A.D. 868 . This year the same army went into Mercia to Nottingham, and there fixed their winter-quarters; and Burhred, king of the Mercians, with his council, besought Ethered, king of the West-Saxons, and Alfred, his brother; that they would assist them in fighting against the army. And they went with the West Saxon army into Mercia as far as Nottingham, and there meeting the army on the works, they beset them within. But there was no heavy fight; for the Mercians made peace with the army. (Anglo Saxon Chronicles)
Blurb book preview
Evaluation of Assignment 5 self-directed project
Out of all the Landscape assignments, I found this the most interesting but perhaps the greatest challenge. My ideas changed quite considerably from the original brief. In the beginning, the project was based on street photography of Vikings dressed in re-enactment clothing at a Viking Festival, working the figures into the landscape. Further photographic research developed my ideas and it became a pair of Viking re-enactment boots placed in a landscape known to the Vikings looking at heterotopic space (a real space which exists alongside another space at the same time where norms of behavior become suspended). I had hoped to link it with the re-enactment event this year celebrating 1000 years of King Cnut with an exhibition but I ran out of time. This is certainly a learning point for me; to produce a body of work I am pleased with seems to take longer as I research and develop the context where it fits into current photographic ideas.
During this project, I was fortunate to strike up a friendship with a reasonably local OCA Landscape student. We met to discuss ideas, attended exhibitions such as Martin Parr’s “Rhubarb Triangle” in the Hepworth Gallery, Wakefield (which had several photobooks on display) and attended two OCA Symposiums; Photography Matters and Pastoral paradigms. Inspired by photobooks from Alec Soth, Martin Parr, Joel Meyerovitz and research, this project became a sort of historical guide book.
My allotted time scale took longer than planned because I encountered some interesting experiences. Having read Joy Gregory’s anecdote about people stealing her shoes, I decided to take someone with me into Nottingham to be my boot watcher, who then sat back, well out of the shot. When the boots were in place, people saw the boots and walked around them, often commenting about the boots. I went back to reshoot at different times, thinking it was because it was not busy enough. Eventually, I had to ask my daughter to stand in to read the notice board as I needed people in my image. Maybe in London where the streets are so busy, this difficulty would not exist? It would be interesting to try it out. Perhaps the only way around this is to layer the images? I found myself appearing on my daughter’s Snapchat feed, lying on the floor photographing Viking boots!
There were different encounters in Sherwood Forest. Quite early on in the project, the weather had been exceedingly wet and the ground was waterlogged, meaning it was easier to walk than cycle. I met two rangers who encouraged me not to photograph on Sherwood Heath as there was a naked man running around! I had to re-evaluate where I was comfortable going on my own. However, I met some really interesting people on my travels; including a Friend of Thynghowe. I initially photographed Thynghowe from the bridleway, when I was given a tour of the site and an introduction to the historical and geographical features, allowing me access as the land is owned by Thoresby Estate.
I was keen to represent historical accuracy; literature was often conflicting. Anglo-Saxons Chronicles, perhaps combined with Hollywood dramatization in popular culture has given us the stereotypical Viking which is not an accurate depiction. So a group of people that led reasonably “normal” lives in an area where nothing unusual happened that has been watered down by 1000 years is hardly sensational by today’s standards. The challenge was how to turn this into something inspiring. Through research, I came to the conclusion that using John Urry’s “Tourist gaze” and by re-examining literature on spaces, a kind of historical guidebook was the way forward. Foucault’s heterotopic space provided a link back to Assignment 3 (World War 1 trenches) and Assignment 4 (Stan Douglas (2009) Abbott and Cordova 1971.)
Revised Artist's statement following tutor feedback:
My work examines the contemporary landscape traversed by the Great Heathen Army who marched from York to Nottingham in AD868, returning through Sherwood Forest and later settled alongside Anglo-Saxons as Warrior Farmers. They were not war mongering, blood thirsty seafarers who pillaged and plundered as depicted in popular culture. 2016 marks 1000 years since the death of King Cnut (Canute), a Viking King, rekindling the interest in Viking heritage.
