Essay choice

At the start of this blog I started of looking at two essay title choices:

‘Within Western culture, the body which is visible to the public gaze is young, beautiful and healthy’.

Consider this statement more fully and relate it to the work of one or two recent photographers who attempt to ‘challenge’ such stereotypes.

and also 

Compare and contrast the street photography work of any two photographers working in the period 1960 –now

Although I was interested in learning about Jo Spence and Rosy Martin, (lecture 14th Feb), I feel that the second essay title would be best for me. As you can see in the other blogs I have been able to find quite a lot of information about a number of photographers; and this is just at the start. 

Both Spence and Martin question how we do not see the aging, the ill, people who are not thin; in the media. Martin targets this particularly well in her Outrageous Agers. 

"Ignoring the implicit notice 'no woman over 30 need enter' we re-visited Top Shop to engage with and perform the stereotype of 'mutton dressed as lamb' by trying on a range of trendy clubwear, lycra-stretched sequins, leopard-skin print and PVC. Squeezed into the frame, our bodies mirror the desire and discontent of the loss of the anyway already impossible 'perfect' body. Trying on youth in a changing room, the flesh of the body reasserts itself through the stretched fabric, it cannot be contained or forced to fit within fashions parameters."

 http://www.varchive.org.uk/outrageous/pdf/Trying_It_On.pdf 

 

http://www.varchive.org.uk/outrageous/010101.html

This reminds me of myself trying clothes on in a clothes store, I always think to myself 'I wonder if they have considered the fact that most people aren't catwalk models'. The line "Squeezed into the frame, our bodies mirror the desire and discontent of the loss of the anyway already impossible 'perfect' body" makes me wonder whether our view on 'perfect' body comes from the images of models and if people making the clothes view society having small slender bodies. We see nowadays, in magazines, images of celebrities that have put on a extra few pounds and it is seen to be a negative thing. Martin is tackling the high street clothing stores, showing how even in the high street we a faced with clothing made for younger, thinner people with the 'perfect' body; but what about the others?




Although naturally interested in this topic, I have found myself interested in Street photography and how photographers use Google street view for their photography pieces.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwLHc4vCcdQ 

 

In one of the first lectures we were shown this video, which shows how photographer Doug Rickard uses Google maps to create his art work. It captivated me how one person could go through Google map, to find meaningful images that bring out an important topic. He shows how positioning the camera view in a particular way can change the meaning of the image, making sure the angle is correct for what he wants to show.
'A New American Picture' shows the forgotten areas of America struggling to cope in the new financial circumstances; and I feel how he has used Google maps to show this is a genius idea.

I want to chose the second essay title, as I feel comparing a photographer that uses Google street view with a photographer who goes out on the streets, with a camera, would be a highly interesting topic to pursue.