Sustainable Prospects – Page 5 – Atomised : Andrew Brown

October 10, 2018November 15, 2018

Week 2: Reflection

The webinars with Susan Bright and Victoria Forrest provided real insight into the process of curation and publication. In terms of exhibiting, I’m now thinking more carefully about the relationship between the design of an exhibition and the space available. This is particularly important for multimodal exhibitions, which need to balance providing an collective experience and drawing individual attention and provoking reflection. The Elina Brotherus exhibition did this very successfully. Likewise, book design warrants careful consideration (and specialist assistance or advice). I’m thinking about forms of dissemination and public engagement more carefully, and in an integrated manner, in the development of my project. I’ll revisit both these presentations.

Whilst not intending to develop a business from my photographic work, thinking of the development of my project ‘as a business’ has been very helpful in clarifying who the work is for and what it is intended to achieve. As the work develops I do need to consider financial aspects (and maybe seeking funding), and also legal aspects. In the research proposal, I wrote about the use of the Creative Commons. I need to return to and clarify this in relation to the three levels of work that will be produced.

The development of my project has been mainly in terms of creation of networks, building relationships and creating contexts. This has been very productive, with work arranged with the UCL Student Union volunteering unit (working with volunteer photographers to document the work of volunteers with local community groups), a workshop for the Development Planning Unit at the Bartlett, followed by working with community groups and MSc students on planning and regeneration initiatives, and work for the Centre for Excellence in Equity and Higher Education in Australia (making a series of still photographs relating to projects to supplement short films already made, developing a critical commentary on photovoice style research drawing on projects on domestic violence and on youth offenders in rural areas, and publications on equity in higher education, space and time involving the use of visual arts based research methods and approaches). If all goes to plan, I should be able to line this up with the requirements of each module and the development of the final project. If all goes to plan …

Being out of the country has made it difficult to create images directly relating to the project. I have, though, attempted to develop my portraiture work in preparation for the project. Some preliminary images of family in Guyana below (these require some work – just a quick selection to give a sense of current photographic work). This has given rise to a possible alternative project – I’ll write about this in another post. I have also been working through Roswell Angier’s (2007) book on portrait photography, and will develop the outcomes of the projects from that when I am back in London at the end of the month.

[Show slideshow]

Angier, R. (2007), Train Your Gaze: A Practical and Theoretical Introduction to Portrait Photography, Lausanne: AVA Publishing.

October 10, 2018October 10, 2018

Stefan Draschan Museum Project

OK, these images are not so good, but … I was at an exhibition at the Guggenheim on Monday (‘One Hand Clapping’, an exhibition of contemporary art from China; a post on this in my CRJ to follow, when I can catch up) and I thought I’d take a look at the permanent collection. Part way through, I remembered this discussion topic, and took two photos in about 5 minutes – see below. On the way out, I stopped by the gallery door and took a few minutes to look closely at the people going in, particularly the colours they were wearing. I reckon I could match the appearance and colours worn by several people to particular works in the gallery, and could wait for them to get to the relevant work to get the shot. On the basis of this, I think that, given a good deal of patience, a feel for ‘camera syntax’ and quick reactions, you could build up a decent body of work in the style of Draschan. And no need to set up shots (as he stands accused by some). Like Vincent, I certainly don’t think I have the patience, and also don’t feel comfortable hanging around galleries doing this kind of work, but an interesting exercise to try, if only for a short session.

[Show slideshow]

October 5, 2018October 5, 2018

Week 2: Let’s talk business

Like a number of others in the group, it hadn’t been my intention to develop a business from my photographic work, but the module is very constructively provoking me to think carefully about how my work is positioned in the broader field of photographic practice, who the work is for and how it reaches an audience. Given the early stage of my thinking on this, I’ve kept it brief (but aspirational), and related it to the current direction of my final project.

Mission

To use photographic image-making, alongside other media, to understand the social, cultural, political and economic dynamics of urban regeneration, and work collaboratively with residents in achieving positive and equitable outcomes for the local community.

