10th December 2015
"Read the short extract from "Landscape for Everyone". Summarise the key points in your learning log, along with any other observations or reflections." OCA course material
Source
"Landscape for Everyone" John Taylor (1994) A dream of England: Landscape Photography and the Tourist's Imagination OCA learning materials
Taylor introduces his essay with a short page on the history of England over the last 1000 years, explaining that to the British, history had contributed to the English landscape as we know it pre World War 2 (WW2). It was important for the British to preserve it throughout the war with patriotism because of its uniqueness.
This meant when WW2 was declared, the British were challenged with hiding England behind tins of paint, blocking out place names and removing signposts so that it was unrecognisable. The English were prevented from using the landscape for recreational purposes. Travel and tourism was stopped and only the troops or evacuees travelled to or through the countryside.
Batsford (a publishing firm), reissued a set of books with picturesque photographs of English places from the 1930's as a reminder to people of what Britain looked like. However, the poet Edmund Blunden supposed that no-one could agree on the "typical English scene" (1994 p199) and suggested that "England's strength was unity in difference". (1994 p200).
A new approach to recording and portraying landscape was required so that the English became acquainted with their unfamiliar countryside. Documentary photography confirmed that people were expected to preserve the English historical landscape and work together in doing so for the promise of victory."The tension between them [the familiar and unfamiliar] was an effect of war."(1994 p200). By linking to the past, depicting the romanticism of the landscape and social reform issues, the English engaged with the way in which the country was being represented pictorially. Picture Editors accepted photographs of working class evacuees in their new picturesque countryside because it linked all three issues together and sold magazines.
Taylor mentions the Ramblers trespass onto Kinder Scout in 1932 which led to increased rights of access in the countryside. At the time landowners, ramblers and conservationists were in conflict over access and rights and the Ministry of Information and press used this to develop the idea that England's landscape belonged to everyone and it was worth defending. Although did the advent of war accelerate the change and would this eventually have happened through the Rambler's association?
Picture Post (a photographic magazine) used a comparison layout (diptych) to highlight the difference between English and German landscape and way of life: for example pastoral scenes, freedom, uniform, discipline; the idea being to show readers the truth and remind the English of what was precious to them.
Unity of social classes was important and with it the portrayal of an England whose image showed through as an island nation with a history of defending our shores and the strong British character. The familiar seaside resorts were closed to holiday makers and instead the landscape was covered with barbed wire, breached only by aircraft. The Cliffs of Dover became an important landmark as the "gateway" to England in a fight to maintain Britain's independence.
Press captured images of people looking up as important in the search for the enemy. Taylor cites that the "line of sight, which is the civilian equivalent of military targeting in which eyeshot precedes gunshot, was already a popular viewpoint in the weekly magazines (Virilio 1989 p3)" (1994 p205). This could be seen as virtual killing by the English although Taylor proposes that the stance demonstrated the English were vigilant like the home guard and it created an optimistic future for them.
References
"Landscape for Everyone" John Taylor (1994) A dream of England: Landscape Photography and the Tourist's Imagination OCA learning materials p199
"Landscape for Everyone" John Taylor (1994) A dream of England: Landscape Photography and the Tourist's Imagination OCA learning materials p200
"Landscape for Everyone" John Taylor (1994) A dream of England: Landscape Photography and the Tourist's Imagination OCA learning materials p200
"Landscape for Everyone" John Taylor (1994) A dream of England: Landscape Photography and the Tourist's Imagination OCA learning materialsp205
Thursday, 10 December 2015
Tuesday, 1 December 2015
Assignment 3 Spaces to places
November 2015
Assignment
3 Spaces to Places
“Within a series of up to 12
photographs, explore a landscape, or small part of a landscape, which you
believe to have some kind of significance. This may be a landscape with which
you have a personal relationship, or it may be somewhere that is more widely
known.
The object of this assignment is to
engage with the question of how a “space” becomes a “place”. Your project
should put into practice the idea that a “place” is a constructed, subjective
term, that for whatever reason is imposed upon, or becomes associated with a
particular “space”. This may be a very specific location or it may be a more
generic type of space.” OCA Course Material
The
Oxford Dictionary defines space as “a continuous area or expanse which is free,
available or unoccupied” http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/space (accessed Nov
2015) whereas a place is defined as a “particular position, point or area in a
space or location”. http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/place (accessed Nov 2015)
Usually a place has an interesting landmark with which people associate,
a historical reference (where something happened) or the area has a present day
use. Places can be linked to the past through history or mythology,
environmental or political concerns, all of which have involved or involve
people.
There
are many different types of places. Military and historical places include
battlefields and air bases such as abandoned RAF bases e.g. RAF Newton,
abandoned cold war sites e.g. RAF Steingot, Queens Sconce Civil War earthworks,
War of the Roses battlefields e.g. Bosworth. Memorial places include roadside
shrines, the National Memorial Arboretum or local War Memorials. Places of
worship both historical and currently occupied include abbeys, churches and
minsters. Mythical places trace the
legend of Robin Hood in Sherwood Forest. Industrial places include local water mills,
metal box factory, coal mines or power stations.
