Who's looking at Mum and Dad by claire scanlon

Who始s Looking At Mum and Dad? Exploring the public and private relationships of family photography Ella Penn (BA Contemporary Photographic Arts Practice) Graduation Year: 2011

Acknowledgements I would like to thank Colin Grey for his kind and insightful contribution to my dissertation, his quick response, and for taking the time to discuss his practice with me personally. I would also like to thank Martin Whinney and Paul Grivell for all their support and kind words of encouragement.

2 Â

Abstract. This dissertation explores the subgenre within family photography of children who have documented their family, in particular their parents. This break in traditional family documentation has led to much speculation about the personal motivations of the artists in question. This essay uncovers some of these possible motivations in an attempt to explore the minds of the fine art photographers and shed some light on this untraditional approach to home mode documentation. A key number of theorists are explored within this field including Susan Sontag, Jo Spence, Patricia Holland, and Roland Barthes to give a wider overview of this genre.

Chapter one begins with an outline of the historical and cultural origins of family photography to establish the ideological trends in the cultural formations of social norms in picture taking within the family home.

Chapter two looks at three main fine art photographers in this genre Larry Sultan, Colin Grey and Elinor Carucci. It analyses their work, drawing out common themes and personal motivations driving their practice.

Chapter three discusses the public and private aspects of the family as a subject, looking at other key figures in this field such as Sally Mann and Nick Waplington.

The conclusion articulates the overall complexities of the genre and brings together reflections on the importance of the family group as subject, my own practice and core issues around public display.

3 Â

Contents Page

Abstract

Page: 3

List of illustrations

Page: 5-6

Introduction

Page: 7-8

Chapter 1: Historical and Contextual Beginnings

Chapter 2: Artistsʼ Motivations

Page: 9-16

Page: 17-40

Larry Sultan

Page: 17-24

Colin Grey

Page: 25-32

Elinor Carucci

Page 33-40

Chapter 3: Public and Private

Page: 41-47

Conclusion

Page: 48-50

Bibliography

Page: 51-53

Appendix

Page: 54-55

List of illustrations

•

Front cover image, Family Blocked Collage with 44 Photos. By Clary

Productions http://www.clarypro.com/1001.jpg

Fig: 1 "Miss Matthews, Brighton". (1866) Merrick at Joseph Langridge's

•

photographic studio, 33 Western Road, Brighton. http://www.photohistory-sussex.co.uk/MerrickGallery.htm

Fig: 2 Kodak Girl.

•

http://nishi.slv.vic.gov.au/latrobejournal/issue/latrobe-76/fig-

•

latrobe-76-097a.html

Fig: 3 Dato Family, Group Portrait. (1885)

http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/kt096nc3m9/?brand=calisphere

•

Fig: 4 Photo of post-war family group – courtesy of The State Library,

NSW. http://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/Images/Youth/postwar.jpg

Fig: 5 Visa family photo

•

http://www.buildingcollector.com/2010/09/souvenir-buildings-in-advertising.html

•

Fig: 6 Larry Sultan, (1984) Mom Posing by Green Wall and Dad Watching

TV. http://www.heyhotshot.com/blog/2010/04/

•

Fig: 7 Larry Sultan, (1985) Dad on Bed.

http://www.buildmagazin.com/tl_files/build/news/artfashion/kw16/sultan/Sultan_Dad_on_bed.jpg

Fig: 8 Larry Sultan (1986) Practicing Golf Swing

•

http://www.independent.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00425/5010304_425867s.jpg

Fig: 9 Colin Grey, (1991) Hull Under Water, in The Parents. (1995)

•

Scotland: Fotofeis Ltd

Fig: 11 Colin Grey, In Sickness and In Health. Image 16/47.

•

http://www.colingray.net/galleries/in-sickness-and-in-health/in-sickness-and-in-health-11

Fig: 12 Colin Grey, In Sickness and In Health. Image 28/47.

•

http://www.colingray.net/galleries/in-sickness-and-in-health/in-sickness-and-in-health-24

Fig: 13 Elinor Carucci, (1999), Zipper Mark.

•

http://www.artnet.fr/artwork/426093186/425933139/elinor-carucci-zipper-mark.html

Fig: 14 Elinor Carucci, (1997), My Motherʼs lips.

•

http://123nonstop.com/pictures-Carucci,_Patricia

•

Fig: 15 Elinor Carucci, (2002) My Mother and I.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2010/jan/20/photography-elinor-carucci-best-shot

•

Fig: 16, Sally Mann, (1989 )Candy Cigarette.

http://www.burnasone.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/candycigarette_by_sallymann.jpg

•

Fig: 17 Nick Waplington, (1991) Living room. Scotland: Cornerhouse

publications.

•

Fig: 18 Dorothea Lang, (1936) Migrant Mother.

http://articles.sfgate.com/2009-08-23/news/17178626_1_thompson- s-image-hard-times-mcintoshs-mother

Introduction

With reference to the domestic family photo genre this dissertation focuses on fine art photographers working with the subject of parental and immediate family photography.

Family photography was one of the first uses of photography, and the documentation of loved ones remains a core function to this day. The family album is one of our most cherished items - it is our way of connecting the past to the present and consolidating our familiesʼ most celebrated events and achievements in its album-like state.

In exploring this subject I focus on the specialist area of child-parent photography – that is, photography of parents by children - either where they have grown up photographing their parents, or have photographed them at an age of maturity.

My interest in this reversal of tradition has a direct relationship to my own photographic practice, as I am undertaking a personal project based on my father. By investigating this sub-genre I am able to engage my personal reflections on this genre as both an aid to further my understanding of my own practice and as part of the larger picture of family photography.

