Photography in the Global Age

Photography in the Global Age

According to BBC website 'Bitsize', Globalisation is the process by which the world is becoming increasingly interconnected as a result of massively increased trade and cultural exchange.  It goes on to argue that, through globalisation the production of goods and services has increased and large companies are now multinational.  Although it is a phenomenon of the modern age globalisation goes back hundreds of years.  The course notes tell us that the old trade routes such as the Chinese Silk Road represents the beginnings of globalisation and that during the European Age of Discovery there was a huge rise in globalisation.  The Levin Institute website argues that many of the features of the current wave of globalisation are similar to those before the outbreak of the First World War.  It goes on to suggest that since 1950 the volume of world trade has increased 20 times and that between 1997 and 1999 flows of foreign investment nearly doubled.  Author Thomas Friedman feels that this current wave of globalisation is different to earlier ones by being 'further, faster, cheaper and deeper'.  The Levin Institute argues that one of the main drivers for modern globalisation is technology, especially information and communications technology.  Bitesize and other sources, however, suggest that globalisation is increasing the gap between the richest and the poorest countries.

Liz Wells argues in Land Matters: Landscape Photography, Culture and Identity technology helped in the settling and taming and globalisation of North America.  She says that Manifest Destiny supported, as well as the conquest of nature, the civilising (extermination) of the native Americans who were seen as savages. (Wells, 2011, Kindle Location 1395)

The course notes go on to remind us that there is also a market for art and so it is also part of globalisation.  Photography, too, is part of this process and, along with information technology is probably one of the drivers of globalisation over the last hundred years or so.  We are reminded that if we aspire to be a professional in the world of photography we need to have a website to make our work available to the wider world.

My feelings about globalisation are perhaps somewhat ambiguous.  There is nothing we can do about it, it has happened and is increasing exponentially.  It is important though that we are aware of the fact that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer; the huge multinationals are banking billions whilst we have abject poverty in the world. Is there any wonder that we have the current problems with illegal immigrants; why shouldn't they want a slice of what the 'rich west' enjoys.  And why, too, shouldn't the poorer nations desire more wealth through industrialisation even though great pollution is the result.  Isn't that what the so-called civilized western world did a hundred years ago.  We should also be concerned about the damage being done to the planet in a drive to create wealth.  It is good to see that one use of photography in our global village, in publications such as National Geographic, is to highlight some of the huge problems caused by globalisation.

References

BBC (2015) [online] Geography, Globalisation. Available from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/geography/globalisation/globalisation_rev1.shtml  [Accessed 8.6.15]

Globalisation 101 (2015) [online] What is Globalisation? Available from: http://www.globalization101.org/what-is-globalization/  [Accessed 8.6.15]

Wells, L. (2011) Land Matters: Landscape Photography, Culture and Identity Kindle London/New York: I.B.Tauris

Reading and Archive: Photography between Labour and Capitalism, Alan Seluka

  In Alan Seluka's essay he uses an archive of photographs  made by a small town photographer in Cape Breton between the years 1948 and 1968.  The photographer, Leslie Shedden, ran a photography business and made a living by photographing the local community and also taking publicity material for the local coal mining company.  When he sold his business to another, younger photographer, in 1977 he also sold all of his negatives which form the basis for the archive.  Seluka discusses the different ways in which this archive could be made public.  He argues that it could be done taxonomically, presumable, under different headings such as the coal mine, other local business and private customers.  It could also be looked at purely chronologically.  Apart from the logistical issues with publishing the work Seluka also suggests that it has to be considered whether the images are to be regarded as an historical document or should they be looked at purely artistically; is Shedden the next new discovery?  He argues that one of the problems with using the photographs to portray the history of the area is the fact that there may have been a hidden agenda for taking the photographs.

This is an interesting essay and were one to come across such an archive, it would make a fascinating project.  Perhaps on a smaller scale 'ordinary' family archives could be used in a similar way.

Liz Wells in Land Matters: Landscape Photography, Culture and Identity refers to another use of archive photographs when discussing the work of John Huddleston in Killing Ground (2002) when he used his own contemporary colour photographs made at American civil war battle sites and juxtaposes them with archive materials.  Wells says that the archive images include studio portraits of those newly enlisted for family and friends and they testify to fear of not returning.  She goes on to argue that this montage tactic is effective poetically as well as for historical detail. (Wells,L. 2011 Kindle location 1527)

There are, then other ways of using archive photographs.

Wells, L. (2011) Land Matters: Landscape Photography, Culture and Identity Kindle London/New York: I.B.Tauris