Tag: Part Four

Writing an evaluation for Body of Work

georginie

Part Four – Presentation and Outcome 

Writing an evaluation for Body of Work  

I have filled these questions in, I will amend it and finalise it for my final submission.

Good questions to ask yourself when writing the introduction could be (from previous section): 

  • What was the starting point for This Work And where has it ended of?
    • I started my work by intending to follow a pilgrimage and using this as a back from of exploring inequality in landscape photography. I wanted images that were seen as wrong, to symbolise the discontent. So my work included blurry, over-exposed and under-exposed. My work has evolved to make a collage from each location. I have kept the basis which is exploring inequality in landscape photography, but also with references to the inequality in religion and in a global sense. 
  • What are the main areas of research?
    • I have conducted research into gender inequality and the inequality in landscape photography and how artists tackle this issue. I have also looked into Pilgrimages. I have tried to find artists who have followed a journey or pilgrimage, but also those who are looking into psychogeography. To aid in my decision about my techniques, I looked into artists who use collage. I looked into how artist use text and how they sequencing their images.  
  • What does it explore?
    • It explores gender inequality. Not just in the landscape photography sense, but in a global and religious sense. I followed this pilgrimage which was designated and followed by men, in order to complete my own journey as a woman following in their footsteps. Something which would have been frowned upon in their time.  
  • What does it ask the viewer to bring? (Don’t tell them, just ask them)
    • I hope the viewer can bring their own experience or thoughts of gender inequality and religion. I would like my images to get the viewers to think about the gender inequality, not only in this specific journey but also in a global sense. 
  • Who is my audience? 
    • I believe my images are suitable for everyone, as this is an issue that effects everybody. 
  • How is my specific practice situated within wider philosophical concerns?
    • My project looks at gender inequality in three areas, landscape photography, religion and across the world. It raises questions regarding patriarchy and inequality. I am following a man’s journey, but this is my journey. 
  • Was the technique of particular importance to the outcome?  
    • I want to use images that weren’t perfect. So as to distance my work from the ‘perfect’ landscape images you see, as I hope this shows that there is something wrong, something is not perfect. You can still make the images out but they do not possess the clarity. Hinting at the state of the world with gender equality, everything may seem ok on the surface but it truly isn’t. My technique of following a pilgrimage designed for men is an important aspect as I am following it as a women, something that wouldn’t have been accepted back in the original pilgrims time. I am following in their footsteps, seeing the same landmarks, but experiencing it completely differently. When assembling my images, I decided to make a collage. This technique is associated with women, so I believe it is very apt for my work. I have been able to make a new image from the others I took. The different aspects come together to make a new meaningful image. This could be in contrast to how people change their reality to make out gender inequality doesn’t exist, mainly because it doesn’t effect them. I have created a new image, symbolising the inequality not only in landscape photography nor in religion, but in a global sense. 

