Urban Landscape: Cultural Quarter Trip

 We visited the cultural quarter in Leicester to explore urban landscape photography. As we were looking at Micheal Wolff and Thomas Struth, I was considering Leading lines (like Struth) in my images I wanted to show some architectural close-ups but I do like the city and Wolff's Architecture of Density which I also tried to exemplify in some of my own work. Leicester, of course, has its own character and identity and this I wanted to explore and show through looking through the lens at Leicester!

Thomas Struth, Bernhardstrasse 2, Leipzig, 1991

I used a Canon 700D for the shoot, beginning with settings around ISO 200, Aperture priority. These are the contacts from teh shoot

For this shoot I used both color and black and white and I think there are some shots that really work well, we were blessed with a cold but very sunny day which really enhanced these. 

F5.6, 1/1000, 55mm, ISO 200

This was looking at architectural density I liked this image from the Phoenix

F5.6, 1/4000. ISO 200, 55mm

and this image from the BT Tower - I can see this from my windows at home

F4, 1/40, ISO 200, 24mm

I liked this shot, the dirt of the pipe the dirty water glistening in the sun, the pavement below...

I will looking further at these shots next week for portfolio but this gives an idea of the shots I will be working with

Traces: Ana Mendieta

 Ana Mendieta (November 18, 1948 – September 8, 1985) was a performance artist who used photography, mixed media, film, and painting in her work.  Mendieta created challenging work such as 'Rape Scene' (1973) that challenged the viewer to experience uncomfortable truths the piece; 'was created in response to a brutal and highly publicised rape and murder of a nursing student, Sara Ann Otten, by another student in March 1973. The following month Mendieta invited her fellow students to her apartment where, through a door left purposefully ajar, they found her in the position recorded in this photograph, which recreated the scene as reported in the press. Some time later, Mendieta recalled that her audience ‘all sat down, and started talking about it. I didn’t move. I stayed in position for about an hour. It really jolted them.’ (Tate: 2023)  Here, in the image there are broken items on the floor, a suggestion of domestic violence, the woman is leaned over the table she is dehumanised by not having an identity, she becomes just a body as the rapist might see her.  It looks like blood on the womans bottom and thighs again suggesting abuse.  The evidence around the scene and the woman's body are traces of the abuse of a man.  In my own work on 'traces' I used the doll in this same position, abused, dehumanised, highlighting that outcomes for rape are now worse than ever and women's rights are going backward not forward, we are in a time of crisis.

Rape Scene (1973) Ana Mendieta

Ana Mendieta's Silueta series Mendieta uses nature and becomes part of the earth. Mendieta clearly felt a depp connection to the earth with and through her body and this series exemplifies her feeling '[Mendieta's] Silueta (Silhouette) series (begun in 1973) used a typology of abstracted feminine forms, through which she hoped to access an “omnipresent female force.”'(Guggenheim; 2023) In the first image, Mendieta becomes the earth, the tree appears to be growing from her and her body is entwined within the branches and leaves.  Her face is obscured as in this she is all woman, with a spiritual connection to the earth.

Silueta Series, Untitled  (1973-79) Ana Mendieta

Silueta Works in Iowa (1976-78) Ana Mendieta

In the second image, Mendieta camouflages herself against the tree, it is almost animalist and in nature, they are also about identity and place in the world, Brough states that; 'Mendieta’s earthworks occupy a liminal space between presence and absence'  (Brough:2020).  In my own work, I play with presence and absence, and as a woman often we can feel invisible and 'absent' from life as if we have been eliminated.  Mendieta resonates with women as they understand what it is to disappear, to not be seen or to be seen but in the wrong way, an identity thrust upon us by man, society.  Mendieta's work should be meditated upon and considered deeply her presence/absence in these images highlights womans' existence.

References

Tate (1973) 'untitled (rape scene)', Ana Mendieta, 1973, Tate. Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/mendieta-untitled-rape-scene-t13355 (Accessed: January 22, 2023). 

