Creative Practice Research
This unit is concerned with the interrogation of ideas,
experimentation, exploration and evaluation related to
the students defined territory of interest, as described in
the Learning Agreement.
40 CREDITS AT LEVEL: 6
TOTAL AMOUNT OF STUDENT LEARNING (NOTIONAL HOURS OF LEARNING) 400 hours
UNIT LEARNING OUTCOMES
On successful completion of this unit students will be
able to have attained or demonstrated that they:
• Have, through practice and study, developed a
generative working method, through which, they can
experiment, explore, exploit, evaluate and monitor
ideas, processes and technologies.
• Have understood the importance of a research
based approach in developing original creative ideas.
• Developed a conceptual / practice based vocabulary,
enabling them to produce original work.
• Show a high level of creative independence and
developed transferable skills.
LEARNING & TEACHING ACTIVITIES
Self directed study, supported by individual and group
tutorials, group crits, presentations, regular staff led
meetings, and visiting speakers. Students are
encouraged to capitalise on the unexpected problems
and discoveries as a means of identifying potential
opportunities for further development in the Creative
Practice Resolution Unit.
ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
• Evidence of learning, demonstrated through an
appropriate body of work as defined by the
curriculum outline.
• The work, reflecting the level of interrogation and
exploration and a fluency of approach towards the
development of original creative ideas.
• Evidence, that individual attitudes have been well
informed through a developed sense of curiosity and
on-going realisation that research, (experimental and
academic) is a fundamental part of the creative
process.
Creative Practice Resolution
This unit is concerned with the further development of student’s ideas, based on the Learning Agreement. Students, build on the discoveries made in the CP Research unit. Students, through a high level of creative practice, take their ideas towards a sense of resolution.
CREDIT VALUE 40 CREDITS AT LEVEL: 6
TOTAL AMOUNT OF STUDENT LEARNING (NOTIONAL HOURS OF LEARNING) 400 hours
Self directed study, supported by individual and group tutorials, group crits, presentations, regular staff led meetings, and visiting speakers provide learning for this unit’s 400 hours in total. A large percentage of this unit will be based on individual student preference, (as described on the Learning Agreement),
UNIT LEARNING OUTCOMES On successful completion of this unit students will be able to have attained or demonstrated that they:
• Have exploited and extended their capability for creative practice within a given or self initiated context.
• Have located their practice within a personally defined cultural territory.
• Have thoroughly exploited, through a developed working method: materials, technologies, processes and concepts, in the forming of their ideas.
• Have exploited and critically evaluated possibilities in resolving the formation of their work.
ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
• Evidence of learning, demonstrated through an appropriate body of work as defined by the curriculum outline.
• The work, reflecting the level of interrogation and exploration and a fluency of approach towards the development of original creative ideas.
• Evidence, that individual attitudes have been well informed through a developed sense of curiosity and an on-going realisation that ‘development’ is a fundamental part of the creative process.
Saturday, 28 May 2011
Wednesday, 25 May 2011
Jean Kilbourne
Jean Kilbourne is a feminist author, speaker and filmmaker who is known for her work on the image of women in advertising. Her work links the power of images in the media with current public health problems, such as eating disorders, violence, drug and alcohol addiction. Through her lectures, films and articles, many of her original ideas and concepts have become mainstream. Jean Kilbourne has been campaigning her issues for over 20 years, her most recent is 'Killing Us Softly 4: Advertising's Image of Women' released April 2010. The transcript for this is below.
Sometimes people say to me, “You’ve been talking about this for 40 years, have things gotten any better?” And actually I have to say really they’ve gotten worse. Ads sell more than products. They sell values, they sell images, they sell concepts of love and sexuality, of success and perhaps most important – normalcy. To a great extent they tell us who we are and who we should be.
Well what does advertising tell us about women? It tells us, as it always has, that’s what’s most important is how we look. So the first thing the advertisers do is surround us with images of ideal female beauty. Women learn from a very early age that we must spend enormous amounts of time, energy and above all money, striving to achieve this look and feeling ashamed and guilty when we fail. And failure is inevitable because the ideal is based on absolute flawlessness. She never has any lines or wrinkles, she certainly has no scars or blemishes, indeed she has no pores. And the most important aspect of this flawlessness is that it can not be achieved, no one looks like this including her; and this is the truth, no one looks like this. The supermodel Cindy Crawford once said, “I wish I looked like Cindy Crawford.” She doesn’t, she couldn’t, because this is a look that’s been created for years through airbrushing and cosmetics but these days it’s done through the magic of computer retouching. Keira Knightley is given a bigger bust; Jessica Alba is made smaller; Kelly Clarkson… well isn’t this interesting it says, “Slim down your way” but she in fact slimmed down the Photoshop way. You almost never see a photograph of a woman considered beautiful that hasn’t been Photoshopped.
