Learning Summary for Self and the Other

What did I do? Due to the COVID 19 epidemic, my options were limited for subjects to photograph however, I managed to get some photos of strangers right at the beginning before the full effect of the idea of mask wearing a social distance became to problematic and I turned to my wife and my

We do not see things as they are…

New York City (1974) by Elliott Erwitt Notes & Quotes from, Theory, Articulating Critical Practice Section 1, (2020) Dr. Ariadne Xenou, Barnsley: Open College of the Arts. The French poet and essayist Anaïs Nin posited that “we do not see things as they are; we see them as we are.” Anaïs Nin, The Seduction of the

Sexuality, Documents of Contemporary Art.

Amelia Jones, (ed.) (2014) Sexuality, Documents of Contemporary Art, London: Whitechapel Art Gallery. ISBN: 978-0-85488-224-3. This book is a collection of essays and interviews. Many of the artists are involved in performance art in which they will either perform in front of a live audience or video their work. Much of the discussion is in

Planning and Preparing for Assignment 4

For my essay I chose “Using case studies, discuss whether single images can ever fairly represent others or self? I began by looking through my books for appropriate essays that has explored this subject and I took notes of book titles and page numbers to refer back to in preparation for the essay. From this

Reading Photographs – In Our Own Image, by Fred Ritchin

Peter Kennard and Cat Phillips created the image, titled: Photo Op, in 2005. From Fred Ritchin’s book, In Our Own Image, his essay, Reading Photographs, (Ritchin, 2010) discusses the authenticity of a photograph. He asks, …after all that is happening in computer imaging can one safeguard the integrity of the photograph in its populist role

My Other Half – a critical self-review.

My Other Half – A critical self-review by Shaun Mullins. The objective of this project was to create 6-10 environmental portraits and I chose to produce photographs of my wife in different locations in our home, dressed for and performing the typical activities that I often see her doing.  I wanted to convey the idea

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

Exercise 3.2 – Four Image-Repertoires

Exploring Roland Barthes theory regarding four image-repertoires, (Barthes, 2000, p.13) I have asked my friend (Graham) to pose for me with the intention of presenting himself as, ‘who he thinks he is’, and how he wants to be perceived. Graham asked that I photograph him cleaning his shotgun, as he sees himself as an outdoors

Questioning Identity: Gender, Class, Nation.

Kath Woodward, (ed.) (2000) Questioning Identity: Gender, Class, Nation, London: Routledge. ISBN: 0-415-22288-5. This publication is part a series of books for the study of social science through the Open University, published in 2000 it is probably a little dated now as it pulls from examples no later than the 1990s. However, as a book

Train Your Gaze

Roswell Angier, (2015) Train Your Gaze, (2nd ed.) London; New York: Bloomsbury, ISBN: 978-1-4725-2510-9. Divided into eleven chapters, each chapter ends with an assignment to put into practice the portraiture style that is discussed for that chapter, thus this book provides precisely what its title implies. That is teaching the various theoretical styles that have