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An exploration into the importance of the self within Western Contemporary Landscape Photography

Chapter 2

Part 1

The Contemporary Landscape

Subjects and the Landscape

Alec Soth ‘Broken Manual’ (fig 4)

    The landscape poses as three things when it comes to being documented by a camera, as do all genres within photography, according to the writer David Bates (2013). Either it is interpreted as a physical documentation, which Bates would describe as a ‘Naked’ image, one, which poses simply as a documented image, an image that is deliberately not intended as Art. Or it could find itself in the category of the ‘Ostensive’, the theatrical image, and ones that by all means, embody the characteristics of what a landscape image should be. Lastly, there’s the ‘Metamorphic’, the image that converses that of the commercial, for example travel brochures, national tourist boards. It would be fair to say, as a broad statement that most Landscape photography within the contemporary documentary and art scene would place itself within the Ostensive, an act of the theatrical within a place. This chapter will focus itself on two photographers who work alongside the concept of landscape and self, an insight into a concept that has been closely linked to photography through the years. Whether they focus their attention to communities in rural areas or being alone with ones own thoughts and the wild.

  “Environmental theatre seems to say that we should never stand aside from life and merely be spectators, and that the yearning for clear images is vain pride and can only lead to illusion.” – (Yi –Fu Tuan, 1982 Page 192)

  This ‘environmental theatre’ is as well documented one within the American landscape than any other place, from early suburban landscapes such

Work by Robert Frank, to Larry Clark and his social insight with the body of work ‘Tulsa’. One photographer in particular who has approached this concept of subjects not standing aside from the environment and partaking in one itself is Alec Soth, focusing themselves on the people within a landscape, generating this conversation between man and his environment. It is important to note, that Soth places himself as first a documentary photographer before anything in regards to landscape photography. The body of work in question is ‘Broken Manual’, a road trip across the American outback, documenting and representing the subject’s attitudes and feelings to their homeland of America, through portraits and landscape photographs. The fact the project is in America is an important one; developing upon discussions on whether this land is truly free or not. The manual, which is broken, seems to be the American Dream, this rich concept that you can take what you want, be what you want with the detainment of peace within society. The subjects within this project have walked away from this dream, feeling much like the verses from Allen Ginsberg’s poem, America. What is presented to us is a series of portraits within landscapes, creating a growing conversation between that of the subjects and the land they are in. All of the subjects are on their own; a sense of solitude and loneliness creeps in through the photographs as the work unfolds.

    “Its not escape, its  the idea of escape” –   SOTH, A.(MAS FILMS, [MPEG-4 movie] 2011, Somewhere to Disappear, 3:26)

  This statement, which comes from a short movie dedicated to the documentation of Soth’s project ‘Broken Manual’ by Soth, gives us the information much needed when discussing the concept of Landscape and Self. Admitting fully that, he himself is not looking for escape from his life, but passively encouraging its line of thought through dream like images and ideas, acting almost as a just to juxtaposition to that of the American Dream.

 The project is male orientated, at no point within the series are we introduced to women who have escaped the normal pace of life, which we can only but assume that there are, why would the notion of escape be exclusive to man? It could be argued that the American Dream is an inherently male concept. It was derived by men and the first settlers, to build upon a civilization of acceptance and respect, this could lead as to why there is no inclusion of women within the body of work.

 With a very much male dominated subject matter, after all the concept of ‘man and the landscape’ doesn’t evoke much thought into the idea of women within this context.  We are informed clearly this is a communication between the subjects and their surround. There is constant evidence of man within the work, from a school bus to a shack; the presence of man is ever present within these landscape photographs. With this in mind, the subjects photographed by Soth within the Landscape feel vaguely familiar, as if these photographs have been around for years as paintings previously (fig 5). It is an established idea, as the previous chapter discusses that photography has referenced painting and its compositions to its colour pallets, yet this familiarity is flipped on its head through the vernacular and the mundane. Described as a ‘Hunter and Gatherer” by Siri Enberg (2010) in Soth’s book ‘From Here to There: Alec Soth’s America’, that Soth stakes out his concepts and photographs, finding the correct scene in which to portray an idea. It could be argued, that Soth is searching for such clear images, as Yi Fu Tuan (2012) describes as ‘Vain pride and can only lead to illusion’, the vain pride being the slightly overwhelming involvement of male subjects communicating with a landscape, yet never truly encompassing what this form of ‘escape’ Soth is trying to convince us of, but in contrast, the work itself is about escaping one illusion and embracing another.

(fig 5 Alec Soth Broken Manual)

 The first photograph of Soth’s we should draw our attention too is a portrait, of a nude man standing within a small pond, surrounded by greenery and rocks. (fig 5). This photograph bares several connotations within it, the point he is nude suggests a strong level of being at peace within his surroundings and himself, the nude subject surrounded by foliage and nature reminds the viewers of biblical paintings such that of Adam and Eve, the composition looks vaguely familiar of that of British painter John Everett and his painting ‘Ophelia’ (fig 6).

         (fig 6 John Everett , Ophelia)

Yet the reason the subject is naked, is because he is alone. The subject has no reason to be clothed in this secluded and solitary environment. Apart from Soth’s presence, the naked man lives in complete solitude, posing in quite a peaceful and at ease pose, the relation between man and his surroundings seems to be summed up in this singular portrait in Soths large edit of ‘Broken Manual’. The subject himself, as discovered in a mini documentary titled ‘Somewhere to Disappear’ by directors Laure Flammarion Arnaud Uyttenhove, it is revealed to us that he is in fact a Neo Nazi, a homosexual Neo Nazi to be exact, through his political decisions and social stance, deciding to cut himself off from society through evident frustration with American politics and society. Yet this revelation does not reveal itself within the photograph, apart from a hairless head, we could assume he might be a skinhead, but there are not strong enough clues within the photograph to suggest this conclusion. It could be said, that Soth could of easily posed the subject in a manor which revealed his political and social believes, yet choosing to make the subject look and feel like every man, hides and shades over the reality of the image. In contrast to a neo-Nazi as the subject within one of Soths images, he also includes a Monk (fig 7), yet another man. In this reverse turn, it can be said that through the diversity of subjects, the message within this work is greater than that of the subjects; the landscape in which they are placed in also acts as a continual narrative, even though the scenes and geography change from image to image. This perceived idea of inner peace through nature is presented within these photographs  (fig 5 & fig 7), yet is this inner peace only achievable by giving up on society and breaking out into wilderness? Greek philosopher Marcus Aurelius states different in his book ‘meditation’, he goes on to say; 

