HICHAM BENOHOUD
In this photograph there is a boy in the centre wearing pieces of bamboo on one of his arms and both of his legs, he is looking directly at the camera. In the background there are numerous other people who look like they are absorbed into their work and ultimately unconcerned with the on goings in front of them.
This photograph is definitely a kind of performance portrait, it is staged, this is clear by the fact that the person is looking towards the camera and the fact it is so outlandish. why is the person in the foreground doing what he is doing and why is everyone else in the background avoiding to look at the person in the centre. It makes me feel very uncomfortable, simply because I do not understand it. |
'The classroom' are silver gelatin are photographs created between the years 1994 and 2000 during which Benohoud was working as an art teacher in Marrakech. In order to create these images he asked his students to do performative projects in which he took pictures of . The students were given physical constraints, this may be items and different poses and actions that they must do. In the image above we have an example of a school boy wearing pieces of what looks like bamboo, doing a pose in the foreground. In the background there are several other young students absorbed into their studies and not particularity interested in looking at the student in the centre.
Looking at the images created by this photographer illicit's a confusion and causes us to feel uncomfortable to look at the images "the Classroom series questions viewers’ attitudes towards their own pleasure or discomfort at seeing these ambiguous scenes"* The reason for this is that everything in these images forces us to feel uncomfortable, why is the person in the foreground posing like a puppet? and why are the people in the background unconcerned or uninterested in the person in the centre? It feels almost like a form of voyeurism, a taboo, the people in the background avert their eyes away from the main subject of the photo. However, by the fact the person is aware of the image taken of them makes us concerned about whether it's okay to use these people to take these photos or not.
Personally I do think that these photographs are okay to take and publish as it brings up the topic of taboos in Moroccan society, where due to the cost of education in the country it is vital that all the students work as hard as they can. Education there is a luxury, a person like myself often forgets that education is not globally given as freely as the UK. Therefore, I believe that it was almost imperative that Benohoud publish these photographs to share. It is not looking from an outside perspective, I believe that it is inside where a teacher gets to know the students and take photographs of their performance piece.
Looking at the images created by this photographer illicit's a confusion and causes us to feel uncomfortable to look at the images "the Classroom series questions viewers’ attitudes towards their own pleasure or discomfort at seeing these ambiguous scenes"* The reason for this is that everything in these images forces us to feel uncomfortable, why is the person in the foreground posing like a puppet? and why are the people in the background unconcerned or uninterested in the person in the centre? It feels almost like a form of voyeurism, a taboo, the people in the background avert their eyes away from the main subject of the photo. However, by the fact the person is aware of the image taken of them makes us concerned about whether it's okay to use these people to take these photos or not.
Personally I do think that these photographs are okay to take and publish as it brings up the topic of taboos in Moroccan society, where due to the cost of education in the country it is vital that all the students work as hard as they can. Education there is a luxury, a person like myself often forgets that education is not globally given as freely as the UK. Therefore, I believe that it was almost imperative that Benohoud publish these photographs to share. It is not looking from an outside perspective, I believe that it is inside where a teacher gets to know the students and take photographs of their performance piece.
PHOTOSHOOT
The purpose of the shoot was to take us out of our shells, to not think too much about the photographs we were taking, without it being planned. It was to prove that we are more imaginative and capable when we are taken outside of the box. The task entailed us to take a few props and use these to take portraits of another student in our class that we don't commonly interact with.
We decided to take a large ball of string, some red tape and a clear foil sheet. With these items we created a clear sheet of paper with red string and red tape attached to it, which we used as a cover to hide ourselves. From theses images taken I like only two for the reason that it covers parts of the face creating a barrier between the subject of the photo and the camera
We decided to take a large ball of string, some red tape and a clear foil sheet. With these items we created a clear sheet of paper with red string and red tape attached to it, which we used as a cover to hide ourselves. From theses images taken I like only two for the reason that it covers parts of the face creating a barrier between the subject of the photo and the camera