composition, there are a couple of sweeping vistas (fig 5) which, together capture a timeless idea of life in India, devoid of the influence of multi-national companies and Western influence. I imagine that very little has changed over the decades since these images were shot.

Fig 5

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Reference:

Howard Greenberg Gallery. 2017. WILLIAM GEDNEY: IN INDIA. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.howardgreenberg.com/exhibitions/william-gedney-in-india. [Accessed 31 December 2017].

Image References:

Fig 1:
William Gedney, (1969), India, 1969-71 [ONLINE]. Available at: http://www.howardgreenberg.com/exhibitions/william-gedney-in-india?view=slider#8 [Accessed 31 December 2017].

Fig 2:
William Gedney, (1970), India, c.1970 [ONLINE]. Available at: http://www.howardgreenberg.com/exhibitions/william-gedney-in-india?view=slider#10 [Accessed 31 December 2017].

Fig 3:
William Gedney, (1969), Benares, 1969-70 [ONLINE]. Available at: http://www.howardgreenberg.com/exhibitions/william-gedney-in-india?view=slider#6 [Accessed 31 December 2017].

Fig 4:
William Gedney, (1969), India, 1969-71 [ONLINE]. Available at: http://www.howardgreenberg.com/exhibitions/william-gedney-in-india?view=slider#12 [Accessed 31 December 2017].

Fig 5:
William Gedney, (1970), India, 1970 [ONLINE]. Available at: http://www.howardgreenberg.com/exhibitions/william-gedney-in-india?view=slider#4 [Accessed 31 December 2017].

TWO QUESTIONS TO…

At this point in my studies, I am encouraged to reach out to photographers for interviews. Over and above specific Q+As on relevant subjects to my course, I decided to begin a project called ‘Two Questions To…’ where I would fire two small but loaded questions off to successful photographers whose work I admire.

Q – How do you ensure your images stand out in a world that is completely saturated with imagery?
Q – You can have one lens for the rest of your life, which one?

I shall post any responses I am lucky enough to receive, below…

KENRO IZU

Q – How do you ensure your images stand out in a world that is completely saturated with imagery?
A – I really don’t care or pay attention if my work stands out or not. I only continue to work for the subjects which “stand out” and “resonate” to myself. Each photographer should do what they believe.

Q – You can have one lens for the rest of your life, which one?
A – As I use multiple cameras, from 35mm, 2-1/4 (medium format), 4×5″, 8×10″, 11×14″ and 14×20″, there are “my favorite lens”  for each camera.

24mm, 120mm, 135mm, 240mm, 300mm and 355mm for the each.

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Reference:
Black, C, (caroline516671@oca.ac.uk) 2017. Two questions from a photography student. [E-mail] Message to K Izu (studio@kenroizu.com). Sent 15:36 28.11.2017. [Accessed 29 November 2017].

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HARRY BENSON

Q – How do you ensure your images stand out in a world that is completely saturated with imagery?
A – There are no real answers to your first question — it depends on the eye of the beholder.  That said, if you can take a photograph that interests you, it should interest others. And if you can take a photograph that you feel has not been seen before, that is the ultimate.

Q – You can have one lens for the rest of your life, which one?
A – As for the lens— it would be the 24

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Reference:
Black, C, (caroline516671@oca.ac.uk) 2017. Two little questions from a Scottish Student. [E-mail] Message to H Benson (info@harrybenson.com). Sent 23:06 02.11.2017. [Accessed 3 November 2017].

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SATO SHINTARO

Q – How do you ensure your images stand out in a world that is completely saturated with imagery?
A – This is a difficult question. When I take photos I always try to feel a specific atmosphere of Tokyo. And that is made from the mixture of the history of the city and the geographical features of the land and people’s lives. I was born in Tokyo and this theme is related to my origin and identity. If I can capture this atmosphere in my photos, I think I can make my works stand out in a world that is saturated with imagery.

Q – You can have one lens for the rest of your life, which one?
A – Is zoom lens OK? If so, I want to use 24-70 f2.8LⅡ. If zoom lens is not OK, I will choose 50mm. I use stitching technique. I put a lot of shots to make one image. If I want to get wide image, wider than 50mm, I can make it by using this technique with 50mm.

