Hana Pesut:
Hana Pesut is a Canadian photographer, who explores and photographs the switching of clothes between two individuals, this series of images invites discussion reflection of the gender norms of our society, by questioning whether the individual's look 'wrong' once they have switched clothing. The couple in the image above switch clothes, making the male wear a dress, which is an unusual sight to see and this therefore challenges the audience's perceptions on what's 'right' and 'wrong' for people for different genders to wear, resulting in this image being thought-provoking. The blue background implies there's a calmness about this image, this may suggest that the male is happy to do this, whereas some males would put up a fight and refuse, as this may dent their ego due to them having to wear a dress. Moreover, the male wearing sunglasses may imply he is hiding something, as you cannot see all of his personal identity due to his eyes being covered, this may be due to his embarrassment in having to wear a dress shortly after. I would like to recreate something similar to Pesut in one of my shoots, possibly with my brother and sister, however the two individuals would have to be of a similar size, in order for their clothes to fit on one another.
Tom Hussey:
The above image is photographed by Tom Hussey, and is from the series called 'reflection', this series involves elderly individuals looking in reflective surfaces, and seeing a younger them, usually in their work clothing. This series of images is extremely emotional as the individuals are reflecting on their life, this creates a feeling of nostalgia within the images, as it seems as though the individuals are longing to be back in the past. In the image above the elderly man smiles as he looks back on his younger self, in his soldier's uniform, this creates a sense of pride in the audience, as this man has clearly represented his country at war. It's unknown whether the elderly man has any health issues from being in the army (e.g. the loss of a leg), however it's clear that he has fond memories reguarless of what occurred, as this is shown through his smile on his face. I could recreate this within my work by photographing my nan, and then using the reflection as an image of her younger self, by scanning an old image of my nan onto the computer, this would show how no matter what job we do when we are younger, we still all grow old eventually and end up in the same place. Hussey was originally inspired to create this series by a world war two veteran, who said that he "couldn't believe" he would be "80 soon" when he felt as though he only just "came back from the war." These images almost touch on the issue of Alzheimer's disease as they show how individual' brains can deteriorate, so that all they recognise is their older selves, and those from the past not present.
Mark Laita:
Mark Laita's photograph series which the above image is included in is called 'side by side', this series compares the inequality in America. Laita was born in Detroit, and wanted to compare social inequality within America, by placing individuals who were polar opposites next to each other, this series took eight years to be completed. The above photograph is of two individuals who have evidently been in the army, the individual on the right has lost his legs, whereas the individual on the left is smiling happily with his uniform on. The fact that the individual on the right has no uniform on shows that he may no longer be proud, or happy to wear his uniform as he may have felt as though the army did him wrong, or he may have suffered from post traumatic depression after leaving the army, therefore he wouldn't feel comfortable wearing this. Despite this, the direct contrast is the man on the left whom is happily wearing his uniform whilst puffing out his chest, showing he is proud, this may be due to his personal experience of the army being positive. The elderly man on the right may not have received no help from the army after his incident, whereas the individual on the left may currently still be in the armed services. This direct contrast is extremely interesting as it shows how two people may have chose the same path, but be so dramatically different, even the expressions on the individual's faces tells a story as one is sad whereas the other is grinning widely. I would like to explore social inequalities in Britain within my project, focusing on gender, age and employment also- I will take inspiration from Laita's approach of laying two images side by side, in order to directly show contrast.
Christopher Anderson:
Christopher Anderson was born in Canada, but grew up in Texas.Much of Anderson's early work was from disjointed areas like Iraq and Afghanistan. The above image is a photograph taken of some young boys playing over a hill in Bethlehem in 2007, this image is significant as it challenges ideas about what is a 'playground', due to it being evident that these boys have made housing ruins their own play ground in their neighbourhood. Subsequently, this image explores the way different individual's live, in particular in this photograph- children. The dull colouring in this photograph emits a cynical emotion in the viewer, combing in with the clouded skies which appear to be smothered with smoke, which inevitably leads to questions about the group of boy's health.
