Critical reflection

For my final project I wanted to explore the idea of the politics of self. My idea was to employ masks to act as a form of metaphor for the ‘front’ that we put up, like a mask, to both disguise and project our identity to others. My original idea was to provide my subjects

Planning and Preparation

For this assignment, I have taken my Tutor’s suggestion of recruiting volunteers to be my subjects from beyond my friends and family. I am involved with a student group that meets by internet video link once a month and I put out a request for my fellow students to take part. This is my original

The Cruel Radiance

The Cruel Radiance, 2012, Susie Linfield, Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. ISBN: 978-0-226-48251-4. This is a very interesting book and I found it to be a good read. Linfield writes in defence of photography against what she describes as a popular and institutional attack on the medium by critics and even other photographers. She

Assignment 5 – Written Report

Overall Comments A useful start based on decent preparatory research. Feedback on assignment Demonstration of technical and Visual Skills, Quality of Outcome, Demonstration of Creativity Notes on, and in addition to, video tutorial [my notes in italics] You have recommended that I research Ralph Eugene Meatyard and Gillian Wearing as to what their original intentions

Assignment 5: Self Directed Project. (Work in Progress)

The Politics of Self & Other My idea for a theme is a critical look at how we regard ourselves and others from a political angle. I want to explore ideas of ‘self and other based upon a form of political ideology and to be more specific consider how portraits are viewed from the angles

Summary for Part 4, Essay.

For part four, I have chosen for my essay the topic: ‘From case studies, can single images ever fairly represent others or self?’ Assignment 4 Planing and Preparation for assignment. In my research for my fourth assignment, I came across an essay by Jo Spence that was published in, Spare Rib, March, 1978. In this

Assignment 4 – Essay

Other Than You. By Shaun Mullins (512659) Assignment 4, PH5SAO – The Self and The Other. Word count without quotations and footnotes: 2563.  Including quotations and footnotes Total: 3931. Sources: Barthes, 2000; 1977; Kelly, Self Image, Personal is Political, 1979; Kuhn, Remembrance, The child I never was, 1991; Ritchin, 2010; Spence, Facing Up To Myself,

Photography and Belief by David Lee Strauss

Photography and Belief (1991) by David Lee Strauss In David Levi Strauss’ essay, Photography and Belief, Strauss looks at how photography is facing new challenges as a result of new digital imaging technology and how this technology is throwing into question the future integrity of photography. Photography as mechanical reproduction almost immediately altered the aura

Summary for Part 3, “Look at Me!” – The Representation of Self.

In section 3, “Look at Me!”, I studied the subject of ‘self’ and how it has and is used and interpreted in the portrait. I learned that the idea of the ‘selfie’ goes back beyond photography. Originally the early selfies where exclusively for the rich and powerful to express wealth and more importantly, power, examples

Porträt 1986-1991

Porträt (P. Lappat), 1987 by Thomas Ruff. Porträt (M. Roeser), 1999 by Thomas Ruff. Porträt (A. Kachold), 1987 by Thomas Ruff Ruff’s project Porträt 1986-1991 is a collection of photographs made like passport I.D. photos, only Ruff used a large format camera and printed the photographs size 1600 x 1205 mm at a printing quality for