The idea of power and role reversal is central to many of the ideas discussed. I wish to gain an understanding of the motivations of the practitioners who have broken with the norm and photographed the seemingly mundane ʻsnapshotʼ side of life, and not the conventional subjects of traditional photographic family photography such as children, weddings, holidays and achievements.

Understanding the personal motivations behind the artists considered here is key to interpreting many of their images, with an aim to unlock some of the reasons why they have chosen to work in this area. I also explore why the artists

have chosen to make work specifically with the intention of it being viewed in a public arena.

The dissertation has three chapters; the first discusses the historical and cultural origins of family photography, establishing ideological trends within this tradition and addressing the formal arrangements with which the imagery is constructed.

Chapter two discusses three fine art photographers, examining their imagery and personal motivations, in an attempt to discover key themes.

Chapter three extends ideas addressed in chapter two, looking further into the public and private aspects of family photography. Using key figures it focuses on common themes and motivations underlying the genre of family photography.

Books and articles on philosophy and family photography have been read and digested to inform the understanding of the subject matter. One significant source of information in the formulation of my ideas is Family Snaps, by Jo Spence; the bookʼs extensive compilation of fine artists discussed many themes and concepts that helped to formulate my own questions within the area of children photographing their parents. The 1990 exhibition catalogue We Are Family also provided me with key ideas to consider.

Deciding to contact Colin Grey directly has been an invaluable tool in obtaining a first-hand account of his work; it allowed me to pose questions specifically relevant to this essay around parent-child photography.

Chapter 1: Historical and Contextual Beginnings ʻCameras go with family lifeʼ (Sontag, 1979: p.8). The family has always been a primary focus of attention within photography. The act of memorialisation which we believe the camera achieves with no superior voice of clarity, allows us to freeze time, giving us a tool with which to entomb the appearance of our loved ones long after their passing.

In the 1800s high street photographic studios were the first port of call when you wanted a keepsake of a loved one. Figure 1 is an example of a Carte-devisite Portrait, produced in 1866, at Joseph Langridge's photographic studio in Brighton. Long exposure times meant that subjects required a propping aid such as a table to rest upon, as features in this image of Miss Matthews, in an attempt to minimise movement so the image would not appear blurred.

Fig: 1, Miss Matthews, Brighton (c1866).

The norm of employing a professional photographer to take family photographs was broken when in the late 1800s the first lightweight and inexpensive cameras were introduced to a mass market. The introduction of camera equipment for anyoneʼs everyday use has been an extraordinary event, influencing the ways that people can keep track of who they are and how they have lived. (Chalfen, 1987: p.4)

Kodak founder George Eastman, made this transition possible in 1888. Previously cameras were exclusively in the domain of skilled aristocrats and professionals working for the middle class. These heavy immobile objects required tripods, and the glass plates made them fragile pieces of equipment requiring expertise to use. Eastmanʼs invention of film and lightweight cameras, allowed the medium to be used by the less affluent – though their interest in the family as subject remained.

From the 1880s family photography and the capturing of domestic life was increasingly marketed towards women. Mass campaigns were headed by companies like Kodak, the worldʼs foremost camera and film manufacturer at the time, with slogans like ʻYou press the button, we do the restʼ (www.inventors.about.com/) demonstrating the ease and simplicity of picture taking, so much so that ʻeveryoneʼ could do it, with all the complicated stuff involving chemicals set-aside for the experts - who were predominantly male. Later, when in 1893 the Kodak girl (figure 2) was introduced with her distinctive stripy blue and white dress she quickly became an iconic symbol for the brand, further establishing the companyʼs dominance within the market.

Fig: 2

Gradually newer cheaper cameras became accessible to the public and in 1900 Kodak launched the box brownie camera, at a cost of only five shillings (25p). It was no surprise that the inexpensive simplistic camera was an instant hit, its low price meant that nearly all families with a modicum of disposable income could afford to buy one.

The invention of colour film was another seven years down the line with the invention of Autochrome plates, manufactured by French inventors the Lumiere brothers, and it took another 30 years before it was developed into Kodachrome, which for 74 years was to be the foremost mass marketed colour film of its kind.

Kodak the worldʼs leading manufactures of cameras was and still is synonymous with photography all over the world. The Kodak name itself has come to describe a concept, standing in for a cultural ideology or trend in societyʼs habitual picture taking mode. Goodenough refers to ʻKodak Cultureʼ as:

What ever it is that one has to learn, know, or do in order to participate appropriately in what has been outlined as the home mode of pictorial communication. (Goodenough, in Chalfen, 1987: p.10)

He uses this term to describe ways in which we have culturally appropriated photography as a set of codes and conventions we follow in our ʻhome modeʼ method of photographic communication, in order to create appropriate images of family. The well-known brand Polaroid has also become a term to describe a typography of people by Goodenough:

The term “Polaroid people” is used to provoke an inventory (or environmental topography) of specific people, places, and things that regularly appear in the photograph collection. (Goodeneough, in Chalfen, 1987: p.11)

The idea that we can classify and categorise the habitual processes which are synonymous with ʻhome modeʼ photography leads us to believe that we have, unbeknown to ourselves, adopted a set of codes and conventions in order to feel we are achieving the ʻcorrectʼ documentation of our loved ones. This set of ʻcorrectʼ guidelines for family portraits stems from the aesthetic compositions employed by photographers in the 1800s. We can see in Figure 3 that the structured composition of the subjects within the frame has changed little in the image taken in the 1950s (see Figure 4).

Fig: 3 Dato family. (1885)

Fig: 4 Post-war family group -The State library, NSW

The subjects within both images are forward facing, huddled together smiling for the camera. The traditional compositional arrangement has changed little over the course of a century.

