Tag: Assignment Five

Title 

I have been thinking of a title for this project. The pilgrimage itself goes under difference names, but a local name for it is ‘In the Shadow of the Preselis’. I debated whether to call my project this but I wanted something that referred to what I was looking at, so I have decided to call it ‘In the Shadow of Men’. This refers back to the fact that I am looking at gender inequality in landscape photography but it also raises the inequality in religion, and the fact that women are in the shadows of the men in the Bible.  

All parts to assignment five can be found here.

Assignment Images

Here are my assignment images:

The images are available to see separately here:

Assignment Images

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Introduction

your young men shall see visions…

Many landscape images we see are of expansive inviting vistas, rolling hills, glistening waters and vibrant colours. Whilst the images are pretty, there is an issue. Which is that the majority of these are taken by men; through a man’s eye. The gender gap in landscape photography is very prominent, but is quite often looked over. This has led to essentially us seeing the landscape through a male perspective. There are many reasons for this; one specific reason originates with religion. Gender inequality is seen within some religions, this has in time caused ingrained beliefs and created a structured inequality in our society. With my background in studying religion, I decided to investigate the inequality in landscape photography whilst utilising the inequality in religion. I have done this by embarking on a pilgrimage, a route which was specifically designed for men. This allowed me to document this journey as a woman from my perspective and not through a man’s eye. I have contrasted the gender inequality in landscape photography with the inequality in religion, but this also raises the issue of inequality in art and in a global sense too. Using a craft associated with women, my work now takes the form of a collage. I would hope that viewers will be able to see my images and think about gender inequality, their experience of it, and even how they may not have realised the extent. The more we highlight the issue, the more we fight against it, the more improvements can be made. Maybe one day we may all be treated equally.  

…your old men shall dream dreams

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10th of August 2020

Here is my second draft of my introduction, following my tutor’s feedback:

your young men shall see visions…

Pilgrimages: a way to get closer to your faith or show devotion? You would think then it would be accessible to all. But this is not the case. My work follows a pilgrimage, one which was specifically designed for men. So what about the women? Well they have been excluded from this journey of faith. Named after the mountainous backbone, In the Shadow of the Preselis, is an aptly named pilgrimage, however with the exclusion of women, one could say, In the Shadow of the Men, is more appropriate. Gender inequality is seen within some religions, this has in time caused ingrained beliefs and created a structured inequality in our society. With my background in studying religion, I decided to investigate the inequality in landscape photography whilst utilising the inequality in religion. I have done this by embarking on a pilgrimage, a route which was specifically designed for men. This allowed me to document this journey as a woman from my perspective and not through a man’s eye. Another area where inequality flourishes is landscape photography. Many landscape images we see are of expansive inviting vistas, rolling hills, glistening waters and vibrant colours. Whilst the images are picturesque, there is an issue. Which is that the majority of these are taken by men; through a man’s eye. The gender gap in landscape photography is very prominent, but is quite often looked over. This has led to essentially us seeing the landscape through a male perspective. My work contrasts the gender inequality in landscape photography with the inequality in religion, but this also raises the issue of inequality in art and in a global sense too. Using a craft frequently associated with women, my work now takes the form of a collage. I would hope that viewers will be able to see my images and think about gender inequality, their experience of it, and even how they may not have realised the extent. The more we highlight the issue, the more we fight against it, the more improvements can be made. Maybe one day we may all be treated equally.  

…your old men shall dream dreams

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Evaluation

Ever since I was a child I have always enjoyed photographing landscapes. It had never really occurred to me that there was an obvious divide between the genders here. But when I started to do some research it was obvious. The majority of photographers in this genre are men. I began thinking of ways I could represent, highlight and fight this inequality. With my previous studies being in religion, I decided I would follow a pilgrimage which was designed for men. This would be my landscape images. It also occurred to me that this would also be looking at the inequality within religion and also in a global sense. This pilgrimage became my own journey. A journey of realisation and discovery.  

