My work explores the relationship between Pre-raphaelite tenets and romance tourism. With influences as diverse as Kierkegaard and Buckminster Fuller, new insights are distilled from both orderly and random narratives.
Ever since I was a student I have been fascinated by the traditional understanding of the human condition. What starts out as yearning soon becomes finessed into a cacophony of greed, leaving only a sense of dread and the chance of a new reality.
As temporal derivatives become distorted through diligent and repetitive practice, the viewer is left with a clue to the possibilities of our existence.
Spend an hour or so looking at photographers’ artists’ statements. Some will be on their own websites (although it’s surprising how few practitioners do this), but you’ll find most information from the websites of the galleries that represent them. Collect a selection that interest you, noting the tone that’s used and how the practitioner’s inspiration and their particular use of techniques and materials are described. Write an artist’s statement to accompany your self-directed project (Assignment Five). This is not the same document as your evaluation which you should also submit as part of Assignment Five. Use this document to help you to write your artist’s statement: http://community.ucreative.ac.uk/index.cfm?articleid=18407
The brief
Introduction
In this blog entry I respond to the brief. Since I have previously investigated artist statements and recorded a number of best practices (see below) I have used this as a basis for my response. Moreover I have been writing artist statements with my assignments for a while now but see this exercise as an opportunity to reconsider what makes a good statement. I have also decided to wait until I had progressed more with my assignment 5 before writing it.
I note again that the provided link does not work and I was not able to find the reference, frustrating.
Approach
I have previously collected in my electronic notebook a series of best practices when it comes to Artist statements, I revisited these and synthesised into what I consider the major points (see below) .
Results
Summary of best practices:
The statement should take into consideration the context in which it will be read
The language used should take into consideration the expected reader
The statement should be inviting and as with any good first impression, hook and encourage further inquiry.
Areas that could be covered are:
Motivation for the work
Techniques and materials used
Your background
How you contextualise the work
Another way of considering what goes into the statement is Why (the most important point) make the work, What inspired the work, What is means to you, How was the work created, Where does it fit into the contemporary art world.
Discussion
I was struck again about the need to consider the audience and pitch the information at a level that was inviting. There is also, I think, a need to consider how much you want to signpost the intent and how much you want the audience to find their own meaning in the work. Sometimes less is more.
What did I learn
Again I found revisiting a topic useful, reminding me of aspects I had forgotten.
Banner image by the author, WIP view for Assignment 5
The brief
Although you’re not expected to produce any kind of installation or exhibition of your projects at Level 2 (HE5), there is certainly no reason why you shouldn’t be thinking about where you could present your work, and how the meaning of your photographs could be strengthened or expanded by their physical location. Think about whether there is a particular place where you could install your work for Assignment Five. Perhaps it’s the same place that you shot the project, or somewhere that contrasts it somehow. Make a very rough sketch of how prints could be hung, their scale, and anything else that might be incorporated into an installation. Read John A Walker’s essay ‘Context as a Determinant of Photographic Meaning’, first published in 1980. The text is not devoted to site-specific work in particular; however, it addresses the themes encountered in Part Five. Summarise Walker’s key points and note down your personal reflections. http://www.scribd.com/doc/19997617/Context-as-a-Determinanrt-of- Photographic-Meaningwps
The brief
Introduction
In this blog entry I respond to the brief.
Approach
I started by reading the essay, making notes and then rereading it before summarising and critiquing. I then followed up by considering location for my Assignment 5. I have already been working on this assignment and have the idea of looking at Deep Time and using as interactive digital format as a presentation format.
Results
Summary of John A Walker’s essay ‘Context as a Determinant of Photographic Meaning’
I summarise the mains points of the essay in bullet form as;
The location where a photograph is displayed effects the way that the image is interpreted
Most analysis looks at the internal structure of the image i.e. independent of context however we are always, even if peripherally aware of the context.
