arafatchowdhuryphotops

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Personal Study

The theme abandoned is often seen in a negative light. Discuss how and why photographers have challenged this statement in a creative way?

 Artist in the past have addressed the same theme as I am doing by exploring abandoned ruins of historical past events like coliseums from the roman times and castles from the Victorian era.

Abandoned structures are perhaps the most common example of urban exploration. At first they are vandalised by locals with graffiti and other acts of vandalism. Common abandonments include amusement parks, elevators, factories, power plants, missile silos, fallout shelters, hospitals, asylums, and schools and poor houses. In Japan, abandoned infrastructure is known as Haikyo. Damage during World War II, the 1980s real estate bubble. Niki Feijen is a contemporary photographer who, in 2010 Feijen visited the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. In this historical event a catastrophic nuclear accident occurred in 1986 the entire city of Pripyat, all 50,000 inhabitants, were evacuated within 48 hours. Most of the belongings of the evacuated inhabitants were left behind and never returned to again. This is a good abandoned place as it is silent from the absence of living creatures and background noise and looks like everything is at standstill from that very day of the incident. Abandonment can relate to the issue of housing and how people can’t afford to maintain their properties/house placements.

  The photographer Iwan Baan can back this up. This is because he explores abandoned places that have been inhabited, as he says, “what I find really fascinating is what happens when architects and planners leave and these places become appropriated by people, like here in Chandigarh, India” (Baan 2013). This displays how abandoned can be beautiful as it proves that with something that is thrown away and wanted can be wanted by the people that really need it. It also confirms that you can make something that shouldn’t have any value be given value.

This can be seen in the image taken by Iwan Baan as it showcases how people have built a community with what they can find and use around them, for example the habitant in this picture has the built a gym using spare parts left over from an un built elevator. It also indicates how the inhabitant brings the people together by giving them the opportunity to build their own stable working community.

 Iwan Baan relates to the question as explores the positives that arise of abandoned for example abandoned buildings are used by people that don’t have anywhere to live, Baan photographs of abandoned places that have been inhabited by people.

In a recent interview Baan said “Over the past seven years, I’ve been following my fascination with the built environment, and for those of you who know me, you would say that this obsession has led me to live out of a suitcase 365 days a year. Being constantly on the move means that sometimes I am able to catch life’s most unpredictable moments” (Baan, 2013). This displays that Baan is quite passionate about discovering places that are visually interesting to observe. Iwan Baan addresses theme such as deserted, architecture and you could also say he addresses culture. Baan made the work to challenge a long-standing tradition of depicting buildings as isolated and static by representing people in architecture and showing the building’s environment ultimately trying “to produce more of a story or a feel for a project”. (Baan, 2013)

  Iwan Baan’s intention is to capture and understand what happens when architects and planners leave and these places become appropriated by people, like here in Chandigarh, India, the city, which has been completely designed by the architect Le Corbusier. The message that he is trying to project is that instead of letting the building become abandoned you could let people that don’t have anywhere to live to stay in them. One of the places that Iwan Baan took some pictures is the notorious Tower of David in Caracas. This was one of his best series as it highlights the problems of wealth in countries Nearly 70% of people in Caracas, Venezuela live in slums that drapes like silk over the city’s hills. This building was supposed to be a dramatic symbol of wealth, but now it is home to temporary residents. The skyscraper, halted mid-construction in the early 1990s, was taken over by thousands of squatters in 2007. For years they turned the building into an informal community that was photographed, filmed. This building is now known, as the vertical slum. Iwan Baan was amazed by how the inhabitants were living and how they found solutions to the problems that they had. He said, “Within the tower, people have come up with all sorts of solutions in response to the various needs which arise from living in an unfinished tower. With no elevators, the tower is like a 45-story walkup. Designed in very specific ways by this group of people who haven't had any education in architecture or design.” (Baan, 2013) Baan was amazed by the architectural background and people that have been disregarded, have the knowledge and capabilities to do something that others couldn’t do. In the picture tittled ‘Abandoned Office Tower In Caracas’ you can see that they have settled in with the resources they need e.g. TV, food and mattresses. Iwan Baan said inhabitants made use of objects and possessions they have found to claim their space in the Tower.  

