Unstuck: ‘War artists without a war’

Lists

Author: Gough, Paul (26 October 2021)

Abstract
Publication details
Downloads
Images

Abstract

"Fortunes of War evolved through an enquiry led (pre-internet) approach that focused on a Lamarkian preoccupation with the potential impact of an environment on collective and individual behaviour. The intention was to create anticipatory photographic images. A ‘retention vanish’ approach to composition placed the emphasis on framing the subject of the image from the perspective of the distraction and not the scene. Through this an attempt was made to counter pre-occupied states of mind, circumventing a censorship of expectation relating to the form of both the work itself and significantly that of its maker."

Publication details

Status:

Published

Refereed:

Yes

Title:

Unstuck: ‘War artists without a war’

Title of Book:

Fortunes of War: Photography in Alter Space

Publisher:

Intellect

Number of Pages:

160

Page Range:

pp. 50-60

ISBN:

9781783209040

Creators:

Gough, Paul

Editors:

Lesdema, Eric and Cramerotti, Alfredo

Contributors:

Contribution

Name

Author

UNSPECIFIED

Official URL:

https://www.intellectbooks.com/fortunes-of-war

Subjects:

Art History
Cultural History
Creative writing
Photography

Additional Information:

Like any other profession, the armed services have their own terms and typologies, some more terse than is customary. However, perhaps more than others, the military employ a euphemistic turn that blends understatement with colourful irony: shooting one’s own side in error is called ‘friendly fire’; ‘fatigue duty’ is labour assigned to men that does not require the use of ‘arms’; running away is never ‘retreat’ but ‘strategic withdrawal’. Military conflict, asserts the indomitable Paul Fussell, is laced inevitably with irony.

Keywords:

Memory, Photography, Commemoration, Camouflage, World War One, war artists, peace studies, activism

Downloads