exploring photographic archival intervention within the edward chambre hardman portraiture...

Keith W Roberts RD2 – Transfer Report – Resubmission Document 07/03/2014

‘Exploring Photographic Archival Interventionwithin the Edward Chambré-Hardman

Portraiture Collection 1923-1966’

Keith W Roberts1


MPhil/PhD CandidateMIRIAD, Manchester Metropolitan University

Supervisory Team: Dr Simon Faulkner, David Brittain, GavinParry

Contents

Abstract

Section 01 - Aims & Objectives ………………….………………………………………………………………………… Page04

List of Initial Aims of Original Proposal (RD1) …………………………………………………………… Page 04

List of Revised Aims of Research (RD1 to PhD) …………………………………………………………Page 04Rationale for Revised Aims ……………………..……………………………………………………………… Page

05

Section 02 - Development of Research to Transfer ….…………….……………………………………………Page 08Accessing the Hardman Archive ...……………………………………………………………………………. Page

08Development of the Database …………………………………………………………………………………. Page

09Technical Language Testing ………………………………………………………………………………………. Page

11Case Study Development …….…………………………………………………………………………………… Page 11Presentation of Current Research and Publicity to Date

…………………………………………… Page 16

Section 03 - Further Research and Practice towards Completion of Doctorate …………………… Page 18

Research & Practice to be Conducted …………….………………………………………………………… Page18

Work-Plan & Timeline for 2013-2015 ...…………………………………………………………………..…1Provisional Structure of Thesis …………………………………………………………………………………… Page

22Final Exhibition …………………..……………………………………………………………………………………… Page 22

2


Section 04 - Literature Review ..……..……………………………………………………………………………………..Page 23Introduction …….………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Page 23Part One – The Use of Archival Intervention within the Visual Arts

………………….………. Page 25Part Two – A Conceptual Framework and Critical Position ….…..……………………………….. 2Part Three – The Typological Approach to Photographic Practice ………………………….…. Page 36Part Four – 20th Century Commercial Photographic Portraiture and

Conservation …... Page 40Part Five – Summary ………………………………………………………..………..…………………………….. Page

43

Bibliography ………………….……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Page 45

Appendices .…….............……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Page49

Appendix 01 : The Database Structure …….………………………………………………………………… Page49

Appendix 02 : First RD2 Submission (Resolved Transfer Issues) ….……..…………….………. Page 53

Abstract

Edward Chambré-Hardman (1898-1988) was a Liverpool based commercial portrait

photographer, practicing between 1923 to 1966. He left behind a vast

collection of photographic work including portraiture, landscape and

topographical cityscape works, all of which are now archived within the

Central Liverpool Library. The focus of this project specifically concerns3

Keith W Roberts RD2 – Transfer Report – Resubmission Document 07/03/2014the commercial portraiture component of Hardman’s archive, which consists

of approximately 140,000 individual sheet negatives. This report explains

what steps have been made to develop this project from MPhil to PhD,

including an evaluation of the existing aims, as compared with the revised

aims now being proposed.

The first section of the report details the original project aims as

specified in the RD1 report, it then goes on to list the revised aims as

driven by the research and creative practice conducted to date. The

initial aims are then elaborated upon, with a rationale being proposed in

relation to the new aims. The second section details all the research and

creative practice conducted to date, including the difficulties experienced

with accessing Hardman’s archive and the subsequent development of a

database designed to drive the process of archival intervention. The

second section addresses the research and practical output of the project

to date in terms of both technical testing and case study development. The

third section elaborates upon the research and creative response to the

archive that will be conducted in order to complete the doctorate. This

will include how the created database will help drive the archival

intervention and the various forms this intervention will take, it will

also propose a future work-plan and timeline for the forthcoming two years

until completion. The final part of this section will detail the

provisional layout of the written component of the project and also explain

what format the practice based component of the project will take,

including details of the proposed final exhibition.

The fourth and final section of the report is the literature review, which

intends to assess current knowledge regarding the use of archival

intervention within the visual arts and in particular, photographic

practice. This review consists of five interrelated parts linked together

through the proposed creative practice element of the project. It begins

with mapping the field of practice in relation to archival intervention,

4

Keith W Roberts RD2 – Transfer Report – Resubmission Document 07/03/2014examining the work of key contemporary practitioners using archives within

their work (specifically photographic), drawing a distinction between the

different types of archives being used. The following part of the review

examines key theoretical texts with the intention of framing the project in

relation to both historic and contemporary discourse surrounding the

archive. It then goes on to address the use of typology within the visual

arts, offering a specific definition in relation to the ways in which this

project will use typology for the creation of practical output. Lastly it

will briefly discuss commercial photographic portraiture within a

historical context, touching on issues of photographic conservation in

relation to cellulose nitrate materials.

The report will demonstrate how the project will represent a significant

contribution to knowledge, firstly through the generation of creative

practical output which can be both displayed through exhibition and

reflected upon within the written component of the project. Then secondly,

through the methodology and models employed using site specific archival

materials and the precedents this practice might offer to others working

within a similar field.

Section 01 - Aims & ObjectivesInitial Aims of Original Proposal (RD1)

1. To examine photographic works and associated ephemera held within the

Edward Chambré-Hardman (ECH) archive in order to define a typology of

location based portraits.

2. To produce a series of portraits, detailing cultural and visual arts

practitioners within Merseyside in direct response to the ECH

typology defined.

5


3. To write a 30,000 to 40,000 word thesis defining the theoretical

frameworks explored in relation to the ECH archive and addressing the

wider context of typology and photographic portraiture.

4. To exhibit practical output through a series of interim shows,

culminating with a final North West exhibition, in collaboration with

the ECH Collection and Trust.

Revised Aims of Research (RD1 to PhD)

1. To create a database populated with an appropriate proportion of

Hardman’s Studio Register data, large enough to satisfy the

requirements of selective research and to provide a means with which

to facilitate creative archival intervention, through which the

projects different typologies and creative outputs can be driven.

2. To develop a body of creative practice using various vehicles of site

specific archival exploration, intervention and representation

including chronotype, typology, type classification, location based

re-photography and archival replacement, culminating in an exhibition

through which the various elements of the projects creative output

can be displayed. (North West exhibition venue TBC)

3. To write a 30,000 to 40,000 word thesis (supported by a body of

creative practice), which will examine the practice of site specific

photographic archival intervention and the use of datasets within

visual arts practice. The thesis will also offer the opportunity to

reflect upon the creative practice as generated by the project.

Prior to providing a rationale for the revised aims and objectives of the

project, the title of the project has been refined in response to the

research conducted to date. The project title at RD1 stage was ‘Exploring

6

Keith W Roberts RD2 – Transfer Report – Resubmission Document 07/03/2014Contemporary Typological Photographic Portraiture Using Archival Resources’. Having now

evaluated the existing aims and objectives of the research and practice, it

is proposed that the title be changed to ‘Exploring Photographic Archival

Intervention within the Edward Chambré-Hardman Portraiture Collection 1923-1966’. The

main change of the title replaces the emphasis of the project back upon the

research methodology being employed and driven by the creation of the

Hardman Studio Register database, in order to facilitate archival

intervention within a site specific photographic archive. The final change

to the title identifies the specific archival resource being used as the

Edward Chambré-Hardman (ECH) archive and in particular, the portraiture

collection within this archive, which was created between 1923-66.

Rationale for Revised Aims

Four aims were originally identified at the RD1 stage of this project, the

first three of which have been progressed but not concluded within the

research and practice conducted to date. As the project has developed,

with differing levels of access being granted to the various components of

the collection, the specificity of the research has naturally evolved over

time. This evolution is elaborated upon throughout the report and clearly

identified through the specification of the revised aims and objectives as

highlighted above. The freedom acquired more recently through extended

archival access has provided an opportunity to work in much closer

proximity to the collection. This has consequentially facilitated a change

in the direction of the research in terms of the practical output, from the

initial creation of studio / location based photographic portraits created

at the beginning of the project, in an attempt to both test Hardman’s

technical language and form a creative response to Hardman’s existing

location based portraiture, through photographing contemporary visual arts

practitioners based on Merseyside. The emphasis on the creative practice

element of the project, is now clearly driven by the development and

subsequent use of the database containing Hardman’s Studio Register data,

7

Keith W Roberts RD2 – Transfer Report – Resubmission Document 07/03/2014which is now being used to facilitate more imaginative archival

intervention (which has now been elaborated upon in more detail throughout

the report and literature review, in response to the Scrutineer’s

feedback).

The original first aim dealt more generally with the examination of the

materials held within the ECH archive, in order to define typologies of

Hardman’s location based portraiture, which have been accessed over the

past 24 months or more, thus forming the basis of much of the research

conducted to date. (See ‘Development of Research to Transfer’ Section) Having spent

a considerable amount of time working with the entire ECH archive, it has

become apparent that similar to any agglomeration of both personal and

commercial artefact, the collection is both complex and disordered. This

original aim had been specified in an attempt to make

sense of the commercial portraiture component of the collection. It was

quickly established that the use of the Studio Registers would become an

important tool in understanding the actual content of this component of the

entire Hardman collection, in terms of the chronological ordering of what

exists, who the sitters actually are and where the images where actually

taken etc. So from this first original aim, the need to digitise a

reasonable selection of existing Studio Register data became central to the

project, in order to facilitate the further archival intervention and to

drive creative practice (as elaborated upon further in the following

revised aim).

The original second aim dealt on a very basic level with the creation of

practical work in response to the ECH archive and provided the framework

for a series of studio and location based portraiture tests, which have

been conducted since the start of the project. The original purpose of

these portraits can be linked directly to the act of mimicking Hardman’s

technical language, in an attempt to better understand his photographic

8

Keith W Roberts RD2 – Transfer Report – Resubmission Document 07/03/2014methods and individual editing process (examples of which have now been

presented for inspection). Since the creation of the database and feedback

offered through the Scrutineer’s reports, it has been decided to revise

this aim further and also combine it with revised aims 4 & 5, in an attempt

to clarify the proposed creative output from the project and establish a

rationale of artistic intervention within the ECH archive. This new aim

now intends to be much more specific about the different types of creative

intervention being pursued and attempts to redress the balance of projects

artistic practice. The specifics of this practice have now been elaborated

upon within the ‘Research and Practice to be Conducted’ section detailed below.

Finally this aim will now also include the final exhibition proposal, which

can be seen as the means through which the creative practice can be

displayed in the various formats suggested (details of which have been

elaborated upon in the ‘Final Exhibition’ section detailed below).

The original third aim addressed the thesis element of the project and was

intended to consider the wider context of typology used within photographic

portraiture. This aim remains broadly unchanged in terms of the proposed

word count, but in terms of content it more specifically intends to examine

the practice of site specific photographic archival intervention and the

use of datasets within visual arts practice. The literature review

detailed below has now been substantially developed in line with

Scrutineer’s feedback and discusses the use of archival intervention and

typology within photographic practice, also providing a conceptual

framework and critical position. The proposed structure of the thesis is

also detailed below.

9

Keith W Roberts RD2 – Transfer Report – Resubmission Document 07/03/2014The original fourth aim, relating to the practical output through exhibition

has not yet been addressed and is now intended to be covered through the

newly revised third aim. The interim shows highlighted in this original

fourth aim have been superseded by the development of the case studies, the

first series of which is entitled ‘Hardman’s Animals’ and has been presented

for inspection within the practice element of this transfer submission.

The publication can also be viewed in full here:

http://www.blurb.com/b/4544806-hardman-s-animals

10



Section 02 - Development of Research to Transfer

Accessing the Hardman Archive

Prior to June 2013, access to the Hardman collection has been difficult and

limited to a certain extent, by using the bookable public access route

through the temporary storage facility at Dunes Way, Sandhills. Access was

mainly restricted to the re-housed negative materials and the studio

registers, which would need to be booked in advance by email. The first

aim at RD1 proposal stage was deliberately fairly loosely interpreted in

order to accommodate a broad inspection of the entire contents of the

archive, which was prior to knowing what the full extent of the complete

archive contains. Full research access has been granted to the entire

collection by the Head Librarian (David Stoker) since May 2013, which

includes working in close proximity to the collection via the specialist

conservation area situated on the 3rd floor, in the Archive Section at

Liverpool Central Library. This access now includes the originally housed

negatives, which are still stored in Hardman’s metal biscuit tins (500

negatives per tin). This element of Hardman’s archive is referred to as

‘The Biscuit Tin Collection’. In order to work directly with the cellulose

nitrate based negative materials, an Airone-R filtration fume cupboard has

been provided in the conservation room, as much of this material decomposes

via an acidic hydrolysis pathway, releasing a range of nitrogen oxides.

(See Fig. 01) Close examination of the different components of the archive

has progressed, including inspection of associated ephemera, but the

11

Keith W Roberts RD2 – Transfer Report – Resubmission Document 07/03/2014specificity of this aim in relation to ‘location’ based portraiture, has

been amended within the revised new aims.