I started my work by intending to follow the pilgrimage and using this as a backbone for my exploration of the gender inequality in landscape photography. I really didn’t know how I was going to do it. But I did want to explore this topic, as I found it is something people either don’t realise or don’t talk about. I started by looking at landscape pictures and the common themes in them. I then decided that I wanted the opposite of the norm, I wanted images that were not perfect, to symbolise the discontent. So my work included blurry, over-exposed and under-exposed. My work has evolved to make a collage from each location. I have kept the basis which is exploring inequality in landscape photography, but also with references to the inequality in religion and in a global sense.  

I started my research by looking into gender inequality and the inequality in landscape photography and how artists tackle this issue. I have also looked into pilgrimages. I have tried to find artists who have followed a journey or pilgrimage, but also those who are looking into psychogeography. To aid in my decision about my techniques, I looked into artists who use collage. I looked into how artist use text and how they sequencing their images. As I was researching various different topics and techniques, I had a lot of research. Catherine Opie was one artist who influenced how I photographed my locations. Several male landscape photographers have helped me see how they see the world. Mary Beth Edelson used religion to address gender inequality in the arts, her work has been influential. These are to name a few. 

As my work has evolved, I feel my work explores gender inequality but not just in landscape photography, but in a global and religious sense. I followed this pilgrimage which was designated and followed by men, in order to complete my own journey as a woman following in their footsteps. Something which would have been frowned upon in their time. I believe it also raises questions regarding patriarchy and inequality. I am following a man’s journey, but my images now reflect my journey, as a woman. 

I do not feel that my images will only resonate with one particular audience. I believe my images are suitable for all, as this is an issue that effects everybody. Despite this inequality being against women and men are favoured, it would require both sexes to raise awareness and to fight it. I hope when the viewer looks at my image, they can bring their own experience or thoughts of gender inequality and religion. I would like my images to get the viewers to think about the gender inequality, not only in this specific journey but also in a global sense. It could perhaps lead to their own journey of discovery surrounding inequality. I would like people to see my images and really think why have I followed a journey that was designed for men. Why as a women, photographing in the landscape genre is this a rarity? Why aren’t the images perfect? What new image does the collage make? Why does these images show oppressive and restricted tendencies? Most importantly, how does the images make the viewer feel? Are they aware of gender inequality and how deeply it is rooted? Do they care? 

I want to use images that weren’t perfect, so as to distance my work from the ‘perfect’ landscape images you see, as I hope this shows that there is something wrong, something is not perfect. You can still make the images out but they do not possess the clarity. Hinting at the state of the world with gender equality, everything may seem ok on the surface but it truly isn’t. My technique of following a pilgrimage designed for men is an important aspect as I am following it as a women, something that wouldn’t have been accepted back in the original pilgrims time. I am following in their footsteps, seeing the same landmarks, but experiencing it completely differently. I have learnt that various techniques of art throughout history have been associated with women, these have been valuable to my methodology. Hence when assembling my images, I decided to make a collage. This technique is associated with women, so I believe it is very apt for my work. I ended up taking hundreds of images at each location. I obviously had to be brutal in the editing process. I went through the images quickly initially and took out the ones that I didn’t think would fit. At this point I still had quite a few pictures. I tried to get a feel for the location, and think of an idea for how I would arrange the collage. I then cut out the other images. It was a long process but I felt more connected to the final images I have chosen. I was able to make a new image from the others I took. The different aspects came together to make a new meaningful image. This could be in contrast to how people change their reality to make out gender inequality doesn’t exist, mainly because it doesn’t effect them. I have created a new image, symbolising the inequality not only in landscape photography nor in religion, but in a global sense. I think my technique has enhanced the final outcome. By using collage, I have been able to create a new image. I also took images that were not perfect. They were out of focus, over-exposed and under-exposed. I did this as I wanted to show the uneven ground in landscape photography and symbolise the different views and discontent. I like this effect as it can get the viewer to think. They can question why these images are not perfect, hopefully they can see something is wrong, it is not a perfect world view.  

