"This should be in Tate Modern not The Photographers' Gallery."
This is a post from the weareoca.com archive. Information contained within it may now be out of date.
Is it simply a case of photography vs art at Deutsche Börse?
I think it would be a fair generalisation to say that the newer you are to OCA the more difficult it is to grasp what is meant by photographic art. Â Those who have been with us a bit longer tend to have their own conversion story. Â I find this quite exciting as it shows that the level of engagement our students are having is pushing them to reconsider their views and even, dare I say it, change their minds, admit they were wrong and move on into more interesting territory. Â
Do you think this is what the prize aims to do? Help the public get to a certain level of acceptance of photographic art?  There always seems to be a selection of nominees divided between a traditional straight photographic approach and a conceptual, perhaps more controversial one.  There is a danger of this getting a little boring for those of us who have already been convinced.  Should we expect more from the country’s largest public gallery dedicated to photography? Â
If I’m honest this was the mindset I was going into this study visit with. Â Bored by the age old question of what is photographic art? Â The “Should that person be nominated because they didn’t take the pictures” question really doesn’t interest me. Â I was delighted that Broomberg and Chanarin won but was there really any chance for any of the others if the prize simply aims to push the public into understanding that photography is about more than taking pictures? Â
Actually, now that I’ve been, I think there could have been. Â Chris Killip’s work surprised me. Â It was really, really good. Â Beautifully poignant memories of an era whose repercussions we are still feeling, highlighted again in the wake of Thatcher’s death. Â I was deeply moved by the above photo of a boy going to sea for the first time since his father drowned. Â The work as a whole reminded me of one of my favourite films, This is England, and had strong echoes of where I come from (Belfast in the 80’s & 90’s). Â I was engrossed. Â
I was impressed with the vision and quality of Christina de Middel’s first major series The Afronauts. Â It was visually exciting, conceptually well executed and unusually light hearted. Â Â She had taken a forgotten report and made it into something else entirely. Â It was like she took a minor news story and turned it into a fantastical daydream. Â I thought it was a great use of photography – that blend between fact and fiction that I am drawn to again and again, and a welcome insight into her creative mind. Â I look forward to what she produces in the future. Â
Mishka Henner’s No Man’s Land didn’t do it for me I have to say.  As much as I am over the fact that he used Google street view, and that anyone could have done that in their own living room… I just want pictures to draw me in.  I can’t help it, I’m a visual person and I am impacted by a good composition or a delicate colour scheme.  I can see that the conceptual strength of this work lies in the distancing of the viewer but for me it was a bit laborious.  Though I find the questions surrounding surveillance and voyeurism relevant and interesting, this work just didn’t go home with me in the same way as the others. Â
So much has already been said about the winners. Â Here they are speaking about Brecht’s War Primer and then their own version War Primer 2. Â It makes for interesting viewing and sums it up better than I could. Â What is clear is their singular vision and ability to work with the archive to modernise a theory – one that tells us how history often repeats itself. Â What are we to learn? Â For me this is using photography to a level that is way beyond clicking a button. Â The danger of thinking the prize is solely about challenging our views of photography is to unthinkingly view B&C as deserving winners and be blinkered to the weaknesses. Â This article eloquently highlights some shortfalls of War Primer 2 and makes me think again about why some have called the duo the “emperor’s new clothes” of photography.
Once we have seen the light the journey is only beginning. Â The possibilities open up. Â I am yet to meet someone who has had their minds changed and doesn’t wish they could do something amazing with photography. Â So I’m glad B&C won, as were the majority of the students I talked to but I think all the nominees are talented and visionary photographers. Â Some things just aren’t my cup of tea but I can recognise talent and dedication when I see it. Â
“From the latest emerging talent, to historical archives and established artists – we are the place to see photography in all its forms.”  This is what TPG promises to deliver and one thing I will say about this show was how well curated it was.  The layout was such that if you started on floor 4 or floor 5 you got the same amount of impact from each project.  The pairings on each floor were both matched and contrasted so it left you thinking, comparing, wondering.  The aftermath of a good study trip.
NB The title quote was a comment made by one of the students attending and I thought it was interesting. Â
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I’m a huge fan of Chris Killip’s work. ‘Sea Coal’ is a piece of classic photo-documentary and Killip’s essay describing how he gained the confidence of the coal collectors left me in no doubt that social documentary photography was more about interpersonal skills than camera craft. It was reissued two years ago and I would highly recommend it. There are a few images here. Sea coaling is self employment, requiring an entrepreneurial spirit, but it bears more resemblance to pre-industrial graft than the padded shoulders, loadsamoney spirit of the 1980’s. And Killip captured this brilliantly.
