Christian Boltanski

Christian Boltanski has made an number of installations that speak of memorialising the dead. But unlike actual memorials, Boltanski's installations are made up of ephemera; rusted biscuit tins, electric lamps, old clothing etc, are grouped together into very powerful installation pieces. Some of the pieces are small; a number of empty tins stacked against a wall with a few photographic portraits of children placed on top. Each portrait has an electric lamp pivoted to shine a light directly into the face, partly obscuring the image. The empty tins a metaphor for some unnamed tragedy, the photographs plucked from obscurity, having little connection to real life events. Other installations are on a much larger scale. The work 'Personnes' uses old clothing placed face down into sectioned off grids to represent the dead or missing peoples from history. At the end of the gallery space a huge mound of clothes are sifted by a large claw.

Boltanski uses the technique of post-memory to make his work. The viewer does need to see real evidence of trauma and tragedy to know that it exists in the world. Besides, documentary practice can be highly biased with underlying agendas not immediately apparent to the viewer. Evidence can be selective to push a certain outcome that portrays history from a particular political angle.

It is worth noting that any attempt to question received wisdom around historical events can lead to very dangerous ground - such as Holocaust denial. It is important to distinguish between hate crimes like Holocaust denial and revisionist history, where attempts are made to re-evaluate facts in order to gain an insight that may not have been apparent or ignored or covered up by original historians at the time. An example of this is LGBT history, often obscured and ignored by historians and likewise colonialist and women's history where collective acts of political struggle or individual sacrifice are left to languish in the shadows.

Boltanski grew up after the Holocaust. The child of a Jewish father who had to hide under the floorboards to escape Nazi detection, Boltanski has no memories of these events except as passed down to him via his parents - post-memories. This fact does not stop the work from being highly emotive and thought provoking. The 'Past Lives' chapter in the book 'Family Frames: photography narrative and postmemory' by Marianne Hirsch states that:

"Boltanski's early work... is devoted to uncoupling any uncomplicated connection between photography and truth".

and goes on to say,

"Boltanski's lessons are not history lessons, they are lessons about mass destruction and the need to recall an irrecoverable past in the absence of precise knowledge about it."

My reading around the concept of post memory has brought to my attention the notion of an opaque barrier between memory and post memory. Post memory has difficult access to the events of the past when even documentary truth is disputed. For post memory work to be effective it needs to highlight this barrier. Boltanski's use of anonymous imagery and clothing takes this stance and reminds me of the work I am making into LGBT hidden Holocaust histories. Hardly any records of homosexual prisoners exist; all that survives is anecdote in biographies and scant documentation (some of which has been wilfully misinterpreted by past historians to eradicate their place in history).

Post memory is valuable tool when making work of this kind and I will continue to use it to explore the narratives when making new work.

Physical Learning Log Scan

The Relationship Between Installation Art Practice And The Presentation Of History With Particular Reference To The Nazi Oppression Of Homosexuality 1933-1945 - Nigel Hurlstone

This PhD thesis by Nigel Hurlstone was provided to me by my tutor Keith Roberts as part of my feedback for assignment 1. I was most surprised that a document existed that could be so closely aligned to the subject matter that I am proposing for my body of work. Of course, I shouldn't be, as by now I know that most topics have been covered in Art. I am really pleased that a document so rich in ideas and references to the subject matter has come to my attention so early in my research. Many thanks to my tutor Keith for providing access to it.

This PhD thesis has covered a number of points that I hadn't considered when dealing with a sensitive subject matter and has proved most invaluable:

The thesis explores the concept of 'Historicising Installation artwork' and Hurlstone states that "The politics of difference dominate..." and that "The deconstruction of an arbitrary history based on white patriarchal power is the shared objective of artists practising in this medium" (pg2).

This statement aligns with the work I've undertaken in my last few projects that deal with the notion that it is impossible to write history from a neutral and objective viewpoint. My 'Rubber Flapper' work in particular has a fictional curator that controls the flow of artifacts for the telling of my fictional hidden history. Keith Jenkins book "Re-Thinking History" has greatly influenced my views on how history is sifted and interpreted from a biased and skewed viewpoint. As Hurlstone's thesis states, Installation art is complicit in "exploding the myths of history as fixed and unchanging [and] undermining the artificial constructs which support exclusionary views of culture." (pg2).

The thesis goes on to examine a number of conceptual pieces of historicising installation art. Three pieces, 'Gaze' 'List' and 'Reliquary' are Hurlstone's own work - alongside the analysis of other artist's particular to the genre. The analysis of all the pieces plus the documented artistic practise of Hurlstone was useful in terms in broadening out my own understanding of how installation art is conceived, researched and produced. As I have only completed a single read through of this document I shall no doubt return to this section for more insight and for potential leads to research the highlighted artworks in more depth.