Local tourism promotes the idea of Robin Hood within Sherwood Forest using Foucault’s idea of a heterotopic space (a real space which exists alongside another space at the same time where norms of behavior become suspended), where children can pretend to be Robin Hood or one of his Merrie Men, but walkers and local staff working in the coffee shop and craft centre mingle with tourists. Sherwood Forest should be a mediated space as fictional films of Robin Hood would appear to show the Nottinghamshire landscape. However, “Robin Hood Prince of Thieves” (1991) Dir. Reynolds, shot on location in England, used locations such as Yorkshire, Northumberland, Wiltshire and the New Forest. Due to the rise in social media, visiting tourists’ expectations are well informed.
Using Foucault’s view of a heterotopic space, I positioned Viking re-enactment boots within the landscape to signify the presence of the Viking standing in the land as a historical character. The chosen landscapes have Viking connections. Photographing so that the boots remain in sight, the angle of view on most images is fairly narrow. Shot over the Winter and early Spring months, the undergrowth is bare so the boots remain visible in the photograph.
Final Proposal for the self-directed project Assignment 5 Landscape
Working Title
In the footsteps
of the Great Heathen Army
Subtitle
Topic/Theme
2016 marks 1000
years since the death of King Cnut (Canute), a Viking King. A renewed interest
in Viking heritage has sparked the imagination of Nottinghamshire, especially
within Sherwood Forest. Friends of Thynghowe local history group have been
involved for some years with Mercian Archaeological Services following the
discovery of a possible Viking Thyng. Finds from an archaeological dig (2016) will
hopefully confirm Viking people used the space as a significant place within
the landscape. In old English, Thyng meant a governing assembly or High Court.
Laws made at “Thyngs” formed the basis of mediaeval law in England. During the
mediaeval period, Sherwood Forest was a Royal Hunting Forest and home to the
fictional outlaw Robin Hood. The land passed to the Duke of Portland and is now
maintained by the Forestry Commission.
Current ongoing
research discovered that the Vikings settled alongside Anglo-Saxons as Warrior
Farmers and were not war mongering, blood thirsty seafarers who pillaged and
plundered as depicted in popular culture, with which some people do not wish to
associate themselves. Local tourism promotes the idea of Robin Hood within
Sherwood Forest using Foucault’s idea of a heterotopic space (a real space
which exists alongside another space at the same time where norms of behavior
become suspended), where children can pretend to be Robin Hood or one of his
Merrie Men, but walkers and local staff working in the coffee shop and craft
centre mingle with tourists. Sherwood Forest should be a mediated space as fictional
films of Robin Hood would appear to show the Nottinghamshire landscape.
However, “Robin Hood Prince of Thieves (1991) Dir. Reynolds, shot on location
in England, used other locations such as Yorkshire, Northumberland, Wiltshire
and the New Forest. Due to the increase in social media, tourists are now
likely to be well informed with what to expect.
In Assignment 4, I
touched on John Urry’s notion of the “Tourist Gaze” (2011) suggesting that
“photography has a part to play in updating local heritage” and through
re-enactment our understanding of history is developed. Berger (1972) cited by
Urry (2011 p4) explains, “we never look at just one thing; we are always
looking at the relation between things and ourselves.”
Using Foucault’s
view as a heterotopic space, I will position Viking re-enactment boots within
the landscape to signify the presence of the Viking standing in the land as a
historical character, questioning the difference between the Viking age and
modern day. Local people can engage with the heritage of the area through
recognition of the places and labelling the image with the place name.
MacCannell (1999) cited by Fotsch (2010) suggests that photographs in
guidebooks act as “markers which make the most unspectacular places worth
seeing”. My accompanying text will ensure that the Vikings are portrayed in a
different light from that of popular media.
Audience
Prints from the
accompanying book (with text) would be of interest to local history groups such
as “Friends of Thynghowe”, local residents, visitors of living history events, local
museums, libraries and possibly displayed at a re-enactment event.
Approach and methods
The Great Heathen
Army marched from York to Nottingham and back again, passing through Sherwood
Forest and settling in the area. My project will study an area of landscape
with Viking connections, researched through recent archaeology and historical
records. Using a full frame camera and photographing so that the boots remain
in sight, the angle of view on most images will be quite narrow. Some will show
the land underneath the boot so the viewer will appreciate the lack of arable
land. Photographs will be taken during one season, preferably winter or spring
so that the undergrowth is as bare as possible. Research will be carried out in
Nottinghamshire libraries, the internet and through Friends of Thynghowe, at a
re-enactment event and dig day. If necessary, the Forestry Commission may be
able to help.