Brough, J. (2020) This artwork changed my life: Ana Mendieta's "silueta" series, Artsy. Available at: https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-artwork-changed-life-ana-mendietas-silueta-series (Accessed: January 22, 2023). 

Untitled: Silueta Series (no date) The Guggenheim Museums and Foundation. Available at: https://www.guggenheim.org/artwork/5221 (Accessed: January 22, 2023). 

Advert Practice Piece: Pixlr

 

On Pixlr, I opened the software online and the created a new canvas for my advert A3 portrait with a white background.  I did this by just clicking on 'Create New' then I chose 'Print' A3 in the presets and then I added a name and background of white

I downloaded one image from Unsplash to practice my advert this is the image

Next I added my image to my canvas I did this by clicking on select and then select all, then copy and then I clicked back into the canvas and clicked on edit and then paste.  Then as my canvas was larger than my image I cropped my canvas by clicking on the crop tool, adjusting to create a small border and then I hit return and my canvas and image are ready.

I used Tailor Brands to create a logo.  My company is called 'Donkey Delight' as it is a Donkey Sanctuary.  This is the final outcome

I snipped the logo from Tailor Brands and I uploaded this by opening it on Pixlr and then I used the move tool to put it in the left hand corner.  I also lowered the opacity by clicking on the layer and then the three dots on the right hand layers box and then lowered the opacity using the slider

I created a text layer by clicking on the text tool in the right hand menu and then added a text layer, I used the text tools in the top menu to change the font to Gustavo 135pts and I changed the colour to white and made it bold to stand out on my advert.

This my final advert 

Reflection - this is a good practice however in the real advert I will improve on the text on image so that it is clearer to read and create a better tagline for my product. 

Formable Traces: Final Piece

 To finalise my piece I put together my images on Photoshop, I used a black canvas andjust slightly adjusted teh curves to ensure the image had a little pop. 

I played with this final pice on the Deep Dream AI generator and I asked for this in the style of Nan Goldin.  The generator created this from my images...

Reflection

I enjoyed taking these images, I think last term I worked with the doll and continuing this through these images was interesting as a continuation of the experiences of woman.  I like the black and white and the message.  I would obviously reshoot these to maybe improve them if I was to use this again for anything however for this short exercise I actaully as very pleased with the result.  I have also been experimenting with the AI images and I enjoyed very much the image the AI generated from my final images here - an interesting result - a couple in a caravan resulted from the domestically abused doll!  I I do enjoy the strangeness of the creation!

I evolved the image further and this is what was created...

My disembodied dolls become whole..

Creative Media Production: Photography Flash Task

 To begin the two-week photography project we looked at camera settings and functions and completed a 'flash task' in session to practice using the camera before going out on Friday to create Urban Landscape images.  

In this session, we looked at other artists who had used the idea of Traces of themselves or others in images, with the idea that e we would do this to create a piece showing photographic trace in the world or of someone else.  Ana Mendieta's work is a good example of this and I will be exploring her work through research in my next post.

Ana Mendieta, Imágen de Yágul, 1973/2018. Color photograph. © The Estate of Ana Mendieta Collection, LLC. Courtesy Galerie Lelong & Co.

After considering the work of Annika Von Hauswolff, I based my image ideas for this short class task on this, I liked the idea of the balloons and used this to experiment with.

Annika Elisabeth von Hausswolff, Attempting to Deal with Time and Space, 1997/2001

I used the Canon 700D for these images and initially set the camera to ISO 400, F4, 1/200.  I also shot these, for the most part in black and white.  Below are my contact sheets, I ended up with around 139 images.

Following on from last term the doll images here actually turned out to be most successful, so after experiments with my body parts, I tried the doll as I was working alone this worked well and I had an idea of how I would put these together.  Below are some of the images: 

ISO 400, F5, 1/20, -1 exposure compensation, FL 20mm

I quite liked this image with my big balloon-obscured face and the boots in the background, this fitted the brief and it did show me without showing me...

