SJField – OCA Level Three Study Blog
Body of Work & Contextual Studies
A super relevant article to both BOW and CS – joins the dots between the two and wish I’d found it sooner
If you’re reading this right now, you’re either a conscious being or an internet bot. (Or both.) That’s pretty obvious, but what’s not obvious is what makes you conscious. Consciousness is defined as…
— Read on medium.com/whiteboard-to-infinity/is-consciousness-a-quantum-phenomenon-fcbb65bed950
Overall Comments
Your e-publication, witaaiafof , is an allusive (and ellusive) and at times exhilarating and troubling exploration of a friendship with an AI character. I watched and read the work, with the music playing throughout, as this seemed to be suggested on the front page. This made the work seem even more immersive, and to superimpose another rhythm over the rhythms or page turning, reading the text, and the animation of images.
The work is a fascinating, thoughtful bringing together of the different strands of your practice and interests – writing, photographs, AI, graphic and typographic design and moving image. In such a complex work, there are moments which are confusing, or where I feel you could develop the dialogue further or simplify. I wonder too whether the final, discursive text that explains what came before is necessary. Perhaps better to let the work tell you what it is doing through the dialogue and diaristic elements. But we can discuss this.
Feedback on assignment
‘These curling, unruly paths’ are what make this work so tantalizing. I agree with your judgement (in the most recent part of your blog) that you don’t need to expand every aspect, but perhaps give a few more signposts along the way, which could be in the form of dialogue, or some kind of footnote/margin note.
Your AI character (as you depict it) is an unstable subject both in the language she/they/ it uses and in your narrator’s response to her/them. I wonder about the narrator’s ‘I’. Who is ‘I’? What are the motivations, and meanings of the narrator’s character? And what structures (the idea of a book/diary/play/film/story/piece of music) support (or destabilize) the narrator? There is a history – nouveau roman, stream of consciousness, nouvelle vague cinema and more recent forms – that your work follows on from, and engages with (I think) but maybe you could make more of how your story and your narrator come about in body of the text, rather than explaining in the sort of afterword.
Coursework
You have worked hard and with great commitment at exploring all aspects of your project from selecting and taking images, writing and editing, layout etc.
Research
Your project comes out of sustained and in depth research considering the implications of AI and for instance and looking at OOO (Harman), and Haraway’s ideas of post-human or more-than-human, and others. On the technical (but not only technical) side you also have completed a book publishing course, which has given you more tools for designing your work.
Learning Log
Your LL is detailed and charts your research and the stages for making your work. You have sought peer feedback and responded to it.
Suggested reading/viewing
Reading your LL after looking at the Assignment e-publication, I am reminded of some of Chris Krauss’s novel I Love Dick in which art theory/philosophy are entangled in the narrator’s obsession with the eponymous love interest. I think this blurring of categories is something that your work is also involved in. I think Chris Kraus’s writing and films might be interesting and useful.
Pointers for the next assignment / assessment
Your interpretation of your research is very thoughtful and important source material for your experimentation with images and text. This is evident in your LL and in the work. I think that drawing out the strong main points and ideas and stating them clearly will be important for the assessment, but also for the publication of the work beyond assessment. It is complex work, and therefore signposts will help people get into it. Consider whether the sound file is the way you want it to appear – i.e. as an external link.
| Strengths | Areas for development |
| Original approach to and poetic response to the AI through a sustained engagement and experiment | With the voices of the narrator and other character, consider developing the dialogue/diary to include the discursive text. What happens when fictional voices speak the language and utterances of philosophy/politics? |
| Sensitive, critical and adept handling and editing of different sources of imagery: creating a powerful image-essay alongside text | For the final presentation for assessment consider producing the publication as a publication and showing video/ documentation or some other kind of performative presentation. |
| Ambitious and profound exploration of contemporary philosophy through the medium of your art practice. You take on challenges and are open to learning new skills (e.g. coding…) | Collaboration (as you suggest) with a coder could expand the possibilities of the work. At the same time, carrying on reflecting and writing about and charting your interpretation of what you learn. |
Response to BOW A5 Tutor Feedback Tutorial
It was good to talk to Ruth about the project after reading her report.
