Create a meaningful response to the artists work…what does that mean?
Ultimately, can you show that you understand there work, can you get to the core meaning of it and then be inspired to create photographs of your own with clear links back to the source material?
Sounds easy. BUT. We have to first understand exactly what the work is about before we can create a response.
If we don’t know what we’re looking at, then the response will be inaccurate and you’ll probably have no clear direction on where to go next.
What do we do when we want to understand the meaning behind an image and understand why it was made?
We break it down, and analyse it.
The process: first, list the significant objects, characters, locations within the picture/scene/painting.
Second, go through each item individually and explore what that thing could represent given the context it is in.
Enter Harry Potter
We will start by introducing the source material, this scene is from Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets. In the scene Harry is facing off against a Basilisk (controlled by Tom Riddle), Harry intends to destroy the book and save his friend.
Why Harry Potter?
The Harry Potter films are rich with symbolism and draw heavily upon tried and tested character architypes. It’s why it’s so accessible to all age groups and why it’s so successful. Rowling has recycled symbolism from ancient stories, it’s why it feels so familiar to us. The same is true of The Lord of The Rings, Star Wars, The Matrix etc. They all use the same template.
In order to understand the narrative and the symbolism within the scene, we first need to list all of the key elements within it.
- Basilisk
- Harry Potter
- Sword
- Dungeon
- Tom Riddle (Voldemort)
- Ginevra ‘Ginny’ Weasley
- Phoenix
Next, we explore the possible meanings of each individual item/object:
- Basilisk – reptile reputed to have the power to cause death/petrification with a single glance
- Harry Potter – young man/boy, the would be hero
- Sword – power, protection, strength, courage
- Dungeon – prison, torture, dark, scary, pain
- Tom Riddle (Voldemort) – the villain
- Ginevra ‘Ginny’ Weasley – Ginevra is the Italian version of Guinevere which means fair, white. Guinevere is also the wife of King Arthur.
- Phoenix – rebirth, renewal, metamorphosis.
Then, explore the context in which these objects are placed.
- Basilisk/Tom Riddle/Dungeon – The bad guys are in a location that represents imprisonment and pain, Voldemort’s spirit is currently trapped/imprisoned within the book. Harry has to confront things that are dark and scary.
- Harry Potter/Sword/Ginny – the hero, protecting Ginny (the pure virgin) with the symbol of power and courage. Guinevere was wife of the hero King Arthur, Ginny of course destined to marry Harry.
- Phoenix – The symbol of change. Harry must confront his fears in order to emerge as a changed man, taking his first step on the path to becoming the hero.
Harry Potter is the classic heroes tale, investigated thoroughly by Jung, Campbell and Neumann.
Joseph Campbell summarised the heroes journey as follows: “A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man”
Boons? Yes I had to look it up: a thing that is helpful or beneficial.
The place you least want to go or the enemies lair in folklore/mythology is often described as entering ‘the belly of the beast’. This is Harry’s first solo fight and has to go under the school, or, into the ‘belly’ of the school.
He literally travels downward, into the ‘underworld’ to confront his fears.
“The belly of the whale (school) represents the final separation from the hero’s known world and self. By entering this stage, the person shows willingness to undergo a metamorphosis (symbolised by the phoenix).”
We see this repeated in other stories such as Pinocchio, who literally travels into the belly of a Whale. This itself stems from a bibliacl story of Jonah and the Whale.
The enemy that has the power to petrify is used in mythology to represent fear itself. The hero must confront fear and gain power over it. (students, do we know of any other mythological creatures that turn you to stone when you look at it?)
In this case Harry has to defeat the Basilisk and use it’s fang to destroy the book.
The absorption of power is common in computer games as well. When you defeat the boss in a computer game, you gain a power from it/level up/it drops a weapon etc.
Mastering fear gives you power over it.
Harry faces his fear and becomes stronger.
This is a great piece of symbolism for education and definitely something to take heed of when we live in a world that judges us. Social media, peer groups etc. all willing to offer judgement. We are all on a journey of discovery, this is true when creating art but also in a much wider sense.
If you face your fear, you gain power over it and will come out the other side, much, much stronger.
i.e. If you are bold enough to look silly in order to gain knowledge, you will come out the other side bolder, wiser and stronger, just like Harry. Ask questions, explore new ideas, try, try, and try again.
Always be asking ‘what if?’. What if I create a Lumen print of an entire person. What if I freeze film before shooting it. Imagination and constant questioning will lead to wondrous things.
To summarise
Harry uses the symbol of courage
Overcomes his fears
Absorbs the power
Defeats his enemy
Saves the girl
Bonus fun: the other item in the scene is the sorting hat, which Harry pulls the sword from.
Sword from hat. Ginny is called Guinevere. This is book two in the series.
