Contents
| This theme includes example sections and will be revised and added to as we proceed. Suggestions for additions, improvements and the correction of factual errors are always appreciated. |
Information requests
280.01 Documentary > Improving content on life stages
We are seeking to extend the information and examples we can share on life stages.
- Earliest photographs where photographers have concentrated on a specific period e.g. babies, children, adolescents, middle age, elderly, dead
- Key photographers who have specialized in a life stage
- Major documentary photographic series
These points are indicative of topics that could be included on this page and if you have expertise you would like to share now is the time to get in touch.
If you are able to assist in any way it is appreciated. |
Photographers
280.02 Documentary > Larry Clark: Teenage Lust
About this photographer | Photographs by this photographer
  
280.03 Documentary > Larry Clark: Tulsa
About this photographer | Photographs by this photographer
    
280.04 Documentary > Roger Mayne: Youth
About this photographer | Photographs by this photographer
             
Roger Mayne in the late 1950s took street photography in England. For five years he photographed Southam Street in London's Notting Dale[1] documenting children at play and adolescents attempting to gain their independence through fashion and style. There are clear similarities between the work of Roger Mayne in London and the photographs of Helen Levitt[2] in New York.
280.05 Documentary > Nan Goldin: The Ballad of Sexual Dependency (1986)
About this photographer | Photographs by this photographer
  
During the 1980s Nan Goldin put on autobiographical shows that included hundreds of slides combined with rock music. The intimate photographs she used were of her own friends and acquaintences giving an immediacy to the work but also her community was one of outsiders. It was a community of drugs, alcohol, gays, transvestites, battered women and clubbing - at times dysfunctional and in need of professional help but it was a rare reflection of life as it is lived.
This was not the first time drugs, guns and youthful lust had been shown in photographs as Larry Clark had done it in black and white in the 1970s[3] in Tulsa (1971) and later on with Teenage Lust. The work of Nan Goldin was more personal with colour snapshots of a life she was an active participant in. There was no attempt at the perfect photograph rather it was about capturing moments in a visual diary no matter how brutal or tender. When her book The Ballad of Sexual Dependency came out in 1986 it was the honesty of the portrayal that gave it power.[4]
The acceptance the use of what is essentially vernacular imagery into fine art has led to the term snapshot aesthetic being used. Nan Goldin had graduated from School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston/Tufts University (1977-1978) and was aware of contemporary culture and art - she was an aware artist who captured her "tribe" of friends with rare intimacy and candour.
280.06 Documentary > Lauren Greenfield: Girl Culture
About this photographer | Photographs by this photographer
                   
Laureen Greenfield in her documentary series has explored issues related to the temporal shrinking of adolescence in Los Angeles,[5] body image[6] and an obsession in American society with dieting[7] Her 2012 film The Queen of Versailles was a documentary of a billionaire couple as the construction of their vast mansion stumbled as the real estate bubble burst. The common thread through these is the superficiality of a fast-paced and self-obsessed lifestyle fuelled by wealth. The mantra of physical perfection pushed to extremes where girls are expected to be, or desire to be, women without the knowledge that comes with maturity and self-knowledge. In this world vanity and the display of wealth and position through clothing and material possessions replaces inner values. It is impossible to criticise the individuals portrayed without knowing them but a viewing of Laureen Greenfield's work as a whole is a portrayal of a small part of American society that has the intellectual depth of a beauty pageant.
280.07 Documentary > Michelle Sank: Teenagers
About this photographer | Photographs by this photographer
                             
