Ed Ruscha Challenge

Posted on Posted in SS Coursework, Surfaces and Strategies PHO703Leave a comment

In response to this challenge I decided to take myself on a photo walk around my local area of Heaton Moor which is a superb of Stockport/South Manchester. Initially, my intention was to take photographs of local shops which is outside the realm of my project however I was enthusiastic about the small adventure. Having reviewed the days work I felt that there were two possible directions I could go.

Avenue 1: was a collection of photographs of cyclists. I seemed to see many of them on my walk therefore I decided to take a photograph encountered.

Avenue 2: Local shops and public houses. This was more aligned with my intention and was the direction I decided to present for the Ed Ruscha challenge.

Whilst looking at the photographs I felt that I could loosely attach my project theme of football by attaching Manchester phrases related to football clubs Manchester United and Manchester City. I encompassed the binary opposite colours red and blue in order to visualise the two football clubs.

The captions serve to anchor the local nature of this mini project and may alienate those from outside of the local area. This could be interesting as the two giant Manchester football clubs are very much recognised as global brands throughout the world. However this project could be seen as a local response to their presence.

Heaton Moor

I chose to use the Ed Ruscha challenge to develop a brochure for my wedding photography business. Having experimented with InDesign in order to produce my WIPP for the previous module I felt that it would be a refreshing task. In order to produce the document I took influence from a football zine that I had found called Glory Mag.

I felt the minimalistic theme and clean white pages were a good starting point and not too ambitious. I found the positioning of text somewhat difficult at times and sought the opinion of graphic designer friends to ensure that I am not breaking any golden rules with typography.

Some of the pages are simple while some of the images are placed in unconventional places, this may represent my wedding photography brand as slightly alternative and driven by a documentary style as opposed to the conventional stereotype. 

https://indd.adobe.com/view/53dab647-be78-47ab-9ec4-000293af8e24

Summary of Progress

Posted on Posted in UncategorizedLeave a comment

My research project is about the realm of non-commercialised football based around the North West region of England.

I have attended football matches with the intention of photographing the people, places and objects that surround the game.  

The volunteers and the environments that allow the game to take place.

I see my project as a type of activism, however in search of a more powerful element to my work I am cultivating an idea around former players with a theme of mental health.

People who chased the dream to be a football player, but what happens when the dream is gone? This may not emerge as a central theme to my work however it may provide an interesting direction going forward while social distancing measures are in place.

Surfaces and Strategies PHO703

Posted on Posted in Surfaces and Strategies PHO703Leave a comment

In considering my own prctice and the idea of ‘stepping in someone else’s shoes’. I have moved beyond the enlightening stage where I am amazed by the work and approaches of others. Moving towards contemplation of how to develop and mature my approaches. It took what seems an age to reflect upon the last mudule (Informing Contexts). I think this is no doubt because of the huge undertaking it was.

The philosophical approaches to my work have changed and I am begining to observe opportunities more frequently. Looking at smaller objects and compositions. Seperating the colour of an object from the composition. In engaging with these techniques I feel that i am beginning to develop a ratanal for looking in a more sophisticated manner.

 
Throughout the break have have begun to research the work of Alex Webb, William Egglesden and Stephen Shore. Building on my previous interest in the likes of Todd Hido and Alec Soth. I am interested colour photography which seeks the semiotic union of objects, subjects and environments. As a result, I intend to be much more careful in my approach to firing the shutter. Considering arrangements and compositons in the hope of producing images poetic in their nature. Colour will be a totally seperate area for contenplation.

The difficulty in the future development of my project will be to fuse these ideas together to create some type of union.  


Informing contexts did for me, exactly what it says on the tin. Testing the limits of my ability to interpret the varying philosophical debates which surround the ethics attached to a photograph. I will add further weight to my research into photographers and build a critical understanding of them. Applying relevant themes to my own approach. Looking back at my former practice I realise that much of my work is one dimensional banal. The subject matters have not been banal but I feel that my approach to them was. I will attempt to address this throughout this module. 

Reflecting on Future Direction

Posted on Posted in Informing Contexts PHO702Leave a comment

Looking for Eric (2009) is a film that struck me as a type of narrative that may be relevant to my project. Within the film Loach explores the idea of male identity crisis. Eric, a postman from Manchester is a character struggling with the burden of debt and a single parent. His idle “Eric Cantona’ then emerges as an imaginary friend who begins to mentor him in his darkest moments. Through Cantona, Eric is able to address his problems in addition to realising his worth through a sense of community.

The journey of the film may be representative of a narrative similar to my own project. I have recently been exploring the work of Alec Soth, specifically the project Niagara. The work of Soth doesn’t really follow the mainstream narrative in the same way that ‘Looking for Eric’ does however i feel there are relevant comparisons in the representation of identity and the philosophical issues that many face. In the case of Niagara, it is the idea of flawed love in a place that sells happiness as opposed to Looking for Eric that explores male identity crisis through football and community.

Going forward, the love letters in the work of Soth in some cases juxtapose the representations within the photographs also providing a voice to the work which is powerful and angry. Going forward, i will begin to identify objects which potentially provide a voice to my own work. I need seek personal voices of a personal nature which humanise the hyperrealities that I create. Adding personalities and emotions which may serve to add an extra dimension to the work that I create. This may come from cultivating relationships with people to get to honest stories to move audiences further.

