Concepts Challenging?

[sirch]

This was on the Grauniad website today

Great Scot! The diverse charms of Caledonia – in pictures

From quiet gardens to leaping dancers, Robbie Lawrence captures Scotland’s cities, rural locations and coastal towns during a time of political upheaval

www.theguardian.com

Given that they curate their photography section fairly well and we can assume that a national broadsheet knows something about what is culturally current, relevant and important I am prepared not to just write it off...

...but I'm finding it challenging. Perhaps it is just the images that they have selected or perhaps it is seeing the work out of context in this way but it seems pretty scatter-gun, stylistically inconsistent and lacking narrative. Googling Robbie Lawrence and looking at his rather impenetrable website hasn't really helped. Am I just getting old? Am I missing something? What do those of you who are well versed in the photographic canon make of this?

 

[sphexx]

Scatter-gun. You could probably make a similarly varied collection from anywhere

 

[Harlequin565]

I actually have no educated clue, but agree with Richard.

I was toying with the idea of signing up to Magnum's latest online training course about book making which covers sequencing, layouts and narrative. (https://www.magnumphotos.com/shop/e...-of-a-photo-book/#product_details-description)

 

[myotis]

This was on the Grauniad website today

Great Scot! The diverse charms of Caledonia – in pictures

From quiet gardens to leaping dancers, Robbie Lawrence captures Scotland’s cities, rural locations and coastal towns during a time of political upheaval

www.theguardian.com

...but I'm finding it challenging. Perhaps it is just the images that they have selected or perhaps it is seeing the work out of context in this way but it seems pretty scatter-gun, stylistically inconsistent and lacking narrative.

I think it may suffer from being work from three different projects, lumped into a single exhibition. Looking at them at the exhibition, or in the book, where I assume they are presented in context, may give a different impression.

 

[Ed Sutton]

While differing in approach, what unites all the images are deep roots to the places where they were created.

Robbie works with a painterly softness and sensitivity to his subjects, heightening detail and nuance. From portraiture, travel and documentary to editorial work, he places the human experience front and centre to create thoughtful, abstract images with an emphasis on narrative

I'm surprised none of you got that from looking at the pictures.

The work strikes me as fairly typical of contemporary trends in what I think of as 'poetic documentary' photography. The kind of impenetrable stuff you see a lot of on LensCulture. Photos that are said to have meaning, but meanings which are not self-evident in the pictures. Not to my eyes at any rate.

Home page

robbie-lawrence.com

 

[viewfromthenorth]

I agree with all of the above. The Gruandia have picked a random selection of pictures from an exhibition with no unifying theme other than ‘Scotland’. I’ve had a look at his rather minimalist website and a couple of the projects - I quite liked The Voice above the Linn - and some of the pictures make more sense when in the context of others but there is still a disappointing lack of contextual information to tell me about the projects. Not my thing really, but hey photography is a broad church and it obviously appeals to those more educated than I am if he’s got a feature in a national rag.

 

[myotis]

This appears to only be on Facebook, but there is an interview with Robbie Lawrence at the opening of the exhibition. It's about 50 minutes.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1138932083562127

View: https://www.facebook.com/StillsGallery/videos/1138932083562127


Makes it much clearer that the work is from three very different projects, and it's clear that they have been presented this way at the exhibit. I also wasn't aware that one of the projects was commissioned work for the Atlantic on post-brexit Britain.

I found it interesting, but I always find these things interesting, and always feel I've learnt something, so my opinion on this probably isn't worth much.

 

[sirch]

Apologies for not replying but I hadn't got any notifications from this thread

Here's another, I don't have an issue with the photos in this one but the descriptions of the photographers ...

Visual Noise: Rankin’s photography fair spotlights new talent – in pictures

The photographer Rankin’s new photography fair, Visual Noise, celebrates the talent of graduates whose final shows were disrupted by Covid. It takes place at Maryland Studio in east London on 9-10 April. Tickets are available from the studio’s website. All profits go to @legacyofwarfoundation

www.theguardian.com

"Eloïse Atkins is a multi-genre photographer who presents a timeless energy in capturing subjects and scenes that surround her. Drawing out emotion and embodying significant values is something she feels strongly about within her work."

Aren[t we all? or at least don't we all aspire to be?