That said, I can fully understand why Killip didn’t win the DB prize. Broomberg and Chanarin are clearly working in an idiom which speaks to today’s cut and paste culture and a world where we seem to blunder from one war to another. It is photographic art for today and the last thing photography needs to remain salient is a ‘singing with one finger in the ear, round the maypole’ take on things.
Gareth, I would like to endorse your view! Killip has made some excellent work and was in some ways, the only photographer exhibiting … one of his books, In Flagrante has been reproduced … http://www.amazon.co.uk/Chris-Killip-Flagrante-Books/dp/1935004069/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1371812532&sr=1-5
yes one somehow knew he was not going to win … DB seems to be more new approaches to photography !
“Cut and paste culture” seems to lighten the intent somewhat Gareth. Perhaps we blunder from one war to another, as we have done for well over a century, because we cut and paste the truth in newspaper editorials and political rhetoric? Killip’s work was, and still is, beautiful, but it was wildly out of kilter with the politic of the age immediately prior and during the Thatcher years and so foundered as the society he captured so wonderfully?
Actually on reflection, I agree with you John; ‘cut and paste’ does carry negative connotations which wasn’t what I was aiming for – maybe ‘sampling culture’ is a better description. Having looked at the digital version, I think War Primer 2 is provocative, poignant and occasionally funny piece.
Broomberg was on Nightwaves last night talking about Brecht and the Bible (interesting juxtaposition by any standard) http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b02x98yt – from about 34:30 – and there is a really interesting reflection, in the interview, in my mind to Killip’s black and white imagery (which I also think is beautiful) that it’s all about veracity and not verisimilitude, the image may be present to be taken or posed, but how it is presented? How is it contextualised? And that is what is powerful about B&C’s work. Killip’s evocative imagery – no matter that I sympathise with it’s apparent polemical narrative, no matter how beautiful those photographs are, they are however from an era when the photograph(er) was a(the) presenter of the news. Whereas today’s presentation of the news has become a commodity – we are shielded from the truth, which was the point of B&C’s embeddedness in Afghanistan surely?
Excellent interview, thanks for posting the link John.
As one might expect they, B&C, have a high currency at the moment. There is another link to ‘Start the week’ at the end of my piece about this study visit. Thanks to Sharon and Simon for organising: http://umneydoc.wordpress.com/2013/06/15/deutsche-borse-finalists-study-visit/
Thanks to OCA for organising a great day. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the four artist’s work at the Deutsche Borse study day and discussing it with the tutors and students. It is so important to see work in its original form as a lot can be lost when viewing on a screen. My learning log entry (1 of 4) is here:
http://pwdp-beautifulground.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/deutsche-borse-prize-2013-winner-adam.html
interesting post. Thanks for arranging the day. Here is my write up of the visit: http://theartofphotographybysuzy.wordpress.com/2013/06/23/deutsche-borse-photography-prize-2013-study-visit-15th-june/
I did not go to the Study Visit but have seen the exhibition a couple of times. I found it very inspiring. It really demonstrated the wide range of photographic practice and opportunity open to today’s photographer, from traditional (black and white) documentary to fictional tableau to politically motivated image appropriation to the use of the internet as camera. I was delighted that B&C won. Their work is very powerful and thought provoking. Of the many images they included one in particular struck a chord with me. It was the one of the smiling young boy wearing an arab headdress and toy suicide bombs attached to his chest. It reminded me of a picture of me as a boy wearing a cowboy outfit – the injuns always were the baddies. (wonder if this was a ‘punctum’ moment).
It was my belief, too, that the Indians were the baddies, due to Hollywood propaganda, but having researched a little native american culture and history I now have a completely different “take” on historical facts. And now I certainly question anglo/american versions of history in the making. You’ve piqued my interest in viewing B&C’s work – thank you.
Having looked at Brecht’s War Primer whilst writing my undergrad dissertation (I was fortunate enough to have a supervisor who had done some research on it) I was really pleased that B’n’C re-examined it – which we need to remember is a work of appropriation art itself. I was talking to a friend’s younger sibling about War Primer 2, who is just finishing their art foundation BTEC and I was thoroughly impressed that she was aware of the work and really understood what it was about. It seems to have a broader appeal than I imagined.