As part of Assignment 1 we were
required to send out our work as a PDF for practising professionals
in order to gain feedback on the work. I approached gallery owner
Emma Roberts, curator and artist Linda Ingham, photographer Lee Gilby
and curator Alan Raw. I was also fortunate that,
whist at an excellent and inspirational exhibition, The Long View,
(see blog post) in The Lake District by photographer and poet
Rob and Harriett Fraser, I was able to talk to them about the
similarities in our work. They also agreed to give me feedback on
the work. I was delighted that I received feedback from all but Alan
Raw. All were positive about the work and all provided constructive
criticism which will enable me to develop the work further.
Linda
Ingham
Linda picked up from my introduction
that I was posing the question: which of the following options would
be 'best' – create your own track,, or follow one which is already
established. She felt that all of the images show evidence of a
track apart from the final one whch has no foreground and no
discernible way through. She feels that the question is a
meitaphorical as there can be no answer until both options have been
tried and even then it is subjective. She suggests that I might take
more images where there are no paths and pair them with ones showing
discernible tracks. This would be a viable option and to this end I
am making more images of tangled undergrowth but no path so that I
can try the idea. Linda feels that this might take the viewer closer
to the question without being too literal an interpretation of my
purpose. She does feel , though, that it is that single image with
no pathway which intrigues in relation to the others. Another
suggestion is that I could show images where there is no path and
then either physically on the prints or digitally mark where a chosen
path or track might begin. This is an interesting idea and I am
currently discussing how I might mark of work on a print as part of
another project I am working on with Linda. We shall see.
Linda also referred my to Robert
MacFarlane, especially a particular passage in The Old Ways, a book I
also find inspirational. Another author she suggests I should read
is Richard Mabey's Nature Cure. She
says that he does not always discern that is what he is talking about
is moving through wildernesses.
Linda says that the images worked
really well for her and are well-composed reminded me that I had
shown them at a peer group session. In this instance, although she
had viewed them upside down, they reminded her of some of the
lesser-known Klimt paintings. I need to research his landscapes.
Very encouraging and ideas to take the
word forward.
Emma Roberts
Emma begins her feedback by writing
that the way the project has been presented and written is in a very
considered way, reflective and representative of the subject of the
work. She felt that the quality of images themselves (all had both
the PDF and digital copies of the images) is good and consistent
throughout with a strong consistent theme and obvious exploration.
She enjoyed the written statement; it was concise and conveyed the
project well, with enough points for thought or further exploration
without spelling things out to the viewer. She felt that the Vimeo
slideshow was an interesting way of presenting the work. She says
that it is striking in a way fitting with the pieces and the subject.
It really does the work justice and shows it off very well as well
as holding onto the natural nature of the work; all the elements knit
together well. She likes the meditative flow of regular footsteps as
the soundtrack which also fits with the Tibetan title. She enjoyed
the subtle way the images lead into one another. She felt that it
might be a good idea to play with using gentler colours on the font
slides and the framing of the images – colours fitting with nature
such as an earthy grey, charcoal with green /brown hues. She finds
the black to be wuite jarring although she agrees this is subjective.
I take this point on board entirely and will experiment with the
idea. She feels that the video brings the photography to another
level. She could see it as a docu-photography piece working as an
installation in a gallery space – a large screened piece for
viewers to sit and take in.
Overall, she says, she feels that the
work achieves that thing of making something flow to a high standard
and making it seem effortless which is often hard to achieve. On a
personal note she enjoyed it for nature coupled with a
meditative/contemplative current running. A tonic to 'busy
noisiness' of a highly technical world in which we live.
Lee Gilby
Lee introduces his feedback by stating
that he began by taking a purely technical view rather than being
influenced by personal artistic taste.
He feels that the composition of the
images is thechnically sound, especially given the square format.
The lack of any clear horizon line, or in most cases, sky ties in
well with my statement and this forces the viewer to concentrate on
the main subject. He says that the theme is consistently featured in
each image and there is a repeating element – the vanishing point –
in al but two of the images. The final image appears to show no
shul/path and he assumes I have added this as a metaphorical 'end of
the road'. He feels that the thirteenth image strays slightly from
the format in that there is no vanishing point and he also feels that
it is a little over exposed in comparison to the other images,
although he suggests this could be his monitor. This is something I
need to give thought to and I could, perhaps resolve the problem by
taking on Linda Ingham's suggestion of pairing path with no path. I
will give some consideration the whether I feel the image is over
exposed. I thought that the print looked OK. It will be interesting
to see what assessors of my BOW feel in November.
Putting technical considerations to
one side Lee examined the images again. He found himself drawn into
into the images as a whole and feels that each one works in that the
viewer is almost challenged to find their own path. He sugests using
even more subtle tracks to challenge the viewer further. A good idea
and one that, again, could work with Linda's suggestion. He feels
that the accompanying video work takes the concept further and the
sound of footsteps is almost hypnotic adding a level of isolation and
immersion for the viewer that a print wouldn't.
He feels that the artist statement
explains the subject matter well, highlights my own thoughts and
ideas as well as those of others who have gone before.
Lee's only concern is that the colour
palette appears a little washed out and there are some subtle
differences in white balance. He says this may have been a choice
for me at post processing or maybe his monitor is not in sync with
mine. Again it will be interesting to see what assessors think to
the prints in November. However, it was a conscious choice for the
colours to be quiet, muted and reflective. I chose to photograph on
days of muted light and under rather than over processed.
Overall Lee feels that the work is
interesting in that there is a clear concept behind it and is not
just a collection of derivative woodland scenes so challenges the
viewer to explore the scene. He feels that the project could run for
a long time and be developed not only in the expression of the
concept but in themed variations such as open country, desert, snow,
looking at my own new tracks or that of animals or revisiting the
tracks at different times of year. I like this thought and am in
fact extending the work on the Lincolnshire coast as part of another
project with which I am involved.
He finishes by saying that developing
the accompanying video installation opens up a whole new world of
ideas and immersive events. A possible idea would be to project
different pathways on each wall of a viewing room and the viewer can
take their own path by simple changing their viewing position.
Taking this further, he says, maybe the installation is actually on
screens in a forest. Grand ideas indeed!!
Rob Fraser
Rob's feedback was more brief as it
was part of a general communication. However, I was delighted that
he took the time to view my work and comment.
He enjoyed my artist statement and
introduction to the work. He liked the simplicity of my woodland
pictures. He was interested in my ideas of collaborative working and
feels that there is a super-additivity nature of placing words next
to images, as if the sum of their parts becomes stronger.