Elliott Erwitt:
This photograph was taken by the French born Elliott Erwitt, who was part of the Magnum photographic group. The above image is significant as it shows 'difference', as on the right of the photograph you can see a small dog, whereas to the left of the image it's evident a larger dog stands- although you can only see the larger dogs paws, it's clear that the dog is bigger than the dog on the right. In the middle there's two human feet, this suggests that this may be the owner who is walking both dogs, although the viewer doesn't know this for certain. This difference shown in this image is subtle and not something we would always notice on a daily basis, however when explored like this it's extremely pressing. Additionally, this image leaves the viewer pondering on what the larger dog, or human may look like as you can only see their legs in this image. Erwitt's photograph will influence me with my work when I explore differences in how individual's live as it's taught me even little differences can be dramatised through the median of photography; subsequently it's also taught me not to ignore any differences.
Greg Girad:
Greg Girad is a Canadian photograph, who spends most of his time in Asia photographing social changes within this continent, these social changes are often captured by photographing the people in the cities/ their homes, and through photographing buildings which are often run down in city centres.
This series may be shocking to any individual's from Western cultures which have extremely developed societies/cities- therefore Girad's images allow individual's to learn when viewing his photographs. As well as exploring how cities develop, and society changes these images also explore the different way in which individual's live, which therefore links to my project. I admire the above image as the lady appears to be standing proudly in her house. The house in the image appears to be quite small and cluttered, with a small TV; the small TV may suggest that in Asia TV is not as important as it is in cultures like the UK's, therefore this may result in the viewer questioning their own priorities and beliefs about electronic objects- as these can often take over our lives. The connotation from this image possibly may be that although the subject in the image may not have the largest, or most decorated house, she is still proud of it and most of all happy.
I will take inspiration from Girad's images as they've demonstrated to me how you don't always have to photograph people in order to explore the differences in how people live, as photographing buildings/cities is also a standard way of showing how people live and work.
Margaret Bourke-White:
Margaret Bourke-White was an American documentary photographer and the first American female war photojournalist. The above image is a photograph taken in February 1937, and is an image of the Kentucky flood victims standing in front of a sign stating 'world's highest standard of living'; this irony and satirical humour is created due to the fact the individual's are flood victims, therefore currently they're not experiencing the 'highest standard of living.' The audience viewing this image also now know in hindsight that two years after this image was taken world war two started, which would have again inflicted more pain on the victims when America joined in 1941. This image also links to the idea of the 'American dream', the idea of the American dream is quickly shunted in this image, as it's evident these individual's are in a current bad place, this too links to the sign stating 'there's no way like the American way.' Another interesting factor about this image is the fact that the family on the poster are all white citizens, contrasting all the individual's in the queue who are black, this highlights the racial difficulties at the time many black-Americans would have faced; also, the family on the poster are white, this suggests that this is an American ideal, which again links to racial discrimination that would have existed in the 1930's.
James Cant:
This series of images by James Russell Cant is called 'Haringey', and this series contrasts and challenges societies perceptions by photographing the same youths in two different situations; one situation is where the individual is made to appear innocent, whilst the other makes them appear as though they're more sinister by portraying them to be on CCTV. CCTV is usually linked to crimes, as often police release CCTV footage in order to help capture suspects, therefore by contrasting the image of the child on CCTV with them being made to appear innocent, this contrasts societies perceptions and judgements of young people. The two images challenges the subject's perceived identity, in the right photograph above graffiti can be seen behind the boy, which is associated with anti-social behaviour, this links to the CCTV filter as it suggests this child is in correspondence with such behaviours; whereas in the left image the boy possibly is in a park, as the viewer can see trees, this image is bright and colourful which implies there's a fun element; in direct comparison to the darker and more edgy photograph on the right. The circular shape of the images makes the audience feel as though they may be looking through a key hole at the two boys, almost as though they're spying on them both, this may create an uneasy feeling within the viewer.
August Sander:
August Sander was a German documentary photographer, the above image is from his series called 'people of the 20th century', whereby Sander focused on a cross-section of society during the Weimar Republic, photographing individual's in their working clothes and photographing the city. The above image is of a soldier taken in 1940 during world war two, this image is significant as it shows the individual in his work clothes, however these clothes come with respect as this man was fighting for his country, this image therefore explores the way in which individual's live, as many jobs require employees to wear uniform- however the uniform in the above image earns the person who wears it respect, as they're putting their life on the line for their country. The soldier in this image is holding a small smile, which emulates that he may be proud to wear such a uniform. In addition, the fact the subject is wearing his helmet in this image implies that threats were imminent, and that he was constantly ready to fight.
