#journal tasks

For our seminar on globalisation i found some positives and negatives to my work as an individual, along side my work within a team.  There were also flaws within my work, and the seminar its self, i will go through both positives and negatives. Our seminar itself was full of interesting case studies that analysed our topic of migration, with each person within the group  giving relevant information with contextual artists and photographers.

To start we began with a conceptual art piece, where an artist spilt a 'green line' of paint to show what borders mean to him. He also explains that borders shouldn't restrict how you see the world. My own interpretation is that he is saying to us that we should travel to make our own opinions and not be spoon fed other peoples ideas of the world. Although this work was very effective in demonstrating the concept of borders, the way it was presented was poor and little effort was put in by my team mate in fully grasping his work.

Secondly we looked at how globalisation has allowed the movement of images and exhibition to reach people who may have never have been given the opportunity to see the work in another country. This was very effective in showing how globalisation is effecting the work of photographers/artists. For example withe invention with the internet everyone in the world can be connected. Therefore allowing work to travel the length of the world in seconds. although this showed the connection between globalisation and photography it didn't connect to our topic or migration.

Next up was the work on A million shillings the book. Looking at the current refugee crisis happening in Northern Africa. Not only looking at how this work covers the actual struggle of what these people go through, but comparing the images within the book to those within magazines and newspapers. `this showed hoe media coverage is not able to show the full truth of what is going on when people travel across the world to escape the danger of home.  Negative aspect to this work was there was little explanation to why the magazines don't show the type of graphic image found within this photography book.

My part of the seminar was next, this was where i looked into the post ww2 migrants from colonial countries. This topic was aimed at looking at past events of migration, as well looking how this mass migration has changes the UK for the better, by diversifying our qualities as a nation. i would say a floor to my work was that i only looked into one culture that moved to the uk, so therefore only looked at one aspect of this mass migration of the UK.

Census from 2011, research on the diversity of the UK. This article summarises the main points found within the census. I have used this census to gain a greater understanding about migration and who it has effected the UK.

The 2011 Census showed that almost half (46%, 3.4 million) of the foreign-born population identified with a White ethnic group, a third identified as Asian/Asian British (33%, 2.4 million) and 13% (992,000) identified with Black/African/Caribbean/Black British.

More than 1 in 8 foreign-born residents (13%, 949,000) classified themselves as White British.

The largest group who identified as White British were German born (57%, 155,000) and over

half (56%) of them arrived before 1981. One likely reason is due to British military personnel being stationed in Germany. The next largest group identifying as White British were from South Africa (85,000).

A quarter of the foreign-born population identified as Other White (28%, 2.1 million) and the largest group were from Poland (528,000). Over 9 in 10 Polish born residents identified with Other White and the majority (94%, 496,000) arrived between 2001 and 2011, with Poland’s accession into the European Union in 2004.

The majority of South African born residents identified as White (84%) and over two fifths identified as White British (44%). Most of those identifying with White British (68%) arrived before 2001.

A broad range of ethnic groups was found with Iraqi and Iranian born residents. For Iraq, most common was Arab (39%), Any Other ethnic group (28%) and Asian (17%). For Iran, most common was Asian/Asian British (38%), Any Other ethnic group (34%) and Other White (13%).

High proportions of residents who were Kenyan, Tanzanian and Ugandan born identified as Asian (69%, 68% and 58% respectively).

Paul Gilroy- black Britain (2007)

through further research ,on the post ww2 migration of the colonial Caribbean populous to the UK, i have begun to understand the struggle in which the men women and children went through. However i have also seen the strength of which was shown, to not only resist racial hate hurled towards them but to react in not a destructive manner but to react positively by protesting and standing up for one another. Although this is just a generalisation as not all migrants were peaceful in their protesting and not all native English people were racist.

Through the work of Paul Gilroy i have been able to glimpse into this time period, as a result am able to gain some understanding of the struggle. However i feel that the image above is a perfect example of the positivity shown by the people in London by excepting of the migrants.

