Who is the practitioner (what is their name?) and when were they practicing?
Sjana Earp, better known as her instagram label “Sjana Elise,” is a photojournalist, yoga instructor and blogger. Producing her largest platform on Instagram with 1.6 million followers, Sjana has been posting photographs onto the app since she was a teenager. However, her career in photojournalism and lifestyle blogging took off in her early twenties. Since then, Sjana has been active on Instagram, gaining further success which led to her creation of a YouTube channel. Having struggled with bullying and severe mental health issues as a teenager, Sjana now focuses on wanting to help others who are currently facing the same difficulties. With yoga becoming a salvation for the 24 year old, she hopes her love and passion for the art will motivate others to try it through the use of her Instagram.
What is the title of the photo or video you have chosen to analyse (can you provide a link?)
With the photo or video, you are examining when was it produced (date)?
This photo was published onto Instagram on the 23rd of April, 2019. It is unclear, however, when this photograph was taken as Sjana had posted similar photographs previous to this one with the same tags in the caption. Yet, digging deeper, this particular photo was taken during a trip to Mexico which only lasted a few days. Hence, the production of the photographs would have been conducted around the time of the trip which began on April 21st.
How was the photo or video authored?
Sjana is commonly found to use her iPhone camera when taking photographs. However, due to this photo being taken by someone else, we assume that not to be the case. Luckily the photographer was tagged: @eastonschirra. Being a professional photographer in this day and age, a majority of his work would be through the use of a digital camera. The photo is also seen to be edited due to the obvious colour grading to enhance the yellows.
How was the photo or video published?
This photo was published onto the social network Instagram, most likely off of Sjana’s iPhone device. Besides the editing, there would have been no hard work publishing this photograph, unlike in the cases of publishing film. Yet, there is a certain aesthetic which Sjana adheres to when publishing her content. Most of her photographs link together with a colour palette; recently they all resemble earthy tones. In the past, she was known for using highly saturated colours. This not only shows off her photographs in a satisfying manner, but produces the idea of creating a “collection” of photos, as an artist would for an exhibition.
How was the photo or video distributed?
The distribution of this photo can easily be detected through the use of Sjana’s tags. She has tagged the company/sponsor of the trip she is on (the swimwear brand), as well as the photographer and the resort she is staying at. Hence, if the companies were to re-upload her photograph, there would be a continuous cycle of links. For instance, in the ‘tagged’ option on her instagram account, you can find the photograph posted by other accounts.
In order for Sjana’s career to thrive, she has to rely on sponsored posts and trips.
Yet, she has come out in saying she only supports companies who support her ideals and values, such as caring for the earth. Sjana also makes use of the ‘highlights’ feature on Instagram, which is an affordance that lets users create mini Insta stories on their profile that don’t disappear. A collection of memories. In this we see a ‘behind the scenes‘ look on the photoshoot itself which produced this photograph. Seeing this Instagram story would have directed user traffic to her posts, as well as to the tagged accounts. What is important to address is that Sjana’s profile is quite clean-cut, meaning her first photographs posted have since been deleted, leaving a clean slate. However, her YouTube account was created after her rise in Insta fame. The traffic coming onto her account would simply be from the distribution of her work with brands and other famous Instagrammers. Sjana is constantly distributing content, posting nearly every single day. This a technique which adheres to the Instagram algorithm and allows her posts to constantly pop up on our feeds and explore page.
Who is the practitioner (what is their name?) and when were they practicing?
Born in 1932 in Seoul, South Korea, Nam June Paik was a “composer, performer and artist” whom in the 1960’s become an innovative figure towards the creation of video-art (Britannica, 2008). Paik was active from the early 60’s when he opened his first exhibition, Exhibition of Music/Electronic Television, to the early 2000’s; creating one of his last pieces Global Groove 2004 two years before his death. Paik also worked as a professor at Düsseldorf State Academy of Art during his time as an active artist. He was known to be close friends with fellow famous artist Andy Warhol.
