Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology

An investigation of the potential of still photography as a method of visual sociology

by Britta Campion

A paper submitted in fulfilment of the requirement of the degree of Master of Fine Art School of Media Arts College of Fine Arts, The University of New South Wales, Australia

November 2007

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 1 Originality Statement

I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and to the best of my knowledge it contains no materials previously published or written by another person, or substantial proportions of material which have been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma at UNSW or any other educational institution, except where due acknowledgement is made in the thesis. Any contribution made to the research by others, with whom I have worked at UNSW or elsewhere, is explicitly acknowledged in the thesis. I also declare that the intellectual content of this thesis is the product of my own work, except to the extent that assistance from others in the project's design and conception or in style, presentation and linguistic expression is acknowledged.

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Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 2 Copyright Statement

I hereby grant the University of New South Wales or its agents the right to archive and to make available my thesis or dissertation in whole or part in the University libraries in all forms of media, now or here after known, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. I retain all proprietary rights, such as patent rights. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis or dissertation. I also authorise University Microfilms to use the 350 word abstract of my thesis in Dissertation Abstract International (this is applicable to doctoral theses only). I have either used no substantial portions of copyright material in my thesis or I have obtained permission to use copyright material; where permission has not been granted I have applied/will apply for a partial restriction of the digital copy of my thesis or dissertation.'

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Authenticity Statement

I certify that the Library deposit digital copy is a direct equivalent of the final officially approved version of my thesis. No emendation of content has occurred and if there are any minor variations in formatting, they are the result of the conversion to digital format.

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Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 3 Acknowledgments

Thanks to my supervisors, Lynne Roberts-Goodwin and Michele Barker.

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 4 Abstract

Ever since the camera was invented people have been using it as a tool to reflect and record the world around them. Photographic images have great potential to investigate different social practices and phenomena in the world.

Photography, in its own right, is an extremely large area of study. Despite its relatively short history, photography has undergone a broad and complex evolution since it was invented in 1840. This paper does not aim to cover the comprehensive history of the development of photography in its many facets, it aims however to concentrate on a specific area of what has come to be termed visual sociology and the potential of the still photographic image as a primary tool within the field.

Visual sociology is a marginal, experimental area of sociology, it is a field which has not been given due consideration by many sociologists due to its unscientific nature and one which remains unfamiliar to many social documentary photographers.

This paper traces the history of visual sociology and explores its roots and links with social documentary photography. It explores the established methods of visual data collection that are utilised within the field of visual sociology. It also explores a further sub-discipline, urban sociology and the role of the image in investigation of urban phenomena.

The resulting practical component of this research is an extensive urban photographic investigation shot over the period of one month in the city of Tokyo. The resulting series of images exist as a type of photographic visual map of city creatures ubiquitous in the urban environment. The series aims to constitute as a visual, cultural survey about an aspect of social life within the Japanese urban context.

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 5 List of figures

Figure 1 – Jacob Riis. Bunks in a seven-cent lodging-house, Pell Street ...... 19 Figure 2 – Jacob Riis. Fighting tuberculosis on the roof...... 20 Figure 3 – Jacob Riis. Hell's Kitchen and Sebastopol...... 20 Figure 4 – Jacob Riis. In the home of an Italian rag-picker, Jersey Street...... 21 Figure 5 – Jacob Riis. Old Mrs. Benoir, an Indian woman, in her Hudson St. attic ...... 21 Figure 6 – Jacob Riis. Prayer-time in the nursery Five Points House of Industry...... 22 Figure 7 – Jacob Riis. Street Arabs in night quarters ...... 22 Figure 8 – Jacob Riis. The man slept in this cellar for four years, about 1890 ...... 23 Figure 9 – Mead. From Balinese Character...... 24 Figure 10 – Installation view of Family of Man - original exhibition 1955 MOMA ...... 26 Figure 11 – Eiju Otaki. Ars Camera...... 27 Figure 12 – Anna Riwkin-Brick. Israel ...... 28 Figure 13 – Eugene Harris. Popular photography...... 28 Figure 14 – Ihei Kimura. Japan ...... 29 Figure 15 – Unosuke Gamou. Japan ...... 29 Figure 16 – Robert Frank. Hotel Lobby – Miami Beach...... 31 Figure 17 – Robert Frank. City Fathers – Hoboken – New Jersey ...... 31 Figure 18 – Robert Frank. Elevator – Miami Beach ...... 32 Figure 19 – Robert Frank. Parade – Hoboken – New Jersey ...... 33 Figure 20 – Robert Frank. Television studio – Burbank California ...... 33 Figure 21 – Robert Frank. Charleston – South Carolina...... 34 Figure 22 – Life Magazine – Photo essay Page 1 – Scottsboro Boys...... 38 Figure 23 – Life Magazine – Photo essay Page 2 – Scottsboro Boys...... 39 Figure 24 – Clarence Norris – Scottsboro Boys ...... 41 Figure 25 – Andy Wright – Scottsboro Boys...... 41 Figure 26 – Haywood Patterson – Scottsboro Boys ...... 42 Figure 27 – Charlie Weems – Scottsboro Boys ...... 42 Figure 28 – Eugene Williams – Scottsboro Boys ...... 43 Figure 29 – Willie Roberson – Scottsboro Boys...... 43 Figure 30 – Olen Montgomery – Scottsboro Boys ...... 44 Figure 31 – Ozie Powell – Scottsboro Boys ...... 44 Figure 32 – Mary Ellen Mark. Indian Street Performers – 1981...... 46 Figure 33 – Mary Ellen Mark. Indian Street Performers – 1981...... 47 Figure 34 – Mary Ellen Mark. Indian Street Performers – 1981...... 47 Figure 35 – Mary Ellen Mark. Indian Street Performers – 1981...... 47 Figure 36 – Mary Ellen Mark. Indian Street Performers – 1981...... 48

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 6 Figure 37 – Mary Ellen Mark. Indian Street Performers – 1981...... 48 Figure 38 – Mary Ellen Mark. Indian Street Performers – 1981...... 48 Figure 39 – Mary Ellen Mark. Indian Street Performers – 1981...... 49 Figure 40 – Mary Ellen Mark. Indian Street Performers – 1981...... 49 Figure 41 – Mary Ellen Mark. Indian Street Performers – 1981...... 49 Figure 42 – 1. Cathy Greenblat. Losses – Alzheimers “takes away” the people we love ...... 57 Figure 43 – 1. Cathy Greenblat. Losses – Alzheimers “takes away” the people we love ...... 57 Figure 44 – 1. Cathy Greenblat. Losses – Alzheimers “takes away” the people we love ...... 58 Figure 45 – 1. Cathy Greenblat. Losses – Alzheimers “takes away” the people we love ...... 58 Figure 46 – 2. Cathy Greenblat. Knowledgeable, Loving Care...... 59 Figure 47 – 2. Cathy Greenblat. Knowledgeable, Loving Care...... 59 Figure 48 – 2. Cathy Greenblat. Knowledgeable, Loving Care...... 59 Figure 49 – 2. Cathy Greenblat. Knowledgeable, Loving Care...... 60 Figure 50 – 3. Cathy Greenblat. Pets...... 60 Figure 51 – 3. Cathy Greenblat. Pets...... 61 Figure 52 – 3. Cathy Greenblat. Pets...... 61 Figure 53 – Cathy Greenblat. Stimulation...... 62 Figure 54 – Cathy Greenblat. Stimulation...... 62 Figure 55 – Cathy Greenblat. Stimulation...... 63 Figure 56 – Cathy Greenblat. STIMULATION ...... 63 Figure 57 – Cathy Greenblat. Musical Memory...... 64 Figure 58 – Cathy Greenblat. Musical Memory...... 64 Figure 59 – Cathy Greenblat. Musical Memory...... 65 Figure 60 – Heygate Portraits – Carol Watson, 48 yrs ...... 70 Figure 61 – Heygate Portraits – Ismil Baduna, 51 yrs ...... 70 Figure 62 – Heygate Portraits – Kevin Kerwan, 42 yrs...... 71 Figure 63 – Heygate Portraits – Pat Harding, 63 yrs ...... 72 Figure 64 – Heygate Portraits – Tommy Tucker, 19 yrs ...... 73 Figure 65 – Shoichi Aoki. Tokyo Fruits ...... 75 Figure 66 – Shoichi Aoki. Tokyo Fruits ...... 75 Figure 67 – Shoichi Aoki. Tokyo Fruits ...... 76 Figure 68 – Shoichi Aoki. Tokyo Fruits ...... 76 Figure 69 – Shoichi Aoki. Tokyo Fruits ...... 77 Figure 70 – Shoichi Aoki. Tokyo Fruits ...... 77 Figure 71 – Shoichi Aoki. Tokyo Fruits ...... 78 Figure 72 – Shoichi Aoki. Tokyo Fruits ...... 78 Figure 73 – Shoichi Aoki. Tokyo Fruits ...... 79 Figure 74 – Shoichi Aoki. Tokyo Fruits ...... 79

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 7 Figure 75 – Hong Kong 1 ...... 85 Figure 76 – Hong Kong 2 ...... 86 Figure 77 – Hong Kong 3 ...... 86 Figure 78 – Project Explanation in Japanese ...... 88 Figure 79 – Example 1 – The wrapped human city creature...... 91 Figure 80 – Example 2 – The wrapped inanimate city creature ...... 91 Figure 81 – Example 3 – The wrapped urban habitat...... 92

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 8 Table of contents

ORIGINALITY STATEMENT ...... 2

COPYRIGHT STATEMENT ...... 3

AUTHENTICITY STATEMENT...... 3

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS...... 4

ABSTRACT ...... 5

LIST OF FIGURES ...... 6

TABLE OF CONTENTS ...... 9

INTRODUCTION ...... 11

METHODOLOGY ...... 12

CHAPTER 1 ...... 13

1.1 Introduction – A History of Visual Sociology ...... 13 1.2 Visual Sociology...... 13 1.3 Sociology ...... 14 1.4 So Where Do Images Fit into All of This? ...... 15 1.5 Documentary Photography ...... 16 1.6 Case Studies ...... 17 1.6.1 Case Study 1: Jacob Riis – How the Other Half Lives, 1890...... 17 1.6.2 Case Study 2: Margaret Mead – Balinese Character – A Photographic Analysis, 1942 24 1.6.3 Case Study 3: Edward Steichen – Family of Man, 1955, New York Museum of Modern Art ...... 26 1.6.4 Case Study 4. Robert Frank – The Americans, 1959...... 30 1.7 Conclusion...... 34