In most cases a context shift leads to a change of emphasis of the photo’s content
Caption, text or other images are to be considered as part of the context
In the past art was generally produced for specific locations. This became loosened over time and with reproductive capabilities e.g. photography was lost.
Media context has taken over from architectural context in many cases.
The currency of an image, where it has been displayed after its creation to its death (archived) it has meaning and hence value.
The photograph in turn can impact the context in which it is displayed ‘had radicalised the gallery space’.
The history of the viewer will also impact the perceived meaning of the photograph.
Although we are individuals groups of people will tend to see common traits and meanings.
The display context is often outside the control of the artist
Ideas for Assignment 5
As I stated in the introduction my idea for assignment 5 is to look at Deep Time with an series of images combined into an interactive digital format. The reason for this format is to a) engage the viewer in a closer manner than can be achieved by a simple audio-visual presentation b) Give the feeling of time by the use of interactivity. The simple way to present this to a viewer is by showing on a computed or smart device. However I could image the work being displayed in large format projected onto a rock face. Interactivity could be provided by motion sensors and surround sound by hidden speakers. (see rough diagram below). I think having the work, where rock plays a central role project on rock could add to the message and by using the position of the viewer to trigger various animations would lend itself to increased engagement.
There will be I am sure a number of technical difficulties with this approach but I believe it to be doable.
Discussion
Regarding my thoughts to the essay, I found it very good and informative. The essay was well written and the argumentation easy to follow. It’s main theme that there are two way interactions between a photography and its display context resonates with me since this is a general physics principle and I think can be applied to many circumstances. A secondary point that the viewer brings there own interpretation to the image but over a large number of people there will be a degree of commonality in the interpretation also makes a lot of sense.
For my assignment 5 I will consider my idea about presentation as I work through this assignment: I will review, get feedback and possible incorporate in the submission.
What did I learn
I found the idea of context influencing interpretation although evident if one had thought about it but it quite revealing.
Look at some of the audio-visual slideshows on the websites listed above. Make some notes about particular works of interest, considering how they are edited, sequenced and how audio is used with images. Note down your own personal observations. Whether or not you intend to present your photographs for Assignment Five as an audio-visual piece, suppose for this exercise that you will. Familiarise yourself with any basic slideshow- or video-making software and compile an edit of your work, experimenting with transitions, text and music and/or sound effects. Save your work so that your tutor and/or an assessor can view this if necessary. Write a brief evaluation of your work, commenting on how appropriate and effective you think this medium is for presenting your photographs.
The brief
Introduction
This blog entry records my response to the brief.
Since I have produced a number of audio visual slideshows for the OCA, (e.g. Putting yourself in the picture) including one for this course (The Journey) using a number of tools I have decided to amend the brief and not to produce a new show but to reanalyse my work and to analyse best practices in others. I also give some thoughts on Assignment 5 and how I might present this. I should point out that nearly the references given in the course notes are wrong and in many cases even if the source can be found it can’t be displayed since it relies on Flash, which is no longer supported in modern browsers.
Approach
I used the course notes, UCL Library and the Internet to try to identify best practices, I did not find any explicit advice so I looked for indirect evidence e.g. criteria for judging. I recorded raw data in my electronic notebook and my findings in this blog entry. From this and viewing a number of audio-visual slideshows I created a list of points that I think need to be considered in the creation of slideshows. I have tried to go beyond the standard Internet advice for creating (business) presentations.
I can summarise the aspects that I feel need to be considered in creating an audio-visual presentation as:
The need to ensure that the technical aspects (out of focus images, unclear sound, abrupt or unnecessary transitions) do not distract from the presentation.
Consider the rhythm of the presentation, it does not need to be constant but should have a reason.
Consider standard cinematic shots – fades, panning, jump shot, time lapse, stop motion but must contribute to the artistic intent.
Music adds to the presentation but should not dominate either in loudness or content (pace, style)
With recordings it is easier to add imagery to reinforce the audio component.
