Tutorial With Pete

Study Task 4- Images and Theory

Representation

1. the action of speaking or acting on behalf of someone or the state of being so represented.

2. the description or portrayal of someone or something in a particular way.

o    the depiction of someone or something in a work of art.

o    a picture, model, or other depiction of someone or something.

o     (in some theories of perception) a mental state or concept regarded as corresponding to a thing perceived.

3.formal statements made to an authority, especially so as to communicate an opinion or register a protest.

o    a statement or allegation.

How does it relate to visual? See above (number 2):

Representation of Zeus as a realistic person/god (left), a caricature of Zeus aimed at a specific target audience (right).

Picture Theory: ESSAYS ON VERBAL AND VISUAL REPRESENTATION - W. J. T. Mitchell

What precisely, W. J. T. Mitchell asks, are pictures (and theories of pictures) doing now, in the late twentieth century, when the power of the visual is said to be greater than ever before, and the "pictorial turn" supplants the "linguistic turn" in the study of culture? This book by one of America's leading theorists of visual representation offers a rich account of the interplay between the visible and the readable across culture, from literature to visual art to the mass media.

.....

Intertextuality

The relationship between texts, especially literary ones.

How does it relate to visual?

Referencing other works within a text or visual media:

i.e. a parody or associationA parody of the Mona Lisa by visually referencing Squidward, a children’s cartoon character.

Theory: Inevitability of arts from inter-textuality by Mohammad Khosravi Shakib

Pressures of Society

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/children-are-reading-less-8113993.html

The children of today are under a lot more pressure socially, in terms of fitting in, as a result of the the rise of technology. So many children desire materialistic things due to being in an environment where nearly everyone is obsessed with having the latest gadgets. It is now a social norm to use some form of technology on a day to day basis and in most cases, for the majority of the day. This obsession with mobile phones, laptops, tv and video games has resulted in less children reading. The article referenced here states that in a survey carried out, they not only found that children's were reading less but also that children prefer watching tv than reading. It also mentions the fact that a fifth of the 21,000 children that took part in the survey said that 'they would be embarrassed if a friend saw them with a book.' 

Study Task 3- Triangulation

 There are many theories based upon ideas about the role of men and women within film, one of which can be found in British feminist film theorist Laura Mulvey’s essay ‘Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema’, written in 1973 and published in 1975. The text uses ‘psychoanalysis’ to explain ‘socially established interpretation of sexual differences which control images, erotic ways of looking and spectacle.’ (Mulvey, 1975, p.14). Mulvey first talks about the idea of Scopophilia, or in simpler terms, the pleasure one experiences in the act of looking. She suggests that women in movies are exclusively there as a means of fulfilling a man’s erotic desires, as an object, whether here referring to the male protagonist within the narrative on-screen or the spectator within the confinements of the cinema (p.20). She suggests that women appear to possess a ‘to-be-looked-at-ness’ and that in most situations, the male watches not to follow the story, but for the images presented (p.19). This is supported by English Academic John Storey in his text titled ‘Cine-psychoanalysis’ (1996), which proceeds to break down Mulvey’s text and explain in detail the ideas and opinions suggested. He states in response to Mulvey’s explanation of men as spectator and women as object, that ‘Women are therefore crucial to the pleasure of the (male) gaze’, here referring to a phrase coined by Mulvey to describe the above proposition.  However, there have been many arguments constructed against Mulvey’s theories, one of which is suggested by English academic and film critic, Richard Dyer. In his book ‘Stars’- published in 1979, but more specifically his chapter on ‘Stars and Audiences’, he challenges Mulvey’s statements by suggesting that narrative film ‘includes looks directed at the male body and also looks between male characters’ (Dyer, 1979, p.188), a factor Mulvey chooses to exclude in her argument.

