The Real Dead Week

            In today’s blog, I, Alec Mouradian, world-famous art-critic, will be analyzing the argument and exploring the social context of a series of photographs submitted to me by an anonymous photographer.  The author, who chose to remain unnamed, has submitted a seven-photograph set of photographs entitled The Real Dead Week.  Prior to the delivery of my analysis, however, I find it extremely important to provide all of the readers with some context and background of the photography style that the anonymous photographer utilizes.

            The main two styles that will reappear throughout this post are serial photography and documentary photography.  Serial photography, as one can guess from the name, depicts a series of different pictures and combines them into one image, often through the use of a grid, in an attempt to have the viewer compare them.  Reasons to utilize such a type of photography can vary from photographer to photographer.  Some, such as Bernd and Hilla Becher, utilize this style to develop a “typology,” a systematic catalog, of various objects (Foote 6).  Many others, such as Andy Warhol, use serial photography to highlight subtle differences in even the most similar images. 

Documentary photography, which is often used hand-in-hand with serial photography, chronicles a series of events.  This approach tells a story, and consequently develops an argument, by showing images in rapid succession.  It is often most persuasive when images are compressed into a single grid, where the viewer can see the entire breakdown in one quick instant. 

Gas Tanks by Bernd and Hilla Becher

The above photograph, done by Bernd and Hilla Becher, two legendary photographers, is called Gas Tanks.  The duo traveled across Europe and the United States documenting a wide variety of industrial machines.  They dedicated a large chunk of their careers documenting such objects because they realized that as time passed such beautiful architecture would inevitably disappear, and so they found that it became their duty to develop a typology that preserved the memory of such objects.  Eventually, as their photographs began accumulating, the Bechers noticed that, even in small categories of buildings, such as gas tanks, individual buildings had minute differences (Klein).  As a result, “in a Becher grid, there is a sense that the same object is repeated again and again—and yet each is unique” (Foote 6). 

            Gas Tanks acts as a comparison of fifteen different gas tanks, each with the same general structure, but, simultaneously, possessing minute differences amongst them. The significance of such a photograph is that if these photographs were viewed individually, an individual may simply classify them as repetitions of the same exact image.  This format allows viewers identify even the smallest differences.  Additionally, framing of such photographs is key.  The Bechers were very strategic in their photography, always paying attention to the amount of light, level of the horizon, and relative size of the object (Gefter 1).  This impressive dedication to maintain consistency ultimately facilitates comparison, as each photograph is set up in the same manner.  This idea will be crucial when the analysis of The Real Dead Week series commences.

 

From Andy Warhol Photobooth Photography by Andy Warhol

            When thinking of Andy Warhol’s serial photography and art, he is noted for uniquely utilizing simple, common objects as the main subjects of his pieces, as “he replaces the divine objects with objects such as soup cans, movie stars, and toys” (Dyer 36).  He makes the point that art does not have to have a unique, iconic subject to achieve greatness.  Instead, common objects can often be the most effective subjects.  As for the style, some Warhol pieces will literally repeat the same image over and over again, while many others document a series of photographs taken in quick succession of one another (Dyer 37).  If one solely looks at the individual images, he or she can quickly find himself or herself bored.  Instead, the viewer must instead look at the overall picture to get the true context of the image. 

            This Andy Warhol photograph comes right out of his book “Andy Warhol Photo Booth,” and it serves as one of his very first experiments with photography.  In a very similar manner as Bernd and Hilla Becher, these photographs maintain the same frame throughout all of the photographs, which facilitate comparison of individual images.  For Warhol, the photo booth allowed the sitter to “adopt a succession of different roles, each captured in a single frame” (Art History 1). The strips of images that photo booths create actually produce some of the most genuine forms of serial and documentary photography.  

