Appreciations of Nan Goldin.

For obvious reasons Nan Goldin should be and is one the most celebrated Photographers of our time. Her ability to penetrate and project intimacies in the lives others is a talent I believe never to have really been achieved by any other. Although she has sometimes been criticised for making heroin 'chic' her work has depth that doesn't even bare resonance with this statement. I could talk at length about the intricacies and subject matters covered by Goldin but as so many have done this before I would like to stray away from the analytical norm and focus more on the aesthetics of her work.
Of course like most people the initial shock in Nan Goldin's work is what at first drew me to it, but on closer inspection it is the true grit of composition and especially lighting that really excites me. Take for example the Image "Cookie 1983" the protagonist sits in a slumped position with a look of resignation, but also despair, for what reasons we can only speculate, but it is a given that Goldin has captured her a low point in time. Take the lighting however the red tint to the whole image brings to mind the idea of rose tinted glasses. Although Nan Goldin was known for shooting in available light it seems that she has manipulated the light in this scene to her advantage, I would like to call this ironic lighting.

We see the same manipulation of light in "Brian and Nan in Bed 1981" from The Ballad of Sexual Dependency the natural sunlight streams through the window falling on Brians face, creating a illusion of warmth when actually it is clear from stiffness in posture of the male protagonist and the hunched retracted position of Goldin that something dismal, even horrific has occurred. It as though Goldin uses this Rosy hue to test the viewer, a trick of the mind, so on initial inspection we believe we are seeing a scene of comfort when in actual fact we see miserable people in unhappy circumstances. The shock maximises the impact of what we see so the effect stays with us penetrating our mind, so inevitably
we remember that Nan Goldin picture.

Nan Goldin 55 Phaidon Press
http://fototapeta.art.pl/2003/ngie.php
John Waters Pink Flamingos 1972

Himalayas-The curious connection with Roland Barthes.

Forgive me if this sounds a little garbled but I have just come down from the Himalayan mountains and the altitude and curious thoughts of Roland Barthes whilst at the top may have sent my brain do-lally.

Let me explain. I came to Himalayas on a whim after being told on arrival in India that it was far too hot to go down south. The arrangements for the trek all happened in much of a whirlwind and before I knew it I found myself on the top of a mountain gazing out over snow capped peaks and desperately trying to photograph one of the worlds greatest phenomenons. The more I tried the more I seemed to fail at capturing this awe inspiring sight. Eventually after maybe 30 exposures I gave up and decided to drink in the sight for my own memories alone. It was when doing this thoughts Barthes came to mind. He says "each time I am (or let myself be) photographed, I invariably suffer from a sensation of in authenticity" although in this context Barthes in talking about his own portrait I found that this seemed to apply to my feelings of photographing the Himalayas, that somehow whatever I captured through the lens did not truly convey the the vast and breathtaking spectacle before me. How through one image could I instill the feel of the sun as it beat down on my neck or the taste and freshness of the air? Although i do no tend to agree with Roland Barthes generally I found that his idea; the "self...never coincides with...the image" was seemingly applicable to the 'soul' of the Himalayas. Somehow the photograph detracts from this beauty rendering it hollow. It could be however that this is a reflection of my abilities as a Photographer that i am not able to convey this magnificent sight.

Roland Barthes-Camera Lucida

Robert Frank. The Americans.

