technologies of the self with Eugenie Shinkle

great to be back for year 2

the moon only became far away with the invention of the telescope
the virtual eye looking into a virtual space with the body abandoned
I see therefore I am

“The photograph reduplicates the world and in time even comes to displace it, taking on the character of what is true and what is real. Seeing is believing, we say, a maxim which was unimaginable prior to the invention of linear perspective vision. And with the camera we have further qualified this vision: not any seeing is believing, but only that seeing which duplicates the neutrality and impartiality of the camera eye.” Romanyshyn63 

Neil with minus 3 stops fill in flash

Neil, a photo by mdx on Flickr.

This is my keeper from this afternoons kick off on the constructed photography module with Andy Golding, Rachael Cunningham and Eileen Perrier. Minus 3 stops just lights the side of the face but still gives the sense of shadow.

zoo

zoo, a photo by mdx on Flickr.

when I looked back he had disappeared

when I looked back he had disappeared, a photo by mdx on Flickr.

the art book fair

An interesting event - all those books - all those publishers - all those trendy glasses - me too - Anthony Luvera http://www.luvera.com/ was launching his new book of photographs - homeless people in Belfast - and you might initially think right and like we really need more photographers photographing homeless people - but this is different - all the photos are by the people themselves - of a particular place that holds some meaning or memory - look like on disposable cameras - and then working towards them creating their own portrait on 5X4 camera - authorship, artistic control and the ethics of photographing people all explored - I like it. Although a different process they remind me of the work of Michelle Sank. http://www.michellesank.com/

Hospital School work in progress still

After too many days staring at the screen the book is starting to take shape - most of the photos are selected - and now I'm chasing people up for promised texts and trying to write something myself - i's exciting!

William Klein - Contacts (1983)

Journey through a sheet of contacts

This is Rubbish

This is Rubbish, a photo by mdx on Flickr.

Movin' On Up

Movin' On Up, a photo by mdx on Flickr.

afternoon chillout

afternoon chillout, a photo by mdx on Flickr.

Appearance

Appearance, a photo by mdx on Flickr.

landscapes

I'm laying out the photos in Blurb - 100 pages so far and it'll probably hit 140 - seems too much but let's see - sequencing the sections - writing and collating the texts is yet to come - the title - Hospital School - A Year in  the Life.

shedlicious

landscape

landscape, a photo by mdx on Flickr.

explore

"I had this dream" (below) seems to have gone ballistic on Flickr - weird as it's not something I particularly aim at - getting masses of comments and getting into "explore" - Flickrs definition of "interesting" photos - but it has rolled past 400 views and a steady stream of - wow - superb etc - i posted some pictures of plastic sheet and old chairs today which should calm it all down!

Booksmart

I've been working from the physical layout of photos - to putting stuff into booksmart and it's slowly starting to come together - gonna work from home on Monday

NEW DIRECTIONS: CONTEMPORARY PHOTOGRAPHY TODAY

went to a talk @ the MA show- it felt encouraging - a great to get the brainbox re engaging with conceptual stuff - memory and landscape - affect - the relation of the viewer to the work - the role of text giving a conceptual framework - but still a leaky vessel - not to close the work down - photographs as physical things - Blake "the eye sees more than the heart knows" - a divide between photographs which take a literary reading and others that require a visual literacy - a tension between categories and wanting to open them up - our only creative option is to shop - light - - time - - chemistry - post medium condition - political vs aesthetic gestures

NEW DIRECTIONS: CONTEMPORARY PHOTOGRAPHY TODAY

A chaired panel conversation will take place during the exhibition. Panellists include Martin Barnes, Senior Curator of Photography at the Victoria and Albert Museum, Lucy Soutter, photographer, critic and art historian and Daniel Cambell Blight, writer and curator.

Mirrors of Believing

Went to the opening of this show by the year group above us - very impressive that they got it all together - it looks really good and must have been a huge amount of work creating the space - (in and old chapel in Nunhead) http://www.chapelgallery.org/index.php

My favourites were Kun Song's lyrical use of text and image - personal and yet engaging - Robert Downes Self Portraits - exploring a range of ways of presenting the images - fun, and the captivating portraits of children by Laurence Harding. Well worth a visit!

http://www.kunsphotography.com/
http://www.robertdownesphotography.co.uk/
http://www.laurencehardingphotography.co.uk/

I had this dream

Snapped this cycling through Hyde Park on the way to the MA show. I like the strangeness with the cyanotype effect. Londonist used it which is cool. http://londonist.com/2011/09/extra-extra-194.php

MA Photography show

Went to the MA Photography show opening at P3. It was interesting. It was also weighty. Weighed down with introspection and a certain melancholy. Not a lot of laughs. Yet it looked amazing, the printing so detailed. I liked it and will go back for another look when there's fewer people around.

an individual perception of the world

“Essentially, photography does nothing more than represent an individual perception of the world” - Luigi Ghirri

Contemporary Vernacular Photographies

Went to a day of talks on Contemporary Vernacular Photographies. It was interesting, particularly Julian Stallabras and his collection of Actually Existing Sculpture and Sarah Kember's "explorations of the relation between photography and the conception of life as ordinary".


"To live is to be photographed" - Sontag


"Whenever we talk about photography outside of the art historical frame of reference it is as if the conversation just dies. We don't know what to say or how to proceed" - Diarmuid Costello

This day-long symposium examines ways in which contemporary practices might contest traditional definitions of vernacular* photography. Topics for discussion include authenticity in light of citizenship journalism, personal images on shared online platforms, the ethics of family imagery in the media, oral history and the family album, and photography and ambient intelligence.

*The term vernacular photography describes a type of imagery produced by non-professionals for private purposes. This symposium addresses these private images and their migration to the public realm in the era of digitisation.

Speakers are Dr Annebella Pollen (University of Brighton); Prof Gillian Rose (The Open University); Prof Julian Stallabrass (The Courtauld Institute of Art); Dr Sarah Kember (Goldsmiths); Dr Sas Mays (Westminster University); Dr Sophie Beard (UCA); and Trish Morrissey (Photographer).

yashica

I've been really enjoying shooting with the Yashica this summer. Especially with a tripod. It's a very different experience to shooting digital. Slow and meditative. And people come up and talk to you. Looking forward to scanning the negatives.

eggs

eggs, a photo by mdx on Flickr.