After a wonderful two-year journey of photographic discovery, I’ve taken the plunge by taking on the Pearson BTEC Level 4 HNC Diploma in Photography.
According to the college’s description, this two-year course at Richmond Adult Community College provides a specialist work-related programme of study that covers the key knowledge, understanding & practical skills required in the photography sector.
The course is structured around a series of projects. These will include visual communication & ideas generation techniques alongside a range of photography and studio techniques, including the use of moving image.
Context will also be a key aspect of this qualification where I will study cultural history that informs current thought & debate within art, craft & design. The emphasis will be on research & study skills where I will acquire source material & knowledge.
I will develop my knowledge of visual language through the evaluation of the work of other artists, craft workers and designers, & interpret the meanings & messages from particular art & design movements & also in the work of individual artists, craft workers & designers in and outside the world of photography.
I’ve already successfully passed the Photography NCFE Level 1 & Level 2 Awards plus awarded the Pearson BTEC Level 3 Certificate with triple distinction.
While thinking of a name for this body of work, I wanted something that reflected my current state. Then a friend posted a photograph of star called Arcturus, taken on Brighton Beach at night. I’ve not heard of that star before. Having researched both it’s cultural & mythological meanings. I thought it an appropriate name for this blog chronicling my journey over the following days, weeks & months.
On the last day of the Spring term, the class was given the starting point for the next unit. Over the Easter holidays, I had to familiarise myself with a variety of image-makers who utilise the use of imagery that unfolds within a pre-scripted time period or recording of a subject over a selected period of time.
Suggested formats included:
short video footage
a selection of images taken in rapid succession (using ‘burst mode’ on a stills camera)
still images that are presented in the form of a ‘slide show’ with transitional edits or fades
images that superimpose on one another or appear as still with only a portion that is animated
a series that unfolds as either a linear or non-linear narrative
During the Summer term, I would be introduced to a variety of ways in which I can approach this project. In addition to these approaches, I would be familiarising myself with:
new vocabulary used when dealing with movement/time-based imagery
new techniques
looking at the variety of ways that images can be sequenced
The class was given a list of photographers & artists who produce time-based or motion-based work:
Nicholas Nixon (The Brown Sisters)
Shizuka Yokomizo
Bill Viola
Tacita Dean
Christian Marclay
Douglas Gordon
Sophie Calle
Marina Abramovic
Nan Goldin
Rineke Dijkstra
Sam Taylor-Wood
Hiroshi Sugimoto
John Hilliard
Richard Long
At first sight, it appeared to be an interesting list. I’ve seen some of the above’s work, so it was great being exposed to a wide range of artistic individuals & their techniques.
The other task for my Easter break was to explore a subject that would lend itself to being explored through various time-based approaches.
This unit will develop my skills & understanding in realising personal creative intentions through time-based artwork.
Unit Summary
Time-based artwork covers a wide range of applications, such as installation & performance, interactivity & as an important element in contemporary fine art practice.
In working on this unit, I should be encouraged to apply systematic investigation into professional practice within time-based artwork.
I may use understanding gained to inform my choices of production process, in turn consolidating & further developing my understanding of the properties of video, film, computers & multimedia.
Through considering & applying conventional &/or non-conventional sources, concepts & approaches to time-based work I will extend my scope of my visual thinking & creativity.
I should research examples of time-based artwork, from pioneering examples to recent practice, to provide a contextual framework for my creative thinking & visualisation.
Practical demonstration & technical assistance, particularly in relation to electronic & other technological processes & equipment, should provide me with skills I can apply to my personal work.
Study can be balanced to include the application of techniques & processes with creative experimentation.
Opportunities for discussion, both one-to-one & in groups, may be used to support a context where increasing independence of working is required.
The communication of creative intentions, from pre-production onwards, may be presented in appropriate formats as evidence. The environment in which the completed work is shown should be considered as an essential component of the whole.
I may present critical analysis & evaluation of work to peer group & tutors in oral, textual or electronic format.
