The ethics of aesthetics

Exercise 40 -  read the booklet on "Imaging Famine" and do some research across printed and online media and find examples that either illustrate or challenge the issues highlighted in this document.  

One article with a 'starving child' was "Three Famines: Starvation and Politics by Thomas Keneally – review", this is a general discussion re the shocking truth about the most avoidable of disasters. This article was run by the Guardian in September 2011 but the photograph dated back to the famine in Ethiopia in 1985 - interestingly the article does not reference the image directly.

"Self Help Africa works with small holder framers, tackling hunger and poverty through food protection and rural enterprise. Join Us." All the images associated whit this site are very positive - showing effectively what well invested money can deliver/achieve.

International Medical Corp. - the website was last updated (in November 2013) with the following definition of famine from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Reference Table (the standard used by the UN), famine occurs when the first three of the following conditions occur:

• 20 percent of population has fewer than 2,100 kilo calories of food a day
• 30 percent of children are acutely malnourished
• Two deaths per 10,000 people, or four deaths per 10,000 children per day
• Pandemic illness
• Access to less than four litres of water per day
• Large-scale displacement
• Civil strife
• Complete loss of assets and source of income

Regardless of this depression definition the accompanying photograph was one of a smiling (happy) well dressed, well fed teenager (?).

Image accompanying IMC article

There are numerous charity websites related to supporting the development of third world countries, for example, UNICEF, Save The Children, Water Aid - not just specifically 'famine' relief. In fact typing the search "third world charities" into Google returned 15 million results in 0.47 seconds! All of the sites I visited showed very positive images of the people they were helping and whilst the conditions were certainly spartan, the people were portrayed as happy and healthy and capable of self-help. However, these images were serious 'situational' portraits rather than jovial snapshots and focused in terms of delivering the message.

Harrowing images of famine can still be found by typing 'famine' into the Google image search - these images are shocking even after decades of being aware of them, when I look at them I'm shocked that human beings had to live through and even die in these conditions. As Roger Tooth, Picture Editor of the Guardian said: "obviously pictures give a story impact ... regardless of the frequency, we should continue to be shocked by shocking images!" 

As the article Imaging Famine aptly puts it, positive and negative images both serve a purpose "short-term imperative and education as a long-term aim, or short-term emergencies and long-term development". The shock factor of starving children enables a rapid influx of much need money to kick-start the aid effort, whereas the softer "their just like us, but not quite so well off" images ensue the continued drip-feed of income for specific projects, for example, Water Aid - just £2 a mount will help communities build wells and install pumps and taps...... 

Do I believe we are suffering from compassion fatigue? 

I'm not sure, the more I read of Linfield's book the less sure I am. I certainly think we tune-out very quickly, plus I think we are quicker to jump to conclusions and I think this may well be down to the fact that we are bombarded with copious amounts of unfiltered data. I think rather than working harder to apply the appropriate filters, it is easier for us to filter out everything that is not of specific interest to us at any specific time - in other words, we've taken the lazy route out.

Overall, I believe this does everybody a disservice - the image makers; the individuals portrayed and ourselves - rather than make informed decision we make ill-informed assumptions.


Reference articles and images: The Guardian

Compassion fatigue

Exercise 39 - read the articles "Imagining War" by Jonathan Kaplan and "Walk the Line" by Max Houghton and write done your reactions to the authors arguments.

Both authors agree that a line needs to be drawn with regards to the level of 'gore' that should be published in/by the mass media. There is a general acceptance that the gorier the image, the more likely the audience are to focus on the gore and the less likely they are to focus on the story as a whole.

This then leads on to the inevitable question - where is the line? Simply put - how much gore is too much gore?

Examples of gore are provided: the death of Saddam's sons and the death of a mother in front of her baby son (Kenya). Both 'nasty' photographs, but nonetheless published in the broadsheets; the latter being published twice - first in B&W, then in colour.

