Natasha Caruana's Married Men
On one level a typology of adulterers, Caruana's exhibition is also a complex investigation into the boundaries of trust, deception and betrayal.
Author: Diane Smyth
25 Feb 2011 Tags: Projects
“My wife? It’s my second wife. I met her on the train, at Euston... Erm nothing’s gone wrong actually, I just like difference.” So says one of the subjects in Natasha Caruana’s cheeky, thought-provoking project, Married Men.
Caruana went on dates with 80 married men over the course of two years, grabbing clandestine photographs of them with a disposable camera and recording their parting shots with a Dictaphone hidden in her purse. On one level a typology of adulterers, it’s also a complex investigation into the boundaries of trust, deception and betrayal.
“The whole thing is ethically questionable – I’m taking pictures of a private moment, but then they’re putting themselves online [to find a mistress], and they’re cheating on their domestic lives,” says Caruana. “But what happens when I put the images on a gallery wall or in a book? That’s when the audience starts to question the morality of the whole thing, and that’s where it becomes interesting.
“So much depends on what your assumptions are, and what your experiences of affairs are, but I thought a lot about the ethics of it,” she continues. “I bumped into one of the guys a few months after our date, sitting a couple of rows ahead of me in the theatre with his wife. I had to leave. I couldn’t take it at all.”
Caruana found the men via three websites that put men in touch with prospective lovers in return for a fee. After chatting with them online for a while she’d arrange to go for coffee or a meal, spending an hour or so in their company. At some point she’d fake a reason to take a photograph, remarking on the beautiful flower arrangement or cake, then deliberately include them in the frame.
She kept their identities a secret, avoiding photographing their faces and keeping the voice recordings muffled but, even so, it’s the details that fascinate. There are bad-taste jumpers, sad bunches of flowers, missing wedding rings, bills paid with cash and ever-present mobile phones, all in the seemingly banal environment of London cafés and restaurants.
The project stems from a much earlier series on The other woman, in which Caruana helped women take portraits and tell the stories of their affairs. She was interested to hear their voices because the bunny-boiling mistress is such a stereotype, she says, in a way that “the other man” is not.
Married Men sees her looking at the other side of the equation, but she has retained her objective sense of detachment. “Some of them were like ‘Yay, let’s have a bit’, but I couldn’t believe how many of them just needed someone to talk to,” she says. “They couldn’t talk to their wives and they couldn’t talk to their male friends either, because how do you sit down over a pint and say ‘Things are really bad at home’? I become just an ear over a coffee, or a kind of marriage counsellor.”
Caruana, who graduated from the Royal College of Art MA in 2008, teaches in St Martins and at the University for Creative Arts in Farnham, and continues to develop her practice. Her latest project is a female detective agency that specialises in matrimonial cases.
Visit www.natashacaruana.com.
Comments
these men don't need someone to talk to - that is what they want you to think --- they are cowardly and do not want to do the hard work of communicating in their own marriage. Anyone who "dates" a married man is contributing to the delinquency of society. no wonder we're going to hell in a handbasket these days.
The most frightening aspect of this article is that she graduated in 2008 and is already teaching just 2 years later. What can she possibly have to impart to students after just 24 months as a practicing artist?
Sorry, but I have to agree with Nick. That, and the photography simply isn't any good. It looks like something you'd find post on facebook and lacks any artistic - let alone - photojournalistic credibility.
Not stating this to simply rip on the photos. It's just that in an age where poor photography becomes so mainstream as to be considered artistic, to see an "educator" displaying these as quality is a sham. Those of us who have spent our lives seeking out the decisive moment and teaching others what that means, find this kind of work insulting.
Shabby photography and if she deserves to teach after 2 years help us all. It is not thought provoking or even approaching interesting. What possible hope have the students got if this nonsense is all they have to aspire to
Bit of jealousy goin on here I reckon. Takin a good photo ain't all about the perfect, framing, exposure etc. These photos capture a mood and strength of tone that so many contemporary photos lack.
Oh and experience isn't everything. So she only graduated 2 years ago...people can take photos/paint paintings/write books their whole lives and they're still shit. There's something to be said for innate ability and skill.
Mistress: If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!
Apparently she doesn't mind being a mistress, um sorry I mean subject, for her own project. I feel sorry for the students who are paying tuition to be taught at that school.
[img]http://brimarieblogsquad.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/june-106.jpg[/img]
While some of you may sit there and remark "i feel sorry for her students" and "What possible hope have the students got if this nonsense is all they have to aspire to" I find it horrifying that you would sit there and judge her teaching ability.
Yes perhaps the photos aren't to everyones taste and maybe people might question the ethics behind it but in all honesty as one of Natasha's students, i have to say she is a fantastic teacher. Her passion for photography and knowledge of what she teaches is something to aspire to. They wouldn't have employed her if they felt she was incompetent.
I'm wondering if there's not, statistically, as many women that are unfaithful to their partners as there are men. But for some reason it is ok to create purported art based on the latter's indiscretions. Her previous work - the other woman - was a way to "help her come to terms with her own situation" (http://bit.ly/fEFjVg). Seems like she wanted to present the mistress in a sympathetic light because it's oh so sad to be the second one, being misled by a man. What about all the women doing this to men?