CHAPTER 2 ...... 35

2.1 Introduction...... 35 2.2 The Photo Essay...... 35 2.3 Magnum...... 36 2.4 Life Magazine...... 36 2.5 The Photo Essay and Visual Sociology ...... 50 2.6 Methods of Visual Sociology...... 50 2.6.1 Overt / covert methods of data collection ...... 50 2.6.2 Photo elicitation ...... 52 2.6.3 Disposable cameras ...... 53

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 9 2.6.4 Participant observation ...... 54 2.7 Presentation / Building Narrative ...... 54 2.7.1 Technical methods ...... 54 2.8 Relationship Between Text and Image...... 55 2.9 Case Study – Photo Essay ...... 56 2.10 Conclusion...... 65

CHAPTER 3 – URBAN LIFE...... 66

3.1 Introduction...... 66 3.2 Urban Sociology...... 66 3.3 Visual Sociologists and the Urban...... 67 3.4 Social Phenomena...... 68 3.5 Case Study 1 – Life in the Elephant / Heygate Estate ...... 69 3.6 Case Study 2 – Shoichi Aoki – Tokyo – Fruits...... 74

CHAPTER 4 – DOCUMENTATION OF CITY CREATURES – TOKYO PRACTICAL COMPONENT ...... 80

4.1 City Creatures – Documentation of a Visually Observable Phenomenon in a Major City ....80 4.1.1 Background to the project...... 80 4.1.2 Observable phenomenon / hypothesis – City Creatures...... 80 4.2 Cultural Context – The Importance of Wrapping in Japanese Society ...... 81 4.3 Urban Sociological Context – Human Ecology Approach...... 83 4.4 The Aim of the Investigation...... 84 4.5 Photographic Technique ...... 85 4.6 The Process of Documentation – Unwrapping Urban Creatures – A Personal Account...... 87 4.7 Presentation ...... 90 4.8 The Wrapping of Images ...... 92

CHAPTER 5 – CONCLUSION / SUMMARY OF FINDINGS ...... 94

REFERENCES...... 97

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 10 INTRODUCTION

As a practising editorial photographer it was my intent, via this research, to explore the possibilities of making photographic imagery that conveys more meaningful and rich social representations. Perhaps the relatively new field of visual sociology would hold the answers to achieving this.

In my initial phase of research I developed an absolute intrigue about how an established academic discipline, sociology, concerned with the study of human social behaviour could possibly shun the visual. When human perception of society is so largely primarily visual, how could this integral sense be traditionally excluded by a discipline?

This intrigue, combined with a will to improve my own photographic practice, to make images that exist as rich social reflections, led me to research the field of visual sociology and the potential of the still photographic image as a tool within the field.

Also contributing to this research was my existing knowledge of the prevailing genre of documentary photography, that through its development largely seems to have followed a particular formula that pertains towards the documentation of the underprivileged and disaster in life; photography driven by the will to show to the world the gross inequality and the injustice that exists.

This type of imagery, is ubiquitously accepted as photo-documentary in genre within my photojournalistic industry and perhaps has still central to its core a will to create images that aspire to revealing a social truth via their fly on the wall style of approach. Certainly, I am aware of the somewhat vast extent of different genres of the contemporary document, but from the perspective of practising photojournalists, these genres would be considered more in terms of artistic expression. Can a classic documentary style of photography be more relevant to contributing to knowledge about societies, without necessarily reverting to the

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 11 tendency to want to reveal social injustices. Can documentation of more everyday patterns of human behaviour create strong socially reflective imagery?

METHODOLOGY

The research methods this study employed are as follows.

A review of literature about the history of social documentary photography and more specifically major photographic projects that have been considered to offer sociological analysis including those that were not classified at the time as being pieces of visual sociology.

A literary investigation of the primary established methods of visual data collection within the field of visual sociology as well as an investigation into the sub-discipline of urban sociology and the role of the image in contemporary urban investigation.

The practical component of this research includes an extensive photographic investigation over a one-month period in the city of Tokyo. The resulting images titled City Creatures, offer a visual urban cultural survey informed by a conceptual framework and qualitative methods of visual data collection established within the field of visual sociology.

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 12 CHAPTER 1

1.1 Introduction – A History of Visual Sociology

This chapter provides an introduction to the origins of visual sociology and establishes an understanding of its history and the factors that led to its emergence. In doing so it explains its relevance to sociology and links with documentary photography. The chapter discusses a number of historical photographic case studies that are pertinent to the area.

1.2 Visual Sociology

The term visual sociology has emerged, as its name implies, from the field of sociology. It refers to the use of visual tools in the investigation of social phenomena. Visual tools can include such things as video, drawing and still photography. This research concentrates solely on still photographs as a means of visual data collection.

Howard Becker coined the term visual sociology in the 1970s in an attempt to give legitimacy to the use of visual media within the field of sociology.

Aspiring to empirical methods of research, mainstream sociologists believed that the subjective nature of the photographic image deemed it a redundant method of enquiry. Becker, on the other hand, recognised the potential of images to inform social research.

To gain a deeper understanding of the field, it is important to understand the origin of this conflict of perspectives. Looking at the way the field of sociology developed, it is possible to gain an understanding of the history of visual sociology and the factors that led to its emergence.

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 13 1.3 Sociology

Sociology is a social science that aims to empirically appreciate the complexity of social life (Marvasti, 2004, p 2). It is an academic discipline that emerged early in the 19th century. It is widely accepted that Auguste Comte was the first person to coin the term in 1838.

The field first emerged as a type of natural science, a natural science of society. It emerged in a spirit of positivism, where there existed a general belief in objective vision. Sociology based itself on the theoretical principles of natural science, believing that human behaviour was quantifiable.

Many researchers argued that methodologies used in existing disciplines of the natural sciences were applicable to the study of society without any adaptation. Sociology aspired to be recognised as an empirical science that had positivist aspirations. Positivistic sociology is grounded in a vision of social reality that is based on self-evident truths that resemble physical laws of nature (Marvasti, 2004, p 4). A positivist belief is one that assumes that everything is quantifiable and explainable. Sociologists have often relied on quantitative methods of social research to describe large patterns of social relationships in order to develop models that can predict social change.

Sociology set out making a huge claim, that human behaviour can be studied just like chemistry or physics. The argument about whether or not sociology is a science still burns hot, with the majority of orthodox practitioners working using methodology that is based on scientific practice – that is, starting with a sociological concept, from observation, and going out and testing it. In the case of a natural science this would translate to developing a hypothesis and going out and testing it to see if it holds true. Whether or not a sociological concept can be proven is based on such things as replication (the ability to repeat a piece of research and get the same results), data reliability (the way statistics are collected) and validity (the extent to which the date we collect gives a true measurement /

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 14 description of social reality). In other words, sociology aims to produce data that actually reflects / measures what is really happening in society.

Of course sociology has evolved via different theories throughout its development, most of which have not moved too far from this core approach. Visual sociology however, did stray away from this empirical approach by introducing qualitative methods of visual data collection. Howard Becker, a trained professor in sociology, was early to see the shortcomings of the discipline that had so far shunned the visual. Becker recognised that sociologists had much to learn from the practices of photographers / photojournalists and vice versa.

1.4 So Where Do Images Fit into All of This?

Photography coincidentally emerged at much the same time as the advent of sociology. Photography was also born in an era of belief in objective vision and was at first hailed as being able to represent the reality of society. People viewed photography as being a perfect, faithful reflection of the society in which we live. Louis Jacques Mende Daguerre is seen as being the originator of the first photographic technique in 1839 (a year after Comte coined the term sociology), the Daguerrotype, fixing an image on a metal plate. The first photographs were seen as being empirical in nature, possessing a natural and neutral vision. Photography was therefore initially seen as being complementary to natural scientific endeavours.

The general belief in the photograph as representing truth and objective vision did not last for long and the subjective nature of the photographic image was soon realised. The photographic image is subjective in nature because of such things as the photographers choice of what to include and exclude in the frame, choice of angle, lighting technique, situational influences etc. All these elements combine together to create images that are full of subjective meaning. Mainstream sociology, therefore never really accepted photography as a legitimate method of data collection because of the mediums inherent subjective nature. Despite its

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 15 scientific applications, photographic imagery that concerned itself with society as its focus has been deemed as being ambiguous in nature to the majority of sociologists who aim at making the meaning of things empirical and certain.

For sociologists who maintain that the area of enquiry should remain empirical and scientific in nature, photography seems to be a redundant method. For progressive sociologists who are looking to create richer records of social life around them with multi-layered meaning, photography, the image, the observable is inextricable from social life. Human behaviour is of course not quantifiable and the very ambiguities that make photography a fringe method of sociological enquiry are the ambiguities that can contribute to rich, multidimensional social reflections and insights.

Beckers visual sociology, therefore signalled a paradigm shift in sociological research, by accepting photography and other visual means as legitimate aids in the investigation of social phenomena.

1.5 Documentary Photography

Despite the fact that the term visual sociology only emerged in the 1970s, there were projects undertaken before this time, primarily photographic in nature, which are relevant to the field. Visual sociology has historical roots in the field of documentary photography.

The term documentary photography is closely associated with the first major black and white photography projects that had a social focus. The term usually refers to photographs where the photographer has attempted to produce truthful, objective and usually candid photography of a particular subject, most often pictures of people. As previously stated, despite an attempt at conveying truth, a photograph will always be, to an extent, a subjective interpretation of reality – none the less the intent at revealing truth is apparent in this genre. Some of the historical photographic projects in this documentary genre, while being significant in general

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 16 terms to the history of photography are also seen by practitioners of visual sociology as being legitimate pieces of sociological enquiry.

The following section will explore some of the major historical photographic projects that are important to the history of documentary photography as well as the history of visual sociology. For now, it is important not to get caught up with the labels. Whether an image is a piece of documentary photography or a piece of visual sociology, social photography or photojournalism is largely debatable and most importantly all a matter of the context in which the work is presented. Beckers Visual Sociology, Documentary Photography, and Photojournalism: Its (Almost) All a Matter of Context (Prosser, 1998), is a very informative piece of writing that explores this concept.

What is important now is to establish that this research is concerned with images that focus upon generating sociological meaning – that is, meaning about the physical society in which we live. The following projects are some of the first photographic projects that provide a comprehensive insight into an aspect of society, they are documentary in nature and by making a contribution to our understanding of society they hold sociological value. It should be mentioned here that an abundance of socially concerned photographic projects exist that would be relevant and worthy of mention. However, the following historical photographic case studies have been highlighted due to their mention in current key texts that form the foundation and examine the emergence of the field of visual sociology.

