Tate Modern: State of Flux

On visiting the Tate Modern I entered the gallery space called 'State of Flux- Cubism, Futurism, Vorticism. On looking round the gallery I realised that this gallery refers to the change in traditional ideas of producing an image to represent complex ideas of modern life.

On walking around the gallery I came across these thress images by Kiyohiko Komura.

The artworks are called:

Far Left: Two Abstract Forms, c1950
Centre: Work II, Female Body Composition, c1950
Right: Untitled, c1950

They are all gelatin silver prints on paper.

They were part of a section of the gallery called 'State of Flux- Japanese Photography and the Bauhaus.' I read that this room looked at the 'exchange of Avant- Garde photographic practices between Western Europe and the Far East, as photographers in Japan took up ideas associated with the modernist style of the Bauhaus. By reading this it gave me an introduction to the work of the photographers.

I like the consideration of the framing because although they are from different photographs, all the photographs in this section of the gallery are presented in the same way linking the Japanese Photography and the Bauhaus influences together with the work.

I liked the three pieces of work by Kiyohiko Komura, I liked there feel of experimenting and there simplicity. Also, I liked the way that they were created by overlaying negatives. I like that they are square, there tones of colours and that although they are photographic close- ups of anatomical forms it is not obvious what they are showing.
Also, in another area of the 'State of Flux- Cubism, Futurism, Vorticism' gallery was the work by Jenny Holzer. I was fascinated by her work because although I have previous studied/ been inspired by her work I had never seen it before outside of photographs.

The piece of work was called 'Blue Purple Tilt'- 2007 by Jenny Holzer and it was seven double sided vertical LED signs which brighten a dark room. These signs had very powerful messages going across every single one at the same time. In my opinion most of the messages were negative but statements which made you think about what is going on around us. However, as a piece of work myself and others in the room were just sitting/ standing and reading what they were saying. I felt that this was another interesting way of presenting work because it got people discussing about what they were reading whether they agreed with it or not.

Some of the statements read:

We must make sacrificies to maintain quality of life.
Some of your actions determine what you are.
Trading a life for a life is fair enough.
When something bad happens everybody wakes up.
The only way to stay pure is to stay by yourself.

Both the works from the artist show different ways of communicating ideas and are presented in way which would not have been thought of as traditional.

Bibliography (Kiyohiko Komura):

http://beta.tate.org.uk/art/artists/kiyohiko-komura-14424

Bibliography (Jenny Holzer):

http://beta.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/holzer-blue-purple-tilt-ar00082

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frPnKB6Dg_k&feature=related

http://www.scotsman.com/news/art_review_jenny_holzer_blue_purple_tilt_victoria_morton_1_799375

Tate Modern: Staircase III by Do Ho Suh

Energy and Process- Anti Povera and Anti- Form

On visiting the Janel Wafson de Botton Gallery at the Tate Modern there was an installation that caught my eye.

This installation by Do Ho Suh, it is called Staircase III. It is a polyester and stainless installation which replicates a stairway in the artist apartment in Chelsea, New York. This installation is based on personal memories of architectural spaces.

On seeing this installation in the exhibition I remember liking the way that the orange colour brightened up a white room because the fabric used is translucent. As a result the space was given a feeling of positive energy and I liked how everything had a reason. The reason for this red polyester fabric emphasises the particular cultural resonance of red in Istanbul and Turkey. The artist referred to this colour as "Ottoman Red." However, this colour was also used because it contrasts with the original architectural structure.

Also, depending on the direction you enter the space alters the angel in which you look at the installation. On one side it looks as though the stairway is hanging upside down from the ceiling. From this direction it feels as though you are free as there is nothing supporting the sides of the stairs. However, if you look at the stairway from the other direction you feel that it is exactly as it should be with the banister on the top and that this is the correct way round, but the stairway looks as though it is enclosed giving a feeling of that you can only travel in one direction.

While researching online about the installation I came across a subtle short video of the artist himself explaining his ideas and the reasons for his installation. Also, the video shows the process of assembly at Tate Modern.

Bibliography:

http://beta.tate.org.uk/art/artists/do-ho-suh-12799

http://vimeo.com/2985253 

Damien Hirst: The First Look

I watched two documentary’s about Damien Hirst; the first was about called 'Thoughts, Work and Life' and the second was called 'The First Look' which was a guided tour around the exhibition at Tate Modern.

Throughout the programme I was thinking about the question 'Is any of this Art?' I'm yet to come to a conclusion. However, I kept thinking that some of his pieces of work are beautiful.

