Barbara Kruger is an American conceptual artist, notably known for her collaging for black-and-white images with declarative captions overlaid in white text highlighted by a bold red. Born in 1945, Newark, New Jersey, Kruger attended Syracuse University briefly, followed by Parsons School of Design in New York City alongside other photographers such as Marvin Israel and Diane Arbus. At the age of just twenty-two, Kruger had already became head designer within a year of working for Condé Nast Publications at Mademoiselle magazine, pursuing graphic design.

Her Work:

Barbara Kruger was on TIME magazine’s list of the world’s ‘100 Most Influential People of 2021’

Barbara Kruger inhabits the use of cultural critique in bold colours and writing in order to judge the stereotypical behaviours within consumerism, using femininity as the basis for many of these images where she utilises this in brief yet specific political criticisms. In this language, she deliberately uses personal pronouns, specifically ‘you’ and ‘I’ to incorporate the viewer into the piece and address them alongside the media and political leaders in an authoritative and direct way.

“Direct address has motored my work from the very beginning,” Kruger said. “I like it because it cuts through the grease.” 

This stemmed originally in the early 1970s where she began presenting her work in the galleries of New York where she was predominantly working in the mediums of paint and weaving. This left Kruger feeling unfulfilled by her work, believing that it lacked meaning, leading her to quit creating art wholly in 1976 for a year. When she returned to her creation of art in 1977, she began to drift into the style of photography and text collaging. This enabled her to develop into her signatory style of large black-and-white images that were contrasted heavily by typically using red-banded text. These were images of the past that she had found and recycled and narrated them with interrogatory phrases using text styles of mainly Futura Bold or Helvetica Extra Bold.

On top of this, Barbara Kruger has incorporated video works, audio works, written criticisms, exhibitions, the designing of products (T-shirts or mugs) into her diversified portfolio of work. Alongside this, she has also taught numerous classes and developed projects within the public eye. These consist of billboards or bus wraps to further her message of cultural critique at a larger scale.

“I work with pictures and words because they have the ability to determine who we are, what we want to be and what we become,” she has said.

Barbara Kruger’s work is striking in order to prompt the viewer, and the entirety of society, to reflect on the systems that contain us, and rethink the roles that they play in their surroundings and wider civilisation. To name a few, Kruger’s work challenges and address a variety of social, cultural and political issues, questioning the members of assigned authority within the media and politics that are perceived to suppress the individual differences and identities that are unique to each person. Just some topics that she challenges are:

• Gender and identity
• Consumerism
• Feminist theory

Her photographic responses to the discourses of justices, values, fears and hope are open to all ages which is what makes these images so diverse and interpretive to everyone that views them. For example in 2015, Kruger joined forces with over 400 American high-school students in an art and writing project entitled “Whose Values?”, urging teenagers to stay vigilant and aware of the complex issues within modern society.

By raising uncomfortable questions in such a direct manner, Kruger criticises those staying complacent in the face of unjustified structures in a persistently relevant way which unnormalizes the cultural discourse and lack of cultural and general representation of specific groups in marketing and media. Many of these issues go ignored due to the obedience against what we perceive to be an authority figure or those that have been placed upon a pedestal in society to be perceived as simply ‘better’ than the general public, however by encouraging people to be sceptical or critical of the messages we receive daily, this can act as a catalyst for societal change. By influencing others to not only question their place and confines in the community, as well questioning those who are a façade, this means that the world can be visually transformed through art.

Her feministic approach:

Kruger’s take on feminism provides a brand new perspective on the movement as a whole through it’s alternate, interrogative nature of fighting against patriarchal views for the right of choice over a woman’s own body. Her work repeatedly dives into these preconceived notions and stereotypes about women, especially in the media, and actively opposes them through her direct addressing to the viewer.

Barbara Kruger has been producing examples for feminist art for over 40 years, looking into a multitude of issues within this movement from the bodily right to safe abortions due to there still being a lack of women having bodily autonomy, to the toxic culture in society that holds women at unrealistic standards, leading to the male gaze on women which nods towards the violence that is endured following this.

In 1989, Kruger produced a poster of ‘Your body is a battleground’ for the Women’s March on Washington in protest against the restrictions of abortion. This was extremely controversial, making it still relevant in today’s society as it stepped outside of the fixed notions set about the right to a innocuous abortion, still holding significance in the discussions of this subject to this day. As abortion becomes illegal in more countries, such as the United States as of recent, this image from 1989 still is one of the core pieces of this matter because of it’s harsh and direct revealing of reality.

Kruger has also explored the Feminist concept through her dissecting of gender roles set in civilization, specifically the way that women are compared against falsified perceptions of what a woman ‘should look like’. This exploration zooms into the concept of female perfection, in particular facial features or physical structure. This uses powerful slogans to mock and ironize the slogans that the media slam against women, especially in the public eye, and how this ricochets into the general public where women are compared to these airbrushed images on magazine covers and on television.

