The Portrait - Robert Mapplethorpe (Paraphrase)

Self Portrait 1971

In chapter 6 of 'The Photograph', Grahame Clarke says..

Robert Mapplethorpe was one of the most controversial post-war American photographers, mainly due to his homosexuality which is explicitly explored in many areas of his photographic work. Mapplethorpe not only expressed homosexuality in his work itself, but did so to an assumed, similarly homosexual audience. His male nude portraits seemingly suggest a determined yet problematic aspect of self-identity, driven by sexual inclination. This is particularly evident in Mapplethorpe's series of self-portraits which were made in the 1970's and 1980's.

This image to the left is perhaps a characterisation of the series. Self-Portrait of 1971 depicts Mapplethorpe encased within a wired cage surrounded by burgundy, silky material which are representational of the opposite extremes of his private and public self. Naked and seemingly vulnerable, he faces the camera, his body cut up. This is as if both mentally and physically, the individual is a victim of cultural and psychological torment. This is a powerful image and a contrast to many of the other self portraits within which Mapplethorpe dresses for the camera, often radical, going against the the vast majority of the conventions of the portrait photograph.

The Nude - Oscar Rejlander

Reclining Nude 1857

With its soft focus and painterly qualities, this photograph by Rejlander is clearly steering towards the tradition of Pictorialism and is compositionally very similar to European art.

The naked female body is positioned on a bed, facing the camera. One hand is positioned close to her genitals which directs the viewer's focus to this sexual area. The woman's head is turned away into her arm which is raised above. This emphasises the shape and curves of the body (which is bright in contrast to the dark surroundings furthering this emphasis) and allows it to be viewed 'undisturbed' by the woman who either appears to be sleeping, thinking, unaware or ashamed of her naked body being photographed.

Is the female body being objectified?

Most definitely yes. There is no sense of identity in this photograph whatsoever and the body is merely presented as an object to be looked at and desired by men. The title itself, 'Reclining Nude' is a proof of the objectification as there is no acknowledgement of the woman as a person but just like a guitar, book or shoe, the woman is just a 'nude': an inanimate object. The photograph focuses on the line, shape, texture and on the sexual areas separate from the woman as an actual thinking, feeling person.

Surrealism in Photography

Rene Magritte - Sirens

What is Surrealism?

Surrealism is an artistic and literary movement which emerged in Paris in the mid 1920's. Strongly influenced by the psychological works of Sigmund Freud, Surrealism sought to express the unconscious mind through the use of various visual techniques such as symbolism, juxtaposition and solarisation.

The movement was launched by French poet, Breton whose Surrealist Manifesto was published on October 15th 1924. The manifesto expressed interest in the irrational with focus upon truth above realism. Based on Freud's book The Interpretation of Dreams, much of surrealism was focused on dreams as Freud believed that these subconscious visions reveal the true workings of the mind. This is particularly evident in the work of Salvador Dali, Max Ernst and Rene Magritte.

Surrealism and Photography

Surrealists saw the camera as a method of sidestepping the rational mind. The camera created an element of chance that perhaps, an unplanned moment of life may be captured. A huge benefit of modern photography, that of being able to capture images of life instantaneously has enabled that subconscious actions that take place within a split second can be recorded. Famous Surrealist photographers include Man Ray and Cartier-Bresson.

Constructivism/ Bauhaus - Herbert Bayer

Lonely Metropolitan 1932

Constructivism is an artistic and architectural movement that originated in Russia beginning in 1919. The philosophy was a rejection of autonomous art of the previous years. Constructivism emphasized art as a practise for social purpose.

Constructivism had a strong influence on modern movements of the 20th century such as the Bauhaus and Dada. It had major impact and was reflected in architecture, graphic + industrial design, theatre, film, dance, fashion, music and education.

Image Analysis

This photography 'Lonely Metropolitan' by Herbert Bayer is a photo montage representing the personal effects of the move to the city. The move came along with the feelings of claustrophobia, insecurities, loneliness and isolation which is depicted in this image. The photograph is presumably taken from a balcony similar to the ones visible. The closeness of the windows and the height of the building give them impression of claustrophobia due to cramped living conditions, with people literally living on to top of each other. There seems to be little privacy and the windows and building appears to be rather hostile and unwelcoming.

