New Beginnings

As the title suggests, there has been a change with the project, not dramatic, but big.

Yesterday we had another tutorial, this time with one of last years tutors, Paul. I believe having new insights into one another's projects is always beneficial and this was such the case.

When attempting to explain where the project was heading and why, including why I had started to steer away from housing to shooting in the streets. It soon became evident that the only reason I had started to change me ideas was because of the fact that what I am trying to come across with in my project is not translating into book format.

Manipulating houses to signify this need to have more, to become better and to use as a status symbol is exactly what this project is about. For this to work, however, the book format will not be sufficient.

Coming out of this tutorial concluded my journey with the book project, and after much discussion with the group, the tutor and a member of the exhibition team - it was decided that to translate my project I will need to use the exhibition space.

This will give me a much more defined opportunity to express this work, and prevent any blockage with my work due to the confinements of a book.

I feel this change is vast, yes, but the opportunity will be greatly received, and I believe even though it is late in the process, it has been caught in time.

Further discussion has been addressed with both Greg and the exhibition team, who are happy to have me involved, not only due to the vast array of space, but because it is evident my working process fits in well with the work they are producing.

Street

It was sunny at the weekend, I took my camera out with me into the town centre - and started to concentrate on certain things.
I started to notice the optimistic aspects of the place, the flowers, the childrens play things. quite uncanny when I think about it - as if that little thing will brighten up someones life if it's paced there.
Overly optimpistic if you ask me, and somewhat strange that thye are are there, but nobody really cares.

hazel grove

So after another tutorial I went out in the sunshine to shoot.
This time, though - I had in mind not to manipulate the images, instead following the discussion in the interim presentation and further discussions with peers - I believe the uncanny does not need to be fabricated. Instead, I had in mind to search for the unseen uncanny nature of this whole process.

Here are a few from the shoot:

Evaluation of work, Interim Presentations

I have interim presentations tomorrow for which I need to write a short evaluation to take in with me, I thought it would be useful to post up here so that I can access it in the future of the project.

Level05 - Semester 02: Optional Module: Evaluation of work: please type your comment and reflection/evaluation into boxes provided, prepare as part of your presentation and should be clearly visible

Project:        Book

Name:         Tess Beatty

Title of work:         Status Anxiety

Idea development: How did the work change throughout the project? Discuss important points in development Investigating society rather than myself, but this developed into a more personal project – which was not originally intended. It has become a search, for this perfection which does not exist, a search for a perfect house. Original ideas of house viewings did not feel morally correct, so development took me to the outside of the property, I feel this can be developed further. I believe the subject is vast and relatable, and understand that even though the development of the project has been difficult, I want to produce something that will tackle these views of perfection and happiness.

Methods of Production: What technical skills and technique have you used/discovered as a result of undertaking the project: I feel I have used manipulations in post production because I am comfortable with it, however the manipulations that I have in my head are not being produced, feel these techniques developing with each image. The voyeuristic nature of the shooting is uncomfortable, but a skill in which needs devotion in order to succeed. The production of a book is a completely new experience, and one that offers many aspects of difficulty and direction. Learning the properties of this technique is new and very interesting, things such as typography and image placement are crucial, and even though I am unfamiliar with them I find it enjoyable to learn and understand how each aspect works.

Research: What photographic work/critical material have you looked at during the project discuss its relevance to your submitted work. The early works I was investigating were photographers such as Cindy Sherman and Sophie Calle, for their ‘performing’ style, which related directly to the fictional role I was about to play as a person with no limits on my journey to buying a house. As the project developed these photographers became less relevant as I started to investigate the ‘brochure’ style of societies view, on the fakery and material relevance to happiness – I started to research into photographers using manipulations and came across the likes of Filip Dujarden and Anne Laure Maison.

Evaluation: What questions does the work ask of the viewer? I really wanted a body of work that related to a lot of people, I’m not really sure whether I’m asking questions or making a statement, or both at this point. Although I’d like this work to tackle the audience and their views on the anxiety that people have through the fakery and fiction of the buildings, I’d like the work itself to make a statement about society and its anxieties. I also feel that as the project has developed, it has a deep relation to myself and my own anxieties and feelings about the subject.

