This blog lists all photographers mentioned in Unit 1 and a brief description of their work or why they are important to this unit. Unit 1 is about photography and the truth.

Judith Williamson’s ‘Advertising’ articles in Source
photographic review provide an excellent example of a critical approach.

Joachim Schmid is an example of an artist who adopts a thoughtful approach to
photography. He is a German artist who had been buying photographs in large
quantities from flea markets for years (he has over 100,000). When Flickr was invented he
moved from collecting on the street to collecting online.

Jeff Wall have become renowned for their painstaking attention to detail when creating the narrative of the individual image. (A better word in this context is mis-en-
scène, a term used in film for the set and construction of the scene.) As on a film set, every prop, dress and character is there for a reason: all contribute to the overall narrative of
the image.

Rexford Tugwell and Roy Stryker set up the Farm Security Administration – agency to look out for the farmers who had suffered from the great depression 1935 to 44 – photographers who worked for the FSA were Walker Evans and Dorothea Lange (Migrant Mother (1936)

Lewis Hine used photography as a vehicle for social reform – raise awareness and promote change (1874 to 1940) eg. the law on child labour

Gideon Mendel “Dzhangal” the origin of the term “the Jungle” which is a name used for the migrant camp in Calais. His work is of alternative portraits such as a group of toothbrushes or a child’s school text book

In her 1995 essay “Inside/Out” Abigail Solomon-Godeau (2017) argues against a binary insider/outsider approach to documentary photography – look at the subject from a distance but offer some sort of “truth” – Robert Frank (The Americans) and Ed Ruscha’s work are good examples of this.

Roger Fenton, one of the earliest war photographers photographed battle scenes with dead bodies and took portraits of soldiers in quieter moments

David Campany Essay – “Safety in Numbness” 2003 – sets out concerns of aftermath photography and if it conveys the complexity of political events

Joel Meyerowitz, official photographer for 9/11 – Campany considers his work too safe and beautiful therefore not fitting for depicting the horrific actions of terrorism.

2002 Paul Seawright commissioned by the Imperial War Museum to make a series of images of the war in Afghanistan – he adopted an aftermath approach – deviod of action

Paul Seawright also made “Sectarian Murders” in 1988

Edgar Martins, A Room at 14 Baldwin Farms South (2009) showing an empty house in US after the financial crash – reportage photography

Henri Cartier Bresson’s The Decisive Moment fits in nicely with Reportage photography – its about all the components coming together within one frame to speak of something beyond the frame

Dana Lixenberg – Imperial Courts (1993 to 2005) photographed the residents of Imperial Courts in Los Angeles – an African American estate – she photographed families for 22 years – she was determined to tell the story of these people’s lives from a different angle to the one dimensional reportage happening at the time. The area had been wrecked by racist riots and she was asked to document the reconstruction of the area.

1967 John Szarkowski curated the show New Documents at Moma – aim to show new kind of documentary photography in America and he selected Lee Friedlander, Dianne Arbus and Garry Winogrand to make his point – photography can also be considered as art and not purely as a document

Tate Modern first photography exhibition in 2003 – Cruel and Tender. Examining photography’s relationship with realism. August Sander, Lewis Baltz, Philip Lorca DiCorcia and William Egglestone demonstrate diverse nature of photography and it’s relationship with the truth.

Sarah Pickering “Public Order” (2002 – 5) work about a deserted artificial town for police to use for riot training – this documentary style challenges what is real

Alessandra Sanguinetti is a Magnum photographer – her series “The Adventures of Guille and Belinda and the Enigmatic Meaning Of Their Dreams(2016) ” she documents the lives of two young girls growing up, their relationship as sisters and their lifestyle in South America – she interprets their imaginative play and dreams into visual depictions of fantasy. This documentary style challenges what is real

The Cottingley Fairies taken by Elsie Wright (1917) and Frances Griffiths who claimed they played with and took photos of fairies in their garden. It became a subject of debate for decades and it wasnt until the 1970’s that the hoax was confirmed.

Oscar Gustav Rejlander (1813 -75) became known as the father of art photography and the master of photomontage. His work “Two Ways Of Life” (1857) was made using over 30 separate negatives and depicts the life of a sinner and the life of a saint in one highly elaborate tableau.

Peter Kennard and Cat Phillips (2002 -19) Photo Op series and their photomontage work (digital manipulation)

Wendy McMurdo – “Young Musicians” (1998 -2013) photographed young musicians and later digitally removed the instruments so the viewer is forced to observe the psychological state of the child.