Chance, Challenge and Change

Chance, Challenge and Change – What exactly does this mean?

The theme of our first A2 photography module is entitled ‘Chance, Challenge and Change’.

After being told about this title, I decided to take some time to really consider the meaning behind this. The exact meaning of this title is a vague, open-ended question and therefore very difficult to define. However I am drawn to it as a concept relating to how as a photographer, it is important to ‘push the boundaries’ in order to develop an deeper and more meaningful understanding of the the purpose of photography

In response, I have come up with the idea that  the three sections of this theme serve as a guidance to this developing process.

Chance – Relating to idea that a successful photographic outcome relies partly on luck, capturing to right moment at the right time.

Challenge – Meaning that you must be willing to take risks, push out of your ‘comfort zone’ and be willing to tackle difficult and unfamiliar tasks in order to become a better photographer in the process.

Change – Meaning that as a photographer and an artist in general, it is important to try to be as unique and original as possible. You must always question that definition of photography and search for your own original responses.

Research Photographic Archives

Workshop at Société Jersiaise Photo Archive 9th June 2015

Using the Photographic Archive as a Resource for Research and Ideas

daguerreotype

Picture Research Exercise

At the beginning of this workshop your group will be assigned a photographer from the archive. Your group’s task will be to research the work of this photographer and to select a photograph by them that illustrates performance in some way and or the theme: CHANCE/CHALLENGE/CHANGE. Think Laterally!!!!

Choose between one of these names:

Laurens, Phillip Morel
Ouless, Clarence P
De Faye, Francis George
Dale, Edwin
Baudoux, Ernest
Dunham, Percy
Smith, Albert
Guiton, Emile F
Foot, Francis

click here for further instructions

Societe Schools Workshop 9 6 15 (2)

Family Album Challenge

From the task: Portraits of Childhood at the Photo-Archive we would like you to investigate your own private and personal family archives and see if you can identity photographs from your photo-albums/ personal archives that represent different decades of image making, working backwards in time i.e. 2010s, 2000s, 1990s and so on.

The student that finds the most images from different decades will win a prize given by the Photo-Archive at Societe Jersiaise. The prize winner will be announced on our last workshop day with Tom Pope at Hautlieu School Friday 10 July. Good hunting!

autochrome1

003902

005578

Research: Tom Pope

2015 Photographer in Residence is Tom Pope

This means that we will be working with him on the following days:

  1. Tuesday 9th June: Workshop at held at the Photo-Archive/ Societe Jersiaise
    Tom Pope Intro – talk about his own work/practice.
    Students research task about how to engage with the Photo-Archive
    Photo-shoot with Tom Pope
  2. Wednesday 17th June St Malo: On location shoot/performance with Tom Pope + teachers in St MaloPlease make sure you have completed relevant paperwork and returned payment.
  3. Friday 10 July: Hall at Hautlieu School.
    Plenary/ feedback/ assessment with Tom Pope

http://www.archisle.org.je/tom-pope-appointed-archisle-international-photographer-in-residence-2015/

TP1

Here is a clip where Tom is talking about his work Over the Edge

Here is a link to Tom Pope’s website where you can see a number of different works exploring the relationship between Performance and Photography using both video and stills photography to records his public performances and events.

Another link to a video teaser about his work which was a solo-exhibition So It Goes at London Gallery George and Jorgen

For analysis of his practice and key works think about Tom’s presentation of his work at the Photo-Archive. Use your notes from your notebook as well as carry out independent research. Here are some of the key concepts that underpin’s his work and practice:

Performance
Photography

Chance
Humour/Fun
Repetition
Play
Psychogeography
dérive (drifting)

Situationism (link to a ppt: Situationism)
Dadaism

Public/Private
Challenging authority
Failure
DIY/Ad-hoc approach
Collaboration
Audience participation

For further context and understanding have a look at some of the artists on this list which in one way or another has influence or connects with Tom’s work and practice.

Vito Acconci, John Baldessari, Yves Klein, Bas Jan Ader, Erwin Wurm, Chris Arnatt, Chris Burden, Francis Alÿs, , Sophie Calle , Nikki S Lee, Claude Cahun, Dennis Oppenheim, Bruce Nauman, Allan Kaprow, Mark Wallinger, Gillian Wearing, Marcel Duchamp and the Readymade, Andy Warhol’s film work, Steve McQueen, Sam Taylor-Johnson, Marina Abramovic, Pipilotti Rist

Blog

The Arrival

April 27, 2015  by tom  |  blog, Tom Pope’s Blog

blog http://www.archisle.org.je/category/tom-pope-blog/

Good evening, I’m Tom Pope a London based photographer and film maker and this years International Photographer in Residence at Archisle. Archisle is an international photography programme organised and run by the Société Jersiaise. I have been commissioned to create a new body of work that records Jersey in my style of shooting photographs and film, a solo exhibition of these works will take place in Jersey in September. Alongside this I will be leading a series of workshops for the people of Jersey.

I intend to use this blog to keep you updated as to my progress while also using this platfom to invite those people based in Jersey to participate with the works i make. Taking inspiration from the Société Jersiaise’s extensive archive, photographs and films will be created through improvised game play and orchestrated situations.

“We must develop a systematic intervention based on the complex factors of two components in perpetual interaction: the material environment of life and the behaviours which that environment gives rise to and which radically transform it. …Our action on behaviour, linked with other desirable aspects of a revolution in mores, can be briefly defined as the intervention of games of an essentially new type.”

Guy Debord, Report on the Construction of Situations and on the International Situationist Tendency’s Conditions of Organization and Action, June 1957

 

Planner: Performance & Photography

In the first A2 coursework module you are going to explore Performance and Photography  The aim of this module is to introduce you to a new way of thinking about image-making which involve the element of chance, spontaneity and play. We will be collaboration with Tom Pope, the Archisle Photographer-in-Residence  who will run a few workshops to get us thinking about how to explore elements of performance in photography.

Here is a link to the Planner Summer 2015.

This module will explore different approaches to image-making across different genres such as performance,photography, video, multi-media, installation, land/ environmental art, experimental film-making and avant-gardecinema.

This unit requires you to produce a blog of approx 30+ posts which chart you project from start to finish including research, planning, analysis, recording, experimentation, evaluation, final presentation of creative outcomes such as film, prints or installation.

We will be working to complete a number of different creative outcomes in the next 6 weeks until the Summer holiday.

Deadline is Friday 17th July

BN1

Bruce Nauman Rinde Spinning 2012. Click on video clip below