Fig. 01

First access to an individual biscuit tin including negatives 18,001-18,500

was arranged for November 2012; the imagery of which corresponds to Studio

Register 05 (pages 415-439). Second access to a Biscuit Tin including

negatives 18,501-19,099 was arranged for November 2012, the imagery of

which corresponds to Studio Register 05 (pages 440-469). Prior to these

visits the Studio Registers were examined in detail, in order

to determine which specific negatives would be of interest and would

therefore need to be copied. At this stage of the research, copying

specific negatives has been conducted in a fairly basic manner, through the

use of an A3 Pulsar 2 light box and a small Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX33

digital camera. (This is in order to facilitate the copying of a

substantial number of negatives during the same visit, thus removing the

constraints that would be imposed by more detailed copies being made. At

this stage of the research the quality of copies being made is more than

sufficient for purpose. At later stages of the research closer to

exhibition, much more detailed copies will be required using a hi-res

flatbed scanner.) The resulting digital negative image is then squared and

12

Keith W Roberts RD2 – Transfer Report – Resubmission Document 07/03/2014inverted in Adobe Photoshop, in order to reveal a positive image of the

photograph, for the first time since the image was taken – in this

instance, negative numbers 18,000-19,099 would have been shot between March

to November 1931.

Development of the Database

The commercial portraiture component of the Hardman’s collection comprises

of over 100,000 individual cellulose nitrate negatives of varying sizes,

predominantly still housed in their original containers as used by Hardman.

(IE: The Biscuit Tins – See Fig. 02) These negatives have been uniquely

numbered at the time of exposure, the corresponding records for which exist

within the hand written studio registers. An attempt has been made by the

Liverpool Records Office to re-house the materials in order to preserve

them, as deterioration and decomposition of the earliest materials has

rendered many of the images un-viewable. This re-housing exercise has only

really just begun in the past few years and consists of 33 new negative

folders re-housing approximately 10% of the total existing negative

collection. Much of the imagery has been disposed of at this early stage,

due to the effects the poor storage conditions have had on the materials

since 1975, which as described in the next section ‘Research and Practice to be

Conducted’ will become of use to the project in terms of creative

intervention and output. A comprehensive database has been compiled by the

Liverpool Records Office, which details negatives that have been disposed

of and the current condition of negatives that have been rehoused. A

substantial number of images have been rescued from inappropriate housing

and storage conditions (and subsequent decomposition), as many of the

significant works were pulled from the tins prior to the sale by Hardman to

the Library; these now sit within the National Trust component of the

collection, (See Fig. 03) which has been catalogued and re-housed by the

then full-time archivist Emily Parsons (Nee Burningham).

13


Fig. 02 Fig. 03

The un-catalogued component of the collection contains both location and

studio based portraiture taken from 1923 to 1966, the specific details of

which can be found in the corresponding studio register entries.

Historically, it has only been possible to access this personal data

through linear retrieval directly from the registers, thus providing a very

slow and laborious method of enquiry, in order to establish the specific

content of each tin. Research conducted to date now provides a database

holding 36,000 digitised Studio Register records detailing all Hardman’s

sitters up to 1939, which forms the basis of the search engine being used

in the practical creative intervention, as discussed in the next section of

the report (Further Research and Practice to be Conducted). The need to be able to

access the studio register data in this manner, has driven the development

of this database and in turn, shaped the methodology now being employed by

the project.

(See Appendix 01 & Fig. 04)

14

Keith W Roberts RD2 – Transfer Report – Resubmission Document 07/03/2014The 36,000 records now held within the database allow a fresh view into the

archive; one that has subsequently been hidden through the historic

analogue recording method previously used. This newly digitised data

offers powerful opportunities to reveal these previously hidden patterns or

narratives held within the portrait collection, which can now be filtered

or sorted much more efficiently, providing the unique negative numbers

through which to accurately locate the portraits in the archive. This

method of enquiry is currently being used to drive the case study exercises

as described in the Case Study Development section below and is elaborated

upon further in the discussions about the different types of proposed

creative practice detailed within the next section of the report entitled

‘Further Research Towards Completion of Doctorate’.

Technical Language Testing

Specified within the RD1 proposal, the research methodologies involved a

direct link between the existing Hardman archive and the photographic works

being created in response to it (detailing contemporary Merseyside visual

arts practitioners). With the development of the new aims above, a

conscious decision was made to put work on this photographic practice aside

for the time being and to focus upon the progression of case study work as

archival creative practice in its own right, as driven by the use of the

developed database. This shift in terms of creative output and practice,

allows the concentration of efforts to be placed on working with existing

negative materials, through direct intervention within the Hardman

collection. For example, the location based portraiture shot by Hardman at

the clients home, has become of specific interest to the project, with the

view to re-photographing various sites, (including current occupiers). It

was always anticipated that the project would evolve, based upon what was

15

Keith W Roberts RD2 – Transfer Report – Resubmission Document 07/03/2014uncovered in the archive, through the research being conducted and this

constitutes an example of such evolution.

These tests have provided a practical photographic output towards the

beginning of the research. They firstly encouraged an exploration of

Hardman’s technical language, in direct relation to the type of commercial

portraiture conducted in the UK during the 1920’s and 30’s. Secondly, they

consisted of preliminary studies in an attempt to define a typology of

visual arts practitioners based within Merseyside, the original intention

of which was to respond to similar typologies drawn from Hardman’s archive

(evidence of which has now been provided, further to Scrutineer’s

feedback). This type of practical output has been superseded with the

development of the database, as a means to further reveal and explore

patterns within the datasets. The tests relate directly to developments

with the case studies, in as much they have provided a further

understanding about Hardman’s technical methods and decision making

processes. This additional knowledge could help shape future case studies

being developed, in providing a framework through determining which

portraits should potentially be included and which should not.

Case Study Development

The example shown below firstly identifies an image of the actual negative

as housed within the glassine envelope used by Hardman to store the

portraits. (See Fig. 05) Note the use of Hardman’s negative numbering

system here identifying the unique negative as number 18,238, which has

been written on both the negative, next to the ‘emulsion side’ indication notch

(bottom left hand corner), and the glassine envelope used to protect the

negative. This unique number corresponds with the Studio Register No. 05

entry on page 426, which indicates the sitter was “Gordon Green Esq”, (as

written in Hardman’s own hand) who was a distinguished composer and pianist

from Liverpool and lived at 33 Hope Street until his death in the late

1970’s. (See Fig. 07) The resulting inverted negative image shows the

16

Keith W Roberts RD2 – Transfer Report – Resubmission Document 07/03/2014positive print as seen for the first time since the shot was taken 82 years

ago. (See Fig. 06)

Fig. 05 Fig. 06 Fig. 07

Since the beginning of June2013, a weekly visit to the Hardman archive has

been conducted every Thursday, allowing a much more methodical and

systematic approach to the materials being accessed. A series of case

studies are currently being developed, the contents of which has been

determined through the use of the Hardman database created from the studio

register records. There are still elements of this collection which are

unknown and remain in storage untouched and although potentially

unimportant to the progression of the project at this stage, it is

worthwhile exploring these unknown elements whilst working within this

archive.

Case Study 01: Hardman’s Servicemen - As a result of digitising the studio

register records, many key statistics about Hardman’s commercial activity

have been revealed, allowing for the first time detailed quantitative

analysis to be performed on the data. For instance, it is now evident that

a significant proportion of Hardman’s commercial activity was conducted

during World War II (01/09/1939-02/09/1945), a statement corroborated by

Hardman himself and subsequently cited in Peter Hagerty’s 1999 thesis - The

Continuity of Landscape Representation: The Photography of Edward Chambre

Hardman (1898-1988), which states:

17

Keith W Roberts RD2 – Transfer Report – Resubmission Document 07/03/2014 “I received many letters, almost pathetic in their gratitude from those who had sustained loss and

who considered the portrait I had taken to be their most precious possession.”

This statement by itself might not provide evidence for Hardman’s increased

wartime activity, but supported by the quantitative evidence revealed

through the studio register activity, it becomes a compelling argument.

The actual data shows this comprises of approximately 36% of his entire

commercial portraiture collection. (some 40,000 individual negatives) This

calculation is based upon tracking entry 39,400 on page 332 of Studio

Register 08, through to entry 79,400 on page 657 of Studio Register 09

inclusively. Using the first two months of World War II date parameters as

a starting point, a basic sample of ‘servicemen’ typology can be selected

by filtering on the ‘title’ column (See Literature Review section below for

clarification of term ‘typology’ as used in this instance & See Appendix 01

for example of datasets held within database), highlighting any entry that

begins with a rank of Lieutenant / Captain / Major / Colonel, thus giving

an exact location in the archive for the first servicemen Hardman

photographed, being as they were subsequently called up at the beginning of

the

war effort. Twenty five servicemen have now been copied as a case study,

with the service records for these individual servicemen being held within

the National Archives in Richmond (Kew). Based on the specific histories

of these servicemen, a typology could be presented for exhibition which

might link individual details highlighting a common trait held between

these sitters. The biscuit tins which contain the specific negatives are

then requested at least 24 hours in advance of the visit, in order to allow

the materials to acclimatise prior to any further research being conducted.

The individual negatives are then carefully removed from the corresponding

tins and copied via the process described above. As already mentioned,

Hardman usually shot between 5 or 6 exposures, with generally only one

portrait being selected for enlargement for each client. This offers an

18

Keith W Roberts RD2 – Transfer Report – Resubmission Document 07/03/2014additional number of portraits that will only have been seen by Hardman at

the time of sitting, processing and selection. In addition to this, the

glassine envelopes often contain some very random technical information

including sketches (See Fig. 08) and even samples of sitter’s hair in some

circumstances, in order to identify a specific shade or colour for hand

tinting purposes. All this additional material can be used in a creative

manner, to present and display the findings at exhibition.

Fig. 08 Fig. 09

In addition to this typology of portraits, other interesting titles with

which to search for through the database include Canon / Lord Mayor /

Professor / Reverend / Sir, which have now become the subject of further

case study analysis as detailed below. Individuals can also now be tracked

by name, in order to reveal a typology of portraits showing successive

sittings over the course of Hardman’s commercial activity, which has been

referred to as a ‘chronotype’ ( See Literature Review for more details on this

method of presentation).

Within the body of research conducted to date, various stories have emerged

about Hardman’s portraiture practice, which at this stage are not supported

by physical evidence. One such narrative that has been proposed by the

general Liverpool photographic community was that Hardman provided a

19

Keith W Roberts RD2 – Transfer Report – Resubmission Document 07/03/2014specialist portraiture practice for servicemen about to leave for active

service. It has been speculated that Hardman

photographed the wives of servicemen, but no such evidence of this activity

has yet been revealed within the collection to date. The possibility of

revealing such portraiture brings with it ethical considerations, as if

this work has been conducted, it will have been done so within the

strictest of confidence. I am very conscious of the fact that the project

requires space and room for potential development; as such some of the

specific creative practical output cannot be fully predicated at this point

in time. There is a need for space within the project, in order to be able

to respond to unique narratives that are revealed through further

investigation and research, conducted during the course of the project.

Case Study 02: Hardman’s Animals - Using the column marked ‘relationship’ (See

Appendix 01) within the database, entries have been made to record a

variety of both pets and props. Many of Hardman’s sitters have been

photographed with their pets both in a studio setting and on location.

This collection of portraits aims to depict imagery that relates to animals

that have featured within the works, either as the main subject or as used

by the sitter for the purpose of a prop. (See Fig. 10) To date this

typology mainly includes various breeds of dogs and cats, but also farm

animals such as pigs and horses feature. This case study has now been

developed into a small publication which has been submitted with this

report entitled ‘Hardman’s Animals’, a full version of which can be reviewed

here: http://www.blurb.com/b/4544806-hardman-s-animals

The benefits and findings that have been generated as a result of this

first case study publication, are initially connected to being able to

actually see the portraits again as positive images for the first time in

80 years or more. In addition to this, it has presented an opportunity to

view the juxtaposition of certain images, with the presentation of related

research including, studio records, glassine housing envelopes and printed

20


Keith W Roberts RD2 – Transfer Report – Resubmission Document 07/03/2014notes or guides. (All information which was never intended to be viewed

with the portrait, for the purpose it was originally shot.)

Fig. 10

Case Study 03: Hardman’s Adverts - Hardman’s commercial practice extended to

products and service advertisements, with clients ranging from more

regional based retail outlets such as Bon Marche, to larger corporations

such as Colgate & Vernon’s. (See Fig. 11 & 12) Many of these adverts still

exist within the biscuit tin collection and have individual entries within

the studio registers. Through indicating this work as ‘advertising’ when

digitising the individual studio register records, it will allow for a

detailed and comprehensive search to be conducted across the entire

collection. The accurate location and subsequent compilation of these

images, although not strictly portraiture based, offers a detailed insight

into the use of Hardman’s photography at this early stage of photographic

use in advertising. In addition to this, many of the original adverts will

be available to view through microfiche newspaper records of that date.

The significance of this work is in relation to Hardman’s specific use of

particular portraits as selected for advertising purpose.

21


Fig. 11 Fig. 12

Case Study 04: Hardman’s Location Portraiture - Hardman’s was commissioned to attend

and photograph various functions of both an informal and formal nature. A

selection of location based portraits exist within the collection detailing

creative contemporaries such as the Liverpool sculptor Herbert Tyson-Smith

(See Fig. 13) working on the bust of King George V within his workshop,

then situated at the back of the Bluecoat Chamber, taken in 1937. A

selection of images taken at the request of Lady Delamere of Vale Royal,

Chester has also been located and detail the Delamere family (with pets)

both inside and at the front of the hall.

(See Fig. 14)

22

Keith W Roberts RD2 – Transfer Report – Resubmission Document 07/03/2014Fig. 13 Fig. 14

The ideas for the generation of case studies is also evolving as the

datasets grow, with particular interest perhaps now being paid to

individual surnames, that have been photographed over the entire lifespan

of Hardman’s commercial activity (chronotype). These case studies represent

a physical manifestation of portraiture, as a direct result of using the

created database for the purpose of archival intervention.

Presentation of Current Research and Publicity to Date

A lecture has been presented in June 2013 to M.A. Photography students at

Manchester Metropolitan University, concentrating on the ECH archive as an

accessible resource and detailing research conducted to date, as

highlighted in this report. This lecture has now also been presented at

the following institutions:

The University of Bolton – B.A. & M.A. Photography

The University of Leeds – B.A. Contemporary Design

An example of the technical testing conducted to date can be viewed via an

editorial feature about the project, published by a UK based on-line arts

Magazine called The Double Negative and can be found here:

http://www.thedoublenegative.co.uk/2012/03/picture-perfect/

This feature starts with detail about Hardman’s practice and the Hardman’s

house at 59 Rodney Street, then develops into topics discussed during an

interview conducted in March 2012, elaborating upon research conducted up

to that point in time, showcasing some examples of technical testing that

had taken place (See portraits of Jim Loftus & Marc Henry as submitted as

supporting evidence of practice). It also looks for

23

http://www.thedoublenegative.co.uk/2012/03/picture-perfect/

Keith W Roberts RD2 – Transfer Report – Resubmission Document 07/03/2014collaboration from local artists – many of whom were subsequently

photographed around Liverpool at various relevant locations.

An image of Jim Loftus was also published in the September 2011 issue of A-

N Magazine, in relation to MMU postgraduate promotional materials.

All developments of the project to date have been tracked via a blog which

can be found at: http://www.kwr71.blogspot.co.uk which also includes notes

from all supervisory meetings attended since September 2010.

Further interest has also been shown in specific relation to Hardman’s

servicemen portraits from both Liverpool John Moores University (History

Department) and National Museums Liverpool, who have a particular interest

in the portraits Hardman took of The King’s Regiment.

24

http://www.kwr71.blogspot.co.uk/


Section 03 - Further Research Towards Completion of

Doctorate

Research and Practice to be Conducted

The research being conducted within Hardman’s commercial portraiture

archive is pioneering by nature, as no creative archival intervention

within this site specific archive has currently been conducted to date.

The database created to interpret Hardman’s portraiture collection, can

really be considered a by-product of the project, as it is this mechanism

that drives the selection and filtration process and is in essence a

practice related investigative methodology. Its creation therefore, is

only required in order to help facilitate the interrogation of the archival

data, which is the main thrust of the projects creative output. Hardman’s

collection of portraits were never initially made to be re-appropriated in

this manner and have arguably already served their commercial objectives.

The differing representation of the existing archival materials, through

the various interventions, provides a contemporary view on this untouched

commercial portraiture archive. It is this creative activity, and

subsequent unique models employed, that constitute a contribution to

knowledge.

The projects creative strategies, focus on dealing directly with the

archival materials and will include the following methods of archival

intervention through newly defined case studies:

25


1. Typology – The classification of different types, as defined by the

database will provide a source of

narrative through which to view the existing portraits.

2. Chronotype – The database provides a method through which to extract

the portraits of an individual

taken over an extended timeframe.

3. Re-Photography – The existing location based portraits offer a

physical environment within which to

explore photographically.

4. Coding – The specific codes used within the registers (such as ‘DNL’

or ‘Gratis’) offer a means through

which to view and use the archive in ways never intended.

5. Replacement – The chronological gaps within the archive (presented

through prior extraction or image

decomposition) present an opportunity for creative engagement, using

surnames from the registers.

The use of datasets within creative practice is a relatively new field and

can only date back to the development of software available for general

use, which thus restricts it to the last two decades. It is the use of

this software as a rapid filtration and sorting mechanism, which

subsequently offers new methods of viewing existing data. This relational

database is the perfect tool with which to use existing data or handwritten

entries, and it is intended to be used for creative intervention within the

archive up until the end of 2014, based on the proposed timeline detailed

below.

The potential for this model of archival intervention can be expanded

beyond the Hardman archive, with accessibility to various other

photographic collections such as the Keith Medley Archive, currently housed

in Liverpool John Moores University being another suitable candidate. This

would not be considered during the limited timeframe of this project.

26


The use of additional third party resources in order to develop certain

aspects of specialist research has proven to be very useful to date. The

case study concerning individual servicemen photographed by Hardman has

resulted in the contact of a researcher working for the Ministry of

Defence, who has been providing individual service record data for the

servicemen in question. This qualitative information will be presented

alongside the portrait when presented through a small book format and

exhibition, as specified in the newly revised aims. In addition to this, a

local historian has been consulted in relation to a specific series of

location based portraits, in order to ascertain the actual location of a

building featured within the works. (The Grange, Christleton, Cheshire.)

The building has been successfully identified now, with the current

occupier being contacted, in order to seek permission to re-photograph the

images from similar physical positions to where Hardman made his original

studies. (Wherever this is still possible, given the gap in time.) Again,

this activity is linked directly to the newly revised aims.

Another proposed case study (the subjects of which are still emerging

slowly from the data being entered from the studio register records), would

be the portraits of architects Hardman associated with during his practice.

Hardman’s close affinity and membership of the Sandon Society brought him

into direct contact with many of Liverpool’s distinguished architects. (The

Liverpool University School of Architecture was based in the same building

as the Sandon Society – The Bluecoat Chambers) Hardman not only took

portraits of these society members, but also photographed their work and

design plans throughout the course of his professional activity. Much of

this work is listed within the Studio Register’s and has been highlighted

as such when being entered into the database. This area of research could

be developed further in collaboration with the Liverpool University’s -

School of Architecture, who would have the benefit of specialist knowledge

within this field and thus be able to identify additional significant

27

Keith W Roberts RD2 – Transfer Report – Resubmission Document 07/03/2014practitioners within the field. To date the following architects have been

identified as some of the key players involved with both shaping the city

and significant works through the UK, much of which is still standing and

listed to this day:

Giles Gilbert Scott – Liverpool Anglican Cathedral

Charles Herbert Reilly – Roscoe Professor of Architecture at

Liverpool University 1904-33

Charles Rennie Mackintosh – Glasgow School of Art

Lionel Bailey Budden - Roscoe Professor of Architecture at Liverpool

University 1933-52

Herbert James Rowse – The Philharmonic Hall / Lloyd’s Bank (Church

Street) / Mersey Tunnel entrance & ventilation tower / Martin’s Bank

Head Office & India Building (Water Street)

Francis Xavier Velarde – St Gabriel’s Church (Blackburn) / St

Monica’s Church (Bootle) / Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes

(Blackpool) / Holy Cross Church (Bidston)

Bernard Alexander Miller – St Christopher’s Church (Norris Green)

William Holford – Town & Country Planning Act 1947

Maxwell Fry – Margate & Ramsgate Railway Stations / Ramsay Hall

George Hastwell Grayson & Leonard Barnish – Christ Church (Ellesmere

port) / All Saints Church

A collection of images is intended to be created detailing these portraits

as they currently sit on display, in resident’s homes across the region.

Stephen Hough (Classical Pianist & Composer, and writer for The Daily

Telegraph) has also been contacted in relation to an image taken of his

former piano teacher ‘Gordon Green’ (See Case Study Development). The creation

of the database opens opportunity for interested parties to search for

28

Keith W Roberts RD2 – Transfer Report – Resubmission Document 07/03/2014individuals Hardman was likely to have photographed in the city during his

period of activity.

In addition to the project research methodology, a clearer understanding of

Hardman’s technical workings and practice methodology has been established

from activity conducted within the archive to date. Much of the technical

data used by Hardman in relation to the output of client enlargements is

still intact and generally stored within the glassine envelope of the

negative used. This data in turn helps reveal the selection process being

applied by Hardman across the five or six negatives created from each

sitting. A closer inspection of all portraits produced from each sitting

can disclose a pattern of choice being applied to the work by Hardman, thus

offering a unique insight into Hardman’s specific editing methodology.

The technical data included on what Hardman refers to as his ‘guides’ (Fig.

08) details a sketch of the portrait which has been produced under the

enlarger and can therefore be identified as being ‘real size’ to what the

client would have received at the point of purchasing the enlarged print.

Included on the other side of this guide there are shorthand notes intended

to aid the enlargement process, for any future re-printing that might be

requested by the client. The glassine envelope also includes processing

data, detailing specific developing chemistry being used and types of

bromide based photographic printing papers that Hardman favoured. Like

most archives of this size Hardman’s archive actually contains some objects

that were never intended to be collected and preserved, but have just ended

up as part of the collection by default (as discussed by Steedman in the

Literature Review detailed below). With a large proportion of the

commercial material being extracted from the rest of the collection by

Hardman himself in the mid 1970’s, the entire collection has not benefitted

from the subsequent attention of artistic intervention to date.

29


Work-Plan & Timeline for 2013-15

Timeframe Actions Completion

DateAutumn 2013 Database Development

Case Study Progression

December 2013

March 2015Winter 2013 Database Development & Completion


December 2013

March 2015Spring 2014 Database Interrogation

ECH Archive Access

Case Study Progression & Creative

Practice

Location Re-Photography

October 2014

March 2015

March 2015

February 2015

Summer 2014 Database Interrogation

ECH Archive Access

Case Study Progression & Creative

Practice

Location Re-Photography

October 2014

March 2015

March 2015

February 2015

Autumn 2014 Database Interrogation

ECH Archive Access


Location Re-Photography & Creative

Practice

Source / Book Gallery for Final

Exhibition

October 2014

March 2015

March 2015

February 2015

September

2014

Winter 2014 Creative Practice Conclusion &

Presentation

April 2015

Spring 2015 Draft Thesis May 2015Summer 2015 Thesis Revision / Feedback from

Supervisory Team

August 2015

Autumn 2015 Submission of both Thesis and Practical

Output

September

2015

30


Exhibition of Practical Output in North

West Gallery

Sept / Oct

2015

Provisional Structure of Thesis

The following structure should be taken as a provisional guide to outline

various components of the proposed thesis:

1. Abstract

2. Acknowledgements

3. Introduction

4. Mapping the Archive – The Development and use of the Database

5. Archival Intervention and the use of Typology within Photographic

Practice

6. Reflection upon Creative Output

7. Conclusions

8. Bibliography & Appendices

Final Exhibition

The final exhibition intends to display both practical output created as a

direct result of the archival intervention, through the various methods as

described above and through existing archival objects extracted directly

from the ECH archive, in order to support that intervention. These will

31

Keith W Roberts RD2 – Transfer Report – Resubmission Document 07/03/2014take the form of framed photographic prints, (Representing the photographic

works by Hardman and also works created in response to these, such as the

location based re-photography), sequenced projections (Showing the

proposed chronotypes and using the Studio Register codes in order to show

new portraits placed back into the archival gaps). The display of specific

archival objects from the collection is also intended, which could take the

form of hair samples and hand drawn guides.

The RD1 methodology mentions the use of interim exhibitions and shows, in

order to practically test the relationship between the retrospectively

defined Hardman typology and on-going imagery created in response to it.

It is now assumed that the progression of case studies through book format,

would initially replace this method (these have already commenced with

‘Hardman’s Animals’ and are scheduled to continue until Winter 2014 as

indicated in the ‘Timeline’ above). Potential venues for the exhibition

might be The Walker Art Gallery (William Brown Street), Liverpool John

Moores University – Exhibition Research Centre (John Lennon Art & Design

Building), Liverpool University Victoria Gallery (Brownlow Hill) or The

Museum of Liverpool situated on the Pier Head (negotiations have already

begun regarding this space with the Head of Exhibitions, Annie Lord).

Holden Gallery at Manchester Metropolitan University.

RD2 Transfer Report Word Count – 6,996

Section 04 – Literature Review

Introduction

The purpose of this literature review is to assess current knowledge

regarding the practice of archival intervention within the visual arts and

in particular, photographic practice. It also intends to explore the

32

Keith W Roberts RD2 – Transfer Report – Resubmission Document 07/03/2014previous use of typology within photographic practice as a model used not

just for simple classification, but also with a view to reveal difference

rather than as an expression of similarity. Although the project does not

intend to conduct historical work on an archive itself, the review will

discuss commercial portraiture during the early to mid 20th Century, with

the attempt to locate the specific commercial portraiture of Edward Chambré

Hardman (1898-1988) within the history of this practice.

Extant literature about Hardman is limited, all of which has been consulted

prior to the development of this literature review. Existing literature

tends to either focus upon Hardman’s photographic collection as a whole, or

specifically upon one component of his oeuvre, such as his landscape work

(Hagerty, 1999) or his architectural and topographical photographs of

Liverpool (Booth, 2012). Other smaller publications printed by The National

Trust, offer a broader overview of both the life and times of Hardman and

his most recognised imagery, which tend to be targeted towards a more

generally interested public curiosity. Currently no publication exists

which deals specifically with the commercial portraiture component of

Hardman’s collection.

The first section deals specifically with mapping the field of practice in

relation to photographic practice as intervention within archives and

notably draws from an exhibition entitled Archive Fever, which was held at the

International Centre for Photography in New York between Jan to May 2008.