(fig 7 Alex Soth Broken Manual)

 “Men seeks retreats for themselves, in country, by the sea, in the hills – and you yourself are particularly prone to this yearning. But all of this is quite unphilosophic, when it is open to you at any time you want, to retreat into yourself. No retreat offers more relaxation than that into his own mind, especially if he can dip into thoughts there which put him at immediate and complete ease; and by ease I mean a well ordered life.” (AURELIUS M 2006. Meditations, p23)

With this in mind, are the efforts of Soth’s landscapes a failed attempt at retreat? If we are to go by the philosophical teachings of Aurelius, what is made evident from Soth’s photographic exploration into Western retreat into the landscape is its ability to unify and propose a level of importance to these subjects, even if their importance is somewhat a flawed ideal of the ability to be at peace through projecting their ideal lifestyle onto the landscape.  This quote by Aurelius evokes a different stance on the subject matter of self and landscape. Suddenly the romantic gesture of climbing a mountain to be at peace is no longer relevant or needed. It is an interesting thought, that the subjects within Soth’s ‘Broken Manual’ are using the landscape for their own mental gain, to embrace tranquility from nature.

(fig 8)  (Bryan Schutmaat – Greys the Mountain Sends)

In relation to Soth’s project Broken Manual, another body of work, which works with this sense of man and the land, is by photographer Bryan Schutmaat and his body of work, Grey the Mountain Sends.  Here, Schutmaat presents a project depicting mining and working communities within the American West, he describes the project not only as study of the man and the landscape, but the internal landscape within the common man. Inserting portraits alongside landscape images, the two reflect each other, and create a conversation in relation of the two. The photographs have a dulled sense of colour about them, as if it is always dusk, and as if man is looking towards an approaching dark. Whilst observing Greys the mountain sends its can be noted the placing of the subjects also adds to the understanding and reading of the work, man is placed firmly in the middle of the photographs, almost dominating their portraits with the landscape acting as an idealist and peaceful backdrop, despite the looks of despair and trouble witnessed on the subjects faces. There is a conversation generated between the two generations represented within these portraits to, the old look weary and troubled, the young fresh eyed and glazed. The prospects of the land itself have changed, which was once a rich land in recourses, has dwindled and become a shadow of its former glory. This can be seen within the landscape photographs presented by Schutmaat. Below (fig 9) is a working community within a mountain range. It is evident from its shanty appearance, that times are less desired then they may have be in the past. With this information, the landscape photograph can present to the audience clues of history, and what the future may have in store. This particular landscape is riddled with personal and economical history of wealth which has slowly slipped into decline, this information is presented clearly within the photographs ability to convey ideas and clues as to the history of a place.

(fig 9) (Bryan Schutmaat – Greys the Mountain Sends)

  In contrast to Soth’s work, there is the inclusion of women, if be it only one photograph at the end of the series, the last photograph we are left with, a red headed woman at a bar. This gives the audience a sense of community, even if through the projects exploration the community is mainly built up of working men, the project then begins to be less about a discussion about a failed mining town, more about a failing collective of working class towns. Inspired by the poem Degrees of Gray in Philipsburg by Richard Hugo, the work gets its title from and also the inclusion of the woman with red hair, within Hugo’s poem there is a sense of anger and frustration with life, which is reflected in Schutmaat’s photographs.

  “Hatred of the various grays   

the mountain sends, hatred of the mill,   

The Silver Bill repeal, the best liked girls   

who leave each year for Butte.”

-

 (HUGO R Degrees of Gray in Philipsburg 1984)

 (fig 10 Bryan Schutmaat – Greys the Mountain Sends)

Yet on the other hand this portrait of a young girl at a bar is slightly removed from the landscape and project. She is not a reflective thought of the landscape like the male subjects have been; her gaze doesn’t catch ours, as an audience we are devoid of any personal contact from her. Its almost as if she is uninterested by the camera, yet on the other hand is purposefully placed and framed by Schutmaat. The story, which is read here, is in direct reference from the work of Richard Hugo, the photograph itself is a complete fabrication, rather a theatrical staging than a stumbling upon a person who fits the mood of a project.

  “The car that brought you here still runs.   

The money you buy lunch with,

no matter where it’s mined, is silver   

and the girl who serves your food

is slender and her red hair lights the wall.”

  (HUGO R Degrees of Grey in Philipsburg 1984)

Here, Schutmaat is making a direct reference within his work to that of someone else, a poet rather than directly referencing the landscape at hand. In comparison to Soth’s body of work ‘Broken Manual’ it would be fair to say that Schutmaat’s work is fairly similar.  Photographs in themselves are expressions, expressing what we have seem, feel or wish to lay witness to. This is the same as poetry, two channels into the same line of thought, through the expression of ones mentality.