Writing an evaluation for Body of Work

  • Where have you come from?  
    • My initial working idea was to explore gender inequality in landscape photography. I really didn’t know how I was going to do it. But I did want to explore this topic, as I found it is something people either don’t realise or don’t talk about.  
  • What have you learned?  
    • I have learnt that various techniques of art throughout history have been associated with women, these have been valuable to my methodology. 
  • What mistakes did you make?  
    • I think my mistake I made early on was not to progress my ideas fully. I was stuck at just compiling the images, and not pushing my ideas. 
  • What were the low points? High points? 
    • My low points were when I had issues arise in my personal life, it just halted my progress And changed my state of mind; I just didn’t know what to do, but I was determined to carry on. My high point was actually making the collages. It was fun and engaging. I loved the fact that I was actually creating something with my own hands. I really grew to love this technique. 
  • Who influenced you?  
    • The amount of artists who influenced me are numerous as I was researching several different topics and techniques. Catherine Opie influenced how I photographed my locations. Several male landscape photographers have helped me see how they see the world. Mary Beth Edelson used religion to address gender inequality in the arts, her work has been influential. These are to name a few. 
  • How are you critically positioned within photography as a result of your work on this course? 
  • How might what you’ve produced impact on your future projects?
    • I think this work has influenced me, and I think it has made me think of other challenges, other areas people don’t talk about but are obviously there. In essence, I liked the challenge of challenging issues. This is something I would like to try in the future.
  • Have you found a personal voice that you’d like to develop?  
    • I like the fact the I am looking at issues and bringing them to light and addressing them. I also like the collage technique. I like the effect it produces and I like using this technique. I would definitely use this technique in the future. I like addressing issues and exploring using this technique.  
  • If not, what have you learned about your personal voice And how will you go about discovering it from here on?  
  • How did your technical decisions impact on or impair the final outcome?  
    • I think my technique has enhanced the final outcome. By using collage, I have been able to create a new image. I also took images that were not perfect. They were out of focus, over-exposed and under-exposed. I did this as I wanted to show the uneven ground in landscape photography and symbolise the different views and discontent. I like this effect as it can get the viewer to think. They can question why these images are not perfect, hopefully they can see something is wrong, it is not a perfect world view.  
  • Were you true to your artistic intentions?
    • I would say yes. 
  • What did you learn from the editing process?
    • I ended up taking hundreds of images at each location. I obviously had to be brutal in the editing process. I went through the images quickly initially and took out the ones that I didn’t think would fit. At this point I still had quite a few pictures. I tried to get a feel for the location, and think of an idea for how I would arrange the collage. I then cut out the other images. It was a long process but I felt more connected to the final images I have chosen. 
  • What are the main lessons you Will take away as a result of this course?
    • I will take away the fact that there are issues in the world and art can be a useful tool to bring them to the light and to address them. I have also learn to experiment more, as I found this has gotten me closer to the my work.  
  • How would you like your audience to experience your body of work? 
    • I would like people to see my image and really think. Think why have I followed a pilgrimage that was designed for men. Why as a women, photographing in the landscape genre is this a rarity. Why aren’t the images perfect? What new image does the collage make? Why does these images show oppressive and restricted tendencies? Most importantly, how does the images make the viewer feel? Are they aware of gender inequality and how deeply it is rooted? Do they care?  
  • Do you have any ideas for venues or production formats?  
    • I have been thinking about venues for my work. In keeping with the religious theme, an exhibition at a local church might be apt. The only issue is as I am addressing inequality in religion, they may not be happy with it in their church. The same could be said for the last stop on the pilgrimage, St. David’s Cathedral. Maybe a local gallery would be suitable or possibly publishing it in a book.  
  • What do you need to do for this to happen?  
    • For an exhibition, I will need to contact possible venues to see if it would be possible to exhibit with them. For a book publication, I will need to decide on a format and what I will include. I will look into different publishers and self-publishing. I think self-publishing may be the best route. 
  • Do you need to make changes to your portfolio?
    • The total word count for your Evaluation should be 1,5000-2,000 words  

Writing Introductions

georginie

Part Four – Presentation and Outcome 

Writing Introductions

In this interview on WeAreOCA, Miranda Gavin discusses writing artist’s statements:

http://www.weareoca.com/photography/introducing-miranda/

In this video, Miranda Gavin briefly talks about artists statements. She believes that a statement may be complex but can be written clearly. She believes some are full of nonsense and don’t make sense. She believes it is important to look at your audience in order to gauge the tone. You should also avoid using theoretical names unless there is a direct link to your work, you need to understand the link. The artwork and the artists statement should link and work together. 

Gavin explains how the artist statements help her. When looking at someones work, she looks at the images first, she gets a feeling for them and thinks about them. Then she looks at the artist statement. This allows any gaps to be explained, for example the artist statement might reveal something conceptually important to the work in order to grasp their process and meaning, you might not get this from the work without the explanation. This makes sense, as you can look at a set of images and not understand their meaning. You do need to know the thought process and the aim of the artist. What one person sees, another might not. Viewer interpretation, is just that, it is an interpretation, and everyones perceptions will be different. In essence, context is key.  