We all grow up in a culture in which women’s bodies are constantly turned into things and objects, here’s she’s become the bottle of Michelob. In this ad she becomes part of a video game. And this is everywhere, in all kinds of advertising. Women’s bodies are turned into things and objects. Now of course this affects female self esteem. It also does something even more insidious – it creates a climate of widespread violence against women. I’m not at all saying that an ad like this directly causes violence, it’s not that simple but turning a human being in to a thing is almost always the first step towards justifying violence against that person. We see this with racism, we see it with homophobia, we see it with terrorism. It’s always the same process. The person is dehumanised and violence becomes inevitable. And that step is already and constantly taken against women.
Women’s bodies are dismembered in ads, hacked apart – just one part of the body is focused upon, which of course is the most dehumanising thing you could do to someone. Everywhere we look, women’s bodies have been turned into things and often just parts of things. And girls are getting the message these days just so young, that they need to be impossibly beautiful. Hot, sexy, extremely thin – they also get the message that they’re going to fail, there’s no way they’re going to really achieve it. Girls tend to feel fine about themselves when they’re 8, 9, 10 years old but they hit adolescence and they hit the wall and certainly a part of this wall is this terrible emphasis on physical perfection. So no wonder we have an epidemic of eating disorders in our country and increasingly throughout the world.
I’ve been talking about this for a very long time and I keep thinking that the models can’t get any thinner but they do. They get thinner and thinner and thinner. This is Ana Carolina Reston who died a year ago of anorexia weighing 88 pounds and at the time she was still modelling. So the models literally can not get any thinner so Photoshop is brought to the rescue. There are exceptions however – Kate Winslet has been outspoken about her refusal to allow Hollywood to dictate her weight. When British GQ magazine this photograph of Winslet which was digitally enhanced to make her look dramatically thinner, she issued a statement that the alterations were made without her consent and she said, “I don’t look like that and more importantly I don’t desire to look like that. I can tell you that they’ve reduced the size of my legs by about a third.” Bless her heart.
So, what can we do about all of this? Well the first step is to become aware, to pay attention, and to recognise that this affects all of us. These are public health problems that I’m talking about. The obsession with thinness is a public health problem, the tyranny of the ideal image of beauty, violence against women. These are all public health problems that affect us all and public health problems can only be solved by changing the environment.
Sometimes people say to me, “You’ve been talking about this for 40 years, have things gotten any better?” And actually I have to say really they’ve gotten worse. Ads sell more than products. They sell values, they sell images, they sell concepts of love and sexuality, of success and perhaps most important – normalcy. To a great extent they tell us who we are and who we should be.
Well what does advertising tell us about women? It tells us, as it always has, that’s what’s most important is how we look. So the first thing the advertisers do is surround us with images of ideal female beauty. Women learn from a very early age that we must spend enormous amounts of time, energy and above all money, striving to achieve this look and feeling ashamed and guilty when we fail. And failure is inevitable because the ideal is based on absolute flawlessness. She never has any lines or wrinkles, she certainly has no scars or blemishes, indeed she has no pores. And the most important aspect of this flawlessness is that it can not be achieved, no one looks like this including her; and this is the truth, no one looks like this. The supermodel Cindy Crawford once said, “I wish I looked like Cindy Crawford.” She doesn’t, she couldn’t, because this is a look that’s been created for years through airbrushing and cosmetics but these days it’s done through the magic of computer retouching. Keira Knightley is given a bigger bust; Jessica Alba is made smaller; Kelly Clarkson… well isn’t this interesting it says, “Slim down your way” but she in fact slimmed down the Photoshop way. You almost never see a photograph of a woman considered beautiful that hasn’t been Photoshopped.