There is a deliberate awareness of placing subjects within the landscape, so that the conversation between the two is direct. We are asked by both projects to approach the concept of man and landscape and our relationship with it, also to understand how others live in different conditions and places within the world. Another observation between these western photographers, both have referred to poetry whilst creating their work, Schutmaat has the works by Richard Hugo, Soth in tern, references American poet Jim Harrison, whose poetry reflects on nature, mortality and our place within the wilderness. In his book ‘In search of small gods’ (2010) Harrison expresses the importance of nature, and the small animals that inhabit it. Within the documentary ‘Somewhere to Disappear’ Soth documents the insides of Harrisons cabin, a place where he goes also to be alone and to ponder the coming and goings of his surround. Soth also states within the documentary ‘Somewhere to Dissappear’ when questioned what massage he is trying to give across with his work;

  “Its not a message……its closer to poetry”

(MAS FILMS, [MPEG-4 movie] 2011, Somewhere to Disappear, 2:37)

  The important of self and the individual is made evident within Soth and Schutmaat’s landscape photographs. They present to us this level of bonding and understand of the surround, whilst also evidently using their surround as way of dealing with the internal. Other opinions have argued differently over this level of over awareness within the west, Yi Fu Tuan for example expresses that the western man as an overbearing level of concern for the individual and what you can gain as a single form.

“Western Culture encourages an intense awareness of self and compared with other cultures, an exaggerated belief in the power and value of the individual. The rewards of such awareness and belief are many, including the sense of independence, of an untrammeled freedom to ask questions and explore, of being clear eyed, without illusion, rational, and personally responsible. The obverse is isolation, loneliness, a sense of disengagement, a loss of natural vitality and of innocent pleasure in the givenness of the world, and a feeling of burden because reality has no meaning other than what a person chooses to impart to it. This isolated, critical and self conscious individual is a cultural artifact.” (Yi Fu Tuan, 1982, p139)

As Yi Fu Tuan states there is an over awareness of the individual in the west, it could be argued that Soth and Schutmaat have created cultural artifacts through their photography. Their ‘intense awareness’ is evident through the composition of their works, nothing is by chance and everything hints towards a larger conversation. Would it be fair to say that the teachings of Marcus Aurelius can only be appropriated to that of western culture and ideals when discussing the landscape and its inhabitants? As Tuan expresses in his book ‘Humanist Biology’ that in different parts of the world, tribes in the amazon for example, only exist as a group, if one is alone in a place, then they simply do not exist. Yet in contrast to Soth’s Broken Manual, the individual is at strength.

In agreement with the words of Yi Fu Tuan, explorer and writer Robert Macfarlane within his book Mountains of the Mind: A History of a Fascination he explores the concept of the western man and the lure of the mountains/landscape

“Mountains seem to answer an increasing imaginative need in the west. More and more people are discovering a desire for them, and a powerful solace in them. At bottom, mountains, like all wildernesses, challenge our complacent conviction – so easy to lapse into- that the world has been made for humans.”

 He continues;

“Mountains correct this amnesia. By speaking of greater forces than we can possibly invoke, and by confronting us with greater spans of trust in the man-made. The pose profound questions about our durability and the importance of our schemes. They induce, I suppose, a modesty in us. Mountains also re shape our understanding of ourselves, of our interior landscapes. The remoteness of the mountain world – its harshness and its beauties – can provide us with a valuable perspective down to the most familiar and best charted regions of our lives.”

(MACFARLANE R Mountains of the Mind. 2008, p274)

Here Macfarlene discusses an acute fascination with mountains and how they are important to our natural development as individuals. A man of the west himself, it could be argued that he himself, as Yi Fu Tuan suggests, that his words and achievements as an explorer still evoke this cultural importance of self found within the western world.

In contrast to the thoughts of Aurelius, American Philosopher Henry David Thoreau comments upon this level of solitude and how it was important to him, as an individual, often finding himself longing to be alone, in complete solitude. His popular book ‘Walden in the woods’ was an experiment of the self, taking it upon himself to disengage with society, to live by Walden Pond and be hidden away amongst nature. His comments upon society and peoples materialistic needs are as ever more profound and important today, given the text was written in the 1800’s. It would be fair to say, that Thoreau believed in a strong sense that solitude is important for self reflection and self preservation, yet there was an ability, like Aurelius discusses to be alone, within the tranquility of your own mind, without having to resort to the wilderness or landscapes to get the same result, the concept of being able to be alone, solitude not necessarily coming straight from a source of being physically on ones self. Thoreau goes on to say;

  “I find it wholesome to be alone the greater part of time. To be in company, even with the best, is soon wearisome and dissipating. I love to be alone. I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude. We are for the most part more only when we go abroad among men than when we stay in our chambers. A man thinking or working I always alone let him be where he will. Solitude is not measured by mile of space that intervenes between a man and his fellows. The really diligent student in one of the crowded hives of Cambridge College is as solitary as a dervis in the desert. “ – Henry David Thoreau, Solitude, page 88.

Does this not mean, that we are all alone in some form or another? The landscape can then begin to be a useful tool for the human mind, a place to escape as Soth has suggested within his work. Yet it could be argued that if man can be alone anywhere, then the act of man prioritizing nature before other scenes and outlets is one washed in the preservation of self. Nature is used, preserved and discussed by man, for it to be photographed and appropriated to the will of man is an interesting line of discussion. Do we not just project what we want and feel onto a landscape? Giving it its own ideals and purpose, thus to be changed by the next person to photograph the same place. Robert Adams an American photographer and writer on photography, from a recorded interview featured in ‘Landscape Theory' discusses the natural wilderness in its relation to photography;

  “Yet it’s far from incorrect to think of the natural wilderness as a moral wilderness as well; it is, at the least, morally neutral, and therefore accommodating to most any system of beliefs we project upon it.” –( ADAMS R(edited transcribed from taped interview) Landscape: Theory 1982  p29)

With man shaping the land, he also appropriates what is intended to be seen by an audience, even if they do not follow the same line of thought whilst looking at the same image of a landscape. With Thoreau’s concept that we are all alone in some form or another, and the words of Adams that landscapes act almost as a canvas for thought, it is easy to understand why landscape photography can struck a certain cord with photographers and audiences alike. Yet a photograph becomes more than the landscape as it has now been formed into an object, a piece of a perceived reality, which you can hold and carry around with you, a visual reminder of what you have seen.

