FMP - Week 2

Just as I wanted, I got a lot more work done this week.

On Monday, I worked on a draft of my project proposal. I think that it is pretty solid so far, but it will most likely change and improve if I keep on writing it. The first section was about "A Review of Progress and Achievement Through Parts One and Two of the Course". for that, I wrote:

Parts one and two of the course has helped me in very great ways. Since beginning, I've been able to formulate plans for projects, I've been able to think about composition a lot more, and I've been able to experiment with different things that I've never even thought about doing (like photograms, and medium format). It has been quite tough for me though,with all of the deadlines, and sometimes cryptic project briefs. However, this is all teaching me how to use my time effectively in order to research, plan, and execute. I chose MIP because I've always loved photography. It's the art form that I've been happiest with, and have been most successful whilst pursuing. I think that it has influenced my proposal because the course has highlighted character traits in myself that I would want to fix (like procrastination), which is the theme of the project.

For section two, I had to write about the project concept. I had been planning this since I was working on the 'Memento' project, so I've had a pretty solid idea for a while now. I think as I go through drafts of the proposal however, there will be things I want to change, there might be someone else I want to research, or there could be a slight change to the idea if the original one was too ambitious. For section two, I wrote:

The project will be titled "Je ne Suis pas Humain", which translates from French to say "I am not Human". The title is inspired by the painting "Treachery of Images", where it depicts a pipe with the text "Ceci n'est pas une pipe", or "This is not a pipe". The first half is to do with character traits that I have, and combine them with colour portraits of myself. This series highlights people's twisted view of their own identity and their self worth. The photos will be taken in areas that I remember from my childhood, to represent the juxtaposition between who I was when I was a child, and the person I am now. The negative character traits will be roughly etched onto the film emulsion to show the harsh nature of them, and the film will be put through various chemicals (a process called "Film Souping") to deteriorate it, to further show the effect bad thoughts can have on you. The words will be in french, and preceded with "Je ne Suis pas..." to link it to "Treachery of Images", and to the project title. The "Film Souping" will be inspired by William Dauel and Matthew Brandt, two photographers that chemically deteriorates their film to create interesting effects, and to highlight themes.

The second series of photographs is inspired by the Dutch painter Anton Heyboer. When I saw his work in a gallery, I read about his "Pink Period", which is a moment in his life where he covered paintings of his that he didn't like in pink and red paint. I thought that this could work well in a self image context. Since Anton also took black and white photographs, I thought it would be a good idea to take black and white self portraits, print them out large, and paint over the parts that I am not happy with with red/pink paint.

I think that this project is very ambitious, and I am aware of the possibility of things not going to plan. Therefore, I will keep my plans very open, leaving room for improvisation, so if something does go awry, I can easily come up with something else without the issue derailing everything.

Section three was about evaluation, which should be taking place continuously, as well as a summation at the conclusion of the project. I decided to evaluate it from the beginning, leaving room for me to do some 'in process' evaluation, and some final evaluation as well. I wrote:

My evaluation will not only be written at the end of the project, but it will also be taking place continuously as the project goes on. The evaluation will be based on whether or not I followed the overall theme and the stated aims. If I do not manage to produce what I wanted to, then I will say why it went wrong, and what I would do differently to prevent it from happening again. I will also be very analytical of my learning, so if I overcome an issue, I will be able to write about it in the evaluation.

I also took a crack at '002 Observational Critique Form'. With this, we were asked to select ten images that are meant to inspire us. I chose ten images from people that I am researching for my FMP, but I also threw in another photographer's work which I admire greatly.

My first set of photographs are by William Dauel. I have been familiar with this photographer's work for a long time now. I found his work by searching to see whether anyone else did film souping, and what their methods are. His work is very laid back and experimental, which I resonate with a great deal.

My second set of photographs is by Matthew Brandt. another photographer that messes with the emulsion on his film. I go more in depth of his methods in my form, but it is quite inspirational to see the lengths of which he goes to achieve his effects.

My third set of photographs is by Alexander Rodchenko, whose work I had discovered in A Level photography. I adore his use of obscure angles, leading lines, patterns, and subjects. This is very inspiring for the black and white series that I'll do for the FMP, and I will try my best to incorporate his genius into my work.

My last set of images aren't photographs, they're paintings by the aforementioned Dutch painter Anton Heyboer. I find his paintings fascinating, not to mention his etchings he did earlier in his life. They all look like the scrawlings of a madman. Perhaps the said scrawlings could be quite useful to incorporate into the colour portraits.

I proceeded to fill out the form on lined pater copying the questions over, because I felt that I had more room that way. I didn't do all of the questions however, as I thought that they were a little confusing, so I should seek guidance with them in the future. below are the answers I gave.

On Wednesday, I reflected on some feedback I received regarding my project proposal. The first piece of feedback I got was that the proposal was too long. I knew that it didn't fit into the word count anyway, I just wanted to write out a first draft. Although, in a process where every hour counts, there isn't much use in re-writing the proposal every time something changes. I was also told that it needs to be way more open. The fact that I had such a narrow and mechanical plan (something that I thought I wasn't doing until it was pointed out) is that it contradicts the fact that I said that I was experimental in my processes. The idea of the photography being introspective and all about self is great, but because I outlined everything so finely the examiner is going to see that I didn't leave room for any experimentation whatsoever. I was also told that I should be experimenting in every step of the way rather than just with the souping. For instance, shooting style, materials used, and methods. Basically, I shouldn't limit my output by naming a set amount of work to do. I was also given a piece of feedback which I'm having trouble accepting, which is to do more than just two series. In theory, that works well because I have a great selection of pieces to choose from, and I can choose my favourites to send in. However, practically speaking it might not be able to come to fruition because rolls of film are relatively expensive, so doing ten or 11 series could amount to quite a bit. We'll see though, there could be some opportunities for me on the way.

Speaking of experimentation, the person giving me feedback was telling me a couple of things that I might like to try for a couple of series.

Reticulation

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Reticulation+photography&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwicr8PgwdrZAhUCKcAKHYSZARUQ_AUICigB&biw=1920&bih=949#imgrc=zU1rO-y-cxs40M:

https://www.lomography.com/magazine/155683-experiments-with-film-reticulation

Law of Reciprocity Failure

https://www.google.co.uk/search?biw=1920&bih=949&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=cQOgWv_-NYXUgAbIlIAQ&q=amateur+polaroid+photographs&oq=amateur+polaroid+photographs&gs_l=psy-ab.3...2650.3808.0.4031.8.7.0.0.0.0.129.625.6j1.7.0....0...1c.1.64.psy-ab..3.1.88...0i13k1.0.u2xv3-_7mtk#imgrc=ZqYGadvM3axnrM:

Thursday started with a bit of a nightmare. I woke up this morning to print out my ten images from my hard drive, but it wasn't working. This is a major set back for me, because all of my work is on there. I won't be able to do much of my referral work either because all of my research is on there too. It's a bummer, but I can't wait around and do nothing while it's broken, since every hour counts. I will just have to make do with a memory stick. We did peer feedback today, which was very productive for me. To begin with, I presented them with my ideas, and they gave me feedback. To be honest, I didn't receive all that much in terms of ideas and help, but it was good to put my ideas into words so that it's not just ideas floating in my brain. I did a lot for the others to give them ideas, which helped me a great deal because it got my brain working, and I can use the ideas that I came up with too. For the rest of the day, I'm going to start a mind-map with the title 'self', to come up with ideas for series, which I will put below.