02: TableA table can be used for different purposes. Carrie Mae Weems explored storytelling in The Kitchen Table Series. In 30 Disposable Place Mats, Stephen Shore photographed place mats and food on tabletops. In the series Tellerbild, Floris Neususs created photograms of table items such as plates, including the work Tablecloth which is printed on light-sensitive fabric. Every day for five years, Hayahisa Tomiyasu took photographs from his window of how people interacted with a ping pong table. Investigate appropriate sources and produce your own response to Table.
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Initial thoughts
I found that the theme of 'table' stood out to me the most. Due to the multiple purposes a table inhabits, I feel this topic lends itself to multiple routes I can take. Something that I am initially interested in is how a table is defined, and, for instance, how a table (perhaps in a public space e.g., a cafe, an office) can be transformed into a (or their) desk for some people.
Lee Friedlander: At Work
Friedlander's collection of images depicts workers in several different locations, over the period of 16 years. His images are a product of the times they were taken in, for example, photographs documenting individuals on computers are a reflection of the construction of supercomputers in the mid 80s in Wisconsin. Alternatively, documentations of workers with telephones represent 1995 Omaha, cold calling as telemarketers.
Responding to Lee Friedlander's 'At Work.'
In taking these images, I was informed by Lee Friedlander's 'At Work' series. In examining Friedlander's images, I noticed that many of them did not include the desks being worked at, instead the subject of a lot of these photographs being the people themselves working. In this, he is successful in drawing a viewers' attention to the facial expressions and demeanour of these individuals. However, I wanted to almost portray the 'reverse,' including only the 'desk' in my photographs. While Friedlander managed to capture the time period each photo was taken in, demonstrated by the methods each individual uses to work, perhaps my images are representative of the landscape I exist in, a reference to the contemporary discussion point of hybrid-working, which, since the covid-19 pandemic, has impacted more people. I, along with many others, sometimes go to coffee shops to get school work done. Through these photographs, I want to explore what makes a table a 'desk.' For instance, because I am 'at work' has this table been transported into a desk? Do the objects on it convert it into a desk? Has it always been a desk?
Jan Svoboda
Repeating his work with the object until, like a word said over and over again, it was stripped of its meaning, leaving only the mute, inexpressive form — the photograph now destroying rather than constructing meaning"
I began by reading both Jan Goto's essay, and George Upton's essay on the 'New East Digital Archive,' before creating a mind map which involved both interesting segments of information I had dissected from the essays, as well as my own observations.
I recognised the mention of Giorgio Morandi's still lifes at the beginning of Upton's essay in discussion of Svoboda's depiction of two empty glass bottles, as after image of Morandi's still life paintings. In further investigation of Morandi's work I noticed an almost obsessive observation and recording of these seemingly perhaps quite dull, everyday objects. This reminded me of Svoboda's work, specifically the quote that described his process of repetition as,"repeating his work with the object until, like a word said over and over again, it was stripped of its meaning, leaving only the mute, inexpressive form." However, I wonder if the repetition in Morandi's process and work does, unlike Svoboda, create the meaning, not strip it. His apparent fascination with these quotidian objects, evoke further questioning from me, what is he seeing that ignites his interest, is he actually capturing an image of a pot of flowers, for example, or is he trying to highlight or explore something else?
Morandi and Svoboda: Response
In my images I wanted to highlight the repetition both Svoboda and Morandi include in their process, so I rearranged a bunch flowers a few times, capturing a photo of each decision. I also tried to focus on composition, paying attention to the amount of table and background Morandi chose to include in his still life paintings. For these photographs I also utilised a narrower depth of field as I noticed a sort of soft focus in Morandi's paintings, of which I wanted to recreate, so I feel the narrow depth of field was successful in contributing to a slightly blurred image.