The following images were ISO 400, F5.6 exposure time ranging from 1/10 to around 1/30 and exposure compensation ranging from -0.3 to -1 

The doll in these images looks as if she is being abused in some way, certainly used incorrectly, positioned awkwardly, and exposed to the world.

I like this with shoe just falling off the foot, the slight blur with the movement 

The legs and skirt here work well and the hand, all with no face showing, objectifying the doll and making her more vulnerable in the images

I think this is my favourite image with the hand as it does leave the viewer guessing as to what is happening here, where is the hand reaching to or is she falling...

I will put these together for a final piece and see if I can create the story through these 'trace' images

Sequential Images: Class Task

 In class today we created sequential images, as a practice task to use camera software on of phones and digital editing software.  For my images here I just used images I had taken in another class but this was just an example to show how to create contacts and final images. 

On the sequential images we looked at Eadweard Muybridge to begin our studies, his original sequential images were a revolution in Photography.  The idea for the images did originate from a bet: 'In 1872, the former governor of California Leland Stanford, a race-horse owner, hired Eadweard Muybridge to undertake some photographic studies. Stanford had reputedly taken a bet on whether all four of a racehorse's hooves are off the ground simultaneously. On 15 June 1878, Muybridge set up a line of cameras with tripwires, each of which would trigger a picture for a split second as the horse ran past. The results, as shown in this plate, settled the debate' (Powell, 2013)

Animal Locomotion (Plate 626)'. Sequence with jockey on horseback by Eadweard Muybridge (1830 - 1904), English-born American photographer and inventor

On some mobile phones you may need to convert images from HEIC to jpg so I used a converter online so that I could have jpeg images for my blog and for Photoshop and Pixlr

These are my contact sheets from my shoot, I used Photoshop to create my contact sheet.  I opened Photoshop and clicked on File in the top menu, I then clicked on 'Automate' and then 'Contact Sheet'.  A dialog box opened and I clicked on 'Choose' and selected my file of sequential images from my photo shoot, Photoshop then automated the process of creating the contacts once completed I saved the contact sheets by clicking on 'File' Save As' and then saved these on my computer desktop as a png file so that I could add these to my blog

This is my final sequential piece as a group. I took these images using a Canon DSLR camera 700D

The settings of my camera were as follows:

My final images are here, these images were called Doll's Demise as I was playing with the idea that the doll was somehow in peril and this is what I have put together here as a sequence just as an example.

Reflection

I had a limited time to create these images, however, I was pleased with the images I took and I enjoyed shooting these in black and white.  I think the sequence for these images could have been more seamless and the flow could have been better so that the viewer has a clearer narrative.  I do have more images so perhaps I could have curated these better to make this work.  

References

Powell, J. (2013) Galloping horse by Eadweard Muybridge, The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/picture/2013/jun/15/horse-eadweard-muybridge (Accessed: January 19, 2023). 

Promoting Myself to Employers: Target Market Senior Digital Positions

As research for this small project I have looked at my target market, these are employers who are looking for Heads of Digital Design as this is what I advertised myself as in my promotional video. 

The first job I looked at it for a make-up and skincare company Charlotte Tilbury, London.  In real life, it would be highly unlikely I would choose to work for a make-up and skincare company however I chose this as the Head of Digital Design job description did match some of the skills and experience I have. When looking for jobs or looking for jobs that you aspire to it is important to really research your industry and find out what employers are looking for. 

This job description begins with 'This role will see you working on a variety of creative projects across the business. With leadership experience, you will have a demonstrated passion for navigating a team of talented individuals in improving digital marketing creative, and have a keen eye for detail in all things digital marketing.'  On my video, I stated that I had leadership skills, creativity, and innovative digital solution in marketing, so good start in the expected skills.  I then looked at 'Key Selection Criteria' this is most important to discern whether I actually have all the skills needed for the job so let's look at these and whether my skills are up to scratch!