                 Niki Feijen is an abandoned photographer he takes pictures of places as they were left frozen in time. Niki Feijen has travelled the world in search of crumbling beauty lurking beneath a thick layer of dust inside private bedrooms and public buildings. Niki Feijen’s work addresses themes such as Abandonment and architecture as Iwan Baan. Niki Feijen was fascinated by Abandonment when, as a child, he became obsessed with a creepy abandoned house not far from his home. He said in an interview by Daily Mail ‘I passed it a zillion times until finally I had the guts to have a peek inside,’ he recalled. ‘The adrenaline, the excitement. It was amazing and then years later Feijen was photographing rally races and rocks concerts when he came across pictures of decaying buildings that reignited his childhood passion for beautiful ruins. His ideal shooting locations are ghost towns, long-shuttered insane asylums, dilapidated hotels and castles frozen in time and looking like at any moment their inhabitants will walk through the door and reclaim their personal space. This highlights that he wants to show an abandoned location as if it has never been touched and has been stopped in time.

 This can be seen in his latest work of Chernobyl, he has said that he never brings any props or rearranges anything before taking pictures on location because it takes away from the authenticity and doesn’t show an accurate representation of abandonment. The title to his recent series of photos is called ‘Frozen’. The title changes the way the viewers observe the work because it adds to the airiness that is being perceived, it allows us to think more about the photograph i.e. what happened before it was abandoned and why it is placed there.

 In Frozen, one particularly unsettling and thought-provoking image consists of dusty old jackets and a woman's black leather purse hanging from hooks in a foyer, and a pair of dirty slippers left next to a rusty bicycle waiting for their owner to come home. This adds to the beauty of abandonment as it unlocks our imagination by making us think more about what is happening. This vast bedroom still bears the marks of its previous inhabitants, with white pillows resting on the two single beds joined together. This is one of the photographs, from his Frozen series, it is haunting as nothing is changed and you are given the creativity and imagination to put your own input in what happened. One of his more controversial photographs from his frozen series is the photograph from Chernobyl, as he showcases an incident that has effect people’s lives and illustrates how it was left behind or frozen in time.

  Andrew Moore relates to the question as his large-format photographs are dense documentaries that depict the collision of the past, present, and future. When seen from the bird’s eye view, larger themes emerge. In a recent interview by Alec Quig.

 Alec Quig said, “I was photographing small businesses, craft industries that were remnants of the 19th century industrialism that had persisted and were still in business. Only in a city like New Orleans could things like that exist. People were making brooms by hand. There were ladies sowing the lace linings for coffins. Strange Masonic buildings. Ice factories. ”This exhibits that he has a fascination of how things were back in the day and how he can make viewers relate to his work by reminiscing the past.

 The themes that his work addresses is Abandonment, architecture and cultural. He addresses these themes to find narrative approaches of documentary photography and journalism to detail remnants of societies in transition. His parents were his source of inspiration him as his father Sydney Hart Moore, was a commercial architect, and his mother Patricia Lambdin Moore, was an editor at the New York Graphic Society, a Fine Art publisher. Moore’s parents supported his early interest in Photography; his father built him an attic darkroom and his mother introduced him to the works of Peter Beard. The intentions of the photographer are, to educate people on the culture behind it.  He said “It's all about getting into and discovering these places that have an incredible connection to the past, making a bridge between the subject, myself, and the viewer, bringing people into the work “(Moore). This demonstrates that these places having a connection with the past helps you think about what happened during that time and also gives you the sense of de ja vu. The photo titled ‘Cuba’ is of a theatre that was taken by Andrew Moore in Cuba. This was one of many pictures taken by Andrew Moore in his photo series titled ‘Cuba’. The title doesn’t change the way you thing of his work as he usually titles his work based on the location he is taking the picture e.g. ‘New York’ so this doesn’t have an impact as you see what you get.

 From what I have discussed these three artists Iwan Baan, Niki Feijen and Andrew Moore all look at abandonment in a positive light as Iwan Baan, believes abandonment is a way to build a community and to give temporary residents a place to live. Niki Feijen, believes that abandonment is a way to reminisce because it leaves a story behind as the residents leave the building and all the objects are left in the places they’ve left it. Andrew Moore, believes Abandonment is a way to look back at the past and to see how things changed, so he believes its beautiful as it can have an impact on the future. Iwan Baan has the most impact on me as a person as he teaches us about inhabiting and how we should try to give people a place to stay when no one is using it. Niki Feijen’s work has an impact on me to as when exploring abandoned buildings, I’ve never saw it like he did but it has opened up the way I look at abandoned buildings. When researching these artists, it has influenced my work in component 1 as it changed the way I look at abandonment and also changes what I take pictures of.

