Overview final theses Masters in Photographic Studies 2007 Marjolein Landowski, Fotografie in Britse punk & New Wave platenhoezen 1976-1985 Taco Hidde Bakker, Voorouders keren terug in zilverkorrels: fototheorie en visual repatriation. Frank Ortmanns, Ed van der Elsken’s Japan. A retrospective about 30 years of work and recognition within Japan. Elke van Eeden, Kijken om te zien. Onderzoek naar de verschillende manieren van zien in het werk van Gregory Crewdson. Lonneke de Groot, Camera reflectens. Het metabeeld in de fotografie Tjitske Boogmans, Het verstilde moment. Een zoektocht naar fotografische aspecten in ‘Nightwatching’ van Peter Greenaway
2006 Edna Beatriz Villalpando Berumen, Time Revealed…as a central subject of the photographic discourse. Tamara Berghmans, ‘Ik kom in Saint Germain des Pres’. Een eerste aanzet in het onderzoek naar het ontstaans- en publicatieproces van Een liefdesgeschiedenis in Saint Germain des Prés’ van Ed van der Elsken. Petra Pierrette Berger, Three Historical Private Travel Photo albums. An investigation into their Narratives. Patricia Börger, Grenservaring en grensvervaging inde erotische fotografie. Onderzoek naar de representatie van het vrouwelijk lichaam en seksualiteit in de fotografie. Olga Overbeek, De foto en zijn verschijningsvormen. Narratieve aspecten van verschillende verschijningsvormen van foto’s van Geert van Kesteren.
Lotte Stekelenburg, Het fotodocument van een performance. Onderzoek naar de rol van fotografische documenten binnen de performancekunst en de zelfstandige waarde van het overgebleven fotodocument. Stefan Lalleman, Naar een nieuwe documentaire fotografie. De rol van het tijdschrift Perspectief binnen de internationale ontwikkelingen op het gebied van documentaire fotografie
2005 Sabine Stuurman, Fotografische taal, de representatie voorbij. Over opvattingen van het fotografische beeld in relatie tot de beeldende kunst, de werkelijkheid en representatie. Teresa Lidia Kwiecień, In dialoog met ‘het eigen ik’. Naaktzelfportretten van vrouwelijke fotografen. Lucia Contreras Claux, Playing with Photography. Hedy van Erp, Iris Sikking, De onschuldige mens. Fotoportretten van baby’s van 1839 tot heden. Barbera Brakel Chan Shaoxiong Luo Yongjin. Contemporaine Chinese fotografie: under construction.
Camera Reflectens. Metapicture in Photography Lonneke de Groot lonneke[at]lonnekedegroot.nl Abstract A metapicture is a picture which reflects on itself, which thinks about itself. It consist of a first-order representation and a second-order representation which reflects on this first-order representation. Since every photograph is to certain extent about ‘what it is to be a photograph’ I will take a metapicture to be a picture which reflects on the process of making a picture, on a picture (a picture in a picture), or on both. In what way does a photograph fulfill the function of this sort of metapicture? The aim of this thesis is to show to what extent these metapictures in photography differ from metapictures in painting and thus to what extent the subject is treated in a way specific to photography. In painting the process of painting is often represented from beginning to end, including the final result: the painting. In photography, however, the process of making a photograph is always represented without a physical end product. This difference is due to a rupture in the making of a photograph: at the beginning of the process the final result (the print) does not yet exist. Besides theory on painting, theory on photography is applied to the ‘metaphoto’. The photograph Picture for Women (1979) by the Canadian artist Jeff Wall is at the centre of this thesis. This staged photograph shows a photographer, a camera and a model in what looks like an empty classroom, all possibly reflected in a mirror. Both in picturing a photograph (in the photograph) and the making of a photograph, first-order and second-order play a role in several different ways, as does the interaction between those two levels. Wall’s photograph problematizes the relation between the first-order and the second-order representation and thus shows the elusiveness of the metaphoto. The subject of the first chapter of this thesis is the process of making – or taking – a photograph. What is a metapicture and in what way does the process of making a photograph unfold? Is the representation of the process of making a photograph dominated by the individual perception of the photographer or by his camera, a technical apparatus? And to what extent is developing a concept for a work intertwined with the execution of the work? Finally this chapter focuses on the way the photographer is being represented in the photograph. Chapter two is about the metapicture of the photograph in the photograph. This chapter focuses on the following questions: What is a photograph in a photograph? Why do metaphotos at the same time aim for transparency and try to avoid it? And: in what way do photographs in photographs represent the process of making a photograph?