In contrast, this image also raises the issue of victim or perpetrator, as history tells us today of the horrors Nazi Germany committed, therefore can this soldier be considered a hero, when it's common knowledge of the atrocities the Nazi's committed against minority groups (gypsies/jews...) due to this the viewer's mind is then in conflict of what to think/believe.
Nan Goldin:
Nan Goldin's images are extremely raw and real, they focus on issues such as: desire, addiction, sexuality. Goldin's style of image is know as the snapshot aesthetic which involves off-centrered framing capturing seemingly everyday ,and bland scenarios which was prolific in the 1960's. Goldin was raised in a facade of perfection, with her parents being very closed, therefore Goldin's images contrast her very restricted childhood. Goldin lives a nocturnal life to take her images, as many of the subjects she photographs are dark, or considered a taboo in the 1960's. All of Goldin's images are candid, allowing her to capture very raw an realistic images, by never staging any of her photographs, I will take inspiration from this for my images as I too wish to capture natural emotion. The above image is a perfect example of the snapshot aesthetic style Goldin adopted in her work, the two men are clearly getting dressed into drag ready to go on stage- this would have challenged societies close-minded individual's at the time of this image. The fact that the man is looking straight down the lens of the camera suggests confidence, and a comfort in his identity, as if he was embarrassed or scared to be judged he wouldn't look into the camera with such confidence- this is different to the man whom he is resting his arm on, who has his back to the camera, this may imply he isn't as confident or comfortable yet with his drag as the other man is.
Robert Frank:
Robert Frank emigrated to New York in 1947, whereby he began to create his own interpretations of America. The above image is from Frank's series known as 'The American's' within this series he attempted to focus on the fabrics of the American society. The above image appears to be of an American bus, with individuals seated ready to go to their destination; what's significant about this image is the way in which the individual's from different races are sat, the white citizens are at the front end of the bus, whereas the black citizens are sat at the back of this bus. The seating arrangements in this image highlights the issues of racial discrimination in America in the 1950's, the fact that the black citizens are at the back of the bus suggests that they're hidden out of sight, linking to the saying 'out of sight out of mind.' The two children in the centre of the image are dressed incredibly smart, whereas the two black citizens at the back of the bus don't seem to be dressed as smart, this may imply that the white citizens are more significant than any others, this connotation is extremely alien to people who live in society today as our world is now totally transformed, although discrimination may still exist in some places. The white lady in the image appears to be scorning her face slightly, this suggests she is not happy with the situation she is in. The framing of this image is also effective as the panels between each of the windows are placed an equal distance apart, which makes the whole image more aesthetically pleasing. This image links to my topic as it focuses on the different way in which individual's live side by side from different cultures, this image has inspired me to experiment with taking and comparing various images from different houses of individuals who are of different religions, or cultures.
Dorothea Lange:
Dorothea Lange was a documentary photographer who mainly focused on America's great depression, photographing migrant farm workers and the conditions they lived in. This series of images contrasts the idea of the 'American dream', which makes America seem like the place where you can achieve any dreams you wish to, however these images show a very different story with many individuals in despair, and struggling in poor living and working conditions. The three girls in the image represent how different people will interpret different situations/issues they're confronted with, as the girl on the far left appears as though she's thinking and working out a plan, the girl in the middle appears miserable, and the girl on the far right is happy and making the most of the situation she's in; subsequently I believe these three individuals represent humanity and how we can react. The three girls in this image are children of migrant farm workers, it appears as though they may be being schooled in this image, as they appear to have books which they may be trying to read- therefore this image shows how that even in desperate times, order and organisation is still trying to be enforced.
Diane Arbus:
Diana Arbus was a photographer who focused her work on the minority groups of society, these groups included: transgender individuals, dwarfs, and circus performers to list a few who all conflicted the American ideologies. Arbus focused on these minority groups as they were often perceived as ugly, or strange by society therefore by focusing her work on them she attempted to explore, and prevent their dehumanisation by society. The man in the above image is looking directly into the camera lens, this creates a personal link between the viewer and this family, as the eyes are extremely personal, this may create an uneasy feeling in the viewer. The young boy in this image appears to be pulling a silly face, this sheds humour onto the otherwise melancholy image, as the rest of the subjects all obtain bleak/ deadpan expressions which suggests to the viewer they they are not living in an easy time. Despite this family possibly being unordinary love can still be easily deducted from this image, as the mother is holding the baby with care, whilst the father his holding his hands son, the connotation which links to this is the saying that 'love conquers all.' Arbus' work (and the above image in particular) has inspired me to focus on whole families within my shoots, and not just individual objects or people, by focusing on whole families this will allow me to gain a wholesome image overall.
