Self Evaluative Report

Name: Amelia Johnson

Project: Negotiated Major Project

Series Title: Teenagers VS Society

Subtitle: The effects of the media on the youth of today

Blog link: http://amelia-johnson-final-major-project.blogspot.co.uk

During the advanced research strategies module I developed my proposal intended for my final negotiated major project. There have been vast changes to my proposal and idea since then but the underlying theme is still there. My initial idea was a little adventurous and I realised soon after, that I needed something more feasible and not so time consuming. My initial idea was to survey 14-18 year old girls and ask them to give me one word they feel described the way that the media makes them feel. I was looking for responses such as 'drowned' and 'trapped'. I would then take these individual words and make each one into an image, for example the 'drowned' image would be underwater and the 'trapped' would be behind bars etc. After much deliberation I realised this was not feasible in the time frame we had and when recieveing feedback it was commented on that these images would be too literal.

After rethinking the project I knew I wanted to keep with the same theme as this is something I am passionate about doing, I just needed to simplify it. I decided to think of a place where I would get a feel for who these girls are and their feelings and emotions towards society and the media. After seeing the series 'Where children sleep' by James Mollinson, I was inspired to use the bedroom as the focal point. A teenage girls bedroom is a very private place but it is also a place where they express themselves most, especially on the walls with posters etc. I decided that I would do portraits of the teenage girls aged between 14 and 18 ,who had filled out the survey that I made, in their bedrooms sitting on their bed. I wanted the images to be quite natural and have a slight documentary style, I didn't want the images to look too posed and I wanted the girls to react to the camera how they felt natural. When photographing the girls I asked them not to tidy their rooms and just to wear what they would feel comfortable in, this way I could get a real sense of who they were as people.

I photographed fifteen girls in total and planned to use ten of these images as my final series, it turns out I have chosen eight final images as I felt these were the strongest and they look like a set. After photographing all fifteen subjects I kind of came to a standstill as to where to go next with this. I knew that I wanted to incorporate the questions and answers from the survey I carried out as this seemed such a vital part of this project. I played around with different ideas of using the answers as captions for the images and even adding the text onto the image in a opaque overlay although after consideration I realised that I didn't want the text to suggest too much about the image and I wanted the viewer to make their own assumptions about the girl they were looking at, playing on the surrounding she is in and the way she acts in front of the camera. Instead I ended up making a book that will go alongside the images at the exhibition. This will have all ten questions from the survey and all answers the girls had given. This way it is up to the viewer as to whether they read the book first (find the meaning behind the images) and then view them baring in mind what they have just read, or whether they view the images alone and make their own assumptions and read the book afterwards to enlighten them on what this project is about. As for the captions I have kept it simple by using the full name and age of the girl in each image.

I also debated as to whether to have the images in black and white or colour, I initially preferred black and white as I thought it showed more about the person rather than being distracting with lots of different colours. After peer feedback it was clear that they preferred the images in colour and after reevaluating my decision I realised I preferred colour too.

When choosing my final images I decided on eight images, it was mentioned in feedback about some of the subjects making eye contact with the camera and some weren’t and as to whether they should all be the same. I don't feel it is necessary that the images are all using the same eye contact as I feel the difference shows how the girls reacted to being in front of the camera. It worked out quite well in the end as in my final eight images, four were making eye contact with the camera and four were not.

In my mock up exhibition plan I have placed the images carefully to make sure that they alternate. The layout I have chosen for the images is exhibiting on one wall and having two rows of four images, spaced evenly to let the viewer appreciate each image but also see them as a set of images. I have also opted for square format images, I feel these look better and you still get enough of a feel for the surrounding. They look neat and symmetric on the wall and seem to fit together as a set more than when they were landscape.

Artist Statement

To go alongside our work in the exhibition or for the exhibition leaflet we were asked to come up with a short artist statement explaining ourselves and our project.

I went through various stages of expanding and refining my artist statement.

The first very short draft:

'Amelia Johnson is a british photographer exploring the stereotypes of women in society through a photographic medium.'

