Brooke Andrew- Indigenous Artist from the Wiradjuri tribe

Brooke Andrew is a modern Indigenous artist who challenges the everyday perception of indigenous people, life and culture. Due to his race and sexuality he feels as though he is seen as quite unique in his identity. He has come from inner city indigenous co-operatives.

This image is an ethnographic illustration of a tradtional Aboriginal Man with horizontal light strips running down his body. It is an image built on line and shape where the combination of the two tell us something different about the subject, the artist and his message. The white stripes possibly represent the effect of multiculturalism and the repucussions of european settlement where the different shapes show more about the tradition. The composition of the man is very confronting with his front on, masculine stance, his body takes up majority of the frame making it quite bombarding for the viewer. Brooke Andrew has constructed this artwork as a computer-generated colour transparency on transparent synthetic polymer resin. Its context strikes the impression of a juxtaposition where traditional values are being overcome by a modernist culture.

Medium

The photograph is a digital black and white image which helps present it as a raw issue, ridding it of colour emphasises the point and captures the mood and meaning behind the messgae Kenneally is portraying.

Form

The most touching yet remarkable concept in this image is the way in which it alters our perspective on not only the world but children and the injustice that some are forced to live in. The element which forces you to think twice is the harsh juxtaposition between the playing children and the broken environment that surrounds them. (to be continued)

Subject Matter

This photo by Brenda Ann Kenneally emotionally epitomises common street life in New York City. Whilst the environment expresses the scene of a disaster on an emergency news broadcast, the subject introduces us to the innocence of a child where one plays on the broken stairs and the other blows bubbles completely unaware to the horror of the scene surrounding them. Kenneally demonstrates the sentiment that this landscape, while to the everyday may be a trepidation, is to them an everyday living environment in which they may even call home. 

Favourite Photo

This is not by far my favourite photo as i think this is impossible to choose. However i find this photo has a strong sense of meaning and it has a true and touching story behind it. It is by a photographer named Brenda Ann Kenneally, A successful photojournalist who has worked for a number of agencies including the New York times. Most of her encapsulates street life in New York City.

Research from books

For the research assignment i also looked up a couple of books in the CIT library to seek the views of other writers. Here are some interesting quotes that support the given quote. 

Sustainable Fashion and Textiles Design Journeys, Kate Fletcher

• Speaks of how we "addictively shop for clothes and are trapped by record levels of credit card debt." 
• rapid changing fashions feed insecurity and psychological illness
• we allow clothing to "meet our desire for pleasure, new experiences, status and identity formation"
• "Fashion feeds insecurity, peer pressure, consumerism and homogenity, fuelled by the globalisation of fashion" 

(Fletcher K, 2008, Sustainable Fashion and Textiles, Earthscan, London)

Fashion Marketing, Mike Easey

• Vast profit from fashion does not come from collections seen on the catwalk- they are sold in high end stores which are attracted to through smart marketing. 
• Fashion has been a way for people of a certain class to show they were above common people
• Even in the 18th and 19th century, the spinning jenny, the water frame and the sewing machine did not make the same impact as cultural changes and the explosion of media.
• end of WWI -start of mass fashion 
• in the 1930's celebrities began to play their part. models for high end designers were also launched into stardom
• in the 1930's technology advanced so that 'ordinary; people could buy copies of designer labels.
• By the 1970's books and magazines drove people to be fussy about what they wore

(Easey, M 1995, Fashion Marketing, Best set typesetter Ltd, Hong Kong)

Researching for the presentation

During class lessons we would brainstorm ideas as to why these changes made such an impact etc and found examples to back up these points. When putting together the powerpoint we researched images that showed the growing changes in marketing.

When searching 1900's fashion all that can be found is plain and simple sketches or photographs

However as the years go on the images become stronger and more extravagant as the lifestyle of high fashion becomes more apparent and socially dividing as shown in these images of 21st century fashion.

Visual Culture- working with fashion studnets

My group consists of Photography students Kristi, Aimee, Luke and fashion student Penny. our quote is:

The relatively backward status of fashion manufacturing stands in marked contrast to the aggressive and innovatory profile of modern fashion marketing and advertising. From the late nineteenth century fashion consumption was further stimulated by the development of increasingly sophisticated marketing, advertising and retailing techniques, as epitomised by the new overwhelming luxurious department stores of the era.

(Fiona Anderson Fashion: style, identity and meaning in Matthew Rampley (ed) (2005) Exploring visual culture Edinburgh Uni Press)

In Summary this quote is referring to the fact that the manufacturing process which occurs in the textile industry has not changed a significant amount, it still upholds the same principles used to make a garment as it always has. In comparison to this though the marketing and advertising techniques involved in the fashion industry have changed rapidly over the years and has brought a new light onto fashion and has changed the status of fashion in society. 

Once upon a time clothing was about modesty, they were about covering the body in a functional way, it was an everyday need in the lives of every person. The manufacturing of these garments was much like it is today (just a slower process); a pattern is created, fabric cut, seams sewn, hems stitched etc. Somewhere along the line though fashion became something much more.

Through the growing development of photographic technology people were able to create amazing pictures portraying a certain feel or image, thus the image of high fashion begun. Fashion started to become more than a need, it became a want, it was a way for people to feel important and extravagant and develop a lifestyle of leisure and impulse buying. Photographic images portrayed fashion as a way of life and gave people an economic place in society. 

Further than this technology also aided the construction of textiles to become quicker while still upholding olden techniques that have still today not changed. Mass production was soon born and large quantities of  clothing were made in a small amount of time and sold for a very low price. Combined with the rapidly growing marketing fashion was taking over the way people were seen in society.