ReFLecTinG oN paSt ProJeCts To GenErATe diReCtiOn foR pArT 3
For each of the past projects, particularly those in part 2 of the Foundation Diploma, I should think about the following questions:
- What was asked of me? - what was the projects concept and intention?
- Where did I take it? - how did I interpret each brief?
- What was involved? - practical skills, interpersonal skills, allocated roles, etc.
The two projects I enjoyed the most were "Interact" and "The Photographic Object". I thought about these two projects individually, following the questions above...
INTERACT
- We were asked to actively involve an audience in the process of communicating our ideas and responses to our given quotes.
"The principal requirement for this project is that you actively engage your audience in the process of communicating your idea.Will you invite your audience to play? To touch? To complete a story? To taste? To perform?" [project brief]
- The direction in which I took this project was somewhat fine art, asking the audience to share their own secrets, and lay them to bed, following the quote "as you make your bed, and so you must lie in it". The outcome was a short video depicting the interactions of the public with the installation-like setup we used to communicate the message. Others chose to create interactive games, media, publications, activities, and record the way in which the audience responded.
"It will be up to you to select the most appropriate way to express your ideas. What you produce does not have to be two-dimensional; you could use video, it could be three- dimensional, sound-based or performative. You will need to consider: material, scale, location, context, interaction, distribution." [project brief]
- the skills involved were: communicating and working as a group, engaging an audience, interdesiplinary skills to create the various mediums and outcome approaches, teamwork, theoretical research into the quote, approachability and confidence, etc. We each took on different roles, i.e. camera operator, someone to deal with the public (somewhat like a presenter) and another to help carry out the practicalities of the public interacting (in our case, blowing up the balloons, writing their lies on them, and placing them to rest in the bed).
THE PHOTOGRAPHIC OBJECT
- To consider a way in which one could transform the regular photograph into something beyond - 3d, interactive, alternative mediums, materials, forms, etc.
"By exploring the physicality and materiality of the photographic image, you can engage an audience in a process of questioning their relationship to images in powerful and surprising ways." [project brief]
- I was very much inspired by Alix Marie's comments on her Fine Art Photography Masters Degree, in which she said she was surprised by the negative responses she got when she did not follow the sacred conventions of presenting pure images in a frame. I focused on the tangibility of an object, and how I could translate and combing that into my photography. In the end, I made a pack of photographic playing cards, but others in my class made garments with fabric, moving images pieces regarding objects and sculptures they had made, as well as other designed things. The importance lay heavily on the function of the photographic object, and the purpose it served as being more than a 2d image.
- Success with this project relied on vast experimentation with alternative forms and ways of helping photography transcend the stereotypical 2d nature of a printed piece. Other skills needed include: visualisation, cooperation (for me, with the production company who provided me with the sizes and dimensions for the cards, after which we communicated frequently to ensure the product was successful first time), time management (as we got longer to complete this project)...
"[...] through a wide range of experimentation that then develops into a sequence of ambitious and refined outcomes" [project brief].
PerSoNaL ProjEct ProPosAL - section 2 planning / notes
What is the concept that you will be exploring?
interactivity within the area of graphic communication design practice, starting with photography and they way the medium can be manipulated to transcend the typical ideas of images in a frame.
In terms of content/subject of my project, I am personally really interested in astrology, and could explore this and the way everyone is individually charted and affected by the universe. Alternatively, I could take a current affair and create a series of responses in regards to that, for example, the obvious issue of Brexit, climate change/global warming, or knife crime in London - all of these topics hold a great interest for me, and I will find it hard to decide what I want to centre my project on.
Why is this idea of interest to you?
I am becoming more and more interested in putting my communication designs in context, allowing the public to respond to the work that often has a contemporary meaning or message, as with most successful current design work. What inspires me within the photography and moving image pathway is the nature of removing photography and video from a gallery environment, and turning it into installation, interactive work, physical outcomes (i.e. objects, sculptures, publications), allowing others to enjoy it in a practical, involved manner, not just passively.
What is the intention of your project? Who are you communicating to and what effect might you realistically aim to achieve with your work?
my intention is to encourage the public/partakers to join me in communicating my chosen subject matter through the work we produce as a collective outcome.
How does this relate to your chosen area of design practice?
- photography and moving image as a starting point
- I hope to progress onto BA GCD next year, and so I would like to create something that encompasses more than just photography and moving image. I want to design aspects, create outcomes including written work, illustrations, and a whole range of other GCD practices that I have the chance to explore in this final part 3 project.
- I am taking this project as a chance to re-open my practices, after having been "diagnosed" into the narrower photography and moving image pathway. I hope this can prepare me for some of the more broad briefs on BA.
What are two key reference points in terms of design practice for your project?
What is the key theoretical reference point for your project? i.e. sources outside of art and design practice.
What will be the main media or way of working that you will use to begin your project? i.e. styling, photography, illustration...
I will begin with photography and moving image, as that is my pathway, and ultimately my strongest medium. I will progress onto exploring alternative medias, and I hope to end up using virtual reality - something that would ultimately encompass my desire to create something interactive as well as beyond photography and video, yet branching from that outlet.
InTrOduCtiOn TaSk to CoMmUne ProJeCt
To get us starting to work within our groups for the commencing "Commune" project, we were instructed to complete a series of tasks, unrelated to art and design, but with the purpose to see how the group dynamic is quickly created. These seemingly silly tasks, in reflection, aligned us into roles within the group without us even noticing. I feel that I fell quite naturally into the role of second-in-command - not the natural leader, but with enough unique ideas and contribution to be more than a follower. The way in which we easily decided who took the first sip of water from the task [see images] as well as who's hand naturally took force to steer and direct the cups says a lot about the group and how obliviously we took on roles and positions. I believe we will work well as a group (touch wood). One thing I wish I did, and almost did (but plans fell through), was join a group with students from other specifications. As our group is all PMI students, I think we may find difficulty coordinating our ideas, or reversing roles, for example modelling instead of photographing. It would have been interesting to collaborate with illustrators, graphic designers, and fashion communicators, purely to see different ways in which my peers brain storm and work, however I will be sure to take influence from those around me for the rest of part 3, whether I do in this commune project or not.
Looking back on these activities, I feel we communicated really well, particularly because we are so comfortable as friends. Collaboration will not be an issue. And ultimately, we had fun, which is important not just in these projects, but in life !