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Reference:
Black, C, (caroline516671@oca.ac.uk) 2017. Two questions. [E-mail] Message to S Shintaro (shinsato@gol.com). Sent 09:58 29.10.2017. [Accessed 29 October 2017].

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STANLEY FORMAN

Q – How do you ensure your images stand out in a world that is completely saturated with imagery?
A – You do not know in advance when covering breaking news you will have an image which will standout, you cannot plan it. It’s 40 plus years since I took the Pulitzer images. Distribution, etc is completely different now. If it is that good of an image with social media it will find its way to “stardom!”

Q – You can have one lens for the rest of your life, which one?
A – I’m not up on current lens. In my day my favorite was my Nikon 80-200mm.  I’m sure the compatible will be faster and sharper. I made my Pulitzers with a 135mm and 20mm.

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Reference:
Black, C, (caroline516671@oca.ac.uk) 2017. Message from website. [E-mail] Message to S Foreman (sjforman@verizon.net). Sent 18:19 03.10.2017. [Accessed 3 October 2017].

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ELSA DORFMAN

Q – How do you ensure your images stand out in a world that is completely saturated with imagery?
A – Imponderable question. Philosophical. My answer to your first question: prayer and luck.

Q – You can have one lens for the rest of your life, which one?
A – I say 35 mm not 27 or wider. Slightly wide would be my choice. Again this is a more thoughtful question than it appears. It is about attitude towards change and experiment.

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Reference:
Black, C, (caroline516671@oca.ac.uk) 2017. Two teeny tiny questions from a photography student. [E-mail] Message to E Dorfman (elsad@comcast.net). Sent 21:14 02.10.2017. [Accessed 2 October 2017].

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Dear India

Dear India Collection
Level Shoes, Dubai Mall

One of the hardest things about studying photography via distance learning here in Dubai, is the lack of galleries. What galleries we do have, seem to focus more on fine art and painting than photography. So, I have to take all photography exhibitions where I can get them. To my surprise, I found a little gem inside the Dubai Mall. Within the mall, there is a section called Level Shoes, I’m sure no explanation is required as to their offerings. However, I should point out, that in true Dubai style, it is a luxury section, complete with a very well-dressed security guard at the entrance.

For the new season, Level Shoes had invited their designers to express their vision of India through their collections. To help convey the concept, they have used Indian artefacts, old-school portraiture (fig 1). However, the interesting part for me, was the inclusion of a photography exhibition which has been incorporated throughout the space, featuring images of India.

Fig 1

One section of the exhibition is based on wedding portraits, see fig 2. Indian brides make for really wonderful subjects as they are adorned with vibrant colour, most unlike our western counterparts.

Fig 2

However, my favourite shot is one where the photographer has opted to shoot in black and white, fig 3.

Fig 3

The detailing is just as exquisite in black and white, however, there is an emotion captured here that I don’t get from the full-colour images. The lighting is extremely clever, caught in the fabric covering the bride’s head and highlighting just enough of the details of her face. The emotion is also conveyed, in part, by the close crop of her upper body. She looks as if she is about to step out from the dark and into the light, which is a nice metaphor for the life change of marriage. When I look at this image, I see controlled apprehension, and I wonder what aspect this is in relation to. The soft background haze looks almost like an aura around the bride. It’s a beautiful shot. I only wish there was a little more breathing space around the top of her head.

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‘Fire Escape Collapse’ by STANLEY FORMAN

One of the things I admire about photography is its ability to teach its viewers about situations or times gone by, through story telling. And all stories should evoke a response of some sort. For me, a good image provokes or disrupts, and not necessarily with a positive light. In fact, some of the best photography depicts harrowing scenes.

‘Fire Escape Collapse’ by Stanley Forman (fig 1), is a terrific example of such an image. The situation captured on film is horrifying. Yet it is precisely that fact that elevates this image to a position of greatness. It continues to surpass all but a handful of images to consistently affirm its position as one of the most iconic photographic images of the 20th century and beyond. My respect for this image is not just for the perfect composition or lack of motion blur, but for the conversation it will invite on the subject of morality within photography.

Fig 1

The photographer, Stanley Forman, was working for a Boston newspaper when he made this picture. In 1976 it earned him the first of two Pulitzer Prizes for ‘spot news photography’, the second came the following year. Forman has a total of three Pulitzer Prizes, which is an amazing achievement.