For
this assignment I explored the original World War 1(WW1) trenches and
reconstruction in Sherwood Pines, Nottinghamshire. Last year saw the centenary
of the start of the WW1 in which Nottinghamshire commemorated with a project
called “Trent to Trenches”; a series of exhibitions and art displays to share
and rekindle memories of the event. In 2013 I noticed the beginning of a new
excavation at Sherwood Pines. I watched with interest as it turned into a
replica WW1 trench. I began exploring the forest to discover the original
trenches and started to research the significance of the place.
Clipstone Camp World War 1 Trenches
At
the outbreak of the World War 1, Clipstone Heath was just that – an area of
heathland owned by the Duke of Portland from the Welbeck Estate in
Nottinghamshire, used for shooting partridge and sports. Lord Kitchener was a
frequent visitor to Welbeck. Three of Nottinghamshire’s estates; Thoresby,
Wollaton and Welbeck already had temporary camps in preparation for training
soldiers. Marples (2013 p22) suggests that it is not known why this area was
chosen for siting a permanent hutted training camp, although under the Defense
of the Realm Act, the War Office had the powers to “take land or building or
construct works” if needed.
The
camp was located between Forest Town (a new mining town) and Clipstone (a
hamlet) on an area which had been bought by the Bolsover Colliery Company. The
mine (sunk in 1912) had been planned with a new village of 700 houses. Instead,
Clipstone Camp was built here to house 25,000 soldiers until 1920 when it was
sold off. Work on the mine was postponed when young miners were recruited as
soldiers. Also the war made importing goods such as wood more difficult and
prices increased. As a result, the Forestry Commission was formed in 1919 to
manage supplies of timber, often depleting large areas of forest and changing
the landscape of the area. The pit was completed in 1920. Soldiers moving to
the area had not seen coal mines before and Mansfield Colliery became a tourist
attraction with evening trips organised down the mine shaft for the soldiers
stationed there.
Marples
(2013) a local historian, interviewed locals who recalled the trenches becoming
play areas for children after demobilisation. Whilst exploring the unmarked
trails in the forest, I came across some of the old trenches. Mountain bikers
who explore off the beaten track recall the area known locally as the “bomb holes”
and have often practiced their skills there. The purpose of this place changed
from training soldiers to entertaining folks, the place left to nature, sometimes
forgotten and waiting to be rediscovered.
I
discovered the Forestry Commission were managing the area where the original
trenches are. Huge swathes of trees have been harvested and others are colour
coded waiting to be felled. Where work has already taken place, poles mark out
the trenches. I found the trench reconstruction fascinating as it has recreated
and brought the past to life from photographs for future generations to explore
especially as the WW1 veterans are no longer with us.
My
research
Vest
pocket cameras were invented by Kodak in 1912 and marketed for soldiers to take
to the Front. Britain, forbade them, although photographs survive from Corporal
Hackney and others of daily life in the trenches. The risk of court marshall if
caught may have impacted on the choice of subject e.g. only portraying comrades
rather than officers. However, these stand as a historical record which
supplement official photographs and oral histories at a time when memories of
such a place are being forgotten.
Medium
format (35mm glass plate) cameras were developed by Leica. Roberts (2014) http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/06/30/photos-world-war-i-images-museums-battle-great-war/?_r=1 (accessed November 2015) explains that “The First
World war is the conflict in which the concept of documentary truth first
evolved. Prior to that, because of the scarcity of press photography in
general, picture desk editors from newspapers were quite happy to use
photographs which were merely representative or illustrative of a point rather
than showing a genuine event itself.”
 |
Official photograph taken on the front in France.
View in captured German Trench in Gommecourt.
(Ernest Brooks)
|
 |
Official photograph taken on the front in France.
View in captured German Frontline Trench before Gommecourt.
(Ernest Brooks)
|
Ernest
Brooks was the first appointed Daily Mirror official war photographer and
worked in monochrome although two official WW1 photographers Hans Hildenbrand
(German) and Jules Gervais Courtaillemant (French) used the process of
autochrome lumiere to produce colour photographs at the Frontline, developed by
the Luminaire brothers in France in 1904 (a process of adding red, green and
blue violet coloured potato starch grains (4 million per square inch) to the
glass plate. Light passes through filters as the photograph is taken and when
processed,the image becomes colour. One disadvantage was a longer exposure
time,
 |
Hans Hildenbrand
|
 |
Jules Gervais Courtaillemont
|
I found several photographs on the internet
taken by Ernest Brooks during the Battle of the Somme at Gommecourt. “Gommecourt
was a position of immense strength and a place of psychological if not
strategic importance to the German Army.” http://www.gommecourt.co.uk/plan.htm (accessed Nov 2015) Whilst many of Brooks’ images
were documentary and included troops from both sides, I found these images
described as taken after the English troops captured the German lines. These
could have been used as propaganda or illustration of the progress made by the
British soldiers, because after the first 12 hours of fighting, (July 1916) the
British Army had 57,740 casualties and Battle of the Somme lasted until
November 1916. There is not date for Brooks’ photographs and Brooks had
previously been accused of faking images. In 1916, Britain imposed a policy
regarding no faking or staging of photographs. However, for the German and
French photographers working in colour, there was no option but to stage the
photographs. Did this imposition limit the technological advances of British colour
photography?
To
a modern day viewer Brooks’ images are factual showing perspective, height and
construction of the trenches although Brooks’ inclusion of troops adds to my
understanding of the living conditions but not the action. The Battle of the
Somme ended in November 1916 with atrocious weather. Even in monochrome, Brooks’
images look like the weather is foggy or wet. As the weather leading up to and
including Remembrance Sunday was foggy I experimented using the weather
conditions to add atmosphere to my images although I saturated the colours a
little increase the contrast.
I
experimented using Photoshop to create replicated autochrome lumiere images to
use for the reconstruction images. (see
exercise 3.5 https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3236350692233930171#editor/target=post;postID=2177828894755869644;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=1;src=postname) Reviewing my images though, I preferred the fog and mist (shown below), as it adds atmosphere and reality to the images. Shooting through the fog gave less clarity and less contrast than usual. The season also helps with less contrast and provides earthy colours.
In
July 2014, the Daily Mail published a series of computer coloured WW1 photographs
based on actual colours of uniforms. Whilst these photographs are interesting,
how does it affect our memory of the historic event? Monochrome is seen as
authentic and truthful and when genuine coloured images come to light, they
have a place in history reserved. As David Levi Strauss (2003 p9) wrote “the
idea that the more transformed or “aestheticized” an image is, the less
“authentic” or politically valuable it becomes.” It changes our understanding
of the facts. Thus the market for photographs coloured one hundred years after
the event could be questionable and destined for the newspapers, in which case
we have come full circle with publishing fake coloured images.
Existing
critical writing
Liz
Wells (2009 p88) argues that photographs taken in WW1 do not really give the
viewer “a sense of the nature of trench warfare, and the poetry, films and
paintings of the time are often more moving and revealing.” Sontag (1979 p168) backs
this up suggesting that “the feeling of being exempt from calamity stimulates
interest in looking at painful pictures, and looking at them suggests and
strengthens the feeling that one is exempt. Partly it is because one is “here,”
not “there” and partly it is the character of inevitability that all events
acquire when they are transmuted into images. In the real world, something is happening and no one knows what is going to happen. In the image world, it has happened and will forever happen in that way”. Maybe because the veterans are no
longer around to add the oral history to the photograph and bring it to life,
it lacks meaning to us. Barthes described studium as having enough interest in
the photographs to look further at the subject and this is possibly what is
meant by Well’s statement.
My
images
Clipstone
lies a few miles to the east of Mansfield. The WW1 trenches lie in an area now
managed by the Forestry Commission – a working forest and recreational space
known as Sherwood Pines.
Topographical surveys undertaken
by the Forestry Commission in 2011 depict the earthworks.
My
images start by looking at the area which contains WW1 trenches and the replica
built for the centenary in 2014 by Philip and Courtney Wilkinson.
 |
| View from Vicar Water Viewpoint looking out over Sherwood Pines |
Clipstone
is now dominated by the twin headstocks. The slag heap was turned into a
viewpoint within a country park which shows the type of heathland familiar to
the soldiers. This is near the original site of Clipstone Camp. Clipstone
forest (modern day Sherwood Pines) is in the distance – a 3 mile march for the
soldiers to the training trenches.
 |
| Clipstone Forest WW1 trenches in clearing |
The site of the WW1 trenches is
around the patch of clearing but also extends in the direction of the visitor
centre.
 |
| Original WW1 trench |
In
Clipstone Forest which extends to the south of Clipstone the locals find the
original rifle, pistol and machine gun trenches, possibly used by many battalions
including the UPS Royal Fusiliers, the 16th Service Battalion of the
Kings Royal Rifle Corps, 17th Service Battalion (first footballers)
and 18th Service Battalion (1st public works) . Over time, the sides have collapsed and they
are not as deep as they once were. Trench construction was zig-zag or circular
in shape.
 |
| Original WW1 trench |
The
Forestry Commission are in the process of felling the trees in this area,
although no-one works on Sundays, making the area accessible.
 |
| Position of reconstructed WW1 trench |
The
reconstructed WW1 trench is situated just off the main fire road extending from
the visitor centre. Philip and Courtney Wilkinson (who worked on Stephen
Spielburg’s War Horse set), use reclaimed timber found in the skip.
 |
| Land surrounding the reconstructed trench |
The
land surrounding the reconstruction is designed to look as if it has been
involved in a mortar attack.
 |
| The reconstructed trench area |
Areas also
included in the trench are an office, privy and kitchen. The ground is
completely uneven suggesting bomb holes.
 |
| The shape of the reconstructed trench is comparable to the original. |
 |
| The curved trench |
Part of the trench is accessible to visitors enabling them to witness the scale of the place.
 |
| Inside the trench |
 |
| The trench |
Hugh
Mannall, Heritage Manager with the Forestry Commission (Chad 2013) “This is
something which we have been thinking about for the last 20 years and it has
been in planning for the last 3.” http://www.chad.co.uk/features-columnists/clipstone-camp-brought-back-to-life-1-6107692 (accessed November 2015). Following my study of WW1 trench photographs, I
think this modern reconstruction bears resemblance to the original WW1
structures and see it as a great educational resource within the Forest. I hope
it can illustrate to school children the size of the trench and type of
buildings found within it and how vulnerable the soldiers felt, although
without sound, smoke and weather it will not replace life on the battlefield. I
compared it to images I took in 2014 and the wood has weathered plants grown,
although with the surrounding fence it does define it as a place.