Consider image changes in light of the accompanying audio component
Both images (e.g. use of blanks) and audio (e.g. silence) can be used to punctuate the work,
Text, choose carefully colour, placement, font and size. The style of text (informational, referential etc) should be consistent.
Is the story that is being told likely to grab the audience
Consider the length of the presentation, more than five minutes could be challenging.
Three topics/messages/points in three minutes is a maximium.
Discussion
Looking at my list of aspects and my previous work I think I can see areas that if I were to repeat the work I would consider. This includes my technical competent, use of rhythm – here I feel my work is too regular and does not necessarily harmonise with the audio component. I also feel that I am too reliant on the fade as a cinematic technique. I should also consider other mechanisms. I also ought to use more punctuation.
For Assignment 5 I started off by thinking that I would produce a simple audio-visual presentation but I have moved away from this idea for a couple of reasons. Firstly I have already created a simple slideshow based audio-visual presentation (The Journey). Secondly I want to move away from a linear presentation format to something that provides the viewer with more interactivity. So I will be looking into a digital presentation that allows the user to interact with it and to cause different effects to occur in line with the message I am trying to get across.
What did I learn
For me the most important learning from this exercise was the idea of punctuation, I had never considered this before.
An online audio-visual piece doesn’t necessarily have to be the piece of art in itself, but may simply be part of the ‘presence’ of the work, put together to promote it, possibly to coincide with an exhibition or publication, or to help generate interest more speculatively. This post by Sharon Boothroyd on WeAreOCA discusses a piece of work that is particularly relevant both to our discussions on contemporary landscape photography and the slideshow format. The sequence in question was designed to be the exhibition. Read the post and if you have any comments of your own, add them and include a link in your learning log. http://www.weareoca.com/photography/online-exhibitions/?utm_ source=Tutors+by+subject&utm_campaign=c3af55c4bf-E_bulletin_4_ October_2012&utm_medium=email
Introduction
This blog entry is my response to the brief.
First I must say that I had some difficulty to find the link but after some searching I think I found it here:
and below I discuss my views on the work and the comments from Sharon Boothroyd. I did not feel like adding any explicit comments to the online blog. I should add that for Assignment 2 I created a slideshow presentation format (see here).
Discussion
My initial feeling on starting the Vimeo slide show was where are the background sounds? After this initial shock I settled down to viewing the photographs and got into the rhythmic display. I found myself soon being distracted by the text and taring to see whether there was any discernible logic in the selection or order. Where initially I found I was concentring on each photographs I found after about 5-10 minutes in I was losing a degree of concentration and only the more interesting images caught my eye. Finally i got impatient and started to use the slide/fast forward to see what was coming next. The sheer number of images caused photo fatigue.
I would agree with Sharon’s comments about the ability in physical exhibitions to move around as one choses and to stay as long or short a time in front of a image as one would like and to move in close or not. This flexibility is replaced by a more enforced view that itself should be factored into the viewing experience of the individual images. In this particular case I found the length of the exhibition too long and the regularity of display, although creating an coherent effect leads to a degree of monotony.
What did I learn
Although the slideshow format is attractive great care needs to be taken in order that the (casual?) viewer is engaged with the format and tempo chosen for them.
Whether or not you intend to produce a book to present your photographs for Assignment Five, suppose for this exercise that you will. During this exercise you’ll familiarise yourself with a print-on-demand application and experiment with a book design. If you don’t already have one, set up an account with a print-on-demand service, such as Blurb. (You don’t have to use Blurb, but whichever company you use must offer the option of saving your book layout draft as a pdf document.) You’ll need to download Blurb’s Booksmart software from their site. This application is fairly intuitive. Import the photos you’ve made so far for Assignment Five into the new project. Experiment with layout, text, titles and captions; when you’re satisfied with a draft, save it as a pdf. If you’re using Blurb the pdf will be watermarked with their logo but this doesn’t matter. If you’re keeping your learning log online, link this document into a blog post. If you’re keeping a hard copy log, print the pdf on regular printer paper. You don’t need to place an order for the book for this exercise. Make some brief notes about how you found working with the software and briefly evaluate your rough book design, describing any particular design choices and noting any influences in terms of other books that inspired you. If you’re thinking about producing a book for your self-directed project, you may want to email the pdf or send a link to it to your tutor for their comments.
