Observe – To observe is to notice or perceive (something) and register it as being significant. The origin of the word observe comes from Latin, with ‘ob’ meaning towards and ‘servare’ meaning attend to or look at. Other similar words to observe are: watch, notice, detect, spot, perceive. On the other hand, words opposite to observe are words like: overlook, ignore, disregard.
Seek – To seek is to attempt to find (something). The origin of the word seek comes from the old English word ‘sēcan’ which means to look for something. Similar words include: pursue, strive, aim, aspire. Opposing words would be: neglecting, shunning, dismissing.
Challenge – To challenge is to prove or justify something. The origin of the word challenge comes from the middle English words ‘ kalange’ and ‘chalenge’ which means to accuse or claim. Similar words are: dare, obstacle, ultimatum, opposition, objection. Opposing words to challenge are: acceptance, obedience.
Exam Paper analysis
When analysing the theme, I highlighted specific areas that I though may be useful regarding my idea for my project.
Firstly, ‘the images were painted by firelight’ gave me the idea of incorporating elements into my work in order to create more interesting pieces. I think the elements would also act as a way to depict emotions without having any people present.
The quote that ‘artists frequently use metaphors in their work to disguise the messages’ helped to link into my idea of using certain things as metaphors, for example an idea would be to use different kinds of theatre masks as a symbolic refence to hiding you emotions when playing games.
Lastly, the idea of ‘war zones’ or ‘life and death’ can be showcased through games such as chess due to the tactical aspect behind them. I could potentially portray this through my use of lighting and the way the playing pieces are laid out.
Mind-map of ‘observe, seek and challenge’
Mood-board of ‘observe, seek and challenge’
Initial idea
My idea for this project is to focus on the theme of games and how we observe, seek and challenge through them. Majority of the time, the games we play challenge us as we try to reach or attain a certain goal. Challenges often come in the way of other players or obstacles we have to find ways around. What we seek while playing games is to win, and while most of the time there is no harm if we lose its almost as if we have an instinctual drive to want to come out on top. Finally, observation is key while playing games, whether that be observing your opponents expressions or the game itself, observation is key and is often how we end up creating strategies against them.
The games I plan to focus on are board games such as chess, checkers, cards etc. I would like to take photos of the games themselves as well as people playing the game. When taking my photographs of the games themselves I would be shooting them in different locations in order to show the viewer some sort of symbolism regarding the outcome or feeling of the game (water could be equal to losing.)
To introduce the project, I want to observe and find beauty within the mundane as a starting point before further developing it, as I want to share my focus with each word of the exam prompt as individual ideas. I could do this through street photography, although I feel it would work better to work with smaller areas for a composition, to appreciate smaller textures up close, similarly to the work of Rinko Kawauchi, who I could use as an inspiration and someone to study on as the project develops.
– Bart Koetsier
Other photographers that I’m interested in studying for this part of the project include Rolf Van Roojj, and Bart Koetsier. This is because they often act as simply an observer, not interacting or staging their surroundings, just capturing moments on the street as they see them.
For this project, I want to focus on the prompt as separate categories, as I feel that there’s more to explore with each individual word as opposed to the three of them together.
I could present the idea of “observe” through street photography, or even a time-lapse through a short film like Godfrey Reggio’s Koyaanisqatsi (1982). I’m more interested in using street photography, as it’s something that I’m comfortable with, and I can gather a large number of images, although I also believe that it may feel too generic, whilst a time-lapse would be something new for me to learn. If not a film, I could create a large reel of photographs showing the development and growth of something. Alternatively, I could observe the change of Jersey’s landscape, using some of the photo archives at the Société Jersiaise and recreating some of their images in the modern day. I could also observe life through an anatomic perspective, similarly to the work of Suzie Fitzharris, using photoshop to create X-ray style imagery.
