L3 Google Student Hangout Oct 31st

Had a good session today with a number of OCA students. We mostly discussed the work of Selina who is looking at gender issues in her body of work. A short discussion around the effects of gender as a construct of society took place with a number of differing views being stated. I also updated on my progress of my own body of work and contextual studies as I've not been part of the group recently. I talked about my thoughts on what I want to achieve with my degree and what my goals are.

Brighton Photo Biennial 2018 - Tereza Cervenova: June

This artist has made autobiographical work on the Brexit referendum result. As a European artist living and working in the UK, Cervenova's image are ambiguous and intriguing. Cervenova has described herself as feeling like something was snatched away. The works are titled only by date and place. Apparently the dates signify specific moments relating to the Brexit referendum, an anti Brexit march, terror related attacks in Europe, and Trump's Muslim ban. The images were taken around Britain at the time of these events and are the artist's personal response to those events.

 

Tereza Cervenova - June

Tereza Cervenova - June

I was interested to see that the images were not framed but hung loose from a small baton attached to the top edge of each print. This meant that the images had begun to curl at the bottom. The Photoworks guide explained that the fragility of the subject matter and the physicality of the medium of the photographic print are both an integral part of the way the prints were hung.

As I am about to embark on planning my own exhibition and do not want to use frames I thought a lot about the words of the Photoworks guide. I am slightly worried about my prints hanging from the ceiling tracking system without frames; will they buckle, look unprofessional, and detract from my message? I was going to mount them on foam board to stop this occurring but should I worry at all? My subject matter also has a fragility that could be read in images hanging loose and buckling. I need to discuss this with my tutor I think.

Brighton Photo Biennial 2018 - Emeric Lhuisset: L'Autre Rive

The theme of the 2018 Biennial 'A New Europe' comes at a very pertinent time as our society in the UK is undergoing massive cultural and political upheaval. These changes are reflected in many of the projects on show, dealing with hot topic subjects such as the migrant crisis, homelessness, and national identity. This year the OCA students were guided through a number of exhibitions by staff from Photoworks who host the Biennial.

Emeric Lhuisset's L'Autre Rive project uses unfixed cyanotypes to detail the generations of migrants that have settled in Europe. The process allows the prints to darken over time as they change through a colour range from European Union flag blue to black, losing all photographic detail in the process. Lhuisset has managed to slow the darkening process so that the images fade over the life of the exhibition. We arrived on the last weekend and by this point most of the images were completely black although my iPhone exposure has compensated for this and brought out much more detail than can be seen by the eye.

In my mind the conceptual marrying of the unfixed cyanotype process with the subject matter fits perfectly. The lives of migrants to and currently working in the UK is under threat and their voice is fast disappearing from the political discourse. One of the most poignant images is of the crossing point closest to Europe where many migrants have lost their lives in the water.        

Emeric Lhuisset - L'Autre Rive

Handout for L'autre Rive

Assignment 1

For this assignment I've put together a pdf of my body of work for the Target Practice series for potential portfolio review. I've included my artist's statement, some supplemental material that would be available at the forthcoming Target Practice exhibition in 2019, links to my website, and the video I made of the Target Practice magazine. I needed to research somebody in the professional field of photography that would best suit not only my style of photography but be able to give advice in the direction I would want my art practice to take.

I'm not looking to build up a practice and take on commercial work for a living so I am free to concentrate on making work about subjects that engage me. I imagine this approach could be potentially limiting as I imagine it is the commercial practice that brings one into the network of contacts that could lead to potential work in other spheres. Other than making work I'm not entirely sure what direction I would like my photography to take; a portfolio review and discussion with a professional may answer these questions.

I have selected three potential candidates. One is a contact that has seen an earlier project, given good advice, and publicised my work to a wider audience. The other is someone who was brought to my attention by my Body of Work tutor during my research on Homosexual Holocaust victims and survivors; he has research and produced artwork on the same subject and I would be interested to get his opinion on my portfolio. The final candidate is a gallery director that provides professional portfolio reviews to photographers.

I'm inclined to get advice from all three if they are willing. The reasoning for this is that one knows me and supports my work, another doesn't but has an interest in the subject matter, the third has no connection to me, my work, or the subject matter as far as I'm aware. I would be interested in getting advice from all three of these perspectives.