I recently contacted Mr Forman for my ‘Two Questions To…’ project, and he very graciously responded. I couldn’t resist asking him if he knew he had captured something great that day. He explained that shooting on film made it difficult to know, “42 years plus ago, before instant gratification photographers now get on their digital cameras” (SF, 2017). Anyone who has worked with film cameras will completely understand this concept. He went on to describe the conversation he had with his boss after capturing the image “As I ran into my office, described to the Chief Photographer what I had and said something like “if it doesn’t come out I won’t be in tomorrow or maybe ever again!”. You never knew until you knew back then” (SF, 2017). This is a wonderful insight not only to the mindset of a man who was completely unaware that his reputation was about to go global, but also to a bygone era.

 

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Reference:

Stanley Forman. 2017. Stanley Forman Photos. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.stanleyformanphotos.com. [Accessed 4 October 2017].

Forman, SF, sjforman@verizon.net, 2017. Two Qs From a Student. [E-mail] Message to CB Black (caroline516671@oca.ac.uk). Sent Oct 3 2017, 19:19. Available at: https://mail.google.com/mail/ [Accessed 4 October 2017].

 

MATT BLACK ‘Geography of Poverty’

This entry could easily be entitled “The Concept of Concept”. Let me explain. At this point in my learning, I am trying to ‘encourage’ my skills in developing a concept behind everything I do. Sometimes this is easier than others, and I have identified that it’s all to do with how important the subject matter is to me.

In order to nurture this further, I am taking note of what sparks my interest in other photographer’s work. I find myself drawn to images that highlight the imbalances of the world or give a voice to those who need it most. Social commentary, if you will.

Magnum photographer, Matt Black does this rather brilliantly in his series “Geography of Poverty”. The concept is communicated through the marriage of great imagery coupled with a single-line statistic. The simplicity of the information is key; we are given location, population and percentage living below the poverty level. There is no personal opinion or drawn-out descriptions of the subjects. Just cold, hard facts. And its effect is compelling. How can this be ignored?!

Fig 1

But of course, the series works so well because of the quality of the images. In fig 1, for example, the significance of the horizontal divider of colour on the wall resonates rather loudly as a visual representation of the poverty line. And the sign; the irony. Its position in the top half is very telling. Its size surely represents the struggle of the 20.8% to be able to do as it says. Visually, it appears to weigh rather heavily on the man below. He is almost belittled by its presence. The positioning of the two subjects in the lower half leaves no doubt in the viewer’s mind of the photographer message. Overall, it is gritty and raw, which accentuates the harsh reality of living in such conditions. This is a superb capture of all these elements, and, one that could have been easily passed by. But the important thing for me in this body of work is how every image appears with the same reported statistic.

Reference:
Matt Black. 2017. Matt Black. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.mattblack.com/the-geography-of-poverty/. [Accessed 4 October 2017].

Q+A with MARTIN BECK

At my recent gallery visit, ‘Behind the Portraits’ at Gulf Photo Plus, I was drawn to the work entitled ‘The Skin We’re In’ by Martin Beck. For me, it was the best examples of concept, (fig 1).

Fig 1

He was also one of the few photographers who had multiple images within the exhibition (figs 2-4).

Fig 2 (2017)

Fig 3 (2017)

Fig 4 (2017)

The dark background and low-lighting allows the negative space of the skin to accentuate the body art, which is fundamental to the concept. The lighting is goldilocks; just right. Soft shadows denote and define without obscuring any of the detailing of the tattoos. The subjects are of course visually interesting and the close crop of the upper body grabs your attention, giving the subject prominence while unquestionably directing you to the ink.

Martin Beck is a successful fashion and portrait photographer based here in Dubai, and I am familiar with his work through my work in the creative industry. I decided to reach out to him to ask a few questions regarding this project – I was interested in hearing a little more about his process…

Q – What sparked your interest in the subculture of Filipino body art as a concept? 

A – I am a tattoo lover and have a few of my own. Also in my regular commissioned work, there isn’t much room or scope for the darker, grittier side of photography. I would say my personal work, whether portraits or fashion test shots definitely have a rock n roll sensibility to them. I have a daily struggle with Dubai’s me, me, me, I, I, I culture of the many thousands who love themselves over everything else. These people would kiss their own @rse if they could ha ha. So for me, its an outlet, to photograph real people who don’t want you to make them look 5 years younger or thinner or better than they actually are.