This section also looks at the work of contemporary practitioners using

archives in their work, with a distinction drawn between those who use an

archive in the conventional sense of the term, as opposed to those whose

work deals with a much looser notion of the archive, and are thus dealing

with collections from more disparate sources. This section locates this

projects methodology and creative output within current thinking around the

use of archives within visual arts practice.

33

Keith W Roberts RD2 – Transfer Report – Resubmission Document 07/03/2014Closely linked to the first section, the second section looks at a number

of key theoretical texts, with the intention of framing the project in

relation to both historic and contemporary discourse surrounding the

archive. These texts can be considered different from what has been dealt

with in the first section in that they do not discuss the output of

creative photographic practice as such, but act as more of an interface

between this projects creative and practical output, in relation to

academic thinking within the field.

The third section deals with the use of typology within the visual arts and

identifies different understandings surrounding the use of this method of

representation. It offers a specific definition in relation to the way in

which the project will use typology, examining the works of key

contemporary and historic photographic practitioners directly associated

with the use of typology within their practice.

The fourth section is a short exploration of commercial studio and location

based photographic portraiture within a historical context, positioning

Hardman’s practice as compared to other key portrait photographers of the

time. It is important to state from the outset (as highlighted above), the

project does not consist of historical research as such, but it is felt

that a brief section defining the work of regional, national and

international contributors to the field, might become significant in terms

of understanding technical similarity of the day and the effects of

specifically targeting a particular clientele. Similarly, and in

consideration of the fact that the majority of Hardman’s commercial

portraiture consists of fragile cellulose nitrate negative material, a

short paragraph towards the end of this section addresses some of the

current discourse and research within the area of photographic

conservation. This final component of the fourth section should not be

34

Keith W Roberts RD2 – Transfer Report – Resubmission Document 07/03/2014considered as conclusive in terms of conservation, as it only deals with

issues that might affect the use of the cellulose nitrate materials in

relation to the projects creative output.

Finally, the summary section proposes the argument for the project and

foregrounds the contribution to knowledge. This section firstly outlines

examples of methodology and approaches to re-using materials in

photographic archives as a model for others who might work within this

field in the future, and secondly defines the specific creative outputs of

the project that can be displayed at exhibition, and thus subsequently

reflected upon and written about.

Part One – The Use of Archival Intervention within the Visual Arts

Once a photograph comes out of storage, it is as if ‘energy’ is released. (Hayes, Silvester, Hartmann, 1999)

35

Keith W Roberts RD2 – Transfer Report – Resubmission Document 07/03/2014The first part of this literature review reflects upon contemporary

practitioners who have used and are currently using different archives

within their work. A good proportion of these artists were involved in

what could be argued as the most significant photographic archival based

exhibition to date, which was staged at the International Centre for

Photography in New York between Jan to May 2008. The exhibition was named

Archive Fever, which has drawn direct reference from the eponymous seminal

works by Jacques Derrida. In his catalogue essay, Okwui Enwesor states

that the variety and range of archival methods and artistic forms that

underpin the artists’ mnemonic strategies in their use of the archive,

point to the resilience of the archive as both form and medium in

contemporary art. (Enwesor, 2008)

Although this exhibition is unique in as much it has brought together

visual artists whose differing creative outputs can sit together

comfortably within the confined visual environment of the gallery, it is

worth highlighting from the outset that the contributing practitioners

detailed within this section are using different types of archives in

different ways. Many of them are actually creating their own archives

from found materials, which for the purpose of this project can be defined

as ‘Found Archives’, as opposed to dealing with what could be considered a

more conventional archive that already exist in a specific place, such as

the archives used in the works by William E. Jones, Lawrence Cassidy and

Larry Sultan & Mike Mandel (which can be referred to as a ‘Site Specific

Archive’). The works considered in this section reflect a more general

relationship between archive and memory, archive and public information,

archive and trauma, archive and ethnography, archive and identity, archive

and time, in terms of the creative output. These relationships sit well

with the site specific Hardman archive and current project aims, which can

be considered to broadly fall more in line with archive and remembrance, in

terms of making aesthetic decisions to extract specific portraits from the

Hardman archive, the subject matter of which invokes memory of a by-gone

36

Keith W Roberts RD2 – Transfer Report – Resubmission Document 07/03/2014age. Collectively these works do not intend to theorise the archive, but

they do try to show ways in which archival documents and data driven visual

analysis, help to inform and infuse the practices of contemporary artists

and more specifically the creative output of this project . In this way,

the interrogation of the archive may result in the creation of different

vehicles within which to order the archive, which can then in turn be used

as a means of establishing more of a forensic relationship to the specific

contents of that archive, such as the database created detailing Hardman’s

Studio Register’s.

In his 2009 paper entitled Framing Photographs, Denying Archives: The

Difficulty of Focusing on Archival Photographs, Tim Schlak argues that an

almost barren state exists within writing about photographic archives (as

opposed to photographic writings upon archives) and that it is the

controversy of whether photography sits within the domain of ‘reality’ or

‘representation’, that mostly troubles the archivists. To add to this,

Mifflin then goes on to argue that when confronted with photographs,

archivists armed with only a Masters in either History or Library Science

are arguably not well prepared for understanding the nuances of highly

specialised and academic discourses within the visual arts. (Mifflin, 2007)

The camera is literally an archiving machine, thus every photograph is an

archival object. (Enwesor, 2008) Although this statement goes some way to

offering an explanation as to why a substantial proportion of site specific

archives contain pictorial testimonies, it does not encompass the found

archive, which are literally made from found materials, as these images

could often be considered homeless, until they have been attributed their

own space by the practitioner involved. The negatives held within the site

specific Hardman archive can be considered the existence of recorded fact,

in the advent of mechanical reproduction (Benjamin, 1936), which has

37

Keith W Roberts RD2 – Transfer Report – Resubmission Document 07/03/2014initiated the formation of picture archives in their own right. (A large

percentage of the Hardman archive consists of reproduced prints, which

although presently do not hold immediate significance to the project, might

be used in the event of original negative material having been disposed of

due to decomposition or other conservation issues.) Gales encyclopaedia of

American Industries estimated that in 2011, 380 Billion photographs have

been taken, with the figure for 1930 estimated at just 1 billion. Every two

minutes we now create the same amount of photographs as humanity did in its

entirety in the 1800’s and more recently we create four times the amount we

did just ten years ago. (Good, 2011) With this in mind the 2011 work by

Erik Kessels entitled ‘1 Million Flickr Images Downloaded’ appears to be

particularly poignant. Kessels more recent work shown as part of the Shoot:

Existential Photography exhibition at The Photographers Gallery, London in 2012

entitled ‘Ria Van Dijk’ relates directly to the Hardman project, in that it

tracks the lineage of an individual through a photographic portrait, (over

a series of 60 years) and thus provides an existing model through which

creative practice can be conducted with Hardman’s negatives. The subject

here (Van Dijk), visited a fairground shooting gallery in her home town

each year and literally shot her own self portrait, through triggering a

camera by hitting the bull’s-eye of a target with an air rifle pellet. The

subsequent imagery shows not only the progressive timeline of the subject

aging, but also the developments through which photographic technology has

progressed over a sixty year period, in terms of the actual print

resolution and colour reproduction. Hardman’s commercial portraiture

archive spans over 40 years and with the use of the database created for

this project, it has now become possible to track an individual regular

client of Hardman’s over this period, presenting the associated portraits

as a lineage typology or ‘chronotype’. (See part 3 for more detail on

typology). As multiple variations of this chronotype model can now be

quickly

38

Keith W Roberts RD2 – Transfer Report – Resubmission Document 07/03/2014assembled through the use of the Hardman database, this methodology will be

used in the production of an element of the projects creative practice.

Historically, artists have produced photographic archives as works in their

own right, with Duchamp’s, La Boite-en-Valise (1935-41) presenting a version of

the artists entire oeuvre in miniature, placed in a box and Broodthaer’s,

Musee d’Art Moderne (1968) showing endless copies of ‘Eagles’ and associated

objects. Richter’s work entitled Atlas (1964 to Present) represents the

interrelation of both the artists life and practice, with the initial

intention being the attempt to accommodate all things from art to garbage,

that to the artist seemed too important to just be disposed of. The terms

of reference to all these examples correspond directly to both Foucault’s

and Derrida’s take on the archive (See part two for more detail on Foucault

/ Derrida)

The American artist William E. Jones describes his practice as one that

lends itself to using archival materials in an imaginative manner, which

combined with the use of a site specific archive of photographs, creatively

links the work to this project. In his 2010 works entitled “Killed”, the

output consists of both a book and a sequence of monochrome digital files,

which runs for 1 minute 44 seconds within a loop. Roy E. Stryker (1893-

1975) was Chief of the Historical Section of the Farm Security

Administration (FSA) from 1935 to 1943, during which time his team of

photographer’s produced approximately 270,000 negatives. The term ‘killed’

was used to describe his ruthless decision making process, where as many as

100,000 negatives had a physical hole punched through the centre of them,

in order to identify images that did not adhere to his strict editorial

objectives. In his 2012 paper entitled “Killed Negatives: The Unseen

Photographic Archives”, Allen C. Benson argues that meaning can be derived

not just from the records the archivists bring back to life through their

arrangements and cataloguing, but also through the materials that remain

buried in their vaults. (Benson, 2009) Jones’ intervention within the FSA

39

Keith W Roberts RD2 – Transfer Report – Resubmission Document 07/03/2014archive transpires as a result of his curiosity to see what he could find

using the archive in a new way, servicing his own specific requirements.

He was actually looking for a group of images that not only belonged to the

FSA collection, but departed from its stated goals of documenting the

effects of rural poverty and the government’s attempts to ameliorate the

situation of America’s farmers. (Cited in Source Magazine 2010) He was

actually trying to find evidence within the FSA archive that revealed an

‘erotic leaning’ IE: Glances, gestures or attitudes. He simply refused to

believe that there wasn’t a single trace of homosexuality captured within

the visual record of the Great Depression. Whilst looking for this

evidence, he did find some imagery that could be classed as either

homoerotic or homosocial, but more importantly he discovered Stryker’s kills.

This unpredictable find demonstrates the importance of working in close

proximity with the archive, which is a practice aligned with how work for

this project is currently being conducted within the Hardman archive. The

project Jones actually had in mind prior to the production of ‘Killed’ was

very different to what he ended up with and this was as a result of not

knowing what the ‘unseen’ archival imagery

comprised of prior to his interrogation. This instance can often be the

case with practice involving archival intervention. Jones states:

“The point of this practice is not to impose readymade formal strategies

upon material, but to see what strategies the material itself suggests.”

(Cited in Source Magazine, 2010) One of the ways in which I propose to

interrogate the Hardman archive could be described as being similar in

essence to Jones’ method. It is generally understood that the editorial

objectives of the FSA were to document the effects of the US depression,

but Jones uses this work to track gesture etc. Hardman’s portraiture

archive was produced for commercial purpose and therefore had the following

two objectives, firstly to generate a financial reward, and secondly to

40

Keith W Roberts RD2 – Transfer Report – Resubmission Document 07/03/2014keep his clientele satisfied. Through Hardman’s studio registers we can

identify portraits that have failed to meet the second objective as they

have been marked with the ‘DNL’ indicator, which stands for ‘Does Not

Like’, with a subsequent client re-sitting booked at a later date. In

addition to this many Hardman portraits have been provided to certain

clients without charge and are indicated as being ‘Complimentary’ or

‘Gratis’. Both these DNL and Gratis portraits become of interest to the

project, with the intention of extracting more of this work as an

intervention, bearing in mind this portraiture archive has arguably already

served its original purpose, in terms of providing the client with an image

they were happy with at the time. It is therefore now being used in a

similar way to Jones, in order to perform an entirely different function as

detailed in the diagrams below:

“Killed negatives are boxed up, un-catalogued and thus unseen. Their entombment, however,

produces a contradictory effect, a desire to look, to open the killed storage boxes and inspect the

remains …. the very act of preserving the killed negatives all serves to legitimise them as records that

could be considered, reconsidered and reused in different contexts.” (Benson, 2009)

41

FSA Archive

EditorialObjectives to

documenteffects of

Joneslookingfor

gestures,glances

HardmanArchive

CommercialObjectives to

generatefinancial reward

KWRlookingfor

“DNL’s”or

Keith W Roberts RD2 – Transfer Report – Resubmission Document 07/03/2014Benson reiterates the potential importance of the ‘excess’ found in

archives, the duplication or testing that has also been archived, along

with the small percentage of what was actually used at the time it was

created. It is precisely because of this almost surplus material that

archives can lack efficiency and streamlining, thus offering the artist an

entirely different body of work to both look at and re-use.

