Tag: Self-portrait

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Assignment 3 – Putting yourself in the picture

517401 OCA Photography

Drawing upon the examples in Part Three and your own research, you can approach your self-portraits however you see fit. You may choose to explore your identity or masquerade as someone else, or use empty locations or objects to speak of your experiences. However you choose to approach it, use yourself – directly or indirectly – as subject matter. Keep a diary for a set period of time (at least two weeks). Each day write two or three pages about yourself – what you’ve been doing/thinking. This can be as specific or poetic as you wish. You may wish to … Continue reading Assignment 3 – Putting yourself in the picture

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Vivian Maier – Self-portraits

517401 OCA Photography

The story of the discovery of Vivian Maier’s work is well known, it was discovered by accident when the contents of a storage unit that she had been renting were sold as the fees had not been paid. It is estimated that Maier took around 150,000 photographs in her lifetime and in addition to prints, negatives and unprocessed film, the contents of her storage locker also included cine films, audio recordings, receipts and cameras that she used. As well as a treasure trove of images documenting America in the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s, the collection also includes a significant number … Continue reading Vivian Maier – Self-portraits

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Tracey Moffatt – Under the Signs of Scorpio

517401 OCA Photography

I found details about this work online on the website of the Rosyln Oxley 9 gallery and as well as the images there was a press release by Moffatt from 2005 which went into some detail about the collection. Whilst I recognise the concept behind the work and the committment of Moffatt in reproducing the women she was representing, ultimately I found the series disappointing. The main reason for this is the premise that the women featured all share similar personality traits due to the time in the year they were born. I’m not a believer in astrology and so … Continue reading Tracey Moffatt – Under the Signs of Scorpio

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Exercise 3.2 – Masquerades – (P.80)

517401 OCA Photography

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? In her Projects series Lee decided to explore identity by transforming herself into different characters and then photographing herself in character with people whose appearance she was replicating. I do not think that Lee’s work is exploitative or voyeuristic as by putting herself in the image she is not photographing groups from the outside but is instead engaging with the other subjects in the images. In the photographs … Continue reading Exercise 3.2 – Masquerades – (P.80)

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Francesca Woodman

517401 OCA Photography

It is difficult not to read Woodman’s many self-portraits – she produced over five hundred during her short lifetime – as alluding to a troubled state of mind. She committed suicide at the age of twenty-two. Bright, 2010, p.25 Look up Francesca Woodman’s images online. What evidence can you find for Bright’s analysis? I think this image can be read as one that alludes to death and so could be interpreted as pointing to Woodman’s suicide. The work was produced some time in 1979 – 80 and Woodman made her first attempt to take her own life in the autumn … Continue reading Francesca Woodman

Part 3Leave a comment

Exercise 3.1 – Autobiographical self-portraiture (P.78)

517401 OCA Photography

Reflect on the pieces of work discussed in this project in your learning log and do some further research of your own. Here are a few questions you might ask yourself: • How do these images make you feel? The works presented in this project are self-portraits by three female photographers; Francesca Woodman, Elina Brotherus and Gillian Wearing. I found myself reacting to them in different ways. I was aware of Frencesca Woodman’s work and her suicide at the age of 22. My reaction to her work was to question what she was trying to communicate? Were her self-portraits trying … Continue reading Exercise 3.1 – Autobiographical self-portraiture (P.78)