Visiting Arles next week from Monday to Friday. Driving up through Spain and spending a day at Figueres to visit the Dali Museum. The themes this year at Arles are ‘My Body is my Weapon’, ‘On the Edge’, ‘Living’, ‘Rereading’, ‘The Other Photography’, ‘Building the Image’, ‘Platforms of the Visible’, ‘Louis Roderer Discovery Award’, ‘ Emergencies’ and ‘Happy Birthday.’ I presume the final one is in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the festival this year.
Integrating this visit in to my MA work I take with me the three most interesting questions on my mind at this point in time.
- What does the image of an exterior situation in the surface of the photograph reveal about the inner state of that being photographed?
- As I work on self portraits for my project I am understanding the of representing an internal state of mind within a photograph of a face. Dave Heath does it superbly in Solitudes. There is something magic in Sally Mann’s images of her children and family that seems to reveal something within.
- Also interested in photographs of a scene to understand how many of the facts of the situation are revealed in the image and how many words are needed to explain.
- What freedom is the photographer exhibiting?
- (Flusser, 2000, p74) offers image, apparatus, programme and information to sum up the essential quality of photography. How has the photographer expressed her freedom of choice within these parameters?
- What freedoms are being restricted by demands placed upon the photographer and which restrictions do they voluntarily submit to?
- How staged is the image I am viewing?
- My prejudice is that everything that is exhibited is now staged. Is that right?
With the answers to these questions I am seeking inspiration to take my project on to its next surprises. I HAVE THOUGHTS
References
Towards a Philosophy of Photography. Vilém Flusser, , Martin Chalmers, , and Hubertus von Amelunxen. 2000. Reaktion Books, Limited. p76.
Categories: Contextual Research, Surfaces and Strategies