Family photographs aim to classify time and people, showing the relations of one group together, separate from the rest. However it is this approach which has stereotyped family photographs, our willingness to conform to the ʻcorrect pictorial methodsʼ has categorized us and led to family photographs becoming indistinguishable from each other.

The happy nuclear ʻfamily brandʼ was created for the promotion and selling of a multitude of products in the 1950s; images of immaculately turned out families were an ideal tool for the selling of products, people buying into both the brand and the ideology that by consuming products they too could aspire to this level of perfection in their own lives.

This tradition of ʻfamily brand marketingʼ continues to this day with big name companies such as VISA using the family unit to demonstrate the wholesomeness of their brand.

Figure 5 sees a happy family together on holiday at a well-known French landmark, the ʻabroadʼ setting again traditional of family photography. The advert implies that Visa is a family brand, and that by using your credit card you can buy into this life style, enjoying luxury family breaks, if you build up your miles.

Fig: 5 Visa family Advert.

Most family photographs are now taken with cheap and easy to operate digital cameras, with the home and family life still at the centre of its use. With men now more involved in the child rearing process the role of the camera operator has come to be shared accordingly. Where once mother would be in charge of photographing the family, it seems now that this role has been re-delegated; or perhaps more accurately, been shared more evenly between the two. Although the role of picture maker has been more evenly divided, the keeper of the album has not, with many mothers boasting a glorious back catalogue of past home achievements, all neatly arranged in chronological order, in family albums, or neatly stowed away in shoe boxes in the attic.

The family album is our connection to the past, and at the same time, our model for the future. Geoffrey Batchen in Photography and Remembrance states, ʻAlbums give everyday people the opportunity to represent their autobiographies in artful combinations of words and pictures.ʼ (Batchen, 2004: P.57). The family album is our own personal history; it is the only static record of our ephemeral existence. It is then no wonder that we all hold our family albums with such great esteem.

Chapter: 2 Artistsʼ Motivations This chapter will review the work of three key figures in the genre of fine art family photography. By addressing key questions and examining imagery from these artists I aim to explore both the break in traditional family photography, and the public/private aspects of their practices Lamb states: ʻThe child photographing his parents reverses the social norm, complicating the sense of power, identity, and self-creation experienced on either side of the camera.ʼ (www.americansuburbx.com)

Larry Sultan Cultural and symbolic agendas

ʻSo photography is instrumental in creating family not only as a memento, a souvenir, but also a kind of mythology.ʼ (The Genius of Photography).

Larry Sultan began photographing his parents for a 10-year period during the 70s and 80s. He documented his parentsʼ Irvin and Jean in a collaborative project, which included his photographs and his parentsʼ commentary on the work; old family movies and photographs from his parents, all of which were incorporated into the project.

Sultanʼs extensive project on his parents explores a variety of themes and issues, ranging from the personal to the more traditional aspects of family life. Themes such as ageing, conflict, roles, relationships, self-exploration and post war American family values are explored.

Sultan claimed that his project was a reaction to a sense of urgency, which he felt at his parentsʼ ageing. He spent much time contemplating his childhood, reminiscing by re-visiting old family albums and home videos. At times the

project unearthed painful memories and emotions, and it became as much about his own self-discovery as it was about his parents.

Figure 6 is one of Sultanʼs most iconic images. Here we see his mother Jean posing against the green living room wall, and his father Irvin, back to the camera, watching the baseball on the TV. The first thing to note is the unconventional composition, not only is Jean looking solemnly at the camera, but Irvin is not even facing us. Breaking away from the traditional conventions of front facing, smiling family photos Sultan demonstrates the tensions at play within the image. Jean has dressed for the part, best foot forward, posing as a Hollywood model of the times may have done, whilst Irvin seems totally disinterested in the whole set up.

Fig 6

Mom Posing by Green Wall and Dad Watching TV, 1984

Fig: 6 Mom posing by the green wall and dad watching TV, (1984)

Fig: 7 Dad on Bed, (1985)

Figure 7 shows one of Sultanʼs composed images of his father, sitting on the edge of his bed dressed in a suit and tie, Irvin sits pensively staring off into the distance, a feeling of waiting or reflection in the air. Is Sultan alluding to his fatherʼs dismay at being forced into an early retirement, unable to settle into the slow pace of retired life reflecting upon his past career? Is this the reality of the situation, or is this what we are led to believe by Sultan?

Irvin commenting upon the staging of some of the images his son made remarked: ʻWhat you do is like filming movie actors when they are standing around between scenes.ʼ (Sultan, in Beattie & Grundberg, 1992: p.102) He went on to say that ʻIʼm really happy to help you with your project, but if you want my honest feelings, for the most part thatʼs not me I recognise in those pictures.ʼ (Sultan, in Beattie & Grundberg, 1992: p.102)

Knowing that Sultan staged most of his images we expect to read into them with a more curious eye. Russell Hart from American Photo feels that ʻhis artifice seemed to be to universalize the aimlessness that often comes with retirement in our culture.ʼ (www.stateoftheart.popphoto.com/) Some feel that Sultan used his parents as a means to ʻuniversaliseʼ issues surrounding retirement and later life, visually communicating his own assumptions; he has created scenarios, which he feels best sum up retirement and the emotional states that ensue. However by doing so has he typecast his parents, subsequently missing more ʻnaturalisticʼ events that may have unfolded?

Irvin often felt that the images didnʼt reflect his true identity or self, and that for the most part his son was a ʻdirector on a film setʼ, staging scenarios for him to act out in his vision of American suburban life.

The image of Irvin practising his golf swing in the living room shows a man at leisure, the luscious green of the carpet even mimicking the grass of the fairway, his golden tan alluding to lazy days spent enjoying the sun.