1.6 Case Studies

1.6.1 Case Study 1: Jacob Riis – How the Other Half Lives, 1890

Jacob Riis, in his photographic investigation of New York slums, is considered to be the first photographer to have offered a comprehensive visual study about a social problem and one of the first photographers to be seen as working in a documentary manner. Riis was a Danish immigrant who was a practising journalist in New York. His book How the Other Half Lives published in 1890, called for

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 17 social change by alerting the viewer to the appalling conditions in which people lived in the slums of New York.

Although sociological in nature, the work has been highly criticised by many, including Susan Sontag, a well-known critic and photographic theorist, who pointed out that Riis was a typical bourgeois who wanted to show the members of his own social class some degraded places in the city (Capovilla, 2003, p 3). Riiss work could be seen to be lacking in understanding and exacerbating a myth, as he was not personally involved with the people he was photographing and did not attempt to immerse himself in or to be obligated to the social situation he was documenting. It could be said that his work offered an almost cold outside perspective looking in.

It was Riiss intention to reveal the actuality of the slums of the lower Eastside of New York and he developed a technique for achieving this. He would often enter into these slum areas in the dark of night, silent and unannounced. He would make an exposure using the rather unsubtle photographic technology of the time, with a startling burst of magnesium flash and then disappear as fast as he had come. The final book / essay, consisted of fifteen half-tone photographs and forty-three drawings based on photographs. Whilst not internally categorised, the book epitomised a general social class categorisation with its depiction of working-class people living in poverty. The images were accompanied by factual data Riis gathered from Dr Roger S. Tracy, Registrar of Vital Statistics. These statistics combined with Riiss reputation as an investigative journalist, gave the book credibility. Also to his credit, instead of simply alerting the viewer to the social issue, Riis also proposed some solutions to the problems he documented. It is the combination of photographic documentation with substantive written text that work together here to provide comprehensive insight into this social problem of the time and what makes this work relevant in terms of providing knowledge about a social phenomena.

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 18 The work was one of the first pieces of urban sociology that helped to establish the first building codes for urban development. Similarly, the photographic work by the sociologist Lewis Hine, that documented child labour, resulted in the development of the first child labour laws. The next pages show a number of images from the book.

Figure 1 – Jacob Riis. Bunks in a seven-cent lodging-house, Pell Street

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 19 Figure 2 – Jacob Riis. Fighting tuberculosis on the roof

Figure 3 – Jacob Riis. Hell's Kitchen and Sebastopol

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 20 Figure 4 – Jacob Riis. In the home of an Italian rag-picker, Jersey Street

Figure 5 – Jacob Riis. Old Mrs. Benoir, an Indian woman, in her Hudson St. attic

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 21 Figure 6 – Jacob Riis. Prayer-time in the nursery Five Points House of Industry

Figure 7 – Jacob Riis. Street Arabs in night quarters

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 22 Figure 8 – Jacob Riis. The man slept in this cellar for four years, about 1890

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 23 1.6.2 Case Study 2: Margaret Mead – Balinese Character – A Photographic Analysis, 1942

Figure 9 – Mead. From Balinese Character

Over the period from 1936 to 1939, Margaret Mead and fellow anthropologist Gregory Bateson conducted a study into the role of culture in personality formation, photographically and textually documenting interactions between parents and children, rituals and ceremonies of the Balinese in Indonesia. The project is perhaps the most significant in the history of visual anthropology and has been widely accepted within the field of anthropology as a legitimate study. This is because the nature of the project was so extensive, occurring over a substantial time duration and employing thorough methodology. Mead and Bateson were formally trained in anthropology and only employed the use of photography as a means of data collection after a period of almost ten years of research. They had reached a point in their research where they found the English language to be inadequate for describing all aspects of Balinese life.

Anthropology can be described as the study of humanity. Anthropologists are scientists who study human beings and their origins, distribution and relationships. Anthropology has a more holistic focus than sociology – an anthropological project is more likely to look at an entire human culture whereas sociology is more likely to look at a smaller phenomenon within that culture. Therefore an anthropological

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 24 project is more likely to be of larger scale over a longer duration than a sociological one. Anthropology has suffered exactly the same crisis as sociology when it comes to including images in research within the field. The use of photographs has generally been seen as contentious in both disciplines for the same reasons throughout their histories.

Mead and Bateson made 25,000 photographs over a period of two years, 759 were included in the 100 plates of the final publication. The images and accompanying text were classified in categories that included topics relevant to Balinese culture, some of which addressed social organization. (Capovilla, 2003, p 5).

Each photograph is part of a two page layout, one page devoted to photographs, the other to two kinds of text: a one or two paragraph interpretive essay, these essays having further context in a long introductory theoretical essay on culture and personality (Prosser, 1998, p 88). In other words, text and image serve in a symbiotic relationship to establish a cohesive context. In this way the meaning conveyed to the reader is to a great extent prescribed and unambiguous, hence the importance of context.

Whilst this method of photographic enquiry exemplified by Mead has been appropriated in many ethnographic studies, photography continued only to be accepted by a minority in the field of anthropology. Balinese Character is referred to repeatedly by key academics within the majority of core texts that exist in the area of visual sociology. It must be recognised however that Meads work remains largely contested, the question mark of authenticity of her fieldwork residing with many informed in the field of anthropology.

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 25 1.6.3 Case Study 3: Edward Steichen – Family of Man, 1955, New York Museum of Modern Art

Figure 10 – Installation view of Family of Man - original exhibition 1955 MOMA

Another significant photographic study that has been considered in sociological terms is The Family of Man. The exhibition came to fruition in counter response to World War II at the time. It attempted to communicate a global human unison in counterbalance to troubled times of conflict. Categorisation of images, in this case within thirty-seven themes, was essential in conveying the intended meaning to the viewer. The images were organised according to universal themes, such as birth, work and love (Warner, 2002, p 312). Single images were fundamentally removed from their everyday context and thoroughly recontextualised in exhibition form, serving to convey a prescribed and intended meaning.

The curator of the exhibition, photographer Edward Steichen, intentionally selected images that worked together in communicating human similarities rather than differences. Five hundred and three photographs from sixty-eight countries were selected and hung in a way that communicated his rather utopian aim. The exhibition, although considered to be a milestone in photographic history, was

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 26 criticised by some as promoting a myth about human existence. Roland Barthes, a prominent photographic theorist expressed that The Family of Man ignored the roots and reasons of diversity as well as the political and economic conditions that create it in favour of a comforting message, “were all alike under the skin” (Dutton, 2003, pp 32–43).

The exhibition remains historically to be one of the most successful and well received by the public ever, with over 10 million visitors from sixty-nine different countries. It is now permanently housed in Luxembourg. The following pages show a selection of images from the exhibition.

Figure 11 – Eiju Otaki. Ars Camera

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 27 Figure 12 – Anna Riwkin-Brick. Israel

Figure 13 – Eugene Harris. Popular photography

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 28 Figure 14 – Ihei Kimura. Japan

Figure 15 – Unosuke Gamou. Japan

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 29 1.6.4 Case Study 4. Robert Frank – The Americans, 1959

It was Robert Franks intention to show a cross-section of the American population. My effort was to express it simply and without confusion. The view is personal and, therefore, various facets of American life and society have been ignored. (Prosser, 1998, p 90.)

In his paper Visual Sociology, Documentary Photography, and Photojournalism: Its (Almost) All a Matter of Context, Becker considers Franks photo essay as a piece of visual sociology. In contrast to the photographic projects mentioned so far, Franks The Americans offers a more subtle approach to visual cultural surveying. While his statement about American society and politics is not made explicit, it is however embedded in the images themselves when viewed as a series.

Franks essay offers an alternative insight into American culture in an era when more optimistic photography was the norm, Family of Man existing as an example of this. It was however at the time contested as perhaps not being worthy of the label documentary as it used subjective, unconventional camera techniques. Frank would intentionally lose focus, his work was shadowy and grainy, full of unconventional cropping and angles. He broke the rules in order to be true to his vision of the America he saw in his travels across the country in 1955 and 1956. (Kunieuther, 2003.)

The work is recognised as a substantive piece of documentary because of the adequate re-creation of context surrounding the images and their re-presentation in the form of a book. We learn that a well-dressed man is a rich and powerful man in “Hotel Lobby – Miami Beach”, in which a large middle aged man is accompanied by a woman wearing an expensive fur.

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 30 Figure 16 – Robert Frank. Hotel Lobby – Miami Beach

We learn that politicians are big, thus powerful, men in “City Fathers – Hoboken, New Jersey”, in which a group of such men fill a political platform. (Prosser, 1998, p 90.)

Figure 17 – Robert Frank. City Fathers – Hoboken – New Jersey

Via Franks repeated use of such motifs and symbols throughout the book, a visual narrative emerges that describes his rather critical insight into American culture.

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 31 Whilst historically viewed as a piece of social documentary, Becker points out that the book could have been considered a piece of visual sociology had this conveyed meaning been made more explicit via more concrete contextualisations. To qualify as a piece of visual sociology we would probably ... want to know more about what we were seeing. What are they doing? ... we would want to know more clearly what Frank was telling us of the nature of American politics (Prosser, 1998, p 91).

Becker goes on to say that, had this textual concretisation occurred the work may still not have been accepted as a work of scientific sociology because of its unorganised nature and lack of traditional categorisation, consisting of fragmented indecisive moments (Prosser, 1998).

Some more images from the book appear on the following pages.

Figure 18 – Robert Frank. Elevator – Miami Beach

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 32 Figure 19 – Robert Frank. Parade – Hoboken – New Jersey

Figure 20 – Robert Frank. Television studio – Burbank California

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 33 Figure 21 – Robert Frank. Charleston – South Carolina

1.7 Conclusion

These historical photographic examples are key examples of substantive photographic investigations. The degree to which they can be considered as 'valid' pieces of visual sociology is largely related to the extent to which the presented images have been enveloped by text, making their intended meaning explicit via comprehensive recreation of surrounding context. They nonetheless form the historical basis upon which contemporary theorists in the field of visual sociology have developed their methodology and practice. Perhaps there is contention with all of them that crops up if they are to be considered in terms of their degree of representing truth and authenticity, that documentary photography has traditionally aspired to. Viewed, however in the light that a complete truth is not able to be represented, only an aspect or part of a truth, these examples shine as rich and multi-layered in their social meaning and communication.

