commision unit summative assessment presentation

7/29/2019 Commision Unit Summative Assessment Presentation

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COMMISSION UNIT : SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENTLANDSCAPE/THE CITY and WASTE

CONOR GALLOWAY


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INTRODUCTION LANDSCAPE

A savaged planet devoid of life and stripped of essentialresources; this is our future. The truth is that long after

we have wiped ourselves out nature we make a slow

painful comeback. The old chalk pit resembles a lunar

apocalyptic landscape in the midst of beautiful

countryside and is evidence of this possible future;

humans have devastated an area of extreme beauty,

and now as nature slowly begins to come back, plan todestroy it permanently with the development of housing.


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CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT: THE PIT

Used the picturesque and English rural countryside I live in as both a focus

and a starting point, originally wanted to detail small and large details ofmans presence in landscape. Listed locations in local area to visit.

Visited abandoned chalk quarry in my village and was overwhelmed by its

beauty, in awe of juxtaposition of beautiful countryside and savaged land,

hidden from view. Decided to concentrate on capturing this one site as I feltit was powerful enough to explore further.

Through research my concept developed further into examining the impact

of human assault on developing the traditional English countryside,

highlighting the change of our industry, the power of nature and whether

we should let nature keep these once savaged beautiful areas. I wanted

viewers to recognise the otherworldly landscape as a warning for a possible

future and to raise a debate.


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RESEARCH AND VISUAL REFERENCESResearched forgotten industrial past of area and visited other brownfield sites in

local area marked for development as well as general references to the English

countryside under threat from development.

My artist research focused on photographers who had captured epic expansivelandscapes in interesting and unique ways. Of particular inspiration and

importance was Edward Burtynsky, Jem Southam, Fay Goodwin and Sophie

Ristelhueberbefore Ori Gershtand the Romantic painters Turnerand Martin

were highlighted to me as I was keen on discussing ideas of the 'apocalyptic

sublime.


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RESEARCH AND VISUAL REFERENCESORI GERSHT AND ROMANTIC PAINTERS TURNER AND MARTIN

Gersht and the Romantic painters were of important inspiration in waiting for

dramatic weather conditions to light the pit in interesting ways, bring drama and

highlight the English countryside under threat.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XDal02_C1b4/Thy18Z9QA8I/AAAAAAAATZE/9Aez48VQ7dc/s1600/NG+2115.jpg


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RESEARCH AND VISUAL REFERENCESJEM SOUTHAM AND SOPHIE RISTELHUEBER

Southam (left) influential for his beautiful

softly lit and sombre images that were

slightly cold.

Ristelhueber (right) for her survey of

violence in landscapes to get across a point.
http://www.jeudepaume.org/imagesZoom/Ristelhueber_BLOWUP01.jpg


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RESEARCH AND VISUAL REFERENCESEDWARD BURTYNSKY AND FAY GOODWIN

Burtynsky (right) influential for his use of

innovative techniques, huge detailed prints and

creating a beautifying industrial sublime toentrance a viewer and get across his disgust at

the violence humans are inflicting on the

landscape

Goodwin (left) was influential for her

reference to traditional Romantic paintings

in the creation of poetic surveys of the

British landscape with a hint of drama in

carefully considered images.
http://www.edwardburtynsky.com/WORKS/Breaking_Ground/Mines/BGD_MN_22.jpg


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FINAL IMAGES

Like the emphasis on scale and disturbed land

raises question whether such a

landscape could be deemed beautiful.

Well framed.

I like the difference between heavily disturbed land at the forefront of the image and

the more flat land below.

However, slightly green cast and the sky too white, slight out of focus on right edge

due to such small aperture.

FINAL IMAGES
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1qIAQfyjeuA/UK-Zikp4pgI/AAAAAAAAArA/IREyULt5Ksc/s1600/img063.jpg


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FINAL IMAGES

Never planned to use blue sky in my work, but with countryside in background works in

causing viewer confliction.

Land is far more barren and disturbed in this image, the inclusion of countryside in the

distance allows the viewer to be aware that this actually a man-altered landscape.

I do wish the sky had more depth to it in order to make image more dramatic and light

disturbed land more interestingly.