  “Photographed images do not seem to be statements about the world so much pieces of it, miniatures of reality that anyone can make or acquire.” – (SONTAG S, 1984 On Photography, page 4)

Sontag’s comment on what a photograph is can inform when approaching a photograph of a particular landscape. Photographers choose to create their own realities within their work, as Sherry for an example, his reality is a saturated wash of colour, to grind against the old present something new. His concerns are more informed about the history of Landscape photography and preserving its future rather than attempting to create a physical document of reality.

To conclude this first part of the second chapter, the western landscape is a complex and engaging one. Investing strong and sometimes overbearingly senses of the self into contemporary landscape photography. There is a level of awareness to document the changes which are going within the west, the preconceived visuals we have of America make it all the harder to create images which bring forth something new. Yet as the quote by Robert Adams suggests, the landscape is a canvas on which we project, especially within our westernized society. This level of projection to understand one self seems to be an important one, as the second part of this chapter will discuss in further detail, the relationship between that of the landscape image and ourselves is a strong one. It has been learnt that it is not only the landscape itself, which gives inspiration to photographers, that in turn, literature can inform the photograph just as much as scenic beauty.

 The work by Soth brings up the question of solitude and confinement within oneself within a particular location; this has been unearthed through its deliberate decision to make ‘Broken manual’ to place man amongst landscapes, directly informing and asking us to understand the length of measures those subjects have taken, to feel free within the land which causes divide on its use of the word. Whilst the project aims to discuss the relationship of escape and those who have found sanctum within the wild, more questions than answers are given on whether the activity of searching of peace from a natural source is still up for debate. For example, is the work of western photographers like Schutmaat and Soth purely self indulgent, are the concerns of the individual too overpowering? Put simply, they are not. The work presented in both bodies of work resolves around the idea of these people as one encompassing whole, rather than going through the lengths of creating a very linear photo story about individuals and their struggle. In a way, what presented is everyone’s struggle.

 To be continued....

 Essay By Harry Rose

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[awhitewhale]

An exploration into the importance of the self within Western Contemporary Landscape Photography

  By Harry Rose

Introduction

  The evocative call of the landscape has been there for writers, painters, explorers and photographers a like throughout the ages of man. Philosophers also have participated in this conversation of the natural world. It is not only the scale of the landscape, which draws people closer to this, but also the realization that we cannot comprehend the scale of it in comparison to ourselves. The relationship between that of the outside and of ourselves is one which has been studied extensively through history, from romantic paintings such as those from Turner and Cole, to the awe inspiring landscapes depicted by Adams and Weston.

In relation to the subject matter, photography is one that is a fairly new practice in which landscape has been depicted; yet it has with all its strengths and weaknesses, created a vast and extensive collection of images representing the world around us. This has been shown through the physical documentation some photographers adopt, to artistic interpretations of the landscape around them from the likes of Andy Goldsworthy and Keith Arnatt. The act of photographing something and for it to be viewed as simply a hard documented fact has since been disputed since photography’s development, through the interest of scientific purposes and police documentation during the early 1900’s. It is known that the photograph is something much more than that, and with this in turn, so is the act of photographing and representing a landscape through visual means. The photograph can either act as the truth or a representation and interpretation of the reality it imposes within its frame.

The text will address the reasons as to why audiences choose to look at landscapes, be it the photographed world or the physical act of travelling to these places.

The study on to whether the depictions of landscape are regarded as firm documentations of the natural world or in contrast is landscape photography more of a self-portrait, a reflection of ones own inner thoughts and relations to a specific land, rather than a documentation of the physicality of what is in front of the photographer. This academic text will focus mainly on the works of that of Western image-makers and painters, the reasoning for this extends from the culture ideology of the importance of self within the western world.

  “Western culture encourages an intense awareness of self and, compared with other cultures, an exaggerated belief in the power and value of the individual.”

  (Yi-Fu Tuan, 2012. p139)

  With this “intense awareness of self” (Yi-Fu Tuan, 2012 p139) and the importance of ones own abilities and search for purpose in the world, objectifying that against something which is bigger than ourselves (and also non-human), mountains, vast landscapes for example, the question of how purposeful is it to have reproduced presentations of landscapes within the current contemporary culture of photography. With this ‘awareness’ in mind, this text will study the relationship between that of western man and nature, drawing from the work of Contemporary Photographers of the past 20 years, from the works of Alec Soth, Paul Gaffney, Joseph Conway, Ansel Adams, David Benjamin Sherry, Bryan Schutmaat, amongst others and where this places them in the world of landscape photography, with this discussion of the new, the work of these photographers will be questioned by classic theorists on the subject matter of self and land. Focusing specifically on contemporary works, this academic text will refer to writings and points of view from those who are acclaimed for their studies on landscape as well as photography and the human condition.

   From Marcus Aurelius, Susan Sontag, Robert Adams, to Henry David Thoreau and Yi Fu Tuan. Each of these writers has somewhat informed and shaped the way we view the photographic landscape. With these theorists and writers on photography concepts in opposition or agreement with approaches particular photographers have taken within their own work. One theorist in particular will be drawn upon regularly, Yi Fu Tuan, a humanist biologist whose roots lay in America with an eastern heritage. His book Humanist Geography: An individuals search for meaning and Segmented worlds will help to inform as to why as westernised people we choose to have the awareness of self and the importance of individuality.

This text will also discuss how painting has influenced photography in regards to landscape work, establishing how photographs can embody echo’s of the past. In addition, the last chapter of this academic essay will bring forth the opinions of photographers who are currently working with the landscape within their own practice, and will discuss the key points made within the previous text, to get closer to the reason why we choose to interact with the landscape on such a profound and self encompassing way.