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 34 CHAPTER 2

2.1 Introduction

This chapter briefly addresses the history of the photo essay as a traditional format via which to present photographic documentation. In doing so it looks at two major organisations that have a long history nurturing documentary photography and the photo essay. It then goes on to discuss established methods of data collection that visual sociologists employ in their creation of imagery, that have made the photo essay as a means of social representation more rigorous. Presentation techniques are simultaneously considered in this chapter, concentrating on the importance of the relationship between image and text that is key in shaping narrative that drives the photo essay.

2.2 The Photo Essay

The photo essay, or picture story, is a powerful means of communication. The term photo essay refers to the presentation of a series of still photographs together with the written word. The purpose of the photo essay is to convey a substantial narrative, to tell a story that reveals insights about an aspect of the world we live in. A series of photographic images, even without text, can still be considered as a photo essay.

In describing the photo essay method, Eugene W. Smith, (Magnum member and Life Magazine photographer) once said. The essay is relationships between photos. One must develop an awareness of the relationships, instead of just taking pictures. A person can go out and take pictures forever, and still never be able to unite, or bring together, these photos into a single theme, unless they have thought about the entire story or essay. The photos must be related, one photograph says something about the subject, the next may amplify on that subject, or may add its own dimension to the subject. (Kobre, 1979)

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 35 2.3 Magnum

The international photo agency Magnum, is the most significant photography agency with a documentary focus. Established in 1947 by four photographers, Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson, George Rodger and David Seymour, the agency has at its heart the obligation of its members / photographers to actively record a multitude of human experiences around the world. In 1962, Cartier- Bresson in an address to photographers said: I wish to remind everyone that Magnum was created to allow us, and in fact oblige us, to bring testimony on our world and contemporaries according to our own abilities and interpretations (Ritchin, 1997).

His comment was made with concern that photographers were being too influenced by the commercial demands of their clients and not driven by their own way of seeing. Today there are over sixty Magnum photographers working worldwide, their work continuing to make a large contribution to the finest photo stories internationally.

2.4 Life Magazine

Magnum is perhaps the most significant agency in terms of its dedication to producing bodies of work / photo stories that serve as a testament to world occurrences. However, in terms of publications that have served to promote the use of the photo essay as an effective means of communication, Life Magazine is perhaps the most significant.

Life Magazine was one of the first publications that utilised the potential of the photo essay. Established in 1936, its philosophy was To see life, to see the world, to witness great events, to value the faces of the poor and the gestures of the proud, to see strange things (Holloway & Beck, 2005, p 146).

Published as a weekly in the years 1936–72, Life established itself as a reputable source of photojournalism, increasing awareness about important social issues in

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 36 the United States and internationally. Most of the pictures published in Life were published as photo essays. On the occasion that a single picture was published it was usually representative of a larger body of work. Each issue included a comprehensive photo essay about a current issue / theme. Text was usually kept relatively brief, serving as an extended caption accompanying the images.

Following is one of the original essays published in Life in the late 1930s. The essay is about the Scottsboro Boys, on trial at the time for rape – the famous American trial, in which all nine boys were initially sentenced to death and only nine years later all acquitted. The trial is regarded historically as one of the greatest injustices to have occurred against black American people.

The photo story was originally presented within the context of a photojournalistic article published in Life, that traditionally had as its focus a picture-driven form of journalism.

The complete pages follow as they appeared in Life Magazine, 1937 (Boyle, 1937).

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 37 Figure 22 – Life Magazine – Photo essay Page 1 – Scottsboro Boys

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 38 Figure 23 – Life Magazine – Photo essay Page 2 – Scottsboro Boys

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 39 Text published with the images.

Since the March day in 1931 when Clarence Norris, Charlie Weems and seven other stripling blackamoors were taken off a freight train at Paint Rock, Ala., near Scottsboro, and accused of raping two white females vagrants named Victoria Price and Ruby Bates, the Scottsboro Case has wound through an expensive and apparently interminable series of trials. All of the Scottsboro boys except Roy Wright, the youngest, have been condemned to death at least once, and the lives of Norris and Haywood Patterson have twice been saved by the U.S. Supreme Court. From the beginning the Boys themselves were obscured in the miasma of old hatreds which arose when Northern liberals and Communists rushed down to defend them as martyrs to Southern injustice and intolerance, and Alabamians struck back at the malicious interference of Yankees, Reds and Jews. But after six years, tempers on both sides have cooled. The longtime prosecutor, Lieutenant Governor Thomas E. Knight Jr., died last May. The defense attorney who so infuriated the South, famed Samuel Leibowitz of New York, made no appearance at the arraignment. Last month the Montgomery Advertiser, which long howled for the Boys' blood, spoke for many an Alabamian when it called for a compromise which would end the case for good, declaring: "Scottboro has stigmatized Alabama throughout the civilized world." The current series of trial is scheduled to progress at the rate of two Boys per week for four weeks. (Patterson, tried last year, is under a 75-year sentence.) Whatever their fate, the Scottboro Boys whose Birmingham jail portraits appear on the pages, are already assured a place in U.S. history.

Individual photographs follow extracted from the pages (refer to caption information).

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 40 Figure 24 – Clarence Norris – Scottsboro Boys

Clarence Norris, 24, who was raised on a farm and worked as a stonemason's helper in Atlanta, is the dandy of the outfit. He plasters his hair with strong- perfumed grease, keeps his shirt and overalls neat and clean. His illiterate mother sends him letters when she can get somebody to write them.

Figure 25 – Andy Wright – Scottsboro Boys

Andy Wright, 25, is the best-natured of the Boys. He confidently expects to go free and get back his old job as truck driver for a wholesale grocer named Talley in Chattanooga. He enjoys girl correspondents in California and Florida.

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 41 Figure 26 – Haywood Patterson – Scottsboro Boys

Haywood Patterson, 24, the best-known of the Scottsboro Boys, is vain, publicity- loving, unpopular. A onetime Chattanooga grocery-store helper, he now corresponds regularly with expatriate Author Kay Boyle, British Negrophile Nancy Cunard.

Figure 27 – Charlie Weems – Scottsboro Boys

Charlie Weems, 26, whose parents are dead, gets a letter every week from his aunt Gussie McElroy. Tall and ungainly, he used to be a deliveryboy at Watson's drug store in Atlanta, says that if he gets out of jail: "I wants to fly an airship."

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 42 Figure 28 – Eugene Williams – Scottsboro Boys

Eugene Williams, 21, a sullen, shifty mulatto, used to be a dishwasher in Chattanooga's Dixie Cafe, usually tries to impress interviewers with his piety. Behind the barred door which he clasps (above) is Andy Wright's brother Roy, 20, youngest and smartest of the Boys, who refused to be photographed.

Figure 29 – Willie Roberson – Scottsboro Boys

Willie Roberson, 21, has been cured of a disease since he went to jail. Like the rest of the Boys, he gets newspapers from friends and $10-per-month pocket money from the Communist International Labor Defense and Scottsboro Defense Committee.

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 43 Figure 30 – Olen Montgomery – Scottsboro Boys

Olen Montgomery, 24, is frail, gentle and half-blind, spending most of his time singing and twanging a one-string tenor guitar. He has composed a Lonesome Jailhouse Blues, which begins: "All last night I walked my cell and cried. Cause this old jailhouse done get so lonesome I can't be satisfied."

Figure 31 – Ozie Powell – Scottsboro Boys

Ozie Powell, 22, is under indictment for assault with intent to kill, as well as for rape. Returning from Patterson's fourth trial last year, he stabbed a deputy and got a blast of buckshot in the head. Powell went through the first grade but he can barely spell out words. Nobody writes to him.

This layout is effective, as the images work together with text in a symbiotic relationship, one supporting the other. It is also the personal detail conveyed in the caption information that is effective in creating rich and multi-layered communication.

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 44 The emotive text / extended captions that accompany each portrait are key in creating a context around the images, that are otherwise pretty much straight portraits with no real aesthetic regard. Meaning is conveyed successfully via this personal descriptive prose that is effective in painting an emotive particular picture. While the series could be criticised for being derogatory in its portrayal of black Americans, given the historical climate of racial discrimination, the essay is in fact progressive for its time, by giving black Americans individual faces and indirectly evoking empathy in the viewer.

Photographers all have different personal approaches to their projects. A great deal can be learnt about what goes into creating an effective series of photographs by listening to the personal accounts of photographers. The reputable photographer Mary Ellen Mark imparts a great deal about her personal approach to projects in an interview with Constance Sullivan. An abstract from the transcript follows, that emphasises the importance of establishing rapport with subjects as a starting point for an effective series of images.

Question But in a situation like Ethiopia, or the home for the dying in Calcutta, in circumstances that would be overwhelming in a lot of ways – visually, emotionally, psychologically – how do you know where to start?

Answer You just go in and start. It is overwhelming, and the older I get the more overwhelming it becomes. That's why my current work on the Indian circus is a relief because it's not about confronting something that is so terribly emotionally overwhelming and depressing, but is more about the magic and whimsy of the circus, and my love for India. I immediately try to make a relationship with the people I'm photographing, so I'm not an anonymous person to them. Within the relief camp of Korem in Ethiopia, I photographed the same places every day. There were maybe forty different tents where people were living and dying; I confined my photographs to three tents. I'd go back every day and see the same

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 45 people. This kind of personal contact in some ways makes it easier for me to deal emotionally with difficult subjects – but it also makes it harder for me to leave. Leaving Ethiopia was especially difficult (Sullivan, 1990).

Mark is a contributing photographer to The New Yorker and has published photo essays and portraits in such publications as Life, New York Times Magazine, Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair over almost three decades. Her process as described above refers to a fluid personal approach that is not limited to a prescribed methodology. Mark highlights the importance of rapport and relationship building with the person that she is documenting. Traditionally, this personal approach may be criticised by some as intervening with a natural state, so that the resulting images are somehow influenced by the photographers presence. In Marks case it is this very process that enables her to create strong situational portraits.

The following images form one of her photo essays about Indian street performers, referred to in the extract of the interview.