 This was the piece of work which I especially liked. It is called 'Mother and Child Divided' 1997. I felt like it was a beautiful piece of work regardless if I felt that it was art or not. I like the way the cow and calf were accurately cut down the middle and the insides remained intact. When looking at the inside of the cows closely it is as though you are looking at a map. On one of the documentaries Damien Hirst said "the symmetry of it is weird; it is so violent, but then it is like calm violence." It was interesting when he said that "you have to confront things you can't avoid" with regards to dead because like this piece of his work and nearly all of the others the idea of death, minimalism and the creating of endless variations of one thing. 

Another piece of work which shows immortality is the platinum cast of a skull from an actual person that lived between 1720 and 1810. He was a 35 year old man from Europe. His teeth are still showing, but the rest of him is covered with 8,601 diamonds made in 2007.

He always felt that he was creating work to do with life but to the audience it looks as though it is to do with death and that he is a morbid individual. The idea for the diamond skull came about when he was in Mexico. He was able to see a clear difference between how countries and cultures view death. In Mexico "they walk hand in hand with death and they celebrate it. They have picnics in the grave yard whereas in England it's difficult to deal with and people don't like to talk about it." Through out the documentries it was interesting to hear the reasons why he produced a piece of work and that he didnt plan the next one, With regards to the diamond skull he said that he had been "inspired by the tourqoise decorated skull from the British Museum. Decoration is not seen as a very good thing so then to have death as something very powerful and to decorate it with diamonds seems like it becomes a very powerful thing."

Bibliography:

http://www.damienhirst.com/

http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/damien-hirst

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/damienhirst

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/damien-hirst/4od#3310481

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/damien-hirst/4od#3312345

David Suchet: People I Have Shot

On the weekend I watched an interesting program called 'David Suchet: People I have Shot' It was a rather interesting program because it showed work of his maternal grandfather James Jarche. James Jarche was a famous Fleet Street photographer who captured many iconic images of both people and the landscape of his time. He worked as a photographer for the Daily Sketch from 1912 to 1929, and later worked at The Graphic which was followed by working at The Daily Herald.

He spent World War II as a British war correspondent for The Herald and the Weekly Illustrated and an official photographer for Life Magazine, in the Middle East. He explained that his grandfather was mainly a portrait photographer and as an individual he loved people. David Suchet was able to see that within each photograph captured by his grandfather there would be evidence of the sitter’s character.

In the beginning of this documentary, David Suchet mentioned “It is not what you see but it is how you see it- your eyes are the best lens." I picked up on this phrase because everyone in today’s society is able to become a photographer yet every person would capture an image differently.

Through this documentary I was able to see the then and now, not only in terms of how the landscape has changed but in terms of how technology has changed. The editor John Jones from the Sunday Times Magazine stated that 35mm film cameras have enabled photography be shot at different angles and to shoot a lot of film as opposed to one shot. With plate cameras you couldn’t because you couldn’t carry 10-12 plates you would have a couple. Therefore with film cameras you can create a narrative and capture images at different shapes, angles, viewpoints; breaking down what you see.

After watching the program I wanted to look at the work produced by James Jarche. I like the quality of each of his prints; each photograph has a narrative and reason for why it was captured. I feel that each of his photographs have the feeling of documentation and history whilst maintaining an element of portraiture.

The photograph on th left hand side is showing 'Jarche- Life in Berlin.'  It is showing a  British Soldier sitting in Hitler's desk turned upside down. I thought the detail and history behind this photograph was intriguing because everyone recognized the history in Germany and the history regarding Hitler but this photograph captures a moment of the disaster which a lot of people may not see.

Bibliography:

http://www.itv.com/itvplayer/video/?Filter=313547

http://www.sdjouhar.com/photo_5058820.html

http://www.scienceandsociety.co.uk/results.asp?W=4&F=0001&Step=1&screenwidth=1903

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/the-importance-of-being-there-1126118.html

Modernism

The definitions of modernism are:

1. Modern character or quality of thought, expression, or technique
2. A style or movement in the arts that aims to break with classical and traditional forms
3. A movement towards modifying traditional beliefs in accordance with modern ideas, esp. in the Roman Catholic Church in the late 19th and early 20th centuries

Modernism is the name for a wide range of movements. These movements include Cubism, Expressionism, Futurism, Dadaism, Serialism, and Surrealism. Most of which appeared shortly before or after the First World War. It affected all the arts, in various fielfs such as poets, painters, composers, writers, architects, choreographers, directors and film-makers. Modernism has philosophical antecedents that can be traced to the eighteenth-century. It is rooted in the changes in Western society at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries.