I believe that the more exposure you have to any particular 'stimulant' the more resistant you become. That said, the vast majority of people do have their own moral compass that guides their actions and ensures as a society we don't return to barbarism. The issue being, as Houghton stated with respect to the photograph of Saddam's sons, "An invisible line had been crossed, but this line was evidently personal to me."

Kaplan also recognises this as an issue referring to this type of image being "used as medical pornography". Directly after he discusses reality surgery as 'huge entertainment'; with the trend to air American obesity programmes on UK television and the development of our own brand of reality show 'Embarrassing bodies', unfortunately, I have to agree with him.

Whilst it's easy enough for any individual to define their own boundaries of behaviour, it's much more difficult for them to live within them purely because of the media saturated environment in which we live. Watch the adverts on television; see a newspaper; click on a website - an image pops out, unfortunately, once that image is inside your head its very difficult to get out!

Taking the 'double-publishing' further... Ignore whether or not the photograph was appropriate to publish in the first place, a significant amount of effort went into the investigation behind the second publication. So, rather than leave a horror story, a tragedy, in limbo (because the journalist at the time could not find any further information), the follow-up becomes a real human-interest piece. No doubt, in part, driven by discussion and queries from the public. Either way, the approach of the second article 'humanises' the atrocities of war, by that I mean, brings the reality of the situation into the lives of everybody at a personal level that they can understand.

Susie Linfield discusses the use of war images in her book "The Cruel Radiance", accepting that we all have a line, once that line has been crossed (there is no going back) so the only way to make it count is to ensure that the horror is used for good (once the image is outside of the war zone - the propaganda zone).

Assignment 4 planning (part 2) - reading list

Topic - ethics and objectivity

Reading list so far...

Azoulay, A. (2008) The Civil Contract of Photography. New York: Zone Books, pp. 1–505

Barthes, R. (1980) Camera Lucida. London, Vintage Books.

Baudrillard, J. (2004) The Gulf War Did Not Take Place. Sydney: Power Publications.

Bolton, R. (1992) The Contest of Meaning: Critical Histories of Photography. MIT Press Ltd. USA

de Duve, T. (1978) Time Exposure and Snapshot: The Photograph as Paradox. in October, vol 5, Summer 1978, p 113 - 135

Krauss, R., (1989) Photography's Discursive Spaces. In: R. Boston, ed. Contest of Meaning: Critical Histories of Photography. Cambridge,MA.: MIT Press, pp. 286-301.

Levi Strauss, D. (2003) Between the Eyes: Essays on Photography and Politics. New York: Aperture.

Linfield, S. (2010) The Cruel Radiance: Photography and Political Violence. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

Richin, F. (2013) Bending the Frame: Photojournalism, Documentary, and the Citizen. New York: Aperture.

Rosler, M. (2004) ‘In, Around, and Afterthoughts (On Documentary Photography)’, in Decoys and Disruptions: Selected Writings, 1975-2001. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, pp. 151–206.

Solomon-Godeau, A. (1994) Photography at the Dock. Minnesota, University of Minnesota Press.

Sontag, S. (2004) Regarding the Pain of Others. Harmondsworth: Penguin.

Tagg, J. (1988) The Burden of Representation. Amherst: The University of Massachusetts Press.

Thanks to the students and lecturers at the OCA for their input into this list.

Intersection of gazes

Exercise 37 - read the article 'The Photograph as an Intersection of Gazes: The example of National Geographic' by Catherine Lutz and Jane Collins.

In what way does the idea of the gaze apply to your photography? What are the implications of this for your practice?

The article states that there are seven (different) types of gaze, namely:

1. The photographers gaze (the act of looking through the view finder)
2. The magazine gaze (the 'view' of the editor, in terms of selecting or rejecting from a portfolio of images, then further physical manipulation by means of cropping the images or implied relationships between images due to placement within the article)
3. The readers gaze
4. The non-Westerners subjects gaze 
5. The explicit looking done by Westerners who are framed together with the locals (subjects) in the picture
6. The gaze returned or refracted by the mirrors or cameras (that are shown) in the hands of locals
7. The academics gaze (our own gaze).