Figure 32 – Mary Ellen Mark. Indian Street Performers – 1981

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 46 Figure 33 – Mary Ellen Mark. Indian Street Performers – 1981

Figure 34 – Mary Ellen Mark. Indian Street Performers – 1981

Figure 35 – Mary Ellen Mark. Indian Street Performers – 1981

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 47 Figure 36 – Mary Ellen Mark. Indian Street Performers – 1981

Figure 37 – Mary Ellen Mark. Indian Street Performers – 1981

Figure 38 – Mary Ellen Mark. Indian Street Performers – 1981

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 48 Figure 39 – Mary Ellen Mark. Indian Street Performers – 1981

Figure 40 – Mary Ellen Mark. Indian Street Performers – 1981

Figure 41 – Mary Ellen Mark. Indian Street Performers – 1981

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 49 2.5 The Photo Essay and Visual Sociology

It is important in the context of visual sociology to consider methods that visual sociologists use in their formation of photo essays. Visual sociologists have established certain methods of visual data collection that form the basis of their photographic enquiry.

This chapter has so far concentrated on the traditional photo essay, in terms of its history and as a journalistic tool. It is now important to place this knowledge in the context of visual sociology. In many instances, photo stories are created without actual knowledge of the established methods that visual sociologists use. This does not mean they are less valid in terms of imparting information about a given society. Knowledge about the established methods that visual sociologists employ however makes the photographer better equipped to create photo essays that are systematic and deliberate and likely to make a valid contribution to new knowledge about the particular society they are documenting. Visual sociologists, in developing comprehensive methodologies, have built upon the photo essay as a traditional means of social representation. As Becker observes, sociologists have much to learn from photographers and vice versa (Becker, 1974).

2.6 Methods of Visual Sociology

2.6.1 Overt / covert methods of data collection

I will take the theme of secondary school education as a topic to discuss this method of visual data collection. There is some debate about whether or not a co-educational environment is a more effective environment for learning than a single-sex schooling environment. If a social researcher wanted to explore this concept primarily via visual means they might take the following approach. First, they would develop a research question or hypothesis that single-sex educational environments are more conducive to learning than co-educational. This would be followed by some traditional research within a sociological framework. They would ask such questions as: Have there already been studies carried out in this area?

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 50 Have there been statistics gathered via primary means of data collection, or surveys that could provide a platform from which to enter this area of study? Once background information has been gathered about existing research the next step would be to decide how to approach the subject to gather visual data about it. In this situation a social researcher would consider choosing between covert and overt methods of visual data collection.

Covert visual data collection refers to the hidden use of visual recording devices, in this case the still camera. The researcher might be likely to approach this investigation by using a comparative technique, aiming to record visually the activities in both co-educational classrooms and single-sex classrooms. To approach this comparative investigation from a covert point of view, cameras would be placed in the room, for example on timers that would make pictures from various positions in the room at regular time intervals. If this technique were to be employed, the aim would be to create a visual record of the class proceeding as it would normally, with the knowledge that perhaps the actual presence of the photographer in the classroom could risk changing or influencing its usual progression. The aim would be to record the behaviour of students, their interactions with one another and their teacher throughout the progression of the class as it would usually occur.

Other means of covert data collection could involve the use of a long lens (zoom lens), to shoot pictures from a long distance away from the subject, or the use of totally hidden cameras, so that the presence of the photographer causes minimum interruption to the situation.

On the other hand a social researcher may choose to approach the situation using an overt approach. In the case of the classroom, this would mean having an active presence in the classroom, taking pictures throughout the progression of the class with the students knowledge.

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 51 This approach first requires that a rapport be established with the subjects. In this situation it would be necessary to introduce to the class the reason and purpose of the project in the hope that the group be positively reciprocal towards the idea. The social researcher would be likely to first map the overall environment, that is create photographs of the entire classroom. Later, when the subjects begin to become accustomed to the presence of the photographer it might be possible to approach individual students, in the aim of creating close-up documentation of their behaviour. It would usually be helpful to then revisit the classroom a number of times over an extended duration, until the students become used to and unaffected by the presence of the photographer (Prosser, 1998, pp 119–120). It is important to reiterate that this method, as well as the ones that this chapter will go on to discuss, are specific to the practices of visual sociologists and not those of the photojournalist. That is, they are relevant to an ongoing, grounded social research.

2.6.2 Photo elicitation

Photo elicitation refers to the use of images in an informal interview situation with the aim of eliciting a response from the subject. It is the most established and applied method of visual surveying. Another social situation will be used as an example – adaptation and assimilation of refugees to a local environment. Using an overt approach, lets assume the researcher has already spent a great deal of time with an individual, tracking their everyday activities, for example going grocery shopping, in their home environment, going to work alongside them. After an extensive body of work has been created (a large number of images, based around the individual), an informal interview would be conducted with the subject. The photographs that have already been shot become the centre tool in the interview process. The photographs are used as visual triggers together with the questions that are asked, Photographs act as a medium of communication between researcher and participant (Clarke-Ibanez, 2004, p 1512). For example, the researcher might show the subject a photo that they have taken of them in their new home with their new flatmates. This photo would be shown to the subject

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 52 and they would be asked to respond verbally about what the photo means to them, specific questions might be asked such as, how do they get along with their new flatmates? The visual image would then serve to perhaps elicit a stronger response than had the question been asked without it. The response that the subject gives could then be used as a textual caption when the image is presented later as part of a series in essay format.

Instead of then literally explaining the image with text, for example Sally with her new flatmates, the caption might consist of the comment that Sally made throughout the interview process My flatmates are great friends, they have become like family to me. This type of personal comment, together with the image would provide more meaning to the viewer than if the image appeared by itself, or with a simple explanatory caption. Photographs elicit extended personal narratives that illuminate the viewers lives and experiences, especially when viewed in a group setting (Schwartz, 1989).

2.6.3 Disposable cameras

The distribution of disposable cameras is a very effective means of visual data gathering. It is especially appropriate when researching a sensitive group or sub- culture in society. Lets say this time the social researcher is interested in researching the home lives of young urban Indigenous people in Sydney. It is ascertained that it would be difficult and time consuming to develop rapport enough to enter the lives and homes of a number of people. It would be less invasive and more effective to supply disposable cameras to individuals. So the researcher decides to supply disposable cameras to a group of young Indigenous people and ask them to go and take photographs of what is important to them at home, to photograph things that are significant to them over the duration of, say, a week. The photographic material generated from this activity could form the basis of a really emotionally strong collection of imagery, the aim being to elicit young people's perspectives on their local environments in a way that enabled them to choose and control what they wanted to depict (Morrow,

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 53 2001). By providing an outlet, a medium via which people are able to express themselves, this kind of process can initiate a sense of pride and empowerment within the participants, especially relevant with disadvantaged or minority social groups. A project like this, that culminates in the form of an exhibition can provide a platform for expression and discussion that can also instigate empowering results.

2.6.4 Participant observation

Another defined method is participant observation. This refers to when the social researcher / photographer immerses themselves in the situation being photographed. If the researcher, for example, were to document a housing commission and the effects that the environment has upon its residents, instead of just visiting the commission, they might decide to go and live there for a duration of time. This type of method aims at reducing the barrier between the observed and the observer. It encourages researchers to immerse themselves in the day-to-day activities of the people whom they are documenting with the aim of creating rich and accurate records of social life (Prosser, 1998, pp 119–22).

2.7 Presentation / Building Narrative

2.7.1 Technical methods

Some technical approaches to take into consideration are as follows. A photographic essay tends to be more effective when it utilises a number of different angles and photographic techniques.

Lets say a photographer wants to document a football match, the aim of which is to address how masculinity is represented in sport. An effective essay might include an overall shot that maps the location of the event, that is the entire stadium. It might then include a number of close-up shots of the crowd cheering, also a number of action shots, maybe shot with a long lens throughout the match, of individual players. The essay might also include a shot in the locker room after the game, taken with a wide-angle lens, that shows a wide shot of all the members

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 54 of the team. It could then also include further close-up shots, perhaps just detail of beads of sweat dripping from the faces of individual players. A series of images is more likely to convey meaning if they are shot from a wide variety of different perspectives, showing various levels of detail. This can help the viewer read meaning into the images.

Editing these images into a sequence where both the sequential narrative is considered, that is the actual time line over which the event occurred, as well as re-presented visual narrative that maintains interest, is important. For example close-ups of beads of sweat would be best juxtaposed by a wide shot of the whole locker room in the following frame to place the subject within a broader context and help drive the narrative of the story being told.

2.8 Relationship Between Text and Image

When presenting a photo essay, the accompanying caption information is crucial in providing more clues to the viewer about the images. As discussed before, this can be approached in a number of ways. It might be that the series of images is strong enough in its own right for each image to be accompanied by a simple description. Or the image could be accompanied by a quote from the subject, as referred to in the photo elicitation methodology, or it might be accompanied by a statistic that has no literal relation to the image but that throws light upon the broader issue that the essay documents.

This relationship between text and image is important in providing the viewer with a context in which to read the images and in driving the narrative of the story. It could be said that the substantive degree of text that envelops a photo story is key to forming a legitimate project in terms of fulfilling the criteria of what constitutes as a piece of visual sociology in terms of solid re-creation of surrounding context.

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 55 2.9 Case Study – Photo Essay

The following pages show an example of an effective photo essay that has been published as a book titled Alive With Alzheimers by Cathy Greenblat. It is an effective sequence of images that has been presented under themes, each image presented with a comprehensive caption that provides the viewer with more information about the photo. The captions provide the viewer with a personal account of the experiences of the patients depicted. This approach is helpful in creating a wider context in which the images sit, and establishes a type of empathetic and engaging narrative. The accompanying text is emotive because of the unlikely personal detail that is conveyed. The captions exist not as direct explanations of the images but to provide the viewer with additional personal detail that contributes to building an engaging series.

Greenblat employs an overt approach in her social visual surveying and one of participant observation, where she revisits the home regularly to establish a strong rapport with the community that surrounds the home. An excerpt from the introduction to the book is as follows.

More than 15 million people worldwide have been diagnosed with Alzheimers disease. They experience memory loss, confusion, and mood shifts. and they are often described as lost to their loved ones and to themselves. Cathy Greenblats photographs offer a fresh and hopeful vision of what is possible. Taken at Silverado, a residential facility in southern California, they show that people with Alzheimers remain very much alive when they are given quality care. (Greenblat, 2004)

The following pages refer to some images from the book.

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 56 Figure 42 – 1. Cathy Greenblat. Losses – Alzheimers “takes away” the people we love Igor loves his son and is very proud of him, but sometimes he doesnt recognize him.

Figure 43 – 1. Cathy Greenblat. Losses – Alzheimers “takes away” the people we love Ken took care of Liz during the first 10 years of her illness. Now he visits her every day at Silverado.