My photography has always encompassed issues around social and cultural diversity. For the last 5 years I have photographed young people in different social contexts across the UK and Ireland. The portraits have been produced through a mix of street photography and youth group collaborations. By photographing in varying physical and social environments, I hope to capture the nuances, norms and sense of identity that are particular to and a reflection of youth within different societies today.
As a continuation of this I have also photographed older women, exploring the ageing process as something beautiful in itself and where body awareness and sensuality can still be enjoyed alongside the inner reflections and wisdom that accompany this stage of life.
I work independently as well as undertaking gallery residencies and commissions the most recent being Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool, Sirius Arts Centre, Cobh, Ireland, and the 2nd Fotofestival in Mannheim, Ludwigshafen and Heidelberg, Germany.
Bye Bye Baby
These portraits deal with the way young boys and girls interpret their understanding of masculinity and femininity within the milieu of our society today. Having left the purity of their childhood worlds, they seem to take on the trappings attributed to the grown ups they mimic.
The way they interact with the world around them in a purely physical sense, as well as in a social and psychological one, has been of continuing interest to me.
Teenagers Belfast
These portraits are from a series called which was commissioned by Belfast Exposed Gallery, Belfast, Northern Ireland in 2005.
The remit was to empower these teenagers with a sense of individuality and to locate them within environments that bear no reference to the political struggles or past emblems of this. I wanted to portray these young people as normal teenagers, positive symbols of a new and developing society although still showing signs of a specific culture in the dress, the buildings, the light, the landscapes.
Into the Arms of Babes
England has the highest rate of teenage pregnancies in Europe and this statistic continues to be a growing concern in our society today. In this project I am exploring the current phenomenon of teenage mothers, and in some cases, teenage parents.
Essentially these young carers feel like children themselves, and it is this vulnerability that I hope to convey in the images. I am also interested in showing the relationship and bonding that can, and does exist, between young parent and child. Finally I hope to reveal the dynamics that are apparent between the mother, her partner and the extended family.
Young Carers
These images are from a project about Young Carers, children under the age of 18 who are often the main carers for a sick parent or sibling. In addition to performing daily household tasks like washing, bathing, cooking and shopping, they also have to cope with the additional pressure of school. Because they are different, they are often exposed to bullying from schoolmates and as a result lack a sense of identity as an individual in their own right.
With these portraits, I wanted to empower these young people with a sense of their own identity and normality. I wanted to remove them from their home environment and place them with ‘light’ and outside spaces. By getting them to dress in something they chose and to be themselves, I think for that moment in time they felt special, grounded and free.
Endgame
These portraits were undertaken at a rehabilitation centre for adolescent boys who have offended and/or been in prison. During the photographic process a dialogue was established which created a sense of trust on both sides. This enabled them to express their individuality, something that has been denied to them most of their lives and thereafter in prison.
Celestial Echoes
These portraits deal with the way young boys and girls interpret their understanding of masculinity and femininity within the milieu of our society today. Having left the purity of their childhood worlds, they seem to take on the trappings attributed to the grown ups they mimic.
The way they interact with the world around them in a purely physical sense, as well as in a social and psychological one, has been of continuing interest to me.
Michelle Sank (September 2007)
Footnotes
- Λ Notting Dale is a part of North Kensington near Notting Hill and Ladbroke Grove.
- Λ Books on Roger Mayne - Roger Mayne, 1996, Street Photographs of Roger Mayne, (Art Books Intl Ltd); Roger Mayne, 2001, Roger Mayne Photographs, (Random Hose)
- Λ Helen Levitt, 1965, A Way of Seeing, (New York: The Viking Press) [Essay by James Agee]
- Λ Nan Goldin, 1986, The Ballad of Sexual Dependency, (Aperture)
- Λ There is a documentary on Nan Goldin entitled I'll be your Mirror (1996)
- Λ Lauren Greenfield, 1997, Fast Forward: Growing Up in the Shadow of Hollywood, (Knopf)
- Λ Lauren Greenfield, 2002, Girl Culture, (Chronicle Books)
- Λ Lauren Greenfield & Joan Jacobs Brumberg, 2006, Thin, (Chronicle Books)
alan@luminous-lint.com |
Readings on, or by, individual photographers
Lauren Greenfield
Greenfield, Lauren, 1997, Fast Forward: Growing Up in the Shadow of Hollywood, (Knopf) isbn-10: 0679454535 isbn-13: 978-0679454533 [Δ]
Greenfield, Lauren, 2002, Girl Culture, (Chronicle Books) isbn-10: 0811837904 [Δ]
Greenfield, Lauren & Brumberg, Joan Jacobs, 2006, Thin, (Chronicle Books) isbn-10: 081185633X isbn-13: 978-0811856331 [Δ]
If you feel this list is missing a significant book or article please let me know - Alan - alan@luminous-lint.com
Rineke Dijkstra (1959-) • Lauren Greenfield (1966-) • Sally Mann (1951-) • Melissa Ann Pinney (1953-) • Michelle Sank (1953-) • Nazif Topcuoglu | Home > Themes > Documentary > Life stages > Adolescents
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