Faustine Waeckel
I . Introduction
Blow
Up is a self-managed Group of seven Belgian photographers motivated by a
common vision. The website is a space of
expression focused on the evolution of photographic work in the Group. We chose
to do a web audit of the Blow up site because of its status. Blow up is
not a simple photojournalism agency. It provides us the opportunity to discover
an expression of contemporary photography steering wide of the usual financial
interest. Our site audit will mainly be a subjective approach to art in
photography. Our analysis will be based on the link between the site’s
aesthetics and its contents.
II. Complete inventory
1. Form
The main page of the Blow up Group is almost empty. In
the background there is a photograph of a woman under water in a blue-tinted
swimming pool, which seems to be asking the visitor: “are you ready to dive
into a new world (in fact the Blow
up website) ?”
In the right corner of the front-page the logo of the
Group is posted: “Blowup”. In the middle of the page, in a darker point
in the photograph, you can click on seven different signets to obtain
information concerning the topics they refer to: Preface / Blowup / Magic Box / News
/ Contact / Image Bank / Connections.
The first one: Preface
is a presentation
of the Blowup Group. The style of the page shows no change from the
previous one; there is still a picture in the background with the writing on
it. The Blow up link displays a page with a list of the
photographers who have submitted their photos to the Group. The photos are
shown in a pop-up window. The Magic Box page continues the idea
of the previous page, by displaying pictures in a pop-up window, but independently of the photographer’s names. The News link is dedicated
to
photo galleries of recent events and exhibits. The Contact page
clearly provides all the names, e-mail addresses and phone
numbers of the Blowup Group staff. The
Image Bank section provides a
link to another web-site www.picturetank.com, where pictures from Blowup are collected.
The Connection link displays information and photos on the former,
current and perhaps future partners of Blowup
Each page mixes an image in the background and some
overlaying writing, the writing scrolls on the picture which remains static -
there are very few links on each page - the Web site design is rather simple.
All these are ways of preserving the aesthetics of the photography.
2. Contents
Even if there is not much
writing, there is a large diversity of information displayed on this website.
We will present it by explaining the contents of the different sections:
-
The preface link is
where you can find global information on the Blowup Group: What kind of structure it is, its philosophy
and the reasons for its presence on the web. The preface is written over a
photo, which represents opening draperies. Again, does this mean the discovery
of a new world, the world of Blow up?
-
The Blow up page
repeats the ideas developed on the preface page. The writing scrolls down on a
photo, which represents a door closed by a bandage. This page provides also
seven names of photographers. By clicking on a photographer’s name you are
invited to view his biography and his work. The work of each photographer is
separated into different topics, which are represented by one picture. If you
click on the picture, you gain access to a pop-up window, where you can admire
all the photos, which refer to the topic.
-
The Magic Box resembles a
magazine. You have several topics with one photo related to each. By clicking
on the photo you obtain a pop-up window, where you can scroll down all the
pictures referring to the topic. On this page the criteria of choice is not the
name of the photographer, but the aesthetics. In the background of the page,
there is a picture representing a bed in an empty room. Isn’t emptiness the starting point of all creation?
-
The News page is where you
can find information concerning the newest photos on exhibition in Europe.
Pictures illustrate all the exhibits. The photo in the background represents
the same “empty room with a bed” as on the Magic Box page, but this time the
bed is covered. Has the creation begun?
-
The Contact section
enables the visitor to contact Blowup staff by phone, email or postal address, but the page
offers him also the possibility of subscribing to a mailing list in order to
receive information or even a newsletter ( which is not yet? written).
-
The Image Bank page gives
you an Internet link to the web site named picturetank.com, where the
visitor can find all the pictures taken by the members of Blowup. This site can be
compared to a huge database for photos, as the picture in the background of the
Image bank page suggests. In fact it represents a heap of plates with salad
leaves between them: an original closure.
-
The Connections link is
where you can find the Internet or e-mail addresses of the different partners
and prospective partners of Blowup. Each address is followed by a picture representing
the spirit of the partner or a text explaining his or her activity. In the
background there is a picture showing a place which seems to be in construction
or unfinished. Does this mean that Blowup is still going to grow together with its partners …
Mud
Flow
III.
Evaluation of Blow up: positive and negative aspects
- Form
Ø Positive points
When entering the web site,
the first photograph we see is one with a woman under water, a woman in total
immersion. It is probably the impression the designer wants us to feel. This
web site is an invitation to the world of art. The choice of the photograph is
a good one because it explains to the potential net surfer what the aim of Blow
up is. It is clear from the beginning that the site is devoted to art aficionados.
This is confirmed by the preface. From this moment on, the visitor is at the
beginning of a unique browsing experience.
Another main positive point
is the limited number of links. There are only 5 main tags which makes the
browsing easy. Whichever you choose, the others are continuously posted on the
left side of the screen, thus, you can go back to one or decide to see another
heading very easily. Moreover, each link works quickly and very well.
The website is composed of a
great diversity of pictures with little information, what is a positive point,
because it fits in very well with the photographers’ philosophy. The
Photographs speak for themselves; people do not necessarily need any
explanation. Each visitor feels free to think and make any interpretation he
wants while looking at one given picture. The latter generally does not want to
be influenced, and Blow up respects this way of thinking. However, the
information about the artists is complete.