This image highlights the set standards of attractiveness in Western culture, being the US, as it uses an airbrushed image of Paris Hilton across the floor. This is juxtaposed by an ironic phrase which mocks the inaccurate portrayal of women in media and represents the societal expectations that these false perceptions have caused even. This is an extremely common layout in true fashion and beauty magazines where the cover is edited in a way that is unachievable, leaving women to be compared against and have their self-esteem lowered.

As the slogan uses neutral language where a gender cannot be distinguished, this hints at how women are also highly likely to attach to these standards whether this may be consciously or unconsciously. Regardless, the constant reminder of this is demeaning to women and can be detrimental to self-esteem. The main concern behind these is that young girls will begin to see these magazines and compare themselves against what they perceive to be real and true to a lack of understanding, meaning that this could be extremely dangerous on such an impressionable mind into developing mental illnesses if this becomes an obsession, such as depression or eating disorders due to internal conflicts of trying to fit into this false idea of what they believe will be expected of them from others.

As Kruger used to work in magazines for print and graphic design, this was the motivation behind her creating traditional-looking magazine cover layouts, and pairing them with these powerful slogans that relate/ are the same as what would have been seen on one of these fashion or beauty magazines. This sarcasm allows Kruger to display how ridiculous the ideology behind these magazines is, and points the finger towards the media and marketing industries who are enablers in the psychological and physiological suffering of millions of young girls and women around the world who have access to this.

This image above was directed specifically at gender appropriation, with this being a rather infamous front cover of the W magazine. To just name a few more concepts, Kruger looks into the repercussions of the male gaze on women in ‘Your gaze hits the side of my face’ (1981) alongside the blatant exposure of the bodily entrapment of women in a mid-twentieth century society entitled ‘We have received orders not to move’ (1982).

Analysis:

This image is monumental within Kruger’s feminist art, being curated around 3 decades ago as a poster for the Women’s March on Washington in 1989 in protest against the restrictions that cause women to lack bodily autonomy, and how the female anatomy is still a political topic of discussion rather than having control over your person. The image ‘Your body is a battleground’ has a monochromatic tonality in the image, using highly contrasted black and white, which allows Kruger to build a consistent aesthetic. This is juxtaposed by the bold red slogans aligned in a row in the centre where she uses Helvetica Extra Bold in a white in order to dramatize this direct message, with the use of the personal pronoun ‘Your’ in order to address the viewer in a firm manner. This portrait of a woman can be seen to correlate with the dead-pan aesthetic as she stares into the camera, devoid of emotion, to communicate the sternness of Kruger’s message. However, the exposure is split in a line down the centre of the entire image, creating positive exposure on the left and negative on the right – generating an inverted effect as the viewers eyes move across the image. This could be interpreted as the suggestion that the work of the feminist movement is far from over, making this extremely relevant in the social context of today as abortion banning increases in the United States. This could also be a nod to breaking out of the set stereotype against women, especially in the 20th century when the fixed mindsets about what women were capable of was instilled and integrated heavily in society, to finally take away this act of modesty set in place to appease men in society. This image was revolutionary and extremely controversial because it implicitly conveys this underlying message of beginning to fight and stand up for themselves because if they didn’t, who else was going to?

As the negatively exposed side inverts all of the light on the woman’s face, this makes her stare more darting and almost unnerving towards the viewer as the brightness means that it is entirely visible. The piercing nature of this stare means that it acts as an almost ‘secret message’ to the women who view this image to really question their places not only in wider society, but in domestic settings too. At this time, this would have been extremely motivational for women to finally unite and step outside of the confines of these stereotypes. However, I feel that this image is highly suggestive of not only the fight to gain control over their own bodies and have the ability to make educated decisions about it, but also has a notion towards sexual abuse and assault. The noun ‘battleground’ means a place or situation of strife and conflict, conflict being where this restriction against abortive care comes in because this decision would rely on the men within the government system making active decisions about women’s body without the input of those who will be affected. But, this also connotes ideas of fight and defence against enemies or unwanted people entering the area, calling attention to how male violence needs to be defended against. Because of all of these conflicting issues and topics regarding women’s bodies, predominantly men in authoritative positions, this acts as a message for change and calls on the rest of women in society who may have experienced these things, and announces that enough is enough. Kruger also edits a vertical border using the same shade as red as the text, leading the viewers eyes to follow the direction of the message.

I am going to incorporate the techniques of Barbara Kruger in my own work by using the components of her aesthetic, being highly contrasted black and white images that are juxtaposed by red-banned text. One of my first photo ideas is to get my subject to stand in the centre of a road at night with many coats on as this relates to the way women’s bodies are sexualised, especially in the media, as well as the idea that women should be completely covered and not show any skin because of the actions and impulsivity of men. I am going to shy away from the more magazine cover-looking images because I don’t feel that this style will compliment my other photoshoots that are more specific, however I may end up adding a couple of these. I would like to take images that are more realistic to show truth and reality through staged scenes, instead of solely focusing on irony against the media.