Access
Bridleways,
footpaths and the city centre will not require special permission. Thynghowe is
on land owned by Thoresby estate. This would need special permission.
Timetable and budget
150-mile return trip
to Yorvik Viking Festival to buy re-enactment boots (second hand -authenticity)
Photography (1
season)
Book writing, editing
and printing
Research on local
history
Availability of walking
companion(s) due to photography in remote areas
Proposed research references
In Joy Gregory’s “Cinderella
tours Europe”, Gregory’s images of tourist spots in capital European cities are
inspired by conversation with Caribbean girls where “Europe was a place of
unattainable dreams, regarded in the same way as Europeans think of Ancient
Greece or the Holy Roman Empire.” Fast Forward Photography (n.d.) The local
discovery of Thynghowe, re-enactment Viking culture through living history and
my personal interest in Viking history prompted me to examine the importance of
the Viking age in the sense of Gregory’s Ancient Greece or Holy Roman Empire,
asking viewers to consider how the land might have looked in the Viking times
and challenge the traditional perspective through photographs and text. I will
look at the locations I use as heterotopic spaces, (as defined by Foucault)
because the boots in the location are transient.
References
(Anon) (n.d.) Cinderella Tours Europe. Fast Forward
[online.] Available from: http://www.fastforward.photography/gallery/cinderella-tours-europe/
(last accessed 22/07/2016)
(Anon) (2016). What is heritage? 3:1 [online]. Open University. Available from: http://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/history/heritage/what-heritage/content-section-3.1.
(last accessed 22/07/16)
Fotsch, M. (2010) Confronting the tourist vision. Politics and
Culture. 2003 (1) [online] Available from: https://politicsandculture.org/2010/08/10/confronting-the-tourist-vision-2/
[last accessed 28/07/2016]
Urry, J. and Larson, J. (2011). The
tourist gaze 3.0 London: Sage. (p.4)
Bibliography
(Anon) (2016) Robin Hood Prince of Thieves (1991).
British Film Locations [online] Available from: http://www.british-film-locations.com/Robin-Hood-Prince-Of-Thieves-1991[last
accessed 28/07/2016]
Edensor, T. (2001) Performing tourism, staging tourism
(Re)producing tourist space and practice. Tourist studies. 1 (1), pp.59-81
[online] Available from: http://www.nyu.edu/classes/bkg/tourist/a019896.pdf
[last accessed 28/07/2016]
Focault and
heterotopia [user-generated content on line] Creat. Jones, V. 19/05/2010. 2
mins 14 secs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFcxzoPbJis
[last accessed 28/07/2016]
Fotsch, M. (2010) Confronting the tourist vision. Politics and
Culture. 2003 (1) [online] Available from: https://politicsandculture.org/2010/08/10/confronting-the-tourist-vision-2/
[last accessed 28/07/2016]
Halewood, C. and
Hannam, K. (2001) Viking heritage tourism: authenticity and commodification. Annals of Tourism and research. 28 (3),
pp. 565-580 [online] Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/222570066_Viking_heritage_tourism_Authenticity_and_Commodification
[last accessed 28/07/2016]
"The breadth and depth of your research is
driving the coursework and assignment work forward and leading to some very
interesting developments." (Bloomfield, 2015)
Reading back over comments made from a previous
assessment, one of the pointers was developing research. I have really tried to
link theory to practice over this course and I think it is paying off.
Points for development
·
"introduction to the
Photobook at the top of the page"
·
"cut the assignment
briefs" - too much writing on the page
·
"important to include
your reference points in your prep, as you have done, but keep some distance to
Gregory’s series in the work itself and in your artist statement, as this
should be your own voice."
·
"permission for
soundtrack". I have contacted the performer, but no response as yet
·
"artist’s statement a
little confusing. It should be a finished statement of intent, so don’t include
‘hopefully confirm’ for instance. It could probably be a bit shorter, and kept
tightly focused on your work."
