AS PHOTOGRAPHY 2013

Covert And Obscured

What do the words ‘Covert’ and ‘Obscured’ mean?Discuss for 3 minutes – make a list of as many synonyms as

possible

I spent 20 minutes thinking of all the words linked to these key areas and the theme word: COVERT & OBSCURED – my list is:COVERT: Hidden – secret – concealed – disguised – incognito – stealthy – private – furtive – camouflaged. OBSCURED ambiguous – vague – uncertain – concealed – enigmatic – signifying – unclear – hidden – covered – secret – partial - ACTIVITY: in pairs complete the chart – be creative and imaginative – write down anything you think ofGenres & photographic elements

First response: my thoughts and ideas for direction of my project

people Disguises – natural/artificial: hats / make-up / Lady GagaExperimenting with camera angles and lightingWork in the studio/ lightingsilhouettesthe superhero insidemasks – Eugene meatyard / festival / religionpersonalityfamily – blood and constructed – sally mannbeauty inside & out – jenny saville?

viewpoint Hidden camerasThrough: doors / windows / keyholes / windows / rain / distance…Depicting the truthSharing feelingsTelling a secret: Post secret / journalismCombine text and image? poetry

Natural forces Recording different Times of day or changing lighting and how it obscures/exposes thingsHiding from the elements – hats/umbrellas/sunglasses / gloves…

technique Lighting – creative lighting to obscure and highlightFilm noirPinhole cameraFragmentation RefractionreflectionsTimelapse photos to obscure locationsInversion and negativesFraming and / or excluding a subject – highlighting what is goneAbstracting sections of the whole

Objects 

Macro detailsObscuring patterns and shadowsViewpointsIn a drawer / under the sheets / through laceUse a pinhole caera with natural distortion

Reaction & message Politics – the truth??Symbolism & signifier – creating images that stand for other – Dali /Man Ray / Kahlo / Tina Modotti / Chris steel-perkins / chris KillipStorytelling – Diana ArbusLeaving something obvious outThe power of community actionBuilding and creating a question / Changing and affecting audiencesTime

first action1. Consider the ways that the theme ‘Covert & Obscured’ can be

interpreted by slowly going re-through this powerpoint.

2. Make notes of any photographers whose work you find inspiring

3. complete the initial ideas sheet being as creative as possible

4. Produce a mind map of possible ideas / routes and Journeys you could investigate

What do the words ‘Covert’ and ‘Obscured’ mean?Discuss for 3 minutes – make a list of as many synonyms as

possible

Synonyms for the word COVERT:HiddenSecret

ConcealedDisguisedIncognitoStealthyPrivateFurtive

Camouflaged

Synonyms for the word OBSCUREDAmbiguous

VagueUncertainConcealedEnigmaticUnclearHiddenCoveredSecret

Let’s start by looking at some photographer’s work which might fit the theme ‘Covert & Obscured’

Walker Evans photographed members of the public on the New York subway using a concealed camera c. 1941

Spy CamerasEver since the early days of photography cameras have been made which could be used covertly – ideal for spies and private detectives.

Amercian ‘Petal’ detective camera c.1940’s

Minox ‘spy’ camera. First produced 1936. This model c. 1960

Watch Camerac. 1890 to 1920

Wildlife photographer & film-maker Simon King often uses a HIDE or camouflaged equipment when photographing wild animals so that he can get close to them without being seen.

Sophie Calle, The Detective, 1981

Much of artist Sophie Calle’s work has been based around the theme of surveillance.

In her artwork The Detective she paid a private detective to secretly follow and photograph her, recording where she went and what she did for a day.Although she knew that she would be photographed, she never knew exactly when or where it would take place.

Paparazzi photographers often use very long focal length lenses to ‘spy’ on celebrities without being seen, as in these recently published images of Kate Middleton and prince William.

Some people see this as an intrusion of their privacy, while other celebrities see it as a way of maintaining their celebrity status and may sometimes even help the paparazzi secretly in obtaining such photos!

These first examples all involved covert photographer - the photographer hiding or concealing the fact that they were taking photographs.

A different approach is when the photographer openly tries to make a portrait which reveals something normally hidden about the subject, perhaps exploring their inner emotions or trying to get behind the metaphorical ‘mask’ that people often hide behind.

By getting members of the public to write whatever they wanted about themselves, photographer Gillian Wearing was able to reveal aspects of the subject that might normally have remained concealed or hidden.

