Personal reflections

CONTEXTUAL STUDIES ASSIGNMENT 4: REFLECTIONS ON FORMATIVE FEEDBACK

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This was written feedback

I was given lots of positive feedback, notably my decision to concentrate on Minor White as the artist for the case study, and my decision to drop John Blakemore.

See the constructive feedback given which needs action:

I noted in my A4 Learning log that I now included in my Chapter 3, images of White’s work to articulate how he uses affect in his work; this I have done to help my readers to synthesise both the information on visual methodologies I present in my dissertation and how it can be applied to interpreting meaning in images. I have used a semiotic toolkit and knowledge of symbols White uses to pick apart some of his images – In my dissertation I am applying methods I researched in my literature review. I have described some of what is denoted and connotated in the images, however I note that my tutor suggests that I add further description on what is denoted in them, to enable viewers to give readers space to ask questions.

REFLECTIVE LEARNING LOG : Show what I’ve learnt- not a description of process

DISSERTATION

General advice:

Use PEEL: Paint/Explain/Link back to research question. I’m obviously I’m still not getting there – intro to all terms with clear definitions supported not lead by references and theories.

USE REFERENCES TO UNDERPIN OWN POINTS and to clarify research methods or difficult themes – So do some “reverse engineering”

Also:

  • Ensure writing makes sense to a reader coming to it cold
  • Some places are quite dense.
  • There are some short paragraphs that would be better linked to create flow paragraphs that need linking
  • Try using an academic phrasebook
  • Check that it all makes sense to another reader.
  • Expand where critical terms need explain to a general reader
  • Ensure I reference practitioners I mention.

Content:

  • Expand on ‘Context as determinant of meaning’
  • Reread Clarkson on codes and Bate (2009) p 34 on codes and rhetoric
  • Add more on objective photographers eg. Blossfeldt, Evans, Rineke Dijkstra
  • On sequencing images add Colborg reading
  • Describe images – Denotation into connotationsee Barrett formulansubject+medium+form+context (what’s it about)

Reference:

Bate, D. (2009) Photography: The Key Concepts. New York: Berg publishers.

Colberg, J. (February 26 2018) Towards a Photobook Taxonomy. At: https://cphmag.com/photobook-taxonomy/ (Accessed 31/10/2021).

BODY OF WORK ASSIGNMENT THREE: REFLECTIONS AGAINST LEARNING OUTCOMES

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Nicola South        Student number:514516

LO1 produce convincing visual products that communicate your intentions, using accomplished techniques in complex and unfamiliar environments, with minimal supervision from your tutor.

  • I believe I have communicated my intentions both in the images and in the accompanying reflection, that this is about place and self.
  • My images support these intentions to use the woodlands as a metaphor for a harmonious community, the transformation of subject and object. However, there is ambiguity and room for the viewer to interpret.
  • The subjects chosen for this series I believe give the overriding presentation of harmony and yet there is a twist, as on first look they may appear chaotic. Chaos in the woodlands caused by diversity is a complex situation as the place remains highly successful
  • The techniques used may appear simple, it is through the straightforward use of a digital camera, with little postproduction work; the colours are as shot and I have rarely cropped, I prefer to create in camera.
  • The environment is becoming very familiar to me and yet it changes daily with the ever-changing weather and seasons.

LO2 demonstrate comprehensive knowledge of your area of specialisation and be able to situate your own work within a larger context of practice in your field.

  • My study for Contextual Studies is deepening my understanding of “affect” and expression in landscape photography both conscious and sub-conscious. This detailed CS reading is not literally evident in my BOW as the research I present is that for my BOW, but I hope that my photographic and reflective progress demonstrates that there is increasing understanding of Semiotics, indexical relationships (sharing the idea of an object/subject) without a physical likeness, transient meaning, and the existence of both affect and effect in photographs.
  • The background reading and research into photographers both in the field of landscape and using landscape to share internal and external passage is feeding a belief in what I am trying tom achieve and offering me new ideas to try. Their ideas on personal landscapes, and literal appearances as metaphors for internal experience are central to my work.
  • I have increasing knowledge in these areas which is explicit in my Contextual Studies, however do I need to make it more explicit in my Body of Work commentaries?