This article was written in 1991 and took the National Geographic magazine as its particular reference. Times have moved on and views have changed, however, I would speculate that all seven views still apply to and influence photography and photographic practise - not in the way they did, but in a way that fits within our world view currently. 

1. I am a photographer and I have a 'view', this view may be directed by me in terms of a personal project or directed by a company in terms of a specific brief; but the result is still my view - my take - on a given set of circumstances. With regards to a specific brief, I also accept that my view today could be very different to my view tomorrow - I am a product of my life experiences and will continue to have new experiences and therefore evolve. I would expect this evolution to be reflected in how I view the world and also in the images I produce.

2. I have no doubt the role of the editor has become more challenging, especially today in the saturated digital arena of mass media; nonetheless the function of the role remains the same - to sell magazines. A fundamental change here being the fact that 'the media' not only scrutinise the newsworthy events and celebrities, they also scrutinise each other.

3. Our world is getting smaller and we have the Internet at our fingertips; it is hardly surprising that our readers are more demanding in terms of immediate access to information; are generally less inclined to believe what they see (or hear) without the requisite proof; at the same time as becoming very fickle in where they get their information. That is not necessarily to say that the reader is any more educated, only that they are generally more aware of their surroundings because of the collective nature of their communication - we are The Borg, you will be assimilated, resistance is futile! (from Star Trek)

4. The gaze of the subject - and we may not want to limit this to 'non-Westerner' - is as troublesome today as it was in 1991. Nat-Geo was originally looking at 3rd world and emerging cultures - anything that was new and original; there is less new and original today because of television, the Internet and the tourist industry. Historically, like it or not, there was a style and a hierarchy to the image and the composition of the image and looking back through these images this cultural discrimination can clearly be observed. I believe, today that the image code is none-existent, the use of the images taken is less controlled and more manipulated for the benefit of the 'story' and the 'gaze' of the individual rarely considered. 

5. In this instance I would suggest swap 'Westerners' with 'tourists' and the situation is similar. In this type of image I (would like to) think there is less racial discrimination and more genuine interest in the difference in the cultures and the image taken as purely an aide memoire to a great holiday experience! I would concur that the tourist does not seek a relationship with the 'native', but at the same time is happy to accept them as an individual with an interesting and different ethnicity. 

6. Of the seven gazes identified in this article, I believe this is the least relevant in today's society - in this modern era of social networking and camera phones, there is a global obsession with 'selfies'! In the past people may well have been self-unaware and camera shy, today it is basically unacceptable not to take your photograph and communicate your activity with your friends and followers - no matter how inappropriate the situation.

7. I suspect this is the one gaze that has not changed - no matter how much society changes; academics will always be there to analyse and speculate... 

Taken slightly out of context from the article, but fitting nonetheless regardless of which gaze applies and how they intersect:

"It would seem to be fact that the seductiveness of pictures both captures and instructs us."

Gaze and control

Exercise 36 - read the article 'On Foucault: Disciplinary Power and Photography' by David Green (The Camera Works Essays, 2005) and summarise the key points.

Green's article goes a long way to breaking down and explaining Foucault's writing in layman terms. He starts by stating by defining the two central interconnecting themes:

1. The development of certain forms of rationality which posit man as both the subject and object of knowledge
2. The complex relations bonding power and knowledge which are implied to such forms of rationality.

He then walks us through the development of man's developing understanding of himself as an individual and as an integral part of the individual society in which he lives, thus leading to and furthering his understanding of the existence of other and different 'societies'.  

The salient points to this development of understanding being:

• Knowledge is indeed power, but only if (1) 'man' is able to convert his understanding into knowledge (knowing something is in itself not knowledge) and (2) 'man' is able to wield that knowledge as power.