Bibliography

Gavin, M (2011) Introducing Miranda. At: https://www.oca.ac.uk/weareoca/photography/introducing-miranda/?cn-reloaded=/ (Accessed on 2nd of March 2020). 

Daniel Blight, a writer and curator who works in the educational department at The Photographers’ Gallery, has written this piece about ‘artspeak’ in the Guardian:  

www.theguardian.com/culture-professionals-network/culture-professionals-blog/2013/apr/15/writing-artist-statement-tips-languag

I have read through Daniel Blight’s article about artist statements, and I do agree with what he is saying. When I read an artists statement, I always find they are unnecessarily complicated, and a lot of the time they don’t make sense and don’t shed any light on their work. Blight sees a lot of them as “preposterously complex, jargon-laden statements” (Blight, 2013). This does seem the case the majority of the time. Blight also suggests this is the language of those who are privileged, in particular those educated in elite establishments. Many don’t understand it but it seems to go against the grain to say so, “this kind of rhetoric relies on everyone participating without question…to speak up would mean dissolving the space between inside and outside: quite literally, the growing boundary between the art world and the rest of society” (Blight, 2013). Some artists statements just seem overly complicated and unnecessary ‘wordy’. I get the impression that some do it to make out they are above everyone else, as their work is so special and unique, and if you cannot understand what they are saying, then there is something wrong with you. 

Blight then goes on to talk about where does this artspeak come from. It derives from French Philosophy, specifically when it was translated into English in the 1970s. It was then, that universities started using this dialect in their work. Blight also gives some tips when writing your own artists statement. The first being to think about who your audience is. Different audiences require different attitudes. You also need to look at what words you are using. The statement should flow and sentences should be short. 

Blight doesn’t like the effect that this dialect has; it stops the artwork reaching a wider audience. “Writing about your work should be an open and compelling activity, not a labyrinthine chore” (Blight, 2013).  

Bibliography

Blight, D (2013) Writing an artist statement? First ask yourself these four questions. At: https://www.theguardian.com/culture-professionals-network/culture-professionals-blog/2013/apr/15/writing-artist-statement-tips-language (Accessed on 2nd of March 2020).  

Presentation

georginie

Part Four – Presentation and Outcome

Presentation

Make some notes on possible venues for your work to be displayed. How could these enhance or heighten the viewed experience?

I have been thinking of places where I could display my work. As my work is following a local pilgrimage, a local venue would be perfect. I did think perhaps of exhibiting at one of the churches, as they often hold art or local events. I also thought about exhibiting where the pilgrimage ultimately ends, which is at St. David’s cathedral. The issue I can see is that as these are religious building, they may not like the gender inequality angle my images are looking at. So these locations may be off limits. But I think a local tally or hall would be great, especially in St. David’s itself. 

As far as presentation goes in a gallery, I was thinking of large prints displayed on clear walls. The other idea that came to me was using the original collages, so the viewer can really get the feeling and see the details in the process. Hopefully it would feel more ‘real’ and authentic instead of seeing a print of the collages. 

I believe exhibiting my work locally will heighten the viewers experience, as it will create a connection to our community. The images will show places that they know and possibly have visited before and it can get them thinking. Displaying in a small gallery will create a more intimate close feeling. So hopefully the viewers will not be overwhelmed. I think using the original collages will be better as it can show the work and authenticity. 

Final Decisions

georginie

Part Four – Presentation and Outcome 

Final Decisions 

It may be a helpful exercise to attend a major exhibition and a smaller one to note the presentation styles. Write a reflective commentary on your experiences of these exhibitions. How do they differ? How does the presentation suit the work? Does it enhance or detract from it? 

I have visited several galleries. The larger galleries tend to display large images. They also tend to be spaced out with lots of room to move around and appreciate the work. I get the feeling that the larger exhibitions are very commercialised and to me, you can see it and feel it when walking around. The smaller exhibition I went to, had a more homely feel. The images were smaller, but you could get closer and really appreciate the work. I did find that the artists in smaller ones were around and would talk to you, which was a great experience. Smaller exhibitions seem to me, to be more personal. I prefer the smaller exhibitions personally.