I did make some mistakes along the journey. One mistake I made early on was not to progress my ideas fully. I was stuck at just compiling the images, and not pushing my ideas. I also had low points, for example when I had issues arise in my personal life, it just halted my progress and changed my state of mind; I just didn’t know what to do, but I was determined to carry on. My high point was actually making the collages. It was fun and engaging. I loved the fact that I was actually creating something with my own hands. I really grew to love this technique. I think this work has influenced me, and I think it has made me think of other challenges, other areas people don’t talk about but are obviously there. In essence, I liked the challenge of challenging issues. This is something I would like to try in the future. I enjoyed this topic and found that my personal voice started to show through. I like the fact the I am looking at issues and bringing them to light and addressing them. I also like creating a collage of my work. I like the effect it produces and I like using this technique. I would definitely use this in the future. I like addressing issues and exploring using this method. I will take away the fact that there are issues in the world and art can be a useful tool to bring them to the light and to address them. I have also learn to experiment more, as I found this has gotten me closer to the my work.  

I have been thinking about how I will present my work, one idea is presenting as an exhibition at a venue. I have been thinking about where I could present it. In keeping with the religious theme, an exhibition at a local church might be apt. The only issue is as I am addressing inequality in religion, they may not be happy with it in their church. The same could be said for the last stop on the pilgrimage, St. David’s Cathedral. Maybe a local gallery would be suitable or possibly publishing it in a book. For an exhibition, I will need to contact possible venues to see if it would be possible to exhibit with them. Another idea would be for a book publication, I will need to decide on a format and what I will include. I will look into different publishers and self-publishing. I think self-publishing may be the best route. 

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Assignment Notes

After my last tutor feedback, I have changed a few things. I have kept the images roughly the same as I felt it works for what I want to achieve. I like the effect my collages have and I think the text and side image bring the whole work together. I re-printed and re-did the collages for a better finish. This time I used a thicker matte photo paper and fixed the issues with my printer. These helped produce a better image. I cut them out, and was careful with the cutting so the lines are hopefully better. 

I have kept the actual text the same but have changed the font for a clear one. I want this one to emulate the text from the Bible, so i tried to use a font that was closet to that in the Bible. I also made it bigger so it is easy to read and one of the main point on the image. Here is an example of the text:

Here is a link to how I made the accompanying map image:

Map

Here is a link my discussion on presentation:

Presentation

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Here is a slideshow of my work, how it could be presented:

Here are my assignment images, separately from their format:

Location One

Location Two

Location Three

Location Four

Location Five

Location Six

Location Seven

Location Eight

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Here is how I would display them together:

Ever since I was a child I have always enjoyed photographing landscapes. It had never really occurred to me that there was an obvious divide between the genders here. But when I started to do some research it was obvious. The majority of photographers in this genre are men. I began thinking of ways I could represent, highlight and fight this inequality. With my previous studies being in religion, I decided I would follow a pilgrimage which was designed for men. This would be my landscape images. It also occurred to me that this would also be looking at the inequality within religion and also in a global sense. This pilgrimage became my own journey. A journey of realisation and discovery.  

I started my work by intending to follow the pilgrimage and using this as a backbone for my exploration of the gender inequality in landscape photography. I really didn’t know how I was going to do it. But I did want to explore this topic, as I found it is something people either don’t realise or don’t talk about. I started by looking at landscape pictures and the common themes in them. I then decided that I wanted the opposite of the norm, I wanted images that were not perfect, to symbolise the discontent. So my work included blurry, over-exposed and under-exposed. My work has evolved to make a collage from each location. I have kept the basis which is exploring inequality in landscape photography, but also with references to the inequality in religion and in a global sense.  

