Is there any sense in which Lee’s work could be considered voyeuristic or even exploitative? Is she commenting on her own identity, the group identity of the people she photographs, or both?
It looks like a sense of both to me. An almost kind of look at me and you should be looking at me. Some are easy to understand others id had to look twice and try and understand her concept. Her concept of a point and shoot camera I think works well only due to her being in character. Had this been a studio type set up I don’t think she would have had the same overall effect.
Voyeuristic
- relating to or denoting sexual pleasure gained from watching others when they are naked or engaged in sexual activity.” women as objects of voyeuristic pleasure.”
- deriving or relating to enjoyment from seeing the pain or distress of others.” the voyeuristic pleasure of spying on relationships under pressure.”
Exploitative
- making use of a situation or treating others unfairly to gain an advantage or benefit.” an exploitative form of labour.”
Would you agree to Morrissey’s request if you were enjoying a day on the beach with your family? If not, why not?
Yes, I think id be open to the suggestion, although I do find it a little strange, once she had explained it I would find it rather intriguing to see the final image.
Morrissey uses self-portraiture in more of her work, namely Seven and The Failed Realist. Look at these projects online and make some notes in your learning log.
There are some compelling images within here works. Some I find quite disturbing in a way, I’m not a huge fan of portraiture and at times find it hard to see what a photographer is trying to show, this is the same when I look at portraits in an art gallery whether they are oil or watercolour pictures. Some I see the person some I wonder what it is I’m looking at. The ones I find that hold the eye are her failed statement. There is a sense of fun I see in these images from trying to work out what they are before reading the title. Had they not had a title, then I wouldn’t have understood them to be honest.
Bibliography
Creators. (2010, July 21). Photographer Nikki S. Lee Can Turn Into Anyone. YouTube. Retrieved April 15, 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oI8xpJItPVI [assessed 20200415]
(n.d.). Trish Morrissey. Retrieved April 15, 2020a, from https://www.trishmorrissey.com/index.html [assessed 20200415]
(n.d.). Trish Morrissey. Retrieved April 15, 2020b, from https://www.trishmorrissey.com/works_pages/work-sy/workpg-01.html [assessed 20200415]
(n.d.). Trish Morrissey. Retrieved April 15, 2020c, from https://www.trishmorrissey.com/works_pages/work-tfr/workpg-01.html [assessed 20200415]
(n.d.). Trish Morrissey. Retrieved April 15, 2020d, from https://www.trishmorrissey.com/works_pages/work-front/workpg-01.html [assessed 20200415]
Part Two Context and Narrative BA HONS in Photography OCA 