A2—Reflection

Demonstration of technical and visual skills

• I am satisfied with the results I achieved for A2.
• At the same time, I think it is fair to say that technical and visual skills were probably less important for this assignment than they have been for the work I did for A1 or during the time I was taking EYV. I see this as evidence of learning for me because I have been relatively comfortable with photographic technique for some time, but this assignment was a chance to branch out into more conceptual work.
• I would not want to completely underplay the place of technique, though, as it was important for me to learn about how museums use photography to document the artifacts in their collections. I have followed most of these fairly closely (neutral background, even light, attention to details, brief descriptive text, scale, consistency of approach).

Quality of outcome

• Once I had landed on the concept I wanted to pursue (pointing to “unseen” family through their personal objects), it gradually dawned on me that I could ‘universalize’ the topic by presenting the objects as though they were artefacts in a museum. I think the concept holds together fairly well and that anyone who had been to a museum would be able to recognize the form of the work.
• I had imagined what I wanted to achieve before I began shooting and was able to find resources that outlined the elements / techniques that help to achieve something false more… authentically.
• If I were to print these images for display, I think I would keep the print size relatively small (no larger than 8″ x 12″, or so) and would use a relatively flat, ‘clinical’ or ‘scientific’ presentation—loose, rather than framed, for example, and perhaps contained in a simple folder. Alternatively, they could be printed as a section of a small, folded museum / collection guide.

Demonstration of creativity

• I think that this is where most of the learning took place in this assignment. As I mentioned above, there was perhaps a little less emphasis on skill or technique and more weight on the concept behind the series of images.
• I deliberately turned away from my initial idea (church buildings as a visible manifestation of faith / the unseen) because it was very quickly leading me down a path I have travelled enough. Instead, I wanted to develop my thinking and work around something that marked out a new direction (toward the more conceptual) about subjects that are important to me (interpretation / construction of meaning; understanding the place of family ties).
  

Context

• The reflection I did for this assignment was perhaps more personal and less based on referencing a particular artist. I did, however, spend quite a bit of time looking at the techniques and conventions of photographing and presenting artefacts. I also looked for examples of artists drawing on personal objets trouvés, but this was a more difficult search. Tracy Emin’s My Bed popped up repeatedly, but most of the objects appropriated by other artists seemed to derive their power from the fact that they were not personal, from Marcel Duchamp’s 1917 Fountain, on.
• In the end, I decided to strike out on my own and do the project as the idea presented itself to me: personal objects that pointed to my unseen family members, presented as museum pieces.

References

Tate (s.d.) ‘Fountain’, Marcel Duchamp, 1917, replica 1964. At: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/duchamp-fountain-t07573 (Accessed on 23 September 2019a)

Tate (s.d.) ‘My Bed’, Tracey Emin, 1998. At: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/emin-my-bed-l03662 (Accessed on 23 September 2019b)