This is such an iterative process but each step seems to be progress. Proposal 1 ties me down to one place and a particular approach to narrative. Tomorrow I am off to Venice for the Carnival. In April I am going to Cyprus. I want to be able to use such opportunities to explore photographic narrative. For me this means the narrative alone in the photograph and then all the other possible narratives.
A little piece of photographic narrative I produced after a walk in Cyprus stimulated the ‘Power and Influence’ idea. I wrote an essay with pictures ‘An Englishman in Cyprus’ to make some points after walking the island but it was rejected for publication as being too ‘provocative’ at a time of delicate and sensitive negotiations.
I am fascinated by narratives. As an executive coach I did a lot of work with people and the story they tell themselves about themselves. If it is a good one then leave it alone and often such people do not come for help. If the story is a bad one then the work is to find an equally true story that can help the person concerned move forward. This is always possible.
An individual photograph has the narrative the viewer gives it. If it stands alone then that is the narrative for that person. The author can guide the viewer by providing a word or words to help give understanding of his or her intent. Similarly a presenter of the image can influence a viewer’s narrative by adding a word or words.
My idea is to explore the different forms of photographic narrative and present a view on their ability to exert power and influence. I propose to do this with a consideration of historic examples such as Ansell Adams and the American West, Dorothea Lange and the mid west American migrant family and Nick Ut and the Napalm girl. With this consideration and exploration of the various forms I propose to establish a body of work of my own applying the insights I get from this study.
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Categories: Project Proposal