Fig: 8 Practicing Golf Swing, (1986)

There may be other factors at play within Sultanʼs imagery of his parents; perhaps he feels they have become a stereotype of repressed American post war suburban life? In creating these scenarios he perhaps attempts to exorcise his parentsʼ hidden emotions, releasing them from the regimented roles adopted in their ʻnew way of lifeʼ.

Sultan is clearly alluding to social aspects within his imagery, although the images address themes and emotions of both personal and social themes, they also deliver enjoyment at an opulent level.

Knowing that the photographs were made for public viewing, the work takes on another dimension, taking it away from the conventional family snap, and moving into the realm of constructed fine art photography. Themes, codes and symbolism, carefully thought out in advance, will no doubt at times conflict with the personal aspects of their representation.

Identity

Sultan has often spoken about the portrayal of his parents within his imagery, he felt the project was at times confusing in its mixed messages, but that at the heart of it, it was a personal project about his own self-discovery and a method by which to preserve his parents identity:

Is that why Iʼve come here? To find myself by photographing them? These are my parents. From that simple fact, everything follows. I realise that beyond the rolls of film and the few good pictures, the demands of my project and my confusion about itʼs meaning, is the wish to take photography literally. To stop time. I want my parents to live forever. (Traub, Heller & Bell, 2006: p.50)

The sentimentality and conflicting emotional involvement with a project so close to home is difficult especially if the photographer is attempting to use the family as a vessel to convey both social and personal issues. At heart the project is still a pictorial record of his parents. The confusion expressed by Sultanʼs parents over their portrayals or ʻtrueʼ identity is apparent and to be expected in a project involving multiple social and secular themes.

Themes of power and control are no more apparent in his work than in any family album if one knows the background history. The fact that Sultan chooses to share his imagery with a large audience doesnʼt detract from his own desires to create personal sentimental imagery. He has created a construct of family life as much as any person who picks up a camera to stage a happy family photograph, it is the break in tradition that makes it distinct as much as the compositional subject matter does and the making public, in a fine art photo context.

Colin Grey Role reversal

Colin Grey has documented his parents over three decades. He began at the age of five when he was allowed a single shot from the familyʼs box brownie. After completing his arts degree at Leeds University, he began the Parents project. Grey describes his earlier work as being primarily about focusing on his parentsʼ relationships with one another as well as his with them.

I emailed Colin Grey to pose some questions about his photographic projects. He was very obliging and kindly responded. I have used his words verbatim in this text. (See Appendix.)

Traditionally it is the father who is delegated as the familyʼs photographer, and with it a sense of power or respected authority is normally obtained. As previously discussed in the case of Larry Sultan this role reversal created tensions between himself and his father. The change in the group dynamics unbalanced the sense of power creating tensions over who has the power of portrayal. I was therefore interested to understand Greyʼs take on this concept of power assignment that the camera may have had within his family, he comments: ʻI felt I was more in power even before taking the pic's! I'd left school at 15 so had paid for up keep and was very independent.ʼ (Author interview)

Greyʼs strong sense of identity at becoming independent at such a young age may have helped to establish the respect needed to adopt his role as family photographer. His parentsʼ acceptance and encouragement of his artistic vision of them as a family helped to make the project more playful. Grey states ʻI saw my parents as my friends.ʼ (Author interview) The project as it developed became more of a collaboration between himself and his parents always keen to accredit their creative involvement he stated: ʻInitially it was

me directing them, in the early 80's, but as time went on my parents would add their ideas, so it became more collaborative.ʼ (Author interview)

Fig: 9

Hull Under Water

(1991)

Figure 9 is an example of Greyʼs earlier work from The Parents. He would often create elaborate setups for his imagery in which his parents would feature as the main protagonists. The image shows his parentʼs living room, which has been transformed into a water world, where his parents in their guise as swimmers enjoy the dip.

When posed the question as to whether Grey had a specific artistic vision of the work he was creating, he was quick to state, ʻArt? I never regarded what I was doing was art, it just evolved. In the early 80's hardly anyone made money from producing photo-art, the series was done for myself.ʼ (Author interview)

The images Grey produced, although unconventional in the traditional sense, are still an extension of his own familyʼs private archive of imagery, they came to be viewed primarily as art only when they were taken placed in a public setting. Today there is a wealth of photographers who practice in this genre of fine art family photography who we can draw on for inspiration, but at the time when Grey was working he was seen as revolutionary. He states,

There wasn't any initial family influence, as hardly any one took pictures of their families, in an artistic way. In fact I was criticized for taking them! So thier unique. Bill Owen had done a book called Suburbia in b/w it gave me confidence to venture into suburbia as it was untapped then. Diane Arbus also influential' and Guy Boudin for his surreal set ups. (Author interview)

Clearly we can see the surrealistic influence in Greyʼs early work, his elaborately setup image Hull Under Water alludes to the fantastical, dreamlike allegories of another time and world. Many of his early creations in the Parents series follow this stylistic thematic with the core elements of fun and creativity used to produce comical imagery.

Preservation

The style and content of Greyʼs work took on a new direction in 2000 when he began the final instalment of The Parents series, In Sickness and in Health, the final chapter in the work. We see in these images the last stages of his motherʼs illness, with Greyʼs father struggling to adapt to his newfound role as her carer, sadly ending in her death.

Figure 10 depicts his motherʼs hands holding a photograph taken of herself some years earlier.

Fig: 10 In Sickness and In Health.

The first thing that is apparent when we look at this image is that Greyʼs style has changed dramatically. The image is very stark, and nearly entirely black with only the centralised focal point of her hands visible. In his earlier work we were accustomed to his use of vivid colours and elaborate narratives, this seems to have been stripped away from this image. It seems to reflect upon the past, as a means to cope with the future, symbolising his want to remember his mother, as she was when she was younger.