The montaged hands are not connected to a body, could reflect the detachment one feels from the city. The eyes on the hands are from different people, this, as well as the floating hands could suggest that the person of which this is a viewpoint is anonymous, expressing the idea that this detachment is a collective feeling, applying to all those who have moved to the city.

Pictorialism - Clarence H White

What is Pictorialism?
Pictorialism is the name of the photographic movement from 1885 and reaching it's peak in the early twentieth century. Pictorialists supported the idea that like art (painting), photography should focus on composition, the beauty of subject matter, idealism and tonality rather than the documenting reality. The movement therefore saw the camera as a tool and that like a paint brush, could achieve what the 1911 Enclyclopaedia Britannia described as a 'personal artistic expression.'

Despite the proposed aim of individual artisic expression, much work of the Pictorialist photographers closely coincided with the current painting movement of the time ; Impressionism.

Typical characteristics of Pictorialist photography:

- subjects/themes: often rural relationship between land and people

- Nude, still life, landscape, portraiture

- Visual language: Paintilly effects, soft focus, sepia toning, textured papers, drawing onto the surface, filters and lens coatings, dodging and burning


Clarence H White was an American photographer. He was a co-founding member of the Pictorialist group ; Photo Secession, formed in 1912. He was widely recognised for his pictorial photographic work and founded the Clarence H White School of Modern Photography in 1914 which produced many of the most well known photographers of the twentieth century.

The Arbor - 1906
I chose the photograph because I was drawn to the composition and to the typical qualities of Pictorial photography. The first thing I noticed which is typical to the style, is the soft focus of the image, creating an almost dream-like effect. The soft focus, enhance by the sepia toning additionally creates a sense of idealism implying that the woman is happily doing the gardening. This relates to another common feature of Pictorialism which presents the relationship between people and their surroundings, often engaging in work which they appear to be happy or proud to be doing.

Post Modenism - Andy Warhol

What is Postmodernism?

This is the term to describe the economic/cultural state or the condition of society following the period of modernism. Post modernism emerged in the 1960's following the invention of new media technology, new found freedoms (hedonism, sexual, drugs, the contraceptive pill etc) and the emergence of youth and popular culture.

Post modernism had a heavy influence on art, with many artists using these new developments and freedoms and reflecting them in their work. A main feature of post modern art is paradox - introduced by Manet, often contradicting the more traditional fine art of the past. It was also an almost critique of the past art world with artists such as Warhol (Pop art) and Piero Manzoni (Artist's Shit) producing explicitly mocking other art work. Postmodernist art also blurred the distinction between high and low culture art, producing a 'popular culture' which made art available to the masses.

'Marilyn Diptych' - Andy Warhol 1962

The term diptych usually refers to religious paintings that form an altar for the purpose of worship and admiration. So in terms of the image title, this is not coincidence. Following the tragic suicide of Marilyn Monroe in 1962, Warhol became inspired to produce a series of portraits of her using a still from the film 'Niagara'. This particular image is presented in two halves; on the left, marilyn's face is repeated, bright, glamorous and block coloured. This could possibly symbolise the effect of the film industry and how it has removed all her individuality and uniqueness, making her become part of mass culture and a fantasy as opposed to an actual person.

On the right, there is a significant contrast; the screen prints of Marilyn's face are in black and white and unlike the other half, each repeat is different from the next; may be blurred, faded or even hardly visible. The images seem to present reality as they appear to look more like actual photographs. This could symbolise the reality behind the icon and represents Marilyn's life with all it's imperfections which are masked by the mass media (the left half of the image) ,possibly being the reason for her tragic death (reflected in the barely visible prints). To conclude, I see this painting as a narrative from life, to symbol and to death.