We all grow up in a culture in which women’s bodies are constantly turned into things and objects, here’s she’s become the bottle of Michelob. In this ad she becomes part of a video game. And this is everywhere, in all kinds of advertising. Women’s bodies are turned into things and objects. Now of course this affects female self esteem. It also does something even more insidious – it creates a climate of widespread violence against women. I’m not at all saying that an ad like this directly causes violence, it’s not that simple but turning a human being in to a thing is almost always the first step towards justifying violence against that person. We see this with racism, we see it with homophobia, we see it with terrorism. It’s always the same process. The person is dehumanised and violence becomes inevitable. And that step is already and constantly taken against women.
Women’s bodies are dismembered in ads, hacked apart – just one part of the body is focused upon, which of course is the most dehumanising thing you could do to someone. Everywhere we look, women’s bodies have been turned into things and often just parts of things. And girls are getting the message these days just so young, that they need to be impossibly beautiful. Hot, sexy, extremely thin – they also get the message that they’re going to fail, there’s no way they’re going to really achieve it. Girls tend to feel fine about themselves when they’re 8, 9, 10 years old but they hit adolescence and they hit the wall and certainly a part of this wall is this terrible emphasis on physical perfection. So no wonder we have an epidemic of eating disorders in our country and increasingly throughout the world.
I’ve been talking about this for a very long time and I keep thinking that the models can’t get any thinner but they do. They get thinner and thinner and thinner. This is Ana Carolina Reston who died a year ago of anorexia weighing 88 pounds and at the time she was still modelling. So the models literally can not get any thinner so Photoshop is brought to the rescue. There are exceptions however – Kate Winslet has been outspoken about her refusal to allow Hollywood to dictate her weight. When British GQ magazine this photograph of Winslet which was digitally enhanced to make her look dramatically thinner, she issued a statement that the alterations were made without her consent and she said, “I don’t look like that and more importantly I don’t desire to look like that. I can tell you that they’ve reduced the size of my legs by about a third.” Bless her heart.
So, what can we do about all of this? Well the first step is to become aware, to pay attention, and to recognise that this affects all of us. These are public health problems that I’m talking about. The obsession with thinness is a public health problem, the tyranny of the ideal image of beauty, violence against women. These are all public health problems that affect us all and public health problems can only be solved by changing the environment.
Women in Advertising
A common theme running through my photographs of magazine adverts is of women. Examples of these:
I have been looking into women in adverts and how they are portrayed in the mass media. Beautiful, attractive women are found all over advertising. Advertising is notorious for promoting the 'beauty ideal', the exemplary female prototype. We are surrounded by the ideal female beauty.
Women strive to achieve this ultimate ideal of beauty we see all over the mass media, however this is inevitable. The ideal is based on absolute flawlessness. The models in the adverts never have any lines, wrinkles, scars, blemishes etc. Using computer software, the body and face of the model can be retouched, altering it to look perfect. This is creating women that actually do not exist.
A video I found highlights all these points, explaining what advertising tells us about women.
Killing Us Softly 3
Jean Kilbourne
2000
I have been looking into women in adverts and how they are portrayed in the mass media. Beautiful, attractive women are found all over advertising. Advertising is notorious for promoting the 'beauty ideal', the exemplary female prototype. We are surrounded by the ideal female beauty.
Women strive to achieve this ultimate ideal of beauty we see all over the mass media, however this is inevitable. The ideal is based on absolute flawlessness. The models in the adverts never have any lines, wrinkles, scars, blemishes etc. Using computer software, the body and face of the model can be retouched, altering it to look perfect. This is creating women that actually do not exist.
A video I found highlights all these points, explaining what advertising tells us about women.
Killing Us Softly 3
Jean Kilbourne
2000
Friday, 20 May 2011
The Cornerhouse
New Cartographies
I recently visited an exhibition at the Cornerhouse, 'New Cartographies'. It brings together ten contemporary artists from Algeria, France and the UK, exploring Africa's largest country and its complex relationship with Europe as it heads towards its fiftieth year of independence. Some of the works explore memories and traces of the colonial era and the struggle that led to Algerian independence. Others examine the nature of individual identity and memory, and their relationship to the family ties that persist or break as a result of migration, dislocation or disappearance.
John Perivolaris
North to North
2011
A multimedia installation explores the theme of travel and migration through a series of journeys of discovery, departure or return. Taking us from Manchester via London and France to Algeria, North to North is a month long journey by Perivolaris, incorporating images made during the trip, and postcards he sent and received as he probed colonial and post-colonial links between the three countries. His blog explains further, with more photographs, of the project:
http://thecardographer.wordpress.com/
Yves Jeanmougin
Algeriens, freres de sang: Jean Senac, lieux de memoire (2005) is a series of images taking us back to an earlier moment in Algeri'a independence. They retrace the life of the celebrated poet Jean Senac, who championed Algerian independence. Revisiting locations associated with the poet, Jeanmougin's work encourages reflection on the French presence in Algeria before independence.
