Dissertation Proposal

DISSERTATION PROPOSAL:

a while ago we had some lectures with photography's Matt Lindsey where in one lecture he discussed Barthes, and his point on photography creating a counter memory. i found this really interesting and so i looked into it a little more, as it was one of the questions we could choose for our last essay, i chose to take on a different question as i couldnt formulate my argument surrounding this question. but ive always remembered this lecture as it really interested me. and so i would love to focus on this question of 'does photography create a counter memory?' for my dissertation.

im in two minds about this as one half suggests that photography gives a snapshot of reality, and there for isnt a counter memory, its rather an element of reality. however the other half of this suggests that in most photographs we take in modern day socioty, we pose and therefore emulate an unreal and unnatural version of reality, which, upon later review, creates a counter memory of unrealistic ideals of the reality we were in.

back in the 1900's photography was seen as a privilege, something for only wealthy or upper class people to take part in as a way to celebrate their wealth or social standing. however in todays Socioty, and with the progression of modern technology, we are able to use photography in every day life so easily and quickly, that anyone can do it. during the early days of photography, everything was incredibly posed due to the extremely long exposure times of the first camera's. subjects had to be still for long periods of time in order to achieve the photograph, almost similar to being painted, therefore the pictures showed an idealist version of the subject as these usually feature possessions and lavish forms of dress in order to express their wealth or standing, meaning that when we look back on these photographs today, we only see what the camera shows, we are unable to view the reality of the situation - a counter memory.

in order to formally construct this dissertation i plan to further my research into the field by reading books, watching films and if possible, attending some photography lectures relevant to this. i would also like to conduct some interviews with photography tutors in order to get their honest opinion on my proposed argument in order to give my paper the most substance.