I submitted something recently and so began thinking about an artist’s statement. We must supply one for BoW so here it is a start:
I work with still, moving, original and found images, as well as text, aiming to explore seismic structural shifts in our transformative world. I am interested in the constructions which emerge from and feed into language. I reject the notion of hero artists and single-authored, linear narratives. I embrace complexity, incoherence, entanglement, multiplicity and the possibility for radical change. At this time in our history, it is a political act to overcome man-made or linguistic barriers, and to embrace and value intellectualism as well as ‘feeling’ – and to aim for the highest common denominator: as such my work actively crosses disciplines and unashamedly asks much of viewers, with references to science, art history, and popular culture – in particular, Hollywood – pointing out the hypocrisy and double standards that Western society has upheld for centuries.
From: Art Monthly is the UK’s leading contemporary art magazine.
— Read on www.artmonthly.co.uk/magazine/site/article/art-writing-by-john-douglas-millar-september-2011
“So what are the consequences of this for art? What trends or symptoms can we delineate? The most startling is the rise of so-called ‘art writing’, as both a recognised practice and an academic discipline, and with it the growth in the market for the quasi-literary journal. F.R.DAVID, Dot Dot Dot, 2HB, The Happy Hypocrite, Cabinet and a wealth of other eccentrically named journals/magazines/collections/ catalogues/zines reflect a burgeoning interest in the written word – and not just the written word, but the word transcribed in a perishable material object, a book. The rise of this bibliophile tendency has come hand-in-hand with an increased interest in archive studies and it reflects a renewed Foucauldian concern with how knowledge is produced and logged, who owns and interprets it, and who speaks and on behalf of whom. It has also paralleled the rise of the internet, the blog and the portable digital reading device. The relative safety of the paper-bound book within contemporary art circles may suggest a negative reaction to the digitising of artistic production, a skewed romanticism where books are the final ruins of modernity, a Tintern Abbey for the digital age.” (Douglas, 2011)
I found this article particularity interesting in relation to the experiments I have been doing – attempting to work as an interdisciplinary multi-media creator who uses images and text, along with digital processes – especially digital as I abhor the skewed romanticism we apply to older forms while denigrating newer forms. This is made even more unpalatable when you consider how accessible and potentially egalitarian the newer forms are. (See my DI&C essay).
‘Samuel Beckett left strict instructions for his ‘one-mouth’ play. Don’t act. And you can never go fast enough. Easier said than done, writes actor Lisa Dwan’ — Read on http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2013/may/08/beckett-not-i-lisa-dwan
Lisa Dwan- https://youtu.be/e4qaRp4t4jg
Billie Whitelaw – https://youtu.be/VFQH7hhDTSE
As you work through Part Three, carry on developing your major body of work. Continue to shoot and reflect on your work so far and build a set of images to submit to your tutor.
Remember that the point of these assignments is to get tutor feedback on the project as a whole so come with your questions on how to move forward and ask for your tutor’s opinion on how the project is working so far.
Submit your work in progress together with a reflective commentary. Your reflection may consider some of the material in Part Three if it has been relevant to your practice. You may also wish to consider how genres are continuing to influence you and how you’re relating what you’re doing in Contextual Studies to your practice on this course.
‘Through photographs, the world becomes a series of unrelated free-standing particles: and history, past and present, a set of anecdotes and faits divers. The camera makes reality atomic, manageable and opaque. It is a view of the world which denies interconnectedness, continuity, but which confers on each moment the character of a mystery’
Susan Sontag, On Photography
The spreads are provided below, but it is likely best to look at the PDF above in Adobe or Preview on a decent-sized screen.