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 57 Figure 44 – 1. Cathy Greenblat. Losses – Alzheimers “takes away” the people we love MaryLou has stopped eating, but Carole succeeds in feeding her mother some ice cream.

Figure 45 – 1. Cathy Greenblat. Losses – Alzheimers “takes away” the people we love Edgar and Glenn are easily distressed when there is a lot of stimulation.

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 58 Figure 46 – 2. Cathy Greenblat. Knowledgeable, Loving Care Kevin is a caregiver on the east wing. Carmella loves it when he calls her “Grandma”.

Figure 47 – 2. Cathy Greenblat. Knowledgeable, Loving Care Larissa is warm to all the residents, but she has a special affection for Ruthie.

Figure 48 – 2. Cathy Greenblat. Knowledgeable, Loving Care Anna cant resist caressing the smooth cheek of Melissa, the daughter of one of the caregivers.

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 59 Figure 49 – 2. Cathy Greenblat. Knowledgeable, Loving Care Meredith receives the assistance she needs to maintain her well-dressed and elegant appearance. She was very stylish and happy at the July 4th party.

Figure 50 – 3. Cathy Greenblat. Pets Dorothy is always delighted when Stacey brings her dog Roxy to work with her.

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 60 Figure 51 – 3. Cathy Greenblat. Pets Sometimes Ruth fondles a cloth doll, but she is happier when she can pet Abby.

Figure 52 – 3. Cathy Greenblat. Pets Edith arrived from another institution where she was heavily medicated. She spent her first days at Silverado in bed where Cricket kept her company.

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 61 Figure 53 – Cathy Greenblat. Stimulation Everyone loved the music at the July 4th party.

Figure 54 – Cathy Greenblat. Stimulation Barbara visits her friend Mary Mabel every Wednesday. She takes part in the activities and helps Mary Mabel recall her past.

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 62 Figure 55 – Cathy Greenblat. Stimulation An excursion to the local pool hall can be fun even when you dont remember the rules for playing pool.

Figure 56 – Cathy Greenblat. STIMULATION Once the medications that kept her bedridden were reduced, Edith was able to take part in the excursion to the local racetrack. Her daughter went, too.

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 63 Figure 57 – Cathy Greenblat. Musical Memory In the beauty parlor, Hilda looks lost, detached from her own image in the mirror. She remembers little, including the location of her room at Silverado.

Figure 58 – Cathy Greenblat. Musical Memory At the piano it is another story. Everyone is astonished at Hildas musical talent and her musical repertoire of more than 300 songs.

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 64 Figure 59 – Cathy Greenblat. Musical Memory Pat, the program director, reports: “When I begin to sing, they begin to dance, and we have a good time together.”

2.10 Conclusion

This Chapter has explored the photo essay as a traditional means of presentation of imagery that is socially concerned. In doing so it has referred to key historical examples. It has then considered the various methods that visual sociologists have developed in aim of validating and making more rigorous the photo essay as a means of social representation. It concludes with an example of a photo essay that was undertaken by a practising visual sociologist, that effectively demonstrates the merging of the traditional photo essay with current methodology in visual sociology. The case studies referred to, have been chosen as key examples of the vast number of existing socially concerned photo essays that would also be relevant and worthy of examination in the context of this chapter.

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 65 CHAPTER 3 – URBAN LIFE

3.1 Introduction

This chapter introduces the sub-discipline of urban sociology. It looks at the empirical tradition of the field and the place of the image in its evolution. The chapter then goes on to examine the concept of social phenomena that make up the fabric of the city.

More than 50% of the worlds population lives in cities. Human behaviour is both influenced by the cityscape and the city in turn is influenced by the behaviour of its inhabitants. Like a large living organism, the city is in a constant state of flux and its fabric makes for inexhaustible material for the sociological eye.

This chapter refers to examples of how the camera can be utilised as an effective tool to map social phenomena that form the fabric of the city. It refers to the history of how sociologists have dealt with the study of the city and then moves on to contemporary examples of photographic projects that investigate an element of contemporary city life.

3.2 Urban Sociology

Urban sociology is a sub-discipline of sociology. While sociology concerns itself with the study of human behaviour generally, urban sociology is concerned with the study of human behavioural patterns and issues within the context of the city. The functioning of the city came to be of increasing significance and interest in the 20th century as the world became industrialised and cities began to grow rapidly. Theory produced by the Chicago School had the most significant influence upon the early development of the field.

In sync with its mother discipline at the time, sociology, the original Chicago School traditionally held a positivist approach to urban sociology. The school is known most for its urban ecology approach, the idea that the city grows as a

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 66 natural process and can be related to the study of biology for example. Despite this organic viewpoint, the majority of the schools scholars practised using empirical scientific techniques for the collection of data in order to explain social phenomena within the urban context. Researchers commonly used mapping techniques to produce information about processes of urbanisation. Official data including census reports, housing / welfare records, crime figures and other primary means of statistical data collection were used in relation to spatial maps of different geographical areas of a city.

Urban sociologists produced maps, such as spot maps to demonstrate the location of social problems / crime areas; rate maps which showed population by age, gender and ethnicity; and zone maps. The gathering of such data was created with the intention of producing knowledge that would inform urban planning and assist in the creation of future development (Bulmer, 1984).

3.3 Visual Sociologists and the Urban

Contemporary visual sociologists produce their own maps of life in cities. Not in the traditional sense of the geographical but visual maps that offer interpretations and insights about the city. In the era of the Chicago School, the city although subject to growth and a process of urbanisation, was perceived as a relatively tangible system of processes, organisation of space was perceived as being able to be faithfully mapped.

Cities however have become increasingly complex, dynamic places. Factors have emerged that make the city more difficult to map and analyse in a traditional way. Influences such as globalisation, the increasing importance of new information technologies and the increasing significance of socio-cultural diversity have affected the development of cities. These contemporary influences mean that the boundaries of the city are no longer necessarily actual or quantifiable, that is cities traverse geographical boundaries (Sassen, 2000). The city is a dynamic system of

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 67 visualisations and individual perceptions. Visual tools are appropriate in helping us map contemporary phenomena within the city.

Urban sociology can be broken down into two perspectives. First the macro- perspective that examines large-scale social systems, the processes of urbanisation, suburbanisation and the social organisation of industrial, corporate and post-modern cities. Secondly the micro-perspective that is concerned with everyday behaviours of local neighbourhoods, sub-cultures, networks and lifestyles (Giddens, 2006, pp 25-26).

The photographers / visual sociologists concern is with the micro, an interest in documenting visually observable organisational patterns, the nature of local suburbs, the sub-cultures that exist within them and the everyday life of urban individuals, to investigate the phenomena that grows between the cracks of the surface of the city.

3.4 Social Phenomena

A phenomenon, in social terms can be defined as an observable event within society. A society is made up of individuals, individuals form groups and these groups in turn possess various behavioural traits within their own entity and in their interaction with one another. Groups within society include the family unit, local community, religious, socio-economic, gender, racial, occupational and political. Urban sociology has as its core focus the concept of space, how social groups make sense of their place in society. How they use, contest and transform space forms the basis of urban sociological enquiry (Hutchison, 2000).

Visual sociologists are interested in exploring social phenomena visually, producing photographic images that offer insights about observable occurrences within society. A phenomena becomes such when it takes the form of an observable event that has multiple occurrences. The event is not simply a one-off anomaly but an observable pattern of behaviour or occurrence.

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 68 3.5 Case Study 1 – Life in the Elephant / Heygate Estate

The Elephant and Castle is a suburban area in the South of London which lies at the hub of the South London transport network. It was a bustling area from about 1880 until air raids throughout the Blitz in 1940 when much of the area was destroyed. The area was rebuilt and the terraced streets were replaced by high- density residential buildings. The Heygate Estate is a council housing estate that exists in the area currently.

The local council website visually documents contemporary life in the Elephant as well as providing an historical photographic comparison using photographs shot by the photographer Bert Hardy.

Included on the site are a number of photographic portraits taken of residents in their flats at the Heygate housing estate. These photos are accompanied by sound narration, consisting of first-hand accounts from residents relaying their experiences living on the housing estate. The interviews, from which these voice narrations are collected, were conducted in light of future proposed regeneration development plans that aim to revitalise the area and reduce current social issues at the estate (Chilvers, 2005).

Some of these portraits are included in the following pages with part of the voice narration transcribed in the caption information.

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 69 Figure 60 – Heygate Portraits – Carol Watson, 48 yrs

It used to be lovely around here, all the people were nice … theyre not so nice now, but it did just used to be a lovely area, it really did it was beautiful around here believe it or not. This has been the best estate Ive lived on. When I first came on the estate you used to be able to leave your window open, now you have to have bars on your doors, bars on your windows. Also the burglaries, the muggings, the drugs and everything around here, its always gone on, on this estate but its never been really a problem as such but I say for the past five years it has got worse, its like more in the open sort of thing. Area wise, I think, no matter where you go youre going to get it really no matter. It was a lovely estate.

Figure 61 – Heygate Portraits – Ismil Baduna, 51 yrs

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 70 Ive never been unemployed for nearly 35 years, since Ive been in this country I only changed three jobs, in 35 years. When I first moved in it was very very good, but after for, how can I say, about 10 years after its turned to hell. Theres a lot of troubles going on, there is a lot of noise outside, they used to come from all over the estates, they used to all come here, they used to play up to two, three oclock in the morning football, making a lot of noise, keep you awake all night. When I was working at that time, I couldnt get up early in the morning and go to work because of the noise. Theres a lot of things happening, now its getting worser and worser, yeah after they knock all this down and they move these bad people, they move them somewhere else, like a new group will come in.

Figure 62 – Heygate Portraits – Kevin Kerwan, 42 yrs

This was my first flat by myself, before that I lived in shared accommodation or squats, its the first time on my own. The worst things about it here? Um nothing really for me, its been alright, apart from just seeing the life that goes on around here, in stair wells and things. Drug use in the stairs and drug dealing around the estate… Im not sure what regeneration will actually mean, but I hope that it is generally for the people that are already here and that its an influx and not an out-flux, otherwise its just the Elephant and Castle no matter what you stick on it.