Steve McCurry:
Steve McCurry is a photojournalist who's images are extremely vibrant and lush, full of colour and life, this would suggest that they're extremely happy images however they are often dark images, with deeper connotations surrounding them. The above photograph is extremely emotive, as this young child appears to be in despair whilst holding a gun to his head, this image was photograph in Peru. Questions are raised in the viewers mind about why a young child even has access to a gun, and why is he pointing it to his head. The human consequences of war on people are focused on in McCurry's photos. A story is often told within McCurry's images too, as the young child in this image may have lost both his mother and father due to war, subsequently making him an orphan. The dirt on the child's shirt suggests he has nobody looking after him, which again links to the idea of him loosing both parents, this creates sympathy in the viewer for the child.
Yousuf Karsh:
Yousuf Karash was a portrait photographer, who grew up during the Armenian genocide. Karash was known for his mastery of studio lights in order to achieve the perfect portrait, he would often light the subject's hand separately, and was known for photographing many well known faces of his generation, his subjects including mother thresa (as shown above), Marilyn Monroe, and Winston Churchill. I've took inspiration from his photographs as they explore how various 'well-known' faces of his time lived and presented themselves; as some of his other photographs present the individual to be more sophisticated and glamorous than the image of Mother Theresa above, this explores how although they all may be branded with the term 'famous', they still all live various lifestyles and present themselves in different ways. The way these individual's present themselves may vary depending on what they're known for (e.g. film star, singer...), this is something which I would like to explore within my photographs.
Martin Parr:
Parr's images are often bright and colourful, which catch the viewer's eye and interest. The image above shows a typical British weekend down by the sea side, eating fish and chips below a slightly blue sky, which could turn to grey clouds any moment. This photograph explores how us Brits commonly live as a nation, therefore this image links to my project by exploring how we live daily. It could be argued that these images merely show Martin's own perspective of Britain, and of leisure. Parr's images explore everyday scenes, and allows us to see them in a new light, which we are not used to. Within Parr's images he also explores different classes and how they live under the 'British regime', he has images of better off individual's queuing at the races, and contrasts these photographs with images such as the ones above. I like the above photograph as it's commonly British, also the red and white colours which are predominant in the image link to the british flag and cement the idea of patriotism.
Helmut Newton:
Helmut Newton was a fashion photographer, who was German-Austrailian. Newton's photographs are all in black and white in order to explore the harsh tonal ranges within his photographs, his images were often used in Vogue in various countries, including the UK. The above photograph is of a female wearing a suit, which is usually considered to be masculine; it is also significant that the female has her hair slicked back, as though it's short like most men's hair. The long black trousers on the female are the main focus of this photograph, as they're central to the photograph and jet black which contrasts the more grey tones behind. There's no other subjects in this image, this implies this female is dominant and in control, as she is the only subject/object being focused on.
Mary Ellen Mark:
This photograph by Mary Ellen Mark was taken in 1990 and is extremely thought-provoking and creates an uneasy feeling in the viewer, as young children smoking is considered extremely wrong and reflects badly on the parents. The young girls confidence when holding the cigarette implies this is something which she has done on numerous occasions and something which she has learned vicariously. This photograph also leaves the viewer wanting to know more, like why have these girls been left alone? Moreover, the young girl on the right appears to be wearing make-up and fake nails at the age of nine, this is extremely unusual, it makes the viewer feel slightly on edge. Two years after this photograph was taken by Mary Ellen Mark the young girl (on the right) was taken into foster care, this reflects the bad parenting which lead her to smoke cigarettes initially.
The whole fact that this young girl is wearing make-up, false nails and smoking suggests she is very concerned with her overall image, in addition the fact she is in a bikini adds another sense of uneasiness to the image, as it's almost as though she is standing there in underwear, exposed emotionally and physically.
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