An archive is as much a form of institutionalised forgetting and of the

erasure of traces, as it is a practice of their preservation, and thus of

remembrance. (Zylinska, 2010) British artist Tacita Dean, who predominantly

works with moving image, produced a book called Floh in 2001, which includes

163 found images that she accumulated over a seven year period from flea

markets across both Europe and America, and thus fits into the category of

the found archive, in that this archive of images did not exist prior to

her intervention. The work displays a nostalgia towards a world of an

analogue yesteryear, at almost the precise time of the unstoppable

progression toward digitisation. These found images are not limited to

portraiture alone and include holiday snapshots alongside images of the

banal, all found, collected and exquisitely presented as a very high

quality reproduction Steidl book. Mark Godfrey refers to these images as

‘the species of found photography’, however, it is true that the images

were found, but they have subsequently been very carefully selected for the

specificity of their individual cultural meanings, in additional to their

typological differences. (Godfrey, 2005) Dean uses this work as a means to

demonstrate the dialectic of ‘artist as ethnographer’. (Foster, 1996) Unlike

my activity within the Hardman archive, Dean has little interest in who the

subjects within her found images actually portray and sees the work purely

in terms of aesthetic juxtaposition, similar in that sense to Sultan &

Mandel’s, 2003 publication Evidence. Here the images where extracted from

their original institutional archives and placed within a narrative formed

from the internal logic found within the pictures themselves. Sandra S.

Phillips argues that the ‘mute’ images therefore provide a wealth of

42

Keith W Roberts RD2 – Transfer Report – Resubmission Document 07/03/2014archaeological clues about the kind of society that produced them in the

first place. (Cited in Mandel & Sultan, 2003) The format of Evidence provides

a creative framework within which to further test sequences of extracted

Hardman portraiture, with the intention of drawing from the different sub-

categories of clientele being explored.

As Hal Foster states ‘The Archival Impulse’ has animated modern art since

the invention of photography. (2004) For nearly a century, artists have

turned to the photographic archive in order to generate new ways of

thinking through historical events and to transform the traditional ideas

surrounding the status of the photographic document. (Enwesor, 2008) Jef

Geys’s 2002 work entitled Day and Night and Day… can again be described as a

chronotype in that similar to Kessel’s work it plays with the notion of

space and time. The work itself consists of more than 40 years work of

photographic output (or tens of thousands of images) taken by the artist

from the 1950’s to early 2000’s. The imagery has then been condensed into

36 hour long film, the title of which relates to 1.5 days or 36 hours. This

40 year time frame is roughly equivalent to the commercial portraiture

activity of Hardman and could therefore offer a similar model through which

to view a particular typology of

his portraits. Different methods of creative output are being considered

and will be tested in the next phase of the project timeline, where this

moving image technique can be trialled and perhaps form part of a

projection piece at the proposed final exhibition.

A relationship exists between past events and the documents that represent

them, whether these are either written or represented by photographic

traces. With photographic representations, these can sometimes be

considered a replacement of the object or the event of which they detail,

not just simply a recording of it. With this in mind we can consider the

1981 work of Sherrie Levine entitled After Walker Evans. Here Levine

43

Keith W Roberts RD2 – Transfer Report – Resubmission Document 07/03/2014refabricates historic works created by the well-known FSA photographer

Walker Evans in the 1930’s. In addition to this, the more recent works of

Mishka Henner in 2013 entitled Less Americans, (Henner digitally erases

elements of the famous works by the American Photographer Robert Frank),

both works can be viewed as a deliberate provocation, highlighting the fact

that both Frank and Evans might well have been the original photographers

of these works, but they do not own the social and cultural conditions that

instigated them. Appropriation and parody are key devices in many uses of

the archive (Enwesor, 2008) and in terms of this project, will feature

through the collection of Hardman’s archival excess, in the form of the

photographs taken of sitter’s belongings, such as pets and toys etc. (See

supporting evidence of practice ‘Hardman’s Animals’)

Lastly, Lawrence Cassidy’s projects entitled Salford 7: The Presentation and

Reconstruction of a Lost Working Class Community (2009) and more recently Patterns of

Migration (2013) are both photographic and archival based, dealing with the

affects the installation and site specific pieces have on a local

audiences. The Salford 7 project questions the role of the museum /archive

and the artist’s intervention into urban community spaces. It focussed

upon a predominantly working class area of Manchester called Salford 7,

which has now been demolished. The installations utilised the family

photograph, moving image and material remnants of the destroyed area in an

attempt to revoke collective memories of a lost community, through the

interaction of the locally dispersed communities. The most recent project

Cassidy is working on is also photographic in nature and through the

uncovering of photographic archives, relating to the industrial districts

of Cheetham Hill and Salford areas of Manchester, attempts to restore and

digitise these records with the intention of preservation, distribution and

celebration. This site specific archival imagery comes from one particular

anonymous source, which is thought to be from the activity of a local

commercial portrait photographer, shot over an extended timeframe similar

to that of the Hardman archive. During the 1950’s and 1960’s, migrants

44

Keith W Roberts RD2 – Transfer Report – Resubmission Document 07/03/2014from Africa, Eastern Europe and Asia came to live and work in the region,

adding to the diversity of the local community. Through the on-going

commercial activity of this portrait photographer, a large archive of

different migrant cultures exist, which is now being mapped and digitised

using the most recent archival software called Axiell CALM. This

specialist software is a collections management system for use with

archives, designed to conform to current and emerging data standards within

the international archives

community and can handle accession, inventory, search, retrieval,

conservation and repair. This system is far more sophisticated than the

simple relational database being used to map Hardman’s portraiture archive,

as it offers a more user friendly public interface to access the data that

has been digitised. More research into this system will need to be

conducted, but the final proposed exhibition could potentially make use of

it as a means of creating a public interface to present the records to the

local Liverpool community.

In terms of creative output being proposed with this project, clear

parallels exist between it and the works conducted by Cassidy specifically,

in that they both attempt to re-present site specific archival photographic

imagery back to a specific community through exhibition, and both deal with

the notion of remembrance at their very core. Although the practice of

other artists engaged in archival intervention of any description (with any

type of archive) as curated for the Archive Fever exhibition in 2008, could be

useful to the creative output of the project in relation to how the work

has been presented to an audience, it is the works of Cassidy, Jones and

Sultan & Mandel which relate closest in terms of practical precedents.

It is also worth noting that the works of Bernd & Hilla Becher, Ed Rushca,

Douglas Heubler and Thomas Ruff have been discussed in the following Part

Three of this review: The Typological Approach to Photographic Practice.

45


Works considered within this section are as follows: Lawrence Cassidy:

Patterns of Migration (2013), William E. Jones: Killed (2010), E.J.

Bellocq: Storyville Portraits (1970), Erik Kessels: 1 Million Flickr

Images (2011), Erik Kessels: Ria Van Dijk Archive (2012), Keith Medley

Archive: Doubletake (2013), Gerhard Richter: Atlas (1964-Present), Marcel

Duchamp: La Boite-en-Valise (1935-41), Marcel Broodthaers: Musee d’Art

Moderne, Department des Aigles (1968), Craigie Horsfield: Magda Mierwa &

Lesek Mierwa – Nawojki, Krakow (1990), Stan Douglas: Overture (1986), Jef

Geys: Day and Night and Day (2002), Andy Warhol: Race Riot (1963), Felix

Gonzalez-Torres: Death by Gun (1990), IIan Lieberman’s: Nino Perdido (2006-

7), Hans-Peter Feldman’s project: 9/12 Front Page (2001), Christian

Bolantski: Archive Dead Swiss (1990), Robert Morris: Untitled (1987), Eyal

Sivan’s: The Specialist; Eichmann in Jerusalem (1999), Fazal Sheik’s

photographs: The Victor Weeps; Afghanistan (1997), Walid Raad and The Atlas

Group: Lebanon Civil War (1970-90), Lamia Joreige: Objects of War (1996-

2006), Anri Sala: Intervista (1998), Harun Faroki & Andrei Ujica:

Videograms of a Revolution (1993),

Nomeda & Gediminas Urbonas :Transaction (2002), Tacita Dean: Floh (2001),

Lorna Simpson: Untitled (Guess Who is Coming to Dinner) (2001), Sherrie

Levine – After Walker Evans (1981)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Part Two – Conceptual Framework and Critical Position

“There-then, becomes here-now” (Barthes, 1980)

46

Keith W Roberts RD2 – Transfer Report – Resubmission Document 07/03/2014Hal Foster states that artists using the archive often seek to make

historical information, which can either be considered lost or misplaced,

physically present once again. (Foster, 2004) Hardman’s commercial

portraiture archive contained within the biscuit tins, has sat virtually

untouched since its arrival at the Liverpool Central Library in 1976. In

terms of either importance or value attributed to it, this component of the

collection has always been considered inferior to its counterparts (even by

Hardman himself), thus arguably considering it to be regarded as misplaced

to an extent. Therefore, to re-use this work through the exploratory

methods proposed by this project (IE: typology, chronotype, tracking,

tracing, replacing, re-photographing etc) presents new opportunities to re-

examine this body of work, bringing it into public view, similar in that

respect to the works created by Jones and Cassidy. Merewether (2006) argues

the archive functions as the means by which historical knowledge and forms

of remembrance are accumulated, stored and recovered. As time elapses,

significant events have not only occurred, but have been carefully

evidenced through recordings. These recordings can include a variety of

different media, from handwritten diaries and daybooks, to the generic and

ubiquitous family photographic album. Whichever way we look at it, an

artefact of some description has been created and some will inevitably

progress better than others through the further passage of time. The

interpretation of these artefacts is dependent upon who views them and for

what purpose they are being viewed. Johnson argues a photograph is not an

absolute direct copy of its subject, but rather the transmission of a

reality that signifies different meanings to different people. (Johnson,

1977-78) For example, a family member will view images in their family

album very differently to how a social historian will view them. Jenkins

reiterates the distinct difference between ‘history’ that has been written

or recorded about a past event, than to the actual past event itself, as

the event is utterly unique and can only ever happen once. (Jenkins, 1991)

In a similar way a distinction should be drawn between a photograph of the

past and the past itself. Therefore, in relation to re-using Hardman’s

47

Keith W Roberts RD2 – Transfer Report – Resubmission Document 07/03/2014portraits, the intention is not to simply represent the past through

photographs of people from it, but to use the portraits in a new and

imaginative way in an attempt to revoke memories of that past.

As visual objects, photographs are inherently difficult to write about as

they are intended to be made sense of viewed whole, instead of being

described fragmentary through words. Barthes claims that the rejection of

a photograph and thus the memory value it holds out demands its physical

removal, and that to cut, tear or still worse, to burn a photograph is a

hysterical action, which leaves behind indexical wounds and irreparable

scars. In this way the list created by Liverpool Library detailing

Hardman’s disposed negatives (although not a

‘hysterical’ action as Barthes suggests) highlights a gap in the sequential

ordering of the archive, thus suggesting a memory lost. Negatives that

have escaped or have been simply re-located within the archive

leave material traces of their absence such as an empty glassine envelope

with a unique negative number in Hardman’s archive. This in turn opens the

missing negative up to further conjecture and the possibility of the

creation of a ‘made’ history, with the idea of physically placing a new

negative into the archive in the place where the original one has been

removed. The unique negative number and the surname of the original sitter

will always have been assigned through the registers, but a new portrait of

a sitter from the region, with the same surname perhaps, could take the

missing space left in the archive. This would then completely reverse the

direction within which the archive materials are being used, in that the

works are normally being removed for use rather than put back in. The way

in which this action could be visualised to form part of the creative

output, could utilise a similar method to that of the Jef Geys’ work

mentioned previously. Here we see still images sequenced together and

compressed into moving image, this method offers the opportunity for an

48

Keith W Roberts RD2 – Transfer Report – Resubmission Document 07/03/2014entire section of the Hardman archive to be projected on a loop, with the

missing original sitters replaced by contemporary portraits of local people

with the same surname.

Edwards states that photographs belong to that class of object formed

specifically to remember, rather than being objects around which

remembrance accrues through contextual association. The portrait can be

considered truly authentic as it has been literally traced off the living and

is as much an instance of the presence of the living, as it is a memory of

the dead. (Edwards, 1999) She then goes on to identify that much of what

has been written about photography, memory and the past, ignores the

physicality of the photograph as an actual object, treating it almost as a

trigger for other forms of narrative. Family photographs displayed on top

of televisions, furniture and mantelpieces within the home adopt similar

shrine like qualities. These places can become public statements of

achievement or private statements of devotion, creating worthy subject

matter for further photographic exploration, particularly in relation to

Hardman’s existing work as displayed in his client’s ancestral homes.

Within Derrida’s Archive Fever, we note that whilst the archive contains

only a trace of what has happened, not the actual thing itself, we are

always eager to know what has been lost, destroyed or even stolen. This

confirms to us that the past has already occurred and cannot be brought

back again, with the historian only ever being able to represent the past

via the traces that still exist. Derrida suggests that the archive as a

physical entity exists in a tangible domain …“The dwelling, this place

where they dwell permanently …” (Derrida, 1998) Photographs, images, maps,

surveys, intelligence, taxonomies, classifications are all Derrida’s

“science of the archive”. The archive as a representation of the taxonomy

and classification of knowledge, could also be understood as a

representative historical form, which Foucault designates as a historical a

49

Keith W Roberts RD2 – Transfer Report – Resubmission Document 07/03/2014priori, defined as a field of archaeological inquiry, a journey through time

and space; one whose methodological

apparatus does not set “a condition of validity for judgements, but a

condition of reality for statements”. (Foucault, 1970)

Derrida suggests that the desire to create an archive in the first instance

is akin to the desire to want to repeat, which relates to one of Freud’s

main teachings, regarding the compulsion to repeat, is the drive towards

death.