FINAL IMAGES
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-b0ak-40IWU8/UK-ZjlFXkII/AAAAAAAAArE/ABGsEOfC76A/s1600/img064.jpg


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FINAL IMAGES

I really liked this area of the quarry but I don't think I photographed it well , the weather

conditions unfortunately makes the image appear flat and brings out too much colour in

the vegetation, however, this emphasises the inhospitability of the scape.

Works well as a variation in the series.

The inclusion of the vehicle tracks going into the distance brings attention to the fact that

this land is not natural but altered by man.

SELF EVALUATION
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Iq6HCunGwaM/UK-Zlq_3xfI/AAAAAAAAArU/8bkwrF5E-74/s1600/img066.jpg


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SELF-EVALUATION I investigated my concept deeply over numerous months and visited the quarry countless

number of times; a lot of effort was put into making the project work.

Absence of dramatic sky means images not as successful as they could have been.

The prints themselves are not perfect, detail is incredible but lack perfect exposure and

aperture.

The images work best in capturing the scale of the site rather than close up images of the

chalk cliff faces.

I decided against re-shooting and re-printing the images larger because of lack of weather

conditions and justification of cost and effort.

I feel the images do portray to the viewer some idea of the concept; they raise questions of

whether a man-altered landscape like this can be deemed beautiful although it has been

savaged.

When taking into consideration how I had gone from limited knowledge of photography to

printing in a small amount of time, I am happy.

I am deeply satisfied that I used large-format for the production of the work; it hasconnected me to my references and highlighted every detail of the quarry.


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INTRODUCTION THE CITY

'The City is a creature,

alive through the hustle

and bustle, the sounds, andconstant movement of light

and traffic. It is

unforgiving, ruthless; but

also intoxicating.'


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CONCEPT: METROPOLIS I have always been fascinated by the modern city, enjoying the feeling of being

lost and dwarfed and capturing this in a creative way through in-camera

experimentation.

As a reaction against restrictions, my aim was to be experimental and liberated

creatively, producing unique work that sets me apart creatively from the rest of

the year in response to this part of the unit pushing for our work to be more

conceptual.

My intention was to visualise the sounds, movements and textures; the life of

the city. Interrogating how the image appears through the viewfinder, I focused

on an abstract aesthetic and creatively experimented across London with

camera position, aperture and multiple exposure; distorting angles of buildings

and skyscrapers to produce patterns with a focus on geometrics, unusual shapes

and colours.

I wasn't interested in defining London and only used this location because of my

easy access to the city. I wanted my viewer to imagine themselves situated

within an 'unknown' metropolis and enjoy the feeling of being lost.

RESEARCH AND VISUAL REFERENCES


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I knew quite early on what type of work I wished to produce with this project

and used my own images from my time in Bangkok and Singapore in the

Summer as initial references and for a starting point.

Not much in-depth research needed to be done as I wasn't investigating a

defined concept. I wanted more emphasis on the freedom of creative and

image-making produced. My research was solely investigating visual

references, split into two - photographic references for the moment of image-

making and art movement references for when it came to actually printing the

images.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oxznLXR_bj8/ULvSVbxB98I/AAAAAAAAA4k/E6DUWjSbjLI/s1600/DSC02330.JPGhttp://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZX394McGQIY/ULvSKz40O_I/AAAAAAAAA4c/InMXiTPlbFo/s1600/DSC01765.JPGhttp://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XUVqgZQNfMU/ULvSEgODyQI/AAAAAAAAA4U/CkaDws1MQJ0/s1600/DSC01797.JPGhttp://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mr50GCbrc9k/ULvR8RCVLhI/AAAAAAAAA4M/dseKY_u9Fcw/s1600/DSC01789.JPG


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RESEARCH AND VISUAL REFERENCESMy references for how I wished to compose the images in-frame were a focus

on those who documented the urban landscape in unique ways with sites void

of physical human presence, using innovative camera processes and anunderstanding of handling the camera to achieve this.

RUT BLEES LUXEMBURG

Luxemburg was a major influence to me in how she manages to find beauty in the

most ordinary corners of the nocturnal urban landscape, with considered choice of

long exposure and camera position.
http://www.photoforager.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Rut-Blees-Luxemburg_InDeeper.jpghttp://pinup.crabcraft.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/artwork_images_424680917_278183_rutblees-luxemburg.jpghttp://1.bp.blogspot.com/_W1UPFzFYPP8/TSw3ZYHTFVI/AAAAAAAAAEw/qTsO4yly7f0/s1600/1111.jpghttp://www.rutbleesluxemburg.com/images/Rut_Blees_Luxemburg-1.jpg


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RESEARCH AND VISUAL REFERENCESVERA LUTTER AND RAY K. METZKER

I was fascinated how Lutter strips downthe camera to its basic processes and uses

this creatively to achieve what she wants

with a more objective visualisation of the

urban space through exploration.