Chapter One

The painted and photographed Landscape

  The first part of this academic study will discuss the relationship between the painted landscape and the landscape viewed through the lens of a camera. Also where contemporary landscape work is now posing itself in regards to the learned visual information that precedes it. Both, as we will discuss have a deeper conversation intertwining between the two, largely with photography and its influence from landscapes that have already been visualized through painting. The relationship between that of the artist and landscape is one, which draws back for centuries, from appearing on the walls of caves to roman villas, in which their purpose was to express the property owner’s power through the depictions of landscape images. Landscapes can be viewed to depict the physical as well as representations for other means of thought, such as dominance, romance, beauty, solitude, reflection and hope (to name but a few). The word landscape means two very different ideas, yet merged together to form a cohesive whole.

 With Yi Fu Tuans approach upon the subject of landscape, who he himself is a humanist geologist, we can depict what the landscape means before it is applied to photography. If we are to go by Tuan’s applied knowledge, then the ‘scape’ is the photographer’s eye, from their ‘standpoint’, which can either be a stand on subject matter of a physical standing to observe the physical. Tuan is making the point that the landscape is a meeting of a place with no thought or ideology, yet having individual’s projects their ideas upon the land. This leads us to understand that Landscapes have relevance, a message that can be read through clues within the image, placed there purposefully by the artist.

 With this in mind, the paintings of Thomas Cole and his work ‘The Course of the Empire” 1833-36 must be discussed. Course of the Empire is a series of paintings, which depict the rise and fall of empires, humanity, and how eventually, they will both fall, with the landscape once again reclaiming the land that has been appropriated and built upon by man. The paintings themselves are grand, presenting nature as this great and romantic beauty, yet the paintings are themselves consensual, pictures of what we think these places could of looked like. The word Empire itself is telling, this may be reference to nature itself, and the empire is the natural world. The course of this empire is it being built upon and then transcending into chaos and then reforming control of its surroundings. One peak in particular features in every image, a ghost if you will, lingering in the background of the image. As we know, mountains cannot physically move, yet it is not only because it is an immovable object as to why it rests peacefully in every painting from the series. The sense of lingering for change, with the sun catching its rays across the peak in every image, it is this peak which is the main subject of Cole’s paintings. A powerful and poetic clue through landscape, to give us a simple and clear message about the progression and slide of mans grip on power and control.

 The series itself acts as a social and political tool, a way of communicating ideas on the fate of man and what the road ahead has in store for the relationship between man and the landscape, whilst created in the 1800’s, the images have yet to see the fall of the empire in which they were created in. The main focal message is that nature will out us, it is an obvious observation that a mountain or rolling hill will remain years after we pass on, drawing our eyes back through history, the fall of empires and civilizations from either Roman or Egyptian times, yet have been dug up from the ground, unearthed to reveal whole cities and the remains of humans, buried under the landscape.

The final image from the series  The Course of the Empire’ (fig 1) with the column glistening, basking almost in the suns rays draws our eyes at first, its composition then leads our eyes around the foliage and evidence of a human presence. We are made aware that this is set in a hot climate or during the course of a warm summer, due to the moon the sun is lighting shining in the background, yet the column. Thus giving the audience clues that, now man has left, things are bright, warm, and peaceful again. In the corner of the painting, a mountain peak can be seen; this peak is in all of the Cole’s paintings from “The Course of the Empire”. Thus presenting the concept of longevity and immortality through nature.  It is also, at this point important to bring to the discussion the size of these paintings, traditionally, landscape paintings are on the larger side, taking up space to evoke the scale of what is being depicted, but also to convey how small the audience is, in comparison.

The purpose of a 19th century painter was to introduce the audience to something they have never seen before, to communicate the size of a landscape, making the painting of large proportions seems obvious. The painters uphold the ideal of the sublime, relying on a scale, which is difficult for the viewer to comprehend.  How does this transfers and relates to photographs for a moment. How images are often disseminated is via the internet, or photography books, depending on your computers screen (or how big the book is) we never get a real feel for how big and overwhelming these places we have chosen to Google are. Unless of course these images are scaled up within a gallery that lends itself to the project in mind, it is the job of the current Landscape photographer to convey things that, in the 15th century were being conveyed through a paintbrush.

(fig 2 Ansel Adams, Clearing Winter Storm, 1940)

  A notable photographer, who, if the discussion about whether Landscape photography being a valid and still purposeful medium with photography or not, the name Ansel Adams must come into the fray. Known as the grandfather of Landscape photography to traditionalist landscape photographers, it is a challenge to find flaws with Adams and his picturesque and beautiful Landscape photographs of the American wilderness. An American himself, Adams photographed and studied the American wilderness most of his life, as America seems to be the home of Landscape photography due to its diverse and grand geometry.

 Much like what landscape painters did for their audiences, Adams has done for those with photography. Showing scale, beauty and tranquility within his images, something which previous landscape photographers such as Paul Strand and Weston, who documented landscapes in more of a ‘straight’ way of shooting and recording, allowing the notions that photography is merely a tool for documentation to take hold of their approach to creating images. Although Strand and Weston were not the first to have gone about photographing landscapes, it has been recorded that early as 1845 people took daguerreotypes of Niagara falls, these people were wealthy tourists who wanted as we do now, to take back the landscape we have visited to show loved ones back home.

 Taken from a piece of advertisement for Adam’ work the text below finds a fitting outlook of how the photographer and photographs can be molded into the one conclusive whole.

 “The creations of man or nature never have more grandeur than in an Ansel Adams photograph, and his image can seize the viewer with more force that the natural object from which it is made.”  (SONTAG S On Photography, 1984, p188)

 This remark acts as a tool for selling Adam’ book, it evokes the concept of photography being greater, grander than the real and physical scene or object it has documented. The act of power and possession over the landscapes Adam’ has created is an interesting one. Adam’s photograph ‘Clearing Winter Storm’ (fig 2) created in Yosemite National Park booms several voices that can be read after deeply analyzing the photograph. Yosemite of course is a famous National Park within America; a well documented and witnessed one by tourists. It is an attraction of natural beauty, much like the Grand Canyon or Niagara Falls, so before reading into the photograph and its details, a level of information is already with us through its already well-documented state. It can also be noted, that our understanding of the natural world has already been represented and placed before our eyes, through our natural development from children to young adults, we are made aware of the world through visual stimulus, as described by Guy Debord (1984) in Society of the Spectacle.

