One photographer that I’ve looked at before which I know produces staged images is Hannah Starkey. http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/artists/hannah_starkey.htm I was first drawn to her work not because it was staged but because her images themselves. For me ‘Starkey’ manages to capture and recreate the culture we live in today but in a clean and clear sense that we very rarely see when living our own lives although her images represent a moment that we all have seen before. The power of these images is linked very heavily to how ‘Goldberg’ described the power of images “life like images produce responses close to our reactions of actual people and events.” The images’ produced by ‘Starkey’ “present a platform where fiction and reality are blurred” the resemblance of reality being so evident in her images immediately heightens our sense of memory with the image. We feel that we have experienced the scene in a coffee shop or in a nightclub; but in fact the experience and memory belongs only to ‘Starkey’ as the images are completely staged. The power of the discourse lies completely with her. When I create my images I need to work out how to transpose the memory and experience of my photographs while the power will still reside with me as the photographer.
This image is one of ‘Starkey’s’ that I was able to see at the ‘Herbert’ museum. Within the picture I feel Starkey wants to create a feel of voyeurism for the viewer, the subjects have been out drinking and one seems to have passed out. This is a state that we don’t really see unless we are out ourselves unless we have been on a night out too; therefore heightening the discourse of the memory and the perceived gained experience from it. My own emotions when looking at the image make me feel sorry for the girl passed out this is a state many people have experienced but one that we regret after reflected in the ideologies of society. This again outlines ‘Starkey’s’ power to enable the viewer to produce a memory of the photograph linked between past memories they may have and the subjects within the image.
The image tries to convey a message of real life a replication of the society and culture we live in. The viewer is placed in a position where each meaning can be specific to them depending on the prior memories. One meaning that I took from the image is that the passed out girl is being looked down upon; both of the models in the image are similar and could be interpreted as being the same person, the girl sitting up looking back at what happened. I think the lighting within the image plays a big part in the way in which the viewer receives the photograph; it helps to create a feel and atmosphere that we can relate to our own memories and place the image in reality.
My first response to the image reminds me of my own memories of nights out and I thinking about them in a humorous way, on a secondary level it makes me think of the effects of drinking and how it is portrayed especially within young people within the ideologies of society; binge drinking and irresponsibility.
This is a personal analysis of ‘Starkey’s’ image that I wrote after viewing it for the first time, like my own work ‘Starkey’ wanted to produce scene’s of reality that prompts the viewer to relate memories of their own and produce an experience of the image.
My own interpretation of the image is different to the meaning that ‘Starkey’ intended and experienced when making the image. In ‘Starkey’s’ mind the image was to” show the supportive relationship between two friends at that age… It’s meant to be quite a tender moment, like when you think “I’ll just sit here for a minute . . .” and you keep your eye on your friend because she’s fallen asleep. It’s not that you’re necessarily out of it, it’s just the excitement of having a really good night.” (http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2007/feb/15/photography) This shows the way in which a viewer may react to my images and I have to make sure that the photographs’ “evoke suggestive narratives” to the viewer but without losing the original memory I want to convey.