·
Include research in the reading
list tab e.g. Foucault’s heterotopic space
Previous idea for assignment
"Ghosts within the landscape looks
really interesting, I especially like the two woman walking into shot. Some
of the others are a little close perhaps, do you intend that
intimacy? Subject gaze to camera fundamentally
affects the way an image is read – is that really what you want? You have
to be rigorous with your visual language because you’re engaging with complex
levels of representation here, that’s why I’m nit picking!"
Great to have feedback on an idea I originally pursued before developing
it into the final version. I take my tutor's point about the gaze. I had
thought the images needed more space around them. The gaze is something to be
aware of in the future.
Further research (appears on books/research page on blog)
Liz Wells - gaze
Gillian Rose covers the Lacanian gaze, the male gaze and the tourist
gaze in her Visual Methodologies.
I had not come across Rose's book before but found a copy on the
internet, along with John Berger's ways of seeing. Having read these, I was
able to link assignments together in more detail through the tourist gaze.
Original proposal for the
self-directed project Assignment 5 Landscape
Working Title
In the company of
Vikings
Subtitle
Vikings re-enter
Sherwood Forest
Topic/Theme
Thynghowe was
probably a significant place within Viking culture, politics and landscape. In
old English, a Thing meant a governing assembly or High Court. Laws made at
“Things” formed the basis of mediaeval law in England. During the mediaeval
period, Sherwood Forest was a Royal Hunting Forest, home to the fictional
outlaw Robin Hood. The land passed to the Duke of Portland and is maintained by
the Forestry Commission. Lack of access preserved the site and under heritage
and national lottery funding excavations are being carried out by Mercia
Archaeological Services and Friends of Thynghowe (group of local volunteers).
Viking heritage is
popular in England possibly because it is a chapter of history which begins
with capturing school children’s imagination. The Viking Festival in York each
February attracts a huge following with living history groups acting out epic
battles and sharing tales, practicing crafts, and living everyday life
alongside the modern city inhabitants. Interactive museum exhibitions and TV
shows such as The Vikings and The Last Kingdom (2015) encourage the cult following.
2016 is an important year for the site as it marks 200 years since the first
perambulation around the site.
My project will
study the forest landscape of Birklands (the location of Thynghowe), researched
through modern archaeology and historical records and interweave this with the
faces and possibly artefacts of modern day Vikings. To achieve this, I will
spend time exploring the forest, absorbing the atmosphere, light, sounds and
imagining how the landscape looked to our ancestors. This will be a three stage
project; to capture images of modern Vikings and their posessions, take forest
photographs, and blend together in photoshop. Through enquiry into the concept
of hyper-real, simulacrum and living history photography, I will investigate
whether my images are believable to my audience.
At this stage, I
can take photographs of the Vikings. I have not practiced much forest photography
and I am inspired by Helen Sear, Patricia Townsend and Ellie Davies. My
Photoshop skills need brushing up to achieve the desired outcome.
Audience
Initially this is
a personal project to develop my creative and contextual skills. It could be of
interest to the “friends of Thynghowe”, local residents, local history groups,
visitors to living history events, museums and libraries alongside the
accompanying research from the Thynghowe project.
Plans for a new
visitors centre for Sherwood forest are being drawn up and the bid is out to
tender. I could develop a business plan
and look at arts council funding, after an initial trial.
Approach and methods
The images would be
contemporary rather than traditional.
At present I have
3 ideas – will probably go with 1 or 2
Take portraits of modern
Vikings in “real” living history outfits at Jorvik Viking Festival then photoshop
into photographs of Birklands. Would
like to display in light boxes outside so viewers find themselves walking
amongst their ancestors. May have to be a gallery exhibition in visitors
centre. No sound
Take portraits of modern
Vikings, print and pin on trees. Take photos of Vikings on trees like and
remove at end of day like land art. Gallery exhibition or Viking portraits in
light boxes for people to walk around at the site. Could correspond with open
day. Similar to Puranen’s Imaginary Homecoming.
