These images will help you to start finding starting points for artists research for the AS EDEXCEL exam

1. AS PHOTOGRAPHY
2013
Covert And
Obscured

2. What do the words ‘Covert’ and ‘Obscured’ mean?
Discuss for 3 minutes – make a list of as many synonyms as possible

3. I spent 20 minutes thinking of all the words linked to these key areas and the theme word: COVERT & OBSCURED – my list is:
COVERT: Hidden – secret – concealed – disguised – incognito – stealthy – private – furtive – camouflaged. OBSCURED ambiguous – vague –
uncertain – concealed – enigmatic – signifying – unclear – hidden – covered – secret – partial -
ACTIVITY: in pairs complete the chart – be creative and imaginative – write down anything you think of
Genres & photographic elements First response: my thoughts and ideas for direction of my project
people Disguises – natural/artificial: hats / make-up / Lady Gaga
Experimenting with camera angles and lighting
Work in the studio/ lighting
silhouettes
the superhero inside
masks – Eugene meatyard / festival / religion
personality
family – blood and constructed – sally mann
beauty inside & out – jenny saville?
viewpoint Hidden cameras
Through: doors / windows / keyholes / windows / rain / distance…
Depicting the truth
Sharing feelings
Telling a secret: Post secret / journalism
Combine text and image? poetry
Natural forces Recording different Times of day or changing lighting and how it obscures/exposes things
Hiding from the elements – hats/umbrellas/sunglasses / gloves…
technique Lighting – creative lighting to obscure and highlight
Film noir
Pinhole camera
Fragmentation
Refraction
reflections
Timelapse photos to obscure locations
Inversion and negatives
Framing and / or excluding a subject – highlighting what is gone
Abstracting sections of the whole
Objects Macro details
Obscuring patterns and shadows
Viewpoints
In a drawer / under the sheets / through lace
Use a pinhole caera with natural distortion
Reaction & message Politics – the truth??
Symbolism & signifier – creating images that stand for other – Dali /Man Ray / Kahlo / Tina Modotti / Chris steel-
perkins / chris Killip
Storytelling – Diana Arbus
Leaving something obvious out
The power of community action
Building and creating a question / Changing and affecting audiences
Time

4. first action
1. Consider the ways that the theme ‘Covert & Obscured’ can be
interpreted by slowly going re-through this powerpoint.
2. Make notes of any photographers whose work you find
inspiring
3. complete the initial ideas sheet being as creative as possible
4. Produce a mind map of possible ideas / routes and Journeys
you could investigate

5. What do the words ‘Covert’ and ‘Obscured’ mean?
Discuss for 3 minutes – make a list of as many synonyms as possible
Synonyms for the word COVERT: Synonyms for the word OBSCURED
Hidden Ambiguous
Secret Vague
Concealed Uncertain
Disguised Concealed
Incognito Enigmatic
Stealthy Unclear
Private Hidden
Furtive Covered
Camouflaged Secret

6. Let’s start by looking at some photographer’s work
which might fit the theme ‘Covert & Obscured’

7. Walker Evans photographed members of
the public on the New York subway using a
concealed camera c. 1941

8. Spy Cameras
Ever since the early days of photography
cameras have been made which could be used
covertly – ideal for spies and private detectives.
Watch Camera
c. 1890 to 1920
Minox ‘spy’ camera. First produced Amercian ‘Petal’
1936. This model c. 1960 detective camera
c.1940’s

9. Wildlife photographer & film-maker
Simon King often uses a HIDE or
camouflaged equipment when
photographing wild animals so that he
can get close to them without being
seen.

10. Much of artist Sophie Calle’s
work has been based around
the theme of surveillance.
In her artwork The Detective she
paid a private detective to
secretly follow and photograph
her, recording where she went
and what she did for a day.
Although she knew that she
would be photographed, she
never knew exactly when or
where it would take place.
Sophie Calle, The Detective, 1981

11. Paparazzi photographers often use very
long focal length lenses to ‘spy’ on
celebrities without being seen, as in
these recently published images of Kate
Middleton and prince William.
Some people see this as an
intrusion of their privacy, while
other celebrities see it as a way of
maintaining their celebrity status
and may sometimes even help
the paparazzi secretly in
obtaining such photos!

12. These first examples all involved covert photographer -
the photographer hiding or concealing the fact that
they were taking photographs.
A different approach is when the photographer openly
tries to make a portrait which reveals something
normally hidden about the subject, perhaps exploring
their inner emotions or trying to get behind the
metaphorical ‘mask’ that people often hide behind.

13. By getting members of the public
to write whatever they wanted
about themselves, photographer
Gillian Wearing was able to reveal
aspects of the subject that might
normally have remained concealed
or hidden.