Bruno Boudjelal
Algeria From East to West
2001-2003
Photographic series
In 'Algeria from East to West', Boudjelal depicts a journey across Algeria to his father's hometown as the civil war, which scarred the country in the 1990s, drew to a close. Born in France to Algerian parents, Boudjelal finds that his journey becomes an exploration of the intricate links between personal identity, national identity and cultural memory within Algeria's complex and violent post-colonial history.
Amina Menia
Chrysanthemum
2011
A site-specific photographic installation, Amina Menia invites reflection on the presence of the past within Algeria today by exploring the place of the dead and the different monuments erected to commemorate them. Her life-size reproductions of these symbolic, and political, monuments ask us to question the relationship between mourning, commemoration and everyday life.
I recently visited an exhibition at the Cornerhouse, 'New Cartographies'. It brings together ten contemporary artists from Algeria, France and the UK, exploring Africa's largest country and its complex relationship with Europe as it heads towards its fiftieth year of independence. Some of the works explore memories and traces of the colonial era and the struggle that led to Algerian independence. Others examine the nature of individual identity and memory, and their relationship to the family ties that persist or break as a result of migration, dislocation or disappearance.
John Perivolaris
North to North
2011
A multimedia installation explores the theme of travel and migration through a series of journeys of discovery, departure or return. Taking us from Manchester via London and France to Algeria, North to North is a month long journey by Perivolaris, incorporating images made during the trip, and postcards he sent and received as he probed colonial and post-colonial links between the three countries. His blog explains further, with more photographs, of the project:
http://thecardographer.wordpress.com/
Yves Jeanmougin
Algeriens, freres de sang: Jean Senac, lieux de memoire (2005) is a series of images taking us back to an earlier moment in Algeri'a independence. They retrace the life of the celebrated poet Jean Senac, who championed Algerian independence. Revisiting locations associated with the poet, Jeanmougin's work encourages reflection on the French presence in Algeria before independence.
Bruno Boudjelal
Algeria From East to West
2001-2003
Photographic series
In 'Algeria from East to West', Boudjelal depicts a journey across Algeria to his father's hometown as the civil war, which scarred the country in the 1990s, drew to a close. Born in France to Algerian parents, Boudjelal finds that his journey becomes an exploration of the intricate links between personal identity, national identity and cultural memory within Algeria's complex and violent post-colonial history.
Amina Menia
Chrysanthemum
2011
A site-specific photographic installation, Amina Menia invites reflection on the presence of the past within Algeria today by exploring the place of the dead and the different monuments erected to commemorate them. Her life-size reproductions of these symbolic, and political, monuments ask us to question the relationship between mourning, commemoration and everyday life.
Wednesday, 18 May 2011
Liquid Emulsion Experiments
These are images of more liquid emulsion photographs I have been experimenting with. However, they did not work as well due to the paper I used being very thin, therefore the photograph did not take to it as good. Another reason why it did not work as well was that when I put the paper in the solutions, because it was thin it was very fragile and sometimes ripped. To hopefully correct this I shall be using card in future experiments.
Tuesday, 17 May 2011
Robert Heinecken
After visiting an exhibition, cameraless photography (blog entry 18th March), at the Victoria and Albert museum I came across the artist Heinecken. His work is similar to mine because he used existing images to create his own, manipulating them. Heinecken used the same technique as I do, placing magazine pages on a light table. The images on both sides of the sheet visually merge in unexpected ways.
Sometimes the resulting montages, although not planned by the layouts' designers, are pictorially and conceptually stimulating. In Heinecken's work, "Are you Rea" the text of a cigarette advert saying "More than a million people like what Lark does" was overlaid on an iconic, Christlike figure draped with beads and of indeterminate sex. In another, a monstrously deformed portrait emerged from the fusion of a patterned dress over a grinning face adjacent to the text "Lynda Bird Johnson's Hollywood Beauty Treatment."
