Julian Germain Lecture, 19/03/14

What I found about Julian Germain's talk was that when you learnt about his work, what the photographs meant, where he was from, where he studied, who we worked with (besides those featured in his photographs) seemed to fade away. His photographs are charged with such sentimental significance at times that it's almost as if there wasn't a photographer present. Prior to attending this talk I found it difficult to imagine how I would use photography as a medium through which I might make work, but having been so impressed with Germain's practice I will no longer exclude it as a possible direction for my work. This talk showed me the power of photography.   

For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness, 2005
One particular story that that he spoke of I really engaged with. He became friends with an elderly gentleman, Charles Albert Lucien Snelling, who owned a shop that sold plants and "bits and bobs." The shop was in fact a house, and was painted orange and yellow. Germain bought a few plants from there and gradually became acquainted with this man, eventually visiting him for cups of tea. What struck Germain about this man was that the walls of his house were covered in photographs, mostly of his wife, whom Germain assumed had passed away. Charles would grow plans simply because he liked their names, and was described by Germain as his "antidote to modern living" and a "simple, gentle man."   

In many ways I suppose this is the nature of documentary photography: meeting people, engaging with them, is as important as the resulting photograph, and the result is not at heart a static image, but the telling of a beautiful story which would have otherwise remained hidden. The relationship he had with this man lead to a series of photographs entitled For every minute you are angry you lose 60 seconds of happiness, 2005, a motto of Charlie's. I was really touched by the whole story.
http://www.juliangermain.com/projects/foreveryminute.php

Classroom Portraits, from 2004
“….the power of the images is in their direct connection to the viewer. We remember our own schooldays and wonder what happened to our own classmates. By presenting different pupils, different schools, different year groups, Germain asks questions about contemporary educational practices and social divisions. Already we can imagine the life trajectories of some of these young people. Here are faces full of hope and promise. Here also, is the silent threat of failure. Aspiration competes with apathy…..”
Tom Shakespeare. Archive Magazine, October 2005

http://www.juliangermain.com/projects/classrooms.php

Generations
I was really interested in this collection of photographs because of the way that history and memory was documented through families with five generations alive. It was also amazing to note the characteristic that had passed down from generation to generation. Germain noted that he most looked forward to seeing what the families wore, as they often dressed similarly but as if belonging to each era in which they grew up.

Jack Potter 2, Stuart Potter 35, Michael Potter 60, Harry Potter 86
http://www.juliangermain.com/projects/generations.php