Notes On Triangulation

Chosen Theme: Books vs. Films

I have chosen to explore into the argument of which is better, books or films? I want to look at this from the point of view of children's education and which is more effective in conveying information. I also thought about how I could potentially investigate the practical side with this theme in mind. For example, I could maybe look at fairy tales or neurology:

New Change of Plan

I've been having a think and have changed my mind once again.
I found it really interesting to research into the way children learn last year for cop, and have decided it would be more beneficial to choose a subject that I have begun to investigate into already. I don't want my question to be the same however, so I am going to try and look at a different angle. I have drawn a spider diagram of ideas:

Change of Plan

I have decided against my original subject choice because I think I might become disinterested in it over time, even if it is quite interesting at the beginning. I want to change my subject to something I know I will enjoy researching into and producing work for over the course of the whole year. I love Disney, and I know it's probably overdone but I'd rather do COP on this. Possible angles to look into:

• Gender- roles of male and female characters, Traits. Heroes/ Heroines etc. 
• Audience (Kids)- Lessons/ morals taught etc. 
• Animation- Traditional (hand-drawn)/ New technology, ect.
• Genericness (doesn't seem like a word but apparently it is)- nearly all Disney films send the same message. Same type of animation etc. 

I feel as though it could be really interesting to explore animation as a theme. I've heard discussions about whether we still need traditional means of animating (2D) or whether the rise in technological development and methods of 3D animation have taken over/ are the way forward. I found this article arguing why 2D animation should be abandoned- 

http://www.animatorisland.com/why-2d-animation-should-be-abandoned-part-1/

This could be a good starting point? 

Study Task 2- Establishing A Research Question

Study Task 1: Illustration & Authorship

‘The Death of the Author’ (1968) written by French Literary theorist Roland Barthes presents ideas about the power of the reader of a text as opposed to the power of the author.

Bathes states that ‘writing is the destruction of every voice’ (p.142), suggesting that the role of the author is no longer essential to the understanding and appreciation of a text immediately after it has been composed and exposed to public perception. The reader, approaching the text with a fresh perspective, begins to hold more responsibility to the text than the writer himself. In other words, a power-shift occurs between the two opposing parties, resulting in the author entering ‘into his own death’ (p.142).

A further point made by Barthes suggests that ‘To give a text an author is to impose a limit on that text’ (p.147). This proposes the idea that being aware of the creator would obstruct the message or the impact that the text has on the audience. In conjunction with this, Graphic Designer Michael Rock suggests that ‘the primary concern of both the viewer and the critic is not who made it, but rather what it does and how it does it.’ in his essay concerning ‘Graphic Authorship’ (1996) which discusses the same argument made by Barthes, but in a non-literary sense. Rock’s statement suggests that the knowing of the author does not hinder the ability of the outcome (as Barthes states), but would simply serve no purpose. The importance lies within the text or product itself. An example of this is French Graphic Designer Jean Jullien’s ‘Peace for Paris’ illustration, created as a means of providing a recognisable symbol of support for those involved in or affected by the 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris.

The piece was wrongly mistaken as the work of renowned artist Banksy and was shared and widely distributed through social media by other supporters alongside this false attribution, resulting in its tremendous amount of recognition and popularity. However, in an interview composed for The Telegraph, Jullien expresses the following- ‘I didn't care. It's not the time to claim ownership, or a price on something. It's not a time for concerns like that.’ in response to being questioned on the subject matter. The artist was not concerned with the idea of authorship due to the weight and importance of the matter he was responding to. This therefore reinforces Rock’s comment on the significance of the content of the outcome as opposed to the significance of its creator.