For now, I need to put together a covering letter for my tutor, Clive White, and send it all off for tutor feedback before submitting for a portfolio review.

Edit:

My feedback with Clive went well and he was pleased with my plans for moving forward with this module and my initial proposal for an exhibition. My feedback on my portfolio was informative, surprising and unexpected  - all good lessons learned for showing work to a professional audience and I have documented this for my assessment.

Open Arts Collective Exhibition

As a member of the Thames Valley OCA student group I'm taking part in a group exhibition next year. It will be at the Light Box in Woking and will feature photography, some drawing, and possibly a video installation. The Open Arts Collective consists mostly of photographers so that is the medium that will be in abundance. The group decided the theme for the exhibition will be 'time' and the group have been working for over a year on various pieces of work to show. A sub committee was set up to find a location and make logistical decisions about costs and curating. I would have liked to be more involved in the curating and organising side but a couple of factors have made that impractical; one was that at the time my level 3 studies for Body of Work and Contextual Studies was in full swing; the other is that I travel with my partner (a drawing/painting student) quite a distance from Kent to take part in the Thames Valley Group in Berkshire once a month; making myself available for extra meetings over this distance is not practical.

Working on our group's theme I thought about how the surface structure of our planet changes over geological time. I began to conceptualise this idea and began working on double exposed images using my iPhone. I looked for combinations of rural and urban, small details and interior shots, and came up with some combinations that I think work well with my concept. The work had to be submitted with an artist's statement to a curating sub committee consisting of OCA students from the Thames Valley Group. It was accepted and the work along with my statement is posted below:

I'm looking forward to the Feb 2019 exhibition and seeing all the others artist's work hanging in the gallery. I will update with our progress on this blog.

Crustal Deformations 1 – 5

Crustal deformation is caused by tectonic activity that compresses, tensions, and shears the earth's crust. Material on the surface deforms, creating new landforms that change positions, shape, and orientation.

In this series I conceptualise the geological process of crustal deformation by creating double exposures that merge cityscapes and the built environment with the natural one. The new landforms and oblique planes in my images remind us that in geological terms, the solid ground that we stand upon is an illusion relative to time.

Five photographs created using double exposure digital technology.

 

An Artist's Bio

I've spent most of the weekend trying to write an artist's bio and it has been really difficult and made me feel uncomfortable. Here's the result. It's a first draft I guess because I know it doesn't really fit the criteria for a bio that is supposed to be more about me than the work. But I guess there are bits of information that can be gleaned from it that will inform the reader about my personality - for good or bad! I also posted on my private Facebook account and some fellow OCA students and tutors provided links to some good advice for writing when mentally blocked. Here are the links:

https://filip-magnus-writes.blog/2017/05/23/writing-advice-the-messy-first-draft/?fbclid=IwAR0BGTXWw-naVZWY_iy_GrXUNxtBejHV8tj69t9hbQl_brDiMszBCYkcG1w

https://www.theguardian.com/culture-professionals-network/culture-professionals-blog/2013/apr/15/writing-artist-statement-tips-language?fbclid=IwAR3RQVOh4fIjqupazNm2uWlssJASQLVvH3aItr9DxbwKwtLqGnXikYYZdek

Bio:

I like to explore a chosen project through constructed imagery. This entails making props and re-photographing them to incorporate into visual narratives. I'm all about the narrative. I take a topic that I've researched and spend quite a bit of time thinking about it before I ever make any work. Sometimes all that thinking gives me sleepless nights and I have to reach across and doodle in my sketchbook visualisations of a thought that has been quietly nagging away at me. It can take a month or a few years for a project to get underway. Most of my projects are connected to Queer identity as that is part of who I am and I think it is important to make work on themes that I have a tangible connection to.

At some point the research has been done to death and there is a flurry of activity; prop making, scouting out locations, perusing my sketchbook for oblique truths – always thinking, always looking for that elusive moment when thoughts and ideas and visualisations crash together and something small coalesces into something larger, more profound. Once I know I'm there I find the work comes together very quickly and a series of images are made. They might need tweaking; that one idea that completes the series may remain ellusive for a while - but it doesn't take long once I'm fired up on a project.

My name is Michael Colvin and I'm a photographer artist. This is my bio and I think the work I make is more important than who I am.