LO3 transform abstract concepts and ideas into rich narratives and integrate them in your images.

  • I have demonstrated that I can transform abstract concepts into a narrative, that diversity can be harmonious, and I think that narrative is in each image and reinforced by the images as a series. However, it is subjective expressionism.
  • I believe working in a series has strengthened the message I am sharing as I was very careful during editing to ask myself the question of each image: does the image detract or contradict from the rest of the series? or even better does it emphasise and add impact to my message?  
  • I have signposted meaning for the viewers with my title and captions but hope that it is sufficiently open for them to interpret my and their own meaning also.

LO4 critically review your own work and evaluate it against desired outcomes.

  • I have reviewed this work against the course learning objectives as well as against my personal intentions.

Next post: https://nkssite6.photo.blog/2022/11/16/bow-assignment-three-submission/

BODY OF WORK PART THREE: REFLECTIONS ON PROGRESS TO DATE

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20.8.22                                           

I have taken some time to complete CS assignment 2 and have been reading a researching widely. I am now ready to re immerse myself in BOW. To do this I have been re-reading my BOW to date. The following notes are to help me proceed with BOW assignment 3:

On Assignment 1:

  • My theme began as community
  • Influenced in my way of seeing by practitioners mentioned below.
  • Used prime and macro 1:1 lens
  • Used scale or perspective to distort
  • Researched how other have presented
  • Represented images of using: psychogeography, landscape, Abstract, and close up.

On preparing for assignment 2:

  • Thought I might move from colour to black and white but decided the greenness is vital.
  • Advised to give entry point so viewers can access through signposting what I’m representing.

Note I mentioned in my learning log: Rob Hudson Stephen Segasby, Guy Dickenson, Tom Wilkinson and JM Golding. Also Alfred Stieglitz and Minor White: https://nkssite6.photo.blog/category/body-of-work/bow-assignments/assignment-1/a1-learning-log/ (may need to protect v self-plagiarism in CS Dissertation)

On Assignment 2:

  • Theme: A harmonious community
  • Used text for signposting – might change text to consistently verbs/nouns and use one dictionary source for submission?
  • Collection of a typology of woodland species: Moss, lichen, fungi, trees, ferns – might combine this with other work later
  • Concepts inspired by humans but they are not evident in my work.
  • A selection of learning log entries with a related selection of assignment outcomes is advised. This ties in with the advice from Ariadne in the L3 study group.

Before assignment 3:

Reread woodland research – https://nkssite6.photo.blog/category/research/reading/woodland-reading/ lead to reminders:

  • Lichens: undividables (latin for individuals) Is the whole an individual or the parts? Analogy with the woodlands?
  • Ferns: live half their life cycle on other plants like trees – not adapted to one habitat.
  • Fungi: live symbiotically

Further reading/research on mushrooms that I’ve scan read but have yet to complete:

And on trees: Takeaways: symbiotic/mutual relationships

  • Beresford-Kroeger, D. (2019) To Speak for the Trees: My Life’s Journey from Ancient Celtic Wisdom to a Healing Vision of the Forest. (s.l.): Random House of Canada.
  • Deacon, A., and V. D. A. (2020) For the Love of Trees.(s.l.): Black and White Publishing Limited.
  • Deakin, R. (2008) Wildwood: A Journey Through Trees.(s.l.): Penguin UK.
  • Geddes, L. and Finlay, M. (2021) ‘Unearthing the secret social lives of trees – podcast’ In: The Guardian 29/04/2021 At: http://www.theguardian.com/science/audio/2021/apr/29/unearthing-the-secret-social-lives-of-trees-podcast (Accessed 26/10/2021).

Have re-read work of other practitioners https://nkssite6.photo.blog/category/research/bow-research/other-photographers-same-material/  Takeaways: value of finding ways to encourage viewers to look hard/differently at the subject.