14. Photographer Yousuf Karsh
explained that when
photographing Winston
Churchill, he grabbed the
cigar away from Winston and
then immediately took the
picture, producing a portrait
which better represented
the steely determination of
the man in his expression.
Winston Churchill
was often pictured
smiling with a cigar in
his hand or mouth.

15. Lewis Morley, self portrait
Mainly known for his
work from the
1950’s and 60’s,
photographer Lewis
Morley often used
dramatic lighting to
help reveal
something about the
person being
photographed

16. Photographer Arnold Newman would often
employ backgrounds in his portraits which helped
tell the story about the subject.
Newman said that he didn’t like the “cold studio
portrait” but instead wanted to show his subjects
in their surroundings.
Quoted from the Palm Beach Post, 2006

17. Sally Mann is probably best known for her
intimate family portraits.
More recently she has experimented with
old-fashioned photographic techniques to
produce portraits which seem to hide as
much about the subject as they reveal.

18. In some of his work Ralf Eugene
Meatyard gets his subjects to wear
masks to hide their faces.
In this way, he emphasises the hidden
nature of the subject’s identity.
The metaphorical mask which
everyone is said to wear becomes
an actual physical mask.

19. Sometimes it is the meaning of an image or series of images that is obscure,
hidden or ambiguous, as in these narrative sequences by photographer Duane
Michals. Works like these can leave us with more questions than answers!
What do YOU think is the narrative (story) and meaning for each of these artworks?

20. Similarly, the work of photographer and film
Director Sam Taylor Wood is often enigmatic –
we are left to puzzle over the possible meaning
which seems obscured or hidden.
Sam Taylor Wood, Ivan, 2004
Sam Taylor Wood, After Dark, 2008
Sam Taylor Wood, Red Snow

21. Another technique employed by many artists is to
use symbolism in their work.
A symbol is just something that represents
or stands for something else.
For example, what do you think the snake
might symbolise in this painting by Franz
Von Stuck? (Hint: think about Adam & Eve!)
Some symbols have a meaning that is
almost universal, such as water for purity &
birth, or circles which often represent
eternity (that’s why the wedding ring is
round – the love will go on forever … ahhh).
However, most symbols have meanings
which vary across different cultures and
times. For example, the colour red can be
symbolic of love or danger in the West but
could mean something entirely different in
Franz Von Stuck, The Sin, 1893 another place or time.

22. Dutch 17th Century Still-Life paintings
As well as being beautiful, the food and
flowers were actually symbolic; they
reminded the viewer that everything
eventually decays and dies, so the viewer
should be good in this life if they want to go
to heaven and live forever!
When we see a flower today it does not
usually represent a reminder that death will
come – so the meaning of this symbol has
changed over time.

23. Think about what these images might
symbolise to YOU …
Discuss for 3 minutes

24. Think about what these images might symbolise
to YOU …
Discuss for 3 minutes
Image 1.
Power, protest, violence … + anything else?
Image 2
Idea, Imagination … + anything else?
So while these are pictures of a hand & a bulb, in
fact that is NOT what the pictures are really about
– that’s the power of symbols and symbolism!
NOTE:
Not all images are necessarily symbolic,
sometimes we can just appreciate the simple
beauty of an image. However, symbolism can
make images interesting, adding a deeper,
‘hidden’ layer of complexity for us to uncover.

25. British artist Sarah Lucas uses
blatant sexual symbolism in
much of her work.

26. The photography of American William
Eggleston is thought by some to be
boring and banal.
To others however, many of his images
use symbols to tell us something
deeper about what it is to be human
and to live in our world. Even the
garishness of his colour photographs
can be interpreted as symbolising
about our modern world

27. The previous examples all hid or obscured the meaning of the image
in some way.
Another way of interpreting the Theme ‘Covert & Obscured’ is to
consider how many works of art (particularly films) have been inspired
by the search for some hidden precious object or objects.

28. Have you ever lost your phone, keys or
purse?
How did you feel?
How could you you tell the story of your
quest to find it/them photographically?

29. Another approach might be to think about the word Obscured
as meaning covered or unclear …
Some artists and photographers have taken ‘obscured’ as a
starting point, rejecting objective representational art to
produce images which are more abstract …

30. Bill Henson

31. Naoya Hatakeyama

32. Chrystal Labas

33. Hiroshi Sujimoto

34. John Baldessari

35. Tomatsu Shomei

36. Julian Schnabel

37. Wolfgang Tillmans

38. Ori Gersht

39. Moriyama Daido

40. Yet another way to interpret the theme
Covert & Obscured is to think of other ways
to obscure or hide part of the image, leaving
the viewer’s imagination to complete the
story or meaning.
Here are just a few possible ways …

41. Shadows

42. Silhouettes

43. Reflections