Revised Project Proposal

BA (Hons) Photography

Research Project Proposal

Ben Stokes

·       Keywords: Praise, Craftsmanship, Talent, Natural, Grime, Real Life, Effective, Affective, Influence, Exhibition, Industry, Passion, Positive, Motivation, Appreciate, Emotion, Impact, Dead Pan, Minimal, Contrast, Great, Work, Life, Previous, Skill, Strength, Pride, Relationship, Document, Show, Insight, Reality, Aesthetic.

·       Overview/ Topics Of Interest: Throughout my time at university so far and especially during the last few months, my style has really progressed and has started to define itself naturally. My interest in the praise of past industrial techniques and industries has started to become the main focus within my broad photographic interests. Through my personal work I have been able to produce a strong impacting body of work surrounding this theme and through focus during university assignments I have been able to develop this idea. I now intend to further develop this idea into something of more detail, this project will be one that I will continue to develop further into my career.

·       Title: I believe that giving my work a title so early on would be inappropriate, I would prefer to start producing my body of work first and then the working title will occur naturally during the process.

Some previous similar bodies of work have been called to following:

1.     August Sander- Citizens Of The Twentieth Century

2.     Lewis Hine- Men At Work

·       Introduction/ Research Question:

Having worked on and off in the metalwork industry for over 5 years, I have seen the craftsmanship and skill of talented individuals which is sadly declining within this ever industrializing world that we live in. This is what has sparked my interest in photographing such subjects, and the praise of the craftsmen who are still utilizing these age-old techniques. I intend to create a set of portraits of a variety of talented engineers who are still utilizing these techniques and processes involved in the metal working industry in order to praise them for the work they are so passionate about. I want to really show the hardship and talent that these individuals possess in order to praise their work, instead of copy the work of other similar practitioners who choose to simply document the decline of the industry as it becomes taken over by machines. After research into suitable metalwork businesses I will focus upon a number of small businesses around the UK who still utilize the techniques previously talked about.

·       Aims & Objectives:

1.     To read further into documentary photography as a whole as well as finding more specific areas/ photographers of interest.

2.     To start to build a rapport with the subjects I choose to photograph.

3.     To visit relevant exhibitions in order to gather a first hand feel of previous work, as the photographer wants them to be seen/ envisaged.

4.     To discover how deadpan photography had totally changed the documentation of a subject.

5.     To collate contextual research and ideas with visual experimentation.

6.     To continue defining my photographic style.

7.     To create a body of work which encompasses the skills and style that I have developed during my studies.

8.     To develop relevant research areas which critically influences my development.

9.     To explore different presentations of the final outcome.

10.  To produce a final outcome that showcases my initial idea whilst also showing how my idea has progressed.

Rationale: Research will be key for this project; the research that I undertake at the beginning will start to influence my practical work as it progresses. I am interested in researching such things as the modernist photographers from the 20^th century and also some of the suitable photographers who came out of the Dusseldorf School, in terms of aesthetics and style.

I would like to research into other photographers who have documented the decline of a given thing whilst still praising their subject. This will give me a great insight into what work has been produced and how other photographers have gone about it. My research will primarily be looking into documentary portrait photographers, however having said this I am interested in gathering an in depth and broad understanding of other photographers views in different styles/ genres which would in turn influence my own work. The initial research will consist of reading suitable books and published articles as well as calling upon previous research into this topic from personal work and research within other assignments. I will also use my memory of exhibitions and artist talks that I have visited/ attended. The research will be on going and will continue to develop and influence my work throughout. The way that I will research is to read relevant theorist books, photographer’s books, online journals, printed journals and any other useful forms of information. 

From the outset and throughout the project, I will start to photograph, I find this the most efficient way of coming up with the best possible final outcome. Photographing straight away is the best way for me to naturally begin experimenting with my practical work. I intend to take a vast amount of images in order to give me the possibility to edit down and choose the most suitable subjects and photographs.

After my initial practical work, I will then undertake further research into areas that may arise during the practical element. The further research will be more in depth, leading on from other photographers/ artist research and looking into theorists such as Roland Barthes (Camera Lucida) and John Berger (Ways Of Seeing) which will then lead me onto producing more considered images which purvey my idea more uniquely and precise.

I hope to achieve a greater understanding of how others have praised a given subject through the photographic medium as well as gaining further knowledge into the metalwork industry and the way that it is changing in this technical world. I want to create an impacting and memorable set of images, which puts across my feelings and emotional connection for the subject matter. Throughout the project I will keep an online blog/ reflective journal to put across my thought processes and development work.

·       Previous Research: In previous projects, I have researched into such photographers such as August Sander and Lewis Hine whose work is based around similar subjects as my own. I will continue to research throughout this module and that will enable me to find more writings which would be suitable for my progression.

