We are required to read the commentary from Simon Bainbridge
for the Hereford Photography Festival (HPF), the focus of this article is 5
very diverse examples of contemporary documentary photography. We are asked to
select one of the photographers and write a 200-word reflective commentary.
So in brief about each of the works discussed here:
1. Donald Weber -
Interrogations
If I'm honest, I really struggled
with these images, to me they looked contrived. I accept that this my well be
because of my pre-conditioned idea of what an interrogation looks and feels
like - perhaps too many American police dramas. To me these images were of sad
and lonely people, taken in shabby rooms. A definition of 'interrogate' is to
"ask questions of (someone) closely, aggressively, or formally" and (again
to me) the focus is on the word aggressively; I did not feel any aggression in
the images - even the ones where the gun was being brandished at the
individuals head.
2. Robbie Cooper -
Immersion
I think this is a fantastic
concept for a photography project. Interestingly, these are not photographs as
such but stills created/taken from video clips, nonetheless, I think the images
are wonderful - the obvious and total focus of the children in the game
(digital environment). I find these photographs very engaging and have
revisited them on a number of occasions.
3. Manuel Vasquez -
Traces
The second photographer that has
chosen to create images from a video-type source - surveillance tapes. The
difference with these images being they are a composite of a number of stills
blended together (whereas the RC work is a single frame). There is obvious
skill, vision and image manipulation, required to the develop the final image. The images are very dark (black background) thus focusing the viewers gaze onto the 'action' - I feel this gives the photographs an overly stage-managed feel and detracts somewhat.
4. George Georgiou -
The Shadow of The Great Bear
Selected for my review.
5. Vanessa Winship -
Georgia
Subject matter, unsurprisingly,
is very similar to that of Georgiou. However, Winship actively engages with her
subject and places them front and centre of the images. In terms of presentation,
again this similar to Georgiou in the mixing of portraits and abstract
landscapes, but very different in formality of image - similar in size, single
image and with the exception of her photographs of other peoples work
(paintings and photographs) all shot in B&W. I find her portraits of the land most intriguing,
in her text Winship states "the lush beauty of the land" but her
images portray the opposite.
George Georgiou - The
Shadow of The Great Bear
Georgiou work stands out for a number of reasons, primarily,
the colour of his images. Their overall feel is beige/grey, because of the
location and the concrete background, yet on closer inspection they are full of
subtle and varied colours.
He also presents his images in a very dynamic way: first,
the images are in mini-sequences and as such your eye automatically moves back
and forth taking in and reviewing the information. Second, he varies the number
of images per page and changes the layout from one page to the next; in
addition the images from a sequence carry over pages again requiring more
engagement from the viewer to fully understand and appreciate the work.
Georgiou takes his images from a distance, or at least
without the knowledge or direct engagement of his subjects. I would suggest
that this is the 'purest' form of
documentary photography - a record of the scene with contribution from only the
individuals directly involved.
Regarding the other photographers selected for HPF, each of
those artists had the major influence in how the information was documented. Bearing
in mind objectivity, I don't doubt that Georgiou has selected the best of his
images to create the portfolio, but I believe these images captured life as it actually
happened.
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