Robert Frank is without a doubt the fore-runner of anti-aesthetic photography. His work marked a turn around in the way photography was viewed, changing the viewpoint that an image must be crystal clear and classically beautiful. Awarded money from the Guggenheim foundation he set off around America to document an unseen side of the continent from an outsiders perspective. After an estimated 27,000 exposures he niggled it down to just 83 to create The Americans a book that pushed and even recreated the boundaries of social documentary photography.
For me, one particular image encapsulates Franks proclivities in capturing the social, racial and economical struggles in America during the 50's. "Trolley- New Orleans 1955" contains semiotics that span the worldwide. The image, whit in front, black in back gives a clear depiction of the racial structure looming over America at the time. Frank has managed to emphasise this more so the symmetry created from the dark wood framing of the trolley car. This highlights a further segregation that viewed by people across the globe in the current day and years to come will undoubtedly continue to represent the same symbol of hostile racial inequality.
His Distinct parallels between black and white, rich and poor can be seen has a record of the social climate of the time, yet they hold a complete rebellion against recording these facts to coax the sympathy of others. Franks images merely capture the action in motion to be a record of the time. The complete refusal to adhere the restraints previously imposed on photographers like Evans working for the Farm Security Administration at the time, may have led The Americans receiving bad press when initially published, but Franks work has pushed and changed the boundaries for documentary photography worldwide.


http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-13284235/Robert-Frank-and-two-babies.html

Robert Frank-The Americans

Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize Unsafe Journey

I always look forward to the Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize, when it comes round each year and we’re in the midst of a cold and rainy February, it seems to bring with it an immense range of colour and variant topics which are not really seen in any other mainstream photography exhibitions.

Although this year there were great works shown, not to mention the first prize (David Chancellor Huntress with Buck) there was one particular image that really caught my eye. Amy Helene Johansson’s Unsafe Journey took me right back to my time in India and also brought to mind my imminent return there next month.  During the month of Ramadan tens of thousands of people leave the city of Dhaka in Bangladesh heading north to spend the celebration with their families, the train tickets sell out fast and some people simply can’t afford to buy them, the woman in the image finds herself a spot where most people would never settle.  Johansson has completely captured the essence of Asia here, the no nonsense approach to travel and life in general, the birds eye view of the woman and the ground whirring past below complete the image and her studium is clear. Yet this image held a punctum for me. When I was thirteen or fourteen on one of the many trains we took whilst travelling from north to the south of India, I passed the kitchen carriage on my way to the loo. The sight was truly astonishing scrawny men in shorts and flip flops balancing on the side of gaping hole, ground whirring past much like that of Unsafe Journey, above which was perched a huge vat of boiling oil. The men swayed from side to side fishing out samosas by the dozen, without even batting an eye lid. I remember thinking that wouldn’t pass safety laws in England! Johansson’s image took me right back to that day the smell, the taste of the samosas and the sheer absurdity of the entire seen. Thank you Amy!  

http://www.npg.org.uk:8080/photoprize/site10/exhibition.php 

http://www.amyjohansson.com/ 

The Unfortunate Lady Gaga Phenomenon

It is an unfortunate fact that the vast majority of the younger generation today look toward this strange and in my opinion shallow woman as a role model . I can only imagine that it is her eccentric and (ahem) ridiculous outfits that have drawn these fans in there masses to worship the Gaga brand the world over because it can't be her music. Perhaps it is this whirlwind hysteria that has inspired Polaroid, a long standing household name and staple of my family albums, to recruit her as Creative Director for their company.   I can understand that since Polaroid Corporation filed for bankruptcy in 2001 it was a necessity for Polaroid to revamp their product and also to ‘get with the times’ in terms of the digital conversion.  However using a woman who is supposedly a musician but in reality is just a highly polished manikin shaped on the concepts of other people’s ideas doesn’t sit well with me and I imagine most people who remember Polaroid as a brand that helped to create fun, carefree spur of the moment pictures. The idea that Gaga is now the ‘face’ of Polaroid, to me, sends out completely wrong message to my knowledge she never leaves the house unless she has in a usually ridiculous costume and her performances are constructed down to a T. Surely this is in fact a complete opposite to all the things that an instant snapshot is meant to be. It surely leaves a bitter taste in my mouth but then I would never buy the new camera sunglasses so perhaps the fond memories I hold of Polaroid are a thing of the past like so many seemingly out of date photography mediums and it is I who needs to ‘get with times’.

http://www.bjp-online.com/british-journal-of-photography/news/1648132/impossible-relaunches-polaroid-instant-films-speculations-update 

http://www.nationalpost.com/related/topics/story.html?id=1361555