MA Proposal 2020

Orphan Album 2020.

Public and privet.

Introduction:

Through my art practice I introduce the exploration of old family photographs, personal dialogues and history. Although much of my practice is transdisciplinary; all the work I produce relates back to embodied experiences which reflect my family history.

I have been spending the past two years collecting orphan albums and photographs. I am now a proud owner of a collection of 1550 orphan photographs. over the past two years I have been trying to understand why the album and old family photographs are becoming part of the throw away culture. I have also been researching how old family photography and albums are key to understanding one’s own identity and the identity of the family, history, memory and narrative. Photography is often linked to memory. The relationship between them appears to be both intuitive and essentially contested. ‘we speak of images or snapshots of the past when we recreate memories, call especially vivid recollections “flashbulb memories” and recreate elements of the past in the mind’s eye’ (Shevchenko, 2014, p.3).

Throughout the current months, I have been concerned around the ideas of public and private. From looking and spending time with my collection I have understood that to understand their accurate identity I must look at the photographs with great detail and describe what I see. I have recently tried researching if I can find out who these people are in the photograph by asking the sellers, questions such as where did you get the photograph from? Do you know anything about the people in the photograph? all of the answers I have received from the sellers are all the same they do not know them.

From interviewing Deborah Watson, a self-employed researcher and freelance archivist last year she gave me a lot of useful guides and tips into how I can identify the individual. Expanding on Watsons advice I began to read John Berger: understanding a photograph and his other book ways of seeing.

Project

Orphan Album 2020 is a project which is a response to John Berger’s quote ‘Yet, unlike memory, photographs do not in themselves preserve meaning. They offer appearances – with all the credibility and gravity we normally lend to appearances- prised away from their meaning. Meaning in the result of understanding functions. “And functioning takes place in time and must be explained in time. Only that which narrates can make us understand.” Photographs preserve instant appearances. (Berger,2013,p.55)

As I don’t understand these stories the only way, I can portray their accurate narrative and identity Is that I must describe the subject within the image. Berger says in one of his books there are photographs for public and photographs which are private which are family photography. As a result, to this the image is faced down (privet), and my dissemination of the picture is juxtaposed opposite (Identity). As the audience reads my own encounter, they build their own image in their own mind. Which becomes there’s to keep.

Aims

The aim for this project is to focus on building a body of work that investigate my encounter with my collection of orphan photography. I aim the focus on only photographs between late 19th century and early 20th century which indicates the importance to capturing a moment and a celebration to the birth of photography.

Objectives

Firstly, I will be spending intimate time with each photograph by viewing them with a magnifying glass.

Secondly, I will document and describe what I see in every individual image. For example, clothing, hairstyle, objects.

Thirdly, experiment in ways of how I can display image and text together, or having just text by itself?

Fourthly, think about ways of how the audience will encounter and experience the work.

Rationale

Within my practice I have always been researching in theories around the family photographic album and photography. I have recently been reading into Berger ways of seeing and understanding a photograph. I would like to create experimental work in response to reading them key theories and also consider thinking about public and privet and identification at the same time.

Mapping the field and sources – framing the work

1. Nicky Bird

2. Vivian Maier

3. Ken Lum

4. John Baldessari

Initial bibliography

Berger, J. (2013). Understanding a photograph. Penguin.

Berger, J. (1972). Ways of Seeing. Penguin.

Hiley, M. (1983). Seeing through photographs. London: Gordon Fraser.

Press Steel, D. and Taylor, L. (1984). Family history in focus. Guildford: Lutterworth

Shrimpton, J. (2011). How to get the most from family pictures. London: Society of Genealogists Enterprises

Spence, J. and Holland, P. (1991). Family snaps. London: Virago.

References:

Berger, J. (2013). Understanding a photograph. Penguin.