1. Is there any sense in which Lee’s work could be considered voyeuristic or
   even exploitative? Is she commenting on her own identity, the group
   identity of the people she photographs, or both?
2. Would you agree to Morrissey’s request if you were enjoying a day on the
   beach with your family? If not, why not?
3. Morrissey uses self-portraiture in more of her work, namely Seven and The
   Failed Realist. Look at these projects online and make some notes in your
   learning log

Notes:

Nikki Lee, Korean born photographer who studied in America and now lives in Seoul. She is best known for her “Projects” series (1997-2001) where she dresses up as different personas such as a skateboarder, school girl, punk, elderly person and so on.She mimics their style and mannerisms in the images. Photos are taken with a disposable or small camera to put people at ease. The work is candid and familiar, the work of an unassuming amateur to give the feeling of authenticity. There are digital date stamps on each image to add to the perceived authenticity of the work.

The modern, potentially similar version of self representation is what images we choose from our life to add to social media and which ones we choose not to show. A collection over time of a certain theme of images the author has chosen creates a view that is not an accurate account but what the author chooses to show. For example, always happy photos and only photos on day trips or holiday creates an image of a jet set lifestyle. Filters used on Instagram and Snapchat are also a form of self representation, some images on social media look nothing like the person they are supposed to be.

1. Is there any sense in which Lee’s work could be considered voyeuristic or
   even exploitative? Is she commenting on her own identity, the group
   identity of the people she photographs, or both?

Her work is in a sense voyeuristic as it gives the viewer a look into the world of a certain group of people, what they look like, how they live and behave,and in what surroundings. She is commenting on how her own identity is not ever static and singular, she is commenting on how in the Western world people can choose their identity, but in the East this is not possible to the same extent.

2. Would you agree to Morrissey’s request if you were enjoying a day on the
beach with your family? If not, why not?

I would not be accommodating of Trish Morrissey’s request if it was not planned and was spontaneous because time with my family is precious and I would want to make the most of it. This view is probably because my children are older and I have less time with them now than I did have, I think my view would be different if my children were younger and trips out were a regular activity.

I can understand how people would find this request intrusive, or false or uncomfortable, but I understand the intention behind the work, if people were not properly briefed I think there would be more resistance to such a proposal.

1. Trish Morrissey uses self-portraiture in more of her work, namely Seven Years and The
   Failed Realist. Look at these projects online and make some notes in your
   learning log

Seven years was made between 2001 and 2004 and the images are recreations of what would be found in family photo albums from the 1970s

Morrisey uses her sister as a model as well as herself and they recreate work that looks like a 1970’s 80’s style snapshot but has been taken in modern times. She cleverly recreates the body language that can bee seen in many snapshot images in family albums such as closed eyes and finger smudges across the lens that affects the image. Morrisey even dresses up as her brother to recreate one image.

The failed realist – Trish Morrissey

The psychologist Georges-Henri Luquet (1927/2001) referred to the Failed Realist stage as a stage in childhood development. Between the age of 4 and 6, children’s physical development is not capable of visually representing their thoughts or words. This work was made with Morrisey’s daughter in 2011. Her daughter was between 4.5 and 5.5 years old while this work was made. Her daughter painted events or things from recent experiences on Morrisey’s face.

Many artists felt this childlike innocent approach showed direct access to the expressive self and tried to emulate this in the abstract paintings as a “return to innocence” Picasso, Miro and Klee painted in this style with great success.

Bibliography

Artnews.com. 2020. Nikki S. Lee Provokes Debates About Cultural Appropriation – Artnews.Com. [online] Available at: <https://www.artnews.com/art-in-america/features/nikki-s-lees-shapeshifting-art-cultural-appropriation-1202682096/&gt; [Accessed 31 October 2020].

LensCulture, T., 2020. Seven Years – Photographs And Text By Trish Morrissey | Lensculture. [online] LensCulture. Available at: <https://www.lensculture.com/articles/trish-morrissey-seven-years&gt; [Accessed 1 November 2020].

Morrissey, T., 2020. Trish Morrissey – The Failed Realist | Lensculture. [online] LensCulture. Available at: <https://www.lensculture.com/projects/228833-the-failed-realist&gt; [Accessed 6 November 2020].