His choice to photograph his motherʼs final stages must have been hard, the images we see are harrowing and beautifully touching, rarely do we have the ability to share in the intimate final days, or moments, in the lives of others in such a well documented and sentimental manner. Grey says, ʻI have let people in to share my familyʼs quiet agony by documenting things which I wish were not happening. Although, painful, the process has also been cathartic.ʼ (www.heraldscotland.com/)

Figure 11, Greyʼs mother being spoon fed her medication, is perhaps for me one of the saddest images from In Sickness and In Health. The once playful energy and good health of his mother has now dissipated, leaving only sickness and frailty in its place.

Fig: 11 In Sickness and In Health.

The controversial imagery from this final staged work has caused debate over Greyʼs ethical approach; with some feeling the images are in bad taste. His response to comments was mixed, ʻLooking back and exhibiting the pic's I feel guilty about some of the images, they show my mum in a bad way, she was a beautiful woman, I was keen to show the pic's of her holding old pic's of herself from the 1940's, to show this beauty.ʼ (Author interview)

Greyʼs choice to publically share these intense moments of emotional grief has allowed the depiction of old age and deterioration to become less of a taboo subject, becoming a source of support at times for those who have needed it. He remarks, ʻit has helped people grieve themselves, people have cried, and I hope, by speaking to them I have helped them.ʼ (Author interview)

For Grey the journey which he has experienced, and which we have lived with him through his imagery has been one of love, and ultimately of sadness. The images provide both enjoyment and humour, as well as a source of artistic influence for myself and many others. His camera, initially a tool that brought the family together over many years of collaborative enjoyment, in the end provided Grey with a means to enable detachment at times of intense emotional sadness.

Elinor Carucci Identity

Elinor Carucci (b.1971) began photographing her family as a teenager with her fatherʼs Canon camera. She studied photography at the Academy of Art and Design, graduating in 1955 and moving to New York, where she made a name for herself, showing her work in group and solo shows. She came to international attention with her book Closer (2002.)

Her primary subject for this photographic project was her mother; we can see through Carucciʼs intimate imagery that her relationship with her mother is one of admiration and love. Her grandparents, father, brother and cousins also feature within the book, in varying intimate and compelling ways. The intimate bond Carucci has with her family has enabled her to photograph moments which go unrecorded in many of our albums – moments which we may feel are too raw or intimate become subjects for her imagery, bridging the private and the public aspects of family life. Her familyʼs complicity in allowing her to photograph them in such a manner, for a public audience, is rare and is perhaps what makes her work so sought after and compelling to look at.

Carucci has a particular interest in the body, her cameraʼs gaze often falls upon the line and form of the curve of a hip or the shape of a breast; the nature of the imagery is not erotic per se, but asks questions about sexuality and identity. Through her inquisitive eye and the formal aspects within her imagery, we gain a sense that she is interested in understanding the movements and textures of “objects” rather than simply depicting their carnal intent.

Fig: 12 Zipper Mark, (1999).

The extreme close up of the skin (see figure 12) depicts the tell-tell signs of a zipper mark imprinted onto the skin. Carucci photographs these subtle traces and anchors their association with themes of womanhood and sexuality.

ʻAs well as intimacy, she explores at length the method and execution of femininity.ʼ (Guardian, 2002, p: 18) Natural and seemingly mundane tasks such as washing hair are transformed by Carucci and loaded with feminine empowerment in a manner, which doesnʼt attempt to threaten or be boastful, rather is explorative and sensual. The alluringness of the imagery invites the viewer to behold the beauty that is womanhood.

Red lips are an iconic symbol of womanhood and sexuality within out western society, symbolising passion and sexual provocation. The image of her motherʼs red lips is therefore interesting in both its subject matter and its composition, the image goes against the conventions of traditional portraiture in that we are deprived of defining features of the woman, instead we are simply shown the bold red lips of a womanʼs mouth, the image is simply labelled My Mothers Lips, (See fig 13). We could surmise that Carruci has photographed her motherʼs lips, as an aid to the formation of the female identity, as well as her own, she is perhaps looking to her mother for clues to femininity, much in the same way as a daughter may look on in wonderment as a child, at the sight of her mother applying lipstick.

Fig: 13 My Mother’s lips, (1997).

Carucciʼs imagery goes beyond what we are accustomed to when we think of ʻfamily snapsʼ, the levels of intimacy, which she shares with us, are distinct in that they are both uncomfortable and starkly innocent.

For some the urge to take images of family is driven by the need to identify, both with themselves and with others within that group. Carucci goes to great lengths to explore her familyʼs identity; she speaks about her need to document the moments that she feels encapsulated their distinct bonds with one another:

Itʼs the intimacy that makes me want to take the picture, to preserve it. Itʼs a combination of something thatʼs a little painful and a little funny and so familiar, yet we donʼt really see it. If I donʼt freeze this moment, I wont be able to look at it properly. Itʼs a little thing thatʼs there, then its gone. (Guardian, (2002), p.18)

Figure 14 again pushes the boundaries of public and private family photography, both in a fine art sense and in a more private manner with which we are accustomed. For Carucci, her motherʼs body has been a point of reference with which to address issues surrounding feminity and power. Her motherʼs willingness to be photographed in such open ways tells us of the power she feels towards her own identity as a woman.

Fig: 14 My Mother and I. (2002)

Carucci shares with us the moments that led up to the taking of this image, she tells us of her original motives and how they were changed by her motherʼs need to express her emotions over her impending divorce:

My mum had just taken a bath and was getting dressed. When I set up the camera, I was simply planning to photograph an intimate moment. Then she started talking. They were divorcing at the time, my parents, and she was going on and on about how to get guys, how all they want is sex, and how to wear a push-up bra. It was so funny. (Pulver, http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/)

The cameraʼs presence in peopleʼs homes has changed above all else the ways in which we behave; the initial introduction of a camera into any setting precipitates a procession of pouts, poses and general demeanor adjustments. When a camera is introduced more frequently into the lives of a family the dynamics of that group adjust accordingly. We see here that Carucciʼs family have grown up with its presence, becoming accustomed to living under its watchful eye allowing it to command from them a ʻspecial kind of attentionʼ. (Pulver, http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/) It is this attention that governs the outcome of the image; our own contentedness and overall impression, of the person or group photographed. The images Carucci has produced have, with clarity of vision provided a personal and unmatched intimate account of her familyʼs life from an alternative perspective.

When comparing the artists previously discussed, it is apparent that each has universal themes in common. In each instance the image-making process has involved the artistsʼ parents to varying degrees, it is these inclusions that show how integral the parental contributions are to the photographic documentation of these families.

The way in which each artist has chosen to tell their particular story is personal, but common universal themes of love and sentimentality can be

seen in all, our shared love and appreciation of the ʻfamily of manʼ does in part unite us, but in the same instance can serve to highlight our differences, as a very diverse and multinational world.

In his critique of the photographic exhibition The Family of Man Barthes argued that: A type of unity is magically produced: man is born, works, laughs and dies everywhere in the same way; and…that there is underlying each one an identical ʻnatureʼ, that their diversity is only formal and does not belie the existence of a common mould. (Barthes, 1993: p.100)

He goes on to point out that The Family Of Man dominantly emphasized universal themes, and in doing so obscured (or papered over) actual and significant differences re economic and political factors in an attempt to generalize and compile the universalities of our species for the purpose of the exhibition.

Chapter: 3 Public and Private

This chapter further explores the public and private aspects of family photography, drawing on examples to uncover different aspects of the production and consumption of family imagery. It could be suggested that there is a distinct segregation in terms of the methods of practice with which family photography is created, for both public and private audiences.

The first of these could be described as ʻexhibitionismʼ, where art is created with the distinct intention that a more public audience will view the works. Sally Mann is an example of a photographer who has adopted this uncommon approach; photographing her children over a number of years for projects such as Immediate Family, she has gained global recognition.

Candy Cigarette (fig 15) depicts one of her daughters centre frame posing with a candy cigarette. Knowing that the majority of Mannʼs images were staged we tend to look at them as artistic creations, made with the intention that a public audience would view them.

Fig: 15 Candy Cigarette, (1989)

Most family photography falls into the more private aspect of this genre created with a more retrospective approach to family life in the “normal” sense, documenting special familial events, which would then presumably be viewed by family and friends in a more intimate setting.

Most of the examples I have discussed previously focused on the photographers being directly related to the individuals they are photographing. What I want to discuss now is the non-immediate aspect of this genre, where practitioners who are un-related have chosen to play the role of family photographer. Unlike professional photographers working in photographic studios they have immersed themselves in these familiesʼ lives.

Nick Waplington has made a career out of photographing two working-class families from Nottingham. Having no familial relation to either group his photographic involvement is unusual. His close friendship with these two families enabled the book Living Room in to be made.

Living Room shows the private events of these familiesʼ lives, which would normally (if at all photographed) be taken by an immediate member of that particular family group. Waplingtonʼs imagery could be assessed by its ethical approach, being an ʻoutsiderʼ he has supposed objectivity, however he could be seen as taking advantage of the familiesʼ open nature. Quoted as having ʻsympathetic spontaneityʼ (Berger & Avedon, in Waplington, (1991) Cover Flap) many feel his images reflect the lives of the two families in an open and compassionate way, as shown in figure 16.

Fig: 16 Living Room.

It could be said that the ritual of family photography is a very personal affair. Sontag states, ʻAll photographs are memento mori. To take a photograph is to participate in another personʼs (or thingʼs) mortality, vulnerability, mutability.ʼ (Sontag, 1979: p.15) In viewing these images we partake in that person/s mortality, we bear witness to their existence, in the knowledge of their vulnerabilities and that the ravages of time will descend upon them. So it would follow that to have the drive and desire to fervently photograph a family that the photographer would have a direct involvement and personal motivation in doing so if he is not for instance being credited or paid to do the job.

So with an intimate drive of personal motivation many pictures within the home are created for purposes of reflection, archival record, and sentimentality. With this in mind the motivations for viewing another nonrelated or unknown in the immediate sense album would perhaps completely differ to that of our own? Holland & Spence state:

The intensity of oneʼs own family photographs can never be matched by someone elseʼs. We invest in our own albums with the weight of childhood experience, searching it for information, pouring into it our unfulfillable desiresʼ (Holland, & Spence, 1991: P.2)

The family photograph as art in the gallery setting is a whole other discussion entirely but to lightly touch upon the idea of it as art also relates to it as a discourse of interest to the ʻotherʼ not in the family.

When Barthes discussed the Studium he described the majority of images he encountered as being of general interest to himself, … ʻof the order of liking, not loving.ʼ (Barthes (1993a), p.27) And that the Punctum was something he only felt for certain images which he described as having pricked him personally.

When we look at other peopleʼs family photographs we often feel a general Studium, an understanding and a general interest in events, mostly our interest is amplified by those who are showing us the images, telling us about the moments before and after the image was taken, filling in the blanks and adding context and humour. Occasionally we come across an image that is so powerful visually and conveys so much raw emotion, that before we read the background story we are pricked with a Punctum of emotions. This could be put down to innate empathetic emotion, which is inherent in all to be interested in the affairs and well being of others, but sometimes an image can conjure up more than feelings of innate sentiment, we see in that image a reflection of ourselves our values and humanity, connecting us in a moment of application of what it means to belong. In a sense, a more ʻuniversalisedʼ Punctum rather than the personal, individualised Barthe-like notion of the word.

