'Photography Heroes' Presentation:
Deborah Turbeville: 1932-2013
Turbeville was an American fashion photographer who began her career as a fashion editor.
Much of Turbeville’s work was influenced by her quiet childhood in a grand house on the edge of Boston, where she was, in a way, cut off from the outside world. Her mother urged her never to try and be like others and to “be original” which wasn’t too hard for Deborah Turbeville who was given leave off school when her teacher didn’t appreciate her response to the task of ‘drawing something about Christmas or America’- her interpretation was described as quite ‘weird’.
Something which plays a great part in many of her photos is her love for “the fog, the snow storms, the wind and the raging oceans” of Boston which we can sense within her photos; here she wants to retain some sort of history, setting her scenes in old bathhouses, strange gardens and ruined mansions.
What I found most surprising about Turbeville’s work was the fact that they were used in magazines such as ‘Vogue’, since they have an essence unlike any other fashion photography of her time, or even now. In her work there is a greater focus on the figures and the narrative rather than the actual outfits of the models- she mentioned in an interview that “I have done a lot of fashion photography in my career, but I never thought the clothes were the main thing”. The way that she can separate herself from the task given and interpret and explore it in her own way, which she has done all her life, is one reason why she is one of my photography heroes.
A theme that is present in Turbeville’s work are women that all gaze down creating a sense of “humiliation or embarrassment”. This highlights her desire not to conform to gender conventions of her time and male domination- this is clear by the way that she chooses to photograph women in a dreamy atmosphere rather than create images that are, quote, “for men”.
Something else that fascinates me about Turbeville’s work is her technique. She would take polaroids of the scene which acted as a sketch and would then keep them in drawers or boxes for a long time after. This allowed them to become very scratched and aged giving them a different “spontaneous” and natural atmosphere to them. This product is what really interested her and so she would manipulate her other photos by often tampering with the film- she would tape, scrape and erase them.
Mario Giacomelli: 1925-2000
Born in Senigallia in Italy, Giacomelli worked as a typesetter whilst enjoying painting as a hobby. After WWII, he taught himself photography and he would roam the streets of Italy, capturing life as it was so that he could preserve the landscapes and the people of the region after such a distressing time. This was his motivation.
Much of his work was inspired by Neorealism in Italian Cinema. This was a movement within film in which the stories were set amongst the poor, filmed on location rather than in studios and often used non-professional actors. We can see some of these characteristics in Mario Giacomelli’s work, which acted as a documentary of life in working class Italy.
His themes often revolved around loneliness and death. One of his series’ was of an old people’s home in which he created some very dark, haunting images.
Like Deborah Turbeville’s work, his photos are also ridden with marks and impurities which reflect the images of the sick, poor and the old. His photos also have a great contrast with which he emphasises in the darkroom using techniques such as ‘burning in’ and ‘dodging’. This manipulation can create quite a dream-like quality to the image, as we can see in the photos of the priests in the snow in which they appear as if they’re floating.
I love the rawness of the images and the way that when you look at them, you feel as if you are there in the streets of Italy, with him.
Giacomelli’s landscape series were taken from a bird's’ eye view. What’s so interesting about these ones is that they are made up of a pattern of lines and marks in a very abstract way so often it is difficult to recognise that the actual image represents the farms and countryside.
Paul Outerbridge: 1896-1958
Paul Outerbridge was an American photographer. Whilst serving in the US army, he worked as an illustrator and a designer. He then created ‘commercial and art photography’ which led him to become the highest paid ‘image-maker’ in New York City. He is also known for experimenting with colour photography using a ‘tri-colour’ carbro process- a complicated process of printing which produces a quality coloured images.
His work is very unlike my other two ‘Photography Heroes’ as for one, the photos are still-life’s that are meticulously composed before being photographed, but they also have a very different quality. The images are all of very sharp and clean shapes made up of block colours in which we can see his history of illustration and design, compared to the dirtiness and ‘scruffiness’ of Turbeville’s and Giacomelli’s work. I find this aspect of the photos very satisfying.
Turbeville was an American fashion photographer who began her career as a fashion editor.
Much of Turbeville’s work was influenced by her quiet childhood in a grand house on the edge of Boston, where she was, in a way, cut off from the outside world. Her mother urged her never to try and be like others and to “be original” which wasn’t too hard for Deborah Turbeville who was given leave off school when her teacher didn’t appreciate her response to the task of ‘drawing something about Christmas or America’- her interpretation was described as quite ‘weird’.