 “All that was once directly lived has become mere representation,” – Guy Debord, Society of the Spectacle, (1984)

 Thus placing ourselves in a second dimension of reality in relation to the physical land around us. We have already witnessed these events second hand, so the impact of witnessing the landscape first hand somewhat becomes void, through the already established visual recognition and emotional connection engaged with a place.

 The location of the landscape is one that is decided by man. Through the appropriation of what is considered of natural significance and importance. The landscape is a found wilderness and as Simon Schama states within his book ‘Landscape and memory’;

 “The Wilderness, after all, does not locate itself, does not name itself” (SCHAMA S., Landscape and Memory, 1996. p7)

The visual representations which our modern day culture have been exposed to can depict meaning and understanding of a single photographic image of a landscape. The title as it suggests, that a clearing is happening, winter, which associates itself with shorter days, darker nights and bitter cold, is slowly leaving, with it comes spring, an embodiment of hope, joy, birth and fresh crops. This alone in the title delivers a message which can then be read within the photograph, a point could possibly be made in reference to Cole’s ‘Course of the Empire’, without words and titles, the work could loose itself along with its purpose and meaning. With this title applied to the image, Adams has addressed a level of trust in the communication of this photograph, within it we can view a darkness leaving, light is sinking its way into the scene, with clouds and fog wrapping itself round a darker peak, on the adjacent side a peak is perfectly lit, as if it is opposing the opposite mountain. But it could be argued that by titling the work, Adams is framing it, giving is its own shape and particular angle, rather than relying on the audience to be educated in the reading of photographs.

The peak within Adam’s photograph feels familiar, as if we have seen it before. Looking back at Cole’s paintings (fig 1) in theory it could be said that the same peak of light and hope is resting safely away towards the back of the painting, even though as a viewer, we are aware of these two settings being in completely different locations, one imagined, on physical. The photograph of the Yosemite National park appeared in Adam’s book ‘This is in the American Earth’ the words;

‘You will face Immortal challenges…” reads across one of the pages in reference too ‘Clear Winter Storm’, commenting upon the challenge faced between the two peaks meeting each other, locked of course in an ‘immortal’ challenge as both peaks are exactly that. The peak on the left is named El Captian as to is opposing side is where the source of Brideviel falls begins. This information leads us to understand that Adams was creating a communication within the landscape, about the landscape and its mortality.

Cole and Adams did share the same awareness regards to the American landscape, with Cole making a dramatic observation as to what would become of the landscape painter within an academic article titled ‘Essay on American Scenery’;

“Where the wolves roam, the plough shall glisten, on the gray crag will rise the temple and tower, mighty deeds may be done in the new pathless wilderness”(SPALDING J [Online], Google Books, page 37)

These wolves in which Cole alludes us to could be read as a numerous things, that of the animal or those who roam and hunt for a particular scene, stalking out the undergrowth for that single, powerful image. The quote also alludes to the agricultural advances and over populace of the American Landscape at the time, towns growing and farm lands expanding into the wilderness.  This awareness Cole had of the subject matter of Landscape carried on into Adam’s and his own work, forever creating visual and contextual contradictions with his work about wilderness and the American landscape, this came from overpopulating the landscape with expanding communities within America, which took over places of natural interest, as suggested by the author of  ‘Ansel Adams and the American Landscape a Biography’ Jonathan Spaulding presented the idea that this issue was something that Adams would overcome or resolve within his work, this deep relation between man and the wilderness and how the economic growth of his homeland is damaging and destroying what he held as important.

It could also be argued that this plough is a camera, which would be appropriate given the same approach to the landscape in which Adams has undergone in reference to Cole, a level of care and understanding of the ‘wilderness’ can be witnessed in both of their work. With a clear and evident relationship between the work of landscape photographers and painters, the artists have purposefully appropriated what has can be seen and what can be read into their image making. Yet in contrast, Simon Schama stated that Adams expressed that in order it keep a place pure, it must be occupied. This level of occupation has been handed down through tourists and those who wish to gaze at the natural splendor of the Yosemite national park. To keep these places occupied, the occupation must come not only in physical presence but the preservation through images and knowledge of these places and their natural importance. If forgotten, they may not hold any importance at all. Now contemporary photographers are photographing the same spot, even though the land itself has remained the same, something has changed in the way we view the same landscape.

  “A patch of earths surface-a landscape-stays put, and we think we can always go back to it. But can we? What if it is far off? Even if we are able to return, will not we have changed and so also the landscape?” (TUAN Yi Fu, 2012 ,Page 89)

  This statement by Yi Fu Tuan (2012) presents the basic principle that the landscape is always changing, this might not be a physical change (as some landscapes can be changed by man) but more of a human one, an internal change that manipulates the way we view a landscape or place.  The time of the landscape in which the image was taken is different to that of the person, thus separating the two, this creates the notion that in the future, if the same landscape were to be depicted again through the medium of photography, the alignment would not be the same as the previous photograph taken of the same scene. Which creates the idea that the landscape does change, but only though the progressive nature of time through the eyes of those which document and still nature.

As time passes, the photograph by Adams of the Yosemite Valley may change its cultural meaning, as a photograph it acts as a moment as well as an object. Yet the change may come in those who choose to work with the same landscape and create photographs, which may or may not, inform or change the way we have viewed previous photographs of the same scene.

