Personal Journeys and Fictional Autobiography
18th of June 2019
Photography can be used to document a journey, even a personal spiritual one. Photography can document points in our lives. Artists have used their own personal experiences and journeys to create their images. For example, Nan Goldin. Goldin is an American photographer born in 1953, she has explored topics ranging from LGBT to the opioid epidemic. The one that stands out is her image, Nan one month after being battered (see fig. 1). She took this image in 1984, it documents the aftermath of an abusive relationship. Her then partner, had beaten her, she almost lost her sight. This image is such a personal thing, it allows us a small glimpse into her past. It is almost as if we are there seeing it. She is letting the public into her private life. It is a very emotional and thought-provoking image.
Larry Sultan is a photographer who looks towards his own family for inspiration. In Pictures From Home, Sultan has taken pictures of his parents in their daily routine. This project took around a decade to compile. His aim was to explore the ‘familial mythologies’ and how photography contributes to this. He has stated that looking at these photographs, he wanted “to stop time. I want my parents to live forever” (Sultan). Reading at the kitchen table (see fig. 2), provides a glimpse into his parents life, sitting at a kitchen table is something most do but don’t really think about it. Well I suppose, many won’t sit at a kitchen table nowadays, due to television and technology, people don’t seem to sit and have dinner any more. The scene makes the viewer feel a part of the family, as if we were there. It is a mundane scene but an emotional one too, as these real life occurrences are not going to be happening forever and more importantly they are real. For Sultan, it must be like a life-like Memory.
Elinor Carucci is an Israeli photographer born in 1971. In her series, Mother, she documents her journey through pregnancy, birth, and early child years. It is her personal journey. It shows real life, and in my opinion quite daring and refreshing as in general people will not talk about certain parts of the process. So it is good to get it out there. It shows that it is natural and people shouldn’t have to hid it.
Richard Billingham series Ray’s a Laugh, looks at his parents and his experience growing up. He grew up with an alcoholic father in a council tower block. His images are allowing us to see an experience some may recognise whilst others won’t. Robert Mapplethorpe experimented with self-portraits. He explored his own identity and his own mortality. After being diagnosed with AIDS, he brought his mortality into his images. Lena Aliper is a Russian photographer born in 1985. She created a series of images documenting her twenty day silence. His images are all the same, she has the same clothes, the same background, and similar expressions throughout. This seems to allude to a loss of identity she felt. It borders on documentary photography but also has a place in performance. Another artists who looks at her own personal journey is Annie Leibovitz in her series Pilgrimage. She travels and captures her images with no particular agenda, it is interesting as she is usually known for her portraits, but this series doesn’t contain any people.
Bibliography
Adams, T. (2016). ‘Richard Billingham: ‘I just hated growing up in that tower block’’ In: The Guardian [Online]. At: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/mar/13/Richard-billingham-tower-block-white-Dee-rays-a-laugh-liz/ (Accessed on 11th of June 2019)
Aliper, L. Bio. At: www.lenaaliper.net/about.html/ (Accessed on the 11th of June 2019).
Aliper, L. (2010). Twenty Days of Being Silent (2010). At: www.lenaaliper.net/20days.html/ (Accessed on 11th of June 2019),
Carucci, E. CV/Bio. At: www.elinorcarucci.com/bio.php#0/ (Accessed on 11th of June 2019).
Carucci, E. Mother. At: www.elinorcarucci.com/mother.php#0/ (Accessed on 11th of June 2019).
Hamilton’s Gallery. Annie Leibovitz. At: https://www.hamiltonsgallery.com/artists/Annie-Leibovitz/series/pilgrimage/ (Accessed on 11th of June 2019).
National Gallery of Australia. Nan Goldin. At: https://artsearch.nga.gov.au/detail.cfm?irn=450/ (Accessed on 11th of June 2019).
Sultan, L. Bio. At: larrysultan.com/bio/ (Accessed on 11th of June 2019).
Tate. Nan Goldin. At: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/nan-goldin/2649/ (Accessed on 11th of June 2019).
Tate. Robert Mapplethorpe. At: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/Robert-mapplethorpe/11413/photographs-Robert-mapplethorpe/ (Accessed on 11th of June 2019).
Figures
Fig. 1. Goldin, N. (1984). Nan One Month after being battered. [Photograph – Online]. At: https://www.artsearch.nga.gov.au/detail.cfm?irn=450/ (Accessed on 11th of June 2019).
Fig. 2. Sultan, L. (1988). Reading at the kitchen Table. [Photograph – Online]. At: larrysultan.com/Gallery/pictures-from-home/ (Accessed on 11th of June 2019).
Georgina's Body of Work 