portrait of the ‘Worker’ lecture

Steffi Klenz’s first lecture for the Commission Unit, investigated how the  portrait of the ‘Worker’ has been represented in both painting and photography. Below are some notes and pictures of what was discussed in the lecture.

•represented an ordinary scene of peasant life in his native village in Artois-

 

•here the gleaners are leaving the fields-

 

•despite the presence of a few more realistic details such as the ragged garments or bare feet, the painter has completely idealized the scene-

 

•gleaning is the act of collecting leftover crops from farmers' fields after they have been commercially harvested or on fields where it is not economically profitable to harvest so the poorest of peasants undertake this activity-

 

•landscape and workers not viewed so much in relation to their work and its realistic conditions but painting seeks visual confirmation of a timeless Arcadia(an unspoiled, harmonious wilderness and its inhabitants/worker)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

depicts three peasant women gleaning a field of stray grains of wheat after the harvest.-

 

some cultures promoted gleaning as an early form of a welfare system-

 

according to the Holiness Code in the Old Testament farmers should leave the corners of their fields unharvested, and they should not attempt to harvest any left-over's that had been forgotten -

 

according to the Holiness Code, these things should be left for the poor and for strangers-

 

the painting is famous for featuring in a sympathetic way what were then the lowest ranks of rural society; this was received poorly by the French upper classes.-

 

Their gaze does not meet the viewer, and their faces are obscured.-

 

In the background, bountiful amounts of wheat are being stacked while landlord overseer stands watch on the right.-

 

Millet has chosen to centre the women and paint them with a greater contrast-

 

earthy figures blend into the colour of the piece, ingraining them well into the scene.-

 

through the misalignment of vanishing points (the women looking down away from a horizon line or metaphorical a future unlike the watchman, Millet conveys the message that while the lowest-class women occupy the same canvas the figure in the background, they occupy their own space-

 

commentary on the lower classes' inaccessibility to another class

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was a documentary about things we leave behind or throw away, the leftover, cleaning, what is left, what means picking, selecting, choosing and giving- film tracks a series of gleaners hunting for food. The film didn’t jut present filed gleaners but also urban gleaners and those connected to gleaners.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Degas’s interest in laundresses can be traced to 1869.

 

His paintings do not emphasis individuality but rather a general generality of profession-

 

He focuses on the physical demands of the trade, which is

strenuous and poorly paid 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A way to offer commentary on social and political life in France in the 19thcentury-

 

offered an insight into the plight of city workers-

 

Daumier's

Laundress epitomises a social type characterized by gruelling repetitive toil 

attention given to the figures reveals the toll it took on souls and bodies-

 

mixture of resignation and tenderness between mother and child-

 

little girl seems destined to carry on her mother's task

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

William Eugene Smith (1918-1978) was an American photojournalist best-known for his work for Life Magazine-

 

brutally vivid imagery-

 

The Country Doctor photo essay was an intimate portrait of life and death in the a small rural town of Kremmling, Colorado-

 

Ernest Ceriani was the doctor that Smith shadowed for 23 days, capturing the drama in everyday events in the small town-

 

Smith achieved this extra- ordinary intimacy by, in his own words, fading into the wallpaper”-

 

the published essay became a benchmark for picture essays and photojournalism in the 1940's and 50’s

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anna Fox born 1961 has been working in photography and video for over twenty years-

 

A study of London office life in the late 80’s, a critical observation of the highly competitive character of working life in Thatcher’s Britain

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

commission assignment the for the National Portrait Gallery’s commissions on the preparations for the 2012-

 

photographed disparate collections of people all involved in the Olympics-

 

Griffin’s images are shot in offices and the Olympic site itself

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I found this lecture very interesting and ow people have decided to shoot thier portriats in a certian way to demonstrate the worker. But unfortuantly, this topic was not for me, as my theme is more based around fashion and how waste has an impact on this consumption?