– Suzie Fitzharris
Seek:
Self-discovery (new/old experiences)
Familiarity/comfort (places I often visit/stay)
Community (parish meetings, events, church)
To “seek” is to look for something. To represent this aspect of the project, I want to try seeking self-discovery, familiarity, comfort, and community through different means. Self-discovery is more about experiences and how one responds to them, which could be expressed through uncomfortable imagery of different staged situations, and dramatised recreations. I could seek familiarity and comfort through visiting places from my childhood, such as parks, playgrounds etc., although I would have to be careful around these areas as to not violate people’s privacy. A way around this, however, could be by visiting these places later in the day when they’re quiet or empty, or even at night, to contrast the familiarity of it.
– Nicholas Goodden
Challenge:
Stereotypes (gender, race, age, religion, class)
Authority (government, people in power, protests)
Photography (compositions, lighting, camera settings)
Myself (experiences, behaviours, ideas)
To challenge something is to rebel against it, something that is often done by a lot of photographers and artists. When I think of the word ‘rebel,’ I often think about activism against some form of authority, whether small or large. Artists often express rebellion through subliminal messages in their work, or bold messages such as through graffiti. The style of graffiti in itself represents youth culture, something I align with, and something that I could consider searching for and finding images of. In my own work, I see myself challenging other people’s opinions and views on certain groups of people, particularly youth, but also my own views, as they change and adapt through my own experiences. I’m keen on the idea of going against what others think, as I often trust my judgement the most – for better or worse – which could actually be an idea in itself for this project, going against who I am and what I do, although this may be too complicated. Alternatively, I’m also interested in directly challenging various stereotypes, instead of the natural subtlety that usually ends up in my work. Whatever I decide to challenge, I want to do it through juxtaposition, presenting both the ‘order and disorder’ of what I decide to shoot.
You should provide evidence that fulfils the four Assessment Objectives: AO1 Develop ideas through sustained and focused investigations informed by contextual and other sources, demonstrating analytical and critical understanding AO2 Explore and select appropriate resources, media, materials, techniques and processes, reviewing and refining ideas as work develops AO3 Record ideas, observations and insights relevant to intentions, reflecting critically on work and progress AO4 Present a personal and meaningful response that realises intentions and, where appropriate, makes connections between visual and other elements.
OBSERVE
VERB
a person who watches or notices something.”to a casual observer, he was at peace.
a person who follows events closely and comments publicly on them.”some observers expect interest rates to rise”
a person posted in an official capacity to an area to monitor political or military events.”elections scrutinized by international observers”
SYNONYMS: spectator, onlooker, watcher, voyeur, looker-on, fly on the wall, viewer, witness, eyewitness, bystander, sightseer, commentator, onlooker, reporter, blogger, monitor.
SEEK
VERB
attempt to find (something):“they came here to seek shelter from biting winter winds” SIMILAR: look for, be on the lookout for, search for, try to find, look about for.
ask for (something) from someone:“he sought help from the police” SIMILAR: ask for, request solicit, call on, invite, entre, beg for
(SEEK SOMEONE/SOMETHING OUT)search for and find someone or something:“it’s his job to seek out new customers” SIMILAR: discover, detect find (out), unearth, uncover, disinte
CHALLENGE
NOUN
a call to someone to participate in a competitive situation or fight to decide who is superior in terms of ability or strength:“he accepted the challenge” SIMILAR: dare, provocation, summons
a call to prove or justify something:“a challenge to the legality of the banning order” SIMILAR: opposition, defiance, ultimatum, confrontation with.
VERB
invite (someone) to engage in a contest:“he challenged one of my men to a duel” · “organizations challenged the government in by-elections” SIMILAR: dare, summon, invite,bid, throw down the gauntlet, to defy someone to do something
Binary opposition – a pair of related terms or concepts that are opposite in meaning.
Binary opposition originated in Saussurean structuralist theory in Linquistics (scientific study of language) According to Ferdinand de Saussure, binary opposition is the system by which, in language and thought, two theoretical opposites are strictly defined and set off against one another. Using binary opposites can often be very helpful in generating ideas for a photographic project as it provides a framework – a set of boundaries to work within.