I also would like to include some images that refer to the representation of women in society, for example using statues like Kruger sometimes incorporates into her work, and utilising this to convey messages about the lack of recognition or knowledge about the achievements women have reached in history. I think this will work extremely well because it provides a different perspective to accompany my portrait images.

References:

https://www.thebroad.org/art/barbara-kruger

https://www.artnet.com/artists/barbara-kruger

https://www.wizardgallery.com/blog/68-barbara-kruger-an-icon-of-contemporary-art/#:~:text=Barbara%20Kruger’s%20profound%20contributions%20to,and%20their%20roles%20within%20society.

https://www.vidyalai.com/blog/barbara-kruger-artwork-gender-identity-consumerism-themes-ib

Words and Power: Barbara Kruger’s Visual Revolution

Hannah Altman is an American photographer from New Jersey whose work mainly explores the themes of lineage, memory, ritual and storytelling, known for her use of natural light and intertwining of her Jewish culture. Altman has practiced photography since she was a 19-year-old student at Point Park University, practicing as an amateur on her Tumblr page.

As a 29-year-old, Altman has been involved in numerous solo exhibitions throughout America:

• We Will Return to You – 2023, Akabus Projects, Boston
• With Rifts and Collapses – 2022, Gallery 263, Cambridge
• A Permanent Home in the Mouth of the Sun – 2021, Filter Space, Chicago
• A Permanent Home in the Mouth of the Sun – 2021, AAP Exhibition Space, Pittsburgh
• Kavana – 2020, Blue Sky Gallery, Portland
• Construct of Viewpoint – 2018, Union All Gallery, Pittsburgh
• Construct of Viewpoint – 2017, Junior High Gallery, Los Angeles
• Humanism – 2017, The Temple Judea Museum, Elkins Park
• Luminous / Weightless – 2016, Lantern Gallery, Pittsburgh
• Intimate Threat – 2016, Trust Arts Education Center, Pittsburgh

She has delivered many lectures on her images and research across the US in venues such as Yale University and the Society for Photographic Education Natural Conference, with her first monograph in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art Thomas J Watson Library.

Her Work:

The body of work which I find most relevant to my exploration of Feminism in photography is ‘And Everything Nice’, curated by Altman at just 19 years old as a student posting on Tumblr. Altman did this in the absence of the expectation that this would have global reach, beginning in her dorm room as a personal photo project at Point Park University.

“‘And Everything Nice’ is an unflinching analysis of the standard for female beauty. The ongoing series consists of women in states of affliction; the body fluid of the models have been replaced with glitter to visualize the concept of girls invariably needing to seem attractive regardless of the actual situation” – Altman via her Tumblr post

And Everything Nice:

In these eight images within the series, Altman shoots images with bodily fluids such as blood, tears and vomit replaced by glitter in an act to challenge and visually represent the female beauty standard.

This minimalistic viewpoint of breaking down the standard of female beauty in a detached way allows the viewer to objectively infer how there is a consistent pressure to present themselves as attractive, without thought to the situation at hand. This alternative criticism to the societal expectation of what a woman should be like dives deeper into this concept than others because it pays attention to how even processes of the anatomy are accounted for in the beauty standard, instead of just exploring the stereotypes of ‘what a woman should be like’ at face value.

Altman also uses glitter in replacement of vomit as a young girl lays over the toilet which could be used to target the teenage culture, being going out and drinking with friends (underage or legally) to the point of sickness – something that is normalised when reaching teenage years and wanting to try new things. However, I find that this is highly applicable to the millions of girls who experience eating disorders at such a young age. Bulimia nervosa is a condition where the subject typically purges themselves, this being the self-induction of vomiting to forcefully evacuate the body of stomach matter. This is also down to the misuse of laxatives or dieting pills. I feel that this is highly relevant to the image because many young girls gain a distorted perception of themselves due to a constant reminder in the media of a false image of a woman. This is an extremely common issue and repercussion of the beauty standard being set against young women that psychologically restricts them from feeding their body and mind, resulting in extreme issues and even death. This image is so important because this is an issue that mostly arises during teenage years, with the prediction that 28.8 million Americans will suffer from an eating disorder in their lifetime, with an estimate that 3.4 million people are suffering from eating disorders around the UK too. With an issue that may be seen as normalised by young girls by wanting to be severely underweight in hopes that it may better their self-esteem, images like this are so important because this is something that occurs behind closed doors and by explicating the symptoms of it, it may be a ‘wake-up’ call for young girls and even women who have carried this into adulthood. Misogynistic viewpoints are a factor at the centre of the development of eating disorders which is something I aim to challenge in my work through this photoshoot.

Using this as a replacement of blood too could be seen as symbolic of domestic abuse and male violence, where Altman uses nosebleeds and cuts on knees with plasters on them, and this ‘blood’ smeared. This could be representative of the risk of young girls getting into toxic relationships or situations due to being so vulnerable and impressionable. However, this is also applied in the form of period blood and blood on a razor, crucial in reinforcing Altman’s idea on the pressures, both internal and external, in applying this beauty standard in all situations regardless of what they are down to an anatomical scale.

I feel that this is such a unique viewpoint on the perceived beauty standard because it leads into the extremities that young girls go to in order to feel beautiful. For example, the blood on the razor points towards over-shaving continually in order to be completely hairless to feel desirable, setting an unrealistic expectation as hair is an entirely normal thing that everyone has, however there is a double standard for men and women. This is challenged as it shows the severity of what these ideas can do, and how the normalisation for one gender but not the other can be extremely damaging for women, specifically young girls who grow into their teenage years and begin to see air-brushed fashion magazines that aren’t actually achievable in real life, they are actually just extremely edited.

I also find that the replacement of period blood with red glitter is such a core image within this selection due to the ‘disgust’ portrayed in the media against women’s menstrual cycle even though this is a regular bodily function that is out of an individual’s control. This autonomic process is something that allows a woman to carry a child, however it is suggested that it should not be spoken about in society due to judgement. I feel that this is very relevant to the beauty standard in teens because thousands of young girls don’t even understand the actual biological process behind this due to this stigmatised perception against periods. This also combats the saying of ‘someone’s on their period’ that is commonly used when a woman is expressing feelings of anger or sadness, a way of demeaning the female sex for reacting to situations that they do not feel comfortable with. By curating a scene like this, it leans towards the normalisation of the menstrual cycle, instead of women being judged for a process that is completely out of their control and allows them to carry a child into the world.

For example, when these images were released, there was a large swarm of men (and even some women) with uninformed criticism towards Altman’s work, calling the images ‘gross’. It is evident through this that society has been conditioned to think within a certain frame of stereotypical views, here being that the period cycle should be kept almost like a secret, leaving many young girls uncertain of how their bodies work and what it actually is. Images like these create large reactions out of people because they consist of things so unnormalised in society when knowledge and information on these things is incredibly important.

These images convey messages of violence, teen girl culture and emotionality which overall contributes to the challenging of the beauty standard set against women. They reach out to the younger generation through social media, here being a Tumblr page, to actively represent issues through a different medium rather than simply words. This visual aspect can be empowering and ensures that, specifically young girls getting their period for the first time, shouldn’t be afraid of the reactions of those around them or to be judged for being ‘gross’ when this is a regular thing.

Analysis:

The image uses a short depth of field to force the viewer to be drawn in by the smudge of red glitter across a young girls face. Altman uses natural lighting to create shadows that have not been manipulated, making the composition without the glitter look as realistic as possible. The subject sits with her face turned towards the source of the lighting as the shadows stem from the left side of the image which reinforces the focal point into being the subjects face. This use of natural lighting also contributes to Altman’s intention of targeting the beauty standard against women as it makes the image look more organic and raw, instead of leaning towards the aesthetics of fashion magazines for example. Skin texture is also more visible by using this lighting which contributes again to the truthful portrayal of actual women’s beauty. The subject turns to the side with a facial expression of what seems to be discomfort as her mouth hangs open as if she is in pain, going hand in hand with the use of glitter to replicate a nosebleed. This leaves the symbolic aspect of the image open to interpretation to the viewer due to the subjectivity of it. I feel that this image could be an excellent metaphor for male violence, specifically in teenage girls, as the idea of being in a ‘toxic and controlling relationship’ is more romanticised now in the younger generation rather than being perceived as something unwanted. The girl in the image grits her teeth shut slightly which could be symbolic of feeling as if she cannot speak up about what has just occurred and even feelings of shock due to the diagonal angle Altman has used which opposes the direction of the subjects face. As Altman produced this set of images at the age of just 19-years-old, this could be used to reach out to her age group at the time to show a darker side of this idea of controlling and jealous relationships that may be desired by young girls as they may believe this would make them feel wanted more like they are the only person that matters to their significant other. However, this image is displaying the progression of these kinds of relationships, and how they can quickly grow from something that may be perceived danger less. The ‘blood’ being in the form of glitter can resemble that romanticised idea that young girls have, having relation to the phrase of ‘all that glitters is gold’, suggesting that whilst the concept behind jealousy may be exciting at the time, relationships like this are extremely unstable and can easily turn violent due to the high control over impressionable young girls who may not have a predetermined perception of love.

I would like to utilise this use of glitter in my own work to represent emotionality, domestic violence in young girls, the teenage culture and overall, the set beauty standard towards women that young girls grow up encapsulated in.