Engaging with Audiences

Posted on Posted in Informing Contexts PHO702Leave a comment

At the start of the MA I made the decision to create an Instagram account to document my progress and engage with potential audiences. At this stage the account has a clear identity and has been extremely useful in developing an understanding of my audience. As a result I see the potential of my work being disseminated in specific football magazines such as ‘When Saturday Comes’ and ‘Mundial’ who publish their work as both a physical magazine in addition to an online offering. Furthermore, I cultivated an awareness of the ‘zine’. At present my understanding is that a zine is something between a magazine and a fanzine. I was fascinated by this term and further research revealed a number of publications across Europe, some of which were engaging with my content via the mechanism of ‘likes’. Although I am suspicious of the nature of this, I was heartened by the idea that these people are aware of my work and have decided to follow my progress. I currently see this as an opportunity to potentially make connections with a broader community and eventually lead to my work being exhibited in such publications.

In an alternative respect, the platform also provides the opportunity to engage with individuals outside the professional context which is pleasing as this audience is possibly not likely to attend a gallery. In the medium term as my understanding of a potential audience for an exhibition I will focus my attention into motivating them to come and see my work in a physical sense.

Publications identified:
When Saturday Comes
Glory Magazine
Mundial Magazine
Caricom
Season Zine
OOF
Gaffer

The Culture Division
Club Cana
Soccer Bible
Football Campagne
Art of Football
Where is Football
Copa 90
Soccer Girls Problems Podcast

Back Garden Museum

Posted on Posted in Informing Contexts PHO702Leave a comment

As stated in the earlier post, in acting on the response to the feedback I received I enlisted the help of my family in order to curate our own football museum. We collected as many objects as we could find and the children arranged the objects in that garden. Although a light hearted and fun activity for all to do whilst on lockdown. This was extremely useful and is surmised by Fraser when he refers to being confronted by a ‘physical expression of his unconscious mind’. Most of the objects seen in the gallery can be seen within our home and it was useful to be confronted by these objects outside their usually invisible home. Going forward, some of these objects have new homes, some back in their old home. The next useful task will be a metaphorical game of hide and seek to identify these objects again.

Reflection on Feedback and Response

Posted on Posted in Informing Contexts PHO702Leave a comment

The mock presentation proved a difficult but useful task in that I felt that I had worked very hard and very fast throughout the weeks whilst considering some challenging philosophical debates. Therefore, the task was really a case of categorising my thoughts and ideas whilst demonstrating what I have learned about myself as a photographer. In terms of the feedback that I received, I felt that it was useful with the most pertinent observations surrounding the engagement with other photographers. I found this useful and served to confirm the impact of insecurities I have regarding the considering of my peers work with sophistication. I understand that I may be overcritical of myself and i am currently unsure whether this is due to a lack of ability or a lack of confidence.

When looking back at the unit as a whole i feel that I have developed my academic thinking and critical analysis significantly skills significantly. As I have learned about myself, I understand that I need time to reflect on new ideas and really think about them before I respond in both an intrinsic and an extrinsic manner. Hence the reason this reflection is over a week after I attended the webinar where I discussed my work.

In terms of the written feedback I received on the forum, It was suggested that my work was about identity which I whole heartedly agree however, this challenged me to consider further how I would take my project beyond identities. At the time of composing my presentation I was reading and making links between my work and poetry. This took a significant amount of interpretation and I am in the process of composing my portfolio as poem.

I received further feedback that had some similarities with the feedback I received from the conclusion of the positions and practice unit which referred to the development and direction of my project. it was suggested that I engage with making photographs of object in further depth as a particular image was discussed and highlighted a number of times between the written and oral feedback. This observation was also given more relevance due to the impending isolation period we were due to encounter.

Upon considering the feedback I had received in addition to Peter Fraser video, I begun to think about how I could respond whilst thinking about how I would disseminate my work. Fraser makes reference to the importance of ‘small thinks’ and their importance to what we see in the world around us. This was extremely relevant to my project at this stage therefore I decided to enlist the help of my step children. I asked them to gather as many objects as they could about their football life as they could and curate their own exhibition in the back garden. This provided a plethora of objects which I could photograph. What started as a small idea by the end had turned into a rather large task ultimately costing me £10. However It was a very useful exercise in identifying the large numbers of objects I was past everyday.

The process and identification of these objects within a different context was immensely helpful in enabling me to consider a different approach to the act of looking and the act of seeing.

Critical Review Intent

Posted on Posted in Informing Contexts PHO702Leave a comment

It is my intent to create a body of work which makes a statement about a football and culture we do not see within the mass media where we are actively sold objects and lifestyles ready to consume in order to present our future selves to the world as successful. My work will illustrate ‘the experience’ of the game in different places encompassing the key themes of people, places and objects.

To date, I have produced a portfolio that encompasses people who are emotionally invested in the game taking a sense of identity from it, while others impose their ideologies to produce an evolving message of ‘football culture’. Objects and environments that hint at a participatory culture and create a sense of identity, they are well used but in some cases unloved and invisible. Raising questions about the stories that may precede them. Such an approach represented by Borge (2012) who argues.

“Maybe activist photography begins at the point that a photographer thinks beyond the photograph, or when the photograph is not the end, rather a means to a solution even if the solution is nebulous.”

Although the contextual framing of Borge is relevant. This project is not an attack on the high profile game. It is a poetic response of tradition and shifting ideologies of the place community football has in the 21st century. 

At the early stages of this project the expectation was the discovery of traditional football clubs with local spectators and volunteers, in some cases this was accurate however I discovered a progressive football club with a non partisan ethos and chant about not eating meat. The club was a meeting place for like minded people determined to do something different. At present, the photographs that have been made allude to a ‘nebulous solution’ with inclusion, tolerance and community via the spectacle of a football match being the messages beyond the photographs. 

Borge, M (2012)Photography as Activism,Images for Social Change.London, Focal Press.