An Artist's CV

I made a start on my artist's CV with the details of my art education and exhibition. This will be a very short CV! In fact so short that I listed my undergraduate BA degree and two exhibitions that will not be open until next year. Not much of a list but it is a start.

I had a look at a number of artist's CV's as recommended in the course notes and they are all very simple, just exhibition lists mainly. I decided to go with this simple format and I will add to it as I progress.

https://michaelmcolvin.myportfolio.com/cv

Google Hangout for Level 3 students

Today I re-engaged with the level 3 student hangouts. This was an enjoyable session as we looked mainly at the body of work of Hazel, one of my fellow OCA students. It is always good to get together and discuss different viewpoints on photography and give and provide feedback. I think Hazel came away from the session feeling more positive with the direction she was taking in her work. For myself I will introduce some of the issues that I will be dealing with as I progress towards my exhibition next year in future sessions; the google hangout consists of students and alumni that have already been through the experience of putting on a solo show for graduation so there input will be invaluable.

Setting up a PR database and Mass Mailer

Having finished a short to-do list of who I can contact for a portfolio review for my Target Practice work, I've moved on to the business of getting myself a mailing list spreadsheet for all my contacts. It is no surprise that it is mostly populated with friends and fellow UCA students, but there are a few professional contacts too so it's a start...

I've also signed up to Mailchimp, a mass email campaign manager/database app. I think I will be able to import my contacts from my spreadsheet into it once I'm ready to begin mailing my exhibition details.

I've also been working on my website. I've got the basic template sorted and purchased a domain name. I want to keep the website fairly simple with just my projects and some basic info. Again I've made a start on this and will continue to update it:

michaelmcolvin.com

Getting Feedback

The first section of this course discusses the type of networks that are available to a student on the final lap of the UCA degree programme.

A peer feedback network is vital for students to learn how to receive critique and respond to other's work in the same manner. Having support from fellow students when the work is developing and study deadlines are approaching is invaluable. I am lucky in that I have always taken part in the excellent study days organised by the UCA (formerly OCA). This has helped to develop a network of like-minded students that were willing to engage in the study of contemporary art but also to come together for mutual support. From this the Thames Valley study group has developed and we have monthly critique days, often attended by a tutor. We are also currently submitting our work for a group exhibition to be organised by ourselves in Woking next year. I'm also part of a Google hangout group for level 3 students which has been a good source of support; although I've not attended for a while, but hope to rejoin the group more frequently now I have more time.

A professional feedback network consists of input from a professional working in the creative industry. This could be a portfolio review and the course notes lists several contacts. I will need to think about this as they are mostly fee based. I do think I could definitely benefit from some outside feedback on the Target Practice work so I will look more closely at the list over the next week or so.

Other options are a professional working in the creative arts that the student already knows. I can think of one or two possibilities that isn't currently an UCA tutor that I could contact - I may do this too.

Before approaching anyone I need to think about the kind of feedback I'd like. The Target Practice work is 99% complete, so would I be asking about the work at this stage or for advice on how to move forward towards exhibition and making the work public. Both would be great!

I also have a to do list in my head of the other tasks that I need to have in place at this stage:

Promote my work on Instagram - I've created a second account for the Target Practice work and have begun to post occasionally with info about my exhibition. I have also tried to include work in progress for exhibition handouts etc, and my thoughts on the experience. I think that a more personal touch is always more interesting so that people can follow and become connected to the artist and their personal practice.

https://www.instagram.com/michaelmcolvin/

I've been regularly posting my wip on Facebook for friends, family and fellow students to view. I've had some encouraging feedback from doing this and I will continue to promote my new social networks and exhibition info back through this route to keep everyone in the loop.

Build a portfolio website - I've begun to do this using the Portfolio website builder software that is part of the Adobe Creative Cloud package that I subscribe to. Some other website builders have been suggested by fellow students so if this one doesn't pan out I have a list of others I can fall back on.

Twitter - I really don't like what I've heard about Twitter and all the negativity that gets voiced on there. I feel I will probably need to use this platform because of its wide reach but only in a limited way to link back to my Instagram and website. I'm not sure I want to engage much with that platform.

That's about it for the start of SYP. My exhibition space is also booked for July 2019 but more on that as I progress through the course.