Steedman recalls that the archive is not only made from selected and

consciously chosen objects from the past, but also includes fragments that

nobody actually intended to preserve, or that just ended up there. This

suggests that once an object finds its way into the archive, it then

becomes part of the archive and is therefore preserved with the same

attention to detail. In her 2001 publication entitled ‘Dust’, she

highlights the fact that when in the archive, what we are searching for is

a lost object, which really cannot be found. The object or the event that

happened (the story from the past) has been altered by the very search for

it, by its time and duration, thus what has actually been lost can never be

found. The title relates to something that is more than mere particles of

an organic or inorganic nature, with Barthes suggesting that the quantity

of dust inhaled during time spent in the archive, becoming comparable to

the act of literally ‘eating’ history. People can use the archive to be

alone with the past, as it is the kind of place associated with longing and

appropriation. Steedman states it is to do with wanting things that are

put together, collected , collated, named in list and indices (or Studio

Registers); a place where a whole world, a social order, may be imagined by

the recurrence of a name in a register, through a scrap of paper, or some

other little piece of flotsam. (Steedman, 2001)

50

Keith W Roberts RD2 – Transfer Report – Resubmission Document 07/03/2014Much of what is being proposed in terms of the projects creative output is

driven by the digitisation of Hardman’s studio registers, which in

themselves can be considered objects that have been archived alongside the

photographic works.

A variety of different histories are formulated about artefacts over the

passage of time through the different people involved with their

classification and categorisation. These different histories can be

recalled then both embellished and modified to suit the needs of the

particular party interested, just as narratives can evolve over time as

they are retold differently. In terms of the objects or photographs

specifically, they can become the site for inscribing alternate histories

onto the ones the images otherwise purport to depict. (Schlak, 2009) Some

of these histories are forgotten or actually disappear altogether, but the

physical artefact or object they relate to can often still remain in

existence. These remaining artefacts / objects can then be lost or

misplaced for many years until they are found again, some are archived and

some remain locked in collections, unseen for a generation or more. In a

similar way to the cultural anthropologist Turner’s path of ritual

experience, some objects move from being ordinary to non-ordinary for a

finite period of time. But in opposition to Turner’s ritual path, they do

not return to the ordinary to complete the ritual. (Turner, 1995) It is

only by unforeseen discovery that a researcher would happen to open these

unlabelled or un-catalogued boxes (or

biscuit tins perhaps) holding these unseen artefacts or objects (or even

negatives more specifically). What is certain is that these storage places

will hold forgotten secrets waiting to be rediscovered.

As further time elapses the artefacts or objects, the archive or

collection, or even photographic album is once again interrogated and the

histories are once again recalled, recreated or reconnected by other areas

51

Keith W Roberts RD2 – Transfer Report – Resubmission Document 07/03/2014of research and creative practice. An event or a portrait perhaps, can

once again become or can be made significant, through the artist’s

intervention; life can be breathed back into that which has remained

stagnant since the time from which it fulfilled its original objective.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------

52


Part Three – The Typological Approach to Photographic Practice

This second part deals with the use of typology within the visual arts and

identifies different understandings surrounding the use of this method of

representation. It will consider the works of different typologists

working within the specialism of photographic practice and offer a specific

definition in relation to the way in which the project will use typology.

It is worth highlighting that the use of typology as a mean by which to

order and represent Hardman’s commercial portraiture is only one element of

the creative output being proposed by the project’s archival intervention

and that other practice as already indicated, will include the use of

chronotype, replacement of imagery within archival gaps and the re-

photographing of location based portraits.

The noun ‘Typology’ has an actual definition stating:

1. a systematic classification of types or study of types.

2. the doctrine or study of types or prefigurative symbols, especially

in scriptural literature.(Source: Oxford English Dictionary)

The term can however be interpreted differently depending upon how and for

whom it is being used. For example, Freidus’s simplified definition of the

term claims it as a collection of members of a common class or type. In

his introductory essay for the ‘Typologies: Nine Contemporary

Photographers’ catalogue he states:

“It could be a grouping of physiognomic types, vernacular buildings, or

species of monkeys. A typology is assembled by observation, collection,

naming and grouping. These actions allow the members of the class to be

compared, usually in search of broader patterns. These patterns may reveal

53

Keith W Roberts RD2 – Transfer Report – Resubmission Document 07/03/2014biological constants if the subjects are living things, or social truths if

the subjects are human creations”. (Freidus, 1991)

Adams & Adams offer a more scientific definition of the term, specifically

in relation to its use within archaeological endeavour, stating:

“A typology is a conceptual system made by partitioning a specified field

of entities into a comprehensive set of mutually exclusive types, according

to common criteria dictated by the purpose of the typologist. Within any

typology, each type is a category created by the typologist, into which

they can place discrete entities having specific identifying

characteristics, to distinguish them from entities having other

characteristics, in a way that is meaningful to the purpose of typology”. (Adams & Adams, 1991)

It is therefore important at this stage of the project to determine the

differences between what could be considered ‘classification’ as opposed to

‘typology’. Classifying is very simply the act of creating categories and

sorting therefore, the act of placing entities within them once they have

been created. (Adams & Adams, 1991). By this rationale, classification can

therefore be considered the process of definition, whereas typology should be

considered the act of attribution. Typology can often show more about difference

than similarity, so it can be argued that the task of the Typologist is not

necessarily to seek variation, but to identify the abiding essence that

sits underneath that particular variation.

Whereas August Sander for instance, used a semi-medieval guild system in

order to formulate his typologies,

54

Keith W Roberts RD2 – Transfer Report – Resubmission Document 07/03/2014(IE: Farmers / Craftsmen / Professions / Artists / Metropolis), it is

important to clarify Sander was directly responsible for the ordering of

his own practice at the time in which it was being created. The typologies

being proposed for this project are being extracted from the contents of

this site specific archive of Hardman’s work and therefore did not exist

prior to my intervention. Hardman’s arrangement of the materials was based

purely upon chronological order, as determined by the date when each sitter

was photographed. The reordering imposed through the creation of these

typologies will become a creative product of the project and will be based

upon both quantitative and qualitative elements. In terms of quantitative, the

data being utilised by the process of digitising the studio register

contents, offers a unique method of interrogating specific datasets and

therefore being able to attribute similar ‘types’. The qualitative element

of the process comes once the type has been defined and may be determined

by the actual visual contents of the images being identified, based upon

common inherent characteristics perhaps. The individual ‘type’ as

identified by an individual portrait of a sitter, will consist of multiple

variations as determined by Hardman’s process of shooting between five and

six separate exposures during the same sitting, for which would be referred

to as his ‘first edit’ in this instance.

When considering the Becher’s use of the term typology, here the artists

have virtually replaced the aesthetic judgement, through the control of

variables in order to closely predetermine the look of an image. EG: The

same angle of composition, the same time of day, the same overcast sky and

lastly the same size object occupying the picture elements. The Hardman

portraits by their very commercial nature have been shot with a similarly

close predetermined look throughout, which although this ‘look’ admittedly

shifts over time, (mainly due to the changing styles expected of studio

portraiture throughout the decades), they provide a consistent basis

through which to reorder these existing portraits.

55

Keith W Roberts RD2 – Transfer Report – Resubmission Document 07/03/2014It is also important to consider the output format that the various artists

using typology have utilised, for example Sander favoured the book, whereas

the Becher’s required exhibition to display their works and also specified

a nine image grid format for viewing (IE: Three images high by three images

wide) Ed Ruscha’s work

‘Every Building on Sunset Strip’ (1969) was also intended to be viewed on

the wall but required a linear structure, which directly mimicked the

reality of the works. These are all very careful decisions made by the

individual artists concerned and offer different models for further

consideration and use within the creative output of the project.

Douglas Huebler’s 1972 work entitled ‘Variable Piece #101’ is a series of

ten portraits taken of the photographer Bernd Becher, detailing a sequence

of deliberate poses Becher was asked to perform during the execution of

each portrait. These poses included: Priest / Criminal / Lover / Old

Man / Policeman / Artist / Bernd Becher / Philospher / Spy / Nice Guy. A

few months after the images had been taken, Huebler then forwarded the work

in sequence to Becher and asked him to make the correct associations with

the given verbal terms. The two different sequences are then presented to

the viewer with captions as determined first by the photographer (Huebler)

and then by the subject (Becher). Huebler then goes on to stress this

scrambling of photographic order as a means by which the individual

components of a system are pushed from a diachronic sequence in time (one

following the next) into a larger, synchronic, structural field. (Hughes,

2007)

As Huebler states:

“The photographs which have been made in sequence are presented in a

scrambled order, thereby collapsing the structure of the system into an

undifferentiated system of difference.” (Huebler, 1997)

56


Depending upon where these images are presented, will determine what order

they may be seen, sometimes even appearing without the numbering sequence

to identify which term relates to which image. This typology of the

typologist (Becher) is therefore using the photographic caption, which

would normally be used in a supportive role, to deliberately create

confusion when reading the work. Heubler critiques two different forms of

photographic practice from the systems based work of the typologist, (EG:

Becher, Ruscha, Dibbets, Snow and Hilliard) to the more expressivity of the

New York school of portraitists. (EG: Arbus, Klein, Avedon, Davidson) With

this work, Heubler is deliberately undoing the objective systems Becher

puts in place for the creation of his dehumanised architectural typologies,

in an attempt to create the polar opposite; subjective personalised

portraits. Again, this deliberate use of parody within Heubler’s model is

of interest to project and could inform, to a certain extent, the element

of the creative output that deals with the replacement of missing portraits

within the Hardman archive. It would not necessarily be the use of caption

here that would create the confusion, but the scrambling of sequence

through the interjection of additional portraits, in order to fill the

missing gaps in chronology.

Thomas Ruff’s work entitled Machines (2003), unlike Dean’s work but perhaps

more closely aligned to the creative output proposed by this project,

intervenes within the archives imagery through the use of scanning,

cropping, colouring, enlarging and thus generating significantly larger

prints than which the images were ever intended to be presented. Flosdorff

(2003) suggests that the context within which Ruff’s work is now shown is

no longer constrained to a particular objective, such as product /

advertising photography. It is precisely this shift from say product

photography to art photography which fosters a feeling of uncertainty in

57

Keith W Roberts RD2 – Transfer Report – Resubmission Document 07/03/2014terms of the images being converted into pictorial objects devoid of

context. Through this act and subsequent enhancement of the images

photographic presence, the photographs can be viewed in an entirely

different manner. It is precisely this representation of the Hardman

portraits that is found particularly appealing in this sense, owing to the

fact this work was never intended to be used in this way.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------

58


Part Four – 20th Century Commercial Photographic Portraiture and Conservation

“The portrait photographer’s primary purpose has been to reveal the

individual before the camera, to transfer the living quality of that

individual to the final print.” (Hoppé, 1945)

Clarke states that the aim of good portraiture within any medium is not

simply to make ‘face maps’ but to record the essential truth of the subject

… not just to show how the person looks … but to show what he is. (Clarke,

1992) In the first part of the 20th Century, the London based society

portrait photographer Emil Otto Hoppé (1878-1972) was considered the

leading figure in portrait photographer at the time, even being referred to

by Cecil Beaton as ‘The Master’. Hoppé’s archive became obscured from the

historians view for almost half a century mainly down to the way in which

it had been catalogued by subject matter, after it was sold to the Mansell

Collection in 1954. The work was repatriated with the family archive some

forty years later in 1994 by American curator Graham Howe, who claims Hoppé

to be as significant in photographic terms to London, as Eugene Atget

(1857-1927) was to Paris. Hoppé systematically used typology within his

portraiture, through both costume and through the discredited pseudo-

sciences such as phrenology and physiognomy. Barthes addresses in his

essay entitled ‘The Blue Guide’ that in order to read the individual human

being “we find again here this disease of thinking in essences, which is

at the bottom of every bourgeois mythology of man.” For the Blue Guide … men

exist only as ‘types’, with the different regions almost confirming

stereotypes of the people who inhabit them. (Barthes, 1972) Both Hoppé’s

and Hardman’s commercial portraiture activity overlapped in terms of when

they were physically shooting their work, and although no evidence has yet

been found in Hardman’s notebooks, it is very plausible to suggest that

Hardman would not only have been familiar with Hoppé’s work in London, but

would also have used it to inform his own practice. When viewing the works,

59

Keith W Roberts RD2 – Transfer Report – Resubmission Document 07/03/2014both aesthetic and technical similarities exist between the two

portraitists.

Two years after Hardman began his portraiture business with partner Kenneth

Burrell in 1923, a Siberian Immigrant living in the US called Antol Josepho

patented the first photobooth called the ‘Photomaton’. For the very first

time, this offered people a cheap method of having their portrait taken

without the intervention of a photographer. One studio that has somehow

managed to weather the storm since 1868 is the American family owned

portrait photographers Bachrach’s, who have been responsible for

photographing the rich and famous since that time. Having experienced a

significant rise and fall in business through the last century and a half,

the business is still running from 4 studios based in US cities of Boston,

New York, Washington and Philadelphia. Aligned with the practice of

Hardman’s studio, Bachrach targeted wealthier clientele, but unlike

Hardman, this company has been passed down through successive generations

of the same family, thus ensuring its future.