How to start
Read the Exam Paper and Exam Planner thoroughly, especially pages pages 4-5 and page 25-28 which details specific starting points and approaches to the exam theme – make notes! Look up the word in the dictionary, synonyms and etymology (the study of the origin of words and the way in which their meanings have changed throughout history.)
Brainstorm your idea and research artists listed – look also at starting points in other disciplines e.g. Fine Art and Graphic Communication etc.
Begin to gather information, collect images, make a mood-board and mind-map,
Make plans for photoshoots and write a specification.
Produce at least ONE PHOTO-SHOOT over H-Term as a response to tasks listed below and initial research and ideas.
You must show evidence of the above on your blog– complete at least 4-5 blog posts.
Each week you are required to make a photographic response (still-images and/or moving image) that relates to the research and work that you explored in that week. Sustained investigations means taking a lot of time and effort to produce the best you can possibly do – reviewing, modifying and refining your idea and taking more pictures to build up a strong body of work with a clear sense of purpose and direction
Prior to the timed examination you must produce and submit preparatory supporting studies which show why and how the supervised and timed work takes the form it does. You must produce a number of blog posts 15-30 that charts the development of your final piece from conception to completion and must show evidence of:
Development of your thoughts, decisions, research and ideas based on the theme
Record your experiences and observations
Analysis and interpretation of things seen, imagined or remembered
Investigations showing engagement with appropriate primary and secondary sources
Experimentation with materials, processes and techniques
Select, evaluate and develop images/ media further through sustained investigation
Show connections between your work and that of other artists/ photographers
Critical review and reflection
Controlled Exam 15 hrs over three days: (Final Outcome)
This time is for you to fine tune and adjust your final images for print using creative tools in Lightroom/Photoshop and/or complete a final edit of your photobook, film or video in Premiere. Your final outcome(s) must be presented in a thoughtful, careful and professional manner demonstrating skills in presenting work in either window mounts, picture frames, foam-board, and/ or submit pdf of photobook, or embed (from Youtube upload) moving image and video based production to the blog.
IDEAS > INTERPRETATIONS > ARTIST EXAMPLES from pages 4 & 5 in exam booklet
Caves of Altamira
After having visited the caves of Altamira, Picasso famously said:
In 15,000 years we have invented nothing.
Pablo Picasso and his African masksPablo Picasso and CollagesBanksy, Cave Painting Removal
The Russian avant-garde reached its creative and popular height in the period between the Russian Revolution of 1917 and 1932, at which point the ideas of the avant-garde clashed with the newly emerged state-sponsored direction of Socialist Realism.
Exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) Covering the period of artistic innovation between 1912 and 1935, A Revolutionary Impulse: The Rise of the Russian Avant-Garde traces the arc of the pioneering avant-garde forms after Socialist Realism was decreed the sole sanctioned style of art. The exhibition examines key developments and new modes of abstraction, including Suprematism and Constructivism, as well as avant-garde poetry, film, and photomontage.
Varvara Stepanova, The Results of the First Five-Year Plan, 1932 (State Museum of Contemporary Russian History, Moscow)
Ai Weiwei
Ai Weiwei’s colored vases: Clever artwork or vandalism? read article here
51 ancient Chinese vases covered with brightly colored paint
Exhibition visitors have expressed feelings of uneasiness or even pain and nostalgia when seeing Colored Vases by Ai Weiwei1. The 51 vases that make up the artwork are originally treasures from the Neolithic Age (5000–3000 BCE) and the artist has dunked them in common industrial paint.
Why did Ai Weiwei do it?
By doing this, he commented on the devastation caused by the Chinese Cultural Revolution2 and the disregard for centuries-old craftsmanship3. By covering the surfaces, the history of the vases is no longer visible but still there, beneath the dried layer of industrial color. Some viewers have felt provoked by this audacious act, in their eyes destroying something rare and precious instead of safeguarding and worshipping it.
Conclusion
Like many other works by Ai Weiwei, he uses irony to challenge viewers’ assumptions and perspectives. As China’s most notorious artist, he finds himself in constant confrontation with the Chinese authorities, and Colored Vases is an essential piece in his rebellious oeuvre.