Image evaluation
I am happy I did this experiment, as I feel it allowed me to look at Morandi's work in a more meticulous fashion, trying to recreate aspects of his paintings as well as attempting to evoke a similar melancholy atmosphere to Svoboda. However, I feel my use of brightly coloured flowers as my subject misses the point of Morandi's paintings. The objects he paints are not employed to become the point of the image, instead his subject is just a contribution to his investigation of tonality, composition, a very similar exploration to Svoboda. Therefore, I feel my use of brightly coloured flowers perhaps draws too much attention to my subject, therefore making the flowers the focus or point of my image. I aim to take another set of images but this time paying more attention to tonality and perhaps as a result of this I will have to pay more attention to the the lighting I use in my images. Moreover, though the shallow depth of field I used was intentional, I am not sure if I am completely happy with its effect on the final outcome, so will keep this in mind for my next set of images.
Joel Meyerowitz: Morandi's Objects
Joel Meyerowtiz captured 'Morandi's Objects' in the same place Morandi had worked for over 40 years, experimenting with over 250 objects of the objects he had painted. I like the softness of the images. The effect could be a result of the sort of muted natural lighting, casting a subtle shadow on the table, which is still marked from Morandi's process. The softness may also be due to the curved forms the captured objects take, or due its response to painting. Meyerowitz questions "how is it that these quotidian objects contained so much power that they kept Morandi in thrall to them throughout his life?" In my next experiment I aim to investigate this idea, as well as attempt to recreate the softness I liked about Meyerowtiz's images.
Morandi and Svoboda: My second response
In this response, I experimented with various artificial lights. I refined my last still life experiment by using more mundane objects such as chipped and used bowls, jars and cans. I didn't want the point of the images to be the object used, because that would defeat the purpose of investigating how the "quotidian objects contained so much power that they kept Morandi in thrall to them throughout his life?"
Evaluation
In this set of images I definitely prefer the objects I used as, upon reflection of my last experiment, I didn't feel the brightly coloured bunch of flowers was suitable for a response to Morandi. However, after loading the photographs onto the laptop I realised a large portion of them were out of focus, which I was disappointed with. However I suppose this could add to the soft, sort of painterly nature, reminiscent of Morandi's portraits. I also like some of the light variations. Overall, I think this experiment was useful in allowing me to consider the effects of different lighting, as well as allowing me to further explore the purpose of taking photos of these 'mundane' objects on tables.
Lorenzo Vitturi
References from 'Still Life in Photography.'
Film photoshoot
I shot these photos on a Mamiya RB medium format film camera with a tripod. I felt that the use of the tripod allowed me to focus on my composition more, as well as what I was including within the frame. Because the camera restricted me to only 10 images, which initially this seemed like a limitation, I also think this encouraged me to focus more on my composition, and the contents of the photos. I think these reasons ultimately explain why I am really happy with my final images.
In the photobook 'Dalston Anatomy' Vitturi features photos across a two page spread, creating diptychs which compare his still lifes of sculptural forms with aspects of the human body, for example. I created this diptych in response.
Laura Letinsky
While looking through Paul Martineau's 'Still Life in photography' book I came across Laura Letensky's photographs. I am particularly intrigued by her work Form & Void Full series. This series collates images of extracted aspects from magazines, involving food and domestic commodities. She then arranges these elements to create sculptural forms, in this, exploring the relationship between material and image, referencing the constructed nature of photographs. I recognise an ambiguity that lies in the presentation of these shapes, a viewer is encouraged to unravel what is 'real,' as she converts 2D materials into 3D forms.
To further research Letinsky I created a mindmap based on my own observations of her work. I also read an interview by Letinsky, as well as watching one to further inform me about her practice. I also noted down some of her own words about her work (highlighted in blue).
Response to Laura Letinsky
This series of images was specifically inspired by Letinsky's 'Form and Void' series. I wanted to replicate a similar sort of puzzle in my images that Letinsky employed, combining both real objects and 2D sections from my still life images in order to force the viewer to unravel what is 'real' and what is not in these sculptural forms.