 In conclusion, this reiterates the initial discussion presented at the beginning of this argument in relation to the idea of the unimportance of the creator and as a result suggests that ‘the birth of the reader must be at the cost of the death of the Author’ (p.148), in the words of Roland Barthes.

http://artsites.ucsc.edu/faculty/Gustafson/FILM%20162.W10/readings/barthes.death.pdf

http://www.eyemagazine.com/feature/article/the-designer-as-author

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/art/what-to-see/jean-jullien-peace-for-paris-symbol/

Possible Themes

This time I want to pick a theme that will continue to interest me throughout the whole year. I struggle a little with motivation when it comes to Context of Practice so I need to make sure I pick a subject that is interesting to learn about and that I will enjoy working on. (Or something that I know I will be able to find out a lot of information on to make things easier for myself):

Possible themes:

1. Gender in Advertising - stereotypes, representation of men and women in society and how this is reflected in advertising 
2. Gender in Children's Advertising- same as above but focused on advertisements for aimed at children
3. Gender in Film/ TV- how men and women are portrayed in the realms of entertainment
4. Art Therapy- How art is used as a means of psychotherapy 
5. Semiotics- Signs & symbols/ the idea of art as a means of communication 
6. Creativity in Children- the importance of imagination and creativity in children 
7. Children's Literature- the importance of children's literature in this day and age
8. TV/ Film (Society)- and the impact technology has on society 
9. TV/ Film (Children)- and the impact technology has on children
10. Colour Theory- the visual effects of colour 

Reflecting On Last Year

Interesting themes from last year:

• Social issues concerning children
• Our ideas about society being molded before we're able to talk properly
• Colour- pink and blue 
• Disney- stereotypes of gender 
• How children's drawings reflect their views on gender in society
• Gender in advertising aimed at children 

Processes that worked well:

• Research: children's drawings as primary research
• Digital processes- Photoshop 
• Repeat pattern/ repetition 

Theories:

• Social Learning Theories- Albert Bandura 
• Cognitive Theory- Jean Piaget
• Sociocultural Theory- Lev Vygotsky 

OUIL401- Self Evaluation

1.  What skills have you developed through this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them?
I’m not entirely sure if this classes as a skill but I feel as though I’ve learnt the mindset children have when they’re making pictures and this resulted in the simplification of the drawings as well as the ability to be spontaneous and not think too much. I feel as though it has been beneficial to me as I have become really interested in shape-based work and I’m going to look into the idea of simplification more in future practice. I adopted this way of working quite quickly and feel as though the outcomes are fairly successful in communicating the idea of children playing with whatever toys they wish, regardless of which gender they’re actually made for. Also, it enabled me to understand that making mistakes and making bad work isn’t always a bad thing, I feel like I changed this ‘bad work’ into some interesting pieces of work. Furthermore, I feel like I’ve developed skills in using Photoshop. I still don’t have much confidence with it but decided to give it a go and actually quite enjoyed using it this time round. This is probably because the tools and techniques I was using weren’t that complex, but I still feel like I’ve improved.
2. What approaches to/methods of research have you developed and how have they informed your practical outcomes?
The best form of research that I used in my project was definitely carrying out experiments and collecting primary research myself. This informed the rest of the work I was doing, as I was able to find interesting features within children’s drawings. It also enabled me to be able to try out a few different routes in terms of making pictures. For example I used the most common stereotypical features found in the drawings to produce child-like drawings of my own. This led to thinking like a child and this idea of simplification as mentioned before. I then used very basic shapes to produce stereotypical outfits and also did some swaps of gendered toys to reflect the crossovers found in my results. In terms of my essay I seem to have found a lot of the texts that I used online.
3. What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these?
I think one of the strengths within my visual journal was the collection of research to inform my ideas and possible the exploration of different paths leading from this research. I tried a few different ideas before focusing in on swapping the colours of gendered toys as a way of communicating the idea that this should be acceptable in this day and age and then making some more refined/ resolved outcomes from these drawings. Within my essay I’d say the use of many references to back-up my argument may be quite strong? I’m not too sure on that one.
4. What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these in the future?
One of the biggest weaknesses I feel is the amount of work I’m submitting. Unfortunately as I wasn’t particularly enjoying CoP I didn’t really do much work on it until nearer the end. I was a bit lost on where to go with things and didn’t quite grasp the concept of just exploring and not having to make something at the end of it. After gathering research I feel as though I had something solid to work from and this is when I start getting into it. I don’t feel as though my essay is very strong. I seem to waffle a lot as I always have done and after reading through it and changing things so many times I was struggling to make sense of everything. Additionally, the fact that I haven’t used books as reference within my essay is worrying me. I’m not a quick reader and I find it difficult to just skim read through a book and still understand what it’s talking about. I did search for quite a few in the library but the ones that would have helped to inform my essay were in use and so I kind of gave up and looked for more research online. I did find some really good texts though, my references aren’t just extracts from webpages.
5. Identify five things that you feel will benefit you during next years Context of Practice module?
·       Organisation/ Time Management- Not leaving CoP till the end- I am going to make sure to set time out for context of practice each week next year in order to make sure that I have a solid body of work. ·       Library- I plan to take advantage of this resource that we have, and make sure to take out books early to ensure that I the ones that I feel are relevant to my work are still available for me to access. ·       Research- collecting both first and secondary research to inform the visual side of CoP. Although my primary research was really beneficial this year, I feel like secondary research is also really helpful. ·       Choosing Subject- I need to make sure that I choose a topic that I find really interesting as this will ensure that I don’t just push it aside and that I enjoy it. ·       Essay- start working on my essay earlier so that I can get more feedback. I received some feedback quite early on and my final essay was completely different so I’m not sure whether it’s up to a good standard.
6.How would you grade yourself on the following areas: (please indicate using an ‘x’)  5= excellent, 4 = very good, 3 = good, 2 = average, 1 = poor
	1	2	3	4	5
Attendance					x
Punctuality				x
Motivation			x
Commitment			x
Quantity of work produced			x
Quality of work produced			x
Contribution to the group			x
The evaluation of your work is an important part of the assessment criteria and represents a percentage of the overall grade. It is essential that you give yourself enough time to complete your written evaluation fully and with appropriate depth and level of self-reflection. If you have any questions relating to the self-evaluation process speak to a member of staff as soon as possible.