As 1 and project the images onto a screen as a film like Helen Sear does with “The company of trees” at the Vienna Biennicle. For this I would need to take video of a Viking walking across a wooded background and integrate it into my film set. (engage with her idea that her woman in a red dress is like a stage curtain). Sounds match the film? The audience may expect it to. What happens if it is not accurate? Refer back to assignment 4 hyper-real, untruthful, disbelieving, or should it be silent?
As 1 and project the images onto a screen as a film like Helen Sear does with “The company of trees” at the Vienna Biennicle. For this I would need to take video of a Viking walking across a wooded background and integrate it into my film set. (engage with her idea that her woman in a red dress is like a stage curtain). Sounds match the film? The audience may expect it to. What happens if it is not accurate? Refer back to assignment 4 hyper-real, untruthful, disbelieving, or should it be silent?
Access
Viking Festival
February 2016 (York) 3 available days with events happening (check weather).
Will still go ahead if York refloods. Forest accessible. Open day following dig
16th April 2016. Spring Thyng
reenactment Sherwood Pines May 15th 2016
Timetable and budget
150 mile round
trip x 2 journeys to York (2 days)
Forest photography
(? 7 days)
Prepare images (1
month of evenings)? May be unrealistic
Printing and
mounting costs
Buy or borrow
artefacts?
Light boxes? I
have no experience of this – research
model release
forms (RPS)
Proposed research references
context – identity – through fairytales
–Landscape of memory
Ellie davies http://www.elliedavies.co.uk/images/
https://vimeo.com/124376937
helen sear the company of trees
Moving through the forest – outsider moving
in what’s on the periphery? Exploration
Old railways, sculpture, old coal mine,
pond, golf course, forestry machinery, logs, even how its used? Husky racing,
cycling, walking, burnt out cars
http://www.anhava.com/texts.php?id=20&name=Jorma%20Puranen&action=1
Original Artists statement: In the footsteps of the Great Heathen Army
My work examines the contemporary landscape traversed by the Great Heathen Army who marched from York to Nottingham in AD868, returning through Sherwood Forest and later settled alongside Anglo-Saxons as Warrior Farmers. They were not war mongering, blood thirsty seafarers who pillaged and plundered as depicted in popular culture.
2016 marks 1000 years since the death of King Cnut (Canute), a Viking King, rekindling the interest in Viking heritage. Finds from an archaeological dig (2016) will hopefully confirm Vikings used recently discovered Thynghowe as a significant place within the landscape. Laws made at “Thyngs” formed the basis of mediaeval law in England.
Local tourism promotes the idea of Robin Hood within Sherwood Forest using Foucault’s idea of a heterotopic space (a real space which exists alongside another space at the same time where norms of behavior become suspended), where children can pretend to be Robin Hood or one of his Merrie Men, but walkers and local staff working in the coffee shop and craft centre mingle with tourists. Sherwood Forest should be a mediated space as fictional films of Robin Hood would appear to show the Nottinghamshire landscape. However, “Robin Hood Prince of Thieves (1991) Dir. Reynolds, shot on location in England, used other locations such as Yorkshire, Northumberland, Wiltshire and the New Forest. Due to the rise in social media, visiting tourists’ expectations are well informed.
Using Foucault’s view of a heterotopic space, I positioned Viking re-enactment boots within the landscape to signify the presence of the Viking standing in the land as a historical character, questioning the difference between the Viking age and modern day. The chosen landscapes have Viking connections. Photographing so that the boots remain in sight, the angle of view on most images is fairly narrow. Shot over the Winter and early Spring months, the undergrowth is bare so the boots remain visible in the photograph.
With an interest in Viking heritage tourism, I was enthused by Joy Gregory’s series, Cinderella tours Europe”, (1998-2001). These images of tourist spots in capital European cities are inspired by conversation with Caribbean girls where “Europe was a place of unattainable dreams, regarded in the same way as Europeans think of Ancient Greece or the Holy Roman Empire.” Fast Forward Photography (n.d.) Gregory, shows images of a pair of golden shoes in different capital cities; with the aim of recording and returning home. Continuing with the theme of Urry’s “Tourist Gaze”, my project challenges the viewer to consider the difference between the land now and the Viking age, updating the traditional view of the local heritage and developing our understanding of history through re-enactment.
Nicola Hampshire (2016)
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