Photographer's Research - Adrienne Salinger

Adrienne Salinger was born in 1956 in Berkley, America. A lot of her work focuses on the living spaces of people, and she has conducted projects called "At Home", "Living Solo" and - the project which relates most to my work - "My Room: Teenagers in their Bedrooms". Salinger's work has been exhibited internationally in places such as the Art Institute of Chicago and the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris. The series "My Room: Teenagers in their Bedrooms" was shot in the early 90s and has captured what life was life for youth at the time. Not only does it help show how young people would decorate their rooms, but through objects within the room we could find out what music and celebrities were popular and what activities people enjoyed. It also helped capture 90s fashion as the teenagers themselves were in the images. Below are four examples from this piece of work.

This image tells us that the boy in the photograph is very into music - especially rock music - as he has posters for bands such as Megadeth covering the wall behind him. Looking at his shelves, it is also clear that one of his interests is superheroes as there are lots of figurines on display. The boy is breaking the conventional 'masculine' stereotypes due to his long hair, which could be a convention of his subculture.

The boy in this image is leaning up against a wall whilst posing with a skateboard. The way that he is holding the skateboard could be in attempt to show it off, and so we can assume that this is a keen interest of his. This conclusion can be further supported by the Thrasher posters that cover his walls as this is a popular skateboard magazine. The fact that he dos not have a bed but just a mattress on the floor could suggest that he is not bothered by material items and only cares about basic needs.

This image shows another young person who's life is influenced by music. Not only is this evidenced by the ACDC poster on his wall, but also by the multiple guitars seen around the room - one of which he is playing - and the stacks of CDs that can be seen in the centre of the image. The way that he is playing the guitar and not focussing on the camera shows how he is immersed in music.

Whilst the decorations in this image are minimal, we can still get an insight into the personality and interests of this person as we can see that they are surrounded by animals. This tells us that they have a strong interest in animals and care for them.

Photographer's Research - Sophie Day

Sophie Day is a young photographer from New York, America. Focussing her work on youth in New York and their formative years, Sophie particularly explores the nature of the young urban male in a series she called "FUCKBOY". In an interview with Hungertv, she describes this project as an "ongoing documentary focusing on six teenage boys in the city. I want to understand the construct of masculinity and expose the limitations and suffocation we force our boys into." Day also explores sexuality and gender roles within her works. Below are four examples of her images.

This image shows two boys hanging out in a dully lit room, where the walls are covered by graffiti. This gives the room an abandoned feel to it, although it could easily be someone's bedroom that they have decided to cover in graffiti as a form or expression. This shows a typical and everyday activity of youth where they are simply hanging out together and seemingly having a laugh. The environment they are in could possibly be one where they can relax and be themselves which is why there is nothing out of the ordinary happening in this photo. This image therefore does not conform to any negative stereotypes of youth, such as young people being violent.

This was taken in a public bathroom and shows a girl drinking out of a flask - therefore this image has connotations of alcoholism which is often linked with a rebellious youth stereotype. This image also goes against stereotypes of femininity and being 'ladylike' as this girl is wearing just a jacket and so her chest is slightly exposed whilst she drinks alcohol from a flash. This could be the girls own way of expressing herself and showing that you do not need to follow the gender roles that society have set out.

This image clearly shows where drugs are being used as the boy in this photograph is smoking from a bong. This could relate to the "suffocation" that Sophie Day refers to in her Hungertv interview as the pressures from society could be what have lead this boy to doing drugs - they may be a tool he uses to relax and destress. This clearly follows the rebellious stereotype of youth as doing drugs is illegal and so he is breaking the law by doing this.

The boy in this image is carrying a skateboard as he walks down the street, and so this give us an insight into what activities are popular with todays male youth. Not only does this picture tell us this, but it also shows us what style is worn by the current young generation as we can see his entire outfit due to the long shot this image was taken at. 

Photographer's Research - Janette Beckman

Janette Beckman is a British photographer who is currently based in New York, working for British style magazine 'Jocks&Nerds'. Beginning her career in the 70s, Beckman photographed the punk scene in England and New York. Not only this, but Beckman has also worked with many musicians such as The Clash and Boy George and has released four books featuring many of her works. One of her books is titled "Made in the UK: The Music of Attitude 1977 - 1983" and features images of the Mods and Rockers - the two groups who dominated youth culture during that time period. To this day Beckman still focuses on capturing the lives of youth in different cultures and is considered to be a "respected veteran photographer of music and youth culture". 

This image was part of her US youth exploration. It features four girls all huddled together as they laugh and pose for the picture. This helps give us an idea of how young girls in the US dressed at the time that this photograph was taken (1980s). By taking a portraiture of these four girls, she has captured their youth in an image and therefore given an insight into that generations lifestyle for people to see in the future.

This was taken at a concert in 1980 and shows a crowd of 'Skins' gathered at the barrier. This shows us how important and influential subcultures were within youth at this time as we can see how all of the people in this image are dressed similarly, and how this crowd goes quite far back so lots of people have travelled out for this concert. 

