#e-journal assignment

Group:Sofia Topchishvili, Samin Aminy-Raouf

Our presentation would conclude the political and social morality as embodied in images. Our focuses were on philosphical texts written by Immanuel Kant on political morality, social constructivism, and moral duty. We also studied the philosophical ideas by Mikhail Bakhtin on freedom and morality.

I feel that during the presentation, I personally struggled to convey the extent to which I had come to understand the texts which we had chosen to study. I would suggest to myself to provide myself with a coherant scrpit to not only decribe to the audience what I had learnt but also to revise during the presentation my understanding of the presentation in a more coherant method. Additionally although I had myself understood the connection of the images I had chosen to parts of the text I feel that my description lacked much fluidity in its speach, in order to combat this (or to at least increase some fluidity in speach and descripption of thoughts and ideas) a script of some form would have definitely helped. It would also have allowed me to fix in additional thoughts that I may have forgotten to add during the presentation. I also feel that if I had allowed myself to calmly deliver the presentation I certainly would have been able to convey more of my ideas across during the presentation.

However, in retrospect, I have understood that the texts that we had chosen to study and relate back into images in terms of their morality (in its many forms), were both heavy and would have required further reading into for much clearer presentation of these philosophers ideas. Given more time to resreach I would defintely take the opportunity to endeaver to clarify as much of their ideas and their relations to photography as I possibly could. 

Discussing the presentation, allowed me to understand: what the audience had been able to understand from how I had described Kant’s ideas; whether what I had understood was a correct interpretation as well as if this understanding had related well into the images I had chosen as examplers. Although my group was not asked any questions by our peers I feel that this character of discussion definitely puts into perspective how the audeince has understood and undertaken your presentation and how well you have delivered your research. 

The photographers gallery exhibited an exsive work that drew from 48 international artists and their works. Contributing to the feminist art movement of the 1970s their works offered poetic, ironic and often provocative perspectives that challenged ideas at the time about gender in society. These feminists used their art pieces as cultural and political tools that would confront patriarchy and sexist stereotypes of gender roles at the time. They would utulise new modes of expression and often used their own bodies as central to their motifs in their art.

Philosophy, as mentioned by Warburton in ‘Philosophy, the Basics’, is an activity done by Philosophers. It is the process and method of thought of any particular question for any particular subject of interest. Logical solutions are then brought up and argued critically on its authenticity. Once one logical discussion or thought is proven false or wrong another is brought up to replace it, hopefully in progress of clarifying the orginal question. A philosphers goal would then be to logically clarify the question within deep analysis in order to move onto a more complex one. They question beliefs or conducts that are taken for granted on the everday ordinary within subjects of art, science, religion, law, the mind, language, photography and many more. 

My reason for this job role ?

History and Theory, comment on the essential reading

The essential reading for this week is taken directly from the famous book The pencil of nature, written by William Henry Fox Talbot. The book was printed in six different instalments between the 1844 and 1846 and it was the first commercially published book illustrated by photographs. The structure is composed by an introduction, a brief history of Fox Talbot method of taking and printing pictures and a series of carefully selected prints which were supposed to demonstrate the variety of opportunities that photography could give. Each plate is accompanied by a short text which describes the image and the photographic process involved. Among the pictures we can find buildings, pieces of material (Lace for example), objects from the author’s personal collection, pieces of art, reproduction of drawings, natural elements…All of them are made using the “Calotype technique” invented by Fox Talbot himself; it is a photographic process which involves a paper coated with silver iodide. His approach was considerably different from tho one created by Louis Daguerre some years before. The Fox Talbot technique, however will lead to the fundamental invention of the negatives.

Essay Plan - Points to discuss

The idea of memory

How we use images

Discuss Gillian Wearing’s image / project - Album (2003)

Comment on Wearing’s use of masks and suggest to the idea of manipulation

Connections between photography and memory

How we react to images of ourselves

Discuss Valerie Walkerdine’s project - Behind the Painted Smile, suggest to the idea of manipulation

Summarize thoughts

 Bibliography:

Bright, S. (2011). Art photography now, Rev and expanded ed. London : Thames & Hudson.

Campany, D. (2003).  Safety in Numbness: Some remarks on the problems of ‘Late Photography’. Available from http://davidcampany.com/safety-in-numbness/ [Accessed 10 December 2015].

Holland, P. (1991). Introduction – History, Memory and the Family Album. In: Spence, J. and Holland, P. (1991). Family snaps: the meaning of domestic photography. London: Virago.

Robert, E. (2011). Gillian Wearing. The art of everyday illumination. Border Crossings, 30(3), 26-46. Available from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1320423626?accountid=14987&rfr_id=info%3Axri%2Fsid%3Aprimo [Accessed 2 December 2015].

Walkerdine, V.  (1991). Behind the Painted Smile. In: Spence, J. and Holland, P. (1991). Family snaps: the meaning of domestic photography. London: Virago.

Williams, V. (1994). Who’s Looking at the Family? London: Barbican Art Gallery.

Images:

Fig. 1 Wearing, Gillian. (2003). Self-Portrait as my Mother Jean Gregory [Gelatin Silver Print]. Available from https://mcachicago.org/Collection/Items/Gillian-Wearing-Self-Portrait-As-My-Mother-Jean-Gregory-2003 [Accessed 12 December 2015].

Image & Text Assignment: Plan

Image: Anni Leppälä: Corner, 2005, from the series Seedlings

Text: Marcel Feil: Between Being and Having: Some Notes on Talent from FOAM Magazine #39 Talent 2014

Talent is Relative. Talent is subjective. Intro:

Why have i chosen this image and how is it relevant to my chosen text? What is it that I find most intriguing about this text? What issues can be raised and may be resolved by creating a relationship between my image and text?

Para 1:

Where did I find my image? Was is hard to choose one image over another? With relevance to my text, how can I look at this photographer and at this image in particular?

Para 2:

How is this still relevant to my chosen image and text? Does time matter? Does it change context? How would my image have been seen 100 years ago?

Conc:

In a group of two, we were given other student’s blogs to look over and assess their interim synthesis essays and comment on certain points which were listed on a sheet provided. This was a very helpful exercise because we don’t only learn to analyse other people’s work but we also learn to assess our own work if we are trying to be critical of it and try to make it as best as it can be. 

From the feedback I’ve received on my synthesis essay, there was a few good points mentioned about my text. It said, I was very clear throughout my essay and the basic message about social boundaries of documentary photography was easy to recognise. The text was very focused on the image I’ve chosen to to write about and there was one strong argument throughout. Everything was well-researched and my understanding of different concepts was discussed. The referencing system was followed correctly. It said that the text includes both very strong analysis and description. Under the question “What has the author done well?”, it says my use of language was very good and my text was flowing correctly (easy to read) but also specific enough. 

Now focusing on the things I need to improve:

- There’s repetition throughout the text which needs changing

- Only one strong point