Context and reflection can be found beneath the images below. Links to influences and my own research/blog posts are listed at the bottom of the post – there are no links in the body of writing.
Cuttings is an inquiry into the way meaning emerges from the entangled intra-action between stories and lived experience, language and material; it explores the making and shaping of matter and ideological objects. As an emergent object itself, it echoes the fragmented way we receive information today.
Proposal
How the work came about:
I think I arrived at the title for this iteration – Cuttings – after reading a relevant chapter from Life After New Media (Kember and Zylinksa (2010). I have been attempting to look at the way we construct reality which is a vast subject and not much of a micro-narrative with which to contain the subject. Edgar Martins and Lisa Bernard both explore the sort of ideas I’ve been playing with but they are contained within precise and potent narratives. I have looked at Martins’ work, Siloquies and Soliloquies on Death, Life and Other Interludes (2016) which is ostensibly about death as it says in the title, but woven throughout is a relatively new way of examining and constructing the world – a non-linear, non-Cartesian way; one that is influenced by a modern form of science which does not see a world filled with discrete unrelated objects. (Even death is viewed somewhat differently through this emerging lens).
In an interview, Lisa Bernard says of her work, The Canary and the Hammer (2019) – (which I have only read about and not seen except online):
“The art market is so focused on creating a linear narrative,” says Barnard, who teaches at the University of South Wales. “I wanted to do the complete opposite.” Her aim is to showcase “a very fragmented world” that stimulates and excites. Using a range of aesthetics — traditional landscapes, portraits and still life, plus archival material and digital imagery — she goes on “a personal journey” through the troubled world of gold over different periods in its complex history.’ (Raval, 2019)
Before settling on Cuttings, I had put together some slides and video. I did it this way to demonstrate the entangled, non-linear view I was exploring. It details vague plans and an original title which I have been thinking about since beginning BOW as I recorded notes/writings on my Sketchbook blog. These were titled Random notes for a short story #(number). Rather than one single narrative, there were going to be many – emulating the fragmented way we receive information nowadays, via social media for instance.
Much of my research for CS and BOW has been based around Meeting The Universe Halfway by Karen Barad (2007) where the agential cut is a key term in her thesis. It is one aspect of her thesis, which she calls agential realism. It’s impossible to summarise her work without being reductive – but there are some crucial elements such as entanglement, diffraction and a rejection of representationalism. This latter concept is the hardest to get my head around and I am not sure if/how the work I’ve made supports or rejects it. My CS essay plan describes these terms in more detail.
The full post with this video with individual slides is available in the links at the bottom of the post
Background and ongoing development:
I have made extensive notes and included contact sheets, rejected ideas, early experiments. Crucial posts are available in the Chance, Research and Reflection drop-down menu item , and a keyword search will reveal even more if that is necessary.
Chance
Some of the work included was deliberately made with chance in mind – the 8mm film was ordered from eBay. I had no idea what I would do with it once it arrived. I have photographed it and made new images with it. While making the dummy I made printing mistakes which led to ideas – forgetting to press a button that ensured images were printed on a single page – then used that split in the book. The selfie was not intended for actual use but have used it anyway. Lots of experimenting has led to surprises which are included in the book.
Plans from here:
I feel I have a choice – keep developing this book, or use it as an actual script (rather than a little double entendre about life) to create a moving image piece or several separate short pieces. I am sure the second option would lead to further images and writings and the book would grow/develop anyway as a consequence. But it may be attempting too much. I suspect, keep developing the book and then curate the experiments in SYP if I go for exhibiting rather than book production. Something to think about and discuss with Ruth.
I have used Processing – a coding programme to create some of the images that appear in the book now. Early moving image experiments are available on my Vimeo feed and posted on my blog – and I hope to find ways to make short looping films which could go on a web page with some of the texts perhaps.