The man in this photograph is holding on to two chains around his neck - probably to show them off to the camera. Again, this image was taken in America and shows a youth culture specific to this country. As the man is showing off his chains, it could be suggested that these are desirable objects within his generation or subculture as he is perhaps trying to make people jealous when he is showing them off.

In this image of a group of UK Punks, we can clearly see their unique style and aesthetics which make them stand out from others. Whilst nothing explicitly rebellious is happening, the overall look of this group of young people would make you assume that they are bad and antisocial. For example, the leather jackets and big, spiky hair are often associated with looking like a rebel and being defiant of societies norms.

Photographer's Research - Bruce Davidson

Bruce Davidson has been taking photographs from the age of 10 years old, when his mother built him a darkroom in his basement and first had his work recognised at the age of 19 after winning the Kodak National High School Photographic Award for an image of an owl. Davidson attended the Rochester Institute of Technology and Yale University, before being drafted into the military. In 1957, Bruce returned from his military service and became a freelance photographer, creating work that was influenced by Robert Frank, Eugene Smith and Henri Cartier-Bresson. One of his most notable pieces of work was his Brooklyn Gangs series, during which he followed the lives of a gang of youth in 1959 Brooklyn. Below are four images from this project.

This image features a group of youths sat around in a cafe. Although we can see three people within this image, the one person who seems to be the focal point is the one in the centre. They seem to be very relaxed as they hang off of the seat and lean against the jukebox, which could suggest that this is a place they often visit and so feel comfortable in. The fact that there are young people sat at two different table could further this assumption and imply that this is a place that youth often meet. 

At first glance, seeing a young man smoking could be seen as a rebellious act. However, when taking in to context the time of this project, this would be quite normal as smoking was not seen as much of an issue during the 50s. The man in this photograph is covered in dirt and grease, and in the background we can see the hood of a car is popped up, which suggests that this young man is working and so defies the stereotype of youth as lazy. 

As mentioned above, smoking was seen as less taboo in the 50s as it is in todays society. This could therefore explain why someone in this photograph is smoking in a building with people around him. This scenario seems to be quite relaxed and casual, which could be surprising to see in a photo series that followed a gang as it would be expected to see more dangerous and perhaps illegal activities being carried out. This therefore helps to humanise the young people in this gang and perhaps diminish any negative stereotypes given to these people.

This image is more stereotypical of what would be expected of a gang. It can be assumed that this was taken at a party or gathering as there are people filling this frame which can suggest that this was a busy environment. In the background, there are two people kissing, whilst a girl sits next to them in the foreground of the image. There is a narrow depth of field in this image which makes the girl the most in focus and therefore the focal point of the image. The fact that she seems unbothered by the people next to her kissing could suggest that this is typical of the people she is around.

Photographer's Research - Musa N. Nxumalo

Musa N. Nxumalo is a young, contemporary photographer from Soweto. Between 2006 and 2008, Nxumalo was introduced to photography whilst completing foundation and intermediate courses at Market Photo Workshop. Alongside him throughout these years were Sabelo Mlangeli and Thabiso Sekgala - the three of them are often associated with the new generation of contemporary South African photographers. Since 2008, Nxumalo has created two bodies of work - Alternative Kidz (2009) and In/Glorious (2012). Both of these photo series explore youth culture in South Africa. It was these projects that formed his first solo exhibition "In Search Of...", which was showcased at SMAC gallery in Stellenbosch and the Goethe Institute in Johannesburg. Below are two images from each series which I feel can reflect the type of work I am hoping to achieve during this project.

Alternative Kidz

This photograph seems to show the subjects in a more relaxed environment as they are sat together on a sofa and appear to just be talking. Typically, to see a group of youths sat around together could be considered intimidating and relating to gang culture, yet with this image there is nothing that could support this view as there are no objects that would link to this such as alcohol, cigarettes or drugs. That is what I find interesting about this photograph - at first glance it may look like a stereotypical group of youths and that there would be some use of alcohol or cigarettes, but when you look in detail you can see that there is none of this to be seen.

In this image we see a young man bending over whilst holding a football to his stomach. The use of the football links to the stereotype of young men enjoying sports and being athletic, however the fact that he is using inside is strange and could possible be the punctum of this image as football is something you would normally play outside. The fact that you can see the designer logo on his underwear could suggest that he is trying to show this off, and so implies that brands are important to young people. This could suggest that wearing popular brands and owning their clothing could be a way of being accepted into particular youth subcultures. 

In/Glorious

The images from this series are in a more energetic scenario - what appears to be a festival or concert due to the crowd of people. The subject of this image in particular is wearing a mask over his face, which could suggest that he is trying to hide himself or protect his identity from others. Even still, he appears to be having fun and letting loose as he is punching the air and posing for the camera. The fact that nobody is looking at him shows that the people in this crowd do not care what others are doing.

The man in this image is posing for the camera above him with his jacket undone, whilst he holds two drinks. This reflects the notion that youth are carefree as he does not seem to care about others around him as he looks like he is shouting at the camera. The fact that he has two drinks conforms to the stereotype that youth are rebellious and enjoy drinking alcohol. This could be an explanation as to why his jacket is undone too - the man is likely to be drunk.