August Sander- Sander produced a piece of work named “Citizens Of The Twentieth Century”, this was an ongoing project into the typology of man at that time, this was a systematic attempt to categorize and portray the people of that time. One particular photograph that interests me was of three young farmers who Sander had photographed on their way to a dance. The photograph, being one of Sanders most well known photographs has the emotional connection between the photographer and the subject, similar to that of my own work. August Sander grew up around farms and farmers, I believe that it was his upbringing that created this sympathetic and emotional connection between the farmers. My own practice is similar to Sanders because of the fact that I have worked in the metalwork industry for several years and have become appreciative of the work that is being done in the forges.

Lewis Hine- Hine produced a set of work/ book named “Men At Work” which documented the praise of “men of courage, skill, daring and imagination” where he tried to show the heroism and skills of engineers, miners and other manual industries.

I recently visited Lewis Hines exhibition in New York, this gave me great passion and enthusiasm for my own assignment. This was a great experience and has made me very enthusiastic and excited to start this project.

·       Data Collection & Analysis: I think that this particular assignment would not be suitable for the collection of data/ questionnaires from outside parties. Having said this, it is hard to say this so early into the project; I might find that I would benefit from this data further into the future.

·       Qualifications & Restrictions: The only restrictions that I can think about are the access to metalwork workshops other than that which I have previously been allowed access into. The matter of access into other forges is of great importance to me, I would like to photograph the engineers of other forges in order to create a broader set of photographs. I will research other metal working forges are around the UK and see if they would be suitable for the project, I will then contact the forges directly to discuss my work.

·       Specialist Needs: In terms of equipment, I will be using a Canon 5D Mark II. I will need an external flash also due to the dark workshops where I will be photographing. I will need to also consider safety equipment and training in any workshop in which I have not been trained. I will also be experimenting with a medium format Rolleiflex Automat camera, this camera is great for portrait work and through experimenting and shooting, this may become my primary camera for the project. Saying this, the Canon 5D Mark II gives me the latitude that I need when photographing in such dark conditions. I also need to think about the price of development and scans that come with the medium format camera, it may not be feasible or affordable.

·       References:

-        Brian Griffin

-        Chris Coekin

-        Jonathan Keenan

-        Lee Milne

-        Edward Lawrence Park

-        John Spinks

·       Initial References:

-        Lewis Hine

-        August Sander

-        Ian Beesley

·       Initial Bibliography:

1.     Books:

-        Bright, S (2011). Art Photography Now, Thames and Hudson Ltd.

This book gives a great view of each area of photography as a modern art, it sections off each style within the photographic medium for a great reference to photographers working within this style. The book showcases some of the great photographers such as Thomas Struth, Nan Goldin and Andreas Gursky to name but a few.

-        Jonathan L. Doherty. 2^nd Revised Edition (1977). Lewis W. Hine- Men At Work, US: Dover Publications Inc.

This book gives a brief but concise insight into the work of Lewis Hine, it showcases some of his photographs from the “men at work” series and shows some of his greatest photographs in my eyes. The beautiful silhouettes of workmen with the skyline of New York in the background create a very impacting set of images.

-        Sontag, S (1977). On Photography, Penguin, London.

This book is a brilliant critique of photography which questions every aspect of photography in depth, I particularly like the section on portraiture and documentary due to the relevance for this project.

2.     Journals:

-        The British Journal Of Photography

3.     Websites:

-        The British Journal Of Photography http://www.bjp-online.com/

-        The International Center Of Photography http://www.icp.org/museum/exhibitions/lewis-hine

-        Walker Evans BBC Article http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23497137

-        Brian Griffin Telegraph Article http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/photography/8071091/Brian-Griffin.html

4.     Exhibitions:

-        Walker Evans- American Photographs. Museum Of Modern Art (MOMA), New York.

I visited this exhibition in November 2013, I wanted to see first hand the way that Walker Evans himself wanted to put across his work to others. This exhibition and presentation gave me huge enthusiasm and passion to drive my project forward, his work was impacting and beautiful. In this exhibition, I really got to see the huge changes that were happening in America around the time Evans took the photographs. The beautifully crafted dead pan portraits of American people and life with moving contrast to the rundown buildings show the ideas of Evans by proving to the viewer that the basics of documentary photography can make this style into a widely accepted art form.

-        Lewis Hine. The International Center Of Photography (ICP), New York.

I visited this exhibition in November 2013, in New York. The exhibition was a mixture of all Hines major series of work, or at least a carefully selected handful from each series. One particular series of work that was of great interest to me was the series “Men At Work”, an impacting set of photographs that document the courage and skill of the men behind the machines of this ever computerized world. The brave men who you see in his photographs look almost unreal through the eye of Hine, in this set of work he portrays the brave men as heroes in which they deserve to be praised for.

-        Brian Griffin- Work. Victoria & Albert Museum, London.

This exhibition showcases Griffins set of work named “work”, it delves into the praise of workmen, choosing to position them as if they were heroes or knights lying in state. This is a very unique way of praising the workmen, a very interesting and influential figure/ set of work for my project.