Friday, February 15, 2013

CCW Final Project

Long time no post.  Sorry about that.  No excuses.

I return to the world of blogging in order to keep track of my final project for my Foundation Diploma. Over the next few months, anticipate seeing (hopefully) frequent posts about the progress of my project, which I will explain momentarily.  If you notice it's been more than 2 days since I last updated, please comment (or email/Facebook me) and pester me into updating...AFTER 26 Feb., that is.  You'll be helping doing so.

The project is as follows (but may be tweaked as time goes by, depending on research results, fancy-tickling, etc.):


Context

Since the first term written assignment, I have found continual inspiration in the works of George Shaw, with particular interest in his portrayal of mundane or overlooked places and items.  Despite his relatively realist-style techniques, his pieces have a feel of abstraction through their composition.  Line and contrast, main aspects of his style, are vital words in my own practice.

I saw many of the same similarities between my own work and that of Kurt Schwitters, and therefore left the Tate Britain exhibition full of inspiration.  His mixed media collages expanded ideas to explore one of my personal tutor's suggestions: experimenting with drawing or painting on my photographs, or adding drawn aspects to their presentation.  The bold shapes, lines and contrast of Schwitters’ collages present overlooked bits of rubbish or daily life making them the focus of the artwork.  The juxtaposition of political or social articles also parallels my juxtaposition of unrelated subject matter.  It seems that we both tend to concentrate on bold shapes of overall form and composition, which, along with overlooked or abstracted locations, structures or items, will be the idea behind of my final project. 

Project Proposal Aims, Methods and Realisation
Continuing an idea I began with the “Place” project, I will develop the concept of pairing two images to be presented as a single print.  As the idea grows, I may combine images, perhaps a photo and a drawing, two drawings, two photos, collage, or mixed media - but still presented in pairs.

As I explore possible subjects for my juxtaposition and representation of objects, I may look into working with the Natural History Museum.  If they allow me to take photos and sketch from some of their collection, I would pair the natural objects with manmade objects (bridges, buildings, streets, etc.).  Another idea would be to pair sketches of the objects, or to place sketchs into photographs of the manmade structures.

On his visit for the “Place” crit, Colin Wiggins of the National Gallery connected my photography to my musical background through the words, “rhythm,” “colour,” “tone,” and “composition,” which I have used for years when describing my practice.  I would also like to explore photographing musicians in detail, taking words into account that relate to both areas, then pairing the photos with a photograph of a similar item – maybe the natural objects from the Natural History Museum, or my mechanical/structural photographs.

The project will produce a series of paired images.  Depending on the final outcome, and how the project develops, I will have to consider how it will be presented.  The final presentation will depend on what I produce and how the idea develops.
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This is an example of one of the photos from my "Place" project:

More can be found at http://www.ashleyndonaldson.com/photo-pairings

Please watch this space for the next few months, and pester me AFTER February 26 if I don't update regularly!