Heralded, as the modern day pictorial Virgin Mother and child, Dorothea Langeʼs migrant mother image of 1936 has become one of the most iconic photographs in American history. The image symbolic of many transnational themes such as family, preservation, and more culturally specific themes of Christian symbolism are visible. However, perhaps what has created the imageʼs Punctum is its compositional elements, the gesture of the womanʼs hand against her mouth in the ʻun-certainʼ anxious stance is recognisable to many as being representative of a body gesture of a person deep in thought. Placed in this context it is anchored to her children, we surmise from this she is expressing feelings of concern for their wellbeing. Voted by CNN viewers in America as ʻyour number one iconic photographʼ (www.edition.cnn.com/) it is then apparent that there is something about this image that has pricked the hearts of its viewers.

Fig: 18 Migrant Mother (1936).

Conclusion

ʻJust as we can never outgrow our connectedness to the family, so all art, no matter how abstract, will have its roots in the story of the unfolding of lifeʼ (Beattie & Grundberg, 1992. p.25)

The subgenre of family photography where children have photographed their parents is a mixed bag of motives and meanings. No two photographers can be said to have followed a set path in the way they have gone about it. Motivations such as preservation, identity, self-reflection, cultural and symbolic agendas, are some of the themes discussed in this essay.

Themes such as power and role reversal within these secular units have affected the relationships the individuals hold with one another and the work they consequently create. It would be impossible to assume that the intrusive nature of the camera, especially when in the hands of the younger generation looking back, would not have implications on the dynamics of the particular group, be they detrimental or insightful is purely speculative and personal to the artist and their families themselves. Our reading is that of outsiders looking in, we are only permitted to see what we are shown, we can only speculate upon a look or a gesture in the image; it is only when invited to share the personal account of the individuals that we truly begin to build the bigger picture.

My own practice within this genre of fine art family photography has enabled me to comment upon the artists discussed in an introspective manner, knowing personally the implications a project like this has upon the dynamics of the relationship between a parent and child. I wanted to understand the motivations of others for undertaking this project, as a means to compare and contextualise my own practice.

The personal motivations of the artists discussed differ from one to the next, as do my own, but the core issues of preservation, sentimentality, identity and love, run throughout. Although we are all outsiders in the lives of others, the connections that imagery allows us enables us to contrast and compare, and to seek solace in the knowledge that others too are acting to preserve their familyʼs lives.

The more fervent picture takers in the untraditional sense above have chosen to share in a public way their own familiesʼ lives, and the pride and joy they take in this is apparent to see.

As time passes and traditions change, we shall adapt our lives to the trends of society as our cultures merge and dissipate, but as long as cameras proliferate we will have a method to document our lives as testaments to how we once were.

The questions concerning the outsiderʼs interest in the family are as diverse and complex as that of the artistsʼ motivations themselves. The voyeuristic nature of our Big-Brother-like western society sees us all interested in the lives of others to varying degrees, perhaps primarily as a means to contrast and compare our own lives, Lamb states:

It is always fascinating to follow a series of photos that covers the chronology of the same individuals; there is something terribly intriguing about watching the changes wrought by time and experience. What has been accomplished? Have expectations changed? How many people have you actually been? (www.americansuburbx.com/2009/)

Our interest in the lives of others, especially those lives that have been so well documented by the likes of Sultan, Grey and Carucci, will draw interest from the public if placed in an area where they can be openly viewed.

To say that the public at large can have, or expect to have, the same emotional attachments to the images as the artist who has taken them has, is of course speculative but as stated by Jo Spence and Patricia Holland, ʻWe invest in our own albums with the weight of childhood experienceʼ (Spence & Holland. 1991: P.2). Perhaps we can not match like for like the same emotional attachment to these individuals, but can still have a significant interest and empathetic involvement with their lives.

In the exhibition catalogue Whoʼs Looking At The Family Val Williams eloquently summarises the discourse on this theme of family photography which enters the public sphere:

The photographers who have constructed these family stories have taken real lives as their starting points, but do not pretend objectivity. The families they have photographed have entered a public arena, giving us, the audience, an opportunity to observe, to make comment, to judge and compare. The intimacy of these narratives defies a concept of reportage, or universalism, or of humanism. They invoke ghosts, perhaps summon demons, or even perform the act of redemption (Williams, (1994), p.75).

Bibliography Primary resources:

Exhibitions •

BP Portrait Award 2010. 24 June-19 September, National Portrait Gallery.

•

The Family and the Land: Sally Mann 18 June -19 September, The Photographers Gallery.

•

Brighton Photo Biennial 2010, 1 October - 14 November 2010.

Artists emailed

•

Colin Grey, c.gray@strath.ac.uk October 26, 2010 11:42 AM.

Secondary resources:

Books

•

Barthes, R. (1993a) Camera Lucida, Vintage, London.

•

Barthes, R. (1993b) Mythologies, Vintage, London.

•

Bate, D, (2009) The Key Concepts Photography, New York, USA.

•

Batchen, G, (2004) Forget me not Photography & Remembrance, Princeton Architectural press.

•

Beattie, A, & Grundberg, A, (1992) Flesh & Blood, Photographersʼ Images of Their Own Families, Cournerhouse Publications, England.

•

Berman, L, (1993) Beyond the smile, The therapeutic use of the photograph, Routledge, London.

•

Berger & Avedon, in Waplington. N (1991),(cover flap), Living room, Cornerhouse Publications.

