Exercise 5.2: Print quotes

Exercise 5.2: Print quotes

1. As part of the activities for this module I have looked at multiple vendors for the printing of images. There is a balance to be found between cost and quality. There is also a difference to be found be customer service in terms who wants to help, I found this quite refreshing in some cases

Most vendors wont give quotes, you simply use their website and through a series of selections are able to price of the work you want printed.  Many offer calibration cards and jpegs to help you get colours matching this on the screen t print card to help avoid the photographer seeing an image in colours of a certain shade on their screen being surprised when seeing the final print

2. The relevant print company will want a file in a preffered minimum file size. resolution (ideally 300 dpi) will need to be set as will the colour profile to match want the printer recommends (e.g. sRGB)

A significant element I've learnt as part of this landscape is that your printed images doe not have to fully fill the paper size. Of course when thinking about this, many framed printed images are not filly filling the frame but will have a border of some kind. Prints for the assignments and assessments will benefit from this approach of having a decent border. paper type, weight and type of print can vary considerably

3. Can an image on inkjet be considered a photograph. I wonder where this question has come from as pre-digital the photograph was what was developed on the photographic paper was the photograph. The medium from which the camera captured image is put onto is my mind is the photograph/in the digital world until this point its a digital image.

The quality of an image produced by an inkjet print may have a variable quality and traditionally will be on normal paper but can be printed onto photographic paper. In the same way a vendor produced photographic print can also vary in quality.

Wikipedia's definition of a photograph is "a picture made using a camera, in which an image is focused on to light-sensitive material and then made visible and permanent by chemical treatment, or stored digitally". I would tend to a agree do an inkjet print is a photograph but likely not of a quality one might expect for a normal printed photograph. It all depends on the requirement

Exercise 5.1: Origins of the White Cube

Exercise 5.1: Origins of the White Cube

Reading Thomas McEvilley’s introduction to Inside the White Cube: The Ideology of the Gallery Space I've detailed a summary of key points mt own personal reflections.

For others who may struggle finding a link, try this:
https://monoskop.org/images/8/8e/ODoherty_Brian_Inside_the_White_Cube_The_Ideology_of_the_Gallery_Space.pdf

McEvelley in his introduction sets out some key points as to how the modern gallery is:

1. The Object - Like an Egyptian tomb there is a desire to create an illusion of time being frozen for the pictures displayed and protected from age. I think an attempt to keep the image remote from the outside world and away from its current influences. 

2.  The Viewer - The exhibition space is to be considered ritual / symbolic but only viewable for people of a similar disposition with a similar outlook or viewpoint

3.  The Context - Sterile and white or perhaps from new beginnings. Prior to digital so perhaps the starting place of the photograph on the white photographic paper. Perhaps a disembodiment for the viewer leaving behind everything and being grateful for what the eye discovers in the cube. 

Whilst the text was written 30 years ago I find again a common theme for essays or critiques written much longer ago to use a style of writing and reference that is deemed only understandable and accessible by an elite few and so distinguish the author from peers or people considered of a lower standing.

Interestingly modern photography is accessible to all people. There is an art to creating a photograph, rather than taking a photograph, so the end result is that art has been created. I think its great that many people can now shape what photography is.

However what i did like was the view that someone walking into a gallery is able to remove pre-conceptions or wrappings of their life, perhaps like having a shower, before entering the white cube and being able to see the images displayed in an remote and timeless area. 

I think a gallery should be open and available to all. Photographic art is not created for a select few, its for everyone to enjoy and discover the photographer's or even their own message. The setting for allowing this to happen is quite poignant and the idea of a white cube does happily resonate with me. A cleansing before hand, like a glass of water before wine cleanses the mind and enjoys the full richness of the images to be enjoyed

Assignment 4 - Critical Essay - With Tutor Feedback

We are tasked to write a 2,000-word essay (excluding any quotes) on one of the areas of landscape practice we have encountered during this course so far.

The critical review is an opportunity for each student to gain a greater insight into an area, theme debate or other issue relating to landscape photography that is of particular interest to us.

I've chosen to examine if its right for the beautification of images where their aim is to highlight man's negative impact on the landscape.

The original essay is at the bottom of this post. Unfortunately I based my document layout on the layout of essays i had been reading as part of my research. My tutor suggested I should consider revising the layout. This  I have now done and is detailed below my tutors comments

Tutors Comments

Revised Essay:

The change has been to break up the essay into sections which is detailed below:

Original Essay:

Is It Right To Beautify Man’s Negative Impact On The Landscape?

