What I did
Saturday:
[5 hr] Built and redesigned the Dirkon camera to be completely composed of paper (created the hinges in paper and a paper spool). I wanted to see options 35mm film in case I couldn't use sheet film. Paper could not withstand the tension the film required to advance. Worked on this over the course of two days and wasted one roll of film. Eh.
Sunday:
[2 hrs] Researching form ideas. Feel like I've been stuck in the same constraints of a rectangle, with no collapsable solution!
http://www.yankodesign.com/2010/06/23/ten-creative-packaging-concepts/
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| Ultra-bin |
I'm meeting with the residential college photography professor tomorrow. Right now I am preparing what to say to him. I'm frightened, a lot hangs on this conversation. If he isn't willing to let me enroll in the rc course, maybe he will be able to give me advice on alternative options.
Monday:
[.75hr] Met with Michael Hannum at East Quad. He is the professor who is in charge of the last dark rooms at UofM. I worked so hard to prepare for this conversation. I wrote out ways to describe why I want to use film (it is all about the time spent with the medium), I had people critique my presentation. However, even though the conversation was lighthearted there seemed to be an underlying struggle. He receives tons of requests to use the darkroom from A&D students, so I am no exception. Regardless of a senior project or not, I'd have to compete with the 100% RC reservation of the class and hope they drop it. He was pleasant with me, and showed me the spaces and his work with interest. But this isn't a place I'm going to get to use.
[1 hr] Gary Blackburn, a 4 year gone A&D alum visited my studio and gave me an informal critique. He suggested that I think about why people feel comforted with nostalgia, places or things that bring back memories. I think nostalgia can be in the present, so it's not the right term for what I think, but I understand. Film is ephemeral, it connects to the human presence in a way that digital cannot. It requires care, interaction, and a bond. Suggested that I create a "pie in the sky" chart, showing the best outcome of my project, the worst manifestation, and the "pie in the sky"; one with limitless resources.
Tuesday:
[.75 hr] Meeting with John Baird. This was so inspiring after the meeting I had yesterday with the RC professor. John was convinced that paper developing isn't as toxic as film, and that it would be safe to do it at home in a make-shift darkroom. I am still going to be a careful as possible, but now I feel I can jump in and start experimenting. He showed me his photography, a couple of his cameras, and suggested I attend the Crappy Camera club meeting on Monday. He also agreed to meet with me in the near future to see how my project manifests itself.
[3 hr] IP studio hours spent doing: Sketches, research on developing film, and thinking of ways to concisely talk about my project to others.
To buy:
Goggles
Gloves
Respirator mask
ear plugs
a comb
Instant coffee
tang or orangejuice
baking soda
Wednesday:
[.5 hr] Sketching ways to fold flat
Thursday:
[3hrs] One on one meeting with Hannah and Stephanie.
Need to do "Slow working", even in shorter increments.
Went to studio and began to jot down ideas and talk to people around me. I started folding paper absentmindedly and irritably.
My head is muddy, incomplete thoughts are forming and I don't know why.
Made up studio hours after returning from AIGA studio tours. I started to create folds when I realized something interesting was happening, the triangular form flattened into a rectangle.
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| Cubic form |
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| Triangular form |
Mark said to look back at an exhibition I saw, when I said to him "these are the things I'd be interested in seeing" from other people. It is not about photography, as much as it is about revealing attachments, and spending time absorbing them in.
http://www.auesobol.dk/
These are photos by Jacob Aue Sobol, being shown at UMMA as a multi-artist exhibit.
When I say attachments, I mean extreme personal facets of life. These are taken by the artist while living with his lover in the Greenland village of Tiniteqilaaq.
What would cause someone to share these?
Perhaps it lifts all the burden they can never share...
but is that sharing a secret?
Then I loose the initiative to be known, to have their image as their possession for everyone to see...
Then what does it become?
A secret someone is willing to show and claim, no.
It is something they want to claim.
What I discovered
THIS IS NOT A PROJECT ABOUT PHOTOGRAPHY, this is about using photography as a vehicle to pause and absorb what you find intriguing in your life. It is meant to create a time to interact with the work and the process. It is meant to stop you and capture what you see.
I found that talking about this to people made me realize how not to frame my idea, suddenly it takes the turn of talking about photography only, when I'm really interested in narrative and visual sharing.
What to do next
Work on form exploration, create a prototype. Get the rest of equipment to develop in my bathroom. Once I get things to work, hand them out to those close to me to get quick feedback.
What to have for December Consultation
A working prototype, even if it's a failure. Visual designs of the narrative to get feedback on. A well written and crisp artist statement to avoid any unclear decisions in the process of this project. I want to be able to show some photographs as well, and bring in physical work to the consultation.
