Shelly McMahon
ArtO 354
5/11/11
In Living Color
In the chapter “Once Upon a Time” from Charlotte Cotton’s book, The Photograph as Contemporary Art, the compilation of photographers have created a narrative with photographs. The way that the photographer has set up and/or staged their photographs, signals to the viewer that these create a story. Some photographers were referencing recognizable myths or fables, while others allowed for the viewer to make their own conclusions about the scenes taking place.
Another name for this style of photography is tableau or tableau-vivant photography, where the narrative is contained in a single frame rather than a sequence of images. In this respect, tableau photography references painting and other non-photographic art of the 18th and 19th centuries; not in an attempt to mimic or return to those art practices, but because they recognize the method of choreographing a scene functions well when trying to create a story. While I find the photographs of staged scenes referencing stories, like Gregory Crewdson’s Ophelia, to be visually pleasing, I’m not all that interested in it. I am more intrigued by staged work the likes of Jeff Wall’s, where the narrative is not pre-realized for you so that you can make it up yourself.
The use of color in this style of photography is especially important because, when choreographing a scene, color can instantly create a feeling in the viewer. When a photographer goes to extreme lengths to stage a photo, you know that all of the colors were predetermined by the artist and are causing you to feel a certain way about the photo. Predetermination also allows for this style of photograph to become cinematic.
The photographer Masao Yamamoto captures scenes from his everyday surroundings. The way that he treats his photographs and especially the way that he uses color (very seldom) makes these scenes seem somehow extraordinary. It suggests to the viewer that there is more going on in these photographs than is readily apparent, bringing them to theorize on what was going on in the environment at the time that the photo was taken. Viewer wonders what was so significant that the photographer felt the need to take a photo of it such that they begin to create their own scenario for the photo’s significance. The viewer especially comes to scrutinize the subjects of the photograph because, as in the photo above, the limited palate and flatness of the sky makes the tree branches the focus of color and texture. The simplicity of color palate really allows for the subjects to have precedence in the photos.
Corey Arnold’s work is included in this chapter because, while it could be considered documentary photography, his story is what separates his photos from journalist’s photos. Corey Arnold graduated with a BFA in photography and has created a series of photos while aboard a commercial fishing boat, the same kind featured in the show “Deadliest Catch”. Instead of being on the boat simply to photograph and document the crew’s life, he himself is hired as a fisherman on the boat. He has been fishing since he was a little kid and worked as a commercial fisherman for several years before he was employed into the most dangerous commercial fishing operation. In this way, his photographs are from a very different perspective than a photographer whose main interaction with the crew is trying to document them. Once you gain that knowledge, the photos start to take shape as narratives about the crew’s down time or, as illustrated above, set the scene of a task in a whole different light when the viewer knows the photographer is also partaking in it. Arnold’s choice to use color photography in this series is genius because the reds, yellows, greens and blues make the photographs so visually stimulating and beautiful, and you realize that they are colors utilized for safety purposes. I think it is so important to his narrative that these primary colors dominate the images and are so vibrant because safety is the main concern of every crewmember and embedded into their daily routine. Arnold’s photos also display his sense of humor, which adds to the narrative of these photographs, since you can imagine the crew pulling pranks on each other and just messing around in light of all the obstacles and hard work that they face.
Like Larry Sultan who se work is featured in this book, Doug Dubois photographs his family in and around their house. Dubois’ use of warm tones and lighting make the viewer comfortable in a space that is foreign to them. However, this is in contrast to his family’s look of discomfort or distress in many of his photographs. Dubois captures his family members looking like they just did something wrong or are upset which relays a more realistic family dynamic. At the same time, it invites the viewer to make his or her own assumptions about the interactions that just took place. You feel Dubois himself was likely involved. I think that the viewer feels comfortable making these conjectures because Dubois has created a warm and visually pleasing environment that makes us feel at ease, like when we are in our own homes. In the photo above, the curtain is caught on one of the plastic dinosaurs and pulled from its resting place on the floor, as if his son just ran out of the room to hide from his mother yelling his name. Again, like Larry Sultan’s photos, I think that Dubois’ photographs could be in the Intimate Life section of the book. However, Dubois continues to choose scenes capturing distress or discomfort, making it seem there is something going on underneath a normal family life.
