Rather than have a line of shoes or a single shoe, I decided that I would work with just one pair of boots and use them as the focus of the feature in the way that Eleanor Antin used wellington boots in the series 100 boots [Antin, 1971-1973]
I wanted to make a statement about my condition and how it affects my life. In the research leading up to the final 'Making it up' I examined a number of ideas before settling not on a series of images but instead, on a single image as I felt that I could express my voice through it.
It was during my reading of the Dad Project that I felt that there was a way that I could start expressing what was going on around me and when Les my Tutor asked me why I had failed to reference Pete Mansell in Assignment 3, I found that I had failed to look at his whole output of work, I had instead mistakenly read something else. Upon reevaluating Pete Mansell and especially his Essay 'Illness' 2011, I understood that it was possible to photograph, express and illustrate my unseen condition.
Working with these complementary influences was really helpful as I was now able to start to express myself and understand that I too had the ability to make myself heard through art.
Assignment
A lone pair of boots sits in front of a boundary, they are worn, marked by their use of time, the tough leather softened by wear to be comfortable and last heavy use throughout a day. Cast aside they sit outside the boundary, their place of use quickly fading into memory. The beauty of life is around and is slowly overcoming the grey dark past, pushing aside the bad memories and experiences and saying that there is the possibility of life afterwards, all it takes is a passer by to lift the boots, clean and use them for them to contribute to the world again.
Assessment criteria
Demonstration of technical and visual skills
From a visual point of view, the composition may seem simple and a bit bland however this is deliberate, I wanted to contrast the station, which is now a receding memory, with the simple beauty surrounding it and the worn out used boots which are separate in the foreground by the use of focal depth and deliberate focus.
I wanted to isolate the boots, to show that the past, my working life, is now a memory. Being forced into not working and deliberately isolated makes me the boots, bashed, used, worn and when no longer useful tossed aside. The foreground under the boots also reflects this with the battered concrete slowly being covered by lichen.
As this was a reshoot, I was able to take more time and adjust the composition so that I could have the nuances of colour of everything around the buildings against the grey of the building itself.
I did have alternative scene compositions which I took and developed in Photoshop, some of which were further processed for HDR infrared, but I thought that they were a bit heavy handed. I had also considered stacking a number of shots together but after the developing the process they were too highly artificial and I dropped them from the workload. Full details of my research and preparation are detailed in my learning log 'Constructed Realities – Preparation Work'
In total with the research shots and the reshoot of the final submitted image I would estimate that the whole assignment has taken just over 14 hours to shoot including the time taken to upload the images into a digital light board, select the images and adjust them in Photoshop. I did not over manipulate the images in Photoshop as I did not want to create a manipulated image, instead I post processed to correct colour and lighting within the image
The full contact sheets for the image are available here,
Quality of the outcome
As detailed above I did a lot of research and some soul searching to complete this assignment. I had considered submitting a sequence of images but I felt in the end that the one single idea that kick started the whole process was the one that spoke the loudest to me.
Demonstration of creativity
During this course, I have undergone a sea change in my life due to my condition I have lost a lot and the whole complicated mess kept coming to the forefront of my mind throughout and I have found a way to express myself in this work. I am aware of the social realities of my fellow sufferers and using documentary, staged and constructed photography is a good medium to express my anger and concerns.
I am aware that the structure of image makes the boots appear almost as a statue or sculpture against the background in a manner similar to Gabriel Orozcos "Island within an Island" [Orozco, 1993]
Context
I think one of the main influences of the final image is Elliot Erwitt with DogDogs, especially New York City 1974, where we are presented with an image and we were are granted the freedom to interpret the image as we wish; there is enough information within Erwitts scene to allow us to look and gain our own insight.
There is a minor influence of William Wegman within the image as it hints of the abandonment of belongings as a method of gaining freedom [Wegman, 1971] as within his image "For A Moment He Forgot Where He Was And Jumped Into The Ocean" however within my own image it is less do with abandoning the belongings, but more to do with the loss of belonging.
The isolated and unpopulated background landscape of my image is also reminiscent of the photograph 'Into the Valley of the Shadow of Death' by Roger Fenton (1819-1869) and Paul Seawrights Sequence 'Durden Hidden' Although in my case only one shot has been fired.
Both images show a landscape destroyed by war, littered with the detritus of combat. In both cases the landscape will heal but the scars on people will remain for generations.
Seawrights landscape to me is similar to Fentons in content but it is the more combative as we know that the remaining landmines will have a prolonged impact on the future and we are unable to change this.
During my research I did find a webpage that alleged that Fenton staged his famous photograph, [Morris & Zhang, 2012] but I believe at worst Fenton took some artistic licence to make the final image more disturbing. I do not believe that he created a constructed image.