How
I could extend the project?
I
became interested in the area’s history and involvement in WW1 whilst watching
the reconstruction take shape and discovering the old trenches. This project
could be extended to look at other aspects of the war. I could take some of the
images from Marple’s “Clipstone Camp and the Mansfield Area in WW1 (2013) and explore
today’s landscape, layering one over the other as Shimon Attie has done in
“Writing on the Wall (1992-4).
References
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com
(accessed November 2015)
Marples (2013) Clipstone Camp and
the Mansfield Area in World War 1; The impact of a large military presence in a
North Nottinghamshire community, Forest Town Heritage Group, UK
http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/06/30/photos-world-war-i-images-museums-battle-great-war/?_r=1 (accessed November 2015)
http://www.gommecourt.co.uk/plan.htm
(accessed Nov 2015)
Strauss DL (2003) Between the
Eyes; Essays on Photography and politics, Aperture Books, New York
Wells L (2009) Photography: A
critical introduction, Routledge, UK
Sontag S (1979) On Photography,
Penguin, UK
http://www.chad.co.uk/features-columnists/clipstone-camp-brought-back-to-life-1-6107692 (accessed November 2015)
Bibliography (All accessed November 2015)
Local history
Marples (2013) Clipstone Camp and
the Mansfield Area in World War 1; The impact of a large military presence in a
North Nottinghamshire community, Forest Town Heritage Group, UK
Trenches and WW1
Photography
Sontag S (1979) On Photography,
Penguin, UK
Strauss DL (2003) Between the
Eyes; Essays on Photography and politics, Aperture Books, New York
Wells L (2009) Photography: A
critical introduction, Routledge, UK
General
The memory of photography
October 2015
Read David Bate's essay The Memory of Photography" originally published in Photographies Vol 3 No 2 pp243-57.
This is a challenging essay, which introduces some complex theoretical ideas and influential thinkers. Read the text closely, noting Bate's key points in your learning log, and extending your research to points that he references which are of interest to you.
1. Bate cites Jaques Derrida (Archive Fever 1996) as noting "that an anxiety about memory always has an element of death or "destruction drive", "of loss" at work in it." (Bate 2010 p243). Bate is critical that digital archiving into programmes such as Lightroom deposits the images in storage but what do they become in relation to our memory?
One of the current issues surrounding this is the speed at which technology is changing and whether we will be able to access digitally stored photographs in the future. Taking Derrida's quote literally, I recall storing images of my children on CD when I first had a digital camera and the file became corrupted over time. These were memories which were irretrievable, and so there is a strong argument for printing images which will withstand the digital technology.
2. Bate recalls the work of Freud in The Mystic Writing Pad to understand what memory may be. Natural Memory - human recollection and Artificial Memory - technical devices invented to support inscription of memory. The function of the camera was to "retain the fleeting visual impressions...materializations of the power he possessed of recollection, his memory" (Freud 1925 cited by Bate 2010 p244)
However, Derrida questions whether in the digital age, this is more complex than 100 years ago.
3. Collective Memory
Le Goff suggested that cultures archived selected material for centuries. Collected material has changed from spoken word to written word, to photographs, monuments, and documents housed in museums, libraries and record offices to be studied under the academic discipline of history. Politics and folklore became confused, history such as the French Revolution was rewritten to include celebratory days and delete massacres from history with public approval at the time. Looking back we see what the archivers of the time wanted us to see. Le Goff believes that photography "revolutionizes memory; it multiplies it and democratized it, gives it a precision and a truth never before attained in visual memory, and makes it possible to preserve the memory of time and chronological evolution." (Bate 2010 p247)
This suggests to me that all photography is seen as being truthful, rather than considering why the image has been archived and what relevance it had to society at that time. Was it the represented view or the actual view? Watching Simon Schama "The face of Britain" Episode 1, BBC2 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b06fv64s/face-of-britain-by-simon-schama-1-the-face-of-power accessed 19/10/15) he showed that throughout art history, the person who was in power had the choice of how they were represented. Taking Elizabeth 1, he revealed that the state had issued a decree on how she should be represented. Similar events were repeated throughout history until Yousuf Karch came to take the well known photograph of Churchill after Karch had removed the cigar from his mouth and the people of Britain (rather those in power) saw Churchill as he really was.
4. Le Goff uses Pierre Bourdieu's sociological work to explain that family albums are important because they show chronologically the important social memories which happened with the family or close network of friends.
Further points Le Goff makes around this are that the father is not always the family portrait maker, it could fall to the mother, and would the mother or father choose to record different memories? Or is this feminism's collective memory? In present times it could be the child who records the family memories. It may be an unorthodox collection.