I should be able to articulate my own thinking using appropriate language.
An understanding of the nature of time-based work in a visual arts context & how creative intentions relate to this may be demonstrated in the work produced.
On successful completion of this unit, I will:
Understand professional practice in time-based work
Be able to evaluate technology & processes of time-based work
Be able to explore formal values in time-based work
Be able to produce time-based work confirming creative intention.
Learning Outcome 1: Covered by Tasks 1 & 3
Understand professional practice in time-based work
1.1 Research professional practice in time-based artwork
As well as the unit aims, the class was given the scenario. The full title is “Invisible Cities (A Sense of Place)”. It was inspired by the book called Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino.
Invisible Cities features Marco Polo recounting the cities visited on his travels to Kubla Khan. Through Polo’s narration, he presents his native Venice as fragments of other places.
The piece of time-based artwork should be based around that title & can be a film, animation or any piece of work incorporating a ‘duration’ (time) dimension.
This scenario is highlighting how people perceive the same places, cities & neighbourhoods in different ways. For example:
What does it mean to live where I live?
What aspects of my home, town or city resonate with me & conjure up a ‘sense of place’?
There is also room to explore how, sometimes, personal experiences & social interactions can alter a place. What are the characteristics that give a place a particular feel from my point of view?
Sense of place refers to the emotive bonds & attachments people develop or experience in particular locations & environments, at scales ranging from the home to the nation.
Sense of place is also used to describe the distinctiveness or unique character of particular localities & regions.
People develop a “sense of place” through experience & knowledge of a particular area. A sense of place emerges through:
knowledge of the history, geography & geology of an area
an area’s flora & fauna
legends of a place
a growing sense of the land & its history after living there for a time
In order to produce the work according to the learning outcomes & the above scenario, I need to complete the following tasks:
Task 1:
On my blog research three artists/filmmakers/ photographers who work with time-based media
Discuss their concepts, practice & unique approach to working with moving images
Present my research about one of these artists to the rest of the group
Suggested names:
Christian Marclay
Jeremy Deller
John Smith (filmmaker)
Jane & Louse Wilson
Douglas Gordon
Bill Viola
Tacita Dean
Sam Taylor Wood
Elizabeth Price
Mark Leckey
Steven Sutcliffe
Nina Danino
Gillian Wearing
Learning Outcomes: 1, 2 & 3
Evidence: Blog
Task 2:
Explore a location that resonates with me:
Find out everything I can about this location
Document every aspect of it with a set of still photographs (up, down, all around)
Think about Point of View & how I position myself in relation to my subject/space/place
Create a conceptual framework (e.g. mind map, storyboard, etc.) for the photographs – how could I interpret my place/space (or just one aspect of it) using time?
Learning Outcomes: 2 & 4
Evidence: Blog & Photographs
Task 3:
Research & include Health & Safety issues relevant to working with moving image both within an editing environment & on location at a shoot.
Learning Outcome: 1
Evidence: Blog
Task 4:
Produce a time-based artwork/s for exhibition from one or more of my concepts
Present a piece of finished work that has been exported & ready to show as an mp4/m4v
Include a short title sequence with my name & date
Learning Outcomes: 2, 3 & 4
Evidence: Blog, preparatory work & finished artwork
Task 5:
Write an overall evaluation
I will be assessed on the evidence I have produced. This is clearly outlined at the bottom of each task
During the first session of this unit, Max (our co-tutor with Ria) outlined the concept of film language & different filming techniques in relation to time-based artwork.
In order for the class to put theory into practice, Max set the class a series of tasks.
The tasks were:
Using a tripod, take a burst of images
Shoot three short pieces of film (one long shot, one medium shot & one close up)
I was in Brighton on the weekend after these tasks were set. The weather was glorious, so I took advantage of this by carrying out the initial shoots in this location. To start out, I was using my Nikon D5500 with the 50mm lens. I found the Continuous Shooting mode & selected the H (high) option.
