David Company, a writer on photography, suggested that since
the 1980s photography has become much more theatrical in its approach. This
means that photos are being projected to us. They are more staged and
theatrical. They are more like a screen and less like a window.
Roland Barthes commented on this notion, saying that; “I
lend myself to the social game, I pose, I know I am posing, I want you to know
that I am posing, but this additional message must in no way alter the precious
essence of my individuality.” I think that what Barthes means by this, is that
our private worlds become public, which makes him uncomfortable.
Many
people agree with Barthes and apply negative connotations to theatrical
photography, such as ‘pretending’, ‘copying’, ‘shallowness’ and ‘spectacle’.
Theatrical photography existed in the early forms of image
distribution and celebrity culture. Early ‘celebrities’, such as comedian Sarah
Bernhardt, would set up theatrical backgrounds in photo studios and take
pictures which they would then distribute amongst the public.
Eikoh Hosoe did a series of photographs, called Kamaitachi, with Tatsumi Hijikata, the founder of the Japanese dance movement 'ankoku butoh'. Through his pictures, he took theatre
into the landscape, meaning that the performances in the photos were made
purely for the photos (i.e. completely staged).
Cindy Sherman staged pictures to look like they were taken
out of films. Her reference to publicity
in the 70s would have been very unusual at that time. She acted out female
stereotypes e.g. blonde bombshell and the female runaway.
Jeff Wall did a series of photos that were of a staged
documentary. For example, he paid someone to clean a community centre and once
his actions had become second nature, Wall would photograph him. The photos are
quite theatrical in how they are displayed as they were presented on a light
box in order to make them very large. Perhaps he believed that his own photos
were not dramatical/theatrical enough and that’s why he had to present them in
an over exaggerated manner.
I found Juno Calypso, an ex-student of Leeds College of Art,
extremely intriguing as she staged herself as a fictional character called
Joyce. ‘Joyce’ was consumed by the male restrictions of femininity, which after looking at Cindy Sherman, is
especially interesting as I can see the links between her stereotypical feminine
shots and Juno Calypsos feminist work. In some of the photos, Calypso uses her
grandmas rooms as a theatrical background. For example, the curtains in the
background can be seen as theatrical backdrops.
Nabil Boutros did a series of photographs about Egyptian
people altering their appearance as they changed their political affiliations. Although at face value his work can seem slightly humorous, it’s important that we keep in mind
that the Egyptian unrest is a serious issue, as is Nabil’s artwork. It is all
about mistrusted appearance and how we show ourselves to the outside world. I
think his work is very interesting due to the contrast between Egypt and the
UK. I don’t think anyone would change their appearance based on which political
party they support, but perhaps that is because of the contrasing political and cultural beliefs of the two vastly different countries.
Jacques Lacan, the author of ‘The Four Fundamental Concepts
of Psychoanalysis’ wrote about the body being both the subject and the object.
We can’t see people seeing us, yet we know that people do see us. However, we
can’t be sure on how people see us because we don’t know how we are actually
being represented/ how people interpret us. This is similar to Barthes negative
view of theatrical photography – he too was uncomfortable with it.
Masahisa Eukasa made a photography series called ‘Bukubuka’,
which translates to ‘bubbles’. It is an expressive body of work, featuring
images of him in the bath. He was exploring themes of depression and isolation
as he had recently gotten divorced.
Links to Advertising:
I found this lecture had lots of links to advertising, for
example:
·
Barthes negative connotations of theatrical
photography can be compared to criticisms of advertising. For example, some
people interpreted the Protein World beach body ready ad as sexist, and so
there were a lot of negative connotations surrounding that advert.
·
The early forms of image distributions, such as
of Sarah Bernhardt, links to advertising as many ads use celebrity endorsements
to entice the public and raise publicity of that advert. For example, PETA
frequently uses celebrities in its adverts, such as Kelly Osbourne in its ‘Save
the Seals’ advert.
·
Moreover, just as Eikoh Hosoe’s photos were all
staged, most adverts are staged. Print and TV adverts are all planned and
perfectly acted out. The only exception would be ambient advertising, as ‘live’ advertising is harder to stage.
·
Cindy Shermans staged pictures link to
advertising because just as she uses feminine stereotypes, lots of adverts do
as well. For example, most cleaning product adverts will feature a woman, which
reinforces the sexist stereotype that women belong in the private sphere, and
men in the public sphere.
·
Nabil Boutros’s photos of how people show
themselves to the outside world also links to advertising, as brands will
choose a specific direction and message that they want to portray to the
public. Through advertising, they attempt to show themselves to the world in a
particular way. For example, Apple aims to be portrayed as an innovative and
technologically advanced brand.
·
Finally, Jacques Lacan commentary on how people
can’t predict how we are seen by others, links to advertising because although
a brand can try and get a particular message across, it can’t force an audience
to accept that view of them. Moreover, their efforts can fail, for example
American Apparal produced an ad featuring Lauren Phoenix wearing only American
Apparal socks. They were targeting young women, trying to get them to view
American Apparal as a bold and sexual brand, however their target audience claimed
it was offensive to women and so the brand received a lot of negative publicity.
References:
-Lecture 5
-Google Images
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