I am going to organise a photoshoot using different colours of glitter and use a group of girls to represent each of these things in different ways. I would like to recreate some of Altman’s images such as the image of the girl with bleeding knees because this is such a subjective image that I can use to nod towards male violence in young girls during toxic relationships to show the reality to something that may be desirable to the younger generation as the progression of abuse is often ignored at the beginning which leads into entrapment. However, I would like to use inspiration from some of the images but incorporate different factors. For example, I feel that the image of the young girl leaning over a toilet bowl filled with glitter, however I would like to use this to compile different images looking into the normalisation of eating disorders within young girls due to the feeling of never being skinny enough, and in turn believing that they don’t deserve anything due to the lessening of their self-esteem. With pro-ana websites being easily accessible to young girls (pro-anorexia websites which push the idea that this is a healthy lifestyle) and with unrealistic images being produced for ‘Thinspo’ (extremely unhealthy bodies being pushed towards young girls online to make them believe this is what they must look like in order to be beautiful, and highlighting how to achieve it), it is very important that the dangers and hardships that come with this are highlighted to the viewer because to such an impressionable mind, the realisation that your brain, body and mind needs food to be able to develop and grow.

I will be using glitter to specifically look into the beauty standard set against young girls, and try to actively show the distorted perceptions that young girls face due to misogyny specifically in the media.

With the theme for the final exam being Union, I initially began thinking of ideas by reading through all pages of the exam paper, including features of fine art for example, because this would enable me to fully explore and utilise the information given to me so that I could easily find different movements and artists who inhabit this theme in their own work.

From here, I was able to use search engines to research what I had learnt, beginning with different artistic movements such as Cubism to gain visual examples of what I could gain inspiration from and actually see if I liked the aesthetic components of these images. What helped me here was annotating the exam paper with my own ideas that I had began to formulate because this would let me fully evaluate them all at the end of my research to the concept which I felt most suitable for Union.

I didn’t want this personal study to be similar to any of my other photographic responses because I wanted to ensure my portfolio would have versatility, a range of different methods from objectivity to subjectivity. The specific idea which really drew me in was looking at different societal movements which we have as this is an excellent depiction how the minimal representation of people and important constructs brings people together to have their voices heard in fighting against repression, here being the Feminist movement. Whilst this is greatly a global and universal political movement that has been present for decades, I wanted to use this movement as inspiration as it is important to me, being the fact that I am an 18 year old girl who is actively affected by actions fought against by this movement in partner with billions of young girls and women across the world. I feel almost as if it is my duty to interpret this in my work as it is incredibly relevant to me and something I do feel passionate about which will in turn allow me to create effective images. I wanted to include aspects of tableaux photography by curating staged scenes to represent truthful and real events that happen more frequently than society realise due to the normalisation of objectifying the female sex. So, in terms of my previous research on Mirrors and Windows, I find this body of work will be categorised as both due to its documentation of real and truthful stories captured by millions of women every year, however I will be using staged scenes in order to create this whilst also having a personal connection to my images due to this being extremely relevant in my day to day life due to my preconceived perceptions of the world in relation to feminism as well as having first-hand experiences being female regardless of my young age. I would also still like to create subjective images in accordance to my objective ones to visually display inner thoughts and feelings surrounding the issues that Feminism attempts to tackle.

Statement of Intent:

My main subject within the Feminist movement is going to be shooting people, specifically women and young girls as this is the focal point of the movement making this the best way to represent the hundreds of issues addressed here. I want to use dynamic angles to do this, being low or diagonal with a strong contrast in my lighting as this will create solemnity, seriousness and drama to encapsulate the importance of this topic. This will take place in domestic environments as well as external scenes:

1. Domestic Scenes:

I will be shooting inside my house and my friends house, creating staged scenes, in order to represent domestic abuse, misogyny and male violence that happens behind closed doors in domestic relationships. With domestic abuse being rarely reported due to fear and the entrapment of women, whether this could be due to family connections, separation from close friends and immediate family or financial assets being tied together, 1.5 million cases of reported domestic abuse-related incidents were gathered in England and Wales in the year ending March 2022 (1). I also want to portray this because it could happen to anyone, and not be realised until the person is too far into the relationship to leave, as this abuse tends to begin emotionally and psychologically before it grows into something much bigger and more controlling, meaning this could be something that has occurred to the woman sat next to you on the bus on a Monday morning, or simply the person serving you as a cashier in a shop. The point is that this topic is universal and kept behind closed doors, so this representation creates the hope that it can influence others to come forward and break out of these toxic situations, forcing realisation that it is entirely unacceptable to be treated in such a demeaning manner and it is not ‘love‘ to fear the person who should make you feel the most safe.

