Contextual Studies: Age of The Image Show Response

For the beginning of my contextual studies module I was asked to watch the 4 episode series of the Age of Image: A New Reality, Power Games, Seductive Dreams and Fake Views. I really enjoyed this series and it was highly informative on the influences and development of imagery across time. 

Starting with the first episode 'A New Reality' I found it's focus was primarily based on photography and human nature to capture images in order to preserve and recall memories. It discusses the importance of being able to capture time within an image and preserve experiences, whether this be for an emotional context or a historical one. For instance Jacques Lartigue captured imagery for pleasure and preservation whereas Frank Hurley used his imagery to capture the reality and devastation of war from the battlefields themselves. 

In the second episode the theme of the show becomes distressing as it identifies the way imagery was used by Adolf Hitler during WWII and Joseph Stalin to control and manipulate the masses. However, it also shows how those thought to be 'powerless' were able to manipulate imagery too in order to rebel and make their voices heard. For instance Jewish creators began creating superheroes still prominent in today's culture such as Superman, Batman, Spider Man and Captain America. The creation of Captain America's character managed to lead America to begin their intervention in the war seeing the growing popularity and political statements made. 

This episode also noted on the way human culture loves to watch events unfold as we are an inquisitive species, yet we hate the thought of being watched ourselves which is contradictory. Due to the incorporation of technicolor advancements and the ability to manipulate images, the use of imagery as weaponry for exploitation began, which may have been what led to the alteration of the 20th Century where imagery has become second nature to most generations. 

Within the third episode 'Seductive Dreams' it discusses our dependency on imagery and how these images began to be manipulated into new worlds for the public to escape in. Due to the emotional responses formed through images film makers and photographers were able to utilise this concept in order to create personalised advertisements to the general public, alongside help from scientific focus groups which were held to identify what elements of the mind respond to certain criteria and how this can be utilised in a monetary value. 

I really loved the artist Hannah Wilke in this episode who formed feminist photography in response to the culture surrounding women at the time of them being objects owned and valued purely by men. She used her own body to expel these theories by sticking wads of gum to her body in the shape of vaginas in order to take back control of how her's and other women's bodies were currently being portrayed in media. 

The final episode 'Fake Views' discusses the differences between reality and illusion and our ability to identify this. Due to the level of possibility for manipulation and realism within works of art, especially since the development of Photoshop in 1987 by John Knoll which led ordinary people to having access to such abilities. I really loved the work of Ron Mueck in this episode who creates hyper-realistic sculptures of people, but always makes their scale highly disproportionate from reality. This makes his work both relatable and slightly disturbing due to the level of detail he is able to capture in each sculpture. 

Another interesting method I learned about during this episode was the use of illustration mats to paint out elaborate scenery within films with blank negative spacing to allow for the actual recordings to be seamlessly merged, used by George Lucas during the creation of Return of the Jedi in 1983. I feel this collaboration between traditional and digital components super interesting to consider during this contextual task. It was discussed during this episode whether the digital revolution would lead to the destruction of traditional mediums and techniques which I felt would be a really interesting point for discussion I would be keen to look into further. 

However, it was stated that the development of successful editing and manipulation of imagery during films and things has actually diminished their results as people are no longer as easily impressed by this and now require such a high standard to be maintained for all imagery, making it more and more difficult to achieve the aim of making the unbelievable, believable. 

Something I was made to think of whilst watching these episodes was David Attenborough's 'Our Planet' which obviously showcases unique wonders and natural beauties of the world, however the most recent series discusses the impact of pollution and global warming. It would be interesting to compare the first ever episode of this series to the most recent to see just how much the world has been impacted. This would be something I would be extremely interested in discovering and investigating further, however if it doesn't appear relevant to this module I will withhold it for a project in the future.