Ai Weiwei, Study of Perspective
Study of Perspective is a photographic series produced by Ai Weiwei between 1995 and 2017. Throughout the series, viewers see Ai’s left arm extended forward with the middle finger raised to significant institutions, landmarks and monuments from around the world. These pictures mimic tourists’ photos and encourage people to question their adherence and acceptance towards governments, institutions and establishments. This series speaks out about Ai’s beliefs regarding freedom of speech, empowerment of the people, and democratic values and showcases his activist side in true colors.
Sunflower Seeds 2010 consists of millions of individually handcrafted porcelain sunflower seeds. The work has a volume of nearly ten cubic metres, weighing approximately ten tonnes. The artist has stipulated two different configurations for the work. In the first, the seeds are arranged in a continuous rectangular or square field to a depth of ten centimetres. This ‘bed’ of seeds conforms to the dimensions of the display space, with walls confining the work on three sides. Alternatively, the work is presented as a conical sculptural form, approximately five metres in diameter. In this second configuration, there is no containing structure or support for the conical form, which is installed by carefully pouring the seeds from above to form the shape. Any uneven edges can be adjusted by hand at the time of installation.
This work is derived from the Eleventh Unilever Series commission for Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall for which Ai created 1-125,000,000 2010, a bed of ceramic sunflower seeds installed across the floor of the space. The Unilever Series commission was the first time Ai Weiwei presented this multitude of sunflower seeds as a continuous rectangular field to create a ‘unique surface’, and the first time he proposed an interactive element, in which the public was invited to walk on the seeds. In the event, after the initial days of the exhibition, it was not possible for viewers to interact with the work by walking on it due to the health risks posed by the resulting dust.
The fabrication of the seeds was carried out in the city of Jingdezhen in northern Jiangxi, a region of China south of Beijing. Historically famous for its kilns and for the production of imperial porcelain, this region is still known for its high quality porcelain production. The sunflower seeds were made by individual craftspeople in a ‘cottage-industry’ setting, rather than in a large-scale factory, using a special kind of stone from a particular mountain in Jingdezhen.
The symbol of the sunflower was ubiquitous during the Cultural Revolution in China in the 1960s and 1970s, and was often used as a visual metaphor for the country’s Communist leader Chairman Mao (1893–1976) and, more importantly perhaps, the whole population. In Sunflower Seeds Ai examines the complex exchanges between the one and the many, the individual and the masses, self and society. Far from being industrially produced, the sunflower seeds are intricately and individually handcrafted, prompting a closer look at the ‘Made in China’ phenomenon commonly associated with cheap mass-produced goods. The myriad sunflower seeds – each unique yet apparently the same – can be seen toevoke the quest for individuality in a rapidly transforming society.
In his proposal for the Unilever Series Commission, Ai commented on the significance of the sunflower seeds:
[In] the times I grew up, it was a common place symbol for The People, the sunflower faces the trajectory of the red sun, so must the masses feel towards their leadership. Handfuls were carried in pockets, to be consumed on all occasions both casual and formal. So much more than a snack, it was the minimal ingredient that constituted the most essential needs and desires. Their empty shells were the ephemeral traces of social activity. The least common denominator for human satisfaction. I wonder what would have happened without them? (Ai Weiwei, unpublished proposal for Tate Modern Unilever Series, March 2010.)
Ai’s practice is increasingly driven by issues facing contemporary China, such as the exercise of autocratic power, the disappearance of Chinese cultural and material history, and concerns about human rights, hard labour and poverty. Sunflower Seeds explores the complexity of the Chinese individual’s relationship with society, the authorities and tradition.
Chinese Artist Ai Weiwei holds some seeds from his Unilever Installation ‘Sunflower Seeds’ at The Tate Modern on October 11, 2010 in London, England. The sculptural installation comprises 100 million handmade porcelain replica sunflower seeds.
The last section of my typology is to photograph the megalithic remains at La Blanche Banque which includes a burial ground, a ritual ground and three menhirs or standing stones.