Ed van der Elsken´s Japan – A retrospective about 30 years of work and recognition within Japan As a street photographer and photo book editor Ed van der Elsken receives widespread recognition until today. He is mentioned along with international photo icons as William Klein and Robert Frank. His breakthrough was achieved by the photo novel Een liefdegeschiedenis in St. Germain de Prés in 1956 and his photography left further heavy international impact with the photographic odyssey Sweet Life. During the late 50´s and the entire 60´s he sets standards for dramaturgy and visual expressiveness with both, his photo books and his photography. According to Martin Parr, Van der Elsken´s unique visual language has also been partly absorbed by post war Japanese photography such as the works of the Japanese Provoke period. After his death Van der Elsken leaves a heritage that is one of the best documented accumulations of remaining personal documents. His biography and influence is partly already researched. However Ed van der Elsken´s relation towards Japan has neither been seriously recognized nor revealed within any available research. The work with and in Japan constitutes a substantial and not just temporary part of his life. Work, cooperation’s and personal relation within Japan stretch over a period of 30 years. Considering the outcome of his work in Japan over 700 black and white contact sheets can still be reviewed today. An estimated amount of 4.5 thousand color slides are available and nearly a dozen publications have been printed and edited in cooperation with people from Japan. Revealing Ed van der Elsken´s biographical relation towards Japan, the script follows the thesis, that Ed van der Elsken had a substantial influence and recognition within Japan. His direct influence on post war Japanese photography however can just be underlined by referring to the researched results. They cannot provide a secure basis to conclude the influences of Ed van der Elsken as stated by Martin Parr. For the Thesis Ed van der Elsken´s color slides, black and white contact sheets and above all the personal correspondence related to Japan are the primary sources that were additionally used along with the available literature. By focusing on Ed van der Elsken´s relation towards Japan, not only an important part of Dutch photographic history is revealed, but also a part of international photographic history about mutual influences between the east and the west. ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
Ed van der Elsken´s Japan – A retrospective about 30 years of work and recognition within Japan Als straatfotograaf en redacteur van fotoboeken heeft Ed van der Elsken tot op heden wijdverspreide erkenning ontvangen. De fotograaf wordt genoemd samen met internationale foto‐iconen als William Klein en Robert Frank. Hij brak door in 1956 met de beeldroman Een liefdegeschiedenis in St. Germain de Prés en zijn fotografie genereerde vervolgens internationale aandacht met de fotografische odyssee Sweet life. Gedurende de late jaren ʹ50 en de volledige jaren ʹ60 zette hij de toon voor drama en visuele expressiviteit met zowel zijn fotoboeken als in zijn fotografie. Volgens fotodeskundige Martin Parr is Van der Elskenʹs unieke beeldtaal ook gedeeltelijk geabsorbeerd door de naoorlogse Japanse fotografie, zoals is te zien in het werk uit de Japanse Provoke‐ periode. Na zijn dood laat Van der Elsken een goed gedocumenteerde erfenis na, van voornamelijk persoonlijke
documenten. Zijn biografie en internationale invloed zijn reeds grotendeels onderzocht. Zijn relatie met Japan is nochtans niet serieus erkend noch goed onderzocht in welk beschikbaar onderzoek dan ook. Zijn werk met en in Japan vormt echter een wezenlijk deel van zijn leven. Werk, samenwerking en zijn persoonlijke relatie met Japan beslaan een periode van 30 jaar. Van deze periode zijn meer dan 700 zwartwit contactvellen en een geschatte hoeveelheid van viereneenhalf duizend kleurendia’s voorhanden. Er is bovendien bijna een dozijn publicaties gedrukt en uitgegeven in samenwerking met mensen in Japan. De scriptie onthult Ed van der Elskenʹs biografische relatie met Japan en onderzoekt de stelling dat Ed van der Elsken een wezenlijke invloed en erkenning had in Japan. Zijn directe invloed op de naoorlogse Japanse fotografie kan echter enkel worden bekeken in het licht van de onderzochte resultaten. Zij vormen helaas niet een basis die goed genoeg is om de stelling van Martin Parr volledig te kunnen bevestigen. Van der Elsken’s kleurendia’s, de zwartwit contactvellen en bovenal zijn persoonlijke correspondentie met betrekking tot Japan zijn de primaire bronnen die voor dit onderzoek werden gebruikt, in combinatie met de beschikbare literatuur. Door zich te concentreren op de relatie van Ed van der Elsken met Japan, wordt in deze scriptie niet alleen een belangrijk deel van Nederlandse fotografiegeschiedenis geopenbaard, maar ook inzicht gegeven in een deel van de internationale fotografiegeschiedenis met betrekking tot de wederzijdse invloeden tussen het oosten en het westen.
Looking at seeing Research on different ways of seeing in the photographic work of Gregory Crewdson Every photograph evokes a different way of seeing. In this thesis the work of the American photographer Gregory Crewdson has been used as a case study to research and to name different ways of seeing. Photographic seeing concerns not only the view of the photographer, but also that of the spectator and of the camera itself. This study covers all three. Crewdsons work is highly influenced by aspects from painting and cinema; therefore the ways of seeing are explored from the perspective of photography, painting and cinema. The basis of this thesis is formed by the eight ways of photographic seeing formulated by the Hungarian artist and photographer László Moholy-Nagy. Crewdson uses three ways of seeing in particular: intensified seeing by including elaborate details, simultaneous seeing by combining elements from different photos, and distorted seeing (redefined as staged seeing) by careful staging and digital manipulation. For the spectator these ways of seeing cause him to see more intensively. However, the staging and manipulation are invisible in most of the photos. The spectator can only see in a simultaneous and staged way, when he can “read” it from the photo itself or when he has information about the manipulation of the photo. The careful staging of the photos reminds of the way a painter builds up a canvas. Crewdson uses schemes that are often applied in figurative painting. By varying the direction and the intensity of the light and by directing the gaze of the persons depicted, he emphasizes parts of the composition and evokes (again) intensified and simultaneous ways of seeing. Crewdson sees alternately as a photographer and as a painter when he stages his photos. Each medium imposes however its limitations on (the seeing of) the artist and the spectator, inherent in the tools, materials and processes that are employed. The spectator can only relate the photos to painting when he has some knowledge about the history of art. By calling his photos single-framed-movies Crewdson suggests a certain time span in his pictures. However, the spectator will never know the before and after of the picture. Crewdsons photos are no snapshots that are part of a bigger whole, like filmstills. The spectator has to look intensively to construct a single-framed-movie on his own. The ways of seeing explored in this thesis can serve as a starting point for a model of reflection on photography. By naming different ways of seeing by the photographer, the spectator and the camera and by connecting these ways of seeing to theories from photography, painting and cinema it is possible to intensify the way people look at photos. Keywords: Photographic seeing, Visual Literacy, Crewdson, Moholy-Nagy