One of the chapters deals with the social and political background leading up to the imprisonment of homosexuals in internment camps. These references are most useful for establishing the prevailing morality and reasoning behind many of the decisions behind the strengthening of the law against homosexuality. The system of discrimination using the pseudo science of Eugenics was very popular across the Western World prior to WWII. "He (Himmler) feared that instead of fulfilling its 'candidature for world power and domination', Germany would sink into insignificance within fifty years because some of its 'racially pure' and 'sexually capable' male population did not want to have sex with women." (pg61).

Before I'd read this thesis I was already prepared for a difficult subject matter. I knew I would be reading difficult historical documentation and biographies such as 'The Men with the Pink Triangle'. Although there is one aspect on the sensitivity of the topic of the suppression of minorities in patriarchal culture that I found disturbing; it is that the researcher/artist's research or artwork can be trivialised or found offensive. This section in Hurlstone's thesis was most informative. He recounts the discussions and feedback when viewers have engaged with his own art installations in public and gallery spaces. "Researchers may find their work trivialised or viewed as undermining what is 'natural' or 'sacred', of subverting traditional values or of being advocates for particular sexual practices." (pg37).

For myself I find it quite encouraging that I am working in a subject area that is currently not that well covered and has a lot of scope for research and creativity. Hurlstone claims that historicising installation art is often used by artists that deal in minority or underrepresented subjects as a means to explore issues that have traditionally been overlooked in the gallery space. I find it interesting that for my current project I have been drawn to this method of working and have been thinking about the display of my work in places that are unseen or unnoticed by the public, like woodland - perhaps using photography to record the work.

Strangely, I began work of this kind with the Citadels that I made with my partner as we travelled across America in 2016. The idea of the Citadels eventually led to a conceptual framework for the triangle project that grew into installation pieces rather than photography alone. As I analyse where I am in my artistic and creative process at this point in time it feels like I have come full circle.




Future reading/references:

Grau, Gunter. Hidden Holocaust? Cassell, London 1995

Marshall, Stuart. 'The Contemporary Political use of Gay History - The Third Reich', in Bad Object-Choices (ed) How Do I look? Queer Film and Video. Bay Press, Seattle 1991 pp90-97.

Video:

We Were Marked With A Big A: Lesbian & Gay Holocaust Survivors.

Marshall, Stuart. Bright Eyes, Ch4 1984. 
Marshall, Stuart. Desire: Sexuality in Germany 1919-1945, Ch4 1989.
Marshall, Stuart. Comrades in Arms, Ch4 1990.
Marshall, Stuart. Over Our Dead Bodies, Ch4 1991.

Pink Triangles, Cambridge Documentary Films, 1986.

Installations:

Hurlstone, N. Reliquary 1996.
Hurlstone, N. Gaze 1998.
Hurlstone, N. List 1999.

Private Holocaust libraries:

Wiener Library, London.
Lesbian & Gay archive holdings, Hall-Carpenter Archive, University of London.
Lesbian & Gay Archive, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington.

Google Hangout post for 29th Nov

This work is for assignment 2 of BoW and is currently still a work in progress. Any thoughts on the project would be appreciated.




A still image of the body print composition for the bottom of the inclined base:

An excerpt from the book "The Men with the Pink Triangle" that may accompany this piece of work to help anchor its meaning and give some context:

Update:

This proved to be a very useful session with the other OCA participants. The feedback on my proposed structure was that the concept was good but the visual presentation still needed refining. The overall consensus was that the mine cart structure that sits on top of the inclined base was an unnecessary element. Stan thought it looked somewhat toy-like which was representative of the overall piece because of its tabletop scale. I would like to make this structure life size (although probably not a task I would be able to tackle for practical reasons). Stephanie and John thought the piece would be stronger without the mine cart. Stephanie made a very good point, that I am voicing the same message three times over with this piece; the text caption, the bodyprint, and the mine cart, all say the same thing. When this was pointed out I could immediately see that the viewer's eye flicks back and forth between the mine cart and bodyprint image - they compete with each other. The bodyprint element becomes stronger on its own and the message remains the same.

I am coming around to the idea of using just the base and bodyprint... Although I love my mine cart! What is that Stephen King comment on improving your writing? That a writer needs to "kill your darlings". I can feel the pain...

Comments were also made about choice of colour. What message was the colour tone of the bodyprint sending. John called the print 'alluring' and I've had some Facebook comments about it being beautiful. We had a useful discussion about the nature of the aesthetics of an artwork and how to hook an audience with its aesthetic appeal regardless of the seriousness of the message.

