I had my video tutorial with my tutor Wendy just over a week ago but have only just got round to typing this up (I’ve been beavering away on Assignment 3, more to follow shortly…).
Tutorials with Wendy are quite different to those I’ve had with previous tutors, and I admit I found the difference took a little getting used to. Rather than going over the submitted work in any great detail, the majority of the allotted time was spent discussing where the work could develop in future – in the tutorial for A1 we spoke about my ideas for A2 and A3, and in this session we spoke about A3 and A4…!
This forward-looking approach is useful in one key respect, of course, but I do come away from the tutorials wishing I’d had more feedback on the perceived strengths and weaknesses of the current assignment. I have resolved to overtly ask Wendy for such feedback in future!
Comments and reactions
- You are trying (as I understand it) to find a visual language and strategy to explore the act of forgetting, or rather the process, as the brain ages, of trying to remember, to bring things back in to focus etc.
- Yes, this is a good snapshot description of my intention
- Wendy playing this back to me in her own words has actually helped me to hone in on one particular point that I hadn’t articulated well until now – namely that my interest in the fallibility of memory is specifically related to the ageing process
- I think at this stage in your BoW development you need to do be engaging with some intensive ‘on the ground’ research. Choose one of more subjects and do some close observation (either in homes, day centres, etc) photographing people in their everyday surroundings, photographing objects particularly important to them (with those that have practical value or those with sentimental value, etc.)
- I’ve thought about this since the tutorial and I’m not yet convinced that this necessarily fits in with the kind of work I want to make at the moment
- It might work as a direct evolution of this assignment (I certainly have potential subjects available) but right now I’m more interested in exploring other visual strategies that are less about other people (specific individuals) and more about my own experiences
- But I’m not ruling this out completely; it may relate to an idea I have for Assignment 4
- I think at this stage in your projects development it’s critical to be simply pulling in as many ideas and visuals (i.e. photographs, drawings, sketches etc.) as possible. From this store of images and the ideas gathered – and looking at how they deal/live with memory loss, etc. you will begin to develop your project in meaningful ways.
- I agree – I do need to expand my visual research horizons; I’ve had quite specific ideas on the first few assignments but I need to take a slight pause and regroup
- Look at other photographers who have used a variety of strategies (still life, photographing possessions (Van Manen) or discarded messages (Arnatt) to explore ageing, memory and the act of remembrance.
- Agreed – as per last point I need to contextualise my own ideas relative to the canon of existing work
- This can lead either to inspiration, or a realisation that what I’m thinking of doing has already been over-worked!
Suggested research
- Give me your Image – Bertien Van Manen
- Explores the universal need for remembrance, Van Manen has photographed (from different cultural perspectives) arrangements of family photographs scattered around homes
- Notes from Jo – Keith Arnatt
- A poignant mediation on the fraility of memory
- “The cat sits on the bed”: Pedagogies of vision in human and machine learning
- Remembering from the perspective of machine learning (computers and the act of ‘remembering’)
- Ken. To be destroyed – Sara Davidmann
- Mentioned in A1 tutorial – I’ve now got a copy of the book and will review shortly
Next steps
- Research the above projects
- Not immediately – I intend to reach some conclusions on this after Assignment 3 – I do need to decide what area of age-related memory unreliability I wish to ultimately explore, as there are two quite distinct potential routes:
- Significant cognitive decline, up to and including dementia
- other people’s experiences; serious, poignant subject matter
- More everyday creeping absent-mindedness
- my own experiences; more playful but still potentially meaningful
- Significant cognitive decline, up to and including dementia
Rob Townsend 
I think it’s more complicated when it’s yourself you’re concerned with. Could you develop an alter ego for yourself who keeps forgetting.
I’m relieved that I’m not the only one who had to adjust to thinking about what I’m going to do next.
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Ha, as you’ll see in my next assignment, I don’t need to develop a forgetful alter-ego… ;-)
I don’t have a problem thinking about upcoming assignments actually… for Body of Work I’ve been planning one or two steps ahead the whole time. I’m just out of my comfort zone in not getting too much feedback on the work that I’ve delivered so far…! Maybe the pendulum has just swung a little too far the other way for me?
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I read the feedback as suggesting that you should be aiming to develop more contextualisation … contextualisation … contextualisation … The work ‘works’; you have plenty of ideas; you’re not short of creativity; you have the skills to implement what you choose to do; you have enough experience and knowledge to critique the work yourself … but, as a ‘fully-fledged artist’, when you take the work out in SYP, you need it to be solidly built on a contextual platform, existing confidently in a contemporary context, drawing on research, comparisons, and so on that give the work (and you) the credibility to make an impact. That’s the way I would read it, anyway.
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Yeah, that makes sense. Reflecting on Level 3 so far, it’s becoming more apparent how much on earlier levels I had got used to working in my own little bubble. For Level 3 I understand (but maybe controversially don’t wholly agree with) the emphasis on contextualisation. Is work really only ‘valid’ if the artist can demonstrate an understanding of where and how it fits with what has gone before? Not looking for answers on that point, just something I’ve been pondering (which I reserve the right to change my mind about, of course, I’m on a learning journey!)
Thanks Stan.
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“Is work really only ‘valid’ if the artist can demonstrate an understanding of where and how it fits with what has gone before?” – No, but you’re on a degree pathway where contextualisation adds to credibility and is part of the assessment process in an academic context. You don’t have to do it, of course, but you could be selling yourself short – and, by the way, it can turn out to be highly satisfying and informative. (I’ll b***** off now and leave you to it! :-) )
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I think however you read the comments the idea of feedback to assignment two is to push the student further and not allow any resting on laurels! At least that is my take. I found this work recently that deals with memory and though t you might be interested https://www.noicemagazine.com/interview-and-features/memory-lapses
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Aha, interesting project, hadn’t seen that – thanks
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