• The term 'power' in the statement above (at the time of Foucault writing his book) was not what we consider 'power' to be today wholly negative - it was also considered to be a positive enabler, an understanding that enabled the society to move forward progressively.

• Knowledge is also truth - truth here being a set of rules or politics that enable a particular society to behave in a way that is acceptable to those wielding the power.  The odd think about truth is it is only the truth because we all say it is the truth! Nonetheless, knowledge does enable a truth to be developed and at the change or power, a new 'improved' truth to evolve. 

• The key to knowledge is understanding the good and bad influences in society and then to harness both 'sides' of power constructively - positive power to aid social development and negative power (or domination) to subjugate the disruptive elements.

• Continued gathering of information, led to 'benchmarking norms' and a greater understanding of what power meant to an individual and how that power worked. This in turn led to a more tolerant approach to the application of negative power - rather than domination and physical retribution, society moved towards reform through training and education.

• Identification of 'norms' enabled the exclusion of individuals outside those norms. This led to the reforming of those individuals so that they could fit within the norms and could be useful within society. 

• The ethos was very much about optimisation of society - if a society was to be efficient and effective then everybody associated with that society needed to perform optimally. As well as physical attributes, various other categories (norms) of research were investigated (mapped): physical health, mental well-being; right person, right job; work ethics; moral stability. 

How does this relate to photography? 

Without discussing the existence or not of specific body markers that relate to behaviours, the majority of the information gathered (re above) was via close observational study. Similarly a significant amount of the data gathered today, regarding antisocial behaviour, is gathered via CCTV. Regardless of this and all of the historic data, the fact remains that photography is an unreliable mechanism for pre-determining behaviour. It is also unreliable in determining how power 'works'; power is pervasive at all levels in our society, but only pertinent locally and often transient within a specific group of people during a specific situation. Thus if power only exists locally, as and when it's required, it can only be challenged locally at the time of its existence. 

Therefore, photography cannot be a strategy for opposition even though it can/could be used to further inform decisions globally. To effect change and effectively use information gathered, any strategy and methodology must be able to influence at a global level - at the same time - as being applied locally. 

Assignment 4 planning (part 1) - options

PART 1 - Write a 2,000 word critical essay on one of the many debates you've explored so far in this course. 

The aim of the critical review is to demonstrate your awareness and understanding of how your own and other photographers' work and ideas relate to the wider cultural picture. 

This is an opportunity to:

• Explore in depth a topic or theme that has informed your journey throughout this course

• Engage with some of the theoretical issues explored in the course

• Demonstrate that you've developed academically.

PART 2 - Write a 250 word proposal for a project with enough scope for you to work on it while you study part four and five.


Initial thoughts for part 1:
Thought 1:
The transparency of pictures by Kendall L Walton, this article still irritates me. Feedback from my tutor (some time ago) mentioned about our changing attitudes towards subjects as we developed on our journey through the course - I guess in this particular stretch of the journey I haven't developed very far.... Nonetheless, Walton did enable me to take a strong viewpoint on a subject (that until that point) I had no previous knowledge about. In terms of additional reading, Walton also irritated me enough to read more about Bazin and Barthes - this would have happened as part of this course, but it enabled me to be a step ahead by the time the exercises arrived.

I also wonder if my newly acquired understanding of people like Sontag and Foucault may be rooted in my irritation of Walton? Perhaps this even extends to my acceptance and use of the "language" to communicate my thoughts in my blog?


Thought 2:
The responsibility (moral obligation) of the photographer; yes or no to image manipulation; the camera never lies; ... the list is endless! This should be a relatively simple subject to put to bed, but the debate rages on and on. Basically we all have a moral compass and we all know right from wrong, its just my wrong might be a little further down the wrong path than yours. The first time we break a rule we wait in trepidation for the sky to cave in; when this doesn't happen the next we break the rule it becomes easier until it becomes normal practise. With photography, this does not just apply to the photographer, but also to all the other people in the chain until we get to the final 'published' format of the image - so a minor tweak by each person may well result in a grossly altered image.

To compound the matter further, there are no clear guidelines as to what constitutes acceptable manipulation. Let us take sharpening as an example.

Basically we all sharpen images, unless of course we're in fashion or portraiture - then we soften images. Is this just harmless 'tweaking'? How can it be harmless tweaking if it sells millions of copies of fashion magazines? I suppose the concern here is, what happens if we sharpen the celebrity images? In this day and age it's likely to sell even more magazines!
In our media saturated environment, soft has lots of additional meanings such as sensitive, feminine, relaxed and romantic; whereas sharp means edgy, dynamic, aggressive and even dangerous. So this harmless tweak, not only changes the look of the image but also changes the atmosphere and therefore the narrative of the image.

Add to this another standard form of manipulation - straightening (horizons and verticals) - and you have all the makings of a real cinematic photo-shoot. Look at the way Hitchcock uses jarring angles to create tension and suspense! Think back to TAOP and the importance of perfectly flat horizons so it didn't feel like your image was going to slide off the page - the entire point of these frustrating pieces of tutor feedback was to ensure you engaged with your audience rather than making them feel sick!

Thought 3: 
Internalising thought 2 - photographic objectivity. If we ignore the deliberate manipulation of the image via the dark room or with software and look at the subjective (or subconscious) manipulation of the image before and as we take it! As with thought 2, add to this the subjectivity of the others in the production chain and then relate this back to Bazin "for the first time an image of the world is formed automatically, without the creative intervention of man."

But did Bazin go far enough? Let us add further to this layering of subjectivity - the viewer is not an innocent party in this scenario. We will assume for the purposes of discussion, that all parties involved in the 'publication' are attempting to work objectively towards a common goal. The viewer on the other hand can come to this work tangentially and take it wholly out of context! This brings me back to the very first exercise of this course and Miranda Gavin's concerns as to how we manage "the impact on the relationships between the photograph and the audience in this new age of digital technology". This undoubtedly remains a fair question, eight months later I find myself asking - have we ever successfully managed this relationship, did we really manage the relationship when it was just a black and white picture in a newspaper?


Initial thoughts for part 2:
Nothing distilled enough to write about currently...


References: 
Bazin, A (~1945) ‘The Ontology of the Photographic Image’ OCA download

Assignment 3 planning (part 3)

Update...

A draft of my assignment 'book' was submitted to my tutor - the feedback was positive and encouraging.

Following through with the concept of a paired-pages: Primary pair - information (narrative) LHS and main image RHS; followed by Secondary pair - linking images to move the viewer from one 'section' to the next.

Below are a number of screen shots for the book as it was being developed - some the are pages are completed, similarly the sequencing is incorrect.

Completed 'Primary pair'

Incomplete 'Secondary pair' for milking parlour

Completed 'Secondary pair' for milk intake

Completed 'Primary pair' for process

Completed 'Secondary pair' for trollies

Incomplete 'Primary pair' for store - information missing

Completed 'Secondary pair' for store

Specific feedback from my tutor:

1.  With regards layout - some pages could be improved by not varying the size of the images
2. Showing sequences e.g. buying in a supermarket, is a really good idea for the shoot though
3. Think about how the subject matter of the image is constraining the type of image.

Thoughts:

There is no doubt that mixed sized images are jarring when you look through the pages - originally my images where the same size and I felt they looked a bit static, but at that point I hadn't printed the document. Viewing the printed document, it's almost as though your eye 'stumbles' over the images when they are different sizes. 

The sequences in the linking pages do what they are designed to do, flow from one section of the narrative to the next.

The subject matter is certainly contraining the type of image I am taking for this project - my initial thought on this was "shouldn't that be the case?" However, if I substitute typical for constrain, then yes I'm taking typical (stereotypical) images - so, time for a fresh look...