Part Four – Presentation and Outcome

georginie

Part Four – Presentation and Outcome 

Final Decisions 

It may be a helpful exercise to attend a major exhibition and a smaller one to note the presentation styles. Write a reflective commentary on your experiences of these exhibitions. How do they differ? How does the presentation suit the work? Does it enhance or detract from it? 

I have visited several galleries. The larger galleries tend to display large images. They also tend to be spaced out with lots of room to move around and appreciate the work. I get the feeling that the larger exhibitions are very commercialised and to me, you can see it and feel it when walking around. The smaller exhibition I went to, had a more homely feel. The images were smaller, but you could get closer and really appreciate the work. I did find that the artists in smaller ones were around and would talk to you, which was a great experience. Smaller exhibitions seem to me, to be more personal. I prefer the smaller exhibitions personally.

Presentation

Make some notes on possible venues for your work to be displayed. How could these enhance or heighten the viewed experience?

I have been thinking of places where I could display my work. As my work is following a local pilgrimage, a local venue would be perfect. I did think perhaps of exhibiting at one of the churches, as they often hold art or local events. I also thought about exhibiting where the pilgrimage ultimately ends, which is at St. David’s cathedral. The issue I can see is that as these are religious building, they may not like the gender inequality angle my images are looking at. So these locations may be off limits. But I think a local tally or hall would be great, especially in St. David’s itself. 

As far as presentation goes in a gallery, I was thinking of large prints displayed on clear walls. The other idea that came to me was using the original collages, so the viewer can really get the feeling and see the details in the process. Hopefully it would feel more ‘real’ and authentic instead of seeing a print of the collages. 

I believe exhibiting my work locally will heighten the viewers experience, as it will create a connection to our community. The images will show places that they know and possibly have visited before and it can get them thinking. Displaying in a small gallery will create a more intimate close feeling. So hopefully the viewers will not be overwhelmed. I think using the original collages will be better as it can show the work and authenticity. 

Writing Introductions

In this interview on WeAreOCA, Miranda Gavin discusses writing artist’s statements:

http://www.weareoca.com/photography/introducing-miranda/

In this video, Miranda Gavin briefly talks about artists statements. She believes that a statement may be complex but can be written clearly. She believes some are full of nonsense and don’t make sense. She believes it is important to look at your audience in order to gauge the tone. You should also avoid using theoretical names unless there is a direct link to your work, you need to understand the link. The artwork and the artists statement should link and work together. 

Gavin explains how the artist statements help her. When looking at someones work, she looks at the images first, she gets a feeling for them and thinks about them. Then she looks at the artist statement. This allows any gaps to be explained, for example the artist statement might reveal something conceptually important to the work in order to grasp their process and meaning, you might not get this from the work without the explanation. This makes sense, as you can look at a set of images and not understand their meaning. You do need to know the thought process and the aim of the artist. What one person sees, another might not. Viewer interpretation, is just that, it is an interpretation, and everyones perceptions will be different. In essence, context is key.  

Bibliography

Gavin, M (2011) Introducing Miranda. At: https://www.oca.ac.uk/weareoca/photography/introducing-miranda/?cn-reloaded=/(Accessed on 2nd of March 2020). 

Daniel Blight, a writer and curator who works in the educational department at The Photographers’ Gallery, has written this piece about ‘artspeak’ in the Guardian:  

www.theguardian.com/culture-professionals-network/culture-professionals-blog/2013/apr/15/writing-artist-statement-tips-languag

I have read through Daniel Blight’s article about artist statements, and I do agree with what he is saying. When I read an artists statement, I always find they are unnecessarily complicated, and a lot of the time they don’t make sense and don’t shed any light on their work. Blight sees a lot of them as “preposterously complex, jargon-laden statements” (Blight, 2013). This does seem the case the majority of the time. Blight also suggests this is the language of those who are privileged, in particular those educated in elite establishments. Many don’t understand it but it seems to go against the grain to say so, “this kind of rhetoric relies on everyone participating without question…to speak up would mean dissolving the space between inside and outside: quite literally, the growing boundary between the art world and the rest of society” (Blight, 2013). Some artists statements just seem overly complicated and unnecessary ‘wordy’. I get the impression that some do it to make out they are above everyone else, as their work is so special and unique, and if you cannot understand what they are saying, then there is something wrong with you. 

