In August I began a conversation with my Tutor having reflected on his feedback on my CS assignment 2, which I worked through and then amended my draft literature review and dissertation proposal. I followed through the actions that were identified:

• Redrafted my dissertation planner, including the effect of the audience on interpretation and where I will integrate and relate the practice of my chosen photographers to the methodologies.
• Added to my literature review some case studies and images
• Added to literature review some additions from Tutors suggested reading (Edwards and O’Sullivan)

After immersing myself in my BOW I returned to CS again in October 2022

I probed my tutor further about my title, asking his opinion of the following:

My suggested title: 

How can photography be used for both sharing reality (effect) and expressing what is in an artist’s mind (affect). Discuss with reference to the landscape photography of Minor White and John Blakemore.

or if I should I extend to?

How can photography be used for both sharing reality  and expressing what is in an artist’s mind – Effect and Affect? What codes and conventions can be used in photography so that viewers can see the artist’s intended meaning, inner state, and emotional responses? Discuss with reference to the landscape photography of Minor White and John Blakemore.

My tutor’s response was that I should leave it at Affect and Effect in the landscape photography of Minor White and John Blakemore. Suggesting that using the above title I can then define in my introduction affect (artistic expression/form) and effect (a more discursive interpretation of meaning in a sort of documentary mode). Setting these out for my reader here.

I was concerned as even in the coursebook it is suggested that “Generally speaking, your extended written project will be more interesting – both to write and from the assessor’s perspective – if you base it around some sort of research question or hypothesis”.  I raised this question also at a Level 3 Study group led by Ariadne Xenou, and she and my peers agreed that I should keep it simple and expand in the essay. So I have my title: Affect and Effect in the landscape photography of Minor White and John Blakemore

Useful points from the coursebook:

• Unlike your literature review, your extended written project should reach conclusions of some sort, but these must be based upon a rational and coherent synthesis of the ideas of other writers, not uninformed assertions. For example, if you say ‘It is my view that….’, you have to justify why you take that view, not simply assert it. You might, for example, evaluate several opinions from published authors and, in the light of that you then come to your own view, or conclusions (Alexander,2020:50)
• Footnotes: Biographical information, and for that matter any other kind of description, should be as spare as possible and should always have relevance to the topic of discussion. It may be a good idea to use a footnote to direct your reader to where they might find a more comprehensive account of a photographer’s life or a particular theory (Alexander, 2020:52)
• Persuasive writing: Your literature review should be limited in terms of your individual point of view, instead focusing on the views of others, but it will be persuasive insofar as you are articulating the relevance and significance of your subject area and explaining why you feel it is necessary to devote a whole extended written project around it (Alexander, 2020:52)
• Critical writing: involves descriptive, analytical and persuasive prose, but it includes the points of view of other writers and sources, properly referenced. Critical writing may have only limited original assertions made by the author and extensive analysis of the views of others, but it should make some sense of the various perspectives on a given subject…you’ll show an awareness of the different practitioners and thinkers within your specific field, enabling you to potentially contribute meaningfully to the discourse.

Useful points from previous Tutor feedback:

• To add some case studies and images to my historical accounts of semiotics to which I can apply these research methods. I have added some images of White and Blakemore’s to my redraft of my Literature review that I will add further to in my dissertation. These show how to use the visual methodologies that I have researched to unpick meaning in images.
• Emphasis what I have already written, the caveat that Saussurian linguistic semiotics needs further development for a proper understanding of the nature of visual signification.
• Include Pierce’s triangular model (see feedback report)
• Include Clarkson (2019), Hoopes (1991) chapter on Pierce.
• Consider the additional Tutor reading suggestions: Edwards (2012), Bennett (2002), O’Sullivan (2001). These also gave me further inroads into researching affect. I am not publishing my complete notes here so that I don’t self plagiarise in my dissertation however see below my summary of each.

O Sullivan:

This paper explores art in the field of affect theory, asking what makes up experience and subjectivity. O’Sullivan questions how our materialist connection to the world by  a review of representation and art historical narratives. He covers the opposition between idealism and materialism within philosophy, as he believes that aesthetics affects how we experience art. By asserting the value of experiencing art O’Sullivan says we can experience art differently as a portal for our subconscious sensations, which he thinks is essential to understand art and the world around it.

A very useful paper with sources on affect – will lead me to much further exploration on affect in Art.

Edwards: This paper is mostly about placing, materiality and context of photographic images, particularly the importance of cultural and social analysis. It discusses the placing, materiality and “haptic” effects of images. I will return to analyse this paper further.

General:

• Don’t waffle, be analytical and concise
• Define terms for general readers

References:

Alexander, J et al.(2020) Contextual Studies. Barneley: Open College of the Arts

Clarkson, G. (2019) Documentary evidence and artistic expression. At: https://www.oca.ac.uk/weareoca/education/documentary-evidence-and-artistic-expression/?cn-reloaded=1 (Accessed 04/04/2022).

Edwards, E. (2012) ‘Objects of Affect: Photography Beyond the Image’ In: Annual review of anthropology 41 (1) pp.221–234.

Hoopes, J. (1991) Peirce on Signs: Writings on Semiotics by Charles Sanders Peirce. United States: North Carolina Press.

O’Sullivan, S. (2001) ‘THE AESTHETICS OF AFFECT: Thinking art beyond representation’ In: Angelaki : journal of theoretical humanities 6 (3) pp.125–135.

Useful points from OCA Hangouts, see:

My process for assignment 3 draft

• I reread my revised literature review and dissertation proposal.
• Writing the introduction when you’ve not written all chapters is difficult, however it did make me embrace some further reading and I have based the introduction mainly on this rather than writing it as simply an introduction to what is to come in the following chapters.
• I took forward comments from assignment 2 feedback that relates to the parts of the dissertation I was writing such as: emphasis the caveat that I mentioned in my literature review that Saussurian linguistic semiotics needs further development for a complete understanding of visual signification.
• I wrote-read-revised.

Assignment Three: Introduction and Chapter One (Draft)

Submit a draft introduction (500-750 words) and first chapter (1,250 words). Include any revisions to your topic, plan and proposed chapter headings as a bullet point overview. You should also include details of when you intend to write each section and set a realistic deadline for the first draft of your remaining chapters (Assignment Four).

When you submit your assignment let your tutor know where you feel more or less confident and request specific guidance where you think you need it. Your total word count for assignment three should be (2,000 words). Please do not submit work that is above the allowed word limit as this will impact on the available time tutors have to spend reviewing work. (Alexander, 2020:55)

Reference:

Alexander et al (2020) Contextual Studies. Directed by Alexander. Barnsley: Open College of the Arts.

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