I started my research by looking into gender inequality and the inequality in landscape photography and how artists tackle this issue. I have also looked into pilgrimages. I have tried to find artists who have followed a journey or pilgrimage, but also those who are looking into psychogeography. To aid in my decision about my techniques, I looked into artists who use collage. I looked into how artist use text and how they sequencing their images. As I was researching various different topics and techniques, I had a lot of research. Catherine Opie was one artist who influenced how I photographed my locations. Several male landscape photographers have helped me see how they see the world. Mary Beth Edelson used religion to address gender inequality in the arts, her work has been influential. These are to name a few. 

As my work has evolved, I feel my work explores gender inequality but not just in landscape photography, but in a global and religious sense. I followed this pilgrimage which was designated and followed by men, in order to complete my own journey as a woman following in their footsteps. Something which would have been frowned upon in their time. I believe it also raises questions regarding patriarchy and inequality. I am following a man’s journey, but my images now reflect my journey, as a woman. 

I do not feel that my images will only resonate with one particular audience. I believe my images are suitable for all, as this is an issue that effects everybody. Despite this inequality being against women and men are favoured, it would require both sexes to raise awareness and to fight it. I hope when the viewer looks at my image, they can bring their own experience or thoughts of gender inequality and religion. I would like my images to get the viewers to think about the gender inequality, not only in this specific journey but also in a global sense. It could perhaps lead to their own journey of discovery surrounding inequality. I would like people to see my images and really think why have I followed a journey that was designed for men. Why as a women, photographing in the landscape genre is this a rarity? Why aren’t the images perfect? What new image does the collage make? Why does these images show oppressive and restricted tendencies? Most importantly, how does the images make the viewer feel? Are they aware of gender inequality and how deeply it is rooted? Do they care? 

I want to use images that weren’t perfect, so as to distance my work from the ‘perfect’ landscape images you see, as I hope this shows that there is something wrong, something is not perfect. You can still make the images out but they do not possess the clarity. Hinting at the state of the world with gender equality, everything may seem ok on the surface but it truly isn’t. My technique of following a pilgrimage designed for men is an important aspect as I am following it as a women, something that wouldn’t have been accepted back in the original pilgrims time. I am following in their footsteps, seeing the same landmarks, but experiencing it completely differently. I have learnt that various techniques of art throughout history have been associated with women, these have been valuable to my methodology. Hence when assembling my images, I decided to make a collage. This technique is associated with women, so I believe it is very apt for my work. I ended up taking hundreds of images at each location. I obviously had to be brutal in the editing process. I went through the images quickly initially and took out the ones that I didn’t think would fit. At this point I still had quite a few pictures. I tried to get a feel for the location, and think of an idea for how I would arrange the collage. I then cut out the other images. It was a long process but I felt more connected to the final images I have chosen. I was able to make a new image from the others I took. The different aspects came together to make a new meaningful image. This could be in contrast to how people change their reality to make out gender inequality doesn’t exist, mainly because it doesn’t effect them. I have created a new image, symbolising the inequality not only in landscape photography nor in religion, but in a global sense. I think my technique has enhanced the final outcome. By using collage, I have been able to create a new image. I also took images that were not perfect. They were out of focus, over-exposed and under-exposed. I did this as I wanted to show the uneven ground in landscape photography and symbolise the different views and discontent. I like this effect as it can get the viewer to think. They can question why these images are not perfect, hopefully they can see something is wrong, it is not a perfect world view.  

I did make some mistakes along the journey. One mistake I made early on was not to progress my ideas fully. I was stuck at just compiling the images, and not pushing my ideas. I also had low points, for example when I had issues arise in my personal life, it just halted my progress and changed my state of mind; I just didn’t know what to do, but I was determined to carry on. My high point was actually making the collages. It was fun and engaging. I loved the fact that I was actually creating something with my own hands. I really grew to love this technique. I think this work has influenced me, and I think it has made me think of other challenges, other areas people don’t talk about but are obviously there. In essence, I liked the challenge of challenging issues. This is something I would like to try in the future. I enjoyed this topic and found that my personal voice started to show through. I like the fact the I am looking at issues and bringing them to light and addressing them. I also like creating a collage of my work. I like the effect it produces and I like using this technique. I would definitely use this in the future. I like addressing issues and exploring using this method. I will take away the fact that there are issues in the world and art can be a useful tool to bring them to the light and to address them. I have also learn to experiment more, as I found this has gotten me closer to the my work.  

