Case Study: QUINTESSENCE

This case study is about developing academic study skills for your next module Personal Study which involves developing a self-directed study based around a hypothesis of your own choice. The final outcome from your Personal Study is to produce a photo-book with a coherent set of photographs (30-40 images) that tell a story or express a personal point of view, including a 2-3000 word essay which relates directly to your hypothesis and body of work.

QUINTESSENCE is a group exhibition celebrating the first five years of Archisle: The Jersey Contemporary Photography Programme (www.archisle.org.je). The Archisle Programme, hosted by the Société Jersiaise Photo Archive promotes contemporary photography through an ongoing programme of exhibitions, education and commissions. Archisle connects photographic archives, contemporary practice and experiences of island cultures and geographies through the development of a forum for creative discourse between Jersey and international artists. Quintessence selects works commissioned for the new Archisle Contemporary Collection at the Société Jersiaise Photographic Archive since 2011 to celebrate, critique, contrast and discuss what has been achieved over the first five years of the project. The exhibition features works by:

Martin Parr / Tony Ray-Jones / Jem Southam / Michelle Sank / David Goldblatt / Yury Toroptsov / Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths / Tom Pope / Peter Finnemore / Mark le Ruez / John Gibbons / Martin Toft / Finn Larsen

Since its launch in 2011, Archisle has engaged diverse approaches to contemporary lens based media to lead creative research into the condition of islandness, ‘a complex expression of identity that attaches to places smaller than continents and surrounded entirely by water’ (Stratford 2008). Quintessence contrasts works in the Archisle collection in a group exhibition for the first time to analyse the ways in which the Island’s culture and landscape has been interpreted by Jersey and international photographers. The Archisle project recognises that Jersey as a small island community needs to go out and discover the world because the world will not come looking for us! Through internationalism we have developed a growing network of colleagues, friends, influences and inspirations. To reflect these connections, for Quintessence, artists represented in the Archisle collection were invited to nominate colleagues who have influenced or inspired their own visual language.

Curator Gareth Syvret remarked, ‘We do not travel alone; we take with us the histories, knowledge, influences and ideas of others; others we have met and other places we have known.’

As a starting point we will visit the exhibition currently on show at The Berni Gallery, Jersey Arts Centre where Gareth will give a little introduction to his desire to mount this exhibition and discuss possible connections and relationships between exhibited artists.

Meet at Jersey Arts Centre for coffee, Danish Christmas cake and talk

Class 13B Tue 8 Dec Pd 1 – 9:00 am
Class 13E Wed 9 Dec Pd 5 – 2:20 pm

This Case Study has three parts.
First you need to view the exhibition and answer the questions listed below. Second, you need to write a 1000 word mini-essay that reflect your visit and critical engagement with a paring of artists from the exhibition. Third, you must plan and produce a shoot as response to the above.

Deadline and presentation is Mon 14 Dec. Gareth will be assisting me in reading your essay and view photographs and will be providing some feedback for further improvements/ developments.

Present your answers, essay and images in a number of blog posts.

Task 1: In advance of our visit, read the Exhibition text below and make notes. Think of at least 3 questions that you want to find answers to on your visit an write them down. Bring text and notes with you.

Link to Exhibition text Quintessence Programme

Download Quintessence task_sheet

Link to Quintessence_Media_Release_Jersey

Task 2: Upon visiting the exhibition try and answer the following questions.

a) Write down the first thought about the exhibition that enters your head when you walk in?

b) Look at all the images on the walls. Now find a set of images that you like/ don’t like and write short descriptions of them.

Link to folder with exhibited images; M:\Departments\Photography\Students\Resources\Personal Study\Case Study Quintessence\images of exhibited work

c) Using exhibition text, note down artist name, title of work(s), his/her nominated colleague and consider the following:
What are the connections, influences, relationships between your chosen pairing of artists? Look also broader at common themes, subject-matter, form, aesthetics, visual language, methodologies among your chosen artists and across others featured in the show.

Have a closer look at photo books and newspapers on show at the exhibition. This will provide a much deeper understanding of their work.

Link to definition of aesthetics in art

Task 3. Conduct further independent research and write a 1000 word essay.

a) Try and think of an essay question (hypothesis) as a starting point for further investigation.

b) Incorporate your answers to the questions above and any other notes from exhibition text and gallery talk with the Curator.

c) Include direct quotes from sources using Harvard System of Referencing (I will demonstrate how it work).

d) Illustrate your essay with images of artists work from the exhibition. Make sure you include name, title of work, year of production, dimensions, collections (if known.)

Link to shared folder with images from exhibition here M:\Departments\Photography\Students\Resources\Personal Study\Case Study Quintessence

Task 4: Plan a photo-shoot and make a set of images that respond to your chosen pairing of artists and your essay.

a) Upload shoot, process and select best 3 images

b) Show experimentation with images using Lightroom/Photoshop appropriate to your intentions.

c) Evaluate and present images on the blog.

DEADLINE: both essay and photographic response Mon 14 Dec.

A selection of video with featuring exhibited artists where they talk about their work

David Goldblatt on his seminal body of work: In Boksburg