I then expanded on this adding reference to a current project:

'Amelia Johnson is a british based photographer focusing on the stereotypes of women in society. Amelia explores the transitions in a females life from child through to women and mothers. She has been inspired by Petra Collins' 'Teenage Gaze' and is currently documenting the changes women experience approaching motherhood.'

Another version i considered:

'Amelia Johnson is a british based photographer focusing on the stereotypes of women in society. She explores the transitions in a females life from girl to teen, teen to woman and woman to mother displaying their feelings, emotions and memories in a photographic form.'

The final revised artist statement:

'Amelia Johnson is a Manchester based photographer focusing on the stereotypes of women in the media and society. She explores the transitions in a females life from girl to teen, teen to woman and woman to mother. Inspired by Petra Collins' 'Teenage Gaze', her current project reflects on the 'Teen' aspect and how young girls are affected by today's harsh society. The portraits consist of 14-18 year old girls, they touch on their feelings and emotions around the pressures they are under to conform to societies ideologies ever single day.'

Exhibition Gallery Display

Using the online software Exhibbit i have mocked up a wall plan for how i want my images to be displayed. With eight images in total i have displayed them in two rows of four, spaced out nicely so the viewer can appreciate each one.

In addition to the layout i will have a little plaque with the caption for each image displayed the name and age of each subject in the images. I will also have a plinth in front of my display holding a book i have designed with the information from the survey which sparked off this project.

After looking at the images on the wall i realised that the end four images were two 'looking down' images and two 'looking at the camera' images so i have shuffled the order a little so that there is more of a sequence. In the top and bottom row it now alternates from looking down to looking at the camera etc.

Here you can see the design for the book:

Choosing my final images

After much deliberation and feedback i decided that i would not include the text actually onto the images as it distracts from the raw and natural images, feedback said that the images are a lot stronger on their own. To make sure that the information is still included and that the images make sense to the viewer i am going to design and print a book to go alongside the images at the exhibition.

I originally planned to have 10 final images although when thinking of displaying the images and the cost to print and mount them i have decided to stick with 8 final images.

I have also been playing around with the format of the images and i feel they work best in a square format that can be seen below:

Related photographers

Annalisa Hartlaub is a 16 year old Ohio State University student, during her studies she came across herself asking the same question that was on every teenage girls mind 'What might i have looked like if i were from a previous century?' with her love for fashion, make up and photography she decided to create a project to answer this question.

“I’ve always been fascinated, and a bit infatuated, with counterculture and how it shapes society and mainstream culture as well,” said Hartlaub to HuffPost. “So I decided to mix that interest with my love of fashion, makeup, and photography to create something.”

It is interesting to see how things have changed within the last decade, and how far fashion has come as well as repeating itself. 

Ben Hopper is a london based photographer who has recently created a series called 'natural beauty'. He tries to portray a healthier take on the beauty standards that women are subject to every day of their lives. 

Many of the women he has photographed are actresses and models, the kind of young, attractive and idolised people that often set the beauty standards. He is trying to show that body hair, or lack of it, has very little to do with the overall beauty of a woman. 

“I don’t want to say that I want women to start growing their armpit hair,” Hopper told Huffpost. “I just think that it’s a possibility and people shouldn’t dismiss it. I’d like people to just question [beauty standards], the whole thing.”

“Although armpit hair is a natural state it has become a statement,” he notices. “Why is that?”

Girls are highly influenced from a young age and it is gradually getting younger. As we see from this post a 4 year old little girl was inspired by models and celebrities and wanted to create her own copy of their beautiful dresses in paper. 

'After the mother was tired of her little one “creating” her own style from Angie’s scarves and sheets, she came up the idea to create dresses out of paper. To her surprise, Mayhem (Angie’s nickname for her little girl) was instantly hooked and demanded to create new dresses every day. 9 months later, the two fashionistas have assembled quite a collection, worthy of a junior runaway in Paris.'

English photographer James Mollinson traveled around the world photographing children and their bedrooms. 

“I hope the book gives a a glimpse into the lives some children are living in very diverse situations around the world; a chance to reflect on the inequality that exists, and realise just how lucky most of us in the developed world are,” says James.

These images show how much impact it has on the viewer and their reaction and thoughts to portraits when the subjects most personal space is involved.