My choice of using fabric to cover the base was also commented on. John commented that the structure looked 'shroud like' and similarities to the bodyprint on fabric reminding him of the Turin shroud. I've made this connection too - not sure what to make of these thoughts at the moment. To be honest I'm not totally sold on the use of fabric either. I'm still thinking about it...

Some useful references:

Primo Levi - If This is a Man

Zadie Smith - On beauty

Steffi Klenz

Pauline Boudry/Renate Lorenz - N.O. Body

Poly Vinyl - may be useful as an alternative to my fabric printing choices.

Physical Learning Log Scan

Brighton Photo Biennial 2016 - The Dandy Lion Project

These exhibits were part of Brighton Photo Biennial 2016. We visited both venues as an organised group of OCA students and it was interesting to hear and discuss other people's viewpoints on the work.

The Dandy Lion Project

This work uses the convention of advertising and fashion photography to:

'highlight young men in cityscapes, defying stereotypical and monolithic understandings of black male identity, by adopting Edwardian-era fashion and fusing this with traditional African sartorial sensibilities.'

I had difficulty reading this work. I'll openly admit that I have a bias against fashion photography - apart from making people, clothes, and objects look cool what is the point; it's just designed to sell stuff; and even though, as the tutor Clive White pointed out, the work is subverting the genre of fashion to communicate the message of stereotyping and identity, I can't get past the fancy clothes and shoes.

Of course the colourful clothes are kind of the point of the work. They are used to create a sense of identity in order for 'tribes' to communicate their status to others. We see this all the time with teenagers, followers of particular designer brands, or members of a golf club. So in retrospect now that I've had time to think about the work I can appreciate the intent - but the visual aspect of the work itself - not so much.

One aspect of the work I also take issue with is in the curator's statement that the images challenged the traditional notion of maleness. I totally disagree with this statement. The clothes are heavily masculine in their characteristics. The men mostly wear suits, with traditional waistcoats and leather shoes. The colours and patterns are bold but the look of the clothes could not in any way represent an androgynous outlook. I think the work helps to challenge Black stereotypes but the work and the wearers of the clothes are thoroughly embedded in the gender stereotype box.

The Dandy Lion Project

Brighton Photo Biennial 2016 - Reimagine

The theme for the 2016 Brighton photo biennial deals with identity by looking at the representation of minorities and urban sub cultures through the lens of photography:

"Beyond the Bias – Reshaping Image, explores photography’s role in defining and informing our understanding of subjects such as: gender and sexuality, the representation of the body, the politics of style, subcultures and the subversion of social and cultural norms."


Reimagine

I attended as part of the OCA study group weekend and we began our trip by looking at 'Reimagine' a collaborative exhibition between two photographers, Bharat Sikka and Olivia Arthur. The project photographed LGBTQ+ people in Mumbai, India and Brighton, UK. The work shown was made on large format film, using mainly B&W for India and colour for Brighton. On a first walk through I noticed that the work appeared to be separated by photographer and that made me wonder how much collaboration had taken place.

The content of the India work appeared more somber. This is due to the nature of the subject, where LGBTQ is still a highly political issue in that country. The choice of B&W also influenced my reading of the work. I was struck by an image where a couple (men?) appeared to be embracing on a beach in the shadows at night. The figures were distant and blurred, and there was a sense of danger because of the vulnerability of being exposed in a public place but also trapped because there was no private place to go. The portraits were more relaxed and taken inside and being in a private space, contrasted well with the public space images. My reading of the images were confirmed by the statement in the artist's handout:

"When I started making work in Mumbai I focused on private spaces. In their own space a sitter can be comfortable, really be themselves. People were being open about themselves and their sexuality beyond what I had been expecting, or hoping for. But I began to realise the context was missing for the project, that I needed something to show the sitter's boldness and the cultural background they were willing to show their image in... [...] Down by the beach, on the steps by the waterfront, even on the hard shoulder alongside the freeway, couples would try to find some privacy in a dark, but very public space."  

The Brighton work appeared more relaxed and celebratory and had an element of fantasy and creativeness - mainly because the sitters were in the process of exploring themselves through clothes and body image. One of the standout portraits for me was of 'Loki". A bare chested man wearing a taffeta tutu is leaning out of a window. The room is in shadow and his body is half exposed by the sunlight. The metaphor in this image for me was all about the contrast between the projected and public face of masculinity (the bare and muscular chest juxtaposed by the lower body wearing a tutu in half shadow) and exploring a more feminine identity that needs to be kept private and suppressed - for the majority of males.

Loki "I grew up on a rough council estate. When I moved to Brighton I felt I was comfortable in a community that would accept a six-foot skinhead that could wear a taffeta tutu."