Ø Negative points
The tag
« Image bank » is not highlighted enough.
Yet, it is an important
collective resource created by independent photographers. It resembles the
other tags and does not draw the attention to the very complete contents it
represents. And even when you get inside this page, it does not seem too
obvious that you are supposed to click on the new link to see the photographs.
Concerning the technical side, each time you click on a link, a
new window appears in addition to the previous one. A lot of windows are
consequently opened at the same time, complicating the browsing a little bit.
- Contents
Ø Positive points
Thanks to an
explicit preface, it is easy to know from the beginning what Blow up is and
what it is not. As we mentioned in the
first part, Blowup is a space of expression, but not an agency. It is very
important for people who enter the website to know its aim and according to
what point of view it was created.
The contents is
interesting thanks to Blow up’s photographers, who offer various photo
galleries, and because their works are really diversified. Indeed, the web site
enables net surfers to see life in the same way as the artists do. They take
pictures of what they find beautiful in urban and natural landscapes, but they
also photograph people when they interact with their environment or with other
people. Some photographs are not taken to be aesthetic,
but just in order to show the world what the world is, who people are.
Another main asset
of the website’s contents is the information: art lovers can be informed
through two channels. The first one is the web site itself, which points out
interesting upcoming events on the home page and under the News tag. The second
one is the mailing list.
Eg : "Accomodations Complètes"
17/12/2004-18/02/2005
Nicolas BOMAL / Raphaël CARETTE
Exhibition of a series of photographs from the book published by Yellow
Now (Released in Feb. 2005)
The idea is to
form a kind of virtual community around art. People can look for information
and contribute some. Currently people can find some about the Second Photographic
Meeting in Brussels on Saturday 12th. This event is devoted to
contemporary photography. Thanks to a specific link, you can know what the
program will be, who the participants will be and who you have to contact to
get further information. In 2 or 3 clicks you can get all information you need.
Blow up reminds us
that artists and their works are at the heart of the website’s
raison
d’être. For each photographer, a complete biography is presented. People can
read about their personal story and their artistic influences. It also offers
the possibility of visiting their photo galleries and contacting them by e-mail
or phone. The frontier between the artists and their public becomes vaguer
because the artists are not just “providers of works”, they also want to speak
about them and to be able to know the public’s feelings and impressions.
Blow up designers
also recommend some other websites made by people they used to work with. The tag “connections” acquaints the visitor
with websites or photographers we would have probably never discovered
otherwise. This kind of art network is a plus because it adds contents and
knowledge for people.
The last asset in relation with content is the “Magic
Box”. It represents an extra value because it is an online magazine in which you
can find photographs about very different subjects such as: self-portrait,
architecture, portraits and so on.
Some of the headings enable
to learn more about some initiatives. For instance, clicking on “stenopes” enables to be aware of the organization of some workshops in order
to introduce people to photography and art in general. We can also note the
attractive heading “dans le cadre du projet Néonord”. The photographer
describes her work as a visual investigation. She wanted to show what the life
of prostitutes is through photographs and comments, but also with musical
arrangements.
Ø
Negative points
It is quite difficult to find
negative points in relation with the contents, concerning a website like Blow
up, which offers such a great diversity of top quality photographs.
Nevertheless, the
lack of specifications about the context in which the photographs were taken
can be considered as a weakness for the site, even if it is certainly a
positioning choice.
Moreover, some photographs
recall holiday snapshots or, at least, do not look professional.
- Relation
between form and contents
The huge gap
between the information provided and the photographs in the background can make
comprehension difficult. Obviously it is part of the positioning strategy, but
it can hurt the contents. Spending too much time on trying to understand why a
photograph is shown here or there can distract visitors’ attention. In spite of all, the visit to the website is
pleasant, it enables to discover common photographs presented with strangeness.
This is precisely what Blow up wishes.
1.
Verdict
The web site has
various assets as we observed above and offers something special, a particular
kind of art, through photographs which distinguish it from other
photojournalism websites. Moreover, the artists from the collective Blow up
have a special philosophy about what photography is.
As a consequence,
we think that the website should be maintained, because even if everybody is
not able to understand this kind of art, it certainly reaches its target.
2.
Personal project
In order to reach
its target expectations and at the same time gain new visitors, we think that
Blow up website designer could:
-
explain some of the photographs a little bit more: their context, their
message and so on
-
add some galleries with more conventional and traditional photo
galleries, without losing the spirit of the Blow up collective
-
post some audio conferences online, during which the artists could
explain their philosophy
-
create a forum, where art lovers from different schools and with
different tastes could chat about subjects relative to art and discuss certain
photographs or about their personal interpretation.
Conclusion
Every single visitor has his
own interpretation and expectations toward photographs and the way they are
presented. Thus, it is impossible to create a website that squares with any and
every photography lover. The best a designer can do is try to attract new
visitors and retain current ones. The Blow up website can be seen as a
fantastic one or on the contrary as an absurd one. Some people would even find
it “fantastically absurd”. Therefore, the most important stake for Blow up will
be its ability to maintain its own philosophy and retain its artists. In a
word, to keep its photographic identity.