Metzers exploration of the rhythms, textures

and human drama of urban existence through

visual kinetic patterns, mosaic grids and double

framed images with a focus on darkroom

experimentation was particularly representative

of what I wanted to achieve.
http://www.pixelcreation.fr/fileadmin/img/sas_image/galerie/photo/ray_metzker/Metzker_Low_04.jpg


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RESEARCH AND VISUAL REFERENCESOf particular inspiration has also been the art movements ofDadaism, Cubism,

Collage, Photomontage, Avant-Garde, Abstract Expressionism and Post-Modernism

for a considered emphasis on printing the images.

(L-R) Gordon-Matta Clark, Franz Marc and Jerry Uelsmann
http://www.uelsmann.net/_img/works/ju_11.jpghttp://www.rolandcollection.com/lib/img/data/16-498.gif


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Robert Rauschenberg Paul Citroen Pablo Picasso

FINAL IMAGES FROM FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
http://mehallo.com/B/MetropolisPosters001.jpg


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FINAL IMAGES FROM FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTIn preparation for the interim review I digitally printed three of the negatives from my first shoot

session across London, playing with contrast with a hope that the images would look that way

once printed in the darkroom. I chose the initial images for their sense of scale which increase

feelings of insignificance. What made the work so interesting was not just the multiple-exposure

use and emphasis on geometry but how the contrast helped unlock the layers of the negativewhich allowed the viewer to truly get lost in the image. I felt misleaded in the project as I

thought the contrast would be easy to get with darkroom practice, when in fact I needed more

educated and professional advice on specialist film and paper before shooting and printing.


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FINAL IMAGESMy results from the second session of shooting were much more interesting than from the

first ; I decided to focus on printing images that were truly abstract with hints of high-rise

architecture that caused interlocking shapes. I simply printed as I normally would in the

darkroom due to lack of time and printed as large as I possibly could afford (12"x16") tofurther encourage the viewer to become 'lost in the city'.


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FINAL IMAGES


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FINAL IMAGES


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SELF-EVALUATION Ambition versus time has prevented me from realising the full potential of this

concept. I wish I could have experimented as much as I wanted in the darkroom,

but I underestimated my new workload for the semester.

The last of three images doesn't really fit in because the multiple exposed elements

are not as bold as the previous two.

I've kept to my aim to keep this project as organic, fresh and experimental.

I haven't managed to truly deliver the prints I wanted but the speed of which the

project is evolving by itself is far more encouraging and exciting.

I like the similar colours that link all the images and makes them appear part of the

same series.

Through the very abstract imagery and idea I feel that my desire to visualise the

movement and life within the city can be seen.

The final images to appear more 'creatively handled' and less pristine compared to

the ones presented in December, something I wanted to achieve.


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INTRODUCTION WASTE

'No matter how much we try to dismiss it, we'll all

end up as ash and dust.'

CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT: THE ABSOLUTE TRUTH


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CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT: THE ABSOLUTE TRUTH Simple imagery of dust collected over-time from my home details the beauty in death

and reflects 'life's absolute truth'; no matter how much we try to dismiss it, we'll all end

up as dust.

Focus on issues of indexicality in photography and presented in an archaeological likeformat, the work details delicate traces of human existence as if it were a found fossil;

from hairs to tiny plastics to food, the work highlights our interconnectivity with the

waste we produce.

The dust appears at times to take on an appearance of an expansive desert-like

landscape captured from above, or the swirling chaotic gasses of far away supernova,

all the while detailing what we unknowingly leave behind.

I struggled on a concrete idea. Starting with an idea to use dust in some format, I

dismissed this before returning to it. I became fixated on thoughts of what happens

when we are gone? I was still inspired to play with this idea of human presence throughsubtle traces.

Ideas of burial and experiments in the nature of the photograph were the focus with an

aim to produce quite an abstract series of images that played on notions of beauty and

poetry with typically unpretty source matter.