Something which plays a great part in many of her photos is her love for “the fog, the snow storms, the wind and the raging oceans” of Boston which we can sense within her photos; here she wants to retain some sort of history, setting her scenes in old bathhouses, strange gardens and ruined mansions.
What I found most surprising about Turbeville’s work was the fact that they were used in magazines such as ‘Vogue’, since they have an essence unlike any other fashion photography of her time, or even now. In her work there is a greater focus on the figures and the narrative rather than the actual outfits of the models- she mentioned in an interview that “I have done a lot of fashion photography in my career, but I never thought the clothes were the main thing”. The way that she can separate herself from the task given and interpret and explore it in her own way, which she has done all her life, is one reason why she is one of my photography heroes.
A theme that is present in Turbeville’s work are women that all gaze down creating a sense of “humiliation or embarrassment”. This highlights her desire not to conform to gender conventions of her time and male domination- this is clear by the way that she chooses to photograph women in a dreamy atmosphere rather than create images that are, quote, “for men”.
Something else that fascinates me about Turbeville’s work is her technique. She would take polaroids of the scene which acted as a sketch and would then keep them in drawers or boxes for a long time after. This allowed them to become very scratched and aged giving them a different “spontaneous” and natural atmosphere to them. This product is what really interested her and so she would manipulate her other photos by often tampering with the film- she would tape, scrape and erase them.
Mario Giacomelli: 1925-2000
Born in Senigallia in Italy, Giacomelli worked as a typesetter whilst enjoying painting as a hobby. After WWII, he taught himself photography and he would roam the streets of Italy, capturing life as it was so that he could preserve the landscapes and the people of the region after such a distressing time. This was his motivation.
Much of his work was inspired by Neorealism in Italian Cinema. This was a movement within film in which the stories were set amongst the poor, filmed on location rather than in studios and often used non-professional actors. We can see some of these characteristics in Mario Giacomelli’s work, which acted as a documentary of life in working class Italy.
His themes often revolved around loneliness and death. One of his series’ was of an old people’s home in which he created some very dark, haunting images.
Like Deborah Turbeville’s work, his photos are also ridden with marks and impurities which reflect the images of the sick, poor and the old. His photos also have a great contrast with which he emphasises in the darkroom using techniques such as ‘burning in’ and ‘dodging’. This manipulation can create quite a dream-like quality to the image, as we can see in the photos of the priests in the snow in which they appear as if they’re floating.
I love the rawness of the images and the way that when you look at them, you feel as if you are there in the streets of Italy, with him.
Giacomelli’s landscape series were taken from a bird's’ eye view. What’s so interesting about these ones is that they are made up of a pattern of lines and marks in a very abstract way so often it is difficult to recognise that the actual image represents the farms and countryside.
Paul Outerbridge: 1896-1958
Paul Outerbridge was an American photographer. Whilst serving in the US army, he worked as an illustrator and a designer. He then created ‘commercial and art photography’ which led him to become the highest paid ‘image-maker’ in New York City. He is also known for experimenting with colour photography using a ‘tri-colour’ carbro process- a complicated process of printing which produces a quality coloured images.
His work is very unlike my other two ‘Photography Heroes’ as for one, the photos are still-life’s that are meticulously composed before being photographed, but they also have a very different quality. The images are all of very sharp and clean shapes made up of block colours in which we can see his history of illustration and design, compared to the dirtiness and ‘scruffiness’ of Turbeville’s and Giacomelli’s work. I find this aspect of the photos very satisfying.
Leaflet for an Exhibition:
London Nights Exhibition at the Museum of London
On Friday the 22nd, I visited the Museum of London where there was an exhibition called 'London Nights'. This show presented over 200 works by 60 photographers which all captured one of the most vibrant cities in the world after dark- London.
In this exhibition there were 3 rooms filled, ordered non- chronologically, with photographs of all shapes and sizes showing night time London in many different forms: as portraiture, documentary, conceptual photography and film. Each room had a theme- London Illuminated, Dark Matters and Switch on Switch off.
The fact that there was such a diverse range of images and eras created a very interesting journey through the gallery space; this also allowed there to be "something for everyone". |
One of the photos that stuck with me from this exhibition was Piccadilly at Night by Bob Collins because of how the only thing that is in focus is the man smoking a cigarette just off the centre of the photo. This immediately draws the eye to him. Through capturing people just walking in the streets of London, Bob Collins allows the viewer to immerse themselves in the stories of the pedestrians, each on their way home or to their 'night out'.