The study of the family album is an interesting concept and whilst our culture is accepting of the changes over time, how would developing countries with different social cultures see this development? Would it be seen as futurespective and embrace it, or see it as repression?
Susan Sontag (1977 p9) suggests that "a family 's photograph album is generally about the extended family - and often , it is all that remains if it." This is because of the radical changes over time to the family unit creating a nuclear family. The album becomes a symbol of extended family life. This gives people a sense of belonging and shared memories.
5. Archives or databanks of images enables specific social groups to be represented. Oral history alongside photographs brings the images to life and links social groups to each other. We should aim to establish social remembrance through media, state photography and independent social groups.
My concern is that in the days of 24hour news channels and so many social media sites, who will be responsible for archiving what is remembered? Quality rather than quantity. Snapchat disappears from the screen although there is probably a trace of it somewhere.
6. Derrida (Bate 2010 p248) suggests we should ensure that archiving is responding to what has already been archived, questioning what is in the future and being responsible for the future.
7. Le Goff argues that a photograph is important because it can record other archived collections such as coins, crime scenes etc. traced back to the origins of photography.
8. Meta Archive
Bate cites the phrase "Meta archive". Essentially his argument is that a photographer (such as Henry Fox Talbot) was able to archive the monument and public space around the monument as it was being erected. So seeing Nelson's Column, the Victorian would think of Nelson. Talbot took over 5,000 images during his lifetime and if every photographer took this many, it would be a lot of data.Because the image is in a book, we do not have to actually remember the image. Bate is concerned with how the vast number of these images will affect memory.
9. Prosthetic Memory
Michael Foucault looked at reprogramming memories. A photograph could be seen as a prosthetic device for remembering something, either because the person experienced the event in a different way or may not have experienced it. If the photograph showed the partial truth, or an edited version of the truth, and the actual experience differed from the memory, the photograph may bear only a little resemblance to the memory. Should we believe our own memory or the photograph?
10. Freud explains that people remember events differently - some through visual, some through gestures and actions and some through sounds. Children remember visually which is the basis of our memory making.
11. Mnemic traces
Freud refers to mnemic traces of memory as being two systems. In the unconscious state, memories are not made, however, in the preconscious, we can recall memory and move it into the conscious part of the brain. This means sometimes temporarily forgetting to make room for new memories. Freud calls these "screen memories" and applies it to childhood memories. Everyone does not recall the same type of memories, or memories from the same age. There is a period of "infantile amnesia" in which basic mundane memories such as potty training are forgotten. Events can be mis-remembered too, such as time, place etc.
These screens or childhood memory can be retro active, pushed ahead or dream like. One memory can be combined with another. Some memories become favourites and relived over again.
12. Barthes in Camera Obscura, described Puntum (Proust's involuntary memory) being the "involuntary response to a photograph" (Bates 2010 p254)and Studium (Proust's voluntary memory). The involuntary response makes us question our memory bank in search of answers. Looking at a photograph can help us recall memories, by interacting with artificial memories and re-aligning the link between the two.
Photographic images should be looked at in terms of analysis rather than acceptance because memory alters how they are seen. Social memory is affective; alters feelings, moods, attitudes so Bate suggests applying the screen theory to look for answers.
Looking through a collection of my family photographs, I found an image of my daughter of infant school age in our garden before we built the extension and altered the garden.
I had forgotten that we put a tiny gate in the fence so that my daughter and her friend who lives next door could play with each other. This set off a chain of memories, about my daughter and her friend. Speaking to my daughter, she recalled different memories from the time. It was an interesting exercise to demonstrate Freud's screen memories.
References
David Bate The Memory of Photography Photographies Vol 3 No 2 p243
David Bate The Memory of Photography Photographies Vol 3 No 2 p244
David Bate The Memory of Photography Photographies Vol 3 No 2 p247
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b06fv64s/face-of-britain-by-simon-schama-1-the-face-of-power accessed 19/10/15
David Bate The Memory of Photography Photographies Vol 3 No 2 p248
David Bate The Memory of Photography Photographies Vol 3 No 2 p254
Bibliography
David Bate The Memory of Photography Photographies Vol 3 No 2 p243-257
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b06fv64s/face-of-britain-by-simon-schama-1-the-face-of-power accessed 19/10/15
http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw08607/Winston-Churchill
Susan Sontag (1977) On Photography, Penguin books, UK
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/18/magazine/memories-of-things-unseen.html?_r=0
Read David Bate's essay The Memory of Photography" originally published in Photographies Vol 3 No 2 pp243-57.
This is a challenging essay, which introduces some complex theoretical ideas and influential thinkers. Read the text closely, noting Bate's key points in your learning log, and extending your research to points that he references which are of interest to you.
1. Bate cites Jaques Derrida (Archive Fever 1996) as noting "that an anxiety about memory always has an element of death or "destruction drive", "of loss" at work in it." (Bate 2010 p243). Bate is critical that digital archiving into programmes such as Lightroom deposits the images in storage but what do they become in relation to our memory?
One of the current issues surrounding this is the speed at which technology is changing and whether we will be able to access digitally stored photographs in the future. Taking Derrida's quote literally, I recall storing images of my children on CD when I first had a digital camera and the file became corrupted over time. These were memories which were irretrievable, and so there is a strong argument for printing images which will withstand the digital technology.
