Category: Assignment 5: Revision

Assignment 5: Self-directed Project Revision

Very little change was suggested by my tutor for this assignment, the main one being about editing and to to think about what the assessor can reasonably be expected to look at. This is fair comment and probably resulted from my suggestion that I might submit a grid of photographs as well as a handmade book, something I have since thought better or.

It was always my intention to present this assignment as a handmade book. I wanted to draw on the work of Hamish Fulton and to a lesser extent, Richard Long, in that text is a major feature of their work. I also felt that this was as good way to draw the viewer gradually into the idea that this work is about numbers but it is not until they reach the end of the book that this really becomes clear.

Since submitting the draft to my tutor I attended a book making workshop at the Photo Parlour in Nottingham, reflection here.  We were asked to take no more than 30 photographs for our planned book and I now understand that this is because many, including some favourites are likely to be discarded as part of the sequencing process.  As a result of what I learned at the workshop, some of the photographs included in my draft have changed and the final edit is as follows:

In addition there is a text piece, amended slightly to reflect the number of photographs used…

… and a grid at the back of the book pulling together the idea of this being a numerical journey.

The making of the book caused me a few problems. Whether the glue was too wet or I had used too much, or the paper too absorbent I don’t know, but my first version after  I came back from the workshop had to be remade because the paper warped and I have been unable to straighten it. For the second version I chose a slightly different style of book which has worked better.

  • The final version of the book contains 18 photographs plus a grid of 15 small square photographs at the back. All are printed on Fotospeed Smooth Pearl 290 at 5×7
  • Pages of the book are made with Bockingford watercolour paper NOT 190gms
  • The book is covered with Windsor rayon lined book cloth
  • The font used for the title of the text piece is Adobe Caslon and for the body of the text, Adobe Myriad Pro

Self Evaluation

Demonstration of technical and visual skills

I believe I have achieved this element of the criteria particularly well for this assignment. I knew I wanted something different but was unsure what until I noticed numbers along the towpath, milestones to start with but then other numbers, on bridges and gates and other seemingly random numbers along the edge of the canal and this is what I chose to work with. I believe my technical and compositional skills are well developed and that my photographs  are technically very good.  Having walked the route in 4 stages I found the different light on one leg in particularly challenging, that said, I have been able to modify the tones and brightness to some extent in Lightroom and the tones and colours were taken into consideration in the final edit and sequencing of the book.

Quality of outcome

This is another area that I feel has been particularly successful. The biggest challenge, prior to my book-making workshop was the editing and shortlisting process and this was commented on in my tutor feedback. It was always my intention to present this work as a hand made book and following feedback from peers, I also considered a large poster, which I was aware would demand a different permutations of photographs. Having taken on board my tutor’s feedback regarding the amount of work an assessor can realistically look at, I abandoned the poster idea for assessment (though will pursue this separately) and decided to put my efforts into producing a high quality book. Having received positive comments on a handmade book for my Documentary assessment, I booked onto a workshop at The Photo Parlour in Nottingham with photographer and book maker, John Blakemore to further develop my skills. One of the things John focuses on is the sequencing of images which in his view is key to achieving a professional outcome.  Having tested several photo papers, I chose to use Fotospeed Soft Pearl 290 and printed at 5×7 inches, thus giving each photograph its own space.  Fotospeed have provides custom profiles for my printer to ensure that colours are as accurately represented.  The book is covered with Windsor rayon lined book cloth which I found easy to use whilst giving a professional finish. I researched the best fonts to use with text in an artist’s book and selected Adobe Caslon for the heading of the text piece and Adobe Myriad Pro for the body of the text.

Demonstration of creativity

I feel that my own interests and passions are emerging through this work more so than previously and I have taken risks with something  I was not initially confident would work.  I walked the towpath with purpose looking for something different and believe I found it in seemingly random numbers, which also ties in with some of Hamish Fulton’s work.  The more I have worked with the numbers and sought the opinion of peers the more ideas have been generated, particularly regarding how the work could be presented. I experimented with grids with a view to producing at least one large poster and have been in contact with the local branch of the Canal and River Trust with a view to them using this for marketing purposes.   For the purpose of assessment though, my work is presented as a handmade book as I wanted the idea of numbers to develop gradually for the viewer and be confirmed when they get to the end of the book. During my walks I recorded the sounds of the canal and the towpath and although I have not yet found a way of using these recordings in this assignment I will keep them for future use.

Development of a personal voice has been a long slow process for me but I believe was helped immensely by my choice of topic at Assignment 4 when I researched artists using text as their art.  What this taught me is that what may seem crazy initially can result in very successful work and as a direct result I have developed a text piece in a similar vein to some of those produced by Fulton, which I believe works well both in explaining something of the history of the canal but also my own unique angle.

Context

This work was initially inspired by Yan Wang Preston’s ‘Mother River’ project and Polly Braden and David Campany’s ‘Lea Valley Adventures’ and I did consider walking the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal towpath for Assignment 2, which required me to photograph a journey.  It was the right decision to leave this until Assignment 5 though because not only have I had more time to do the project justice but it has also benefited from the further development of my own skills, in terms of trying different things.  I have been able to draw on and further develop research started in Assignment 4, particularly in relation to land and walking artists such as Hamish Fulton and Richard Long and Fulton in particular had been quite influential.

Rebecca Solnit’s Wanderlust was a constant companion throughout this project and some of the factual information provided has helped me think about the purpose of my walk; to slow down, clear my mind, absorb the landscape, and to use Solnit’s quote from Jane Austin’s ‘Pride and Prejudice’ that the heroin, Elizabeth, ‘wandered…until she was beyond her own knowledge and into new possibilities’ (Austin quoted in Solnit, 2002:101). I have tried to work beyond my existing knowledge, or comfort zone with this project and have discovered that those ‘new possibilities’ are quite exciting.

I have researched the history of the canal quite extensively, both through the Canal and River Trust and a book and website developed by local historian, Hugh Conway Jones. It was this initial factual research that inspired me to develop the work further.  Much of the research undertaken has not been used in the final project, for example, having decided to include text, I discovered that there is a ‘Canal Laureate called Nancy Campbell who has written poems specifically for the Canal and River Trust.  Nothing quite worked though so I chose to write my own which I think was the right decision.

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