Final Essay

Visual Evaluation

More Posteryness

So I decided to try the suggestion on my feedback sheet. I'm going to put all of the images into one bigger poster. Hopefully at a first glance it'll just look like an image of gendered toys but if then you'll be able to see that the stereotypes have been reversed. You first believe you are seeing images that you're familiar with and now accept within the poster, and then realise that they are the opposite. This will hopefully encourage people to accept these changes and embrace the idea of children playing with any toy they wish, regardless of whether it's targeted to their own sex or the opposite. I wasn't sure which background colour I preferred so I'll just show all of them:

Soldier

I thought this could work as an image on it's own: 

Poster Thingys

I actually really enjoyed making these and I'm pretty happy with the outcomes. Looking at them now I feel like the tea set one could have used some work. I seem to have missed gaps which I didn't realise before and it's annoying me now. I don't have enough time to go back and alter them now so they'll have to do! Also, I feel like the footballs could have been a little smaller with more of them but oh well. I think I'm being a bit picky.

Playing On Photoshop

I scanned the images in, deleted the background using the magic wand tool and then enhanced the image by changing the levels, contrast/brightness and the colour balance. Luckily all of the images fit into each other quite nicely so it wasn't too difficult to arrange everything. I flipped some horizontally so that they fit the space better. I then tested out some different coloured backgrounds as white seemed a bit boring.

 I tried a few colours that weren't great, but above are a couple options that weren't too bad. I feel as though the grey's a little dull actually. I do quite like the yellow but I felt like blue worked nicely because it made it more obvious what I was trying to communicate by changing the colours. I feel like blue and pink together, along with the images instantly tells you the project is about gendered toys. Also, the blue kind of confuses you into thinking the toys hold the obvious colour for a second before understanding that the colours are the opposite of what is expected. Possibly? I don't know, I might just be waffling now. Anyway, here's the final outcome: