Receive an e-mail notification of new posts on this site:
|
|
|
City stranger
Stranger to you,
Stranger to me,
Stranger alone
Crashing and pushing
Pushing and shoving
Brown,
Brunette,
Blonde, green eyes,
Tall, Short
Crowded crowd
Business suits
And
Running heels,
Quickly swept
Under a rug,
Pebbles and stones,
Kicked around,
Still standing still,
Amongst the gravel,
Hard swept floor,
Garbage trucks horns,
The chapel ticks,
Five o’clock,
The day is done,
Still he stands still,
And still again,
The motion disappears,
Lights turn down,
Dark dusk,
Visitor…
Nothing
No words
A fly
On a wall
Picking up
Putting down
Reaching
To please
Ignored
Politely
Spoken
Stranger
The Waitress
Why can’t people look into other people’s eyes?
Is there a stranger amongst us, or are we a stranger to all…
My project consists of photography and poetry that envelop this particular theme of the ‘stranger’. There is a mix and match of both mediums to develop an in-depth visual analysis of the stranger within our city. A broad range of ideas is explored through poetics, with the ultimate meaning, or more so ambiguous meanings, of these art forms at the core of analysis. I have drawn inspiration from many textual references, as well as the world around me. In the year 2007 the world is touching on boundaries between fear and trust, and public and private lives throughout societies. The extreme effects of globalisation and terrorism have brought more isolation and trepidation than ever before creating a sense of individualism rather than unity amongst society. Through a mix of mediums this argument will be outlined creatively.
Through my research I came across a photography book called, ‘The First ICP Triennial of Photography and Video 2003’ which was to be my main inspiration and energy for this theme and the ideas within it. 40 artists show their way of discovering the ‘stranger’ with the medium of photography and deal with the boundaries now created within society in modern day. I have used some of the most influential pieces, which stand out underlying meanings for this particular project, but mainly my own photos taken in the real world. Some influential artists include, Julika Rudelius, Joel Sternfeld, Bruno Serralongue, Leif Claesson, and Francis Alys.
I will address the fear and mistrust among people in public places with the world’s current unrest and relentless problems resulting from the 9/11 attacks in America. Compared to rural and suburban communities, people within the city have created different social norms and therefore different ways of living. All over the world people run about their lives crossing paths with people they have never met and shall never meet again. ‘The city is not like other kinds of places. The city, because of its size, is the locus of a peculiar social situation: the people to be found within its boundaries at any given moment know nothing personally about the vast majority of others with whom they share this space.’ (Lyn H. Lofland, 1973) At times when you succumb to fear, being in a crowd of strangers can result in unease, as you do not know what could happen. These trust issues are significant in making our world even more so detached then what it already is.
Each individual is a stranger to each other and therefore I am to argue that no one indeed looks into other people eyes. ‘Each knows of the aggregate existence of all these others, of course, but he does not know their individual existence: he does not know their names or their personal histories or their hopes or preferences or fears.’ (Lyn H. Lofland, 1973) The stranger will indeed be a repetitive motion throughout my project as contemporary society does not feel or emote with the ‘other’ in society anymore. This meaning will be, or may not be, apparent throughout each poem and photo. Derrida’s theory explains the ambiguous notions of the meaning of life and I have drawn some of my inspiration with meaning with Derrida’s ideals in mind.
Another textual reference is J.L Nancy’s The Sense of the World, which was huge inspiration for my ideas. The true sense of the world is explored on many layers, but I mainly acknowledge whether the sense is indeed crystallised. J.L Nancy explains, ‘Sense never becomes clear, and for this reason it is always rending and heartrending.’(Pg. 81) His intentional ambiguity draws on the mediated way of our culture, where sense is all what we are told to be sense. We as individuals know the world as we know it, and therefore do not seem to question it. Do we ever stop and look at the poor homeless man on the side of the street and wonder why he is there? Or do we ever try to understand how it is for an Iraqi migrant to be living in the city of Sydney? Do we want to even hear their stories, or do we just continue on with our lives and what has been mediated into our minds? All these questions just state how easy it has become for people to get stuck in their own minds and own being, rather than act amongst others and unify. We are not a country of togetherness but merely many ‘others’, whether that be because of race, religion, social structure or age, all joined together to become a population.
To me photography truly is a communication medium to express my ideas and is a vehicle to teach and inform the people of our world. ‘The stranger has been subject for photography since the medium’s inception,’ (Squires, C, 2003) as it can touch on so many people and in so many different ways, from war scenes to neighbour scenes. The continual awareness and acceptance of photography as a creative medium has indeed created a larger scope for creativity and exploration into the artful world. I have included both digital and Polaroid film to determine the differences technology brings to art. But there are many advantages of digital film as it is easy to manipulate and change, which I especially found when editing the city photos with my friend Hersh in the centre.
Some aspects I considered include style, content, success, and organization. The organization, or structure of the photo has to include many points to have a pleasing end result. Some examples include the structure I intended for my city crowd shot, which has the stranger standing exactly in the middle of the rush and force of strangers around him. I had a vision before I took the photo so that the picture had a focus. The role of the photograph can sometimes be misguided and even if it is technically correct, you may not feel any emotions from the shot. Just as a writer knows its purpose when it picks up the pen, you should indeed know your purpose with camera in hand.
From the measuring point of view, photography is another form that is hard to define what is and isn’t art. Langford explains, ‘Success can be gauged from how well your picture fulfils it’s intended purpose’, which is how I engaged with my project. If the purpose is strong and directed then your success will be stronger. I felt the strongest way for me to represent the metaphor and meaning of my poems was to link it to the image and this therefore has created a metaphor in itself. Digital manipulation is also of great importance as technology has the opportunity to improve the original results. It gives artists the opportunity to shade, colour, erase, contrast, blur merge crop etc.
The stranger will always be a strong part of what makes up the world, but I felt it was important to concentrate on some of the those people that are strangers on a somewhat different level. We as a generation should try to emote and use our senses so we truly are able to put our feet into other people’s shoes. The problems lay in the future, as the world seems to be getting smaller, although we have so much more available to us. Will then, the stranger become heightened, and therefore we know nobody anymore?
That is the question at hand.
Enjoy my personal insight into the ‘stranger’.
Why Can't People See through This Persons eyes?
More Posts
54 Posts dating from January 2007
Email Subscription
Receive e-mail notifications of new posts on this blog:
Anna Cameron's Blogs
1429 Vote(s)
12 Comment(s)
23 Post(s)
|
|
|
Comments (1)
Add Comments