Tutor suggested reading:

Next post: https://nkssite6.photo.blog/category/research/bow-research/bow-research-part-3/

CONTEXTUAL STUDIES: UPDATE

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31.3.22

So it been a while, I’ve been working on my BOW assignment 2 which is now submitted. I probably should have been working on my literature review at the same time, however I have needed to get a direction in my head for that before I could move on. Now I’ve got that direction, I’ve the confidence to start on my dissertation proposal and literature review.

Preparations

  • I have pulled together much of the advice and information that I have gathered on writing a literature review into one document. This has helped to focus my mind on what is required and how to be effective,
  • I have collated ideas, that I’ve gained from various peer groups that I engage with.
  • I have revisited the feedback given by my Tutor form CS assignment 2 and noted suggestions made for CS part 2. Stimulated by this I have begun research in some of those areas.
  • I have collected together research that I’ve not yet used, which will feed into my literature review and my dissertation proposal, some may also inform my BOW.

Reflection

I now feel in a good position to begin putting together my ideas so that I might in turn send as my tutor suggested key points that I want to review in my contextual literature and move myself towards ta core premise or theme and a visual methodology to analyse in my work.

21.4.22

Back again and ready to re-immerse. I have been reading and researching, both paths I have found and texts suggested by my CS Tutor, who I contacted a few weeks ago with a summary of key points that I want to review in my contextual literature.

I have expanded my reading and investigated my area of interest further, made notes as I have gone along. Whilst reading I reflected on:

•       Documentary and artistic expression in Landscape photography

•       Landscape genre as a genre

  • Tension between effect- express, and affect -emotional responses

•       Possible title: Mirrors & windows in the Landscape photography of Minor White and John Blakemore. However I think I need to reform this as a question.

My reading covered:

  • Practitioners who express or inspire emotional responses in their work:  John Blakemore and Minor White.
  • Methodology: Semiotics (Rose, Saussure, Pierce- most relevant to images)
  • Rose “The good eye”- how contemporary image makers work against that interpretation

Rose: Discourse analysis but I don’t see the relevance to my work at the moment

I have decided to exclude the more contemporary work of the Inside the Outside collective, to narrow down my focus, however this means that I can use these inspirations in my BOW work.

From this I have organised my research notes and made links. I now have enough research to begin writing my literature review and have narrowed down the focus of my proposed dissertation yet have still to completely define my question foor enquiry/title. This is where I am currently on key issues and debates:

  • The tension between effect (social/cultural) and affect (emotional/personal responses) in landscape photography
  • Mirrors (reflection of the artist/expression) and windows (knowing the world better/reality).

I recapped on my research on White and Blakemore to define my premise and form a title with a question and read dissertation advice especially on defining titles.

To form my tentative dissertation title, I then created a mind map to help brainstorm ideas and keywords and make related ideas, focus on the Key issues and debates and to find the main questions I intend to talk to.

Mind map:

The tentative title that I will work to at this stage is:

Does the camera have a good capacity to express an artist’s own thoughts, and emotional response to the landscape; Discuss with reference to the work of Minor White and John Blakemore.

My primary visual methodology is semiology, supplemented by compositional analylsis; I have yet to decide whether to also use Rose’s discourse analysis 1, more research is required.

25.4.22

Advice that I’ll use:

My Tutor:

  • Paragraph on each piece of major literature and how it links to my premise/title:
  • Relate the sources to each other and connect to make a theoretical framework

Ariadne at L3 study session:

I asked: How do I stop researching and write my literature review?

A: The literature review is the framework to form my argument – to form the context. In order to avoid self plagiarism need to reformulate later.

  • Ask what do I really need for this?
  • What would I need to include if explaining to someone else
  • Keep to the essentials – it is important to analysis to the full potential
  • Analyse the most important blocks I need – 4-5 sources only
  • That the writers should be significant theorists that argue about the photographers work I Other advice:
  • am using in CS, or my central arguments.