Blight then goes on to talk about where does this artspeak come from. It derives from French Philosophy, specifically when it was translated into English in the 1970s. It was then, that universities started using this dialect in their work. Blight also gives some tips when writing your own artists statement. The first being to think about who your audience is. Different audiences require different attitudes. You also need to look at what words you are using. The statement should flow and sentences should be short. 

Blight doesn’t like the effect that this dialect has; it stops the artwork reaching a wider audience. “Writing about your work should be an open and compelling activity, not a labyrinthine chore” (Blight, 2013).  

Bibliography

Blight, D (2013) Writing an artist statement? First ask yourself these four questions. At: https://www.theguardian.com/culture-professionals-network/culture-professionals-blog/2013/apr/15/writing-artist-statement-tips-language (Accessed on 2nd of March 2020).  

Writing an evaluation for Body of Work  

I have filled these questions in, I will amend it and finalise it for my final submission.

Good questions to ask yourself when writing the introduction could be (from previous section): 

  • What was the starting point for This Work And where has it ended of?
    • I started my work by intending to follow a pilgrimage and using this as a back from of exploring inequality in landscape photography. I wanted images that were seen as wrong, to symbolise the discontent. So my work included blurry, over-exposed and under-exposed. My work has evolved to make a collage from each location. I have kept the basis which is exploring inequality in landscape photography, but also with references to the inequality in religion and in a global sense. 
  • What are the main areas of research?
    • I have conducted research into gender inequality and the inequality in landscape photography and how artists tackle this issue. I have also looked into Pilgrimages. I have tried to find artists who have followed a journey or pilgrimage, but also those who are looking into psychogeography. To aid in my decision about my techniques, I looked into artists who use collage. I looked into how artist use text and how they sequencing their images.  
  • What does it explore?
    • It explores gender inequality. Not just in the landscape photography sense, but in a global and religious sense. I followed this pilgrimage which was designated and followed by men, in order to complete my own journey as a woman following in their footsteps. Something which would have been frowned upon in their time.  
  • What does it ask the viewer to bring? (Don’t tell them, just ask them)
    • I hope the viewer can bring their own experience or thoughts of gender inequality and religion. I would like my images to get the viewers to think about the gender inequality, not only in this specific journey but also in a global sense. 
  • Who is my audience? 
    • I believe my images are suitable for everyone, as this is an issue that effects everybody. 
  • How is my specific practice situated within wider philosophical concerns?
    • My project looks at gender inequality in three areas, landscape photography, religion and across the world. It raises questions regarding patriarchy and inequality. I am following a man’s journey, but this is my journey. 
  • Was the technique of particular importance to the outcome?  
    • I want to use images that weren’t perfect. So as to distance my work from the ‘perfect’ landscape images you see, as I hope this shows that there is something wrong, something is not perfect. You can still make the images out but they do not possess the clarity. Hinting at the state of the world with gender equality, everything may seem ok on the surface but it truly isn’t. My technique of following a pilgrimage designed for men is an important aspect as I am following it as a women, something that wouldn’t have been accepted back in the original pilgrims time. I am following in their footsteps, seeing the same landmarks, but experiencing it completely differently. When assembling my images, I decided to make a collage. This technique is associated with women, so I believe it is very apt for my work. I have been able to make a new image from the others I took. The different aspects come together to make a new meaningful image. This could be in contrast to how people change their reality to make out gender inequality doesn’t exist, mainly because it doesn’t effect them. I have created a new image, symbolising the inequality not only in landscape photography nor in religion, but in a global sense. 