•

Chalfen, R, (1987) Snapshot versions of Life, Bowling Green State University Popular Press.

•

Peretz, H, (2005) Family Photographers Photograph Their Families, Phaidon Press, London.

•

Sontag, S, (1979) On Photography, Penguin Classics, London, England.

•

Spence, J & Holland P, (1991) Family Snaps, The Meanings of Domestic Photography, Virago Press, London.

•

Traub, C, Heller, S, & Bell, A. B (2006) The education of a photographer, Pictures from home, Larry Sultan, Allworth press, New York.

•

Wells, L , (2004) Photography: a critical introduction, Third Edition, Routledge, New York.

Exhibition catalogues

•

Williams, V. (1994) Whoʼs looking at the family? Barbican Art Gallery, London.

Videos •

Larry Sultan, The Genius of Photography, We are Family, episode 5 of 6 (2007) TV, Video, BBC 4, Thu 22 Nov, 60 Min.

Websites

•

Andrew Pulver, guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 20 January 2010 23.05 GMT. http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2010/jan/20/photographyelinor-carucci-best-shot Accessed 27/09/10

•

George Eastman - History of Kodak and Rolled Photographic Film, by 52

Mary Bellis, About.com Guide. http://inventors.about.com/od/estartinventors/ss/George_Eastman.htm Accessed 25/09/10 •

Merriah Lamb, Concordia University, American Suburb X Photography & Culture. Reconstructing the family: Larry Sultanʼs pictures from home, www.americansuburbx.com/2009/03/theory-reconstructing-familylarry.html Accessed 16/11/10

•

'Migrant Mother' your number one photograph. CNN. November 25, 2010 -- Updated 1426 GMT http://edition.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/11/24/icon.vote.photography/ind ex.html?iref=allsearch Accessed 04/01/11

•

Russell Hart, May/June 2010 American Photo. http://stateoftheart.popphoto.com/blog/2010/05/larry-sultan-picturesfrom-home.html Accessed 03/12/10

•

The Herald Scotland, Sheila Hamilton 18 Jan 2010. http://www.heraldscotland.com/arts-ents/stage-visual-arts/in-sicknessand-in-health-1.999591 Accessed 10/09/10

Newspapers

•

Guardian, Move Closer, (2002) Weekend pages, June 22.

Magazines/Journals

•

Source, No: 30. Spring 2002.

•

Afterimage, Vol: 34 No.6 May/June 2007.

Appendix Ella, here's a start, please correct mistakes and get back to me if not clear, Colin ________________________________________ From: Ella Penn [ella_penn@yahoo.co.uk] Sent: Tuesday, October 26, 2010 11:42 AM To: C Gray Subject: RE: The parents series. Dear Colin, I would like to thank you for your prompt reply and your willingness to help me with my research. I would perhaps find it easier at present to contact you via email if thatʼs ok, I would be perhaps a little too shy to talk to you directly on the phone as yet, silly I know. I am interested to hear about all aspect of your work, especially about your Primark project, which if I may add is really fantastic! But firstly I would like to start at the begging if I may. Having read a great del about your work I have a bit of an understanding as to some of your motivations for starting the project, but what I would really like to know more about is your relationship with your parents. Was the project about bringing you closer together as a family, art, self-discovery, etc....? if you could elaborate a little on any thoughts u have that would be great. Taking these images of my parents, initially it was me directing them, in the early 80's, but as time went on my parents would add their ideas, so it became more collabrative. I think you get closer to your subject wilst working together, and sometimes the proccess can be rough, so this can work in either way, but because you pull tho' a situation together, you become stronger, this is true in any walk of life. Art? I never regarded what I was doing was art, it just evolved. In the early 80's hardly anyone mage money from producing photo-art, the series was done for myself. You clearly had a lot of fun with your parents in what I see in many ways as a collaborative project, the role play and elaborate set up of fantastic scenes are really intriguing, what was your inspiration behind this unconventional approach to family portraiture, were there any key artist at the time which inspired you? There wasn't any initial family inf' as hardly any one took pic's of their families, in an artistic way. In fact I was critisied for taking them! So thier unique. Bill Owen had done a book called

Suberbia in b/w it gave me confidence to venture into suberbia as it was untapped then. Diane Arbus also infl' and Guy Boudin for his surreal set ups A question I have been exploring in the project is the idea of power reversal; do you feel as a child photographing your parents that you somehow had a reversal of control or power when you were photographing them? I had never given that much thought, as I saw my parents as my freinds. I felt I was more in power even before taking the pic's! I'd left school at 15 so had paid for up keep and was v independent. As your project developed over the years we can clearly see a real shift in your style and subject matter as your parents aged and your mother was taken ill. I have read that you felt that the camera helped you to cope with the situation better, allowing for that level of detachment that is sometimes necessary, how do you feel now when you look back at the images you took during the series in sickness and in health? The series ISIH was cathartic and helped me deal with the illness and death of my mother. Looking back and exhibiting the pic's I feel guilty about some of the images, they show my mum in a bad way, she ws a beautiful woman, I was keen to show the pic's of her holding old pic's of herself from the 1940's, to show this beauty. When I look at them now the pain is less and it has helped people greive themselves, people have cried, and I hope, by speaking to them have helped them. I have also been exploring a more unconventional approach to family portraiture with my father Clive, recently I have been experimenting with a photo theatre narrative style approach, where we have been making up comical sketches about his silly ideas, (shopping bidding channels to name one we have shoot) it is such a rewarding project on many levels. I think that is a lovely idea....I think the most powerful work anyone can do is with the people they love. Please feel free to answer the questions as u see fit and to add any other comments which u feel u would like to share. Thank you again Yours kindly Ella Penn

55 Â