Improvements in the blog.
I moved on from the base template to simplify the blog appearance and to allow the use of Tags. I also had a problem with structuring Reflections as I have this hanging section. Reflections crop up within my Coursework blog right now.
I updated the template at Week 7 spurred on by various things including Landing 2019. I also started a new website for portfolio work but have taken on quite a bit of work through this. The site in its first incarnation is almost an eCommerce site allowing visitors to purchase my work via the internet. That came about more through intrigue and future intent than an immediate requirement.
So in terms of reflections, they remain in the coursework section of this blog for the moment. I will need to rationalise this to make the content clear to visitors, especially as the staff of Falmouth University expect to see a laid out site where everything is readily accessible.
Week 8
Reserved for insight into the computational biology aspect of what I’ve done since 2004 and how it helped inspire the work I make.
Week 1
Week 1 Independent Reflection
My current practice is abstract expressionism with the aim of scaling images for art as experience as demonstrated by Mark Rothko in his painting.
During the week I was caused to revisit why I’d been conflicted and why I had settled on black and white images. There are two things running together a) the motivation which has sadness and darkness and b) celebration of life with vibrant colour which along the way got lost last module.
My methodology is a maturing process of controlled lighting with hints of clinical photography practice in the taking of photographs then in the digital dark room transformation of image texture and glow takes place (my IR processing method has developed). At this stage a glow image may be the end result I have in mind or an imaginings of home landscape may be the other form I have in mind. I allow the image to dictate my choices.
What I do could be described as an abstract form of rephotography through the surreal connection created by threads of common biology.
I was asked about developing the narratives in my work. Standard methods I had intended to use or reuse are captions in call and response (I dropped this last time I published a WIP portfolio). I was also experimenting with incorporating hand drawn glyphs and was yet to decide what symbols to use.
I didn’t get round to saying this week but do now, that I have a methodology I was now beginning to refine for improved visual impact and for clear narrative. I have yet to go back to early thoughts of romantic cultural inputs as my story connects with the song and verse of Robert Burns through location “A mans a man for aw that” etc.
Appropriation is something I’d not considered incorporating at this stage. Anything from stock images of place or similar approach or use Google Earth for sketch background storyline. I don’t know, early days.
There is scope to make that visit to London’s Imperial War Museum to get some contrasting stock imagery. I can seek out abandoned buildings of farm buildings, or park trenches or a mortar range I know of, for example as may have been use to hide out in during battle. Again I don’t know.
I’d been advised of the psychology of the method called Family Constellation Therapy, as a way of working with narrative. I followed up this to find out what might be taken from it. There is a parallel to a communication planning method I’m familiar with, I can consider. There is also, I find anyway a parallel with the male influence versus female influence on individual which runs alongside my themes of matriarchy and patriarchy.
I took a look at the presentation of the (near pornographic) work of Nobuyoshi Araki as an example of image pairings for visual interest. My work was seen to be uniform, which of course was exactly what I rebounded to after struggling to get more than a few images that went together in my previous work. Seems I might have overdone it.
References
My colour work : https://www.michaelmturnerphotography.com/sustainableprospectsmodulewipportfolio
My b&w work:
https://www.michaelmturnerphotography.com/informingcontextswipportfolio
Critical Research Journal 