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Introducing Stephen Monger - The Open College of the Arts

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Introducing Stephen Monger

Stephen Monger, OCA Visual Communications Tutor and photographer, reflects on his practice, finding subjects to photograph and on what is contemporary landscape?
Dolphin-Square-Stephen-Monger
I recently had a photograph selected for the W-CA Contemporary Landscape Photography Open. The exhibition was held at Worcester Museum and Art Gallery, throughout December, and the selectors were: Paul Seawright, Dan Holdsworth, Richard Billingham, Pete James, Jem Southam, Ivan & Heather Morison, and Fiona Crisp. There were in the region of 400 photographers who applied and 35 were selected. As a photographer, who has been working for 20 years, I found myself in reflective mood when viewing the show.
There is something quite contemplative about making photographs for me. I have a number of questions. They are not simple to answer, but remain the same over time. They are loosely based round: thinking about how and why I select subjects; what makes them contemporary; and how I can best capture the subject with the equipment I have available?
The subjects I select usually present themselves to me whilst travelling each week between home and work. They are often places that are changing and have some relevance to contemporary concerns, subjects that are written about, discussed on the radio, or have some personal significance. Next comes the struggle to get back to the site to photograph it when the weather is right, and before the opportunity is lost. There have been many photographs I have failed to make due to work commitments. I drove past a farm each morning in Somerset as the machinery was lined up for auction, put on the market and finally loaded onto trailers. This is a contemporary theme being played out across our landscape as rural businesses struggle to survive the global recession and adjust to new technology.
I have always been interested in making work about the places I live. The buildings in Dolphin Square, put up in the seventies have come to the end of their lives and are being demolished. I grew up in the seventies and as you get older it feels like history is getting closer behind you. My secondary school was built in a similar style. It has also been knocked down. Personal events and memories are always present to inform the creative decisions you make. So with familiarity of places, comes a realisation that we are linked to the land and are often telling stories about ourselves.
I found a raised location adjacent to the site looking over the perimeter wall. I made a series of photographs in February/March 2013, as the square was reduced to rubble, graded and taken away for recycling. As the buildings were removed new views would open up presenting new possibilities. It was quite an exciting time responding to changing events and trying to make sense of them through the camera.
All photographers have their rules of engagement. I used to have very strict rules aspiring to made photographs that were still and with even light. Increasingly however, I find myself looking to break these rules as I look for new ways to represent the subject matter before me. I work with a large camera placed on a tripod and this forces you to slow down and watch what is going on. I wait for a moment of stillness, or a precise moment of movement. The machinery was working at a constant pace. Having a grabbing arm entering the picture would bring a bit of animation and refer to events continuing beyond the edge of the frame. I felt unable to tell the whole story on one sheet of film, but this would allow me to make a clear statement.
The site of Dolphin Square is currently resting, awaiting development and for the economy to pick up. As and when it wakes, I hope to continue.
You can follow Stephen’s blogs here:
http://stephen-monger.tumblr.com/
http://www.withnoroof.com/?p=1420


Posted by author: Joanne

8 thoughts on “Introducing Stephen Monger

  • I can empathise with your working practice because I do likewise, although I try to take my commuting snaps on the spot, and even through the window of my sometimes still moving car using an APS-C compact camera. There are regular scenes appear that invite capture and almost always, and even if I can return later with more heavy-duty equipment the mood and light and even the scene has gone.
    The image posted here seems to lack detail and has been over-sharpened for web use, but do you have a higher resolution display somewhere accessible?

  • I say the W-ca exhibition, I really enjoyed it. I found it slightly frustrating in that it only showed one photograph from each photographer and there wasn’t much info available to explain the background to them. I spent quite a lot of time on the internet later researching; but not everyone publishes much info about what they do and why they do it though, so its really, really interesting to hear about Stephen’s working process and ideas behind the photograph. From experience I can say that its not easy to find this sort of background info.
    My researches after the exhibition were partly to see who was selected, I hadn’t entered myself although somehow I had an invite to (no idea where that came from!) – I don’t really know anything about these kinds of competitions so I was interested to find out the kind of work that was selected and who had made it.
    It turned out that there was a really wide range of work there from a diverse range of photographers – some I recognised from Liz Wells ‘landscape matters’ and some that were still photography students. One was a printmaker and another a fine artist who mostly seems to use sculpture/installation in his practise. So a very wide range, the type of work selected was also very diverse within the overall umbrella of ‘landscape’
    Anyway I thought that it was sharing this with other students in case they are teetering on the verge of entering this sort of competition; some student work was definately selected alongside the better known – so its not an impossibility!

  • Hi Anne,
    I think that one of the interesting things about shows like this is getting to see the work of new photographers next to the more established. The selectors view the work blind, but would probably recognise a few pieces from the style, subject or location of the more established photographers.
    Open exhibitions like the W-CA offer a really good testing ground for new photographers and are worth entering. Look at who is selecting before you decide to enter. Sometimes it pays to be a bit strategic about what you submit – a selector only get a short time to look at your work.
    Thanks for your comments.
    Regards
    Stephen

    • Bloomberg and Chanarin described selecting at the World Press Photo 2007 I think, they had 17,000 mages to view in the week and decide on the winner – Tim Heatherington for interest -(they were lucky that another team had performed the first downselect and removed most of the cat pictures and pornography). I worked out that If they slept for 8 hours and didn’t stop for any food and toilet breaks etc then 7 days X 16 hours X 60 mins X 60 secs / 17,000 images = 23.717 per image and no repeats, so the judges would need to have photographic memories! Assuming they down-selected and had, say two further voting rounds and some form of discussion to agree a final winner, then perhaps 10 – 15 seconds per image……..

  • It is an interesting project. What are your longer-term plans for the pictures you are making in your area, Stephen – are you considering a book or exhibition perhaps?

  • Hi Eileen,
    I am working with several different approaches to picture making. On one side I document sites and changes in the landscape in what is a fairly conventional way, and I also make representations in cardboard of buildings that I them photograph in the studio. I have always seen the two approaches as being the same practice. With an ongoing project like this there are times when you get to a stage, that you want to look at a selection on the wall. Its not so much about drawing a line under it, but a point of punctuation. I have always liked the exhibition form as a way of showing work and intent to return to it before very long.
    This was a blog post I did last year with some 3d representations:
    http://www.weareoca.com/fine_art/3-d-printing-really-really/
    Thank you for your interest.
    Regards
    Stephen

  • That’s interesting. I found some of the cardboard models on your Axis site, in case any other reader is also interested. http://www.axisweb.org/p/stephenmonger
    I like the ghost building drawing also. Do you show the models, or just the pictures of them?
    The other thing that strikes me from your description is that the projects you’re working on don’t necessarily seem to have an end point – is that right? I’m used to seeing people work on projects like this with a view to producing, say, a book or set of images for showing and then moving on. I’ve been exploring two areas photographically now for some time in parallel with my courses and wonder from time to time when I will be finished and how I’ll know. If that something that bothers you, or is it simply not an issue for your practice?

  • My audience are always interested in the models, but I only ever see them as a means to an end. I only build the profile that will be photographed. In a way they are resolved or finished by photography as they don’t completely work in the round. The ghost buildings are actually drawn in 3D, so you can travel round them on screen by rotating in the programme. I hope to resolve this as a animation at some point.
    I think many artists just have one or two ideas that they keep exploring. I’m interested in the slowing down, looking, and re-looking in practice. So a project that continues doesn’t necessarily have an end, just punctuation or points of clarity along the course. I do feel like I’m approaching a point of clarity at the moment.
    Best wishes
    Stephen

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