Interesting Resources...

Just out of another tutorial, where I was pointed to a fantastic series of works. I've found it so difficult to find anything remotely similar to what i'm doing, so I am relishing this!

The first series by photographer Filip Dujarden - a series of photographs constructed out of various sections of buildings, windows, doors, walls and angles. Fascinating to view, as well as baffling in the construction process!

Here are some examples and his website:

http://www.filipdujardin.be/ 

 Really bold and frankly I think these images are beautiful. Something which did come up in the tutorial was the question of the extent of the boldness/uncanny - ness of my own images, and whether they needed further thought and developement, I believe there is always room for developement. Something I need to look further into, starting with the images I have already shot.

Another photographer that came up - Anne Laure Maison and her series 'Tableaux d'intimates' http://www.annelauremaison.com/Tableaux-d-intimites?lang=en

An equally fascinating series, but another level to my own - a new and exciting developement into night time, something which I have thought of doing but as complicating the project more.

Here are some examples of the works:

There is a piece of text on Anne's website, which has a certain relatable feeling, and the words seem poetic and strong:


In Anne-Laure’s "house"

"House". "Houses" of others.
It ‘s an old obsession.
A physic space, concrete. With walls and a roof.
A shape.

"Please, draw me a house…" (in « Le petit prince » from Saint Exupéry) : We get a cube, a unified cube.
That which we put inside is quite singular.
"House" is a space of life.
Both ordinary and strange.
A close space too.
Often a space about the invisible.
A space with a lot of stories, memories, whose door you need to push.
The first thing I do when I’m invited in is to visit.
I ‘ve been everywhere in the "house".
I appropriate spaces.
Crossing rooms, I become immersed in their ways of living.
I like to discover the "house" of others. The way they occupy space, the way they appropriate place.
I photograph the interior of their houses when they invite me in.
It’s like a window into people’s routines.
The mystery of the ordinary.
Sometimes, I must stay outside.
Then, I photograph windows, doors, openings…
The banality of mystery.

"House" is also my name.
A name that I need to fill.
Filling my father’s absence.

InDesign, New file

I've had a go at a new layout design in Indesign, its much more based on the brochure layout rather than the original fine art design I had earlier. I think this lends itself much better to the idea of the fakery and augmented reality that exists in our housing world. 

I've uploaded a pdf with some example text on the first page here:

PDF

And here is a brief screen grab of the spreads layout:

 Image on the right hand page, full bleed, text on the left (if any) and Forward text on the left hand side of the first page.

 

 

Text Format

So now that I have a much better/bigger pool of images I can use for the content, I really need to enter the world of text formatting!

Richard gave us a handout, which for what I thought text would involve - was surprisingly complicated!

So much to think about...typeface, alignment, line length, leading, point size let alone type crimes and how to deal with all of this in InDesign.

Much more complicated than originally anticipated...

However, I know what I want from the book, I know the design I have in mind and a rough idea of amount of text involved, so I have at least something to get started with.

Firstly, I'm pretty adamant on the typeface being courier, or courier new, being rather digital looking and a nice comfortable reading typeface.I want the design of the book to relate closely to that of an original estate agent brochure, or similar - with digital typeface and lack of a sort of 'personality' in the spacing and alignment.

Using an online text editor, I can grab large amounts of text to experiment with in the Adobe suite. Above, is the typeface I am looking for - serif style (with flicks on the letters) and rather digital looking. Not much personality but readable, accessible and understandable.

The line lengths I will be working with along with this typeface should be about 50 - 55 characters long, paying close attention to hyphens in the middle of words, as you can see above, there is one I have missed on the right hand side at the top - which ruins the aesthetic of the words.

To handle the difficulties of hyphens and lengths of the lines not looking right, I can use the Kerning (space between characters) to make the lines fit better into the space.