Modernism is the works of artists who rebelled against nineteenth-century academic and historicist traditions, believing that earlier aesthetic conventions were becoming outdated. Modernist movements, such as Cubism in the arts, Atonality in music, and Symbolism in poetry, directly and indirectly explored the new economic, social, and political aspects of an emerging fully industrialized world.

In relation to photography its invenstion was part of the process of modernization of the means of production that took place during the Industrial Revolution. In the 19th century, more and more goods once made by hand, including images, became machine made. Photography is a modern form of image making, contributing to the development of modernism, for example in painting, by taking on its representational tasks.

By the beginning of the 20th century, with the diffusion of illustrated magazines and newspapers, photography was a mass- communication medium. Photojournalism acquired authority and glamour, and document-like photographs were used in advertising as symbols of modernity. Artists and photographers began looking at the photographs used in mass culture, to develop an aesthetic true to the intrinsic qualities of photographic materials: the accurate rendition of visible reality; framing that crops into a larger spatial and temporal context; viewpoints and perspectives generated by modern lenses and typically modern spatial organizations (for example, tall buildings); and sharp, black-and-white images. This objective, mechanized vision became art by foregrounding not its subject matter, but its formal structure as an image.

Bibliography:

https://www.google.co.uk/#hl=en&q=modernism&tbs=dfn:1&tbo=u&sa=X&ei=KSZqT-uoC6GP0AXz2v3rCA&ved=0CCwQkQ4&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=4e222131bbc5c2ac&biw=1220&bih=933

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/modernism

http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/modernism

http://www.answers.com/topic/modernism-and-photography

Identity

Definition of Identify:
Identity is the sense of who we are. How the individual sees themselves- influences, too, by how others see the person. Identity creates different characteristic features that make you different from other people. Our identity is shaped by things that make us different from everyone else for example, facial features and beliefs.

Family:
The family, specifically parents, are central to primary socializations; this is because they are the first stage in a lifelong process. Children learn language and basic norms and values, these can be taught formally, but they are more likely to be picked up informally by children imitation their parents. Parents may use sanctions to reinforce approved behaviour and punish behaviour defined as unacceptable. Such processes develop children's roles within the family and society so that children learn how they are expected to behave in a range and variety of social situations.

Class:
Upper class: The children of upper class families are usually educated in top public schools and many go on to the most prestigious universities.

Middle class: These are professionals, their jobs usually include doctors and lawyers, They tend to adopt and intellectual identity gained from a long and successful education. They value cultural assets such as knowledge, qualifications, lifestyle and values, and feel it is important to pass these onto their children. They would eat together and they would use the opportunity to find out about what has been happening and reinforce values.

Traditional working-class identity: An important factor influencing people's identity is the work place. 'Work' and 'going to work' play a crucial part in defining a person's identity and giving them status. In recent years there has been a decline in manual work which was mainly laboured by the traditional working class individuals. Such jobs included working in heavy duty industries, such as mining and shipbuilding.

The 'New' working class: They are the continuation of the traditional working class individuals; because of the decline of work they live a more private home- centred life. People base their life around the home and family activities. Segregation of gender roles are less pronounced. Britain’s working class have benefited from a general rise in living standards, they are now more likely to own their own cars, homes, spend more on consumer goods and on foreign holidays. The working class would usually eat in front of the television and at different times.

Media:
The media represents different social classes which influence social class identity. Television programs focus on working class culture and they show them as aggressive, assertive a program which shows such examples is 'Shameless' and the media represents them as being able to successfully play the social security system. Whereas middle class families would prefer to watch ' Royal Family.'

Gender:
Males are more macho and women are more emotional. From a young age boys are given toy cars to play with and action toys. Young girls are given kitchen sets and dolls in order for them to play families.

The gender stereotypes of females are that they should be seen as good housewives, submissive, subservient and affectionate. On the other hand males are to be seen as macho, working class, breadwinner, rulers and aggressive.

Culture and society:
Culture plays an important role in the construction of our identity. Identity is made up of two components- how we see ourselves and how others see us. It involves some choice on our part- often actively identity with aspects of our culture with regard to particular groups or activities e.g. a football team, a friendship network a fashion or trend. However, our identity is partly imposed on us by our culture. We are born into particular cultural positions or statuses- we do not choose our social class, gender, ethnic group, age, religion and nationality. Social forces like these shape our identity.