I uploaded my images according to the order in which I took them. I feel as you look at each image chronologically you can see the more playful approach I progressively took. The beginning images appear more conventional, it is clear why I took those images, why I decided to capture the specific arrangement I did. However, I think the reasons for my 'sculptural forms' become less and less obvious as each photo progresses into the next, perhaps in turn making the images towards the end more interesting, though they may not necessarily be as aesthetically pleasing. I think this observation would make sense as I did feel myself becoming increasingly relaxed with every image I took, every combination I orchestrated.
My favourite photo
I think this photo is my favourite because it reflects the observations I made about my process above. My reasons for why I photographed the sort of random arrangement of objects and scraps of paper are more ambiguous, therefore hopefully evoking questions in a viewer, causing them to ponder over the image a few moments longer. I also like the kind of confusing nature of the image because it to an extent emulates what I liked in Letinsky's photographs - the puzzle of them. The combination of 3D and 2D in Letinsky's images resulted in closer consideration from me, pondering on her photos to distinguish between each object, to unravel the puzzle, figure out her intentions/what she is trying to show. Similarly, I feel this image shares a similar quality - as my aim is not necessarily straightforward (I myself am not completely aware of what I was trying to show) I hope that this therefore causes closer consideration of this image, consequently hopefully making it more interesting or engaging as a photograph.
The table as a subject
In experimenting with different ways I can think about 'table' I decided to take images of a table as my subject. I feel prior to this most of my photographs have highlighted the tables role as a surface to hold things on, therefore having other objects as my subject, not the table specifically. For this shoot, I used a tripod and rotated it around each side of my chosen table. In my film experiment I recognised that the use of a tripod made me more carefully consider the composition of my images, causing me to be more inclined to utilise this again. I knew I wanted to make something with this images, still working with paper as I did with in my Letinsky response. My initial idea was to stick each of this images to a cube, and through this, rotating the cube or walking around it provides a different angle / perspective of the table.
I ended up utilising these images to create a concertina book, displaying each photograph in chronological order, as well as trying to portray a sort of perspective box illusion.
Evaluation
I like the idea of the table in excess. For example, in my concertina book six tables are displayed, and these six tables are captured on top of another table. Perhaps this highlights the different purposes of tables, as in these images the table is employed as a subject, but also a means of supporting the subject. This idea of an object in excess reminds me of one of the first substantial pieces of research I did in this project on Jan Svoboda, and his process of "repeating his work with the object until, like a word said over and over again, it was stripped of its meaning, leaving only the mute, inexpressive form." However, despite the observations I extracted from this piece of work, I do think upon reflection I need to ensure more precision in the future. For instance, the gaps between each photo in the book and even the box could've been fixed, and perhaps would've resulted in my images looking more well considered and planned. However, overall I enjoyed physically making something.
Huts, Temples, Castles: Ursula Schulz-Dornburg
After WWII, Amsterdam founded Jongensland to prevent children rampaging other public spaces. Jongensland was on an island only accessible by rowboat, and marked a space where children could play with scrap materials unsupervised, giving them the opportunity and freedom to build, experiment and destroy the structures they had created.
I especially like this image from the 'Huts, Temples, Castle's series. I feel it really encapsulates this sense of play, of childhood. It reminds me of a playhouse I remember a friend of mine having when I was younger, therefore evoking a sense of nostalgia. The structure clearly has no intention of being perfect which only further communicates this sense of freedom the children of Jongensland were given to explore, build, and experiment.
Creating a response
I attempted to create my own table in response to the structures created by the children in Jongensland. I wanted to create this response not only because I really like the physical appearance of Schulz-Dornburg's photographs, but I felt the act of making the table could be quite fun, a lack of rules or requirements making the process quite freeing. I began by going into the shed in my garden in search of some old pieces of wood I could use to create my table. I then cut and assembled various pieces to create my table, taking photos of my process along the way. I enjoyed the process of making my table as I did not put pressure on myself to make it perfect looking or even completely stable, as this was not the priority for the children in Ursula Schulz-Donburg's photographs.