Other advice:

  • methodology: approach how I intend to go about my work
  • Objects of enquiry are elements I’ll examine to answer these question (texts, artists)
  • Content and conclusion of author
  • Relevance of text to my rationale
  • Critically compare approaches and conclusions of others, their consent and disagreement, how their work was received by critics
  • Indicate what I plan to explore further
  • How this relates to my BOW – reasons for choosing
  • Set my subject in the broad historical/social context with parameters

30.4.22

I need to stop researching now and write my literature review. I have determined my Core premise or theme and the main questions I want to address as well as the key points/theorists that I want to review in my contextual literature

One point I am unclear on is whether I include in the literature review commentary on the work of White and Blakemore whose landscape work I will use to contextualise the debate I the eventual dissertation.

22.5.22

The literature review and the dissertation proposal are now finished and just have to update my blog before posting to my tutor.

I only gave the briefest mention of Minor White and John Blakemore and commentators on their work in my Literature review, but have included them in my dissertation proposal. I hope that this was the right approach.

Next post: https://nkssite6.photo.blog/2022/06/05/contextual-studies-relevant-notes-from-study-meetings-and-hangouts/

REFLECTIVE JOURNAL: PERSONAL REFLECTIONS

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21.11.21

Finally I am moving forwards. I feel like I have been studying various parts of a whole, but couldn’t see the bigger picture. I have been reading, and reading and thinking….

Having submitted BOW assignment 1, I am now working  on CS assignment 1. I have been over my notes and reread parts of Rose’s Visual methodologies as I know understand how I can apply this.

I have decided that I will use compositional analysis combined with semiology to analyse images for my essay. Having reread my coursework and can now see that of the concepts from part 1, I am likely to be researching poststructuralism and the language of photography, but combining this with research on photography and reality. I can see that I am reflecting back to earlier interests on different ways of seeing and responding to visual materials, provoked in both my Landscape and Documentary courses.  

There is much more to read and re read, however I think that now is the time to write my assignment 1 C&S essay, understanding that I am only at the beginning of this journey and that I will be able to expand my research further soon.

REFLECTIVE JOURNAL: EXHIBITION

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HELEN SEAR EXHIBITION WITHIN SIGHT Bristol 23.10.21

This was part of a shared exhibition with 2 distinct series with Robert Darch called Turn to Return. I was interested inDarch’s exhibition The Island, as he made the landscape images as a response to Britain’s vote to leave the European union; interested in that he has used landscape to represent his feelings about a tangible other subject – just as I am contemplating doing in my BOW.

Helen Sear’s series of black and white photographs were made in December 2019 whilst she repeatedly walked a mountain route, Sear says “the photos explore imitation and contagion as forms of magic through repetition and contact…they reveal a path whilst simultaneously denying a view” (Sear, 2021).

I understand from her exhibition notes that the visual denseness of the trees and the contours of the boulders should lead us on and off of the path, and cause us to ask what lies behind them, however without this narrative I would struggle to find meaning in them. Though in relation to myself intending to use landscape as metaphor it reinforces that an artist’s intention may not be taken on by the viewer.

Reference:

Sear, H (2021) Exhibition notes. Within Sight, Bristol. Centre Space Gallery.

Next post: https://nkssite6.photo.blog/category/reflective-journal/exhibition/stephen-gill-23-10-21/

REFLECTIVE JOURNAL: PERSONAL REFLECTIONS

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BOW Introductory meeting Tutor 25.8.21

We discussed my initial ideas for my BOW and how this might translate into my 1st assignment. My Tutor described the work on the course as being “egg timer” shaped; beginning with broad strands, deciding what to focus on in a broad way and then expanding out again with detail.

Particular routes I might go down initially are psycho-geography, metaphor and journeys.

I asked what her expectations are for the delivery of assignment 1. She suggested that I shoot loads, possibly just with an I-phone, then develop 20-30 images on my camera.

My tutor suggested sharing my work with her via a padlet (using “Canvas” as a blank space, and a mid-grey background). There I can put an assortment of experimental shots and show my concept germinating – possibly 2 or 3 perspectives on a concept. 

She also suggesting looking at some other level 3 work, such as Judith Bach, who I know.