Duane Michals is a photographer who is well known for his use of narrative structures to create a story within his images. While i'd argue most images have some sort of narrative, the way that he takes and organises his photos create a stronger narrative than most. Here I mainly refer to his sequences, however his singular images are also emphasised with a strong narrative in other ways other than the obvious; for example hand written text.
Things Are Queer (1973) is a sequence that begins in the bathroom. The first frame is empty, which helps set the scene, the location and gives us a sense of familiarity. However in the second image we see a leg on the floor of the bathroom and the size of either the leg or the bathroom is abnormal. Our sense of familiarity is now being questioned by us and it doesn't come back. The third frame he leans over and seems uncomfortable, maybe by his size, maybe because of the size of his surroundings, maybe by something else in his life. However in this frame we become aware of more of his surroundings, such as the map and exit sign which correlate with the proportions of the man rather than the bathroom, which suggests the bathroom is miniature and that the man is not a giant.
In the fourth fame we see a small book (as shown by the size of the thumb compared to it). It becomes clear that the camera is moving further away from the scene and we're moving back, as the third frame is in the book. We now know that we have seemingly been looking at a picture of a picture, for the first three frames belong in the book.
The camera moves further back and we see the back of the head of the man, and even more so in the 6th frame. The dark corridor gives a very mysterious feel the image, however this gets eliminated in the 7th frame where the camera moves back yet again and we see it in a frame on a wall.
Moving back again, the 8th frame shows it above a sink. In this close up of the sink we can see that the taps have been removed with only holes to remain.
The camera moves back yet again for us to only see the exact image that was in the first frame. The framed image and the sink is that of the first frame. We've been taken through a circular narrative.
The meaning of this sequence is very hard to decipher and we start to lean upon the text within the image. The handwritten title is said to suggest this is about the artist's own homosexuality because of the personal touch. It has also been suggested that the plain use of the word queer makes the image queer. The passage in the book refers to a story from 1812 which depicts a boy, Hans, who has no fear, and his father tries to put him through a series of scary things for him to learn fear. At this point of the story where he defeats a monster and the monster disappears, leaving the boy to find his own way out of the castle in the dark. It has been suggested that the image of the passageway is parallel to the part in the story that he is reading.
Emerson Sprocket of Philosophy of Photography says;
" Remaining fearless, Hans overcomes the demon, wins a third of the castle's treasure, marries the princess, and thereby has found a success that his father thought he could never have and that Hans believed could only come if he learned to fear. Fearless is the means to success rather than a barrier to it, and this I take out means we need courage in the face of the queerness of the world. "
The meaning behind this sequence isn't absolute, and is different for each person. Michals hasn't revealed all too much about this series and so we must contemplate what we have been given and try to read from the little substance in the sequence.
I feel that before you read the title the series makes more sense. You get the circular narrative and you can understand how it works. It's only when you read the title 'Things Are Queer' that you try to figure out the relevancy. Perhaps the relevancy is small or perhaps it's staring at us right in the face. It may be only relevant to the artist himself. There is no exact answer to this and nothing is definitive. Perhaps that's the relevancy.
While I am very interested in the meaning behind this imagery the most relevant part to my work is the plain use of sequences. I think it's important for me to look at work using sequences in various ways. While at the moment i'm not using circular narratives it has peaked my interest. This work will make me think about how I organise my work.
http://www.queerculturalcenter.org/Pages/Weingberg.html
http://www.philosophyof.photography/2015/02/duane-michals-things-are-queer-as.html
Things Are Queer (1973) is a sequence that begins in the bathroom. The first frame is empty, which helps set the scene, the location and gives us a sense of familiarity. However in the second image we see a leg on the floor of the bathroom and the size of either the leg or the bathroom is abnormal. Our sense of familiarity is now being questioned by us and it doesn't come back. The third frame he leans over and seems uncomfortable, maybe by his size, maybe because of the size of his surroundings, maybe by something else in his life. However in this frame we become aware of more of his surroundings, such as the map and exit sign which correlate with the proportions of the man rather than the bathroom, which suggests the bathroom is miniature and that the man is not a giant.
In the fourth fame we see a small book (as shown by the size of the thumb compared to it). It becomes clear that the camera is moving further away from the scene and we're moving back, as the third frame is in the book. We now know that we have seemingly been looking at a picture of a picture, for the first three frames belong in the book.
The camera moves further back and we see the back of the head of the man, and even more so in the 6th frame. The dark corridor gives a very mysterious feel the image, however this gets eliminated in the 7th frame where the camera moves back yet again and we see it in a frame on a wall.
Moving back again, the 8th frame shows it above a sink. In this close up of the sink we can see that the taps have been removed with only holes to remain.
The camera moves back yet again for us to only see the exact image that was in the first frame. The framed image and the sink is that of the first frame. We've been taken through a circular narrative.
Emerson Sprocket of Philosophy of Photography says;
" Remaining fearless, Hans overcomes the demon, wins a third of the castle's treasure, marries the princess, and thereby has found a success that his father thought he could never have and that Hans believed could only come if he learned to fear. Fearless is the means to success rather than a barrier to it, and this I take out means we need courage in the face of the queerness of the world. "
The meaning behind this sequence isn't absolute, and is different for each person. Michals hasn't revealed all too much about this series and so we must contemplate what we have been given and try to read from the little substance in the sequence.
I feel that before you read the title the series makes more sense. You get the circular narrative and you can understand how it works. It's only when you read the title 'Things Are Queer' that you try to figure out the relevancy. Perhaps the relevancy is small or perhaps it's staring at us right in the face. It may be only relevant to the artist himself. There is no exact answer to this and nothing is definitive. Perhaps that's the relevancy.
While I am very interested in the meaning behind this imagery the most relevant part to my work is the plain use of sequences. I think it's important for me to look at work using sequences in various ways. While at the moment i'm not using circular narratives it has peaked my interest. This work will make me think about how I organise my work.
http://www.queerculturalcenter.org/Pages/Weingberg.html
http://www.philosophyof.photography/2015/02/duane-michals-things-are-queer-as.html
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