Conclusion
This was quite a physical and emotional painful assignment for me as I worked through the process and learned better ways to present and drive the narrative of what I am photographing, In the end I can present my scene in a constructed way, not documenting what has happened, but instead an allegorical exaggeration of how I feel.
References
ME Action. 2017. Millions Missing. [ONLINE] Available at: https://millionsmissing.meaction.net/. [Accessed 28 August 2017].
Gerry.Edu. 2017. 100 Boots. [ONLINE] Available at: http://blogs.getty.edu/pacificstandardtime/explore-the-era/worksofart/100-boots/. [Accessed 21 August 2017].
SF MOMA. 2017. Eleanor Antin, 100 Boots. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.sfmoma.org/artwork/83.116.1-51. [Accessed 22 August 2017].
Tate. 2010. Gabriel Orozco. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.tate.org.uk/context-comment/blogs/gabriel-orozco-tate-modern-curators-blog. [Accessed 22 August 2017].
A lone pair of boots sits in front of a boundary, they are worn, marked by their use of time, the tough leather softened by wear to be comfortable and last heavy use throughout a day. Cast aside they sit outside the boundary, their place of use quickly fading into memory. The beauty of life is around and is slowly overcoming the grey dark past, pushing aside the bad memories and experiences and saying that there is the possibility of life afterwards, all it takes is a passer by to lift the boots, clean and use them for them to contribute to the world again.
Scuffed, worn, still usable but abandoned.
Assessment criteria
Demonstration of technical and visual skills
From a visual point of view, the composition may seem simple and a bit bland however this is deliberate, I wanted to contrast the station, which is now a receding memory, with the simple beauty surrounding it and the worn out used boots which are separate in the foreground by the use of focal depth and deliberate focus.
I wanted to isolate the boots, to show that the past, my working life, is now a memory. Being forced into not working and deliberately isolated makes me the boots, bashed, used, worn and when no longer useful tossed aside. The foreground under the boots also reflects this with the battered concrete slowly being covered by lichen.
As this was a reshoot, I was able to take more time and adjust the composition so that I could have the nuances of colour of everything around the buildings against the grey of the building itself.
I did have alternative scene compositions which I took and developed in Photoshop, some of which were further processed for HDR infrared, but I thought that they were a bit heavy handed. I had also considered stacking a number of shots together but after the developing the process they were too highly artificial and I dropped them from the workload. Full details of my research and preparation are detailed in my learning log 'Constructed Realities – Preparation Work'
In total with the research shots and the reshoot of the final submitted image I would estimate that the whole assignment has taken just over 14 hours to shoot including the time taken to upload the images into a digital light board, select the images and adjust them in Photoshop. I did not over manipulate the images in Photoshop as I did not want to create a manipulated image, instead I post processed to correct colour and lighting within the image
The full contact sheets for the image are available here,
Quality of the outcome
As detailed above I did a lot of research and some soul searching to complete this assignment. I had considered submitting a sequence of images but I felt in the end that the one single idea that kick started the whole process was the one that spoke the loudest to me.
Demonstration of creativity
During this course, I have undergone a sea change in my life due to my condition I have lost a lot and the whole complicated mess kept coming to the forefront of my mind throughout and I have found a way to express myself in this work. I am aware of the social realities of my fellow sufferers and using documentary, staged and constructed photography is a good medium to express my anger and concerns.
I am aware that the structure of image makes the boots appear almost as a statue or sculpture against the background in a manner similar to Gabriel Orozcos "Island within an Island" [Orozco, 1993]
Context
I think one of the main influences of the final image is Elliot Erwitt with DogDogs, especially New York City 1974, where we are presented with an image and we were are granted the freedom to interpret the image as we wish; there is enough information within Erwitts scene to allow us to look and gain our own insight.
There is a minor influence of William Wegman within the image as it hints of the abandonment of belongings as a method of gaining freedom [Wegman, 1971] as within his image "For A Moment He Forgot Where He Was And Jumped Into The Ocean" however within my own image it is less do with abandoning the belongings, but more to do with the loss of belonging.
The isolated and unpopulated background landscape of my image is also reminiscent of the photograph 'Into the Valley of the Shadow of Death' by Roger Fenton (1819-1869) and Paul Seawrights Sequence 'Durden Hidden' Although in my case only one shot has been fired.
'Into the Valley of the Shadow of Death' Fenton, 1855
Paul; Seawright, Durden Hidden, 2003
Seawrights landscape to me is similar to Fentons in content but it is the more combative as we know that the remaining landmines will have a prolonged impact on the future and we are unable to change this.
During my research I did find a webpage that alleged that Fenton staged his famous photograph, [Morris & Zhang, 2012] but I believe at worst Fenton took some artistic licence to make the final image more disturbing. I do not believe that he created a constructed image.