  (Winter Sunrise over Yosemite Valley 
Yosemite, California, 2013 David Benjamin Sherry Wonderful Land fig3)

 “To photograph is to appropriate the thing photographed. It means putting oneself into a certain relation to the world, that feels like knowledge-and, therefore, like power” (SONTAG S 1984, page 4)

 To a certain degree Sontag’s comment is true of all art, not only does this perceived power comes from photographing a scene or object, but that of painting one. The “power” suggested is that over the scenes or object depicted, to claim ownership and authority over what you photograph or paint. What is it then, that Landscape Photography is appropriating? Is Adams appropriating what he seems as beautiful? Thus giving him power over what he has documented? Well to put it simply, yes. It can argue that Adams has dominated the Landscape photography genre, both being revered for his intellect and staggeringly beautiful images. Adams is appropriating what has proceeded him appropriating the tradition of landscape painting into photography, which thus leads to more contemporary photographers appropriating Adams, a continuous cycle. It comes from this level of appreciation from a community, that photographers have soon began to branch back in time, to go back to works such as Cole’s and Turner’s and inject some more engaging images into the fray of things. It is only natural that once a few names dominate a certain scene, they will then be questioned through new material.

One such photographer is the image-maker David Benjamin Sherry and his recent project Wonderful Land (fig3). Whilst viewing this image, it is easy to note the same approach and detail as to which both Cole and Adams have already laid down before Sherry, yet with this introduction of colour, which has made the Landscape become something more. There must be reasons why Sherry has chosen this certain aesthetic to his work, in an interview with Source Magazine in its 2013 Talent Edition; Sherry discusses his work and its aims;

“I’ve been interested in landscape photography for many years. The Wonderful Life series was very much a continuation of my previous bodies of work, which I conceived as a response to the global man-made crisis of climate change. I like many before me, have often looked to nature for answers, mostly to cope with the changing planet.”

He continues;

“I sought to re imagine the masters’ landscape views be injecting a radical twist of hyper real colour and saturation, which felt like a chromatic extension of my anxieties, and also because I just hadn’t seen it before.” –

(SHERRY D B Interview by  Jorg M. Colberg FOAM Talent, issue 36, Fall 2013)

In reference to the “masters’’, a clear reference to ‘Clearing Winter Storm’ by Adams is met. It is difficult in some aspects to photograph a scene, which is well known already by another photographer, to take that landscape and then embody it with your own line of thought. Sherry’s approach seemed to want to heighten the emotions felt whilst viewing the image of Adams, to push the viewers engagement levels. The saturated pigmentation of red, the chosen colour for this photograph is pivotal in the response to a landscape within photography. The tonal influence of red symbolizes several notions that of blood, death, romance, love, desire. It also represents danger, which is prominent in Sherry’s concern for climate change. All of these thoughts can be hypothetically read into the image now that it has had this saturated wash over the photograph. Through the application of colour to the photographic image, Sherry is applying a more intimate line of thought with the audience. Photography has its limitations when attempting to discuss a large vacuum of ideas, by this manipulation of colour Sherry is encouraging the audience to consider the environmental, making what is in invisible within the image visible.

Taking more of a political stance in terms of the preservation of our natural environment, Sherry has metaphorically soaked the photograph in blood, the blood of the very landscape it is depicting. This choice of colour may refer to the Yosemite Valleys appeal to the public and tourism, just behind the photographer there is a car park, a perfect spot to look and admire. As quoted by Adams earlier, it is in the accommodation of this landscape which will continue is preservation and growth.

By viewing alongside both Adam’s and Sherry’s photographs there are obvious composition difference, perhaps due to the size of the film or crops later made by either photographer, this helps in the reading that even though Sherry informs the viewer he is referencing Adams, it is not a complete replica in some respects. This body of work was created in 2013, Adam’s in 1940, a 73 year difference in which both photographs are taken, yet both of them present us with a similar message, the same concern of the landscape, yet through different visual strategies present us with a unique approach to landscape photography. The question must be asked in regards to both of these scenes, are they true depictions of that place, do they behold the straight documented style to just present what is in front of us? According to Sherry, his work is doing much more than that:

“I like to think the colours I choose add an emotional impact to the viewing experience, just as they convey the emotions and anxieties I’m experiencing when I make these images. I use the intense colours to heighten the experience and maybe to portray more accurately than is possible in colour or black and white the reality in which we live in.” – (David Benjamin Sherry, Interview by Jorg M. Colberg. Foam talent, Fall 2013 page 196)

In reference to Sherry’s statement, there is a personal level attached to the work, placing himself with the work, in his own words with his own ‘emotions’ and ‘anxieties’. Yet, with this placing of self amongst the landscape through aesthetic choices, the true singular representation of a place is lost. This singular representation will always be lost however, this is due to the fact there are multiple realities when it comes to the reading of the work. Sherry’s reality may not be the same as to those of Native Americans for example, who may interpret his images in a different way.

With Sherry’s work firmly placed in the west, an American himself, the narration between the west and its relationship with landscape is made clear this his work, along with Adam’ and Cole’s. This intense ‘awareness of self’ as Yi Fu Tuan describes in his book ‘Segmented worlds and self’ is what makes those within western culture who strongly believe in their own unique ability and value to ‘question’ and ‘explore’ are indeed themselves ‘cultural artifacts’.

“This isolated, critical and self conscious individual is a cultural artifact.”

(Yi Fu Tuan, 1982, page 139.)

 This is made true of Cole and Adams; it cannot be argued that they are not what Yi Fu Tuan (1982) describes as ‘cultural artifacts’ within their practice. With landscape being artifice in the past, it leads through concerning discussions like Sherry’s on its place and purpose within the contemporary scene of landscape photography and its photographers. In a form of a conclusion to the ideas discussed above, it is fitting to say that Landscape photography, through a gap of 73 years of the same scene being photographed and stilled, each piece refers in a way to the past and work which has gone before it.

Painting has informed the photographed world we see before us, our eyes, which receive most of the information we need, are educated through works such as Cole, who has led image makes in his trail to create visuals we as viewers, are used and expected to see when it comes to viewing a landscape. We can conclude that it is the creator of the work, be it photographer or artist who has power and control over the landscape which is being displayed, they present us their ideas and concerns through that of mountains and stilled moments in time. With this in mind the discussion can be progressed further, to ideas such as the relation between the photographer and the landscape, that over awareness of self and importance when creating work, and the mark it leaves on the landscape.