I have been thinking about how I will present my work, one idea is presenting as an exhibition at a venue. I have been thinking about where I could present it. In keeping with the religious theme, an exhibition at a local church might be apt. The only issue is as I am addressing inequality in religion, they may not be happy with it in their church. The same could be said for the last stop on the pilgrimage, St. David’s Cathedral. Maybe a local gallery would be suitable or possibly publishing it in a book. For an exhibition, I will need to contact possible venues to see if it would be possible to exhibit with them. Another idea would be for a book publication, I will need to decide on a format and what I will include. I will look into different publishers and self-publishing. I think self-publishing may be the best route. 

This first draft of my introduction:

---

your young men shall see visions…

Many landscape images we see are of expansive inviting vistas, rolling hills, glistening waters and vibrant colours. Whilst the images are pretty, there is an issue. Which is that the majority of these are taken by men; through a man’s eye. The gender gap in landscape photography is very prominent, but is quite often looked over. This has led to essentially us seeing the landscape through a male perspective. There are many reasons for this; one specific reason originates with religion. Gender inequality is seen within some religions, this has in time caused ingrained beliefs and created a structured inequality in our society. With my background in studying religion, I decided to investigate the inequality in landscape photography whilst utilising the inequality in religion. I have done this by embarking on a pilgrimage, a route which was specifically designed for men. This allowed me to document this journey as a woman from my perspective and not through a man’s eye. I have contrasted the gender inequality in landscape photography with the inequality in religion, but this also raises the issue of inequality in art and in a global sense too. Using a craft associated with women, my work now takes the form of a collage. I would hope that viewers will be able to see my images and think about gender inequality, their experience of it, and even how they may not have realised the extent. The more we highlight the issue, the more we fight against it, the more improvements can be made. Maybe one day we may all be treated equally.  

…your old men shall dream dreams

---

10th of August 2020

Here is my second draft of my introduction, following my tutor’s feedback:

your young men shall see visions…

Pilgrimages: a way to get closer to your faith or show devotion? You would think then it would be accessible to all. But this is not the case. My work follows a pilgrimage, one which was specifically designed for men. So what about the women? Well they have been excluded from this journey of faith. Named after the mountainous backbone, In the Shadow of the Preselis, is an aptly named pilgrimage, however with the exclusion of women, one could say, In the Shadow of the Men, is more appropriate. Gender inequality is seen within some religions, this has in time caused ingrained beliefs and created a structured inequality in our society. With my background in studying religion, I decided to investigate the inequality in landscape photography whilst utilising the inequality in religion. I have done this by embarking on a pilgrimage, a route which was specifically designed for men. This allowed me to document this journey as a woman from my perspective and not through a man’s eye. Another area where inequality flourishes is landscape photography. Many landscape images we see are of expansive inviting vistas, rolling hills, glistening waters and vibrant colours. Whilst the images are picturesque, there is an issue. Which is that the majority of these are taken by men; through a man’s eye. The gender gap in landscape photography is very prominent, but is quite often looked over. This has led to essentially us seeing the landscape through a male perspective. My work contrasts the gender inequality in landscape photography with the inequality in religion, but this also raises the issue of inequality in art and in a global sense too. Using a craft frequently associated with women, my work now takes the form of a collage. I would hope that viewers will be able to see my images and think about gender inequality, their experience of it, and even how they may not have realised the extent. The more we highlight the issue, the more we fight against it, the more improvements can be made. Maybe one day we may all be treated equally.  

…your old men shall dream dreams