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 71 Figure 63 – Heygate Portraits – Pat Harding, 63 yrs

My first memories were that the Elephant and Castle was notoriously bad, this was when I was very young, when I was about 10 or 11, lots of gangs, used to be lots of fights and what have you, but I was very young. Well I came here, into a three bedroom place, with two young children, a boy and a girl and the best was that they had their own bedroom and they didnt have to bathe in the sink anymore, we had a bathroom. There was nothing very bad for a long, long time, because the children could play out without being run over, they could go onto the football pitch without us worrying. But gradually over the years different people came onto the Heygate and it got a bit dirty and children couldnt play out really without being looked at really, to make sure they were safe.

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 72 Figure 64 – Heygate Portraits – Tommy Tucker, 19 yrs

I was brought up on this estate, I used to come round to little Joshs house, with his cousin Alison, and we were best mates. The stuff we used to get up to when we were younger like, locking peoples knockers with fishing wire, tying up peoples doors with thick string, they used to run out and chase us, we used to throw eggs at people, water bombs, just living on an estate at the Heygate, we used to fight the estate across the road, the Rockingham. The bridge along from Rockingham to Heygate, we used to have our fights there, have camps in the garages with tellies and Playstations.

This project is successful as it provides a number of different perspectives and a cohesive context from which to interpret the images. The historical images presented alongside these portraits on the website are important in providing the viewer with some background about the history of the estate. They have also been taken as inspiration for children who currently live on the estate to, in turn, produce their own photographic account about urban life in the Elephant today.

The project successfully fulfilled a local council initiative to produce reflexive, personal dialogue around planned future development in the area. The strength of this series resides in its personal emotive approach, the text enabling the subjects

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 73 of the photographs to speak for themselves about their personal experience, which in turn creates a much more engaging experience for the viewer than had the images appeared without text.

3.6 Case Study 2 – Shoichi Aoki – Tokyo – Fruits

Tokyo is the biggest mega city in the world. There is no place more appropriate for investigation into the plethora of urban social phenomena. Photographer Shoichi Aoki documented Japans unique street-style fashion sub-cultures of the suburbs of Shibuya and Harajuku. Aoki sees his photographic documentation of the phenomena as a documentation of a revolution.

Many of the styles worn by young urban Japanese are inspired by Japans distinctive blending of cultures, a combination of Western and Eastern pop culture icons, anime, space-age cyber characters, punk and hippie fashions and traditional Japanese dress (Aoki, 2001).

The images following are taken from Aokis book Fruits that is almost a completely visual experience, devoid of text. The images offer a visually stimulating investigation into this contemporary urban fashion phenomenon. Despite their lack of re-created context via textual means, the series of images none the less convey significant information about the urban fashion phenomenon. This is because of the extensive survey of shots, the coherence of photographic technique employed and the strong visual nature of the phenomenon represented.

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 74 Figure 65 – Shoichi Aoki. Tokyo Fruits

Figure 66 – Shoichi Aoki. Tokyo Fruits

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 75 Figure 67 – Shoichi Aoki. Tokyo Fruits

Figure 68 – Shoichi Aoki. Tokyo Fruits

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 76 Figure 69 – Shoichi Aoki. Tokyo Fruits

Figure 70 – Shoichi Aoki. Tokyo Fruits

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 77 Figure 71 – Shoichi Aoki. Tokyo Fruits

Figure 72 – Shoichi Aoki. Tokyo Fruits

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 78 Figure 73 – Shoichi Aoki. Tokyo Fruits

Figure 74 – Shoichi Aoki. Tokyo Fruits

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 79 CHAPTER 4 – DOCUMENTATION OF CITY CREATURES – TOKYO PRACTICAL COMPONENT

4.1 City Creatures – Documentation of a Visually Observable Phenomenon in a Major City

4.1.1 Background to the project

As at the beginning of a study of a visual sociological nature, it is necessary to identify an observable social phenomenon. In the same way that traditional science starts with a hypothesis, visual sociologists also set out with a hypothesis, an observable phenomenon within society that they aim to visually document, not so much as to create a conclusion or a proof but rather to bring attention to its existence, generate new sociological knowledge and to, in turn, create social dialogue around it or a response.

This response may subsequently affect the very nature of the observed phenomenon as it morphs throughout the evolution of society.

4.1.2 Observable phenomenon / hypothesis – City Creatures

The series City Creatures aims to document an urban phenomenon in the Japanese urban context, a human social behavioural pattern that emerged in response to living and working in the urban environment.

The consumerist nature of the urban scape promotes the emergence of different occupational groups of urban people who are identifiable via their visual uniformed appearance and behaviour. Different occupational groups that are visually observable within the urban environment include bike couriers, window cleaners, police officers, security personnel, fire brigade officers, service station personnel, road workers etc.

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 80 The individuals who are members of these groups by virtue of their uniform and behaviour can be viewed in an abstract sense as a type of creature. Individuals within the context of the city by day and sometimes by night strip themselves of their individual identity and re-present themselves in the context of these groups. These groups then move in a state of flux with one another, in a symbiotic nature. Like a natural ecosystem, where if the circumstances surrounding one group change, the outcome is echoed in some way in other areas of the ecosystem, in response to the capitalist demands of the urban scape.

Nowhere is this phenomenon more obvious than in a mega city such as Tokyo. It is also universal and observable in any contemporary city. Japanese society is traditionally, somewhat ironically a very conformist and homogeneous culture. It is comprised of a rigid social framework where there are certain expected norms and processes. This conformist nature makes the phenomenon of the city creature perhaps more apparent and easily observable in Tokyo.

This practice-based component is embedded within two major frameworks or contexts. First, the cultural context, related to the historical importance of wrapping in Japanese society, and secondly, within the context of the human ecology approach, an urban sociological theory, first developed by the Chicago School. This chapter will go on to expand upon both of these contexts.

4.2 Cultural Context – The Importance of Wrapping in Japanese Society

The concept of wrapping is ubiquitous throughout all levels of Japanese society. It exists in easily observable and immediate examples, such as gift-wrapping and the careful wrapping of everyday food items. The phenomenon of wrapping also extends to traditional Japanese clothing, use of layers of language and the wrapping of space. What all of this wrapping in its different applications seems to share, is representation of the importance of formality and hierarchy in Japanese culture.

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 81 The most obvious form of wrapping in Japanese society is of course based around the ritual of gift-giving. The art of gift-wrapping in Japan is extensive, with certain customary modes of wrapping gifts for particular occasions. A formally wrapped gift for an auspicious occasion, for example a wedding, would be wrapped within a number of layers of paper and decorated with an emblem referred to as Noshi. The gift would then be most likely tied in this instance with crimson and white string, this combination of colours representing the most formality (Hendry, 1995, pp 15–17).

Different methods of wrapping, folding paper and combinations of colours are appropriate for different events and occasions, for example black and white, blue and white, or just plain white are used for funerals and condolence gifts (Hendry, 1995, p 16).

There are also many everyday examples where wrapping is ubiquitous in Japanese society – food and groceries are also wrapped with considerable care. Food is often presented as a set, in a presentation box, and sealed into place with cellophane. By carefully wrapping an object, one is apparently expressing politeness and care, care for the object, and therefore care for the recipient (Hendry, 1995, p 18).

Wrapping is representative of Japanese order, a correct and socially acceptable way of going about things. The concept of literal wrapping, referred to in the previous examples can be further witnessed throughout hierarchical levels of Japanese society. People are also traditionally wrapped, in Japanese society. Traditionally in Japan, the kimono is the most ubiquitous form of human wrapping, garments that represent layers of formality. Kimonos are wrapped around the body in several layers and just like a gift are then tied up with finishing sashes, the obi, which have intricate forms of tying. The more formal the occasion, or social standing of the wearer, the more layers one would wear. For example, a bride would wear an outer kimono for the actual marriage ceremony, heavy and

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 82 intricate, then perhaps a number of inner layers, of pure white kimonos (Hendry, 1995, p 76).

This representation of formality through non-verbal communication is traditional practice in Japan and so it is no wonder that the more contemporary forms of uniforms were assimilated too easily. The uniform also holds a certain formality and carries a non-verbal communication about the group that the wearer of the uniform belongs to. In the context of the city, the uniform is normally associated with someones role in their working life. Although obvious in any urban culture, the wearing of the uniform in Tokyo is particularly apparent. The individual is so well enveloped inside company packaging, that it is virtually impossible to break through this parcel to have any kind of interpersonal exchange (Hendry, 1995, p 87). In wearing a uniform an individual strips themselves of their personal identity and assumes the identity of the company, or the profession in which they work. Personal behavioural traits are also limited when wearing the uniform and the individual assumes a functioning formal role within the economy of the urban environment.

So the phenomenon of the city creature, although observable in any city is more clearly evident in Tokyo, because of Japans partiality for wrapping, and a homogeneous acceptance of hierarchy and adherence to order, in other words the ease of acceptance of the ordering principle of the uniform.

4.3 Urban Sociological Context – Human Ecology Approach

This practical investigation of the city creature is secondly embedded in the urban social context, the urban ecology approach. Urban ecology, as the Chicago School defined it, refers to the idea that the city grows as part of a natural process. Ecology is a term taken from a physical science: the study of the adaptation of plant and animal organisms to their environment. In the natural world, organisms tend to be distributed in systematic ways over the terrain, such that a balance or equilibrium between different species is achieved. The Chicago School believed

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 83 that the siting of major urban settlements and the distribution of different types of neighbourhoods within them can be understood in terms of similar principles (Giddens, 2005, p 895).

This notion can be further applied to the phenomenon of the city creature. Like an equilibrium of different species in the natural environment, different species of the human city creature are dispersed across the urban environment in a balance that exists in response to the primary purpose of existence of the contemporary city, that is the collective accumulation of capital.

The Chicago School developed the urban ecology approach in an era of industrialisation, so the question must be asked whether the urban ecology concept is still relevant in documenting / mapping the city in an era of globalisation and new information technology. Certainly the approach still holds relevance in terms of mapping the physical aspects of a capitalist urban environment even in a globalised era. Tokyo is a major hub in the contemporary translational urban system that currently traverses geographical boundaries. Physical behavioural patterns of human activity are none the less still apparent and particularly obvious in a homogeneous conformist city such as Tokyo, where uniformed behaviour prevails.

If we consider the focus of the two major contexts in which this practice based research is undertaken, we can see a merged focus. The documentation of the city creature as a phenomenon of cultural wrapping, a type of inherent urban functioning, with the aim of collective accumulation of capital.

4.4 The Aim of the Investigation

Over a period of one month the aim was to collect a series of images in Tokyo that visually convey this social phenomenon, a documentation of city creatures. The outcome, a series of images that are informed by theory in visual sociology and

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 84 urban sociology and provide a visual cultural map within a Japanese urban context.