The brief
Introduction
This blog entry is my response to the brief above.
I felt that I did not need to go through the complete exercise since, over the years, I have created a number of photobooks for my own use and also for the OCA (see here) and the mechanics are well known to me. I decided, instead, to summarise my learning on photobook creation, including learning from my Graphic Design course (see here) and to include some other design tips I have come across in a particularly good overview (Photo Book Design Tips from Design Experts). A good overview of general design tips is Universal Principles of Design by William Liddle et al.
Discussion
I feel my learning can be divided into two categories: technical and artistic and a number of these points have been mentioned in the course notes.
Technical
Use of an online service v. professional book binder. It is difficult using an online service (my example for a particular assignment is here) to know exactly what you are getting until the book arrives, while with a book binder it is more of an iterative process.
Need to be careful with the images as to how they appear in print (use soft proofing to help) and whether they have enough resolution
If using an online service pay attention to the size of book, including page sizes since they will be fixed
Artistic
A photo book is a separate visual item.
Design style- is the flow linear with photography dominating or more cinematic, non linear where typography plays a stronger role. Consider layout is there a considered approach.
Editing and sequencing: order of images, creating a rhythm is important, consider as a piece of music. May need to reject a good image because it is not consistent with the other potential less strong images.
Concept of Hero images, images that stand on their own -usually alone on page, perhaps faced by a blank page. Other images may require a partner, that harmonises or is a juxtaposition but the the whole must be more than a sum of the parts.
If multiple images on a page consider grid layouts.
Use blank pages (white or black) as punctuation e.g. to separate themes.
use of text is particularly tricky. Is text needed? what does the size, font, colour convey? Generally should not have the text dominating. Black background with white text is seldom good.
Does the design encourage the viewer to keep viewing?
What did I learn
It is good to review previous work for further insights.
It’s not a requirement to submit prints for formal assessment, so you may choose to submit your work on the self-directed project in a different format, such as a book or a multi-media piece. However for the purposes of this exercise please imagine that you’re going to submit prints.
1. Search the internet for different companies offering inkjet and C-type printing. Compile three quotes for getting your work professionally printed, with a variety of different options such as C-type or inkjet, for portfolio review. (The pictures don’t need to be framed or mounted.) Prices will be available on the companies’ websites. This kind of information is useful to inform your project proposal.
2. Imagine you will order from one of these companies. Prepare one image file exactly as specified by the printers. Please note that you don’t actually need to have your work printed professionally in order to complete this exercise.
3. Write a brief entry in your learning log, reflecting on whether or not you feel that an inkjet can be treated as a ‘photograph’.
The brief
Introduction
This blog entry is my response to the brief. I describe my approach and my results. I discuss these and summarise my key learning from the exercise.
Approach
Using the Internet I searched for a number of companies offering printing services. I decided that I would restrict my search to services being offered in Switzerland where I live. I also looked for high end bespoke printer services rather than broad printing services.
Results
In the results I do not feel comfortable naming the specific companies so i will simply refer to them as Company 1, Company 2, Company 3. I describe the main points of the various companies offerings.
Company 1
They did not generally quote prices but asked the potential customer for contact to have individual discussions.
Images can’t be simply upload to the company, this presumably happens after contact.
Only approximate costs are given
They only offered Inkjet (Giclcée) prints not c-type.
They offer printing on many different forms of paper but also different substances e.g. Aluminium, wood, glass.