Robert Heinecken Study #20, 1970
Black and white photogram of magazine page
Inspired by Heinecken's work, I experimented developing my photographs of magazine pages in black and white. As I have always developed my photographs from this project in colour, it was interesting to see the images in black and white.
Sometimes the resulting montages, although not planned by the layouts' designers, are pictorially and conceptually stimulating. In Heinecken's work, "Are you Rea" the text of a cigarette advert saying "More than a million people like what Lark does" was overlaid on an iconic, Christlike figure draped with beads and of indeterminate sex. In another, a monstrously deformed portrait emerged from the fusion of a patterned dress over a grinning face adjacent to the text "Lynda Bird Johnson's Hollywood Beauty Treatment."
Robert Heinecken Study #20, 1970
Black and white photogram of magazine page
Inspired by Heinecken's work, I experimented developing my photographs of magazine pages in black and white. As I have always developed my photographs from this project in colour, it was interesting to see the images in black and white.
Monday, 16 May 2011
Framing and Mounting Induction
I have decided to frame my photographs for the degree show. I have chosen this because I think the presentation of the photographs will look neater framed rather than just hanging them on the wall. It will also give the photographs a more finished look.
The photographs are very colourful and vibrant therefore I think having a thin black frame will keep the image contained and highlight the juxtaposition of the translucent images. I want the photographs to look professional. Using a frame can give the image depth therefore the perception to viewers that they are looking at something that is more than two dimensions.
The mat is useful for two reasons, firstly it separates the picture from the glass therefore it will not stick to the glass. Secondly it provides an aesthetic purpose providing space around the image. I want to mat my photographs because as I am using images from magazines which are mass produced all over the world, I feel the mounting will make them look unique and original.
I had an induction on how to cut the mounting board and how to make the frames for my photographs at the university. This video is also useful on how to do it:
http://www.photoanswers.co.uk/Video-Tutorials/Search-Results/Camera-Techniques/Create-perfectly-mounted-prints-at-home/
Unfortunately, the university do not do mounting board as large as I need it, 28x32inches. Therefore I have been advised that Bankley Gallery in Fallowfield stock mounting board.
The photographs are very colourful and vibrant therefore I think having a thin black frame will keep the image contained and highlight the juxtaposition of the translucent images. I want the photographs to look professional. Using a frame can give the image depth therefore the perception to viewers that they are looking at something that is more than two dimensions.
The mat is useful for two reasons, firstly it separates the picture from the glass therefore it will not stick to the glass. Secondly it provides an aesthetic purpose providing space around the image. I want to mat my photographs because as I am using images from magazines which are mass produced all over the world, I feel the mounting will make them look unique and original.
I had an induction on how to cut the mounting board and how to make the frames for my photographs at the university. This video is also useful on how to do it:
http://www.photoanswers.co.uk/Video-Tutorials/Search-Results/Camera-Techniques/Create-perfectly-mounted-prints-at-home/
Unfortunately, the university do not do mounting board as large as I need it, 28x32inches. Therefore I have been advised that Bankley Gallery in Fallowfield stock mounting board.
Degree Show Preparation
This is a diagram of the dimensions of the photographs in frames that I will be displaying in the degree show. The diagram shows the length and width of the frames, the mounting and the length of the spaces between each frame. I want to display four photographs. Each photograph is 20x24 inches. The dimensions may vary slightly once I have made the frames, but not a great deal. The dimensions are shown here in inches.
Sunday, 15 May 2011
Degree Show Preparation
At the New Cartographies exhibition at the Cornerhouse I also looked at the way the photographs were displayed so I could gather some ways to display my photographs in my degree show. Here are a variety of different ways the photographs were exhibited:
Amina Menia, 'Chrysanthemum' is a site specific photographic installation. Menia has printed out life size images of monuments and backed them on to hard board. A piece of wood is supporting the hard board behind so it is self standing. This is not really an option for my work because I feel they would look better on the wall and do not need to be free standing.
This white frame works well with the white image. However, I think that using a white frame for my photographs will look slightly cheap and ruin the images.
Omar D, 'Sahara' is a photographic print mounted on aluminium behind perspex. I think this looks effective, I like how the photograph is not directly on the wall, giving the photograph a shadow which adds to the effect of the alluring emptiness of the desert landscape.
I have researched into the different prices of aluminium as this could be an option for my photographs in the degree show. For one sheet of aluminium, sized 28x32 inches, the price is around £45. This would be an expensive option as for four sheets that would be £180.