Before artist references and inspirations, I began to create photoshoot ideas to represent domestic abuse:

• How domestic abuse rates rise 26% when the England football team wins or draws, and increases a 38% when his team loses. I wanted to utilise this by using different depths of field with a female crying or looking distressed next to the tv with a football game on. In the background I could vary my depths of field and experiment, putting a can of beer in the background for the viewer to infer that they are afraid of the results of the match.
• The uniting of women in their trauma, for example the support received once telling friends and family what they have endured or even getting a friend to document the actions of their abuser by using phones to photograph bruises and fingerprint marks.
• The fears of spiking, this being an issue that is rife in nightlife by women having things put into their drinks to be taken advantage of and objectified. To do this, I will be staging a party scene in the background and using Photoshop to experiment with different colours to create strobe lights. Of course this would be more realistic in an actual club or party because I would have true lighting, however this would be incredibly difficult because there would be very poor lighting conditions and I could risk damaging the camera depending on how busy the location is. Here, I am going to use still-life images of a glass of wine and putting a small piece of a Vitamin C tablet inside as these fizz when wet, to give off the perception of a foreign body being placed in someones drink without their awareness. As well as this, I would like to create images of a ‘feminine’ hand over the top of the glass as when I go out, my parents automatically remind me to watch my drink and be protective of it to minimise the risk of this happening to me.

2. External Scenes:

My main idea behind using the external environment to create images in this topic is to show the political side of the feminist movement. Within this, I will be creating signs similar to the ones I have seen in the media, and putting them into the sky to photograph them as this is a simple way to show the activism and advocation that has been going on within the feminist movement for hundreds of years beginning with the Suffragettes. I will also be shooting images of fists in the air as this is commonly associated for standing up for what is right and is the forefront symbol of empowerment.

By using outdoor environments, it makes sure that my images are still in touch with the wider applications and impacts that this movement has instead of just looking into the internal pressures that women have from misogyny and sexism. I don’t think I will be shooting images within the studio because I would like to keep the aspect of realism in my work, ensuring that the images produced are raw and relative to real-life. If I do shoot images in the studio, this runs the risk of them not looking as realistic and truthful even though I am using staged environments which won’t allow my images to be as effective.

The other photographic responses I have began to formulate on my own are:

• The idea of sonder– being the realisation that every individual a person sees has a life as full and as real as their own. This is in relation to the domestic abuse many women face in silence and alone behind closed doors, and how this could happen to anyone at all. My idea to represent this concept is to have one girl or women staring into the lens of the camera out of a crowd of people moving around her, symbolising a cry for help, in town for example. For this, I can use a slow shutter speed to create a motion blur around the subject to symbolise almost being ‘forgotten’ about in their private fight. This can also be experimented with to be inverse of the male gaze in the public eye, being due to women purposely keep aware of their surroundings as an instinctual response due to past experiences and the knowledge of the high levels of attacks in public areas on women.
• The concerns of pregnancy at the hands of abortion bans in many countries, such as Donal Trump’s beginning of his Project 2025 plans which could lead to the deaths of many young women and girls for numerous reasons is a more modernised problem that the feminist movement is striving to battle against. For this, I am going to purchase pregnancy tests and drop them onto the floor of public toilets or place them onto the basin on the sinks and shoot from high, overhead angles, such as standing over the adjacent cubicle, to connote emotions of fear and worry. I will use high contrasts and a lower exposure to make the image have a heavier feeling.
• I want to use this ‘birds eye view’ in public toilets again using a high angle, with a girl inside the toilet looking distressed and concerned as if they are hiding or having fears about their current situation. There are typically notices on these toilet doors of JAAR – standing for Jersey Action Against Rape which I think would be very effective as I can utilise this to make the concept of the image more explicit. I will also shoot images of these notices in a more dead-pan aesthetic, being straight on, as this are very relevant to the movement in giving women support systems.

My final piece will consist of a photobook as in my previous personal study exploring the hardships of growing up with a family member suffering with extreme symptoms of a mental illness, I found that this was incredibly moving because I have entire control over the aesthetics and colour palette which are important in connoting different emotions. I feel that this will be the best way to represent such a heavy topic again with the Feminist movement. However, I don’t think this time I will use accompanying text as I want the images to speak for themselves and I don’t want them to be overpowered by textual information, all of the images should speak for themselves.

My biggest motivator in using this for my study in the theme of Union is the relevancy to my everyday life, these are vital and key concerns that I have to be aware of in order to be safe in society, especially when getting into relationships and going out during nightlife as there are so many incidents that happen to millions of women everyday. Having this knowledge and education is important to me because it means that I will be able to prepare myself in the case of something occurring and know where to access this support in a time of need, as well as having an instinct to prepare to defend myself in these cases.

My second reason for this is that I myself perceive myself as a feminist because I’m extremely passionate about being an activist for this inequality. This impacts my family, friends and millions of young girls and women across the world and without having a voice and standing up, nothing will change at all. All of these sub-categories within the feminist movement must be addressed because the ignorance of this could even lead to millions of deaths, and already does. Without preserving women’s rights, history will revert. My hopes in doing this is to display how important it is to be educated and aware of these things, and that they well and truly can happen to anyone even if you think it might not be you. These issues are closer to home than they are perceived and I hope to bring them to light to show that this is the reality of the world, and its important to use your voice to project what is wrong to make a difference.

References:

(1)https://www.ncdv.org.uk/domestic-abuse-statistics-uk/#:~:text=1.5%20million,compared%20to%20the%20previous%20year.

The theme for the final exam in photography is ‘Union’. To start with my investigation, I began by reading through the entire exam paper as this provides me with starting points to gain inspiration from before I fully research different interpretations of the theme. I annotated and underlined key pieces of information and the names of any movements or artists so that I could research them later on.

I also used the other exam inspirations for different courses such as Fine Art as this could give me an idea of what else I could incorporate into my work and the different ways that artists inhabit this theme in their work. I used this as my starting point when creating my mood board.

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Mood Board:

These are just a handful of the suggestions within the exam paper that I found may inspire me. From here, I have already started to think about some different ideas that I want to do.

The word ‘union’ is defined by:

‘a society or association formed by people with a common interest or purpose.’

Once I had defined this term, I began to think of ideas of my own. Some of these ideas were:

1. Environmental portraiture in the workplace in relation to trade or work unions
2. Cubism in photography

However, one of my favourite ideas I have been inspired by is political movements surrounding feminism and the like. Being a young person, I have always sought importance in keeping myself informed about the different injustices and movements within society because I understand that it is key that I am aware to these things in society. However, growing up in a world as a young girl has meant that I have acknowledged the inequalities between man and woman in society and have experienced the repercussions of normalising these issues.

Because this is a topic that is important to me as a feminist myself, I want to explore as many issues as I can that are highlighted within feminism within this study. These consist of:

What is Feminism?

Feminism is the advocacy for women rights in society in accordance to gender equality. A common misconception is that feminism is concerned with ‘girls being better than boys’ however this movement strives to remove the barrier between male and female in political, economic, personal and social contexts. A core value of feminism is the position that modern society is infiltrated with patriarchal viewpoints, this being where the male point of view is prioritised due to predetermined stereotypes. This movement is centred around fighting against these close-minded views that women shouldn’t receive the same personal, educational and professional opportunities than men do.

Feminist campaigns originate back to late 18th-century Europe, pushing for women’s equal rights such as the right to vote, earn equal pay, run for governmental office, the right to education, owning property, equal marital rights and maternal leave. These are just a small handful of what the feminist movement has pursued over many years, however this must still be driven to combat the stereotypical views that women equate to lesser than men. This movement was fundamental in ensuring women and girls gain access to contraceptives, legal and standardised abortions, as well as the protection from sexual assault, sexual harassment, rape or domestic violence.

However, these implementations of societal change stem from major historical battles that women have faced for hundreds of years, and are currently still having to be fought for in many third-world countries. For example, there are 24 countries across the world where abortive services are entirely prohibited, according to TIME magazine.

In these third-world countries, this may be due to the undeveloped nature of their medical systems. However in a more familiar and Western world, the U.S Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, which was a landmark in history that granted women in each state of America access to suitable healthcare surrounding their pregnancy freely to the choice of their own. This removed every woman’s constitutional right to abortion rights in America, and handed it to each state to make a decision of their own. After existing for nearly half a century, this jeopardises many young girls and women’s lives, practically taking a step backwards and undoing all of the work that feminists of the past had strived to complete.

Roe v. Wade was initially passed in 1973 allowing the entire right to an abortion during the first three months of pregnancy, however this has been eroded over the years. For example, Texas – a very republican state which majorly agrees with the pro-life movement – passed a law in 2021 allowing the people to sue clinics and doctors for carrying out an abortive procedure after 6 weeks. Now that Donald Trump has been re-elected as president, one of his plans have begun within his Project 2025 campaign which concerns bans on contraceptives and abortions with absolutely no exceptions. This is entirely dangerous and harmful to the millions of young girls and women across the country who could be put in life-threatening situations without simple access to these services.

With the inability to terminate a pregnancy, this could result in numerous deaths as the mother could die from giving birth – whether this may be from not being developed enough to carry to term or the body straining, rape victims being forced to birth their assaulters baby, not being able to provide for the child due to financial instability or pay the extravagant prices of hospital bills due to the lack of free healthcare, not having a support system in place, or just simply not feeling ready to have a child.

Historical events:

The Suffragettes:

The Suffragettes dominated the feminist movement for several decades, and are a notable period of time of activism for the rights of women. These women were members of an activist organisation in the early 20th century, fighting for the right to vote in the UK.

Within this campaign, there was a divide in the choosing of tactics and strategy in making their voices heard.

The Suffragists: NUWSS:

The suffragists sought to achieve women’s suffrage (the right to vote) through deep debating and campaigning through non-violent marches and petitions. This was led by Millicent Fawcett who was the head of the National Union for Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS). This was an organisation, founded in 1897, however was merged with other organisations dated back to the 1860s. This consisted of primarily upper- and middle-class, however there were many women representing the working-class too. This was a limited representation as the working-class would be restricted on the time they would have to attend these protests as this would result in the loss of money when it was already difficult to gain a living in the first place.