Company 2
the company argues that Inkjet better than c-type for nearly all circumstances and only provide inkjet based offerings.
There is a need to contact the company in order proceed
A wide range of paper types are offered along with canvas.
They supply an overview of prices:
Company 3
The company offers many different types of paper and, in addition, different materials e.g. Aluminium.
Only inkjet based services are provided, not c-type
Consultation offered in order to choose best printing options
Images can be directly uploaded onto the web site.
A range of image formats (e.g. TIFF or JPG is given and although a number of image spaces are supported it is recommended to use the sRGB colour space
Creating an image for printing
I took the Company 3 provided information and used Photoshop and Lightroom to manipulate and check and image: ensuring sRGB colour space and checking via soft proofing how well the photograph might print. If I had a printer & paper profile from the company I would have used this but in this case I used printer profiles supplied with my printer for a specified paper type.
Discussion
As an aside I have my own high quality printer (Canon Pixma Pro 10-S) which I have used for a number of years to create images either for my own use or for submitting to the OCA for assessment. I found that getting a good printed image can be an art and generally I need to have a number of attempts where I use soft proofing and experiment with paper, contrast and brightness settings in order to get best results.
I was surprised how difficult it is to find C-type printing in Switzerland; it may be that I have been looking at the wrong areas. It could be that the providers of such services operate on more conventional channels, e.g. word-of-mouth.
I looked at some of the companies (Spectrum, Metro, Bayeux, Simlab) mentioned in the course and found they were all rather UK focused although Spectrum delivered to Europe. However at first sight it seem that they provided more sophisticated services than the services i found in Switzerland.
Can Inkjet prints be considered as a photograph
To the question as to whether inkjet prints can be considered as a photograph, I find this a rather a nit picking / academic discussion. A couple of points that I think mean than inkjets prints can be considered photographs: if the viewer can’t necessarily tell the difference between prints made by inkjet and other e.g. c-type means and if we don’t distinguish in the technical means that we used to produce the raw image (digital or analogue), why should we do so for the printing stage?
What did I learn
If I want c-type printing in Switzerland then I must be prepared to find other routes than simple Internet searches to do so.
Read Thomas McEvilley’s introduction to Inside the White Cube: The Ideology of the Gallery Space, which provides a good summary of O’Doherty’s suite of essays (see ‘Online learning materials and student-led research’ at the start of this course guide). Note down the key points and your own reflections in your learning log.
The brief
Introduction
This blog entry record my response to the brief. I read the essay twice making notes and records what I consider the key points of the essay as well as some general observations.
Discussion
Points made by the essay
In bullet form the key points I took away from this essay from Thomas McEvilley are:
Essays focus on how the controlled environment of a modern (1986) gallery impacts: the art object, the viewing subject and how the context of the gallery devours the art object becoming inseparable with the object: context becoming content
O’Doherty views the gallery’s intent as being similar to religious building, cutting off the outside world and thus making the art appear to be untouched by time and its vicissitudes.
Part this effect is aimed at creating the impression of a good investments
There is a historical record of such spaces ranging from Palaeolithic painted caves to Egyptian tombs, all with religious overtones.
Although associated with such spaces is the idea of a priesthood or ruling class
Such spaces promote the idea of eternity and in turn, by association the priesthood or ruling class.
O’Doherty argues that the viewer in entering the cube and viewing art becomes a simpler self (we give up our humanness) a Spectator and an Eye. The viewer can be considered to have died.
The cube can be considered as the source of modern art corresponding to the spot of light in in the Pythagorean concept of a spot becomes point, line, surface, solid, and then simulacrum
In summary:
The white cube was a transitional device that attempted to bleach out the past and at the same time control the future by appealing to supposedly transcendental modes of presence and power.
Thomas McEvilley
My thoughts
I find the essay well worth reading it came up with some interesting concepts and feel that there are elements that are (e.g. context of display effects reading of work), however as is often the case in art essays the writer gets carried away with her/himself and pulls in elements (e.g. religion, Pythagorean theory) that certainly add colour to the ideas are not supported by any facts and for me simply go to far.