The concept of 'culture' is often used interchangeably with the concept of 'society.' Culture forms the connection between the individual and society. It tells the individual how to operate effectively within social institutions such as family, marriage, education etc.

Zygmunt Bauman (1990) notes that socialization into culture is about introducing and maintaining social order in society. Individual behaviour that lies outside the cultural norm is perceived as dangerous and worth opposing because it threatens to destabilize society. Consequently, society develops cultural mechanisms to control and repress such behaviour.

Social Control:
The law is biased against the working class. This is because the police see certain groups as more deviant and more likely to commit a deviant act. This refers to the labelling theory. The police keep an eye on these groups. These groups tend to be young, male, working class individuals. More focus on ethnic minorities such as Afro- Caribbean. Part of the labelling theory results in an individual in not being able to fit back into society such as get a job like another person would be able to. This results in them turning to crime, which is known as 'self-fulfilling prophecy' which means that they are living up to the label.

In context of photography this is shown though various images. Two images which I recently studied that show similar images but differences between males and females are called 'is Zo'e Group, State of Para, Brazil [Zo'e Women] or [Zo'e Males] ' and where photographed by Sebastião Salgado.

In both these images show a similar setting however the women are shown as   being comfortable in their surrounding and are not altering there possitions even though a photographer is present. Also, none of the women are looking into the camera. All the women are sitting in a strange manners, I can see that two of the women are lying on hammocks; two of the women are standing up and resting against the leaves, one of the women is lying on the floor and the remaining individials are sitting down.

On the other hand the photograph of the men look serious with each of them looking at the camera apart from one of them which was looking away. In my opinion this shows power and they wanted to present themselves as dominant figures. There posture seems to be rather relaxed especially the four guys sitting down their slightly slouching. The other five men are standing up and each of them is holding on a stick which seems to look like part of the surroundings.  Even though both photographs have been captured at a similar setting and by
the same photographer they show the identity of males and females differently.

Bibliography:

Image:

Salgado, S. (2009) Zo'e Indian Group, (Zo'e Women) [Online].

Salgado, S. (2009) Zo'e Indian Group, (Zo'e Men) London: Somerset House

Books:

Sociology AS for AQA, Stephen Moore, Dave Aiken, Steve Chapman, Harper Collins Publishers Limited, 2008

Websites:

http://wwww.cliffnotes.com/study_guide/Gender-Identity.topicArticleld-26957,articleld-26894.html 

http://www.sociology.org.uk/p2line.htm

Semiotics

The definition of 'semiotics' is:
1. The study of signs and symbols as elements of communicative behavior; the analysis of systems of communication as language, gestures, or clothing.

2. A general theory of signs and symbolism, usually divided into the branches of pragmatics, semantics, and syntactics.

There are three key elements of Semiotics. These are signs, signifier (the form in which the sign takes) and signified (the concept it represents).

Signs:
As individuals we are driven by a desire to create meanings. We make meanings through out creation and through the interpretation of 'signs.' Sine wiykd argue that the reason for this is that we are Homo Significans (meaning- makers). According to Peirce, 'we think only in sighns' (Peirce 1931- 58, 2. 302). Signs take the form of words, images, sounds, odours, flavours, acts or objects, but such things have no actually meaning and they become signs only when we create them with meanings. 'Nothing is a sign unless it is interpreted as a sign.' (Peirce 1931-58, 2. 172).

Types of signs:
Icon- Resembles
Index- Is caused by
Smbol- Arbtrary (learnt) relationships

Order of signs:
Sender
Intentism
Message
Transmission
Noise- Miscommunication or interference with message
Reciever
Destination

Signifiers:
Many of the signs we used to communicate arbitrary.
They have to be learned with the conventions of the language which they are embedded.
Once  learnt, teh meanings conveyed by signs may appear wholly natural.

Transmissions:
Messages are always through a medium:-
Presentational (voice, face, hands)
Representational (painting, books, photographs, drawings)

An example of semiotics withing photography is an image by Jenny Holzer.

This ia an image by Jenny Holzer. It is called 'City Poem 14'- London 2006. She had light projected a poem onto London City Hall. In my opinion she captures images of society and their issues wich are internal and she makes them public. This image captures the audience attension because of the lighting. My response to this photograph is that the meaning for why she has chosen London City Hall is because the building itself has a political background. Through the words of the poem I can see that it has something to do with war because of the words and phreases such as 'bullets'; and 'stopped in mid- flight.' This image uses the combination of light art, cityscape and poetry.

Bibliography:

http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/S4B/semiotic.html
http://dictionary.refernece.com/brouse/semiotics