 

Students in Their "Natural" Habitat by Anonymous

            The Real Dead Week is a brilliant project that seeks to document and serialize the various activities of students during the week prior to their final exams at the University of California, Berkeley.  The series utilizes the styles of the Bechers and Warhol, but it also provides an additional, satirical twist of its own.  This first piece, entitled Students in Their “Natural” Habitat, documents and categorizes the activity that every student should ideally be engaged in studying.

            Similar to the Bechers’ motive to preserve the memory of industrial architecture, this image captures and preserves for posterity the new student approach to studying, which relies on the use of technology such as laptops and cell phones to bolster education.  Note that in every single photograph, the student has a laptop on his desk, and most of the students are using it as their primary vehicle for studying.  The irony, however, is that not every student used this technology for strictly educational purposes.  If one looks close enough at the center image, they realize that it is split into two halves.  The right side presents the “normal” approach to studying that involves the use of the traditional calculator, book, and note cards; the laptop on the left side, however, is open to facebook.com, the ultimate distraction.  This piece succeeds in depicting the development of a new, multi-tasking generation that attempts to revolutionize the approach to studying, or lack thereof.   

 

Libraries? by Anonymous

            The second picture in this series, entitled Libraries?, calls into question the importance and effectiveness of libraries.  This particular grid is composed of two types of shots: distance shots that encompass the library community as a whole, and close-up shots that provide more detail about the actions of specific groups within the library.  This photograph mimics the works of Andy Warhol, as libraries are somewhat common subjects, and it calls a profound social institution into question. 

            For the distance shots, the windowpane breaks up the image into smaller pieces, depicting how students flock into smaller, familiar groups, converting these “study spaces” into mere social gatherings.  As one can see, students have their laptops and materials present, and their initial intent is, of course, to study.  As the groups get larger and larger, however, studying becomes futile.

            The close-up shots reveal just how these social gathering make studying in libraries futile.  The middle-top photo depicts a student in the foreground, apparently having given up on his attempts to study, and a group of five students obnoxiously socializing in the background.  Ultimately, this image questions the true purpose of a common space.  As learned from the first image, students already have enough distractions with their technology; flocking to social hubs would become even more futile. 

 

The Addiction by Anonymous

            Entitled The Addiction, this set of images cleverly depicts the journey of a college student over the course of an evening.  The grid beings by showing a desk, setting the baseline for its utility.  As the image progresses, one notices that the more fatigued the individual becomes, the more caffeinated and sugar beverages accumulate around the desk.  The increasing number of drinks in the successive images reveals how college students blindly rely on drinks such as Rockstar, Starbucks frappuccinos, and Gatorade to ideally become more productive and efficient.  This addiction, however, leads to the infamous sugar crash that college students are all too familiar with.  First, he allows himself to get distracted, notably using his laptop, and soon enough all motivation to study is lost.  By the end of the series, the student has been defeated, with his desk being converted from study space to trashcan, or possibly even a recycling-bin if he’s feeling particularly eco-friendly.  The viewer begins to question, “Did those beverages do anything at all?”

            This set of images serves as the perfect combination of the styles of Becher and Warhol.  Each image has the exact same frame, which encourages the viewer to compare individual images with one another.  Additionally, The Addiction virtually mimics the photo booth photography that Warhol championed, as each image captures the individual in a different pose, as it progresses over time.  In a sense, it allows the individual to visualize the breakdown of events in just nine captured moments.

What Do You Know by Anonymous 

            Entitled What Do You Know, this piece perpetuates the theme associated with how individuals utilize personal desks and study spaces.  This individual uses his workspace as a fitness center.  Appropriately during dead week, a week where students should ideally be reviewing what they know, this individual’s shirt reads, “What do you know.”  As it is obvious that the individual has no motivation to study, he gets rid of the shirt on his back, affirming that academically, he does not know much.  At the conclusion of his workout, he is sitting at his desk in front of his laptop, the perfect opportunity to begin his studies.  Instead, however, he prioritizes sleep.  This image represents those students during dead week who have no motivation to being their studies, and instead who utilize their free time to advance their non-academic pursuits.