Other portrait studios of note in Liverpool at the time of Hardman’s

practice are Fred Ash, Medringtons, Thomas Vanerbilt, Robinson & Tompson,

Saronie’s, The Carbonera Company and Brown, Barnes & Bell. While most main

towns and cities had at least one or two portrait studios that spanned a

significant timeframe during the early to mid section of the last century,

as the closest major city, Manchester’s Fredrick Chambers, Van Ralty,

Arthur Watson and Lafayette Company provide the most comparable works

within the nearby region. Examples of the work from these portraitists

does still exist within both the Liverpool and Manchester Libraries and

special collections and will provide further comparative studies throughout

the development of the project. In addition to this, a visit is being

planned to the Autograph ABP photographic archive based in Spitalfields,

London during summer 2014, in order to examine the contents of a culturally

60

Keith W Roberts RD2 – Transfer Report – Resubmission Document 07/03/2014diverse photographic archive and the systems employed to support its public

access. Although this archive is not specifically portraiture based, it

does contain significant portraiture collections, the technical handling

and accessing of which might be of use to this project. In addition to

this, the Autograph ABP archive will have been used as the basis for prior

archival intervention by visual arts practitioners, the methods of creative

output from which, could be of interest or significance.

As stated by Bisson (1965) and mentioned earlier, Hardman began his

practice with a partner he had served with in the British Army in India, by

the name of Capt. Kenneth Burrell. In 1923 they set up a photographic

studio at 51a Bold Street, a busy Liverpool thoroughfare that had been host

to many other photographic studios over the years. It is also worth noting

that from the outset the partnership intended to provide the very highest

quality photographic service to those who could afford it. Many other

studios (some mentioned above) at the time where subsequently bought out by

larger chains such as Jerome’s etc, who offered a much more affordable and

basic photographic service to the working classes, often using paper

negatives by way of saving costs. Hardman used film, which is a

contributing factor along with his fastidious nature to collect, as to why

his archive still exists to this day. (In addition to the intervention of

Peter Hagerty in 1979.) This decision early on in his career, to

specifically target the wealthy middle classes with portraits, proved to be

a prudent business choice, with the eventual move of his studio to the more

prestigious Rodney street address, settling amongst the Surgeons and

Dentists in the early 1950’s.

At the start of his commercial portraiture business, Hardman joined the

Sandon Studio Society for the Arts in 1923, which were based in Liverpool,

having moved into the Bluecoat Chambers in 1907 (Bisson, 1965). His partner,

Burrell had already been a member of this society prior to the WW1 and it

is more than likely to have been his influence that encouraged Hardman to

61

Keith W Roberts RD2 – Transfer Report – Resubmission Document 07/03/2014join. It is acknowledged that Hardman & Burrell were for a period, the

portrait photographer of choice amongst the society members. (Similar to

Hoppé in London) “It was more or less obligatory for anyone on Merseyside

with any pretention to distinction to be photographed by them.” (Bisson,

1965) Three other contemporaries of Hardman’s and also prominent members

of this

society were the sculptor Herbert Tyson-Smith and the architect Francis

Xavier Velarde (as mentioned in the Development of Methodology section above)

and the portrait painter Henry Carr, the former two of whose work is still

evident around the borough to this day, the latter has work held in the

Walker Art Gallery’s collection. Not only did Hardman make portraits of

these three practitioners, but there is evidence in the studio registers

that he photographed the actual practice of both Tyson-Smith (See Fig. 13)

and Velarde regularly for them, in both the studio and on location. “The

Sandon Society led to many portrait sittings from members, and the

beginnings of friendships …. “ (Hagerty, 1999) These location based

portraits and others like them, do hold significance to the project as it

is precisely this kind of practice that will form the basis of the

re-photography element of the project; providing physical locations within

which to explore Hardman’s past subject matter.

No amount of textual description of a digitised record can substitute for

viewing an image of the item itself. The American poet Susan Stewart

argues that sensing ‘touch’ relates directly to ‘visualising’. (Stewart, 1984)

Much of the negative material from this time has been intricately

manipulated with the practice of the day, all of which can be witnessed on

the actual emulsion surface of the negatives. (EG: Hardman’s use of coccin

rouge opaque was prevalent for the reduction of highlights within a

portrait, as was the use of pencil directly onto the emulsion, in order to

create highlight into the shadow areas of the face and hair.) The physical

62

Keith W Roberts RD2 – Transfer Report – Resubmission Document 07/03/2014handling of the materials in order to place them in front of a camera or

scanner, far outweighs the cost of actually capturing the image and Getty

claims that the creation of an image database consisting of only 50,000

objects would be the equivalent of 70,000 hours (or 34 person years)

(Getty, 1998) The most time consuming aspect of copying Hardman’s portraits

is the non-technical part IE: The removal of the objects from storage,

allowing the materials to become acclimatised, physically bringing the

objects to the scanning area, then relocating the object back in the

archive. A significant proportion of the earliest negatives within the

Hardman archive have suffered from the a form of decomposition known as

Vinegar Syndrome, which can be put down to the poor storage conditions

experienced by the collection to date. Once this has taken hold within an

individual container, all negatives in close proximity become affected,

through the buckling and shrinkage of the gelatin emulsion. Left

unchecked this will render the negatives both un-viewable and unusable and

only really fit for disposal. A database of disposed Hardman portraits,

detailing the unique negative number, has been acquired from the Library to

ensure cross checking prior to any search or planned typology of his

existing portraits. This existing database can also help to identify

existing gaps within the portraiture archive, into which new portraits can

be placed, with reference to the ‘replacing’ component of the creative

output mentioned on page 13 – Part Two : A Conceptual Framework and

Critical Position.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Part Five – Summary

The project intends to use an existing site specific portraiture archive,

which has arguably already served its purpose and subsequently remained

overlooked (since it was shot between 1923 to the mid 1960’s), with the

63

Keith W Roberts RD2 – Transfer Report – Resubmission Document 07/03/2014intention of various creative practical engagement as described throughout

the report.

The commercial portraiture component of Hardman’s collection was created as

a by-product to his economic subsistence through his photographic practice.

It can be argued that this collection has been considered less valuable

than other areas of his photographic activity, such as the landscapes and

topographical cityscapes, which have been widely reproduced and exhibited

throughout both his lifetime and after his death in 1988. It is claimed by

Hagerty (1999) through actual conversation with Hardman towards the end of

his life, that his true creative photographic desire was channelled through

the genre of landscape representation. The almost hidden nature of this

archive is predominantly down to the fact Hardman had physically removed

anything he had assigned either monetary value or aesthetic worth to prior

to sale, which to an extent rendered what the library had purchased fairly

useless by their own acknowledgement. It can also be argued that as a

result of this situation, Hardman’s commercial portraiture collection has

not been appropriately re-housed or correctly stored over the past 38

years, rendering many of the earliest portraits either un-viewable or only

designated for disposal, a position which becomes of use to the project in

terms of replacing missing content.

Any commercial aspect of a collection of this nature is often considered

less important and therefore has less value associated with it, as opposed

to its more creatively and less pressurised counterparts. As a by-product

of the creative intervention within this archive, awareness of the

collection will be raised within the regional population as to the

existence of these works which will assist within the accessibility and

public engagement of them, directly through the database being created to

drive the practical output of the project. This examination of the

commercial portraiture component of Hardman’s archive does not in itself

constitute new knowledge, but both the model used to access the works in

64

Keith W Roberts RD2 – Transfer Report – Resubmission Document 07/03/2014this manner, through the new database and the resulting creative practical

output certainly will.

It is widely acknowledged that commercial portrait photography of this

nature, which was produced within this timeframe, represents only a certain

aspect of the community from which it came IE: The ones who could afford to

pay Hardman’s more expensive rates. As mentioned previously, the

paradoxical nature of this means that it is precisely because of the

investment Hardman made in the use of more expensive materials, through

targeting the more privileged sectors of this society as his clientele,

that the work still exists to this day. The actual timeframe of the

collection represents a very interesting period in the history of

photographic portraiture for two main reasons. The first is in relation to

understanding shifts in social status and class around the two World Wars

in Great Britain and the more ubiquitous use of commercial portrait studios

of this

kind in the production of identity photographs for use on passports. The

second is linked to the first through the rise in popularity of the

photobooth, which from its invention in the mid 1920’s, removed the need of

the photographer to actually be present when these types of portraits were

being made.

The various components that will make up the creative practical output of

the project will include the different typologies extracted from the

archive, the replacement portraits bridging the gaps in the archive and the

location based re-photographs, along with other experimental ways of

selecting materials from the archive, all driven through the use of the

database created. A selection of this material will form the basis of the

final exhibition.

Literature Review Word Count : 9,666

65


---------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bibliography

ADAMS, W & ADAMS, E. 1991. Archaeological Typology and Practical Reality.

Cambridge. Cambridge University Press.

66

Keith W Roberts RD2 – Transfer Report – Resubmission Document 07/03/2014BARTHES, R. 1980. Camera Lucida: Reflections on Photography. London.

Jonathan Cape

BARTHES, R. 1972. Mythologies. London. Jonathan Cape pp74-77 (Chapter: The

Blue Guide)

BELLOCQ, E SZARKOWSKI, J & FRIELANDER, L. 1996. Bellocq: Photographs from

Storyville, The Red Light District of New Orleans. London. Jonathan Cape.

BENJAMIN, W. 1936. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.

London. Penguin

BENSON, A. 2009. Killed Negatives: The Unseen Photographic Archives.

Archivaria No. 68.

BESSER, H. 1991. Imaging: Fine Arts. In Journal of the American Society for

Information Science (1986-1998); Sept 1991; 42, 8. Pp. 589

BIRD, N. 2001. Tracing Echoes. Leeds. Wild Pansy Press

BIRD, N. 2011. Beneath the Surface / Hidden Place. Edinburgh. Stills

Ltd.

BISSON, R,F. 1965. The Sandon Studios Society.Parry Books Ltd. Liverpool

BLACKMORE, S. 1999. The Meme Machine. Oxford. Oxford University Press.

BOOTH, D. 2012. The Photography of Edward Chambre Hardman (1898-1988). M

Arch Thesis LJMU.

BRIGHT, S. 2005. Art Photography Now. London. Thames & Hudson

CANDLIN, F & GUINS, R. 2009. The Object Reader. London. Routledge

CHAMBRE HARDMAN, E. 1994. E. Chambre Hardman: Photographs 1921-1972.

Liverpool. National Museums and Galleries Merseyside.

67

Keith W Roberts RD2 – Transfer Report – Resubmission Document 07/03/2014CHAMBRE HARDMAN, E. 1966. Landscape: Another Personal View. Bath. Royal

Photographic Society

CHAMBRE HARDMAN, E. 2007. Liverpool Through The Lens. Swindon. National

Trust Books.

CHAMBRE HARDMAN, E. 2004. 59 Rodney Street – Edward Chambre Hardman.

Swindon. National Trust Books.

CLARKE, G. 1992. The Portrait in Photography. London. Reaktion Books.

DEAN, T. 2001. Floh. Gottingen. Steidl

DERRIDA, J. 1998. Archive Fever: A Freudian Impression. London. University

of Chicago Press.

EDWARDS, E. 2001. Raw Histories: Photographs, Anthropology & Museums.

Oxford. Berg Publishing

EDWARDS, E. 1999. ‘Photographs as Objects of Memory’ in Marius Kwint,

Christopher Breward and Jeremy Aynsley (eds), Material Memories: Design &

Evocation. Oxford: Berg Publishing, 1999, pp. 221-236

ELKINS, J. 2011. What Photography Is. New York. Routledge

ENWEZOR, O. 2008. Archive Fever: Uses of the Document in Contemporary Art.

Gottingen. Steidl

FLOSDORFF, C. 2003. Time Machines: Concepts of Reality in Thomas Ruff’s

Cycle Machines

FOSTER, H. 2004. An Archival Impulse. October No. 110.

FOSTER, H. 1996. The Artist as Ethnographer. In Foster, H. Return of the

Real. 1996. M.A. MIT Press

68

Keith W Roberts RD2 – Transfer Report – Resubmission Document 07/03/2014FOUCAULT, M. 1970. The Order of Things: An Archaeology of The Human

Sciences. London. Routledge

FREIDUS, M. 1991. Typologies : Nine Contemporary Photographers.

California. Newport Harbor Art Museum

GALE. 2011. Encyclopedia of American Industries. New York. Gale

GOOD, J. 2011. How many photos have ever been taken? [Online]. Available

from: < http://blog.1000memories.com/94-number-of-photos-ever-taken-

digital-and-analog-in-shoebox >

[Accessed 20th September 2013].

GODFREY, M. 2005. Photography Found and Lost: On Tacita Dean’s Floh. October

114. (Fall 2005) pp 90-199

HAGERTY, P. 1999. The Continuity of Landscape Representation – The

Photography of Edward Chambre-Hardman (1898-1988). PhD Thesis LJMU.

HAYES, P SILVESTER, J & HARTMANN, W. 1999. Photograph, History, and Memory.

University of Capetown Press. South Africa

HESS NORRIS, D & JAE GUTIERREZ (Eds). 2010. Issues in the Conservation of

Photographs. Los Angeles. Getty Publications.

HOPPE, E O. 1945. Hundred Thousand Exposures: The Success of a

Photographer. London. Focal Press

HUGHES, G. 2007. Game Face: Douglas Huebler and the Voiding of Photographic

Portraiture. Art Journal.

Vol 66, No. 04 (Winter, 2007), pp. 52-69.