There is a growing awareness of man’s negative impact on the landscape. Some might argue it’s also fashionable to be saying or doing something in way of response but making a token effort to act and make a tangible contribution instead of doing something really significant. In an ever changing, more challenging and competitive market how does the photographer contribute to increasing awareness, whilst also making a living and pushing the boundaries of photography, both landscape and reportage genres, and making a name for him/herself for doing something original and fresh. As an output of their work, should the photographer beautify man’s negative impact on the landscape?

Pittsburgh passed a law in 1941 which was designed to reduce coal production in its drive of cleaner air. A series of images from downtown Pittsburgh illustrate the pollution problems. There is an irony and humour in the image “Corner of Liberty and Fifth Avenues” 1940 that despite the pollution the two gents in the image light up cigarettes, and the vehicles bottom left and mid left with headlights lit and figure mid right appear to look on disparagingly as they further increase Pittsburgh’s pollution woes.

Figure 1: “Corner of Liberty and Fifth Avenues” 1940

No doubt the photographer intended to share this irony with the viewer and the startled look from the two gents suggests they may feel uncomfortable being observed. The image is captivating enough to draw in the viewer and find the target words “smoke pollution” The 1940 message is clear and there is no beautification of the negative impact that smoke pollution has.

 There is nothing like seeing an image that puts the problem right in your face in the way Kerstin Lagenberger has. The image shows ice flows that appear to be melting right in front of your eyes. This ice flow likely barely supports an emaciated polar bear and anyone familiar with one will likely never have seen one in this condition before. 

Figure 2: “An emaciated polar bear is seen on a small sheet of ice in this image taken in August in Svalbard, north of mainland Norway (Kerstin Langenberger).”

Perhaps an almost iconic image in terms of shock ensuring the viewer fully grasps what Langenber intends to shock them with; global warning and its impact on both the environment and its inhabitants. Interestingly would the public viewing this have more sympathy with an animal such as this polar bear than an emaciated Inuit family whose homeland was melting?

When Langenber said “My life is a congregation of compromises but always centers on nature and its conservation. Nature is my life, my joy, my adventure. I just hope that, one day, I will find a way to give something back to nature for all it gave to me, and what I´m so very grateful for.” I wonder if she meant she would do something physically or financially to give something back to nature. However I think she is modest in that her images such as the emaciated bear have an untold impact in creating awareness.

In a similar theme to “Corner of Liberty and Fifth Avenues”, Image 1 above, Image 3 below from Jason Hawkes shows clearly the impact of man polluting the environment. No doubt taken from an aircraft and the vantage point enables the image to be better for it. The centre chimney is very much cigarette like and perhaps a foreground pilot or passenger smoking would also, like Image 1, demonstrate an image with irony. Jason Hawkes is an aerial photographer (helicopters) and this type of view has more impact because it’s a view that most of us would never have and as a result both more interesting and perhaps more horrific because of it.

Figure 3: Coal burning power plant, UK (Photo: Jason Hawkes / Foundation for Deep Ecology

These two images from Lagenberger and Hawkes are to my mind initially much more traditional in demonstrating man’s impact on the landscape, Lagenberger’s inclusion the bear takes man’s impact one step further it showing its impact, it perhaps makes the image more close up and real.

So Probal Rashid’s image below “Amid a flood in Islampur, Jamalpur, Bangladesh” uses a human element showing a woman on a raft as she searches for somewhere dry to take shelter.

Figure 4: Amid a flood in Islampur, Jamalpur, Bangladesh - Probal Rashid

This image does require some written narrative to explain what the women on the raft is doing. It is difficult to tell exactly what Rashid is attempting to show here. Given the lady’s pose and the sticks in her hands but I feel there is a thin link to a skier but instead of travelling on snow, the increase temperature has melted it. In reality Bangladesh is deemed one of the world’s most vulnerability to a rise in the sea level. The rise in sea levels is forecasted to result in over 10 million people being homeless in just of over 30 years.

These images have been created with a fairly obvious narrative and can be said to have an obvious theme demonstrating man’s negative impact on the landscape. There is a clear message and no mistake or mis-interpretation is possible.