Some people found the tiny handmade book development tool I made ‘enchanting’. For a moment I was almost tempted to go down that route. Melissa Lazuka’s Songs of the Cicadas, a handmade book with a very limited run for obvious reasons, looks a beautiful object but it is terribly romantic and I don’t think it’s the right direction. I have tended to make digital newspapers in the past – I like the utilitarian democratic nature of them but I do like the idea of a real book too. Something to contemplate.
Issues with this version:
I think there are some things I can do to this version of the book before submitting, reshoot a couple of things, add a bit more maybe – I have other ideas I’d like to play with, and the image of me at the end was a phone pic I did before attempting my first shots with the film – it’s a ridiculous picture which I dismissed but when I looked on my phone for something else, that’s what I liked about it -it’s ridiculousness because selfies often are. I would probably also reset the text to give it a thicker margin, look at decisions that will be affected by print choices – but I feel I need a bit of time away from it now, and to get back to the essay.
Peer feedback
I have not requested feedback yet but will do after submitting to Ruth and take any useful comments forward to the next stage of development/assessment submission.
Reflection
Demonstration of technical and visual skills
My everyday photography is not still life and I find it tricky – it requires the kind of skill that doesn’t come naturally to me. The image of the photograph on a self-healing mat with lines nearly didn’t make it – if I couldn’t get it straight it wasn’t going in. It’s not perfect but I think ok. My Processing skills are extremely limited. I wanted something to look like it had been through a digital process. I think there is much more scope but balancing out the time to find out how to do things (I am currently at the stage of copying and pasting the code I picked up in class and am grateful for Simon Chirgwin’s help as he attended it too and is far abler). But overall, I think it demonstrates a good level.
Quality of Outcome
I think this work is ambitious and carries a level of risk with it. It feels like the sort of thing that needs to be longer, needs more substance than it currently has to be able to do what’s it’s aiming to do. But at the same time, it already has a lot going on and so although it might need to have something else, it’s always going to need refining and balancing – and simplifying to allow for the complexity to live/breathe. I can see where Martins succeeds in using a range of sources. For me, there is the added element of the writings. He has text but it’s not the same kind of writing. Its presence probably means I need to pull back with the multiple sources of images.
Demonstration of creativity
Even if someone doesn’t like the style, subjects, tone – it would be hard to say its not creative.
Context
The CS essay plan and research along with the related context for BOW is strong – and I am very much enjoying that aspect of L3. (A very hard thing for me on L3 is keeping on top of two modules at the same time, even though I know there is a reason for this and am benefitting – it’s nevertheless a challenge with time.)
Useful links
Notes on Kember and Zylinska – re the cut https://sjflevel3.photo.blog/2020/01/11/bow-cs-digital-liveliness%E2%80%8B/
Kember, S. and Zylinska, J. (2012) Life after new media: mediation as a vital process. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press. At: http://topologicalmedialab.net/xinwei/classes/readings/KemberZylinska/LANM.pdf(Accessed 11/01/2020).
My notes on Edgar Martins work https://sjflevel3.photo.blog/?s=edgar+martins
Sophie Calle https://fraenkelgallery.com/exhibitions/sophie-calle-because
Lisa Bernard https://sjflevel3.photo.blog/2020/01/21/lisa-bernard-chateau-despair/
Project I began then abandoned mixing old and new together (2018) https://sarahjanefieldblog.wordpress.com/2018/07/18/new-project-manipulated/
Mario Klingman https://ocasjf.wordpress.com/2018/02/10/artist-talk-mario-klingemann/
Notes on Tom’s First Film – film from eBay https://sjflevel3.photo.blog/2019/12/31/bow-a3-toms-first-film/
From Sketchbook – Random Notes for a Short Story: https://sarahjanefieldblog.wordpress.com/category/bow-cs/rnfass/
Film/photography/shadow puppets – McGregor, R. (2013) ‘A New/Old Ontology of Film’ In: Film-Philosophy 17 (1) pp.265–280. At:https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/10.3366/film.2013.0015 (Accessed 13/12/2019).
