2nd February 2020
Key points
• Despite your trepidation of getting stuck on the way forward on the Contextual Studies, as a first diagnostic assignment clarifying how your practice work might relate to a broader contextual studies and researching key visual culture in practice ‘discourses’ it is well formed and makes sense.
• Don’t worry at this stage that you haven’t got a firm title or subject – its getting there – perhaps some clarification on direction and things to avoid.
• In your case (not always so as there are no firm rule on this) I would write about approaches or ‘strategies’ taking the initial methodology you have begun to highlight – a semiotic analysis using description which will allow context to emerge (critical discourse analysis), using Rose Visual Methodologies as guide. Let me know if you have these chapters (4 and 6).
• Make this on a broad theme – such as: 1. ‘photographic representation of the Rural’ (doesn’t necessarily have to be specifically New Zealand) 2. Decisive Moment v Historic Moment (Cartier Bresson v Strand) – see – Readings 3. Photo Therapy using portraiture or Landscape (or both). In any case (as you have done) compare and contrast two opposing photographic approaches – sticking to ‘humanist’ reportage way of seeing and a more conceptual (post-modernist) practitioner is useful.
• Critiquing/contextualising work on the broad theme rather than trying to firmly engage with your own specific Body of Work. This will contextualise but not be about the specific subject of it. See Nature/Rural in – Readings.
Summary of tutorial discussion To include:
• Find a discourse and approach in photography to contextualise rather than a specific illustrative event/subject to find examples of.
• Case studies begin to move in that direction rather than specifically about New Zealand. Could take these and have ‘photo therapy/ voice’ as a thread running through to make conclusion about form, content and the context you are beginning to tease out.
Readings/ Bibliography
As a starting point to introduce the ‘threshold concepts’ that you might engage with (the specifics of the medium of photography) – just to introduce in a sentence or two: https:// http://www.photopedagogy.com/threshold-concepts.html
• Nature/Rural Theme: British Journal of Photography, Beyond Nature, Apr 2010; Vol. 157 (7775)- you can find online though Pro Quest on UCA Library: https://search-proquestcom.ucreative.idm.oclc.org/publication/publications_32415?accountid=14178
• Perennial conflict between ‘strait’ documentary recording and artistic expression continues. See: 1. My Grid (PDF enclosed) which is a summary of Terry Barrett’s new categories and how photography functions in:
• Barrett (1980) Thinking about Photographs, IN the Arts, November. Ohio State University College of the Arts. PDF enclosed
• A condensed version of his PHD thesis which is available at UCA / OCA Library catalog: BARRETT, T.M. 1983, A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING PHOTOGRAPHS, ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.
Berger, J. & Dyer, G. 2013, Understanding a photograph, Penguin Books, London, England. and Berger’s About Looking PDF enclosed which outlines (page 41) Strand/Bresson dichotomy and approach – decisive moment v historic moment portraiture (similar to Alec Soth). PDF enclosed
‘Aesthetic Documentary’ – the contemporary concern with integrating these two previous ‘splits’ in approach between a strait reportage humanist approach and the more pictorial influenced concern with the medium. Look at the work of the following on their websites and research other material:
• Misrach, R. (2019). Interview: Richard Misrach with Peter Brown | Houston Center for Photography . [online] Available at: https://hcponline.org/spot/interviewrichard-misrach-with-peter-brown/
• Mosse, R. (2013). The Impossible Image : ‘The Enclave’ [online] Available at: • https://vimeo.com/67115692# 4. Join the conversation and submit comments if you can.
Documentary evidence and artistic expression: https://www.oca.ac.uk/weareoca/creative-arts/documentaryevidence-and-artistic-expression/
Photo therapy -whether you mean this in popular understanding terms or the ‘artistic’ discourse of photographers such as Jo Spence:
• Jo Spence: Work (Part I) SPACE, London1 June — 15 July 2012
• Jo Spence: Work (Part II) Studio Voltaire, London 12 June — 11 August 2012 PDFs enclosed
• Reminder: • Short video google or zoom meet to begin to collate a bibliography for literature review – organise this by theme (i.e. documentary, Representation of the Rural, Mental Health/ phototherapy.
Michele Usher 