4.5 Photographic Technique

The series was shot on film using a wide-angle lens, creating an effect that is close to that of a fish-eye lens; a lens designed for a digital camera mounted on a traditional film SLR, so that a vignette effect is created in-camera. The effect is that of a porthole and when presented as a series is intended to offer a porthole view into the urban fabric of Tokyo.

A trial-run using this technique had already been undertaken in Hong Kong. Following are some examples.

Figure 75 – Hong Kong 1

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 85 Figure 76 – Hong Kong 2

Figure 77 – Hong Kong 3

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 86 4.6 The Process of Documentation – Unwrapping Urban Creatures – A Personal Account

Throughout the one-month period I spent in Tokyo documenting the phenomenon of city creatures I was based at one location, a Ryokan in the suburb of Minowa. From this location I first endeavoured to develop a sense of familiarity with the vast number of suburbs of Tokyo and began an initial search for areas where I thought I was more likely to be able to document the city creature. After a week of developing a familiarity with the city and much walking I began the process of photographic documentation.

During that first week of familiarisation I visited a Japanese contact at the Australian Consulate for casual advice about my project. Through the process of some initial shots I had taken, I realised that the issue of intent was one, that because of language barriers, I was not able to explain to people I was photographing. I requested that my friend at the consulate write for me a brief explanation in Japanese as to why I was taking photographs.

Below is a copy of the original piece of paper that I used thereafter to communicate my intent to many of the people I photographed. I would approach people with the only Japanese words I had learnt before my arrival, May I take your photograph please? To further explain my intent I would then show the person the piece of paper with the brief written explanation of my project.

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 87 Figure 78 – Project Explanation in Japanese

Of course the written explanation did not refer to any such concept as the city creature, Japanese wrapping or urban ecology approach in urban sociology, instead it offered a simple explanation. It stated that I was Australian, interested in documenting life in Tokyo, and asked if I could take photographs of the person doing what they would normally do. The request made specific that the person, if they agreed, should continue going about their tasks as if they were unobserved, in a candid manner as if they were unaware they were being photographed. I found this generally to be a very effective means of introduction and despite the Japanese propensity for accepted social procedures of communication and a certain disregard for gaijin (foreigners), I found it usually to be met with warmth

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 88 and a certain sense of humour. People usually responded by laughing, with a certain disbelief that they should be of any interest photographically. This initial humour was then quickly overtaken by a sense of pride, people were quite happy at the prospect of being photographed working, doing what they do.

In the whole month I undertook this project, I was only met with a blunt no a couple of times. This really surprised me, because even in my work as a photographer with newspapers in Sydney I am often met with opposition by people being photographed in the street.

Despite this usual acceptance by people to be photographed I still struggled internally with the choice of approaching people in this manner, in an overt way, or to attempt to photograph people without their knowledge in the aim of creating uninfluenced documents of actual behaviour, in a covert manner. In the end, the final images are derived from a combination of approaches.

At the end of each couple of days of shooting, I would take my films to the photographic mega store Yodobashi Camera to be developed. On picking up the films, I would spend time in the store undertaking an initial edit of the films, with an eye magnifying glass and light-boxes provided in the store. This process enabled me to see where I was up to, what was beginning to emerge and certain sub- themes that were starting to develop.

An issue that emerged quite quickly was the question of aesthetics. I found throughout the month of documentation a tricky imbalance between aesthetics and informational content. With many frames I had achieved a documentation of a particular occupational group identified by uniform, but the image was perhaps un- aesthetic and not particularly compositionally interesting. In response to this I questioned the photographic technique that I had chosen, as a uniform approach to shoot the series. I decided to maintain the technical approach and developed knowledge about what would also add an aesthetic dimension to the shots.

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 89 After about a week of shooting, I noticed that somewhat against my pure intent to document the city creature, complementary themes of a certain tangent started to emerge. I found myself also photographing objects of functionality that exist within the cityscape such as rows of uniformed telephones, buses, taxis. I realised that subconsciously I was making a connection, or drawing a comparison between the human breed of city creature in its uniformed occupational role and the more inanimate variety of city creature that also provides a crucial functioning role within the urban ecosystem. These inanimate creatures also appeared to be wrapped or branded with a visual identity comparable to the uniform. At first I questioned this development, as it seemed to be a deviation from my initial intent, but upon further contemplation I decide to let it develop, organically alongside my initial endeavour.

In addition to this secondary branch of focus, I also noticed myself focusing on the uniformed nature of space itself, a type of observation of the uniformed nature of space or urban habitat in which the city creature itself performs its role.

At the end of one months solid, daily documentation I had accumulated around thirty films – over 1,000 images. The documentation in a sense developed to be more holistic, a documentation of the wrapped urban ecosystem, city creature, human and inanimate, wrapped in uniform, functioning in their roles within the wrapped urban habitat. Collectively participating in accumulation of capital inherent to the citys capitalist existence.

4.7 Presentation

The series of images were further edited back in Sydney, the final series representing each sub-area of documentation.

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 90 Figure 79 – Example 1 – The wrapped human city creature

Figure 80 – Example 2 – The wrapped inanimate city creature

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 91 Figure 81 – Example 3 – The wrapped urban habitat

The final series is a series of 30 prints, 75cm x 50cm, including border. These images exist as a type of trace, a dynamic, non-linear map of an urban phenomenon. The prints are presented in a box, and exist as interchangeable pieces of the urban environment. They are not to be viewed in the conventional linear narrative but instead are designed to be viewed in no particular sequence, so that an interchangeable fluid sense of narrative emerges.

4.8 The Wrapping of Images

The images are presented in a multi-layered box, a box within a box, presented as comparable to a Japanese gift and representative of the layers in which Japanese society is shrouded. In photographing this urban phenomenon, I could be considered as unwrapping the phenomenon of the city creature in its urban environment. Similarly when viewing the final images, pieces of the urban map, the viewer must themselves unwrap the layers in order to discover the images lying within.

In a sense this mode of presentation creates a living, breathing piece of visual sociology, with which the viewer can interact, rearrange and interpret.

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 92 The images are presented with a derivation of the traditional proof sheet, each thumbnail of the image on the proof accompanied by a brief caption. Despite visual sociologys inherent will to create concrete contextualisations, in a sense to wrap images in text, so that their meaning is less ambiguous, I decided to present the images without extensive text. Substantial context and meaning is embedded within the images themselves, as they are informed by the aforementioned frameworks and contextualisations. They speak from their own selves enough without the need for extensive use of text in their presentation.

An alternative hypothetical proposed presentation, would be to re-integrate the images into the urban landscape in which they were shot. Large-scale prints of the images to be placed around the city, in the location in which they were shot. This would serve as a type of mirror of urban society and would create a living, breathing piece of re-integrated visual sociology that would be engaged by the very urban ecosystem from which it was derived. Such presentation unfortunately was beyond the scope of this project.

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 93 CHAPTER 5 – CONCLUSION / SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

The final series of images exist as visual documents informed by the dual contexts of theory in urban sociology and the Japanese cultural context of wrapping. The images offer a type of dynamic visual map of the city creature in its urban habitat. The images, instead of existing as supplementary pieces of visual data, exist here as the primary means of communication about an urban phenomenon. They exist as a rich, direct and empirical index.

But does this work constitute a piece of visual sociology? From the more sociological end of the spectrum of visual sociology, the series City Creatures may well not constitute a piece of visual sociology, despite being informed about the various established methods that theorists and practitioners in the field have outlined and a direct will to create a body of work that fulfils the criteria.

My personal methods of undertaking the project do not adhere necessarily to the methods outlined earlier in this paper. While approaching many of the photographed subjects with a written explanation about my intent can be described as a method, it seems that it fits oddly under the methodological heading of overt approach. Similarly so, when I did on occasion go unnoticed and was able to capture candid scenes, the term covert approach seems equally inappropriate. The images are also in end-effect presented without extensive caption information and are instead accompanied by a simple form of index. They are informed by conceptual frameworks and surely provide a strong visual account about an aspect of urban living.

I would like in some ways to be able to label them as pieces of visual sociology and tidily wrap them up and put them away but what are they really?

They are a visual record of an aspect of a particular society, informed technically by a number of years of photographic practice in various capacities as well as informed by a sociological conceptual framework.

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 94 Maybe visual sociology sets itself a type of trap. It has at its core the need to make the visual legitimate. It does this by setting out a number of methods for itself that practitioners can employ to successfully integrate still imagery into the practice of undertaking sociological research. The established methods as such seem almost an attempt to transform the collection of imagery into a scientific endeavour, so that imagery may be accepted by a field that has always existed under pressure to operate like a science of the natural world.

Perhaps imagery can be employed by a social scientist within these parameters to create a richer more talkative index of social life.

In the instance of my own practical project, from the viewpoint of the photographer, operating from the visual end of the spectrum of visual sociology, acquired knowledge of the field has certainly made my images more informed, especially from within the perspective of intent. My intent was clear and informed in undertaking this project – I set out with a certain will to capture images that reflected the social pattern of human behaviour that I was interested in.

This approach of clear intent could be seen as being markedly different from the more traditional documentary approach, which is an approach much more akin to that of the flaneur, to capture with a certain impartiality whatever comes ones way, whatever happens to play out. In fact completing this project with such clear intent meant that from the outset I was acting like a blinkered horse, in my flaneuring, or wanderings of the city. My intent meant that I searched for certain examples that would contribute as pieces of visual evidence about my claim.

Visual sociology has much to offer and photography has much to offer visual sociology. The difficulty is in the labels and nothing more rings true at the conclusion of this research than Howard Beckers perspective that Its all a matter of context (Prosser, 1998), both in which the work is derived and in which it is presented. I recently presented the series of images City Creatures, at a photojournalism industry slide night. The series sat quite nicely, accepted as a

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 95 work of photojournalism amongst all the other photo stories that had their concern for social reflection as their common feature. Id feel equally confident that the series would be accepted if it was presented at a forum on visual sociology.

As a photographer concerned with creating images that exist as rich records of social life, I feel it is an obligation to be as informed as possible about the particular society, or aspect thereof, that I aim to document and to also be aware of the process and methods utilised when going about creating imagery. A systematic and deliberate approach, a critical awareness of social life, a clear intent, surely leads to creating imagery that is more likely to be rich in social meaning and offers an effective and empirically credible documentation of phenomenon within everyday life.

Photography as a Method of Visual Sociology / Britta Campion 96 REFERENCES

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