Writing an evaluation for Body of Work

  • Where have you come from?  
    • My initial working idea was to explore gender inequality in landscape photography. I really didn’t know how I was going to do it. But I did want to explore this topic, as I found it is something people either don’t realise or don’t talk about.  
  • What have you learned?  
    • I have learnt that various techniques of art throughout history have been associated with women, these have been valuable to my methodology. 
  • What mistakes did you make?  
    • I think my mistake I made early on was not to progress my ideas fully. I was stuck at just compiling the images, and not pushing my ideas. 
  • What were the low points? High points? 
    • My low points were when I had issues arise in my personal life, it just halted my progress And changed my state of mind; I just didn’t know what to do, but I was determined to carry on. My high point was actually making the collages. It was fun and engaging. I loved the fact that I was actually creating something with my own hands. I really grew to love this technique. 
  • Who influenced you?  
    • The amount of artists who influenced me are numerous as I was researching several different topics and techniques. Catherine Opie influenced how I photographed my locations. Several male landscape photographers have helped me see how they see the world. Mary Beth Edelson used religion to address gender inequality in the arts, her work has been influential. These are to name a few. 
  • How are you critically positioned within photography as a result of your work on this course? 
  • How might what you’ve produced impact on your future projects?
    • I think this work has influenced me, and I think it has made me think of other challenges, other areas people don’t talk about but are obviously there. In essence, I liked the challenge of challenging issues. This is something I would like to try in the future.
  • Have you found a personal voice that you’d like to develop?  
    • I like the fact the I am looking at issues and bringing them to light and addressing them. I also like the collage technique. I like the effect it produces and I like using this technique. I would definitely use this technique in the future. I like addressing issues and exploring using this technique.  
  • If not, what have you learned about your personal voice And how will you go about discovering it from here on?  
  • How did your technical decisions impact on or impair the final outcome?  
    • I think my technique has enhanced the final outcome. By using collage, I have been able to create a new image. I also took images that were not perfect. They were out of focus, over-exposed and under-exposed. I did this as I wanted to show the uneven ground in landscape photography and symbolise the different views and discontent. I like this effect as it can get the viewer to think. They can question why these images are not perfect, hopefully they can see something is wrong, it is not a perfect world view.  
  • Were you true to your artistic intentions?
    • I would say yes. 
  • What did you learn from the editing process?
    • I ended up taking hundreds of images at each location. I obviously had to be brutal in the editing process. I went through the images quickly initially and took out the ones that I didn’t think would fit. At this point I still had quite a few pictures. I tried to get a feel for the location, and think of an idea for how I would arrange the collage. I then cut out the other images. It was a long process but I felt more connected to the final images I have chosen. 
  • What are the main lessons you Will take away as a result of this course?
    • I will take away the fact that there are issues in the world and art can be a useful tool to bring them to the light and to address them. I have also learn to experiment more, as I found this has gotten me closer to the my work.  
  • How would you like your audience to experience your body of work? 
    • I would like people to see my image and really think. Think why have I followed a pilgrimage that was designed for men. Why as a women, photographing in the landscape genre is this a rarity. Why aren’t the images perfect? What new image does the collage make? Why does these images show oppressive and restricted tendencies? Most importantly, how does the images make the viewer feel? Are they aware of gender inequality and how deeply it is rooted? Do they care?  
  • Do you have any ideas for venues or production formats?  
    • I have been thinking about venues for my work. In keeping with the religious theme, an exhibition at a local church might be apt. The only issue is as I am addressing inequality in religion, they may not be happy with it in their church. The same could be said for the last stop on the pilgrimage, St. David’s Cathedral. Maybe a local gallery would be suitable or possibly publishing it in a book.  
  • What do you need to do for this to happen?  
    • For an exhibition, I will need to contact possible venues to see if it would be possible to exhibit with them. For a book publication, I will need to decide on a format and what I will include. I will look into different publishers and self-publishing. I think self-publishing may be the best route. 
  • Do you need to make changes to your portfolio?
    • The total word count for your Evaluation should be 1,5000-2,000 words