FMP (Final Major Project)

Alice Neale
PROJECT PROPOSAL

As a child I wanted to be a detective. At 9 I was told I could die being a detective. At 9 and a half I decided I did not want to die, so stopped the idea of wanted to be a detective. At 10 my brother told me smoking killed. At 12 my parents stopped smoking. At 13 I decided I wanted to be a detective again. At 14 I started to like documentaries. I liked the pace.

While watching films, all types of films – I visualise snaps. Snaps you wouldn’t get from everyday life. So I take my camera and I take photographs. This helps me enjoy photography. When I look at the world, I do not get inspired – no beautiful photographs can come out of everyday life. In films, everything is make believe – everything is set up to look like everyday day life.

When I was young, 13 or 12 – Half term came and went very slowly. One half term, me and a friend broke up. We weren’t talking. For the 7 days of half term there was a fair at Shoreham beach. Me and my mum went – everyday. I’d eat, but only a bit. Half a baked potato usually, and a lolly pop.

Near the fair, just across the road – there are house boats. My mum loved the house boats and wanted to move into one of them, with me. We would walk up, and down the path way. The people that lived in the house boats were warm and friendly. They all knew each other. It was a house boat community.

While my mum would take photos of the cement house boats, I would stare at the people. Builders building, mum’s hanging the washing, little people playing opposite there house boat in the park.

Last week I went back to Shoreham beach. My grandparents offered to take me, they waited in the car for an hour while I had a walk. I took photographs of everyone I saw, they didn’t know, they couldn’t see, but when the flash would go off on the camera, they’d look around, and I’d duck.

I took photos of the builders building, the children playing, the mum’s hanging up their washing.

By the end of the 8 weeks, I will have been to other places – not just Shoreham beach. Il take photographs everywhere and of everyone – in their environment, with out them having a clue I’m doing so. The photographs will be in black and white. There will be a few. More than 100, less than 200. I want the photographs to look sneaky. I want the photographs to look like someone has paid me to do this. I am going behind peoples backs with no permission.

Sophie Calle is an artist who – hired a detective to follow her. She then kept the photographs and made it into art work. Women sometimes will ask a detective to follow their husband when they think he is being unfaithful.

Annette Massenger is a french artist who – took a series of photographs of business men on their way to work, usually wearing white shirts and ugly ties. Taken close up and out of focus – this is because she would not look while taking, she would try and be discreet so they would not know what she was doing. Very light black and white small photographs came out of this, about eight or nine – but, really beautiful and neat.

Nobuyoshi Araki is a Japanese photographer who – spent three years of his life on the subway, usually early morning to catch the crowds. He would take snap shots of people on their way to work, school etc. He would do this without them knowing. The book is called ‘Subway Love’ and some of the images he has caught are really great.

I’m going to make an action plan. I don’t want to be stressed. I just want everything to go smoothly. Everyweek, preferably on a Wednesday or Friday – I shall follow a new person, taking photographs of their foot steps – (not literally). Each film will be in a different place.