Websites for aluminium sheets:
http://www.ukaluminium.co.uk/
http://www.aluminiumwarehouse.co.uk/Aluminium/c120/index.html
http://metaloffcuts.co.uk/
This photograph has been framed with a larger width frame size. I like this frame because it is bold and stands out however, it can take attention away from the image.
These photographs have been framed using two thick plastic sheets with the photo in the middle of them and the sheets put together. This works well for this size of photograph as it is small, however, for my images it would not work as well because they are a lot larger. I also feel that they would look better on the wall so they are at the eye level of the viewer. I found myself knelling slightly and looking down to view the photographs.
These photographs have been printed out on paper and then using drawing pins, have been pinned on to the wall. I do not like this method because I feel it looks messy and unprofessional. I think it works well for a research and ideas wall, however, for my degree show I want it to look neater and more polished.
I love the way the photographs have been displayed below. It works well for the context of the work as it is a selection of photographs taken over time therefore it has been displayed like a visual diary. The display looks very busy, there is a lot going on and a dynamic range of shades. However, I want to display my photographs a larger size than this so it would not work as well. Also, showing lots of images together takes the focus off each individual image.
c
Amina Menia, 'Chrysanthemum' is a site specific photographic installation. Menia has printed out life size images of monuments and backed them on to hard board. A piece of wood is supporting the hard board behind so it is self standing. This is not really an option for my work because I feel they would look better on the wall and do not need to be free standing.
This white frame works well with the white image. However, I think that using a white frame for my photographs will look slightly cheap and ruin the images.
Omar D, 'Sahara' is a photographic print mounted on aluminium behind perspex. I think this looks effective, I like how the photograph is not directly on the wall, giving the photograph a shadow which adds to the effect of the alluring emptiness of the desert landscape.
I have researched into the different prices of aluminium as this could be an option for my photographs in the degree show. For one sheet of aluminium, sized 28x32 inches, the price is around £45. This would be an expensive option as for four sheets that would be £180.
Websites for aluminium sheets:
http://www.ukaluminium.co.uk/
http://www.aluminiumwarehouse.co.uk/Aluminium/c120/index.html
http://metaloffcuts.co.uk/
This photograph has been framed with a larger width frame size. I like this frame because it is bold and stands out however, it can take attention away from the image.
These photographs have been framed using two thick plastic sheets with the photo in the middle of them and the sheets put together. This works well for this size of photograph as it is small, however, for my images it would not work as well because they are a lot larger. I also feel that they would look better on the wall so they are at the eye level of the viewer. I found myself knelling slightly and looking down to view the photographs.
These photographs have been printed out on paper and then using drawing pins, have been pinned on to the wall. I do not like this method because I feel it looks messy and unprofessional. I think it works well for a research and ideas wall, however, for my degree show I want it to look neater and more polished.
I love the way the photographs have been displayed below. It works well for the context of the work as it is a selection of photographs taken over time therefore it has been displayed like a visual diary. The display looks very busy, there is a lot going on and a dynamic range of shades. However, I want to display my photographs a larger size than this so it would not work as well. Also, showing lots of images together takes the focus off each individual image.
c
Saturday, 14 May 2011
Degree Show Preparation
For the degree show I need to decide how I would like to display my work. I have been reading a book by Shirley Reed, 'Exhibiting Photography: A practical guide to choosing a space, displaying your work and everything in between.' This has been helpful on different ways to exhibit my photographs.
Choosing a presentation method can depend on a number of things, for example, what is most appropriate to the work, image size, cost, protecting the image from damage and conservation of the print.
There are also other decisions that need to be made, whether the work needs a border or not, whether it needs a frame or not, whether to protect the image by sealing it or putting it behind glass or whether to spray or dry mount the image.
I also need to think about whether I would like to display text with my photographs and what I want the text to say. The texts for an exhibition could include my artists statement, title of the work or a caption explaining the work. Basic guidelines for writing text for an exhibition are:
Keep the text short. Too much text will distract the viewer from the artwork.
Keep text as straightforward and jargonfree as possible.
Make sure that basic and essential information is covered e.g. dates and names
Do not try to influence the reading of the work, critique it, interpret it or describe what is in the images. All these things can get between the viewer and their experience of the work.