            For many Warhol pieces, the series is “indefinitely repeatable, for they have no beginning or end” (Dryer 37). Basically, it was up to Andy Warhol’s discretion to artificially create a starting and ending point.  In a similar manner as that, What Do You Know has the exact same picture in the beginning and in the end, insinuating that this individual’s journey will continue to repeat itself.  Many students, such as this one, find themselves stuck in a never-ending loop of procrastination. 

What a Better Time For Spring Cleaning? by Anonymous 

            When an individual knows that he has a difficult, and often boring, task ahead of him, he automatically becomes more willing to do anything but that task.  What a Better Time For Spring Cleaning? depicts that exact situation.  With such a messy desk, it becomes apparent that this individual does not care too much for cleanliness.  After briefly working at his desk, however, he abandons his study plans and chooses to clean his desk, a decision that he should have made long, long ago, judging from the amount of clutter.  At this point, he is desperately trying to do anything but study.  Once he succeeds in this endeavor, however, he continues to avoid his work by taking a nap.  The photograph brilliantly exaggerates the sleeping position in an attempt to depict just how little some individuals use their desks for actual work.  This desk has transformed into a comfortable bed.

League of Legends by Anonymous

            This piece is entitled League of Legends presents an apparently never-ending repetition of the exact same image of a student sitting at his desk playing video games.  Very similar to some of Andy Warhol’s most famous pieces, the repetition’s purpose is to highlight just how much of an individual’s time video games can take up.  Often enough, when individuals are given the opportunity spend their week however they want, they will pursue hobbies instead of work.

            Very similar to The Addiction, this individual has also begun to develop a miniature collection of sugary drinks on his desk, which very likely are assisting him with his other pursuits.  This piece in particular makes the viewer wonder, “Is he really spending his time wisely?”  That question cannot be answered. 

           

Welcome to the Eagle's Nest by Anonymous

            Of course, in any conversation about the University of California, Berkeley, it would not be a complete documentary of how students spend their Dead Week without photography about the use of marijuana.  The anonymous photographer who submitted these photographs entitled this typology Welcome to the Eagle’s Nest because the group of individuals who agreed to be photographed congregated daily at “the Eagle’s Nest,” in an attempt to relax and avoid their studies.

            “Getting high” is culturally prevalent throughout many college campuses, but Berkeley is amongst the leaders in its daily use.  It is important to document these acts because its one of the few traits that makes Berkeley’s Dead Week particularly unique.  Serial and documentary photography often play the role in eternalizing traditions, and this is a necessary addition to deliver the complete story.

The overall message that stems from The Real Dead Week is that there is a massive misperception that all students devote their entire Dead Week for academic purposes.  In fact, Dead Week may be the least academically productive week of the semester.   Students may get more sleep, more social time, more workout time, and many other activities, but they often avoid the most tedious, and most important, act of them all: studying.  By mimicking the styles of Warhol and Bernd and Hilla Becher, this anonymous artist succeeds in creating a mixture of a bland, straightforward typology and a intriguing, powerful documentary that strives to inform viewers about the real lives of individuals.  Bravo!

            Stay tuned for my next installment on the analysis of animal photography and how it parallels with human society!  Here’s a sample below. 

Bibliography

“Andy Warhol: Photo Booth Self-Portrait (1996.63.a,b)”.  In Heilbrunn Timelines of Art History.”  New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 200--.  http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/work-ofart/1Andy Warhol

"Contacts Vol. 3, Portraits of Contemporary Photographers." Interview by William Klein. Youtube.com. N.p., 6 June 2008. Web. 10 May 2013.

Dryer, Jennifer. The Metaphysics of the Mundane: Understanding Andy Warhol's Serial Imagery. N.p.: n.p., n.d. JSTOR. Web.

Foote, Nancy. "The Anti-Photographers." n.d.: n. pag. Web.