Pitch- Initial Research

The theme

I have decided to continue with exploring the theme of Englishness and expand my knowledge on this area of representation. I will focus my attention on a particular place and subject matter that links to tourism and concepts of travel. My idea is to capture B&B’s in different locations in England, and photograph the architecture and people within this tourist industry. The bed and breakfast hotel is a very English concept and can convey different parts of England through their design, interiors and even age. The B&B is very important in sharing British culture with residents and visitors from abroad. I think that this will be a fun way of examining historical and cultural themes.

These images are from www.tripadvisor.co.uk.

Why is it worthy?

I believe that this idea is worthy because it is a unique subject matter that has a historical significance in England. The B&B is important for the tourism industry as it connects people to places and can show the history and identity of their community. Since the introduction of Air B&B’S and chain hotels, the traditional B&B can be over looked and seems old fashioned. I would like to show their importance and value to England in maintaining unique identities and what they can positively still add to the tourism industry.

Intention- The effect you wish to have on an audience

I wish to convey B&B’s in a realistic way, using a documentary approach. I intend to show a variety of B&B’s and want the audience to understand the value of them in maintaining tourism and showing a diversity of communities in England. I will photograph both portraits of the staff and the interiors/exteriors of the buildings. This will give the audience an insight into English locations and the local workers/people in the area. I think it will be interesting for an English audience to see how B&B’s present themselves to tourists and sell a sense of Englishness.

Key Research- Practitioners/Theory

PRACTITIONERS

Roger Eberhard

Roger Eberhard is a Swiss photographer. His project ‘Standard’ has inspired me to think about issues surrounding hotels and B&B’s. He travelled to 32 different countries and photographed the famous Hilton hotels in each country. The rooms he photographed were all really similar so didn’t reflect the country he was visiting. This is a chain hotel meaning that they are all presented in the same style to represent the brand and not the place. However, he also photographed landscapes of the place, which he used to show he was in a different country. This is the opposite of my idea because B&B’S uniquely convey the location and are their own local identity.

Sophie Calle

Sophie Calle is a French photographer and an instillation artist. I have been inspired by her project ‘The Hotel, 1981’, which is when she became a maid for three weeks in a Venetian Hotel. She photographed a variety of guest hotel rooms, looking at personal belongings that could reveal their identity. This is an intriguing idea but has can be seen as controversial because she is invading privacy, that is seen as confidential. This made me think of hotels as an interesting starting point for my project. However, I wouldn’t be comfortable with this technique and will be seeking permission with everyone involved.

Grayson Perry

Grayson perry is a British artist who is interested in culture and identity in England. He creates artistic work based on his research into class and english taste. A TV documentary he presented called 'All in the best possible taste with Grayson Perry' shows his views and opinions on social classes in England. From this documentary he produced six pieces of designed textile art, showing images of class and identity called 'The vanity of small differences'. I belive that these artwork pieces convey Englishness in a new light, in particular cultural change and values.

British Identity- How British is Birtain?

This is a news artiscle that has helped me to understand Bristish identity and cultural differences in the UK. The programme 'How British is Britian' asks communities a range of questions about how important cultral identity is for different age groups, religions and ethic groups. They gathered statistics and interviews together to see how communitites think they are British.

THEORY

The Photograph by Graham Clarke

I have researched into documentary theory which is a historical photographic approach that can be analysed in many ways. A main idea with documentary photography is that it creates photographic 'evidence' of a real life situation and environment. The controversy of this approach is to do with how truthful the image is and whether it is subjective or objective. The book also introduces me to lots of doumentary photographers.

Identity by Zygmunt Bauman

My project theme is Englishness which has lead me to explore the concept of cultural identity within photography. This book is exploring identity in the subject of sociology. It is interesting to me becuase it discusses different charcteristics of identity including, political, religious and social. This has helped with looking at the idea of Englishness and how identity changes and transforms overtime.

Cultural studies by Aleida Assmann

This book is an introdution to cultural studies, examing definitions of culture. It has a chapter on the use of signs and how they reflect cultural identity. This helps me to understand my own photographs and how objects can reflect connotations and complex meanings.

Potential forms

There are a few forms that I am going to consider, including creating a photobook showing the visit to each B&B, capturing portraits and architectual shots. Another idea is to maybe create an exhibition, where I would focus on a particular style e.g. portraits of the staff members and owners of the B&B's.

Practical method skills/ Problems to solve

I am planning to develop location photography skills, in particuar the use of the location lighting kit. I have experimented with this before but it was difficult to keep the same lighting throughout the shoot. I would like to expand my skills with lighting and camera equipment. A main problem with having a lighting kit and equipment on location was that it was very time consuming. In my experience the people loose interesting in participating very quickly.

I have started to experiment with other camera formats, including my own canon 600D and a Nkion D610. I knew a lot of the camera settings on the Canon already but experimenting with the Nikon has expanded my camera skills and made me explore camera lenses. After the portrait project I realised that it will be useful to build my confidence when working with new people.

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