W. Eugene Smith said Certainly this is true of the images above but can also the voice of a photograph or photographer be used lure the viewer unaware? Could perhaps beauty be captured in a photography capturing elements of man’s negative impact on the landscape? Is this even possible? Should it even be done since aren’t the two elements in contrast to each other? My immediate reaction would be that it shouldn’t be done so I will look at some photographic images where this has been done and examine what I see and how I feel.

Colin Finlay, whose work I have looked at briefly as part of an earlier look at as a Persuasive Image has explored making images from an aerial position much like John Hawkes has above. 

However Finlay has most certainly beautified man’s impact on the environment.

In this image below of Melting Glaciers in Iceland the beautification of man’s negative impact is very evident. There is something in the glacial flows as the ice melts that is perhaps similar to how we understand veins to look in the human body. The melting of ice and disappearance of the water could signify the planet’s blood escaping and drying up.  I wonder that if the viewer is unable to instantly grasp the photographer’s narrative, if indeed I have understood it correctly. It is not obvious what is happening, what it represents but it remains an image full of interest for the viewer. 

Figure 5 - Melting Glaciers in Iceland – Colin Finlay

So has the landscape through its beautification by the photographer meant the message to the viewer has been lost? Ansel Adams said. As an image in its own right then this is a fascinating image and I think the image is a voyage of discovery for the viewer as they try to identify what it is. It’s without pictorial beauty but is beautiful in its own right. The image needs a footer to describe what it is if the viewer needs to know what it is they are looking at and from the perspective that man’s impact is the cause of this it may not be initially obvious without this notation.

Rene Magritte This image of deforestation in Indonesia is as a result man’s demand for palm oil with around 85% of global oil sourced from Indonesia and Malaysia.  

Figure 6 – Indonesian forest turned into a palm plantation

At first glance this image is indeed a mystery and I find myself struggling for perspective; is this a macro image, something not normally visible unless magnified or is this something viewed from a height that removes the obvious and creates the mystery. Each of us use palm oil in many areas of our lives and as a result we are united in that the reasons for the deforestation are down to ourselves. This image unifies us as all as being responsible, the reason for this negative impact on the landscape. In fact it goes beyond the landscape for it affects our future and the future of subsequent generations.

The following image is hardly discernible of being the result of man’s impact. The image appears to depict man’s acceptance and enjoyment of change. This image taken by Ron Haviv in 2010 contrasts to those who saw this location for real 20 years ago when the area was a pristine rain forest. Man’s greed for gold and the subsequent result of gold mining and deforestation is seen as a result in the now large open space. The viewer would not be aware of this but when informed the mind can almost picture this large area full of trees. Narrative is again required for the viewer to grasp the issue and the contrast between what appears at first glance and idyllic scene is far from the actual reality.

Figure 7 – Everyday Climate Change, Madre de Dios, Peru. Ron Haviv

The image by Daniel Beltrá below is a great example of the beautiful and the sublime in the landscape. 

Figure 8 - Meltwater from the Jokulgilskvisl stream, Iceland, is pulled by gravity towards the Atlantic Ocean.

It has an almost ying and yang observable element to it and this is an obvious contrast in itself within a single image in terms of man’s negative impact on the landscape; the going and the gone.

De Zayas suggests photography is split between the observational and the desire to create an emotional response. Images of man’s negative impact on the landscape share both of these descriptions. In the images 1 to 4 above this impact is much more observational than those in images 5 to 8 but I wonder which of these caused the greater emotional response to the viewer. This I cannot judge so I shall attempt to express the emotions I felt myself. There is an obviousness in the first set of images and the shock they are meant to create are very obvious and in your face. Perhaps this in your face approach is one way of point out the obviousness that man in many cases will try to close his eyes to, perhaps as a result of weakness, dismissiveness or just greed. Perhaps though the impact may fade, much like a slap, its impact sudden and the pain is felt but quickly fades.

In the second set of images I feel much more captivated by their initial beauty and with the assistance of narrative the realisation of what the photographer has captured in the image starts subtly but quickly becomes almost a cerebral slap. There is an initial mystery and with some education of text, the beatification of the landscape in these images is also realised for what it actually is, man’s negative impact on the landscape.

Is it right to beautify man’s negative impact on the landscape? One of photography’s assets its ability to convey a message where the message can be conveyed in many different forms. The key is if the message is captured by the photographer is received by the viewer. This can be conveyed in an obvious way or a slightly mysterious way where it needs to be decoded and thought about. Like a tongue will discover taste such as bitter, sour, sweet, and salt, our emotions are evoked by different types of image. One style in its own right might become overwhelming or perhaps will it lose its impact if it stands alone or if its style is viewed repetitively.

