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Typology Project. Typology : a systematic classification or study of types www.dictionary.com. One of the ways in which we make sense of the world around us is to mentally categorise things into different groups – For example: furniture, foods, books, people, games and so on.
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Typology: a systematic classification or study of types www.dictionary.com
One of the ways in which we make sense of the world around us is to mentally categorise things into different groups – For example: furniture, foods, books, people, games and so on. Each group of ‘things’ can itself then be sub-divided into different ‘types’. For example, the group ‘furniture’ consists of several types including chairs, tables, shelves, beds and so on. Each type of furniture itself will then consist of different ‘types’ – for example there are single beds, double beds, beds with and without a header and so on. DJ & presenter Chris Evans used to collect fast sports cars (itself a sub-category of the group ‘cars’). When asked why he had so many he might well have answered that despite all being a type of sports cars, each was different with its own distinctive and unique features. Typology is the study of ‘types’
Butterfly collector arranging his specimens into the different types for display. The differences between the varied types of butterfly become more apparent when the butterflys are placed next to one another.
Bernd & Hilla Becher, Water Towers Bernd & Hilla photograph what many people would consider to be boring industrial buildings. By displaying the images next to one another we are invited to compare each image with the accompanying images. This involves really seeing,rather than just giving the images a quick look.
Bernd & Hilla Becher, Cooling Towers
These pit heads* all seem to be constructed with a huge metal ‘A’. Despite all being very similar, with careful study we see that they are in fact all quite different. * A ‘pit head’ is the structure found above a deep hole used for mining minerals and ores. The large wheel is connected to cables which pull up an elevator (lift) which transports the miners.
Note the generally flat/soft lighting in all the Becher’s work. Why might they have chosen to avoid photographing in bright sunshine with its fluffy clouds and deep shadows? Bernd & Hilla Becher, Water Towers
Bernd & Hilla Becher Blast Furnaces
Another photographer who was concerned with typology was August Sander (1876-1964)
August Sander Working in 1930’s Germany, Sander attempted to ‘scientifically’ record the various ‘types’ of German citizen. He made many photographic portraits and entitled each with the profession of the subject. He then categorised his photographs into groups such as farmers, manual workers, clerical workers, professionals and so on. Pastry Cook
Notary (a kind of solicitor)
Sander published his photographs in a book entitled Face of Our Time. Juxtaposition This is the placing of things next to one another in order to emphasise their differences. The works of the Bechers and August Sander use juxtaposition to make us look more carefully at the world around us.
By printing photographs next to one another in a book then, Sander encourages us to compare the various facial types, body shapes and clothing.
During the 1930s Germany was a experiencing an economic depression (similar to today but far worse, with very high unemployment and inflation). There was much social unrest and this ultimately lead to the rise of the Nazi party and their infamous leader Adolf Hitler. August Sander’s images of the German people did not sit well with the Nazi Party’s conception of Germans as being a pure ‘Aryan Race’ and his book was banned. Man in woman’s clothing, photographed by Sander … not quite the blond blue eyed Ayrian which the Nazis promoted as the true German citizen! Hitler with some lovely Aryan children … ahhhhh
Despite much of his former work being destroyed, Sander continued to work, documenting the rise of this new social group, just as he had previously documented other social groups.
When does a Typology become an artwork? This is a tricky question, to which there is no definitive answer. If the function of an artwork is just to represent the world in a sensual or beautiful way, then the works of Hilla and Bernd Becher are unlikely to be thought to be good ‘Art’. However as we have seen, from around the mid 19th century artworks have not always had to represent something found in the real world (e.g. abstract art). Indeed, much art nowadays is classified as Conceptual Art . Conceptual art is concerned with conveying ideas (concepts), and/or allowing the viewer to create their own meaning for the work. Whether a particular typology can be considered ‘Art’ is therefore a question which you will have to decide for yourself!
Flicker, Mugs Typology, http://www.flickr.com/photos/adsphoto/2190766812/
Assignment Produce a photographic typology of some sort of object which you find on campus. Produce 9 images representing different examples or types of this object. Arrange the 9 images to produce an artwork. Decisions to make in your plan / proposal • Decide on which type of object or ‘thing’ which you will photograph (remember you will need at least 9 different examples). • Decide on black & white or colour. • Decide whether they will all be photographed with a similar setting or background. • Decide whether they will all be photographed with similar lighting conditions.