Product

Images produced by residents as part of participatory research studies, designed to explore the diversity of life-worlds, circumstances and aspirations of communities.
Images produced in collaboration with local stakeholders (residents, activists, researchers, community groups, local government and businesses) to develop photographic and related resources to use in initiatives designed to develop local prosperity and for use in local advocacy.
Images produced from my own artistic, emotional and intellectual response to resident and collaborative images and my engagement with the areas and their communities.
Workshops for residents and other stakeholders, exhibitions, online and print resources and publications relating to the images produced and the process of image-making.
Publications offering critical commentary on visual arts methods in interdisciplinary research and development.

Market

Resident, community and local activist groups.
Organisations and networks concerned with development, public space, housing and social justice.
Local authorities and constituent departments.
Academics, researchers and students concerned with urban planning, community development and equity.
Arts organisations and galleries wanting to enhance local public engagement.
Local college and university departments (including photography, arts, planning, development, architecture, urban anthropology, social science).

October 2, 2018

Personal learning in plain view

I struggled initially with the idea of producing a personal reflective journal that is both a public document and a component in the assessment for an award bearing course. This struggle was both intellectual (I had difficulty in getting my head around it) and emotional (I was not sure about how I felt about it). Whilst I haven’t totally resolved these struggles, I have, I think, reached a practical and personal resolution (how I am going to deal with it). And, of course, that resolution might only be momentary, and subject to revision as I progress through. Most importantly, though, I have, I think, reached a point where I can turn initial trepidation into a positive commitment. Learning in plain view, through this kind of public private writing, is a good thing.

In reaching a resolution I wanted to avoid the obvious performative solution. Treat successful completion of the degree as the primary function, and manicure the postings to project the image of a successful student. This is a tried and tested approach to any form of reflective journal (I am relatively sure that Erica McWilliam has written something about this in relation to the journals produced by beginning teachers, which I need to check). It is high risk, though, as, to be successful, it requires the writer to have a clear sense of the principles of assessment of the programme (what are the assessors looking for). So, to a degree, you have to be an adept to be able to produce a text that passes as that of a successful student. And there are complexities as the tacit criteria might require failure (and recovery) as part of the process. That is that, the writer may have to walk the tightrope of manufacturing a sufficient vulnerability on the path to ultimate success. There may also be a requirement for a degree of perceived authenticity, or revelation of a sufficient sense of self to authenticate the postings (bearing a watermark). A thought about blockchain technology has just come to mind, where who you are is encoded and preserved for future authentication (though that is an excessively static conception of self). I’m not going to pursue that here.

This is an excessively cynical approach to my mind, and there is the strong odour of bad faith. However, it does not have to be a total strategy, and in making any statement in this kind of environment there will always be a degree of self-checking (what are the consequences of publishing this?). So performativity as a total strategy stinks, but a degree of performativity (a manicured projection of self) is inevitable. The act of writing (and the reflection that that involves) means that we can never just ‘get it all out there’. Writing requires selection and expression and slows things down, though tweeting clearly allows people to just ‘blurt it out’ (to millions of others in some cases). This is not the place to wrestle with Derrida (there’s a post coming on that in due course).

To bring this post to a hasty conclusion, I think my approach is to treat this as a genuinely educational opportunity. To formulate and convey emerging thoughts and practices in a new (for me) domain of endeavour produces something to think about that moves practice forward in, potentially, dialogue and engagement with fellow travellers. Of course, to learn is the primary objective for me in doing this course, and the personal stakes are relatively low in that there are few professional consequences to success or failure (and relatively limited personal consequences, mostly related to self-esteem). To a degree, posting to the blog enables me to formalise my thinking, to put down markers and to remember (and there will be a post on memory ‘prosthetics’; aids to ageing cognitive functioning). It is a place to build something in public view. What’s the advantage over doing this in private? That, maybe, is to do with the pressure that the public exposure brings to take some care in expressing thoughts (but not to the extent necessary for a published paper or book). And it provides a framework for organisation of thoughts and experiences around a particular project (growing as a photographer, and understanding the field). And memory is important, too (‘but you said …’). How do I feel about the seeping out of what is written here to other domains of practice? That’s uncertain. This is for a pedagogic purpose, and it is about exploration not exposition. It’s a supplement to, not replacement of, identity and practice in other areas of life.

October 2, 2018November 6, 2019

Narrative and ‘The Tyranny of Story’

The Tyranny of Story, Parts 1-3, BBC Radio 4, August 2018.

