My present intention is to develop some of the ideas explored in Assignment 3 about how spaces that are in themselves non-descript, not picturesque, are transformed into places of significance through human agency. In addition I want to explore how an additional layer of significance can be added to them by the simple act of photographing them. Specifically I have in mind various sites around the village, such as the petrol station, the cricket club, pharmacy, communal recycling bins, etc.
Background influences are very much the same as for Assignment 3, with perhaps particular emphasis on the work of Ed Ruscha and Toshio Shibata, Eiji Ohashi, and, in terms of presentation, Ingrid Pollard, as explained below.
The precise number of images is not yet clear. One consideration is that most of the sites I have in mind so far are along the main road that runs through the village. I need to assess each one first to ensure that I can photograph them safely without having to stand in the road! Subject to that, I currently have in mind eight to ten sites.
So far as presentation is concerned I have in mind two contrasting approaches that will both nevertheless make the same point. One, inspired by some of Ingrid Pollard’s work, is to produce a series of postcards, in similar style to those I bought for Exercise 3, using a digital camera and processing in Photoshop, with saturated colours and emblazoned with “Greetings from Stocksfield”; a somewhat ironic, tongue-in-cheek approach. The other is to take a more fine-art based approach, in the style of Anselm Adams and use black and white film (4×5) and a large format camera. Again, an ironic approach, raising the mundane to the level of art, possibly inviting a “gallery” exhibition to display them. Technically, this latter approach will involve some expense but as I already have film, paper for printing and darkroom equipment, that expense will be negligible. The “postcards” will need to be printed professionally (I cannot presently print in colour to a high enough standard) but as the prints will be fairly small I do not anticipate great expense.
One important practical consideration that needs to be borne in mind, and will have an effect on when this project might be carried out and how long it will take, is the effect of the current Covid-19 lock-down. So long as that remains in place there may well be physical constraints that hamper its execution. It will in any event have to approached sensitively to avoid too much unwelcome attention being drawn to it. With that in mind, I anticipate that the first stage will be to take a series of test shots to establish the best viewpoints and camera angles to keep setting-up time for the large format camera to a minimum. A further assessment of this will need to be made in due course.
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