Exploring Photographic Practice - Assignments

Part One the photographer

oeuvre |vr()|
noun

the body of work of a painter, composer, or author: the complete oeuvre of Mozart. a work of art, music, or literature: an early oeuvre. ORIGIN late 19th cent.: French, literally work.

Please prepare an eight to ten minute illustrated presentation, with your partner, about the work (oeuvre) and selected monograph (book) of your given photographer; research the following and incorporate your findings into your presentation. On their oeuvre include; What is their approach, what tradition does their work belong to? What is their work about? How is their work made? What techniques (perhaps inc. equipment) do they use? Where have they published their work (books, galleries, magazines etc.)? Do they have both commercial and artistic practice?

On their monograph; What was the social context at the time of the works production? (Consider the year, location, political or economic climate, the photographers own personal circumstances, etc.) Is there an interesting story to tell about the way the work was made? (Consider the technical, psychological or social challenges the photographer faced in making the work) Is the work considered to be important or significant in any way; if so, why and by whom? What are the recurring themes or ideas contained in this body of work? Consider the book design orientation, scale, paper texture and weight, the materiality of the cover and binding. Think about the layout.

Exploring Photographic Practice - Assignments (Are images presented full-bleed on a page or are they framed; how prominent is any text accompanying each image?) Consider the information accompanying each image (including text, graphics, drawings, captions, titles, etc.

Presentations
You will delivery your presentations, in your pairs, on the following dates: Monday 18th November Groups to be confirmed at briefing Tuesday 19th November Groups to be confirmed at briefing

Exploring Photographic Practice - Assignments

Part Two & Three the response

emulate |mjlet|
verb [ with obj. ] match or surpass (a person or achievement), typically by imitation: most rulers wished to emulate Alexander the Great. imitate: hers is not a hairstyle I wish to emulate. Computing reproduce the function or action of (a different computer, software system, etc.).

In response to the selected monograph plane and produce a series of images that emulate your photographers body of work in respect to their overall concept, rationale and execution. In preparation for making your own images you are to present a proposal to your group (see below) in a 5-6 minute informal illustrated presentation. The proposal must also be submitted formally, in writing at the end of the presentation. In order to do this successfully you should pay close attention to the following: What is the subject? Is it primarily people, objects or landscapes or a combination? What type of people are they - young, old, celebrities or everyday people? Consider the locations used by the photographer are the photographs set in an urban, rural or imagined landscape? Are they shot at a particular time of day or in a particular style? Analyse the technical choices made by your chosen photographer. Are the photographs Colour, B&W or both? What format does the photographer use Polaroid, 35mm, Medium or Large Format? How is the subject lit - artificial studio lighting or natural light only?

Please bear-in-mind that you are being asked to emulate not copy your photographers work. Using that chosen monograph as a starting point you are to develop your own (mini) body of work in their style.

Exploring Photographic Practice - Assignments

Proposal Presentations
You will delivery your presentations on the following dates: Monday 25th November - Groups to be confirmed Tuesday 26th November - Groups to be confirmed

From the presentation of your proposal, you will then go on to produce your series of images in response to your given photographers work. The size of the series should be proportionate to the concepts and complexity of your photographers work and your planned response for example, someone producing work in response to a Street Photographer might be expected to produce more work then someone working with staged photography that requires greater time and effort in its planning and execution.