I will be visiting some exhibitions this week to focus on the way the work is displayed and presented. Also I shall be reading the texts, if there is any, of the work and seeing which I think works best. I will be thinking about these questions; Do I read the text first or last? Do I feel I am not able to look at the work until I have read the accompanying texts? How different would the exhibition experience be if there were no texts provided?
Choosing a presentation method can depend on a number of things, for example, what is most appropriate to the work, image size, cost, protecting the image from damage and conservation of the print.
There are also other decisions that need to be made, whether the work needs a border or not, whether it needs a frame or not, whether to protect the image by sealing it or putting it behind glass or whether to spray or dry mount the image.
I also need to think about whether I would like to display text with my photographs and what I want the text to say. The texts for an exhibition could include my artists statement, title of the work or a caption explaining the work. Basic guidelines for writing text for an exhibition are:
Keep the text short. Too much text will distract the viewer from the artwork.
Keep text as straightforward and jargonfree as possible.
Make sure that basic and essential information is covered e.g. dates and names
Do not try to influence the reading of the work, critique it, interpret it or describe what is in the images. All these things can get between the viewer and their experience of the work.
I will be visiting some exhibitions this week to focus on the way the work is displayed and presented. Also I shall be reading the texts, if there is any, of the work and seeing which I think works best. I will be thinking about these questions; Do I read the text first or last? Do I feel I am not able to look at the work until I have read the accompanying texts? How different would the exhibition experience be if there were no texts provided?
Friday, 13 May 2011
Hannah Hoch
The image by Hannah Hoch represents the Dada's attitude towards the war; that it is chaos. The piece is a critique of Weimar Germany in 1919. It combines images from newspapers of the time re-created to make a new statement about life and art in the Dada movement.
Dada was an anti-war movement in Europe and New York from 1915 to 1923. It was an artistic revolt and protest against traditional beliefs of a pro-war society, and also thought against sexism and racism. The word 'dada' was picked out at random from a dictionary, and is actually the French word for 'hobbyhorse'.
Hannah Hoch created many photo montages, taking photographs from magazines she juxtaposed the modern German woman with the colonial German woman. She challenged cultural representations of women, raising questions regarding women's sexuality as well as their gender role in the new society. Her images create an unsettling view as she addresses the fears, and hopes for the new possibilities of the modern German women.
Hannah Hoch
Cut With the Kitchen Knife Through the First Epoch of the Weimar Beer-Belly Culture
1919
Beautiful Girl 1920
"The Beautiful Girl" clad in a modern bathing suite, with a light bulb for her head, seated on a steel girder, surrounded by various images of industrialization. For example, BMW insignias, tires, gears and cogs and watches. In the right hand corner a black boxer appears stepping through the tire representing automation. In the back ground a silhouette of a woman's head with cats eyes stares at the audience.
Being modern meant speed, consumerism, urbanization and technology, these changes promoted hope for the women. Yet amongst the hope came fear as seen in the watchful cat eyed woman who lurks behind the scenes staring out at the audience. In this juxtapositioning of images Hoch reflects upon a certain optimism for technology and its relationship to the modern woman.
Grotesque 1963
Dada was an anti-war movement in Europe and New York from 1915 to 1923. It was an artistic revolt and protest against traditional beliefs of a pro-war society, and also thought against sexism and racism. The word 'dada' was picked out at random from a dictionary, and is actually the French word for 'hobbyhorse'.
Hannah Hoch created many photo montages, taking photographs from magazines she juxtaposed the modern German woman with the colonial German woman. She challenged cultural representations of women, raising questions regarding women's sexuality as well as their gender role in the new society. Her images create an unsettling view as she addresses the fears, and hopes for the new possibilities of the modern German women.
Hannah Hoch
Cut With the Kitchen Knife Through the First Epoch of the Weimar Beer-Belly Culture
1919
Beautiful Girl 1920
"The Beautiful Girl" clad in a modern bathing suite, with a light bulb for her head, seated on a steel girder, surrounded by various images of industrialization. For example, BMW insignias, tires, gears and cogs and watches. In the right hand corner a black boxer appears stepping through the tire representing automation. In the back ground a silhouette of a woman's head with cats eyes stares at the audience.
Being modern meant speed, consumerism, urbanization and technology, these changes promoted hope for the women. Yet amongst the hope came fear as seen in the watchful cat eyed woman who lurks behind the scenes staring out at the audience. In this juxtapositioning of images Hoch reflects upon a certain optimism for technology and its relationship to the modern woman.
Grotesque 1963
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