The photos in this series are just plain sordid and filthy. There's nothing arty about them and they don't deserve publicity.
Sigh.
I've just wasted 60 seconds of my life
Why has this been published? I've just wasted 60 seconds of my life reading it and looking at some truly bad photos. This is the British Journal of Photography and not the British Journal of bad snapshots...and she's teaching?
Says more about women than men.
To me this seems like a crass and exploitative project and only serves to highlight how readily women will stereotype men, and other women. The great majority of married men who have extra marital relations do not do this lightly. This, to me re-enforces common ignorance among a lot of women that men are unthinking, unfeeling life support systems for a penis, a stereotype that gives a project like this permission. Men do communicate, but many women prefer not to listen as it challenges the notion that their husbands are uncontingent man-units. All this project succeeds in doing is highlighting the lack of empathy that makes men feel they have to go outside their marriage to be appreciated as a human being again. We could do a project on the many women who seek affairs but I dare say that really would be considered unethical and unnecessary. If I was making stereotype I could say that this is a cynical, tabloid attempt to authenticate a academics professional career, but that would be unfair as I do not know the photographer and I'm sure her story is more complex that I could ever imagine. She should try harder. Of course it this would have an audience. For me here lies the real ethical question.
It's interesting that in a digital era people are judging the work on its "shabby" aesthetic. To judge this work within a photojournalism context is to miss the point. It does indeed raise questions of authorship and the role of the photographer as performer and participant. BJP should be commended for publishing such unconventional and intriguing work.
As regards her teaching ability readers should see above for a comment by one of her students.
we see yet again and again,,, more subject matter hijacked,,, for the sake of so called photography,, and endless waffle to explain it all,
happy days
I never really understand the comments about 'shabby' or 'bad' photography. As someone educated int he traditional role of photography and who now works and teaches I embrace this critical work which reflects not only the subject but the representational regimes of photography. All the criticism is always framed in the prism of 'technique'. Its NOT photojournalism! And as for the decisive moment. We all love(d) Cartier Bresson but we don't teach that anymore at higher degree level. We're not living in 1947 its the 21st century! I think the project deals with the 'lie' that is photography (I mean that in a good way) as for if we 'like' the pictures I don't care. I don't use valued judgments. It does however give me some ideas about the other side of the gender equation which is always misrepresented (as one of the comments noted) as a man who has been cheated on by every woman he's ever met! But as for her academic authenticity to teach I'd love to sign up. Its what photography is about. Is it any more ethical to steal a picture on the street using beautiful geometry and composition or make work which questions this using a deliberately 'grubby' aesthetic. It worked for Billingham why not this? Its refreshing. Love it!
I like where this is going, but it isn't there yet. Personally, I'd need to see more of a growth, a linear progression of this project. I will support that the flash and the prints look good, the style of a myopic perspective into a mindset is hard to achieve. The look of the work is good, but the content leaves me thirsting for more in it's current state.
I think you guys are all being a bit harsh, ok the photographs may not be great, but as one of Natasha's students I can say that she is a great lecture, and for you people saying that a poor set of photographs can interfere with her teaching abilities is all a bunch of crap, she was a student when she took these pictures, everyone at some point produces something that may not be everyones cup of tea, but you have to think of the the time and effort that went into this project, would you go out with married strangers for a whole year? Lets see how many of you horrible people can get your work put up on here. You guys need to get a life, you go Natasha!!!
How can you assume that only after having graduated for 2 years that she is not qualified to be a teacher? During her MA, has she not learnt enough to pass on her knowledge to those who are willing to learn? Has she perhaps done a hella lot of research and personal work within those 2 works to have learnt more? I don't think that her photography directly influences her teaching abilities. Am I in University to try and mimic her photos? I'm pretty sure I'm in University to learn from her photos and develop my own ideas and techniques from her own. It's incredibly subjective to say that her photography is poor. Quite frankly, I don't see any of your work being published on the BJP.
How can you assume that only after having graduated for 2 years that she is not qualified to be a teacher? During her MA, has she not learnt enough to pass on her knowledge to those who are willing to learn? Has she perhaps done a hell of a lot of research and personal work within those 2 years to have learnt more? I don't think that her photography directly influences her teaching abilities. Am I in University to try and mimic her photos? I'm pretty sure I'm in University to learn from her photos and develop my own ideas and techniques from her own. It's incredibly subjective to say that her photography is poor. Quite frankly, I don't see any of your work being published on the BJP.
Nick Stern your a prick how about you don't wait our lifts by posting such abuse on here!
Interesting comments, shame the more puerile opinions seem to be the only points people are willing to discuss. The 'quality' of the photographs are largely a subjective matter, if they support the context and goal of the project then they have succeeded in their purpose. The goals however, are flawed and the context is bogus and imo would require the photos to do a lot more of the heavy lifting. They don't achieve this. It sounds like the thing that is causing such criticism and alarm re miss caruna's teaching ability is that this project is inherently dishonest and the motivation sounds more like a post-rationalisation than a clear statement. It's the lack of integrity being passed onto open hearted students that would make me question her teaching abilities.
yeah, you can try sound like your point is valid by using unnecessarily long words, but the fact of the matter is is that Natasha Caruana's is like most photography, some like it whilst others dislike it, but the judge her teaching abilities is out of the question is quite frankly a low blow.
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