Q – Did you have a clear idea of composition / lighting / mood of the final images at the outset, or was it a more organic process?

A – I always try to go into any situation with an idea in my head, but of course circumstances often dictate a change. However, I wanted to keep it simple. That is the key for me. Start with one light then add what you need, depending on the assignment. In this case, it was a dark nightclub and for this subject matter, it was never gonna be light and airy, it had to be dark and gritty, almost dirty.

Q – What process did you go through to choose / find your models?

A – I actually did this little pop up studio in a club at the Dubai Inkfest. There are no models as such, these are just some of the people who attended the event. Anyone who wanted to pose was free to step in and have their portrait taken.

Q – What ‘direction’ did you give the models during the shoot? 

A – As i mentioned previously, my ‘day’ job means I have to give a lot of direction and the cast then are always models who have a specific role / character to play based on clients needs. In this case, i basically told them to do whatever they wanted. Smoke, drink, take their clothes off whatever. It was about trying to capture their character. Of course, when there is a camera around, people automatically go into character in one way or another. Some embrace it, others fear it. Fortunately, these guys are proud of their Ink and wanted to show it.

 

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Reference:

Martin Beck. 2017. Martin Beck Photography. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.martinbeckphotography.com/index. [Accessed 2 October 2017].

Behind the Portrait

GALLERY VISIT – September 30th 2017
‘Behind the Portrait’
Various photographers

Gulf Photo Plus (GPP) hosts a community show every year, and the subject for the 2017 show (which has just opened here in Dubai) is portraiture. The concept is however both intriguing and profoundly apt to my coursework at the moment. The brief for submission to this show was to include a short write up of the ‘meaning’ behind the image. The concept is in response to the over-saturation of imagery that we are subjected to in every day life, all with little in the way of substance, “This abundance of imagery, and the fleeting moments with which we consume it, can cause us to lose sight of the story and the emotions behind each image.” (GPP, 2017). This show features the work of 38 different photographers, with images shot across a wide array of locations.

The timing of this exhibition couldn’t have been better, as I am about to embark on ‘The Language of Light’ and there is opportunity to work on portraits as part of the course work / assignment. I have also only just begun to introduce a greater depth of meaning within my work, so this exhibition almost seemed too good to be true.

There are a range of images within this show, as would be expected with curating the work of 38 different photographer’s work. One thing that stood out for me throughout the body of work, was the role of gender. And of course. The dominance of Middle Eastern / Muslim photographers will perhaps always yield such results.

Working my way round the exhibition, a few of the write-ups felt disappointingly like a description rather than an insightful meaning. However, most of the meanings were specific to gender and their subsequent role in society. Likewise, many were specific to place, with strong socio-cultural influence. There was little in the way of surprise between the written and the visual, however the details and descriptions were thought-provoking, offering the perspective of someone else’s life, desires or hardships.

 

I came away with the notion that there can be a deeply profound meaning behind a relatively simple image. The connection does not always need to be overtly apparent. The emphasis is on importance and relevance to your concept, regardless if the next person deems it insignificant.

Reference:

GPP. 2017. Behind the Portrait. [ONLINE] Available at: http://gulfphotoplus.com/exhibitions/40/Behind-the-Portrait. [Accessed 30 September 2017].

OCA Dubai

Today was a special day. I met up with a fellow OCA student, Ginny, who also lives in Dubai. It was fantastic to be able to hang out with a fellow student and talk about the course and what we find hard or challenging. She is slightly ahead of me in the course, so it’s great to get some guidance and reassurance.

It’s hard doing any distance learning, however when you are in a completely different country from the majority of the students and are unable to join in on any of the study visits or meet ups, it’s infinitely harder. There are also additional challenges from living in a Muslim country / the U.A.E., that perhaps only a fellow resident could understand or appreciate.

So we are going to have our own study trips and social gatherings! And who knows, maybe student numbers will increase in this region over time. But for now, it’s good to have a student friend.

The First of Many?

So I finally took the plunge and got my favourite image from Assignment Two: Collecting printed out and framed. Large. Its around a metre wide and is now hanging in my bedroom. You can even see my reflection in the glass; that’s me taking a picture of a picture I have taken.