Key Selection Criteria:

• Proven experience in team management and leadership of an army of creatives 

At present, I lead and manage a team of very creative art, design and media tutors so I am hoping that this would be provable experience that I have clearly stated on my CV

• Experience working on digital + ecomm design, ideally agency experience

Here I clearly work in Digital and I understand e-commerce and digital design through building websites and through working online, however, I have never worked at a design agency therefore in my cover letter I need to ensure I highlight the key skills I have in this area.

• Experience in, and enthusiasm for, developing creative ideas for digital platforms, as well as 360 campaigns, from brief to delivery

Clearly I have experience and enthusiasm for developing creative ideas on digital platforms and I have work online to show this skill.  I have not worked on a 360 campaign but understnd the process from brief to delivery through academic teaching and working online

• Ability to marry art (creative) and science (data); analytically looking at data, reporting and applying it to future projects and creative

In my job now I can give very good examples of working both creatively with and art and design but also in management we use data and statistics throughout the year which we create reports for quality assurance and board meetings.  This again would be outlined in my Cv and could be discussed at interview 

• Understanding of online accessibility, UX / UI

As you are aware from last term I discussed with you the importance of UI/UX design and this is something I have an in-depth knowledge of through working in digital design 

• A strong track record in project planning, including accurate estimation of costs and timings

In academic work planning is everything to ensure that everything is delivered in a timely manner so this again is a provable element of experience.  However, I do not work with budgets or costings and this area would be a weakness.

• Expert knowledge of user interface, application, mobile and responsive design, using the latest prototyping and design tools

I am very up to date on current design tools and strive to keep ahead in this area of digital design as it is part of my job

• Great sense of design and composition with a strong eye for layout and appreciation of brand guidelines across all devices and channels

I do have a strong eye for good design and I have worked to brand guidelines at DMU and for other companies online so I understand and can execute this very well

• Ability to work at pace, with a confidently calm demeanour

I do work at pace, not sure I am always calm but for the most part I would say as I am confident in my work and therefore I do carry out tasks with ease

• Exceptional information presentation (visual and written) experience

I think writing the programme for IYZ Art & Design and IYZ Media and preparing and making the majority of the presentation resources I am confident that I have in-depth experience of this.

• Infectiously positive and passionate energy

I am passionate and positive about my work and working is art, design and media and I think this comes through when discussing this aspect of my work.

• Proficiency in Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite, Google Suite (email, docs, drive, slides)

I am clearly proficient in Adobe Suite and Google as these are digital tools I use every day.  I had not used Sketch before but as I was doing this I checked it out however I think that it works more for Apple Mac users 

• Experience using Dropbox, and project management tools such as Trello

Have experience of using dropbox and I am aware of management tools programmes and how they work but have not used Trello before. 

From looking at this and considering my skills I might be tempted to apply for this as I do think that I have the digital design and management skills required.  I think doing this and considering carefully each requirement is key to success when applying for jobs.  Essentially you should apply for jobs that you want and that you are genuinely interested in but also that you have the right requirements for, as you can see above I did not have every single requirement but I would consider I had enough to apply and send my CV.  if the company think that I am suitable they will invite me for an interview but if not nothing has been lost by sending my CV and giving this a go.

While I was doing this I found several jobs as Head of Digital Design, as I stated at the beginning I perhaps would not want to work for a make-up and skincare company as this is not an area of interest, particularly for me but I would enjoy the design and marketing elements of this job.  On further research, I looked at several jobs of this kind and discovers that the key criteria and skills needed were very similar.  Therefore if I was looking to move into this sector I think I would work on familiarizing myself with more digital business and management tools and looking at budgets and as these are my weakest areas here.

Overall this was a interesting exercise and it did make me consider my skills, knowledge and employability and what transferable skills I have from the education sector.