Many women who were interested in this movement sent delegates to the NUWSS to then report back the benefits to those who were being represented, many of these women were textile workers, sweated labourers and those who worked in mines. By 1914, the NUWSS had over 100,000 members throughout the country with over 500 branches. Some of these methods of constitutional seeking for change consisted of:

• Public meetings
• Organised petitions
• Wrote letters to politicians
• Published newspapers
• Distributed free literature

The Suffragettes: WSPU:

With the lack of progress with the NUWSS being disappointing, Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughters formed the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) in 1903. Instead of taking a peaceful approach like the suffragists of the NUWSS, the WSPU decided to use a confrontational manner out of irritation of resistance to change by the government – a male-dominated field at the time. This direct advance was referred to as militancy, leading to these campaigners being called the ‘Suffragettes’ instead of Suffragists. This adding of the suffix ‘ette’ was purposely applied to belittle those taking more dramatic action, portraying the idea that these women were lesser than those acting in a peaceful way. However, this insult stuck and was used by the members of the WSPU themselves. This radicalised approach resulted from a culture of women who had already campaigned tirelessly without seeing results.

The Pankhurst family who formulated the WSPU led the way for the new struggle, and due to them being at the forefront of campaigns they were arrested numerous times, being imprisoned and committing to numerous hunger strikes. The Suffragettes These tactics implemented shocked society due to a large number of these women having well-connected families in middle-class society, with this being reinforced by the traditional stereotype that women should be family-orientated, delicate and nurturing – this was seen as scandalous.

Initially, these tactics were employed to cause disruption and some civil disruption, for example 60,000 people gathered in October 1908 as a ‘rush’ on Parliament – this was intending to invade the House of Commons. However, this was just the beginning, as the lack of government attention resulted in:

• Ruining male-only clubs and golf courses
• Hunger strikes
• Handcuffing themselves to railings/buildings as public displays of resistance
• Planting bombs
• Burning public buildings and unoccupied politicians homes
• Disrupting political meetings, the postal service and the 1911 census (this recorded the details of over 36.3 million men, women and children)
• Smashing windows of private property and government buildings
• Attacking Church of England buildings
• Holding illegal demonstrations
• Heckling MPs
• This is just a fraction of the disruptive strategies that the Suffragettes used to make themselves known and heard.

The Suffragists would not co-operate with the Suffragettes as they did not agree with this form of direct action, and believed that non-violent methods were more suitable. Whilst their civil disobedience allowed them to be the main focus of the country at the time, meaning that no politician could ignore them, this meant that the NUWSS’s actions were often overshadowed by the actions of the WSPU. Many historians still argue over which side of the movement furthered the campaign.

Black Friday:

A notable point within the Suffragettes is Black Friday. In the 1908 election campaign, a member of the Liberal Party named Herbert Henry Asquith promised to pass a law that included women’s rights if elected as Prime Minister. With the support of the Suffragettes behind him, he was elected. However until 1916, this actually resulted in Asquith refusing to reform the right to vote, leaving the women with empty promises and anger.

In response, the WSPU organised a march to highlight the issue with his refusal, however the women were met with violence by policemen and male bystanders. This meant that hundreds of women were badly hurt, even resulting in death.

‘Public conscience must be aroused, and it can only be done by attacks on public property. When women’s bodies were battered on Black Friday that was alright but when a few windowpanes are broken, that is all wrong.’ – Emmeline Pankhurst, 2 years later in a newspaper.

The concept of feminism is still fought for in modern society through protests as well as the use of social media. A great example of this is the #MeToo movement where women can come forward online about sexual harassments or assaults and tell their story in hopes to help those who relate or inspire others to come forward about it. This has also involved celebrities too, highlighting to the world that these people are not untouchable and many of them do awful, inhumane things and expect nothing to occur due to their wealth and fame. This is also extremely useful for those who have reported their assaults but have lost their case.

A predominant issue within modern feminism is the focus of misogyny which has been widely practised for thousands of years, this being a dislike of, contempt for, or ingrained prejudice against women or girls, being a partial form of sexism that women should be kept at a lower status than men. This concerns male violence and domestic abuse against women, where approximately 1/4 women (23% or 2.2 million) have experienced violence by an intimate partner since the age for fifteen in the UK. A notable addition to this is the fact that in the event that the England football team wins or draws, the occurrence of domestic violence increases by 26%, and when they lose the percentile increases to 38%.

The feminist movement has been growing strong for hundreds of years, and is still rife in modern society.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminism

https://time.com/6173229/countries-abortion-illegal-restrictions

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suffragette

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zh6nsk7#zspyvwx

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-42879161

https://hist259.web.unc.edu/nationalunionofwomenssuffragesocieties/: Exam preparation

https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/electionsvoting/womenvote/overview/startsuffragette-/#:~:text=However%20the%20lack%20of%20Government,campaign%20for%20votes%20for%20women.

https://noviolence.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Whataboutmen.pdf

https://www.simononthestreets.co.uk/news/domestic-violence-and-football-the-campaigns-fighting-for-change#:~:text=For%20example%2C%20in%20the%20event,that%20statistic%20rises%20to%2038%25.