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Niki Feijen

Another Artist that relates to the question that is being discussed is Niki Feijen as he has traversed the world looking for crumbling beauty lurking beneath a thick layer of dust inside private bedrooms and public buildings. Niki Feijen also addresses themes such as abandonment and architecture as Iwan Baan. Niki Feijen was fascinated by Abandonment when, as a child, he became obsessed with a creepy abandoned house not far from his home. He said in an interview by Daily Mail ‘I passed it a zillion times until finally I had the guts to have a peek inside,’ he recalled. ‘The adrenaline, the excitement. It was amazing and then Years later Feijen was photographing rally races and rocks concerts when he came across pictures of decaying buildings that reignited his childhood passion for beautiful ruins. His ideal shooting locations are ghost towns, long-shuttered insane asylums, dilapidated hotels and castles frozen in time and looking like at any moment their inhabitants will walk through the door and reclaim their personal space. This expresses that he wants to show an abandoned location as if it has never been touched and has been stopped in time. This can be seen in his latest work of Chernobyl, he has said that he never brings any props or rearranges anything before taking pictures on location because it takes away from the authenticity and doesn’t show an accurate representation of abandonment. The tittle to his recent series of photos is called ‘Frozen’. The tittle changes the way we look at his work because it adds to the airiness that is being perceived, it allows us to think more about the picture i.e. what happened before it was abandoned and why it is placed there. In Frozen, one particularly unsettling and thought-provoking image shows dusty old jackets and a woman's black leather purse hanging from hooks in a foyer, and a pair of dirty slippers left next to a rusty bicycle waiting for their owner to come home. This adds to the beauty of abandonment as it unlocks our imagination by making us think more about what is happening. This vast bedroom still bears the marks of its previous inhabitants, with white pillows resting on the two single beds joined together. This is one of the photographs, from his frozen series, it is haunting as nothing is changed and you are given the creativity and imagination to put your own input in what happened. One of his more controversial photographs from his frozen series is the photograph from Chernobyl, as he showcases an incident that has effect people’s lives and illustrates how it was left behind or frozen in time.

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Bibliography & Refrences

“what I find really fascinating is what happens when architects and planners leave and these places become appropriated by people, like here in Chandigarh, India” http://www.ted.com/talks/iwan_baan_ingenious_homes_in_unexpected_places/transcript?language=en

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iwan_Baan

https://www.demilked.com/tower-of-david-abandoned-skyscraper-caracas-iwan-baan/

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/04/24/inside-the-tower-of-david-venezuela-s-vertical-slum.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2663259/Realm-beautiful-decay-Haunting-photos-abandoned-mansions-shuttered-asylums-deserted-amusement-parks-time-stands-still.html

http://www.alecquig.com/Interview-with-Photographer-Andrew-Moore

https://www.jacobinmag.com/2015/06/ruin-porn-imagery-photography-detroit/

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Iwan Baan

Iwan Baan relates to the question as he looks at the positives that come out of abandoned for example abandoned buildings are used by people that don’t have anywhere to live, he takes pictures of abandoned places that have been inhabited by people. In a recent interview he said “Over the past seven years, I’ve been following my fascination with the built environment, and for those of you who know me, you would say that this obsession has led me to live out of a suitcase 365 days a year. Being constantly on the move means that sometimes I am able to catch life’s most unpredictable moments. This displays that he is quite passionate about finding places that are interesting to look at. Iwan Baan addresses theme such as abandoned, architecture and you could also say he addresses culture. He made the work to challenge a long-standing tradition of depicting buildings as isolated and static by representing people in architecture and showing the building’s environment, trying “to produce more of a story or a feel for a project”. Iwan Baan’s intention is to capture and understand what happens when architects and planners leave and these places become appropriated by people, like here in Chandigarh, India, the city, which has been completely designed by the architect Le Corbusier. The message that he is trying to get across is that instead of letting the building become abandoned you could let people that don’t have anywhere to live to stay in them. One of the places that Iwan Baan took some pictures is the notorious Tower of David in Caracas, this was one of his best series as it portrays the problems of wealth in countries Nearly 70% of people in Caracas, Venezuela live in slums that drapes like silk over the city’s hills. This building was supposed to be a dramatic symbol of wealth, but now it is home to squatters. The skyscraper, halted mid-construction in the early 1990s, was taken over by thousands of squatters in 2007. For years they turned the building into an informal community that was photographed, filmed. This building is now known, as the vertical slum. Iwan Baan was amazed by how the inhabitants were living and how they found solutions to the problems that they had. He said, “Within the tower, people have come up with all sorts of solutions in response to the various needs which arise from living in an unfinished tower. With no elevators, the tower is like a 45-story walkup. Designed in very specific ways by this group of people who haven't had any education in architecture or design.” This amazed him as he had an architectural background and people that have been disregarded, have the knowledge and capabilities to do something that others couldn’t do. In the picture below you can see that they have settled in with the resources they need e.g. TV, food and mattresses. Iwan Baan said they used things that they have found to claim their space in the Tower.  