It sounds as if there is malicious intent by gallery creators and owners in terms of their use of white cube galleries. Although there is a strong argument concerning the controlling role of gallery owners in the art ecosystem in the case of galleries I believe it is more likely they simply evolved as the best practical means to neutrally display many different forms of art. If not a white cube how then should be art displayed in a practical way?
What did I learn
My main learning is the fact that the display context can strongly influence how a piece of art can be perceived and the gallery (white cube) is a context that many works of art are viewed and there is an effect on the viewer by this context.
Write a project proposal for the self-directed project that you’ll submit as Assignment Five. Don’t write more than 500 words. The purpose of this document is to formulate and communicate your ideas to your tutor, for them to approve and provide comments, suggestions and any other feedback. The project proposal is not a binding contract. It is quite acceptable for it to evolve and perhaps shift direction; this is part of the creative process. However, you may find it helpful to think of the document as a real-life professional application for funding, or for permission to photograph at a restricted location. Your proposal should include: • The project brief: What, where, how and why are you photographing this subject? Your motivation is important. What is the wider context around this subject? • Influences and research: Which photographers, writers or other creative practitioners have you looked at/will you look at during this project? Include a reading list if appropriate. • Likely treatment: How will you photograph this subject? What special techniques or equipment will you use? Do you need any further training? Do you need or have you got a ‘plan B’ in case something doesn’t work? • Potential outcome: Note any (realistic!) ideas you have for resolving this body of work (e.g. book, gallery or site-specific installation). • Budget/resources: What will you need to spend, or what other resources will you require to complete the work? How will you access these? • Estimated schedule: Identify the different phases of this work and set realistic deadlines to achieve them by. It is often helpful to do this by identifying the final deadline and working backwards. These headings are guidelines only; you don’t necessarily have to format your document in precisely this way. You should also explain if or how this project builds upon your previous projects and research. If you’ve already worked in a related area, or if you’ve already begun the preliminary work, then include some photographs, if they are relevant to the proposal. Submit this proposal to your tutor with Assignment Four.
The brief
Introduction
In this blog entry I address the brief. I talk about my approach and list the project proposal. I discuss this proposal and what I have learned. A point perhaps worth mentioning is that in my work life i was responsible for producing a large number of project proposals as well as running these project, so I am well acquainted in project proposal methodologies in general, if not specially in the art world. I will try to bring some of this knowledge into the proposal but will not attempt to use entirely any of the methodologies that I have used into the past since I feel this will be overkill for this exercise.
Approach
I first brainstormed a number of concepts that I wanted to explore and quickly settled on the broad theme Deep Time. I then explored what aspects of this theme that I wanted to show. I show some of my thinking in a mind map.
My aim was to come to an initial question that encapsulated my thoughts and that I would address in the assignment. My initial attempt at this question is:
What if rocks could see?
I then took the headings given in the exercise and added explicitly risks and mitigations as my experience in projects this a key area to consider at the beginning
Before filling out the project proposal I did some very basic research to gather further ideas and gather research material (from the UCA library and the Internet) that I could read and use as starting points for further research.
Result
What if rocks could see?
The project brief
I want to investigate the concept of Deep Time which can be defined as:
A deistic mechanism keeping the world eternally suitable for humans.
I do this in order to show how our view of the world and our place is naturally dominated by the short term views as individuals and even as as a society we see the world only in historical terms. I want to show that if we look at our world with this longer view it will give us a different perspective of society, and where and how we want to go. This will bring us into the uncomfortable realm of the sublime.