My table and its deconstruction
We begin to confront the thingness of objects when they stop working for us: when the drill breaks, when the car stalls, when the windows get filthy, when their flow within the circuits of production and distribution, consumption and exhibition, has been arrested, how- ever momentarily. The story of objects asserting themselves as things, then, is the story of a changed relation to the human subject and thus the story of how the thing really names less an object than a particular subject-object relation."
– Bill Brown, ‘Thing Theory’
Bed side tables
For this project, I decided to take photographs of a range of different bedside tables, including a few of my family members - my grandma, my parents, my sister - and a couple of friends. Alongside taking the photos, I was interested in if correlations could be made between the individual and their bedside table: if the person was reflected in the table.
Victorian long exposures
I have noticed a tradition of the people photographed in the Victorian period leaning on tables. After some further research, I realised that the reason for this is a result of the long exposures used by Victorian photographers, meaning it is not sustainable to stand up for this period of time.
Suprematism
Making day thoughts
- utopian
- play
- something out of nothing
- anti revolution but world still needs saving
- something everybody needs
- functions of a table
- in culture
- where people commune
- form building something community
- sharing
- symbolism coming through
- post modern utopian
- getting back to the spirit of that playful risk
- different colour palettes
- 'rehearsal'
- stage 'performance' on the second day and film
- film myself doing it and redo
- first day photos of process
images to print on third day how to display - instillation?
- outcome unclear until the end
- video editing, projecting over the sculpture
- digital projector, lights, access to studio space, plinth
- pictures could sit on a table with sculpture and projection
- spirit of play must be captured somehow
- balancing, collapsing and failing
- makeshift huts
- response to revolution
- making, remaking failing
- fail better
- utopian spirit
- playground in Notting hill in the 60s
- Huts, Temples, Castles: Ursula Schulz-Dornburg
- play
- something out of nothing
- anti revolution but world still needs saving
- something everybody needs
- functions of a table
- in culture
- where people commune
- form building something community
- sharing
- symbolism coming through
- post modern utopian
- getting back to the spirit of that playful risk
- different colour palettes
- 'rehearsal'
- stage 'performance' on the second day and film
- film myself doing it and redo
- first day photos of process
images to print on third day how to display - instillation?
- outcome unclear until the end
- video editing, projecting over the sculpture
- digital projector, lights, access to studio space, plinth
- pictures could sit on a table with sculpture and projection
- spirit of play must be captured somehow
- balancing, collapsing and failing
- makeshift huts
- response to revolution
- making, remaking failing
- fail better
- utopian spirit
- playground in Notting hill in the 60s
- Huts, Temples, Castles: Ursula Schulz-Dornburg
The preparation process: painting
Making day plan
DAY 1:
'Play' with the wood, build things, balancing, falling, different variations of shape and colour - document the process. There are no restrictions in this stage, no need to be 'perfect.'
DAY 2:
Stage 'performance' of letting things fall, rebuilding, constructing, deconstructing, all about 'failing' - film this.
DAY 3:
This experiment is all about a lack of restrictions, 'playing,' therefore, there is no requirement to have a set plan for this day, I will take the direction I feel is necessary to ultimately display / install my work - may be a projection, a film, a collage of images etc.
'Play' with the wood, build things, balancing, falling, different variations of shape and colour - document the process. There are no restrictions in this stage, no need to be 'perfect.'
DAY 2:
Stage 'performance' of letting things fall, rebuilding, constructing, deconstructing, all about 'failing' - film this.
DAY 3:
This experiment is all about a lack of restrictions, 'playing,' therefore, there is no requirement to have a set plan for this day, I will take the direction I feel is necessary to ultimately display / install my work - may be a projection, a film, a collage of images etc.