I listened to this three part documentary presented by John Harris on BBC Radio 4 as preparation for a workshop run by co-producers Nina Garthwaite and Alan Hall. The workshop was cancelled, but the programmes raised a number of issues of relevance to the development of my project. In an earlier post, I raised questions about the extent to which photographers can be considered to be storytellers. Following up the programmes, I think I now have a clearer position on this, which can help inform my work. A distinction is drawn between whether (i) our lives fundamentally have a narrative structure, or whether, (ii) whilst episodic in form, our lives should, for our own well-being, be rendered as a narrative, or whether (iii) for mutual comprehensibility and engagement our lives can be presented in narrative form, or whether (iv) presenting lives as narratives is, at best, a distraction or, at worst, a damaging mis-representation, that creates unattainable expectations and encourages self-deception. Galen Strawson’s work, which sees life as episodic, and narrative as a misleading construction (see, as a brief introduction, Strawson, 2015), is interesting in respect of the last of these positions.

It is clear that there is a popular demand for stories/narratives, and that, in order to convey a message, narrative form is a powerful resource. Personally, I like telling and listening to stories. They provide a powerful means of communication, interaction and dialogue. Taken into the political and commercial domain, of course, this desire for and attraction to compelling stories can be used to distract and mislead. Reflecting on the decline in MMR vaccination, for instance, the case is made by neuroscientist Tali Sharot (a colleague from UCL) that stories (whatever their foundation) of catastrophic damage to a loved one hold greater emotional appeal than the narrative of the collective (and individual) benefit of eradicating forms of childhood illness founded on scientific research. The puzzle here is understanding the motivation for construction, propagation and subsequent narrative dissemination of these ‘alternative facts’. One argument might be that this is a popular reaction to professional discourse which dis-empowers ‘ordinary people’.

Whilst some photographers might feel that they are revealing narratives, others may see themselves as constructing narratives. I sit more on the construction side of this, but showing respect to, and in dialogue, and possibly collaboration, with the people being photographed. In this, I lean towards a desire to disrupt narrative form to allow different accounts to be explored and to enable new dialogues. Narrative can be powerful in drawing and holding attention, but is not an end in itself, and ultimately if the production of a greater understanding of others, more open dialogues, new forms of knowledge and new ways of knowing are the desired outcome, subversion of established, and expected, narratives is inevitable.

I’ve talked myself out of being a storyteller here, recognising that story can be a valuable resource, hook or medium, but understanding that this has to be undermined in order to create the space for new dialogues. Maybe I’m a teller of provisional and unstable stories (or a provisional and unstable storyteller). In order not to continuously tell each other stories we already know (and that reinforce our prejudices), and to make space for other ways of being and knowing, we need a wider range of resources, strategies and tactics. A way, maybe, of inquisitively making and unmaking, synthesising and deconstructing narratives to produce something new.

By chance, a few days later I stumbled into another Nina Garthwaite project, the Soundhouse at the Barbican. Here, she and collaborators are attempting to bring creative podcasts into public space, in a gallery-like listening environment. I’ll explore that elsewhere, as part of consideration of ways of presenting work, and the potential of the gallery as a space for public reflection and engagement.

References

Strawson, G. (2015), ‘I am not a story’. Accessed on 29.09.18 at https://aeon.co/essays/let-s-ditch-the-dangerous-idea-that-life-is-a-story

October 2, 2018

Week 2: Whose image is it, anyway?

In the legal case between appropriation artist Richard Prince and photographer Phillipe Cariou, both artists appear to have gained in some way from the exposure achieved. This kind of controversy is at the heart of Prince’s practice, and he courts (no pun intended) this kind of attention. Cariou’s work is almost certainly better known than it was previously. Legal actions like this can only come into play when there is some kind of loss (actual or potential) to be compensated. In this case Cariou’s work is not diminished in any sense by Prince’s appropriation. We might be irritated that Prince has ‘made something’ from someone else’s work (both artistically and financially), but the potential for this is not inherent in Cariou’s work. Cariou couldn’t, for instance, have made Prince’s work himself – the ‘value’ (commercially and artistically) of Prince’s work lies in the appropriation and manipulation of the work of others, and in the fact that it is Prince that is doing it (Duchamp’s point with the urinal). These kinds of appropriations and manipulations are everywhere, and we all do it to some extent in our work (I didn’t design or build the C19th colonial building I have just made an image of, and the role in colonial oppression that I might want to convey is, I am sure, no part of the architect’s plan). Aesthetically, I don’t personally like Prince’s work, nor do I find it conceptually significant in any lasting sense. But there are artists, such as Peter Kennard , whose work I do admire (for its directness and clarity of purpose), who work predominantly with other peoples’ images (the bomber used in his piece ‘Conversion’ appears elsewhere in this discussion thread – I don’t think he’ll be suing).

