Boxes | OCA Level 3 Photography Blog

Boxes and Hidden Spaces

An important area of interest which sprang out of my initial assignment is that of boxes. I approached some medical professionals to ask how they dealt with death and loss and medical scans and the technical side of their craft, one of the answers which came back was that the doctor tried “to keep emotions in a seperate box” (KamathTallur, 2022) . This is interesting in the implication of dividing up the subject matter into manageable emotional chunks but also because of the idea of a physical box has meaning to me for my art as a way of containing and displaying works but also as a possible way to link different symbols into my work. My daughter left a memory box of things that were special to her. Things such as as lock of her hair which was shaved off before she lost most of it becuase of chemotherapy treatment. I have never looked into that box as it just too painful. Interesting to consider the box as a container and how to make that particular box relevant to my project. For example, using medical file boxes or x-ray film boxes or boxes lines with something particular to my work. The box then can be closed or open, its contents hidden or displayed which can represent a creative way to think of a particular aspect of my work. In terms of emotion, not every emotion needs to be fully on show and displayed in technicolour. The idea of a box perhaps allows me a way to deal with emotion by implication. I think if I went down this route I might be forced to signpost my work although to be fair, as I have no idea what my work might be like, at this stage this is neither a bad or a good thing.

A box in photographic terms can be many things. Whether a real box, a border say on a photograph, a camera, an arrangement which forms a collection for example a collage or comic strip, all seem to be ways to display a collection. A grave itself is a box as is a coffin or a gravestone. Each of these contains a related topic such as the words we associate with death on a gravestone; the name of the deceased, dates, their living relatives names, for example, “beloved mother of…” while the coffin contains the collection of the mortal remains and maybe some grave good which were special to the person who died or to their relatives.

There are many examples of artists who have uses ‘boxes’ or rather the box-like form in their work. One which interested me was the work of Gordon Matta-Clark who had an architecture background. In the 70s he produced work he called “cuttings” in which he opened up buildings by slicing shapes into their walls and floors using a chainsaw. The part of this work that interests me is that Matta-Clark created new vistas and passages and revealed hidden space. The rear section of the house was set on a lowered foundation, creating a wedge of space between the two halves that exposed a series of sliced rooms and introduced light and air into cramped spaces. This splitting implied both a rupturing of the fabric of domestic space and a liberation of the individual from suburban isolation. Like the accompanying series of photographs, sketches, and an artist’s book, Matta-Clark’s film operates as both a document of the performative event and a parallel work. (Matta-Clark, 1974b)

This idea of opening up a space to create new views and hidden spaces and rooms struck me as being very reminiscent of what a medical scan does. It is interesting that in looking at ideas for boxes, I found a parallel theme on hidden spaces.

My own take on boxes for my project

I am interested in this idea of boxes and the possibility of creating a collection of objects and of using these boxes as a way to display and contain my works, my ideas and creativity, my thoughts and memories. This idea of containment and of creating a border is interesting and worthy of further study. I will collect images of boxes and ideas and record them in my project notebook. I also wonder how the box fits with the scan and with a particular place where I might photograph or assemble the work. As regards boxes I thought it worthwhile to have a very quick ‘brain dump’ of my ideas. I might well add to this in the future if I feel there is any merit here.

An empty box (what does that say? Does it speak of something that is missing or is elsewhere?)
What kinds of boxes? Materials? What was box used for? What is the texture of the box?
A box left to decay in the garden?
A flower box. The flowers related to death symbolism?
A plain box painted with different flowers?
A box containing my artworks? What would connection be between the box and my work? Do the boxes become the artwork and leave them empty?
A wooden box or coffin?
A plastic form of a skull? Is a skull or a coffin too dark in terms of the mood? What of I was to paint these to try and change this feeling? Are coffins and skulls too dramatic and false? Too Walt Disney? Too plastic?
A box which might have contained x-ray film?
Rebecca’s memory box – still closed and its contents unknown
Could I use different forms as boxes or containers? What if I was to project my images onto gravestones for example? Would that be socially unacceptable? Do I care? Something to be done in the dark.
What about using toys as boxes? A doll with broken head? Or a doll with no hair as if the doll received chemo?

Just some random thoughts here. I don’t know if these have any worth or value. I have horrid feeling that this feels contrived. I know this feeling well as with it comes doubts about value and worth of my work and my own sense of myself. The mood swings that go hand in hand with my practice. The darker side of my practice filled with self doubt.

References

Matta-Clark, G. (1974a) Splitting, MoMA. Available at: https://www.moma.org/collection/works/50871 (Accessed: 28 March 2022).

Matta-Clark, G. (1974b) Splitting, Whitney Museum of American Art. Available at: https://whitney.org/collection/works/12740 (Accessed: 28 March 2022).

KamathTallur, K (2022), Email to Richard Dalgleish 11th March 2022