Vimeo video above – full blog post with individual slides https://sjflevel3.photo.blog/2019/12/01/bow-ca-an-attempt-to-put-bubbling-concept-outside-of-me/
I have taken lots of images – most of which were rejected outright and various contact sheets are available under the relevant menu item of the blog. (I might make a new menu button solely for contact sheets as the Research & Reference item has a very long list beneath it now.)
This page is a record of various experiments, many of which are not in the book. Click on the image for captioned information ( Note: will need to reorder these, WordPress changed the order when I changed the format to show the images so now the captions don’t always make sense – think William Burroughs is having a laugh at my expense!)
Earlier versions of the book:
Shot by the window with a lamp rather than on the lightbox – can still see the frames but maybe not terribly exciting. Still want to get the film next to flesh but it’s very tricky at this aperture and certainly with the macro doing it on my own. Tied the film round my ankles just to get an idea of the film and flesh together and quite like the result but will need to do many more. Just three shots here – maybe the first will do but will have a go again anyway. But I must give this lens back tomorrow – however, it may be more manageable with the 50. I like the tiny hairs I’ve not shaved here which match another shot of a blade I’ve settled on. This is probably more interesting than the film on its own below. And I prefer it to the earlier ones I shot before.
(Contact sheet – some enhanced in LR, some not)
Last night I photographed the blade – had to put it in this cheap crappy product box I had lying around but in the end, I liked it with all its little stray hairs from the cloth. Had two versions, one which I edited and PS’d and actually preferred the one that was more honest. I guess that’s what more relevant for this particular project too – because the cut is about what we choose to leave out and/or include.
The contact sheet is not even worth sharing – most of them are completely out of focus. Really struggled with this one.
And after using a cutout remnant from an old project, I photographed and scanned the following.
And just reminding myself of this one…. taken earlier this week on the lightbox.
More Processing experiments with the Tibetan shadow puppets. Original image at the bottom.
Front room trashed – wish I had studio space. Ah well…
Just bought some new printing materials to play with, will venture further afield to find more tomorrow
Plan today
Reshoot film cutting into flesh – Dawned on me I don’t need to shoot myself for this. It’s just too difficult. Will work with a friend Monday morning.
Reshoot shadow puppets – Have done this morning, but only with one lamp and window light. See below. Think I might need a bit more light and no daylight on the white paper. Bit of tinkering in LR – needs tidying up in PS. But took several poses. Will use these to make a page for the dummy and think about lighting a bit more.
Reshoot gold leaf squares – proper exposure – Spent ages looking for a very bright pink silk dress I am sure I still own to put the leaf squares on but couldn’t find it so stuck with black cloth. But better exposed. Barely touched in LR. (First image cropped only and a small amount of vibrance increased)
Ditto photographic plate – Can’t get this one right at all. Tried scanning on my Epson scanner, which isn’t terribly pretty – makes it look quite weird, waves of light bouncing off the silver surface not ideal for the poor scanner
Shoot gold fringe curtain in woods (if not raining) – didn’t get time to do this
Print, cut, slice, glue – create dummy booklet with what I have so far – I’ve put things in place but not glued as still have things to shoot and photograph
Order gold face/body paint – done
Find old film about gold mining in SA, print screenshot if appropriate image can be found possibly for dummy book – something to do over the weekend
Make circle, print and cut out for cover – still to do, not sure if I want it now, maybe
Tonight reshoot lightbox like cinema screen slow shutter speed to make light glow around box – I will do this tomorrow as have just completed cutting, printing, etc. exhausted!
Have postponed taking camera to Fixation to fix hot-shoe till Monday – too much to do.
Contact sheet from earlier today – some strange random ordering for some reason.. (not asked for it!)
SJField - OCA Level Three Study Blog 