 

Shown above: Kerning (accentuated for example) 

Shown Below: Leading ( the space between lines of words)

Eventually, after changing the size of the box, the line lengths and the kerning, a better shape of text is produced, shown below:

 

This still needs a lot of attention, also the production of the text content will be underway soon, I may try and get a writer involved in this.

Offerton/A6 Edits pt 1

Just finished editing a couple from the last shoot, getting more excited as I go - it feels like it is coming together a bit more than it was before. 

I have a session on typography tomorrow which should be really interesting, I will take the brochure material to get me started.
I will also do another draft print now that I have a better understanding of my project and a more extensive pool of images.

Reply

Had a reply back from Elain, pretty exciting to recieve a comment from a philosophical writer. It would be quite interesting to use this in my forward somehow.

From:	Alain de Botton (alain@alaindebotton.com)
Sent:	05 March 2012 23:37:32
To:	T_Beatty@Live.co.uk

Many thanks - your approach sounds a fascinating one.

We want houses to shelter us of course, but there's also a desire to

show that we can do more than just survive, that we're 'better' 

than this - and use property to show off power and influence.

I wish you luck with the project and thank you for your interest 

in my work.

All best
 

Alain
 

Sent from BlackBerry®

EmailToElain

I thought it would be useful for research purposes to attempt to contact the author of the book 'Status Anxiety', here is the email that has been sent, any reply will be updated on here.

"Hello,

My name is Teresa and I am studying for a degree in Photography. I am in the process of the production of a photo book for the second year project.

I am contacting you today because I have an interest regarding the subject of Status Anxiety, after coming accross it from your book, and would greatly appreciate some comments on the subject for my research.

The concept of my book is closely related to some of the subjects in the book, and I am mid way through watching the series for further insight. Through the use of photography I aim to tackle this anxiety, but on a particular topic, houses.

It is personal and also relatable, but I believe the concept of the mortgage, ownership, size and area relate so closely to this anxiety to become of value in the eyes of the world. Everytime I look into the window of an estate agent, I have this feeling of expectation and sadness, I am so far away from this situation, I feel I will receive value and respect when I have reached the ultimate goal of my own home.

But I don't believe this is true, it is a false reality in which I need this material possession and status in society in order to exist. This 'falsness' of the reality is basically the theme of the project, and will be produced with augmented houses, and presented as such like a sort of brochure.

I understand that a response is unlikely, however I believe it is always worth a try! Any insight or opinions on the concept I have mentioned would be greatly appreciated.

Regards

Teresa"

[SideNote]

I believe writing down how I think the project is going is an important aspect within the whole process. I also believe I don't think I've been doing enough of it so far.

I suppose I would call this a mid-project review/self evaluation.

I've been pretty adamant with the basis/theme of this project, and I'm not really sure if it's been a good or a bad thing. I'm so used to chopping and changing in past projects, developing and using different mediums has been a sort of a comfort to me. However in this instance, within the book context, I find it necessary to stick to my guns and my idea.

Over the past few weeks, I have been so anxious about this project turning out well, with a quality end result. There have been moments of almost regret against the whole thing, I've had a lot of conversations with various people about it. It seems so strange that the whole idea of the project, surrounding societies worry about being of value, is mirrored in me. I have felt sick to the stomach with anxiety, about my own project - of anxiety!

A lot of people have said to me, that a project is only worth doing if it is a challenge. And after so much worry and self expectation, I feel I have a much better understanding about my own project. The issues so far have proven difficult, even having to wait for good weather to the shooting - and I believe the challenge of this project ultimately worth it. I do feel better about it, and as a photographer it will make me stronger and help me to tackle subjects of this level in the future. 

It is now over half way through the project, and I do plan to continue this theme of societies anxiety, and I think the use of a common ground such as houses will produce a book that is both relatable and will tackle the subject efficiently.

Offerton/A6

Back from another shoot, concentrating on houses with the potential to edit. As usual on a sunny day, it's difficult as far as exposure is concerned, so I tend to expose for both the background and foreground for maximum capability of the image.

Any edits will follow in next post.

Here are the contact sheets:

Contact Sheets

And these are the ones which I have picked for final edit:

Edit Picks