The project will take photographs of, or create by computer program landscapes where there are characteristic rocks and human artefacts. In post production I will work the images to show how a rock may see human artefacts and I will also introduce the concept of the Eiffel Tower:
“If the Eiffel Tower were now representin;g the world’s age, the skin of paint on the pinnacle-knob at its summit would represent man’s share of that age.” By shifting deep time to the realm of the comically minuscule, metaphors like this allow us to bring it within our grasp. At the same time, though, they shrink the concept so much that they obscure its magnitude.
into the images possibly by fine lines? By taking a non human view I hope that this will reveal aspects of our own view of the world thar are otherwise not evident.
Influences and research:
There are a number of photographers who have worked with the concept of Deep Time or at least long time that might influence this work e.g. Michael Wesely, Alexey Titarenko, H. Sugimoto, D. Almond and Stephanie Jung.
There have been exhibitions e.g. Imagining Deep Time at National Academy of Sciences Building, Washington, DC where a number of artists working in different formats have investigated Deep Time or the exhibition What Does “Deep Time” Mean to You? at the Smithsonian
In cinematography Christopher Nolan i think is worth looking at since his films often play with time and space in interesting ways. Also the film 1952 film La Jetée by Christopher Marker in form of its presentation format could be interesting.
Some novels might be worth investigating: The Earth After Us: What Legacy Will Humans Leave in the Rocks? by Jan Zalasiewicz; Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky and Underland: A Deep Time Journey by Robert Macfarlane.
In terms of research I want to look at Photography After the Human by Joanna Zylinska, Deep time: an anthropological problem by R..D.G. Irvine; Art and Metabolic Force in Deep Time Environments by M. Bakke. Earth’s Deep History: How It Was Discovered and Why It Matters by M. Rudwick is worth looking at because of its view on religion and science as well as its background to measuring Deep Time.
Likely treatment:
I will approach this project with two parallel threads:
Using the computer tool Terragen create my own landscape with rocky out crops
Taking photographs of rocky out crops in the Surselva, Switzerland where I have easy access
For the first approach i will need to spend more time investigating the computer tool and ensuring that within a reasonable time it is fit for purpose.
Based on the outputs of the two approaches I will subsequently use one of them and manipulate the images further within Photoshop.
I would then use PowerPoint or one of the Adobe animation tools to put the final presentation together.
Potential outcome:
Since time play a central role I feel a film or series of images is required. I am uncertain yet about the final presentation format but I would experiment with the format use in La Jetée of single photographs put together a series with music or voice overlay. I am conscious that this may require (too?) much effort. A fall back would be simple image flow.
Budget/resources:
I may need to buy a Terragen license if the simple free version is not sufficient otherwise all expensed are covered, ignoring transport costs.
Estimated schedule:
The following is an overview of the main phase, milestones, with approximate elapsed times. i have timeboxed the whole work to six weeks:
Research (which will continue in parallel to steps 2a and 2b) – 3 week
2a. Creating content with Terragen (will occur in parallel with step 2b) 2 weeks
2b. Photographing content – 2 weeks
3. Manipulating content to create initial presentation 1 weeks
4. Feedback to initial work and rework (Milestone) 2 weeks
5. Submission to tutor (Milestone)
I feel there is some reserve in time with step 4.
Risk and Mitigations:
The following are the major risks that I see in a) producing the desired output and b) keeping to the schedule:
Unable to master Terragen: It may well be that the time it will takes me to be able to adequately use the tool is too long. If this is the case I will forget Terragen and focus on photography.
Creation of final output takes too long: I can imagine the time required to create the final output takes a longer time than have assigned. In case of difficulty I will simplify the output.
The goal of the work is seen to be too vague/inadequate: It is possible that my vision is not clear enough to be created in a practical manner and, or the end result is not adequate. With the Feedback phase I would hope to identify any problem here and make corrections based on feedback.
Previous projects and research:
My previous work that could feed into this assignment is Assignment 4 – Critical research. This work looks at how manufactured landscape images has/could have a major influence on landscape images.