Photographer Yousuf Karshexplained that when photographing Winston Churchill, he grabbed the cigar away from Winston and then immediately took the picture, producing a portrait which better represented the steely determination of the man in his expression.

Winston Churchill was often pictured smiling with a cigar in his hand or mouth.

Lewis Morley, self portrait

Mainly known for his work from the 1950’s and 60’s, photographer Lewis Morley often used dramatic lighting to help reveal something about the person being photographed

Photographer Arnold Newman would often employ backgrounds in his portraits which helped tell the story about the subject.Newman said that he didn’t like the “cold studio portrait” but instead wanted to show his subjects in their surroundings.Quoted from the Palm Beach Post, 2006

Sally Mann is probably best known for her intimate family portraits.More recently she has experimented with old-fashioned photographic techniques to produce portraits which seem to hide as much about the subject as they reveal.

In some of his work Ralf Eugene Meatyard gets his subjects to wear masks to hide their faces.In this way, he emphasises the hidden nature of the subject’s identity.

The metaphorical mask which everyone is said to wear becomes an actual physical mask.

Sometimes it is the meaning of an image or series of images that is obscure, hidden or ambiguous, as in these narrative sequences by photographer Duane Michals. Works like these can leave us with more questions than answers!

What do YOU think is the narrative (story) and meaning for each of these artworks?

Similarly, the work of photographer and film Director Sam Taylor Wood is often enigmatic – we are left to puzzle over the possible meaning which seems obscured or hidden.

Sam Taylor Wood, Red Snow

Sam Taylor Wood, Ivan, 2004

Sam Taylor Wood, After Dark, 2008

Another technique employed by many artists is to use symbolism in their work.

Franz Von Stuck, The Sin, 1893

A symbol is just something that represents or stands for something else.For example, what do you think the snake might symbolise in this painting by Franz Von Stuck? (Hint: think about Adam & Eve!)

Some symbols have a meaning that is almost universal, such as water for purity & birth, or circles which often represent eternity (that’s why the wedding ring is round – the love will go on forever … ahhh). However, most symbols have meanings which vary across different cultures and times. For example, the colour red can be symbolic of love or danger in the West but could mean something entirely different in another place or time.

Dutch 17th Century Still-Life paintingsAs well as being beautiful, the food and flowers were actually symbolic; they reminded the viewer that everything eventually decays and dies, so the viewer should be good in this life if they want to go to heaven and live forever!When we see a flower today it does not usually represent a reminder that death will come – so the meaning of this symbol has changed over time.

Think about what these images might symbolise to YOU …

Discuss for 3 minutes

Think about what these images might symbolise to YOU …

Discuss for 3 minutesImage 1.Power, protest, violence … + anything else?Image 2Idea, Imagination … + anything else?

So while these are pictures of a hand & a bulb, in fact that is NOT what the pictures are really about – that’s the power of symbols and symbolism!

NOTE:Not all images are necessarily symbolic, sometimes we can just appreciate the simple beauty of an image. However, symbolism can make images interesting, adding a deeper, ‘hidden’ layer of complexity for us to uncover.

British artist Sarah Lucas uses blatant sexual symbolism in much of her work.

The photography of American William Eggleston is thought by some to be boring and banal.

To others however, many of his images use symbols to tell us something deeper about what it is to be human and to live in our world. Even the garishness of his colour photographs can be interpreted as symbolising about our modern world

The previous examples all hid or obscured the meaning of the image in some way.Another way of interpreting the Theme ‘Covert & Obscured’ is to consider how many works of art (particularly films) have been inspired by the search for some hidden precious object or objects.

Have you ever lost your phone, keys or purse?

How did you feel?

How could you you tell the story of your quest to find it/them photographically?

Another approach might be to think about the word Obscured as meaning covered or unclear …

Some artists and photographers have taken ‘obscured’ as a starting point, rejecting objective representational art to produce images which are more abstract …

Bill Henson

Naoya Hatakeyama

Chrystal Labas

Hiroshi Sujimoto

John Baldessari

Tomatsu Shomei

Julian Schnabel

Wolfgang Tillmans

Ori Gersht

Moriyama Daido

Yet another way to interpret the theme Covert & Obscured is to think of other ways to obscure or hide part of the image, leaving the viewer’s imagination to complete the story or meaning.

Here are just a few possible ways …

Shadows

Silhouettes

Reflections