Amber is For Caution - Valerie Phillips

Amber is For Caution

Amber is For Caution is an exhibition/book by Valerie Phillips which centres her fascination with Amber, a former model. It highlights the relationship between the subject and Photographer. In an interview Phillips says:

"I met Amber when she was 15. She came to my studio for a casting. She was quiet and feisty at the same time, a kind of bratty and fascinating. I loved her slow-paced, drawn out Kentucky sentences, so perfectly out of place in East London. And I really liked how she didn't seem to give a shit. She was just Amber and that was good enough."

Valerie Phillips herself was somewhat rebellious (left school to compete with her skateboarding team and finally leave for the UK) which perhaps had an influence over her fascination with Amber within whom she may have seen elements of herself.

Image Analysis

The first thing that attracts my attention in this photograph (and most of the others in the series) is the raw, 'what you see is what you get' quality. The full frontal, intimate, close up portrait depicts Amber looking at the camera with a mutual, slightly hostile facial expression, (enhanced by the cyan colouring) possibly due to her dissatisfaction with the modelling industry which she later rebels against, yet the text suggests otherwise; "like i said, I'm Amber and I'm just another girl, try talking to me, I'm pretty nice." This sounds inviting and highlights the raw, unglamourised (or normal) depiction of Amber throughout the images, giving the viewer an insight to the real her and her thoughts. The text is a handwritten-like font adding to the whole personal feel of the image and to the project as a whole.

The V&A Print Room

Fortunately, yesterday upon my trip back home to London, I visited the Victoria and Albert Print Room. I was given the opportunity to view and handle original prints from master photographers such as Ansel Adams, Imogen Cunningham, Andre Kertsez and Henri Cartier-Bresson. I was amazed by the fantastic detail and quality of the prints that cannot be seen through the internet or even books. Here are some of my favourite prints which I was lucky enough to experience:

Mono Lake 1955 - Edward Weston

Chez Mondrian, Paris 1926- Andre Kertesz

Andre Kertesz

' Melancholic Tulip' 1939

This is one of my favourite still like images. Kertesz transforms a regular still life object into an extraordinary composition, projecting an emotive atmosphere, causing the tulip to appear for me, as a

This is one of my favourite still life images. Kertesz transforms a regular still life object into an extraordinary composition, projecting an emotive atmosphere, causing the tulip to appear for me, as a

metaphor of a human being, implying the transitional process of life. This image could also be symbolic of the death of Kertesz’s wife whom he lost to cancer.

As the title suggests, the image emerges feelings of melancholy and sadness, reflecting the shape of the drooping tulip. The lighting causes there to be contrast yet still maintaining the gentle grey tones. I feel that the contrast is a symbol of the melancholy and the gentle tones represent the delicacy and vulnerability of the tulip itself, and therefore the person (possibly his wife) for whom is it a metaphor.

The overall mood of this photograph is undeniably solemn, however the gentle tones and delicacy of the print emerge feelings of peacefulness and serenity. For me, it conveys the message that everything eventually comes to an end. Although this is a sad concept, it’s natural and therefore has a sense of comfort. It may not necessarily represent the end of life, but could also be symbolic of specific low times in someone’s life, or a loss of something important to them. The tulip still maintains its beauty despite the fact that it’s gradually coming to the end of its life, increasing the empathy felt by the viewer towards the tulip which could be symbolic of an event in their own life.

For me, every aspect of this photograph - from the contrast, lighting to the darkroom manipulation is symbolic of a particular idea in order to convey a preferred reading from Kertesz to the viewer.

For me, every aspect of this photograph - from the contrast, lighting to the darkroom manipulation is symbolic of a particular idea in order to convey a preferred reading from Kertesz to the viewer

Modernism - Imogen Cunningham

Magnolia Blossom - 1925

Imogen Cunningham was a member of the f/64 group, which in contrast to Pictorialists, supported realism in photography as opposed to emulating painting techniques. The group shared the view that photography should achieve fine art status through exclusively photographic methods.

This image 'Magnolia Blossom' is a gelatin silver print produced in 1925. The image depicts a newly opened Magnolia bud, revealing the extremely detailed, almost sculptural stamen. Traditional of the modernist movement, it is clear that the subject is a magnolia bud, the angle is simple and tones are gentle, reflecting the delicate texture and nature of the actual plant as opposed to trying to make it into something it is not (e.g. a painting).