INCIRLIOGLU, C GUVEN. 1994. Typologies in Photography. Turkey. Middle East

Technical University (METU). Journal of the Faculty of Architecture 1994

JENKINS, K. 2003. Rethinking History. London. Routledge

69

http://blog.1000memories.com/94-number-of-photos-ever-taken-digital-and-analog-in-shoebox

http://blog.1000memories.com/94-number-of-photos-ever-taken-digital-and-analog-in-shoebox


JOHNSON, C. 1993. System & Writing in the Philosophy of Jacques Derrida.

Cambridge. Cambridge Uni Press.

JOHNSON, L. 1977-78. Yukon Archives Visual Photographs Finding Aid.

Archivaria No.5

JONES, G. 2004. Lancashire Professional Photographers 1840-1940.

Manchester. PhotoResearch

KOZLOFF, M. 2007. The Theatre of The Face: Portrait Photography Since 1900.

New York. Phaidon

LIVINGSTON, D & DYER, P. 2010. A View From The Window: Photography,

Recording Family Memories. Social Alternatives Vol. 29. No. 3.

MACFARLANE, D. 2010. Photography at the Threshold: Atget, Benjamin and

Surrealism. History of Photography. Volume 34, Number 01, February 2010.

MANDEL, M & SULTAN, L. 2003. Evidence. New York. Distributed Art Publishers

Inc.

MEDLEY, K. 2013. Double Take: Portraits from the Keith Medley Archive.

Liverpool. LJMU Press.

MEREWETHER, C. 2006. The Archive. London & Cambridge, MA, MIT Press.

MIFFLIN, J. 2007. Visual Archives in Perspective: Enlarging on Historical

Medical Photographs. The American Archivist.

RIGGS, C R. 1993. Family Portrait. Dun & Broadstreet Inc. D & B Reports;

Jul / Aug 1993; 42, 4; Proquest p.16

SANDER, A. 1973. Photographer Extraordinary. London. Thames & Hudson

70

Keith W Roberts RD2 – Transfer Report – Resubmission Document 07/03/2014SANDER, A. 2000. Photographs from the J. Paul Getty Museum: In Focus. Los

Angeles. Christopher Hudson

SCHLAK, T. 2008. Framing Photographs, Denying Archives: The Difficulty of

Focusing on Archival Photographs.

Volume 8, No. 2.

SEKULA, A. 1992. The Body in the Archive. In Bolton, ed. The Contest of

Meaning. MIT Press

SEKULA, A. 2004. Reading an Archive: Photography Between Labour & Capital .

In Well, L (ed) The Photography Reader. London. Routledge, pp. 443-452

SOURCE Magazine. 2010. The Archival Issue No. 164

STEEDMAN, C. 2001. Dust. Manchester. Manchester University Press

STEWART, S. 1993. On Longing: Narratives of the Miniature, the Gigantic,

the Souvenir, The Collection. N.C. Duke University Press.

STOKOE, B. 2007. Class Tourism and Photography: The Typological Portraits

of E. O. Hoppe and J.D. Beresford. History of Photography Volume 31, No.

2.

SULLIVAN, G.2006. Berenice Abbott Photographer: An Independent Image. New

York. Clarion Books

SULTAN, L & MANDEL, M. 2003. Evidence. San Francisco. SFMOMA

TAGG, J. 1988. The Burden of Representation : Essays on Photographies and

Histories. New York. Palgrave

71

Keith W Roberts RD2 – Transfer Report – Resubmission Document 07/03/2014THOMPSON, M.2003. Time’s Square: Deriving Cultural Theory From Rubbish

Theory. Innovation Vol. 16, No. 4.

TURNER, V. 1995. The Ritual Process: Structure & Anti-Structure. Chicago.

Aldine Transaction

WELLS, L (ed).2003. The Photography Reader.London. Routledge

WILLIAMS, V et al. 2007. How We are : Photographing Britain. 1st Edition.

London. Tate Publishing

WISE, K. 1978. Lotte Jacobi. New Hampshire. Addison House

ZYLINSKA, J.2010. On Bad Archives, unruly snappers and liquid photographs.

Photographies Vol 3, No. 2.

72


Appendix 01 – The Database Structure

The Spreadsheet (see Fig. 04) holds the following datasets:

Unique Database Entry Number

This number only relates to the creation of the new database and bears

no relation to the referencing Hardman used in his Studio Registers. In

terms of relational database creation, this number can act as the primary

key, which will assist in further scripts being coded to interrogate and

filter the datasets.

Studio Register Number

The collection has 11 individual Studio Registers which run in

chronological order and include the following:

Studio Register 01 – April 1923 to April 1925 – Negative Numbers 01 –

3,430

Studio Register 02 – April 1923 to Nov 1926 – Negative Numbers 3,431

– 7,581

Studio Register 03 – Nov 1926 to Sept 1927 – Negative Numbers 7,582 –

10,473

Studio Register 04 – Sept 1927 to Aug 1929 – Negative Numbers 10,474

– 14,973

Studio Register 05 – Aug 1929 to Jan 1932 – Negative Numbers 14,974 –

19,640

Studio Register 06 – Jan 1932 to Jan 1934 – Negative Numbers 19,641 –

24,115

73


Studio Register 07 – Jan 1934 to Nov 1935 – Negative Numbers 24,116 –

29,514

Studio Register 08 – Nov 1935 to May 1943 – Negative Numbers 29,515 –

59,505

Studio Register 09 – May 1943 to Feb 1947 – Negative Numbers 59,506 –

87,065

Studio Register 10 – Feb 1947 to Oct 1954 – Negative Numbers 87,066 –

112,497

Studio Register 11 – Oct 1954 to Nov 1963 – Negative Numbers 112,528 –

127,107

Studio Register Page Number

Each register has a unique page number which does not progress into 4

figures, but starts again at No. 1. For instance the page numbering in

Studio Register 03 is a continuation from Studio Register 02 and begins

at page number 229. The page numbering for the three largest registers

(Studio Register 08/09/10) all start with page No. 01 and progress to

over page 900.

Archival Accession Number

The Liverpool Records Office has begun the conservation work on the

collection and re-housing negative materials has begun. This number

relates to where the negative is stored should it have been re-housed

and only runs to approx. 16,500 within the collection to date. The

Accession number starts with 770 ECH - IE: The first re-housed file in

the collection would be 770 ECH 01.

Unique Negative Number

74


This number is unique to each negative and relates to Hardman’s archival

process. The number has been hand written on both the negative and the

glassine envelope used to house and protect the negative. See Fig. 05 &

Fig. 06 for an example of this number. Errors have been detected

throughout the handwritten Studio Registers, meaning that some of the

numbers do not have corresponding negatives and are therefore redundant

numbers. This is arguably the most important number in the whole

database as it uniquely identifies each negative and links them directly

to the corresponding data held within the Studio Registers.

Negative Order Date

These date entries relate to when the client placed an actual order for

an enlargement, based on approval of the ‘Rough Proof’ created. They

are not yet complete and are missing from many of the registers. These

dates may differ from the actual date of sitting, which was recorded in

a different column within the Studio Register.

Surname of Client

In most cases this is legible, but in certain cases a question mark ‘?’

has been included behind the surname, to indicate it is the best guess

based on de-ciphering the handwriting. The handwriting changes

periodically throughout the registers and in some cases, it is very

difficult to de-cipher. It is also noted that Hardman’s own hand can be

traced in the case of most of the entries detailing male sitters. The

format for which tends to be the first two initials of the forenames,

proceeded by the actual surname, proceeded by the title ‘Esq’. EG: T.

W. Smith Esq. Evidence of specific activities which happened in

Hardman’s life can be traced through these entries, which can then be

collaborated through the diaries and notebooks. EG: Hardman’s wife

(Margaret) disappears from writing the studio entries during 1929, when

she left to take a different job in Paisley, Scotland. She then re-

75


appears as the individual hand, writing the entries in mid 1931, just

prior to their wedding.

Forename of Client

For male sitters this is generally indicated with initials, however many

female sitters may be referred to by their husbands name, but using the

‘Mrs’ salutation. EG: Mrs. Herbert Tyson-Smith. It is also noted that

many of the unmarried female sitters (Salutation – Miss) do not have

either a forename initial or forename detailed, with the exception of

many of the actresses photographed from Liverpool Playhouse. Here the

female sitter has the full name entered. EG: Miss Margot Fonteyn.

Title of Client

This has become a very important column within the database for use

within dataset searches and the compilation of case study for

typological purposes. It includes both general salutation such as Mr /

Mrs / Esq and specific salutation such as Colonel / Doctor / Reverend /

Professor. An inspection of the database after the full entry of Studio

Register 05 notes that this column also includes the following:

Archbishop / Archdeacon / Alderman / Bishop / Cannon / Commander / Judge

/ Lord Mayor / Lady / Lord / Sir / Right Honourable / Very Reverend.

Relationship of Sitter to Client

Many of the entries relate to ‘Son of’ or ‘Baby of’ and various other

relationships to the actual name recorded. Again, this column has

become very significant within the filtration of datasets as it can

include less orthodox entry details such as ‘Dog’, ‘Toy’ or ‘Doll’.

76


Address of Client

This is not always included with every sitter, but does appear more

prevalent with the more ubiquitous surnames, such as Smith or Brown. It

is also worth noting that there appears to be a concerted effort to

start this as standard entry procedure during a couple of key dates

within the registers, although the efforts usually trail off within a

couple of pages.

Additional Notes in Relation to Image Content

Again, this column offers an opportunity to elaborate upon the more

qualitative nature of the data being captured and has become of

significant interest to the filtration and case study development.

In many cases it offers additional insight into the specific nature of

the relationship column, perhaps indicting that a ‘son’ might be the

eldest or youngest of the family. It might also hold data relating to

the client in terms of payment or billing instructions, including the

terms Gratis / Complimentary / Experimental / 15% Discount. This column

might also include a URL to further information or research conducted on

the specific client, or details about a commercial job having been

conducted.

77


Fig. 04

78


Appendix 02 – First RD2 Submission (Resolved

Transfer Issues)

Professor Stephen Dixon

1. Literature review needs to follow up details about other regional photographic portraiture practitioners, as an important means of examining Hardman’s practice in a wider context.(See Part Four of Revised Literature Review)

2. The proposed final exhibition of work is vague and requires a furthersection describing the proposed nature of this exhibition and its contents. This should fully describe the potential of the database toinform the creative practice. This should therefore provide an insight into how this model might be used for future contemporary interventions into historical archives.(See revised Final Exhibition section)

3. The Transfer Report should be between 5-6,000 words accompanied by a Literature Review of between 8-10,000 Words. The Lit Review will therefore require substantial fleshing out.(See Revised Literature Review – Word Count 9,666)

Dr Alice Kettle

1. There needs to be more distinction made between practice and data collection / analysis and the link between the two as defined in the Revised Aims.(See Research & Practice to be Conducted Section)

2. Revised Aims 2, 4 & 5 are linked and would need to state how the practice meets the typological criteria as stated in Section Two of the original Literature Review.(See Revised Aim Two, which has now combined aims 2, 4 & 5)

3. The Revised Aims need to reflect the artistic intention / research and how the practice is expanded and informed through accessing / intervening in archives, in line with the thesis title.(See Revised Aims)

79


4. Revised Aim 1, limit the number of records being digitised from the studio registers in order to fulfil the requirements of selective research.(See Revised Aims – Aim one now specifies a parameter that is large enough to satisfy selective research – The database population is nowcomplete and includes 36,000 records)

5. Revised Aim 1, needs a more specific and explicit indication of how the archival classification is driving the typology for the practice –based narrative.(See Revised Aim One)

6. Case studies need to expand the narrative, rather than just present documentation of the data.(See Section Research and Practice to be Conducted for examples of newly defined case studies)

7. Revised Aim 2 regarding ‘Portraits in Residence’, clarify if this sits alongside the Original Aim 2 regarding the portraits of the creative practitioners.(The portraits of the creative practitioners constituted an element of the initial practical testing phase of the project. Revised Aim 2- ‘Portraits in Residence’ has now been redefined)

8. Revised Aims 2, 4 & 5 is recommended to be combined as outcome of oneresearch aim, which establishes the rationale of artistic intervention within the archive.(See Revised Aim 2 – Now incorporates Aims 4 & 5)

9. The practice focus needs to generate research, through examination ofarchive to establish methodology of datasets.(See Section Research and Practice to be Conducted)

10. There is an over emphasis on data collection.(See Revised Aim 1 – data collection parameters have now been clearlydefined)

11. There is a need to place archival research as informed by practice narrative.(See Literature Review)

12. Consult existing models of PhD with practice.(See Literature Review – Lawrence Cassidy’s Salford 7 Project)

13. There is a need to see evidence of practice.(See Practice Document & Portfolio case included with submission)

14. There needs to be more clarity and connection between the practice in terms of artist / archivist.

80


(The emphasis of the projects artistic practice is now more clearly defined in terms of reusing existing ECH archival materials in a creative and imaginative way)

15. The intervention needs indicating as a research aim.(See Revised Aim 1)

16. A finer balance is required between artistic practice and archival intervention as specified by the thesis title.(See Revised Aims)

17. Further clarity of writing is required in areas which are difficult to decipher: IE: P.6 Re-photographing Hardman’s existing portraits within the client’s ancestral homes.(The Rationale for Revised Aims section has now been reworded)

81

exploring photographic archival intervention within the edward chambre hardman portraiture...

Documents