‘Researching reality for me involves ripping photographs out of their context to bring the perpetrators of war and poverty slap bang into the same space as their victims. I want to act as an early warning system, be the canary down the mine. Imagining through images the end result of the direction in which we are heading and picturing people struggling to find another way’ (Peter Kennard in Read and Simmons, 2016: vii).

We are always building on and with something, and I personally wouldn’t want this to be overly restricted by the law (particularly having worked in oppressive jurisdictions where freedom of expression is limited by law).

If it is moral outrage that we feel in seeing Prince’s (and other) appropriations, I don’t think we should turn to the law to do the required ethical work (we’d be constantly in and out of court and consistently not getting the outcome we desire). Whilst recognising that we can’t control how our images (and other creations) are used, we can, through the use, for instance, of the creative commons, signal how we would like our images to be used, and what restrictions or caveats we wish to place (for instance, on whether an image can be freely used for non-commercial purposes, whether we want to be asked and/or acknowledged, whether it can be edited and used in part etc). This doesn’t police and enforce the use of images, but it helps users know when and how they are able to legitimately and without recourse use an image (we do want our images to be seen, right?) and draw a clear(er) ethical line in the sand, so that when those who use and appropriate images cross the line, they do so knowingly. And, of course, if you feel there is any actual or potential direct or indirect loss (financial or reputational, for instance), the courts are ready and waiting, with well trained legal eagles to fight your case (for a price, of course).

Read, M., & Simmons, S. (2016), Photographers and Research: The role of research in contemporary photographic practice, London: Routledge.

October 2, 2018

Week 1: Reflection

Meeting with a young working photo-journalist as part of the preparation for the module made me feel like a dilettante. It was certainly difficult for him to understand why I might want to develop my photographic practice, independently of any commercial imperative (though he clearly understood the value of political commitment in the production and distribution of impactful work). It was very productive, though, to get some insight into how photographers making very different kinds of images approach their work. It was a pity not to be able to discuss this with others at the webinar (which didn’t run at the time stated, so I had to miss it, and now five hours behind UK, looks like I’ll have to miss the next couple, too).

I’m not a professional photographer, and don’t intend to become one, so I knew that this module would be challenging. I think, though, that I have figured out how to get the most from it, and how, I hope, I can make a constructive contribution. I found the introductory activities a useful way to become acquainted with the work, and lives, of others on the programme, and it was good to catch up again with the people who did Positions and Practices last session. Working in a larger group of people in different stages of the programme is certainly going to be a different experience.

I was able to relate the Max Ferguson’s insight into magazine publication to the dissemination of my own work (and thinking carefully about the three forms/domains of image making that my final project will involve, and how these will be presented and circulated, and find an audience). The advice on the use of social media (to communicate the distinctiveness of your work) and personal website (to concentrate on personal projects) was really helpful.

In terms of developing my own work, this has focused mostly on making contacts and relationships, and arranging settings for image making later in the year. Creating a portfolio for this module is going to be challenging as the image making will be end loaded. At this point, making images will mostly be about refining technique and developing a distinctive style. I am also having to come to terms with travelling and being away from the places in London where I will be doing photographic work, and the impact this has on advancing my project and producing work for assessment in this module.

September 29, 2018September 29, 2018

Week 1: Seven days in seven images

I don’t usually make many incidental photographs, and my photography doesn’t in any direct sense document my life. These seven images show me at a time of transition, and as always, in transit. From the activity I suppose I have (re)learnt the value (and challenge) of making images of the the people around me (that matter) and events (that shape us), which I probably haven’t done for decades. Doing it in monochrome helps make the bridge.

