Perspectives on Place Chapter 4: Landscape and Power

"Since land is invariably in somebody's possession, landscape is inextricable from notions of ownership."

Thus, Alexander commences this chapter. But this is at best a superficial generalization. Antarctica is not 'owned', there are disputed territores and islands, and much of the world is uninhabited areas that might legally be under the control of a nation state but practically are open wildernesses. As quoted by Alden Wily (2011), communities are estimated to hold as much as 65 percent of the world’s land area through customary, community-based tenure systems.

Interesting that chapter emphasises the importance of learning about subject-matter, 'not just focussing on innovative ways of photographing it.'

The Industrial Sublime

•  American Power (Mitchell, 2009) reviews the reliance on energy;
• Burtynsky photogrpahs The Industrial Sublime as he was in how own words, 100 years too late to search the sublime in nature. His owkr emphasisies the 'collective force of man and the significance of his unrelenting impact on nature.' But there is a problem that this sort of work emphasises the large and visual, overshadowing documentray value;
• Decaying and dilapidated industrial sites make for good photography - 'it is often precisely the the ability to translate an appealing subject into a satisfying visual expression that is the more alluring aspect of the photographic process.' Urbex photography. Exactly, but that is part of the problem - it mean photographers focus on what works visually - the intrinsic dichotomy between the appealing image and the repulsive subject-matter  -  and is accessible in both physical and non physical (what the audience may understand and empathize with) even if access to some of theses sites may be trespass;
• The New Topographic was a momentous change from the potetential of the landscape of 19th century photogpraphy to the exploitative;

Deadpan was  means of emphasising the documentary as opposed to the 'importance of master craftsmanship'.  

Environmental Politics 

• Cartier Bresson criticising Adams for photogpraphing rocks while world goes to pieces in 1930s;
• Earthrise image;
• Topics such as rising sea levels, or crises such as foot-and-mouth, are topics for photographers (again the limitation of the medium as cannot provide scale) be aware of environmental photography overwhelming the discourse of landscape practice;

Engendering the Landscape

• Some female photographers have taken to include them selves in landscape images - a sort of allegory on the nude;

Alden Wily, Liz (2011) The tragedy of public lands: The fate of the commons under global commercial pressure. Rome: International Land Coalition. Available at: http://www.landcoalition.org/en/resources/tragedy-public-lands-fate-commons-under-global-commercial-pressure