Discussion
I wanted to continue with my desire to perform significant creative work in post production and I think the topic and my approach has the potential to do this in an interesting manner. My concern is that I might have bitten off morethan I can chew but I think it is worth setting a high bar and adjust if necessary.
What did I learn
I find it interesting that I am encountering project methodologies again in a photography course.
Find an advert from a magazine, newspaper or the internet, which has some clearly identifiable signs. Using the example above to help you, list the signs. What are the signifiers? What is signified? Read Barthes’ essay to help clarify your understanding of these principles. You might find Barthes hard going at first, but please persevere. The way in which meaning is constructed in an image is directly relevant to photographic practice.
The brief
Discussion
As part of the course Context and Narrative I have performed an identical exercise (Deconstruction) which i refer to here. Rather than repeating this exercise I will reread my results to ensure that I have understood the concepts correctly and then move on with the course….
Read Deborah Bright’s essay ‘Of Mother Nature and Marlboro Men’, available online. Copy this url into your web browser: http://www.deborahbright.net/PDF/Bright-Marlboro.pdf As well as writing widely on photography, Bright is also an established practitioner. This text was written in 1985, and some of the things Bright argues for have been achieved. The text provides a contextual insight (particularly in relation to American photography) and an interesting sense of the climate from which much critical practice has emerged. Read the essay, noting key points of interest and your personal reflections in your learning log
The brief
Introduction
In this blog entry I address the brief; a note the main points of the essay, give my views and summarise my learning from the exercise.
Discussion
Points
On reading the article I consider the following (in bullet format) as the main points that Bright addresses:
The landscape can be considered timeless and beyond politics and ideology, but this view is too simple
Landscape as a subject of visual representation is relatively modern (ca. 17-18thC)
A representation of landscape is also a record of human values and actions over time
Questions that might be asked of landscape photographs are: what concerns do they perpetuate; who interest were they created, why the desire to create and consume and why are they so strongly associated with the masculine eye?
There was (is?) religious overtones in the American attitude towards wilderness areas.
Wilderness is being manipulated to allow easier access, nature is being commoditised
There are topics beyond the aesthetic and promoted by authoritative institutions e.g. politics that are worthy of photographic investigation
There is a change of emphasis landscape aesthetic in US from Straight photography through Equivalence 1950’s-1960’s) to a more rational approach (classification of vocabulary by Szarkowski in 1960’s) and then to the era of New Topologies (1970’s) with above all, aesthetic arrangements resisting interpretation.
The art market provides a feedback loop to the photographer helping to define his/her practice. The elite art world works to keep art free from overtly political
Example of how work (Thee mile Island) can be created in a romantic manner (John Pfahl) or in a more political way (Lisa Lewenz)
Women are under represented in the Landscape photography genre because of the male bias of controlling institutions.
My view
I found this an interesting essay although clearly a work from the 1980’s and the concerns of the time. To my mind it is now dated especially in its concerns about a central controlling art world, social media has democratised the publication (if not the monetarisation) of photography.
Another fundamental point for me is whether as indicated by Bright is the nature of photography and as she indicates the primacy of a political view over the aesthetic. This raises a number of questions for me where there are no simple answers but i would argue at least challenges her view: The art market seems to have generally chosen the aesthetic over the political and provided one believes that it is a true market then that applies to viewers and buyers of photography?. If one want success as a photographer one needs to consider this? The idea of timelessness in art I believe is a strong one and politics by it’s nature focuses on the short term plus in changing opinion other media (I feel though I have not looed for evidence) such as words or film are probably stronger than simple static images, should not photography focus on its strengths?
Again as in many art essay there is very little fact / evidence based argumentation (although Bright does use annotatable evidence in some cases) , this does not mean the argumentation is wrong but ends up being only an opinion and for me it loses power by doing so.
What did I learn
My main takeaway from this exercise was the points about whether photography needs primarily to have a pollical focus, I don’t believe so but I will need to revisit this point.
Open College of the Arts: A log by Peter Hungerford 