I have received feedback form Sian. On the feedback Sian outlined the use of repetitive text and in some area where I was vague in introducing the what early stage of photography I was talking about. Sian also noted that use a lot of descriptive text which doesn’t benefit what I am trying to get across and this makes my statement vague. This helped me as I am not always aware of writing long sentences. By using shorter sentences I will be able to get to the point much faster. Also by shortening the sentences helps people to stay interested in what I am writing about.
Moving on to the statement itself. Sian told me that I shouldn’t tell my audience exactly what I my process of taking the pictures was. This makes sense and I am glad Sian pointed this out. Sian told me that I should link the appearance of my images to the ideas spoken about concerning early photographic processes. I understand exactly what Sian means by this and I will rewrite certain parts to rectify these issues.
I have been thinking about my statement and I think it is best not to write too much on my actual statement. I don’t want to go into to much depth about why I took these images and what they represent to me. I have started with a quote by J M. Hull which is a nice introduction to my series. By keeping my statement small will allow people to have their own opinion on what my images represent to them. I don’t think it is correct to navigate your audiences opinion, instead I believe it is important to allow people to look at my work with a high degree of suggestiveness.
Faceblind
When photography was first invented the daguerreotype (introduced in 1839) was the first publicly announced photographic process and the first to come into widespread use. As photography was a new technology this meant that there would be areas in the future where advancements could be made. One area in particular was that the exposure rates were over a minute long. These long exposure rates slowed down the photographic process, which ultimately meant that portraits were expensive. In order to afford the luxury of having your portrait taken you would have to come from the socially elite, or wealthy.
During the 1860s photography became more advanced, exposure rates dropped to around 20 seconds, and portrait photographers could afford to lower their prices. This allowed people from the working classes to have their portrait taken. When photographers presented their portraits to clients, it has been reported for customers to have mixed emotions when confronted with there image. Some were horrified while others where pleasantly surprised.
One portrait photographer in particular ‘Nadar’ noticed there was something strange about how his customers reacted to their portraits. It has been reported that Nadar’s clerk mistakenly handed someone else’s portrait to a client, only to realise later. The client was noted to have marvelled at the accuracy of the portrait before leaving the studio. When Nadar realised this mistake he went to the home of this coustomer and explained the situation and try to make a switch, in this case the client refused to believe him, think that Nadar was attempting to play a trick or con him. Nadar new fully well that his clients were coming face to face with what their image actually looked like for the very first time. Many of Nadar’s clients had never been confronted with their own reflection before let alone their own image. The reason for this was because during this era mirrors where a luxury for the wealth and working class people were unsure of what their face looked like because they simply didn’t look at themselves everyday. Having this lack of self-awareness, in the visual sense, helps us to understand and appreciate the hysteria that accompanied and surrounded the early stages of the photographic process.
Lot’s of uses of the words ‘these people’. Try to think about how you a) shorten this paragraph and b) eliminate the repetition. Your statement is not about telling a story, but about giving your audience enough information to work out how to see the work through their own eyes.
“The horror of being faceless. Of forgetting one’s own appearance, of having no face. The face is the mirror image of the self.”
-John M. Hull (Blind)
My series explores portraiture during the beginning of photography. When photography was first introduced people where unsure of what their face look like. Few people had access to mirrors, as they were a luxury item for the wealthy. Therefore most people had never see a clear and crisp reflection of themselves in a mirror. Ultimately this meant that ordinary people had no way of keeping track of the slow ravages of time on the their own faces
Emmett Hunt Photography 