Saturday morning post delivers my letter from the university president and provost thanking me for 31(!) years service and conferring my honorary title (no gold watch, but the title is for life), followed by a day packing and moving books into storage. Sunday down to Canterbury to look after my 92 year old mum (impossible, for me, to photograph) for a couple of days. Home on Monday night and my son Michael, who has recently moved back to London, calls round to collect a guitar (and eat). Tuesday at the university to meet with publisher, collect Russian visa for forthcoming trip and call in at library. This is where I sit in the photography section. Early Wednesday at Stratford International, back to see mum. Thursday squash match, point of stability. Early hours of Friday, Diane checking details online for our trip back to Guyana (this afternoon) for a family event.

September 29, 2018

Week 1: Looking back

My project took a major change in direction towards the end of the previous module. I started to take photographs around Hackney Wick, focusing on the relationship between so called re-generation of the area and the lives and prospects of local people.

Other photographic work in the area has represented the lives of local people, but hasn’t actively engaged in attempts to ensure that residents have influence on and get the full benefit from the changes taking place. My project involves three inter-related forms of image-making: (i) images made by local residents which act as the basis of understanding peoples lives and aspirations and the impact of the changes taking place; (ii) collaborative image making with community and activist groups that can be used in advocacy by local people; (iii) my own artistic response to the changes taking place in east London, as a photographer, educator and resident (of over 40 years).

Most of the time between the modules has been spent making contact with resident and activist groups developing relationships and opportunities for image making (and other forms of exploration and expression, for instance sound recording and short film-making). These include joining the London Prosperity Board (active around the Olympic Park area) and developing photographic work with members (for instance, citizen scientists working from the community owned Bromley-by-Bow Medical Centre), working with JustSpace (a network of resident and activist groups concerned with urban planning and social justice) and members (for instance the Carpenters Road Estate Residents Group) and supporting student photographers documenting the work of volunteers with community groups and charities. As well as advancing my own work, I’ll be running workshops (on a masters in urban planning, for instance, as well as for community groups) and working collaboratively with others. I’ve also been asked to do similar work on projects in Australia, and to write about visual and arts based methods in social research.

As well as managing a complex project, the major photographic challenge for me is to become confident in making images of people. I did get to spend some time with other, much more experienced, photographers, doing very different work from my own (photo-journalist Hugh Kinsella-Cunningham and social documentary photographer David Wright) and I spent a week at the OpenCity Documentary Film Festival (directed by film-maker and anthropologist, Michael Stewart). I’ve written about this in my CRJ.

In terms of images, I have made one final set of images at the Roding Valley Park. Visited a lot of exhibitions, particularly those that are multi-modal and experiential. Become concerned about the privatisation of land in east London (a present day Fay Godwin in the making). And said farewell to my principal workplace for the past 30 years and packed up my office on the 7th floor (yesterday).

I’m excited, but more than a little daunted, about working on the project over the coming 18 months, and have tried to tie in the development of this work with the focus of each of the modules.

September 20, 2018September 20, 2018

Exploring contexts

In addition to meeting with photographers and film-makers over the past two weeks, I’ve been making links with people and organisations to identify contexts for the development of my work, and ultimately to determine the form and focus of my final project. This is just a quick summary in advance of more detailed posts as each strand develops.

Through chairing a discussion at the UCL Engineering Exchange symposium on Community Research Partnerships, I made contact with Just Space, a network of community activist groups concerned with planning and social justice. I met with the organiser and we took a trip around the Barking Riverside development and the Gascoigne Estate in Barking and Dagenham. I hope to build on this to contribute to the urban planning and development masters module running this term, and to work in the field on image making with students carrying out projects with community groups on planning issues (this work might also involve interviewing and sound recording, and possible exhibition of work in the community). I also agreed to help with the training of student photographers for UCL Students’ Union volunteering section, and to go out with them on their initial visits to document the work on student volunteers in the community. At the London Prosperity Board meeting I made contact with the research and community engagement organiser at the Bromley-by-Bow Medical Centre with a view to working with their citizen scientists on collection of data and photography, and maybe to document the work they are doing in the community. I also made contact with the coordinator of community groups in Newham and with the Business in the Community initiative. A serendipitous meeting with a friend and former colleague, now Professor of Future Heritage at UCL, generated another set of possibilities, particularly around the integration of arts-based research approaches with science and social science approaches, and the development of more speculative approaches to research (a post on this later, too). And it generated a challenge: to photograph that which doesn’t yet (but might come to) exist. An interesting side project.