What gives your photography meaning? Of course, photography is a language, and every photograph means something, often different things to different people. But can meaning ever be anything more than an individual response to a photograph by the person looking at it? How do some photographers seem to make work that resonates more widely, that appears authentic and meaningful beyond its time and milieu? Can we pin down what makes meaningful photography, or could it simply be an artificial construction by a particular set of people to build the value of photography?
Come and join Redeye in a discussion (over a drink) about meaning in photography. It aims to be an informal and enjoyable evening with a serious purpose. It links to Open Eye’s current exhibition Open 2: Pieces of You - six photographers who share a curiosity in exploring how we gather and make meaning of our experiences.
We are very pleased to welcome special guests Phoebe Kiely, whose work is on show at the gallery, and philosopher Joanna Straczowski, whose work focusses on aesthetics and the loss of meaning in art. The event is introduced by Redeye's director Paul Herrmann.
Venue and timing:
This event takes place at Open Eye Gallery, 19 Mann Island, Liverpool Waterfront, Liverpool L3 1BP. Doors open at 6pm and the discussion begins at 7pm.
Accessibility:
The event takes place on the ground floor of the gallery and is fully wheelchair-accessible. There are accessible toilets. Assistance dogs welcome. More details.
Registration:
This event is free to attend but numbers are limited so please register your place below. You need to be signed in to do so. You will be able to make an optional donation at the time you register - these donations help us to deliver more events.
Speaker information
Phoebe Kieley: Currently a Manchester based artist, Phoebe graduated from Manchester School of Art in 2015. She takes her inspiration from the world around her. The photographs she makes are edited to a highly condensed version, which allows her to respond and understand her surroundings. Shot in a diaristic form, the edits are constantly changing and never finalised. In essence she is a street photographer, however her work spans further from the urban environments she is drawn to. She relies on an instinctive approach to taking photographs, finding beauty in the mundane. Often looking for human presence in the scenes she shoots, she also look for forgotten and seemingly post-apocalyptic environments.
Joanna Straczowski: Originally from Germany, first completed her undergraduate studies in English and Art History at Freiburg University in 2012, before she subsequently moved to the UK and completed her Master’s in Arts, Aesthetics and Cultural Institutions at the University of Liverpool. Since the beginning of 2014, she has been a PhD student at the same institution. Her main interest lies in the concept of aestheticization, how it affects society as a whole and the critique it has provoked by various philosophers. She's interested in the way mechanical art production and digital technology has influenced and changed our understanding of aesthetics and our aesthetic experiences and how this is connected to the process of aestheticization. She especially focuses on Jean Baudrillard’s writings on aesthetics, transaesthetics, the vanishing of art and the loss of meaning in art.
Image at the top by Robbie Venn