As a group we have decided to focus on the subject matter of migration and how borders can be used as a boundary as a literal wall. We chose migration as it is a highly relevant topic into today’s media, politics and economy. Not only being a hot topic in today’s society, it has been at the forefront of many issues around the globe stretching back centuries. All though we could go back much further in time the furthest that we have chosen to go back too is post ww2 1950’s-1970’s. Simultaneously we have chosen cases more present such as current Syrian refugee crisis in Europe, and how photographers have aimed to capture the lengths in which the refugees go through just to make it into Europe. To accompany our work we have each chosen pieces of work by a photographer/artist who have produced work on this field and their fore have a greater understanding on the subject matter.

exhibition- exhibition- the exhibition showed many piece of art work from feminist artist. From work produced in the seventies till the present. With patterns forming int he feminist movement in the 1970's such as artists using everyday items to make work from, such as tins's. Avant garde art movement that breaks with tradition. due to the vast majority of artists prior to the 1970's ,and during, being male. For example it was around 95% male. This forced the hand of many female artists who turned to video and or photography.  Female photographers often tried to capture the relationship between males and females. To show the disparities equality. With women often being oppressed in certain aspects of life.

When women did get their own shows/exhibitions it was rare to get an all female show, as a result many women within this era were held back from showing artwork. Often the show would be broken up into different sections/domestic chores. Alongside this many male artist implied a sexual narrative when working with a female model. 

During this period some female artists looked into the beauty of the female body. Used as performance art female artists looked at gestures, exaggerated female behaviour and how by dressing up you can become someone else. Sexual liberation in the 60's gender not excluding race as well. The pill was one of the major causes for this liberation as women were empowered with contraception that they could control. This liberation was shown in films, novels and photography. During this period males were becoming attached to beauty. For example cosmetics and fashion became apart of the male interests. 

With this week, reading week I have started to look into which question I shall use for my essay. After,  reading through all the options I have decided upon the question: 'Choose an image (or a single case study, such as a book, with a number of images) and discuss it from the viewpoint of the ethics, aesthetics and/or ontology of photography.' I chose this question because it gives me the opportunity to use what we have learnt within the lectures, use methodologies that we have been taught and therefore fully analyse a series of photographs.

By following the structure of the question my intention is to start by tackling ethics and how different viewpoints can both be correct, However one might be more factual where the other is speculation, One exemplification of this is when a photojournalist photographs a migration of a populous whilst living in poor living conditions. Is this then considered beneficial to whom, does the photographer donate her earnings to a charity or help whoever she photographs by highlighting their struggle. This would as a result help the subjects in the photograph, therefore become ethically correct. On the other hand if the photographer produces a book or hold an exhibition and the work beautifies their struggle, and doesn't show the real story whilst hiding the negative aspects of their struggle in their day to day lives, does this then imply that the photographer is unethical?

Within in this blog post i shall explain why history can be used as a tool to develop your understanding of an image. The the two ways that history can be used is as a field and method. Each way can be used to analyse different aspects of an image while allowing you two ask meaningful questions about the work.

When looking at the work using history as a field there are four parts, for example:

Individual practitioners (their lives and works, who worked with whom, when and where, how and why they did what they did)

Period (what kind of work was created during a specified time period)

Styles ( how styles interacted with each other - what influenced what/whom)

Movemonets (how movements came and went, how they interacted with each other)

Each way that history of photography is investigated allows me, for example, to understand and question how and why an image is the way it is in terms of history and contexts to its surroundings in the time present and previous to the image.

In our lecture we were given example of the questions we could use when analysing an image:

What exactly happened in a period x–y? Why did it happen? How was it possible that it did happen? Why an individual/set of individuals acted in a certain way.

All photographs are produced within a context. A photographer works with materials (camera, computer, prints etc.) within a definite social place and time. These materials and the choices the photographer exercises over them, whether conscious or not (i.e., not ‘thinking about it’) organizes the look of the picture. (Bate, D. 2009, p.16.)

The lecture examined two aspects of the city, the spectacle and the everyday. These two aspects of the city and city life can be analysed by different methodologies, for example globalisation theory and urban theory. Like these two parts of the city it also has traits as if it was alive. One half being the gathering of people allowing for new perceptions of cultural ideas to be found and developed in a faster rate than if the population was dispersed. However it is also where cultural issues thrive and undermine the positive evolution of society.

When photographing the city, it is more likely to have captured the everyday. This is because it is what we see the most, people getting up then going to work or out for the day. Often when this is captured it is of one act of a daily structure. Therefore when this everyday is capture in photography its likely to fall into the category of documentary photography due to it being apart of a series of one place or peoples life. When analysing this many methodologies can be applied to ideas of the everyday. For example psychology can be used to determine why we do our routines on certain ways, why we dress in style and not the same everyday.