Project Evaluation

The all-encompassing subject of my Visual Sociology project has been what John Prosser describes as ‘signs and symbols...signifiers of a culture.’

The signs and symbols in this case are material possessions, objects and their aesthetic attraction to the human eye through shared cultural language and values. this area of sociology is of particular interest to me since I have spent some years working within a retail setting, where the practical and psychological aspects of merchandising must be well understood in order to maximise sales. This does, however, raise the question of ethics and morality within sales techniques. while my photographs could not, and were never taken with the intention of answering questions regarding the ethical validity of capitalism, I believe that by isolating specific window displays from their shop and or street environments, they also isolate the ideas which are inherent in their construction, serving to illustrate the cultural symbols and signifiers with which the customer is ensnared into purchasing, from gender stereotypes to age and social class.

Due to a lack of photographic experience, unfortunately not all of my practical project is of the best visual standard, however I believe that they still adequately illustrate the merchandising construction. It could also be suggested that by removing any extra aesthetic ‘gloss’, the way in which the customer is drawn in using cultural signifiers and stereotypes becomes even more apparent.

All of my photographs were taken along the main shopping street of the orkney town of Kirkwall, giving the project a distinctly Highland cultural bias, although it could be argued that taking all of the photographs in such a small area does not provide enough evidence for a full examination of the ‘symbols and signifiers’ in what is a global occurrence. It does however, provide the sociologist and the viewer with the prospect of examining the signifiers within one single culture, one that is much more isolated in itself due to it’s location and which, arguably, is therefore less influenced by the values of other areas of the country. This could aid an examination of whether or not the particular cultural signifiers of an area are being consciously used to aid merchandising within the window displays.