Conclusion
This was quite a physical and emotional painful assignment for me as I worked through the process and learned better ways to present and drive the narrative of what I am photographing, In the end I can present my scene in a constructed way, not documenting what has happened, but instead an allegorical exaggeration of how I feel.
References
ME Action. 2017. Millions Missing. [ONLINE] Available at: https://millionsmissing.meaction.net/. [Accessed 28 August 2017].
Gerry.Edu. 2017. 100 Boots. [ONLINE] Available at: http://blogs.getty.edu/pacificstandardtime/explore-the-era/worksofart/100-boots/. [Accessed 21 August 2017].
SF MOMA. 2017. Eleanor Antin, 100 Boots. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.sfmoma.org/artwork/83.116.1-51. [Accessed 22 August 2017].
Peter Mansell. 2017. Pete's Photographic Essay Website. [ONLINE] Available at: http://clkpete.weebly.com/2011-illness.html. [Accessed 28 August 2017].
Peter Mansell. 2017. PETER MANSELL IMAGERY. [ONLINE] Available at: http://paralysed.weebly.com/. [Accessed 28 August 2017].
The J. Paul Getty Museum. 2017. Valley of the Shadow of Death. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/60602/roger-fenton-valley-of-the-shadow-of-death-english-april-23-1855/. [Accessed 28 August 2017].
PetaPixel. 2012. Famous ‘Valley Of The Shadow Of Death’ Photo Was Almost Certainly Staged. [ONLINE] Available at: https://petapixel.com/2012/10/01/famous-valley-of-the-shadow-of-death-photo-was-most-likely-staged/. [Accessed 24 August 2017].
Time. 2017. The Valley of the Shadow of Death. [ONLINE] Available at: http://100photos.time.com/photos/roger-fenton-valley-shadow-death. [Accessed 24 August 2017].
Paul Seawright. 2017. Paul Seawright - Hidden. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.paulseawright.com/hidden/. [Accessed 28 August 2017].
Walker. 2017. Isla en la Isla. [ONLINE] Available at: https://walkerart.org/collections/artworks/isla-en-la-isla-island-within-an-island. [Accessed 22 August 2017].
Peter Mansell. 2017. PETER MANSELL IMAGERY. [ONLINE] Available at: http://paralysed.weebly.com/. [Accessed 28 August 2017].
The J. Paul Getty Museum. 2017. Valley of the Shadow of Death. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/60602/roger-fenton-valley-of-the-shadow-of-death-english-april-23-1855/. [Accessed 28 August 2017].
PetaPixel. 2012. Famous ‘Valley Of The Shadow Of Death’ Photo Was Almost Certainly Staged. [ONLINE] Available at: https://petapixel.com/2012/10/01/famous-valley-of-the-shadow-of-death-photo-was-most-likely-staged/. [Accessed 24 August 2017].
Time. 2017. The Valley of the Shadow of Death. [ONLINE] Available at: http://100photos.time.com/photos/roger-fenton-valley-shadow-death. [Accessed 24 August 2017].
Paul Seawright. 2017. Paul Seawright - Hidden. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.paulseawright.com/hidden/. [Accessed 28 August 2017].
Walker. 2017. Isla en la Isla. [ONLINE] Available at: https://walkerart.org/collections/artworks/isla-en-la-isla-island-within-an-island. [Accessed 22 August 2017].
Public Delivery. 2013. Gabriel Orozco. [ONLINE] Available at: http://publicdelivery.org/gabriel-orozcoisla-en-la-isla-island-within-an-island-1993/. [Accessed 22 August 2017].
Harmony Blog. 2012. William Wegman. [ONLINE] Available at: http://harmony-blog.com/2012/07/william-wegman-for-a-moment-he-forgot-where-he-was-and-jumped-into-the-ocean-1971/. [Accessed 22 August 2017].
Magnum Photos. 2017. Elliott Erwitts DogsDogs. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.magnumphotos.com/arts-culture/art/elliott-erwitt-dog-dogs/. [Accessed 22 August 2017].
Magnum Photos. 2017. Elliott Erwitts DogsDogs. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.magnumphotos.com/arts-culture/art/elliott-erwitt-dog-dogs/. [Accessed 22 August 2017].
Dear Leonard, I found your excellent blog whilst researching my own assignment 5 of C&N - I love your final image and totally relate to the driving force behind it. I was also moved by your description of your life with (fibromyalgia) and have only recently understood what exactly it is, it's strange isn't it how some are driven by whatever conditions we have to express it visually and contextually - for me as lifelong sufferer of depression I particularly enjoy having this creative escape valve. Well done again for a cracking blog and final image. Neil
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