The castle being a prison would have seen many deaths and all witches in Jersey were imprisoned here. Therefore, I want to stage a photoshoot where an actor would have their face hidden, but they would be taking on the role of a witch. I want to shoot this scene at night so that any spookiness around the outcome will be enhanced.
The royal square is the site of all witch executions in the island. Being the market square at the time, it provided a large area where many could watch the accused being hung and their body burnt. The images from this photoshoot would conclude the story that I want to put together.
With this shoot, I want to look at the rituals and the actions of witches in Jersey, with a a clear focus on the goings on at the dolmen at La Pouquelaye de Faldouet. In my research I have found that witches were active at the dolmen in the 1980s, as evidence was found suggesting satanic rituals and sacrifice. I want to produce images commenting on this idea with actors portraying the modern witches dancing around the dolmen. As the evidence was found by a priest who came to exorcise the dolmen for a third time after the first two attempts at an exorcism failed. I want to explore ways to display this failure and the power that the ‘dark’ arts supposedly have over this site.
In the 16th and 17th Century, ways of cursing individuals and cattle was very physical and took more than a few words and incantations. Spells came in the forms of little hempen bundles twisted with feathers and moulded with clay; these were kept placed close to the victim – often under their mattress or pillow. I want to create a series of these little bundles to scatter around the dolmen as a way to comment on this aspect of witchcraft that led to the accusations and convictions of so many people within the island.
The other link to witchcraft that I want to explore with this photoshoot is the pagan history of the toad. Jersey people have always been referred to as Crapauds (jerriais for ‘toad’) The toad has been linked to both good and evil in the history, as a vessel to ward off evil spirits but also as vessel for the Devil himself to communicate with his servants on Earth. A quote from ‘The Gods and Goddesses of Old Europe, 7000-3500 BC’ by Marija Gimbutas illustrates the significance of the crapaud:
“Toad’s meat was eaten until recently to invoke labour pains, toad’s blood was used as an aphrodisiac and dry toads were hung up to protect the house from all evil. Such beliefs suggest a benevolent goddess, but the toad as a nocturnal and mysterious creature can cause madness, can take away the milk and suck the blood from humans while they sleep.”
I want to photograph a simple figure of a toad at the dolmen using a macro lens to get a clear close up image. I would also include the crapaud figurine throughout all of my photoshoots as a way of linking the series together, similar to Alfonso Calero’s ‘Remnants of Abandonment’ where a discarded stuffed toy is shown in every image of an abandoned orphanage.
Witches were imprisoned at Mont Orgueil where it is speculated that they were tortured and interrogated into confessions before trial. Therefore, this is a prominent location to photograph and research for this project.
In continuation with the key-line research, I also plan on going to La Hougue Bie, a neolithic area run by Jersey Heritage that houses a buried dolmen that we can enter and photograph.
DAY: Sunday 3rd March
PLACES: Mont Orgueil Castle, La Hougue Bie
TIME: Afternoon
WEATHER CONDITIONS:
STYLE: Typology (techniques used for photoshoot 1) and using images created by Andrea Eichenberger as a basis of prison imagery.
Understanding the works of witchcraft in the island begins by finding an understanding its ancient heritage – looking at evidence from nearly 4,000 years ago. In Jersey, we have a rich neolithic and megalithic past with ancient burial grounds (dolmens) and large standing stones (menhirs) possible used for to establish a spiritual connection.
When conducting research into this part of history, I read Chris Lake’s “These Haunted Islands” (Jersey, 1986); in which Lake displays a map of the island displaying ley-lines running across it. These spiritual passageways have been proven to connect all megalithic remains on the island, with the most prominent being at La Pouquelaye de Faldouet. Therefore, I want to make a series of images of this dolmen and others in the East of the island that are connected by these ley-lines.
Photoshoot Info
DAY: Saturday 2nd March
PLACES:
La Mont Ube, Blanche Pierre, Highfield, La Pouquelaye de Faldouet
TIME: Afternoon/Evening (13:30-18:30)
WEATHER CONDITIONS:
STYLE: Typology Techniques used by Bernd and Hiller Becher – tripod