In contrast it becomes more powerful and it is for this reason I think it’s right to beautify man’s negative impact on the landscape, contrast the obvious with the not so obvious. In this way the photographer’s message is better received and understood by the viewer and its impact and emotion better grasped. If the message takes a bit more working out then perhaps it is better remembered.

Beautification of images conveying man’s negative impact is simply another tool in the photographer’s kit bag and the irony and contrast of this in an image will not be lost by the viewer.

Referenced Illustrations

Figure 1: “Corner of Liberty and Fifth Avenues” 1940 (Photograph)

University of Pittsburgh’s Smoke Control lantern Slide Collection

At http://www.citylab.com/design/2012/06/what-pittsburgh-looked-when-it-decided-it-had-pollution-problem/2185/  [Accessed 7/2/2016].

Figure 2:

Weather.com. 2015. 38 Powerful Photos of the World Feeling the Impact of Climate Change. [ONLINE] Available at: https://weather.com/science/environment/news/powerful-photos-climate-change-global-warming-20140820-0  Accessed 13 February 2017].

Figure 3:

Destruction of Humanity across the Globe / Daily Mirror. 2015. Destruction of Humanity across the globe. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.mirror.co.uk/incoming/gallery/destruction-humanity-across-globe-5716592 [Accessed 13 February 2017].

Figure 4

www.independent.co.uk / Independent. Unknown. 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change-global-warming-photos-antarctica-iceland-india-droughts-floods-melting-ice-a7423156.html#gallery.

 [Accessed 6 February 2017]

Figure 5

Bierend, D. (2014) Sublime Yet Troubling Aerial Photos of Humanity’s Environmental Destruction. Available at https://www.wired.com/2014/09/troubling-aerial-photos-humanitys-environmental-destruction/#slide-4  (Accessed: 1 March 2017).

Figure 6

Shellethics (2014) Palm oil. Available at: http://www.shellethics.com/environment/palm-oil/

(Accessed: 7 March 2017).

Figure 7

Everydayclimatechange (2016) Everyday climate change – in pictures. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2015/jan/20/everyday-climate-change-in-pictures  (Accessed: 7 March 2017)

Figure 8

Daniel Beltrá (no date) Available at: http://danielbeltra.photoshelter.com/portfolio/G0000LqZvrxwYYhw/I0000rxvndkwGluM

(Accessed: 7 March 2017)

References and Quotations

http://www.citylab.com/design/2012/06/what-pittsburgh-looked-when-it-decided-it-had-pollution-problem/2185/. 2012. What Pittsburgh Looked Like When It Decided It Had a Pollution Problem. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.citylab.com/design/2012/06/what-pittsburgh-looked-when-it-decided-it-had-pollution-problem/2185/. [Accessed 7 February 2017]  

Artic Dreams / Kerstin Langenberger. Unknown publication date. Kerstin Langenberger Artic Dreams. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.arctic-dreams.com. [Accessed 6 February 2017].

W, C. (Unknown) W. Eugene Smith • photographer profile • magnum photos. Available at: https://www.magnumphotos.com/photographer/w-eugene-smith/ (Accessed: 28 February 2017).

Bibliography

Short, M. (2011) Basics creative photography 02: Context and narrative. 2011th edn. Lausanne, Switzerland: AVA Publishing SA.In-line Citation:(Short, 2011)

Word Counts

With Quotations          = 2141

Without Quotations     = 2000

Robert Adams - Beauty in Photography - Essays in Defense of Traditional Values

The book is described by Amazon as "The eight essays in "Beauty in Photography" provide a critical appreciation of photography by one of its foremost proponents. The result is a rare book of criticism, alive to the pleasure and mysteries of true exploration."

Its a smallish book by traditional standards but I found it quite powerful.  It contains 8 essays and Adams in his preface written in 1996 confirms that elements of the book were written or at least started 25 years ago. Its therefore not a modern book but much of what it holds at says is as valid now as it was then i feel

Its very thought provoking book and to be honest at a time when I am struggling to move my work to the next level its actually a little inspirational and contains small little quote gems.

I will review individually the first 5 essays as grouped in his book.

Truth and Landscape
Adams speaks about Landscape photography always being subjective and interpreted by the photographer and therefore the final image telling much about the photographer them self as well as the landscape depicted in the image

"Making photographs has to be, then, a personal matter; when it is not, the results are not persuasive".

"It is the fitness of a landscape to one's experience of life's condition and possibilities that finally makes a scene important or not.

In summary the landscape photograph is better for the viewer if it contains an element of some kind, perhaps an emotion, as opposed to perhaps emotionless reportage style of landscape photography e.g. an image that engages the viewer

Beauty in Photography
"Art simplifies". I think in my better work the simple images are often the better ones and I think it would be good for me to reconsider this quote and use it to guide some of my future work

Adams details that every photograph must have beauty in it for it be worthwhile, though he doesn't use beauty in the literal term. Personally I prefer the term "Punctum" as used by Roland Barthes in Camera Lucida, in that an image should have some narrative or ability to generate an emotion within the viewer. I personally find neither in Mu Ch'i's drawing of the six persimmons, yet it is a simple drawing and that in itself can cause the viewer to wonder

Adams states that equates form with beauty and this is true but I feel there is much more.

I enjoyed the quote from Roethke "I wish I could find an event that meant as much as simple seeing". Of course we all see things differently with different outlooks and life stories. He also is quoted to say "Beauty is the universal seen" but I think its much more than that. It can be the unseen also, perhaps because of location, perspective or as result of "turning a blind eye".

Civilizing Criticism
An interesting quote from Adams "..it is harder in photography than in painting to establish a recognizable style". My view has been the harder you try to create a personal style then likely the further you will progress away. The should be a naturalness about one's work and it most likely needs to come from within; it will no doubt evolve and it will progressive and experimental. At least thats how I'd like to think is how I will develop my own voice.

Adams describes some "wrong headed bases" for judgment. reason and "..we do not need to fear bad work as much as we had thought." Adams alludes to that it is only the artist who would know to what degree he/she achieved their intent. This certainly rings true for me as I have been struggling of late to reach my intention I think the idea and creativity of thought and intent will continue and I hope to narrow this current gap (or chasm :D)

Art of course is subjective and the critics themselves may look for different elements within an image. Sometimes one's work could be associated with past and current genre's but I also believe that each new genre is created by an artist or artists. Art is progressive.

Photographing Evil
Adams discusses the reasons for seeking to photograph a monument at a mine in Ludlow, scene to a killing of miners and their families by the Colorado militia.

Interestingly though he states he goes with the intent of taking images of the monument this is not what drives him, it his his social responsibility and this act awakens him to responsibilities he feels he has not fulfilled.

Reportage photography has always been a way of revealing the truth which may be to far away from us to see or perhaps putting in front of us what to know we have refused to look at. Whilst photographing evil for a future assignment is not my intent, I do wish to capture within a set of images man's influence on the landscape and let the viewer examine what kind of impact this has or had.

Adams does tend to drift from the title of his essay but I did like his examination of Lewis Hine and Hine's intention to ""....show...what was bad so we would oppose it and what was good so we would value it."

Making Art New
Adams says "..we respond best to affirmations that are achieved within the details of life today..". I suppose the current is always the most important but reflection on the past has the possibility of change in the future. I think this applies to photography and just about everything in life, you can quote me on this.

He also says that the "classic proof of work of art is major - that it outlasts its own age - .."
To a degree this can be true. However the artist trying to influence, it would be disappointing to not see this happening for one's work.

Adams quotes painter Mark Tobey "no young artist can grow unless he emulates someone bigger than himself". I'm not sure I agree with this, to emulate or to be influenced by, I prefer the latter as it suggests the work remains personal to the artist. To be able to position one's work can be important but should you produce work to fit in, or produce work because it comes from within?

Adams speaks about contempory art e.g. art within our lifetime and my lifetime will differ from Adams and many other people's no doubt. Should current art be new, should we feel safe in adhering to old principles and styles or should through our own experimentation generate new work?

I like Hyatt Mayor's quote "The really original artist does not try to fin a substitute for boy meets girl, but creates the illusion that no boy ever met a girl", This resonated with me and I think to the title of this essay.

Summary
I particularly enjoyed reading these essays from Robert Adams; they are small, bite size and with much to reflect on. Though perhaps dated they hold true still today and lives up to the billing from Amazon that I quoted at the start. I think this book alone will progress me much more than most books I have read to date

Exercise 4.6: Proposal for the self-directed project

I am tasked to write a project proposal for the self-directed project that you’ll submit as Assignment Five - the limit is 500 words.

The purpose of this document is to formulate and communicate your ideas to your tutor, for 
them to approve and provide comments, suggestions and any other feedback.

The project proposal is not a binding contract. It is quite acceptable for it to evolve and 
perhaps shift direction; this is part of the creative process. However, you may find it helpful 
to think of the document as a real-life professional application for funding, or for permission 
to photograph at a restricted location.

Your proposal should include:
• The project brief: What, where, how and why are you photographing this subject? Your 
motivation is important. What is the wider context around this subject?
• Influences and research: Which photographers, writers or other creative practitioners 
have you looked at/will you look at during this project? Include a reading list if 
appropriate.
• Likely treatment: How will you photograph this subject? What special techniques or 
equipment will you use? Do you need any further training? Do you need or have you 
got a ‘plan B’ in case something doesn’t work?
• Potential outcome: Note any (realistic!) ideas you have for resolving this body of work 
(e.g. book, gallery or site-specific installation). 
• Budget/resources: What will you need to spend, or what other resources will you 
require to complete the work? How will you access these?
 • Estimated schedule: Identify the different phases of this work and set realistic deadlines 
to achieve them by. It is often helpful to do this by identifying the final deadline and 
working backwards. 

You should also explain if or how this project builds upon your previous projects and research. 

If you’ve already worked in a related area, or if you’ve already begun the preliminary work, 
then include some photographs, if they are relevant to the proposal. 

My brief is detailed below:

The Project Brief

The brief is to photograph “Man’s Influence on the Landscape” selecting areas around my local area in the Forest of Dean where they are impacted in either a positive or a negative by the actions of individuals or groups.

On an individual scale we each contribute both positively and negatively in our own small ways and influence our local landscapes - a lot of a little can soon add up.

Influence and Research

Man’s influence on the Landscape can viewed as both positive and negative and the work of practitioners such as Salgado highlight that a decision by man to take no action can have a positive effect on the Landscape. I particularly enjoy the emotion that I find in his black and white images.

Much of what we see has been so ingrained in our lives that we take it as normal yet David Maisel using a viewpoint that is beyond most people can bring home the truth of man’s impact on a wider scale. Alex MacLean also demonstrated areas of Wales impacted by Man also on an aerial scale.

Sometimes things are right in front of our eyes yet we fail to notice them and a simple different perspective can bring them to light

Likely Treatment

I would like to work in black and white, I enjoy the contrast and shades of colours between black and white plus the simpolicity of mono. I will give this some thought. I enjoyed my experimentation for Assignment 2 in trying to replicate / develop a type of emotion within an image. I will need to read up on black and white photography and technique and consider using high dynamic range treatment within my images

Potential Outcome

I want to create a set of individual images but bound by the local of my local area and I want to demonstrate both the negative and positive impact of man on my local landscape

Budget Resources

I will need access to specific areas perhaps some achieved at a small cost and some through a simple request

Estimated Schedule

Given my current position regarding work and being away from home mid week I estimate around the end of February 2017 / Mid March

Exercise 4.5: Signifier – Signified

We are tasked to find an advert from a magazine, newspaper or the internet, which has some clearly identifiable signs.

 A semiotic analysis of an image or a piece of film is the quantification of how meaning is constructed or a message is communicated. 
Before writing ‘Rhetoric of the Image’ Barthes wrote the essay ‘Myth Today’ (1972), in which he described two levels of meaning: sign and myth: 

• The first level of meaning, sign, comprises a signifier and a signified – or a denoted object (the actual thing depicted) and the connoted message (what the thing depicted communicates). 

• The second level of meaning, myth, takes into account the viewer’s existing contextual 

knowledge that informs a reading of the image. 

The image I have selected is as follows:

Signifier                                                                            Signified
The dominant colour of yellow                                           A sandy beach
A skinny, attractive and youthful female                            Sunbathing with a slim body

Warm colour of yellow                                                        Heat and thus less clothes worn

The model looking and judging you                                   A requirement so do something   
An assessment of your body                                            


The product is almost lost by the in your face statement that you are being judged and you don't match up to the model contained in the advertisement.  The product needs to be found in the advert and perhaps because of this effort itr will stay in your mind. However very clearly the message most of the population would take away is that they DONT have a beach body and need to do something about it. The product owners anticipate you will buy their product to attempt to achieve the beach ready body.

The advert was very controversial

Writer Naomi Firsht wrote:

"Fashion freebie magazine Stylist practically dedicated a whole issue to it. Its front cover was a mock-up of the Protein World ad, but instead of a super-skinny model there was a smiling model around two dress sizes bigger, a beach ball under one arm next to the proud declaration: ‘Tell me I’m not beach body ready!’ and the tagline: ‘Go on, we dare you. Why no body-bashing ad campaign will ruin our holidays.’The ad-bashing continued inside Stylist, with an editorial titled ‘Your body is not up for judgement’ and then a four-page feature analysing the advert.The feature begins by smugly announcing that Stylist has always been a ‘diet-free zone’ because it wants ‘to give women a break from the relentless pressure to fit that particular week’s body ideal’. Very noble. Except I couldn’t help noticing that within the first 15 pages of the magazine, there were no less than five adverts featuring skinny models wearing bikinis or less. In most of the perfume ads the models were completely naked apart from some strategically placed jewellery.".

                 

Exercise 4.4: ‘Of Mother Nature and Marlboro Men’

We are asked to read the within the link below. This text provides a contextual insight (particularly in relation to American photography) and an interesting sense of the climate from which much critical practice has emerged. 

http://www.deborahbright.net/PDF/Bright-Marlboro.pdf

Bright herself summarized her own essay saying: "Probably my most widely known essay, “Of Mother Nature” was an attempt to answer the question: “Why are there no great women landscape photographers?” With twenty years of hindsight, I can appreciate the polemical tone of the essay as an artifact of its time in the mid-1980s (raging gender wars within the Society for Photographic Education where I was active in the Women’s Caucus, an exciting energy as artists and scholars were speaking truth to power in the academy and art world and inventing new critical tools to dismantle entrenched minority privilege.) Those heady days seem distant, now, as conservative backlash has taken its toll. However, the fact that this essay still strikes a chord with so many young people indicates to me that it’s still doing its good work"

The essay per the copy right appears to have been written around 1985 and from this her summary suggests this itself was written 2005.

Key Comments / Points I noted:

1. The term Marlboro man rang a bell with me regarding advertising (I think TV and/or posters) for the cigarette and a manly cowboy puffing on one. A quick Wiki search and I find the following from this Wiki link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marlboro_Man
"The Marlboro advertising campaign, created by Leo Burnett Worldwide, is said to be one of the most brilliant advertisement campaigns of all time.^[2] It transformed a feminine campaign, with the slogan "Mild as May", into one that was masculine, in a matter of months. There were many Marlboro Men. The first models were a Navy Lieutenant and Andy Armstrong, the ad agency’s art supervisor.^[3][4][5] Other early models were sales promotion director of Philip Morris, Robert Larking, and others from the Leo Burnett ad agency, Lee Stanley and Owen Smith.^[6] A number of models who have portrayed the Marlboro Man have died of smoking-related diseases.^[7]


2. Bright starts off reviewing I think early pictorialism as the beginnings of landscape as an art form

3. I was particularly taken by the phrase "..whatever its aesthetic merits, every representation of landscape is also a record of human values and actions imposed on the land over time".  I wonder if the human values and actions imposed on the land are those physically or those portrayed in art and photography.

4. "The red blooded pioneer life" she refers to has been the subject of many films of the 50's and 60's and many of which I think I likely grew up watching with my parents. The strong male pioneer fighting of the Indians I think must be the Malboro men that Bright refers to. Actors portraying the masculine cowboy types were seen by the film goers as strong and red blooded and their woman often portrayed as the emotional homemakers in the big dresses. I note a few real life strong women of this era existed such as Cattle Kate and Calamity Jane.

5. Much of the scenery depicted in the stereotypical films I refer to above had been captured on canvas or as photographic prints. The real life pioneers brought in the rail-roads and to a degree facilitated travel and views of these locations and "lured tourists into making the journey to find the Real Thing."

6. Bright mentions "Returning to landscape, what can photographs of landscapes tell us about how we construct our sense of the world and its relations?" . Does this mean our views of landscape images are shaped by how the photographers interpret them since people both current and past may have no personal access or access to an unbias view of that particular landscape. There have personal views of the landscape and fitment within entirely shaped by the photograph. I expect the black and white cowboy type films did exactly the same when describing the red-blooded male and home making women of that era.

7. Following on from 6 above this most certainly would have been the view of male and female photographers in early landscape imagery with just a few Cattle Kate's / Calamity Jane's being accepted among the red blooded pioneering male landscape photographers