Constructing text

At this point I've started writing my critiq about Julia and Jane and have created the background information for paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 - Intro, first photographer Julia and second photographer Jane.  Now comes the hard bits, interpretation and comparison and summary.  I've always been reasonable about things like applying formulas in maths but interpreting the facts is another skill altogether.  Back to the coal face.

Book Research - Julia Margaret Cameron and Jane Bown

Luckily I've got a local library which has a very helpful librarian who does her best to get hold of the books recommended for the assignment I'm working on.

Julia Margaret Cameron

This time Lorraine managed to get hold of an out of date paperback on Julia Margaret Cameron - Criticism and Interpretation, by Amanda Hopkinson, published by Virago Pioneers in 1986.  The book gives a detailed review of Cameron's life and how she developed as a society photographer.

Whilst I've been aware of Cameron for several years, I was surprised to find she had dabbled in photographer before her daughter gave her a camera to give her an interest in her later years.

It's also reassuring to hear that the mistakes she made in the processing and printing she considered a bonus and learning curve.  She felt that fingerprints and smudges enhanced her images and gave them a depth that was previously missing.  A bit like myself when I was processing my own films in the 1980s.


 Jane Bown

I've looked into Jane Bown's work since my work was compared to her's when I was working on the module People & Place for Level 1.  I admire her strong images and forthright uncompromising attitude.

I managed to get hold of two of her books including Exposure, (22 Oct. 2009);

A Lifetime of Looking (15 Oct 2015) – both published by Guardian Faber Publishing. 

I get real inspiration looking at these books and the videos available on YouTube where Jane was interviewed on her approach and techniques.  The fact that she worked for the Guardian and Observer for over 50 years shows how well respected she was, my idea of someone to emulate in my own work.

 

Background Research

I've been watching YouTube on Julia Margaret Cameron and Jane Bown which has been very interesting.  I've also requested books from my local library including Exposure by Jane Bown and one on Cameron by Amanda Hopkinson published by Virago in 1986. which I'm collecting today to read up as much as I can on the two women.

Subject of critique

I've always been interested in women in the workforce and women photographers.  This time I've decided to look at one of the first well-known women photographers, Julia Margaret Cameron, and Jane Bown, a well-respected woman photographer of the 20th century.

I worked as a photographic within British Airways at Heathrow Airport in the 1990s when women photographers were few and far between. In the end we formed a sort of clique and networked between us with ideas and jobs.

It was always a good idea to keep in with the men photographers around the airport as well as the women as they could also recommend you for a job that they were unable to do.  It was also useful to talk to them casually to get hints and tips on how to handle jobs.  These photographers were not the paparazzi but jobbing men who worked within the industry at the airport.  On one occasion, I was talking to one photographer, Adrian Meredith, who was the corporate photographer of choice for BA and he'd had to go into the CEO of the airline to update his picture.  As the time, it was usual to take a Lastolite portable background which was contained in a metre-wide material case.  

As you can imagine, time was short with a CEO and to get the background back in its case, mo mean feat at the best of time, Adrian and his assistant had to walk it out to the corridor to stuff it back in the case as they wanted to appear professional and not complete idiots.  Even the best of us can stuff up!

Preparing my critique for assignment 6

I’ve always dreaded the critical review and shied away from it until the last minute.  This time I’ve decided to approach it in a more realistic way, reading the book suggested by my tutor – ‘A Short Guide to Writing about Art’, 10^th edition; Sylvan Barnet, Tufts University; 2011.  One thing I will mention is that whenever I am recommended to read a book on theory I find the print is in grey and such a small font it gets harder to read as you go along. 

The main chapter of this books seems to be Chapter 8 How to write an effective essay where you are advised to construct a basic strategy before approaching a first draft.  It also suggests that if you are reading essays, catalogues or other from ‘secondary sources’ don’t just highlight or photocopy, actually take brief notes.  It suggests that you make notes on post cards and then arrange them in a logical order.  Get it down on paper, keep looking and thinking,   Revise, edit and after a suitable interval, again revise then edit.