Photographs can be dangerous weapons in the modern world, as a tool for propaganda or for revealing the ugly truth about something. The use of photographs in this way is not on one side or the other, and the 'good' and 'bad' sides are subjective, depending on your point of view. Photographs aren't neutral, even if the aim is for neutrality, the meaning can be contrived and drawn out to fit certain points of view.
A prime example of photography being used as a powerful propaganda tool is the case of Heinrich Hoffman being appointed as Hitler's personal photographer.
A prime example of photography being used as a powerful propaganda tool is the case of Heinrich Hoffman being appointed as Hitler's personal photographer.
Protest
Politics of the everyday
The brief for this project was inspired by the Tintype gallery "Essex road" projects. The basis of the project was to go out into the local area, in this case Southbourne crossroads, and document it in some way to produce an outcome. A key part of this was to try and keep it "everyday", or try to avoid making an obvious political statement.
For this project I decided to use screenshots taken from google maps to document the area, taking screenshots of places I thought interesting in some way. The idea sprang from starting to use maps to plan where I would take photos, labelling interesting spots to visit, but then using screenshots instead became the focus. |
Part of the reason I wanted to use screenshots for my project was because it showed the accessibility, that is offered by computers, of the local area. I was able to "go inside" of certain areas without having to confront or approach a person about it, which made it easy. I filled the brief, to go out and take photos, without ever having to leave the classroom.
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