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introduction

My theme is based on abandonment and I am looking for the beauty within. Artist in the past have addressed the same theme as I am doing by exploring abandoned ruins of historical past events like coliseums from the roman times and castles from the Victorian era. Abandoned structures are perhaps the most common example of urban exploration. At first they are vandalised by locals with graffiti and other acts of vandalism. Common abandonments include amusement parks, elevators, factories, power plants, missile silos, fallout shelters, hospitals, asylums, and schools and poor houses. In Japan, abandoned infrastructure is known as Haikyo. Damage during World War II, the 1980s real estate bubble. One of the artists that I have studied is Niki Feijen. In 2010 Feijen visited the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. In this historical event a catastrophic nuclear accident occurred in 1986 the entire city of Pripyat, all 50,000 inhabitants, were evacuated within 48 hours. Most of the belongings of the evacuated inhabitants were left behind and never returned to again. This is a good abandoned place as it is silent from the absence of living creatures and background noise and looks like everything is at standstill from that very day of the incident. Abandonment can relate to the issue of housing and how people can’t afford to maintain their properties/house placements. The photographer Iwan Baan can back this up. This is because he explores abandoned places that have been inhabited, as he says “what I find really fascinating is what happens when architects and planners leave and these places become appropriated by people, like here in Chandigarh, India”. This displays how abandoned can be beautiful as it proves that with something that is thrown away and wanted can be wanted by the people that really need it. It also confirms that you can make something that shouldn’t have any value be given value.

This can be seen in the image taken by Iwan Baan as it showcases how people have built a community with what they can find and use around them, for example the habitant in this picture has the built a gym using spare parts left over from an un built elevator. It also indicates how the inhabitant brings the people together by giving them the opportunity to build their own stable working community.

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NEW ARTIST RESEARCH

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INITIAL RESEARCH INTO NIKI FEIJEN

Niki Feijen is a professional photographer that uses the abandoned environment. He has done many shoots. Dutch photographer Niki Feijen immortilizes an astonishingly intact glimpse into the past. This autodidact specializes in documenting and capturing historic architecture and abandoned buildings. Each photo fuses together the conflicting notions of beauty and decay and corresponds with his desire to capture and silently communicate with his audience about the subject’s very essence.Niki wants to recreate the exact same scene as he sees while standing in a location but the lightspectrum your eye can capture is much, much wider than a camera can capture. Photographing a dark setting with extreme highlights like a window causes the highlights to wash out into white or dark areas can become obscure black blobs.  It’s impossible to shoot a photo that captures both ends of this spectrum. Since Niki does not use any artificial lighting he uses different exposures to capture a much wider light spectrum than a traditional photograph. The result is a hyper realistic photo which would replicate the exact same thing you would see standing inside the location yourself.

He visited the quintessential location of desertion: the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. After a catastrophic nuclear accident occurred in 1986 the entire city of Pripyat, all 50,000 inhabitants, were evacuated within 48 hours. Most of the belongings of the evacuated inhabitants were left behind and never returned to again. The incredible deafening silence of this location, in its absence of the living, permeates the senses and mind of visitors who venture to there to this day.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY & REFRENCES

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ESSAY TITLE

Is it more straight-foward to illustrate the concept of ‘abandonment’ through landscape based subject matter rather than those featuring people?

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HOW THE ARTISTS IN THE ESSAY RELATES TO MY LINE OF ENQUIRY IN THE PRACTICAL COURSEWORK

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Question: All Abandoned is seen as negative how can I as a photographer challenge this statement in an informative and creative way.

I have chosen to do this topic because finding the beauty in certain things that shouldn't be beautiful is interesting. This is because abandonment doesn't have the same attraction as something that isn’t run down or broken. This can be found by looking at nature and history.