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RESEARCH AND VISUAL REFERENCESI knew from the onset I would be using the still-life genre and really wanted this

project to remain quite simple in it's production.

I began with an early fascination with burial, archaeology, fossils and microscopic

imagery and wanted to reference this in the actual imagery; in the case of the dust

it appears almost like the documentation of an archaeological site, albeit on a very

small scale, as such objectivity of the image was very important to its success.



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RESEARCH AND VISUAL REFERENCESPractitioner research was vital of which I split into three separate parts:

Artists/Photographers whose work is concerned with waste

Artists/Photographers who work is concerned with death and decay

Photographers concerned with alternative photographic techniques (important as at the timeI planned to focus on taking further the burial experiments I had conducted)

Chris Jordan's documentation of the

crisis at Midway Atoll: his simple,

objective straight down

presentation of a powerful subject

matter.

Kevin Newark's

'Protoplasm' (2005-2006)

series that beautifies a

typically ugly object in a

serene environment:

wasted plastic bags

http://assets3.jerwoodvisualarts.org/images/Kevin_Newark_3_3.jpghttp://www.aphotostudent.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/ChrisJordanMidway02.jpg


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Sally Mann's 'What remains' series (mid

2000s) and in particular 'The Body Farm' forthe powerful subject matter depicted from

an objective, haunting stance, as well as the

softness/flatness and warmth to the images

and the range of beautiful tones in the black

and white imagery.

David Maisel's 'Library of Dust'(2005-2007) for it's

documentation of how life can

thrive from death and our own

interconnectivity with nature.

http://media-cache-ec5.pinterest.com/upload/80501912059390457_T2uyypfV_b.jpg


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What was equally as important as the subject captured was its

presentation, something which came with my research. Mannwas a key influence in my decision to use black-and-white and go

for an alternative warm-tone paper to print on as I almost

wanted to create a pastiche of her work; I also wanted there to

be a silence to my work and for viewer to be taken in by the

detail of the work highlighted by its warmth. I felt that for there

to be intimacy between the viewer and the work, a small print

with a significant border would work best at keeping the detail of

the work as well as that connection. Detail and texture were very

important to me and I felt that a non-glossy paper would bring

these out; I wanted my work to be representative of fine-art

rather than editorial/commercial pieces.

INITIAL EXPERIMENTS


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INITIAL EXPERIMENTSI became focused on creating a four-dimensional piece of work (a piece of work

discussing waste, of waste, created in waste and presented as waste) and started the

project by burying a few negatives (both blank and with an image) as well as a print. They

needed development but what worked best were the negatives in which an image couldjust about be seen behind the scars.

TEST SHOTS


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I decided to focus upon burial/decomposition and capturing a relevant subject matter in an

artificially created unearthed environment (a cardboard box filled with 30 litres of compost and

natural debris), for the negatives to be then buried.

TEST SHOTS

I captured objects that suggested human presence and maggots to suggest decay and disturbedground before capturing dust and waste from the River. I decided to shoot outside under a

lightly cloudy sky to act as a giant softbox because I wanted there to be this even flatness across

the image.

I initially decided against shooting the artificial burial site because I felt like it was impossible for

the viewer to realise what they were viewing, and later decided against shooting the wasteplastics because I wanted more meaning to my work.

FINAL PRINTS
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vFRCQcy2n5o/USun68vyRCI/AAAAAAAABPA/rRFnIXlRpHE/s1600/img121.jpg


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FINAL PRINTSI shot from directly above as a reference to my research and allow the viewer to

examine the dust from an objective stance. To make for a interesting and non-repetitive

series I chose images that were representative of all the different arrangements ; images

filled with movement and images that represented almost archaeological sites or barrenlandscapes.


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SELF EVALUATION


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SELF-EVALUATION Both my research and time-management was a lot better compared with the

first part of the commission unit,; my understanding of the importance of

sequence and ability to print has greatly improved.

Greater understanding of the power of presentation and representation and

how this can influence a reaction from a viewer.

My work has become more complex, referencing universal ideas, styles and

disciplines beyond photography as well as a greater understanding of thecomplex nature of photography.

Although the prints themselves are not perfect and should be shot again, my

foresight and consideration of how to present the work improves their quality.

I shouldn't shy away from the difficulties that producing good work can bring,

such as working in the studio, and I should take my education at UCA as an

opportunity to get as much from it as possible to ready me for the real-working

environment.

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