1. Exercise We English

PART 3 THE COLOUR VISION: PROJECT DOCUMENTARY IDENTITY AND PLACE

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1. Exercise: We English

Read the article on We English in Eight magazine (issue 25, summer 2009). Core resources: Foto8#25_WeEnglish.pdf . The full issue of the magazine is available to download at: http://issuu.com/foto8/docs/issue25

Download Stephen Daniels’ introductory essay to We English and the relevant contact sheets from: http://simoncroberts.com/work/we-english/ #PHOTO_0

Write a short reflective commentary. (Open College of the Arts, 2014:70).

Reflection;

  • Roberts took a risk when he shot his self-funded work “Motherland” in Russia.
  • For “We English”He had a bursary and could focus specifically on “The English at play”, a contemporary look at the English.
  • Roberts explored visually relationships between place and people, showing the English interacting with the landscape and using their leisure time; landscape is intrinsic to leisure activities.
  • Roberts shows us a sense of British identity, which he was particularly interested in as it seems lacking compared to other nations.
  • The focus is on the Landscape and he deliberately only gave 1\3 of the frame to people; they are small but large enough to see their expressions.
  • In the images you can see conflict as public spaces are shared, boundaries and limits are shown: Edges of places, fences.
  • Roberts was influenced by his traditional English background, and childhood English landscape holidays but wanted to broaden his outlook.
  • He used his website to involve the audience, for instance asking people to suggest locations and events that he might shoot; this also built the future audience. It also put a marker down that he was doing this work to other photographers.
  • Roberts talks about the benefits of immersing in the work as he did it on one “road trip”.
  • Daniels talks about several ways of characterising the relationship between land and leisure: untamed countryside void of people, historical homely countryside scenes, documentary style with people – its seems Roberts has opted for the later.
  • Surveyor of a scene, birds eye view, elevated positions gave him a greater sense of their interactions.
  • Formal composition, the idea of the collective in the landscape.
  • Large format wanted viewer to get lost in.
  • Influenced by 16th century Dutch and Flemish Landscape painters.
  • Layers of history in his work, the now of the doing on the historical landscape.
  • Sought out things he thought of as quintessentially English.
  • Not only his perception but what it means to the audience.
  • Blog became a living archive.
  • Editing was chronological, others input was critical to “kill my darlings”.
  • Documented everyday signs of Englishness.
  • Work should be about now, not introspective.

By listening to him being interviewed I also learnt:

  • Consider different timeframes, current, past and future work; make as much as you can out of previous work.
  • Don’t wait for commissions, go out and try out your own ideas.

Things I could take into my assignment:

  • Consider the English interacting with their landscape
  • Consider the British identity
  • Decide how much of the frame I want to fill with people
  • Be a surveyor of the scene, take elevated positions
  • Be aware of my background and locality influences

 References:

Daniels, S (2010) The English Outdoors At: https://www.simoncroberts.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Stephen-Daniels-We-English-essay.pdf (Accessed 5.9.20)

Houghton, M (2020) Work in progress At: https://www.oca-student.com/sites/default/files/Foto825_WeEnglish.pdf (Accessed 5.9.20)

Open College of the Arts (2014) Photography 2: Documentary-Fact and Fiction (Course Manual). Barnsley: Open College of the Arts.

Roberts, S (2009) We Englush Book Commentary At: https://www.simoncroberts.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/We-English-Commentary.pdf (Accessed 5.9.20)

Smith, B. (2016) A Small Voice Podcast – 043 – Simon Roberts. At: https://bensmithphoto.com/asmallvoice/simon-roberts?rq=roberts (Accessed 13/09/2020).

We English (2020) Eight Magazine issue 25, summer 2009 At: http://www.simoncroberts.com/work/we-english/ (Accessed 05/09/2020).

We English by Simon Roberts “Banal Nationalisim” in Landscape?” (s.d.) At: https://www.simoncroberts.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Karine-CHAMBEFORT-KAY.pdf (Accessed 5.9.20)

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