If you know the code, it’s easy to piece together how they end up as a couple based upon the King Arthur story.
So what’s the point?
Semiotics, narrative structure, analytical skills, expanded vocabulary all within one scene of Harry Potter. We can also conclude that no object is placed within a frame/scene/picture that is free from symbolism.
This discussion can be expanded upon across the curriculum. Art, media, English literature etc. all use symbolism to explore concepts and represent ideas.
Ultimately, we have explored the reasons WHY everything exists within that scene – it is to represent overcoming fear.
Armed with the ‘why’ of a picture, allows for the rapid expansion and exploration of ideas.
Question for students: If this scene is about fear itself, how could you then turn that into a project?
What fears are there? How would you explore that fear visually? What objects would you use, where would it be set?
We have successfully transitioned from: Signs – Harry Potter – Fear – Ideas for new project.
Apply this knowledge of symbolism to a more complex/historically significant piece, or even an artist you are already researching.
I like Gursky, so we analysed a Gursky
(At the time of writing, Andreas Gursky is on at the Hayward Gallery, if you find yourself re-visiting this article at a point in time where the exhibition has closed, the point I am about to make refers to the importance of experiencing art and photography as Google has the power to manipulate and skew results)
Andreas Gursky, considered a modern master by some, is primarily a landscape photographer. I have deliberately chosen his work as it highlights a problem with using the internet as the sole source of research.
Google; ‘Andreas Gursky 99 Cents’
The fourth image that is returned, is not a Gursky. If you Google ‘Andreas Gursky’, the 10th image is not a Gursky. If you search for ‘Gursky Les Mees’ there are at least three different compositions that appear of the same image in the first set of results.
If we are analysing an image to understand it’s core meaning, how can we rely on our analysis if we have no idea how the photographer intended for the image to be viewed? Worse yet, what if we are analysing an image that isn’t even theirs!
I’ve seen a few Art students end up with the wrong Francis Bacon a few times too…“1st Viscount St Alban 1561 – 1626…etc.”…
Dear students, it is imperative that you conduct primary research where possible, not only to experience the scale and the impact of a piece, but also to gather vital information on the composition and subject matter.
Next, we broke the image down:
List all of the elements within the image.
- Hills
- Solar Panels
- Mountains
- Clouds
- Grey sky
- Green grass
Next, we explore the possible meanings of each individual item/object:
- Hills – vastness, beauty, ‘the hills are alive, with the sound of music’, green and pleasant lands, life’s high and low points
- Solar Panels – modern life, technology, harvesting energy, renewable energy, represent the sun itself.
- Mountains – An obstacle, dangerous pass, something to conquer, making progress.
- Clouds – Linked with the sky/dreaming/free thought. Peace and tranquillity, soft texture, abstract thinking.
- Grey sky – Potential for rain, doom and gloom, disaster, sadness.
- Green grass – life, renewal, nature, health, happiness, ‘green grass of home’
Then, explore the context in which these objects are placed:
- Hills/Grey sky – their beauty is covered by technology, under a grey sky, a sky which represents dark times ahead
- Solar Panels – covering the beautiful landscape. Covering the representation of health, free thought, peace and tranquillity. Modern life covering the land.
- Mountains – In the background, in the future? Difficult obstacle, dangerous pass in the distance – in the future.
- Clouds – represent dreaming and free thought but are wispy and thin, like a thread that could break.
- Green grass – life, health and happiness, hidden under modern technology.
Piece it all together.
The image depicts rolling green hills which typically are used to represent vastness and beauty. When placed in the same scene as clouds, this could also represent the vast and beautiful nature of free thinking. Looming over the hills we can see a grey sky which in it’s literal form would tell us that rain is expected and can represent hard times ahead. The mountain range in the background could represent difficult times ahead, mountains are typically used in stories when a character embarks upon a difficult quest. The green grass is hidden by solar panels, possibly representing how modern technology is covering the landscape and destroying the land.
Free thinking, beauty and nature is being stifled by technology. Difficult times lay ahead because as a society we are embarking upon an unknown journey to understand how we can live alongside technology.
(To add greater depth to the analysis, I have written another post here about composition)
Agree or disagree, it’s all subjective.
Ultimately, the point is to establish a ‘why’. When we have established a ‘why’ the work was created, we can use that knowledge to inform the reasons why we will create our own work.
Gursky may have taken this photograph to examine our relationship with technology, how it is taking over our lives and our landscape.
This gives students a starting point to develop their ideas and a new question/topic emerges.
How could you explore technology taking over our lives in a series of photographs?
I hope this has been useful. My agenda as a teacher has always been to encourage students to think and to pay attention to the world around them. Please comment below and add ideas and stories to develop the piece, we are all in this together!
Liam