My Journey Through Body of Work with OCA
Kris Belden-Adams in Beyond "This-Caused-That”: The Temporal Complexities of Before-and-After Photographs (2017) re-articulates the account of how a diegesis works in a comic strip in Barthes' Rhetoric of the Image (1964). When both text and photographs supplement each other under the same idea, a diegesis is formed (Belden-Adams, 2017). A diegesis is a kind of overall narrative consisting of the like-minded fragments that make it up.
The study hangout I attended on 04/04/2020 was directly aimed at addressing ways to keep up momentum during the COVID-19 pandemic. As well as coming away with inspiration for coping during these times, I found the discussion really useful with regards to how I think about art in general. This was a very welcome bonus and I’m pleased I attended the session.
While I had been researching Gill Golding’s work, particularly Welcome to the Fake (s.d.), I became very aware of the concept of hoarding being a place of imagery within the developments in any town undergoing regeneration. More specifically I began to imagine my imagery appearing on hoardings as part of my project. The imagery could be somewhere on the spectrum between affirming the slick, glossy facade of regeneration or refuting it in a dystopian nightmare; showing its true colours. I have created the beginning of a diptych or grid which I think falls somewhere between these two extremes and is a direct example of how my Contextual Studies has informed my Body of Work.
My photographs in the past have been quite literal; not leaving much to the imagination. In other words telling, not showing. Often I’ve left the text anchor out because I thought it wasn’t necessary. For me if text is there as an anchor it should help inform the viewer, inviting them to dig deeper, without just describing the image. Conversely, if text is there as a relay it should have a rapport with the images, bouncing back reflexively. I feel I am quite an imaginative person and strangely this reflects back to the viewer as not leaving much to the imagination. Perhaps because I have tried to squeeze a lot of information into the image, there isn’t much more room for interpretation.
On the 16th December 2019, I attended a Level 3 specific study hangout aimed at showing how theory and practice sides of Level 3 are integrated by building upon what we had learnt in the first study hangout on 24th October 2019. The focus this time was sharing our particular case studies for our projects along with what we think are our grand narratives to the rest of the group.
On the 23/11/2019, myself, Bev and Richard went to see two exhibitions at the Tate modern. This was a fun study visit and although not particularly relevant to my Body of Work, kept continuity for me in attending the group. As well as this it made me think about how work is presented for when I start Sustaining Your Practice.
I went out on this occasion to experiment some more with the placement of people in the scene, making up each composite. I have had some inspiration for this topic when I was reading up on an artist who has inspired me to make composites called Chris Dorley-Brown.
On the 24/10/2019, myself and around 15 other OCA students who were either about to or had embarked on the final part of their studies, attended a study presentation led by Dr. Ariadne Xenou to help us understand how to tackle Body of Work and Contextual Studies simultaneously and appropriately.
I eventually decided to try out making a papier-mâché ball out of photographs printed on plain paper and other articles on Deptford. I found the process time-consuming but rewarding and it did make me think about how photographs are used and their context, rather than solely the final photograph.
Today (May 9th 2019), I attended a study hangout with the photography reading group. We discussed Charlotte Cotton’s (2015) introductory essay to Photography is Magic. I had read the essay before so was familiar with it but reread it specifically for the study hangout and this is my preparation before the hangout commenced: Cotton likens photography … Continue reading Study Hangout (9th May 2019) for Charlotte Cotton’s (2015) Introductory Essay to ‘Photography is Magic’