What is the title of the photo or video you have chosen to analyse (can you provide a link?)
I have chosen to analyse the video art titled Venus by Nam June Paik. This was a piece out of a larger series of works Paik created in the 1990’s called “The Planet.”
With the photo or video, you are examining when was it produced (date)?
Venus was created in 1990, appearing to be one of his later works.
How was the photo or video authored?
This work depicts a painted aluminium structure with a green satellite dish in the centre; 24 colour tv sets are shown surrounding the dish and within. Appearing on all of the screens of these Sony televisions is a synced program which showcases hypnotic imagery, forcing viewers to almost see this piece as an illusion from afar. In order to create such a piece, Paik would have used certain effects on the film itself in order for the images to become distorted and hypnotising. The laser disc scanner involved with this piece would have also contributed to such effects. As this piece is a sculpture, (the only form of technology used is the televisions) manual labour putting the piece together would have occurred. There was no assistance of digital technology.
How was the photo or video published?
By the 1990’s, colour television was no longer foreign. However, distorted colour imagery shown on television was, especially in the context of art. Hence, the publication of this piece would have occurred through the timely process of developing the film and distorting the film physically. There would have been no help of digital editing software.
How was the photo or video distributed?
“Venus” was distributed to the public by being placed in The Hans Mayer Gallery in Germany, which was established in 1965. Nam June Paik joined the gallery in 1989, a year before creating this piece. The gallery still distributes this and many other pieces created by Paik to this day. At Art Cologne 2009, Venus was shown and spoken about by Hans Mayar himself in an online video for further public distribution.
Who is the practitioner (what is their name?) and when were they practicing?
Born in 1908 in France, Henri Cartier-Bresson was an artist of many talents. Beginning with a love of surrealism painting, the artist soon moved onto photography in 1931. He bought his Leica camera in 1932. Cartier-Bresson remained active in his photography career up until the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, giving up this passion for drawing. It is important to address how accomplished this practitioner became, his documentary style of photography showcasing world events such as the liberation of Paris, the building of the Berlin Wall and the victory of communists in China.
What is the title of the photo or video you have chosen to analyse (can you provide a link?)
The photograph I have chosen to analyse is part of Cartier-Bresson’s SPAIN. 1933. collection titled “SPAIN. Valencia Province. Alicante. 1933.” It displays a portrait of three women.
With the photo or video, you are examining when was it produced (date)?
This photograph was produced in autumn of 1933, month and day unknown.
How was the photo or video authored?
Considering this photograph was taken in 1933, it is accurate to assume that Cartier-Bresson took this photograph with his recently purchased Leica 35mm rangefinder camera and a 50mm lens. Influenced by surrealism in his paintings, the Leica with a 50mm wide angle lens allowed this photograph to appear like a realistic painting. What is important to note is Cartier-Bresson was uninterested in the “photographic process” (Kestenholz, 2014). He liked to use little equipment so he didn’t stand out, and hence, captured more “real” moments. This photograph film would then have been developed.
How was the photo or video published?
This photograph was published as a gelatin silver print as part of a collection. As this photograph was printed, it has become an important piece in exhibitions and books. Buyers are able to purchase this photograph through auctions and in some cases, online. However, in the early 1900’s, it would have been hard to obtain this print. It also means that the process of publishing the photo would have been more intensive as it was taken on film.
Although not evident in the picture above, photographs from the SPAIN 1933 collection have been exhibited many times at the MoMA. This distributes the artists work to many people at one time, in a space catered towards lovers of art and photography. Being an exhibition of just his work, the audience is implied to be lovers of Cartier-Bresson’s photography. This particular photograph is also displayed on the Magnum Photos website, which allows an audience in the digital world to access and view the print (which has been digitised for such consumption.)
Who is the practitioner (what is their name?) and when were they practicing?