[awhitewhale]

Another brillaint clip by Zach Zielinski

[awhitewhale]

Todays post goes to a great guy I found on Instagram a few weeks back. He mashes up clips of Star Wars to tunes, often with hilarious results. Zach Zielinski is his name, messing with our childhood memories of far far away is his game.

Hey Zach, I first came across you through your Instagram account, you make some pretty great Star Wars Vids, what got you into mixing music with movie clips?

       My friends and I made short movies when we were young.  Editing was my favourite part of the process.  It kind of re-emerged as a hobby recently when I discovered the thrill of getting feedback from “the Internet”.

        It might be worth mentioning that I’m completely fascinated by the subliminal magic of movie trailers.

What made you choose Star Wars and lets say, Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings (which would be awesome if you chose to do them)?

            My dad is a hard-core sports fan and former jock, and even he nerds out about Star Wars.  Harry Potter and LOTR are huge…but not Star Wars huge.  Also, I grew up watching them, so I can readily scrub my memory for footage, and visualize an idea much more easily. 

  Who shot first man, Han or Greedo?

            George shot shit all over everyone, I think is the appropriate answer.

  You work as a contraction worker by day, any plans to drop everything and take your videos further?

            Sitting down and being creative, privately, a couple times a week is a nice outlet, but grinding through making that Freddy Krueger tribute or the Battle of Hoth thing was not pleasant.

Dream Job: Producing Commercials.

 I think I found your video’s so funny and warming because they tap into my childhood in such a surreal way. The fight between Vader and Obi Wan with Bonnie Tyler music, that was perfect. What’s the one clip you’ve put together which you’re most proud of? 

            Fun Question! I always get a laugh from the Jabba the Hutt/Disney’s Beauty and the Beast mashup.  I think the combination of Karate Kid and Darth Maul was potent.  I don’t know if you caught this, but the Hoth/Immigrant Song combination…is a total rip off of David Fincher’s Girl With the Dragon Tattoo Trailer!

 I think Instagram is a great app for what you do. Is it difficult planning just 15 seconds of footage? I mean, it’s got to be memorable right?

            The 15 second limit sets up a nice boundary that I can lean against.  Otherwise I would preen myself into madness.  The big trick is figuring out how to coerce a melody into concluding right at that 15-second mark.  Usually, I’ll pick the music first, for that reason; also because the music is mostly what inspires the theme of the video.

 Are there any plans to make a longer video? I think an extended cut would blow up the Internet.

            I put together a rough full version of the Darth Maul/Karate Kid thing, which was amazing, but FOX is very weird with copyrights and YouTube shot me down hard, so I scrapped it.  I spent a lot of time on those few longer videos without knowing if I would be allowed to post them. Kinda makes one anxious.

 There is a real art to what you do. It’s easy to dismiss them as just fun star wars clips with music. Do you approach the clips in that light?

            Only secretly! But since you were such a gentlemen about asking me these questions, I had to choose but to be honest.  I do put more deep thought into these than I would care to admit, but I try to keep them fun. Instagram is not a place for pretentiousness.

            The clip above is an extended look at Zach’s Hoth video mash up. Find him on Instagram to see the rest of these crazy creations. 

ZZIELINKSI

[awhitewhale]

LETS TALK….HAN SOLO

  Reasons why we all wanted to be Han Solo in the School Playground.

  A White Whales aim is to explore the world. Sometimes the world takes us beyond our galaxy and somewhere far far away. You know what I’m talking about. Star Wars man. That’s a set of films there, which has broken cinematic tradition, its huge following; it’s even a religion for some. This post does contain spoilers to the original Star Wars Trilogy. I can’t picture someone who hasn’t seen it. But you’ve been warned.

Rather than talk about the entire franchise and the films history, which we will look at in the future. Lets dedicate this one to everyone’s favourite scoundrel. The role that spun Harrison Fords career out of control and he became a household name. Going on to play Indiana Jones and even the president of the United States. You know you’ve made it as an actor when your film is set on air force one. But lets talk about what makes this guy great, everyone wanted to be Han Solo in the playground.

Don’t get me wrong, Luke was a cool option; he comes with the lightsaber and the ability to use the force. But nothing is more reliable than a blaster at your side right? He also gets the Millennium Falcon and Chewwie, at least that way your best bud can be at your side, yelling and growling at the other kids.

He was a role model of sorts, this wise cracking unexpected hero, in it for the gold not the glory at first. But then grew in our hearts as the go to guy. If you’re going into a fight, Han is your man. Mr Solo became a General of the Rebel Alliance, almost as impressive as Luke going from farm boy to Jedi; this smuggler earns his friends respect and the audiences. Han Solo also got the girl, who'd of thought that a scruffy looking nerf herder could win the heart of a princess? If pretending to be this guy at school didn't impress your childhood crush, nothing would.

But what makes Han the right choice, and honoured role to play when you were a kid is his sense of fun. Han doesn’t care what you think. He’s far from perfect, but he gives it his all. He’s charismatic, funny and open of his flaws. He seems to be one of these cinematic characters that gets through anything. Because he can, because he’s Han. He also dies at the end of Empire. Then comes back to help topple the Empire and the second Death Star. Win.

One word, which comes up a lot when describing Han Solo is ‘Cool’. It’s difficult to avoid. Perhaps one sentence which can rest your thoughts as to why it’s true, he is the only non Jedi character in the entire franchise to use a lightsaber. Yup. That’s Han. And he uses it so save Luke’s life. Hero.

He is also a popular choice for Cosplay, both boys and girls can be Han Solo. He is universal.

So there you have it, a few reasons as to why Han is our Man. What do you think? What are your favourite Solo moments?