2. Bate recalls the work of Freud in The Mystic Writing Pad to understand what memory may be. Natural Memory - human recollection and Artificial Memory - technical devices invented to support inscription of memory. The function of the camera was to "retain the fleeting visual impressions...materializations of the power he possessed of recollection, his memory" (Freud 1925 cited by Bate 2010 p244)
However, Derrida questions whether in the digital age, this is more complex than 100 years ago.
3. Collective Memory
Le Goff suggested that cultures archived selected material for centuries. Collected material has changed from spoken word to written word, to photographs, monuments, and documents housed in museums, libraries and record offices to be studied under the academic discipline of history. Politics and folklore became confused, history such as the French Revolution was rewritten to include celebratory days and delete massacres from history with public approval at the time. Looking back we see what the archivers of the time wanted us to see. Le Goff believes that photography "revolutionizes memory; it multiplies it and democratized it, gives it a precision and a truth never before attained in visual memory, and makes it possible to preserve the memory of time and chronological evolution." (Bate 2010 p247)
This suggests to me that all photography is seen as being truthful, rather than considering why the image has been archived and what relevance it had to society at that time. Was it the represented view or the actual view? Watching Simon Schama "The face of Britain" Episode 1, BBC2 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b06fv64s/face-of-britain-by-simon-schama-1-the-face-of-power accessed 19/10/15) he showed that throughout art history, the person who was in power had the choice of how they were represented. Taking Elizabeth 1, he revealed that the state had issued a decree on how she should be represented. Similar events were repeated throughout history until Yousuf Karch came to take the well known photograph of Churchill after Karch had removed the cigar from his mouth and the people of Britain (rather those in power) saw Churchill as he really was.
4. Le Goff uses Pierre Bourdieu's sociological work to explain that family albums are important because they show chronologically the important social memories which happened with the family or close network of friends.
Further points Le Goff makes around this are that the father is not always the family portrait maker, it could fall to the mother, and would the mother or father choose to record different memories? Or is this feminism's collective memory? In present times it could be the child who records the family memories. It may be an unorthodox collection.
The study of the family album is an interesting concept and whilst our culture is accepting of the changes over time, how would developing countries with different social cultures see this development? Would it be seen as futurespective and embrace it, or see it as repression?
Susan Sontag (1977 p9) suggests that "a family 's photograph album is generally about the extended family - and often , it is all that remains if it." This is because of the radical changes over time to the family unit creating a nuclear family. The album becomes a symbol of extended family life. This gives people a sense of belonging and shared memories.
5. Archives or databanks of images enables specific social groups to be represented. Oral history alongside photographs brings the images to life and links social groups to each other. We should aim to establish social remembrance through media, state photography and independent social groups.
My concern is that in the days of 24hour news channels and so many social media sites, who will be responsible for archiving what is remembered? Quality rather than quantity. Snapchat disappears from the screen although there is probably a trace of it somewhere.
6. Derrida (Bate 2010 p248) suggests we should ensure that archiving is responding to what has already been archived, questioning what is in the future and being responsible for the future.
7. Le Goff argues that a photograph is important because it can record other archived collections such as coins, crime scenes etc. traced back to the origins of photography.
8. Meta Archive
9. Prosthetic Memory
Michael Foucault looked at reprogramming memories. A photograph could be seen as a prosthetic device for remembering something, either because the person experienced the event in a different way or may not have experienced it. If the photograph showed the partial truth, or an edited version of the truth, and the actual experience differed from the memory, the photograph may bear only a little resemblance to the memory. Should we believe our own memory or the photograph?
10. Freud explains that people remember events differently - some through visual, some through gestures and actions and some through sounds. Children remember visually which is the basis of our memory making.
11. Mnemic traces
Freud refers to mnemic traces of memory as being two systems. In the unconscious state, memories are not made, however, in the preconscious, we can recall memory and move it into the conscious part of the brain. This means sometimes temporarily forgetting to make room for new memories. Freud calls these "screen memories" and applies it to childhood memories. Everyone does not recall the same type of memories, or memories from the same age. There is a period of "infantile amnesia" in which basic mundane memories such as potty training are forgotten. Events can be mis-remembered too, such as time, place etc.
These screens or childhood memory can be retro active, pushed ahead or dream like. One memory can be combined with another. Some memories become favourites and relived over again.
12. Barthes in Camera Obscura, described Puntum (Proust's involuntary memory) being the "involuntary response to a photograph" (Bates 2010 p254)and Studium (Proust's voluntary memory). The involuntary response makes us question our memory bank in search of answers. Looking at a photograph can help us recall memories, by interacting with artificial memories and re-aligning the link between the two.
Photographic images should be looked at in terms of analysis rather than acceptance because memory alters how they are seen. Social memory is affective; alters feelings, moods, attitudes so Bate suggests applying the screen theory to look for answers.
Looking through a collection of my family photographs, I found an image of my daughter of infant school age in our garden before we built the extension and altered the garden.
References
David Bate The Memory of Photography Photographies Vol 3 No 2 p243
David Bate The Memory of Photography Photographies Vol 3 No 2 p244
David Bate The Memory of Photography Photographies Vol 3 No 2 p247
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b06fv64s/face-of-britain-by-simon-schama-1-the-face-of-power accessed 19/10/15
http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw08607/Winston-Churchill
Susan Sontag (1977) On Photography, Penguin books, UK David Bate The Memory of Photography Photographies Vol 3 No 2 p248
David Bate The Memory of Photography Photographies Vol 3 No 2 p254
Bibliography
David Bate The Memory of Photography Photographies Vol 3 No 2 p243-257
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b06fv64s/face-of-britain-by-simon-schama-1-the-face-of-power accessed 19/10/15
http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw08607/Winston-Churchill
Susan Sontag (1977) On Photography, Penguin books, UK
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/18/magazine/memories-of-things-unseen.html?_r=0
Local History
October 2015
"This project is designed to develop your research skills....
Using the internet, local library, museum or any other resources at your disposal, conduct a short investigation into a historical aspect of the area in which you live or are currently based. This could relate to industry or other narratives in the distant past, or a more recent event.
Gather some primary sources such as copies of photographs, illustrations, maps, oral/written accounts and write a brief account (around 300 words) describing what you have researched and any ideas you have about how this subject might be photographed today in a project such as assignment 3". OCA course material
Looking through www.28dayslater.co.uk and www.darkplaces.co.uk I became interested in a 17th century water powered Cotton Mill in Nether Langwith, attached to a farmhouse which had until fairly recently been a restaurant. Researching it's history in the local library, and on the internet I found enough information to inform my proposed photographs and document the mill's history. There was also a visitor centre in the neighbouring village with local books on the area and mill. Images on the websites showed I needed to go with someone due to the state of the building.
I set off to investigate the building, and unfortunately it is now up for sale with a commercial estate agent. The windows and doors were all sealed with metal panels and there was no way in. It was in a bad state of disrepair with evidence of fires and someone sleeping rough. I took some images as a record and had to abandon this idea as there was no access inside or round the back of it.
As I have an interest in industrial buildings and live not too far from the Derwent Valley Heritage Mills, I considered looking at Arkwright's Mill in Cromford, Derbyshire. Our family associates it with memory, being just far enough for a day out. I studied the work of jamesmorris Landscape of Wales which I thought may work as a way of showing the side of the village / mill which most tourists don't see.
As well as information boards and pictures on site, there is plenty of information on the web generated from the Arkwright Society, dating back to the beginning of the mill and how Arkwright used existing waterworks from the mines as the mines stopped being productive. I learnt much to add to my existing knowledge, and started working on this as a possible assignment idea.
James Morris used the weather effectively to promote grey skies and enhance the grey buildings, fog and lack of people. His images are desaturated and he seemed to pick out a tiny bit of detail from a large area. I read several reviews on his work and my conclusion on making this style work with this subject was that perhaps my "place" was too touristy. Even the hidden footpaths were neatly kept.
I also looked at the work of George Miles (exhibited at Derby's Format 2015) as a local photographer who has similarities in his ways of working to Stephen Shore. He has just published a book entitled Views of Matlock Bath. I would describe his images as banal; including signposts obstructing buildings, litter, images with three of the same colour car, carparks and over different seasons.
After reviewing my initial images, I decided that my idea was probably too large and needed narrowing down as well as less touristic images.
Clipstone Camp WW1 Trenches
I went back to my initial idea of the WW1 training camp and looked at narrowing it down to just the trenches, and gaining access on Sundays when the machinery was not being used. I purchased a local history book from Mansfield Museum and together with newspaper articles on the reconstruction, images from WW1 showing life in the trenches and websites from the local history group. I found one piece of oral history - a reflection of soldiers marching in the area. Last year as part of the "Trent to Trenches" exhibition, there was a display in the local museum which would have been really useful!
"This project is designed to develop your research skills....
Using the internet, local library, museum or any other resources at your disposal, conduct a short investigation into a historical aspect of the area in which you live or are currently based. This could relate to industry or other narratives in the distant past, or a more recent event.
Gather some primary sources such as copies of photographs, illustrations, maps, oral/written accounts and write a brief account (around 300 words) describing what you have researched and any ideas you have about how this subject might be photographed today in a project such as assignment 3". OCA course material
Looking through www.28dayslater.co.uk and www.darkplaces.co.uk I became interested in a 17th century water powered Cotton Mill in Nether Langwith, attached to a farmhouse which had until fairly recently been a restaurant. Researching it's history in the local library, and on the internet I found enough information to inform my proposed photographs and document the mill's history. There was also a visitor centre in the neighbouring village with local books on the area and mill. Images on the websites showed I needed to go with someone due to the state of the building.
I set off to investigate the building, and unfortunately it is now up for sale with a commercial estate agent. The windows and doors were all sealed with metal panels and there was no way in. It was in a bad state of disrepair with evidence of fires and someone sleeping rough. I took some images as a record and had to abandon this idea as there was no access inside or round the back of it.
As I have an interest in industrial buildings and live not too far from the Derwent Valley Heritage Mills, I considered looking at Arkwright's Mill in Cromford, Derbyshire. Our family associates it with memory, being just far enough for a day out. I studied the work of jamesmorris Landscape of Wales which I thought may work as a way of showing the side of the village / mill which most tourists don't see.
As well as information boards and pictures on site, there is plenty of information on the web generated from the Arkwright Society, dating back to the beginning of the mill and how Arkwright used existing waterworks from the mines as the mines stopped being productive. I learnt much to add to my existing knowledge, and started working on this as a possible assignment idea.
 |
| Modern day image combined with photograph from 1910 |
James Morris used the weather effectively to promote grey skies and enhance the grey buildings, fog and lack of people. His images are desaturated and he seemed to pick out a tiny bit of detail from a large area. I read several reviews on his work and my conclusion on making this style work with this subject was that perhaps my "place" was too touristy. Even the hidden footpaths were neatly kept.
I also looked at the work of George Miles (exhibited at Derby's Format 2015) as a local photographer who has similarities in his ways of working to Stephen Shore. He has just published a book entitled Views of Matlock Bath. I would describe his images as banal; including signposts obstructing buildings, litter, images with three of the same colour car, carparks and over different seasons.
Clipstone Camp WW1 Trenches
I went back to my initial idea of the WW1 training camp and looked at narrowing it down to just the trenches, and gaining access on Sundays when the machinery was not being used. I purchased a local history book from Mansfield Museum and together with newspaper articles on the reconstruction, images from WW1 showing life in the trenches and websites from the local history group. I found one piece of oral history - a reflection of soldiers marching in the area. Last year as part of the "Trent to Trenches" exhibition, there was a display in the local museum which would have been really useful!
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| OS map circa 1910 - shows Clipstone before the camp |
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| Digging trenches or clearing heather Clipstone Camp taken from book |
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| Useful book with links and images |
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| My images taken in 2014 of reconstruction and assignment plan |
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| Assortment of websites, my notes, phone camera images in case trenches are inaccessible during assignment work |
Clipstone Camp World War 1 Trenches
"At the outbreak of the World War 1, Clipstone Heath was just
that – an area of heathland owned by the Duke of Portland from the Welbeck Estate
in Nottinghamshire, used for shooting partridge and sports. Lord Kitchener was
a frequent visitor to Welbeck. Three of Nottinghamshire’s estates; Thoresby,
Wollaton and Welbeck already had temporary camps in preparation for training
soldiers. Marples (2013 p22) suggests that it is not known why this area was
chosen for siting a permanent hutted training camp, although under the Defense
of the Realm Act, the War Office had the powers to “take land or building or
construct works” if needed.
The camp was located between Forest Town (a new mining town)
and Clipstone (a hamlet) on an area which had been bought by the Bolsover
Colliery Company. The mine (sunk in 1912) had been planned with a new village
of 700 houses. Instead, Clipstone Camp was built here to house 25,000 soldiers until
1920 when it was sold off. Work on the mine was postponed when young miners
were recruited as soldiers. Also the war made importing goods such as wood more
difficult and prices increased. As a result, the Forestry Commission was formed
in 1919 to manage supplies of timber, often depleting large areas of forest and
changing the landscape of the area. The pit was completed in 1920. Soldiers
moving to the area had not seen coal mines before and Mansfield Colliery became
a tourist attraction with evening trips organised down the mine shaft for the
soldiers stationed there.
Marples (2013) a local historian, interviewed locals who
recalled the trenches becoming play areas for children after demobilisation. Whilst
exploring the unmarked trails in the forest, I came across some of the old
trenches. Mountain bikers who explore off the beaten track recall the area known
locally as the “bomb holes” and have often practiced their skills there. The
purpose of this place changed from training soldiers to entertaining folks, the
place left to nature, sometimes forgotten and waiting to be rediscovered.
I discovered the Forestry Commission were managing the area
where the original trenches are. Huge swathes of trees have been harvested and
others are colour coded waiting to be felled. Where work has already taken
place, poles mark out the trenches. I found the trench reconstruction
fascinating as it has recreated and brought the past to life from photographs
for future generations to explore especially as the WW1 veterans are no longer
with us." (Assignment 3)
Reference
Marples (2013) Clipstone Camp and the Mansfield Area in
World War 1; The impact of a large military presence in a North Nottinghamshire
community, Forest Town Heritage Group, UK p22
Assignment work- Concentrate on Trench area - heathland ,pit, old trenches, reconstruction.
Style of photography - weather e.g mist and fog (being November) reminiscent of Ernest Brooks but using colour instead of monochrome. Could look at photoshop equivalent of autochrome lumiere process Jules Gervais Courtaillemont, Hans Hildenbrand. (see plan notes above)
Autochrome images (11 images)
Autochrome images (11 images)
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View from Vicar Water Viewpoint looking out over Sherwood
Pines
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| Clipstone Forest WW1 trenches in clearing |
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| Original WW1 trench |
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| An original trench area marked for safety |
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Position of reconstructed WW1 trench
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| Land surrounding the reconstructed trench |
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The reconstructed trench area
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The curved trench
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Inside the trench
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| The trench |
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