My first sequence was shot while waiting in line for ice cream at Marrocco’s, an iconic cafe on the Hove seafront. This alleyway near the cafe caught my eye. I didn’t use the tripod, but this was one way to get used to this mode of shooting:
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Interesting. One major issue, though. The orientation. Conventionally, most time-based artwork is shown in landscape, not portrait. Also, when shooting images that will be shown on a screen that’s 1920px x 1080px you need to consider the crop factor. This is an aspect I had to get around while editing the images for a time-based piece for my Level 3 course. Most cameras will take the original photo at a 2:3 ratio so the framing & composition are key to not cutting off an essential part of the image.
The next stop was at the beach. I set the camera on a small tripod which is approximately 12″ high. As it’s quite small, there wasn’t any trip hazard that is a possibility when using a tripod in a public area. What I did ensure was keeping both myself & the camera dry.
Burst 1:
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Burst 2:
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Burst 3:
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
I also took some video using the 50mm lens. These were all shot at a frame rate of 25 per second.
Burst 4:
This was taken using a Tamron SP 500mm 1:8 mirror lens. I’ve used this lens to photograph the sun on the sea before & am aware of the doughnut bokeh created when it’s out of focus. This is an aspect I could explore & exploit for this project.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Burst 5:
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
I also took some video using the same lens:
I then took a walk along the promenade. The next photos I shot were of an installation on the newly erected Hove Plinth. Installed in April 2018, this is the city’s own version of the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square. The first sculpture on display is Constellation by Johnathan Wright. The design is part mechanical model of the solar system, part film camera & part ship’s compass. Instead of planets orbiting the system, images of Hove are orbiting. The sculpture also moves, casting shadows onto the promenade. It could be something to explore at a later date. It would be interesting to either film or shoot with an interval timer setting when more clouds are in the sky. Or capture the shadows moving along the tarmac.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Walking further along the promenade, I came across a group of rollerbladers. After asking their permission, I took some shots of their feet.
I then took some burst shots. I didn’t have the tripod on the floor, as it the skaters were being quite random, so I put the strap of my camera around my neck, resting the tripod on my stomach. These are the results:
Burst 6:
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Burst 7:
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Burst 8:
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Burst 9:
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
That was an interesting session with lots of images captured. I am looking forward to seeing how these can be edited in Adobe Premiere. It will also be fun working out different ways to present them as time-based artwork.
The first task for this unit is to research three artists/film makers/ photographers who work with time-based media. I then need to discuss their concepts, practice & unique approach to working with moving images. I will then have to present my research about one of these artists to the rest of the group.
The first artist I researched was Mark Leckey, a British artist born in 1964 in Birkenhead who works with collage, art, video & music. Leckey won the Turner prize in 2008 with his piece “Industrial Light & Magic”.
Made in Eaven
Cinema-in-the-Round
The first piece of Leckey’s work that really piqued my interest was Fiorucci Made Me Hardcore (1999). Max had shown an extract of this to the class:
The concept & practice of Leckey is to take either existing footage or create new images in various ways then construct a bricolage time-based artwork. “Fiorucci Made Me Hardcore” is a video collage of footage featuring British dance subcultures: Northern Soul, soul weekenders & rave. The soundtrack is also a construct, featuring samples of voices & music. The footage is 4:3 ratio, which was how television was presented until 16:9 took over around 2010.
Leckey’s ethos appears to be nostalgia. For example, in an interview for Fact Mag, Leckey described what he was feeling when making Fiorucci:
I’m trying to be as immersed as I can. If Fiorucci… works, one of the reasons, I think, is because I was emotionally invested in it. It’s like what you said about nostalgia, it’s very nostalgic. It’s this melancholy because that’s the way I was feeling. If anything I’m trying to transmit that. It’s me looking at that stuff, showing it to you and saying, “This makes me feel this. Do you respond the same way?” (Kretowicz, 2019)
With regards to Fiorucci, I have to admit it took a couple viewings to really appreciate this piece. At first, I was frustrated by the way the sound ‘jumped’ & its inconsistency. Then, after I researched Leckey’s background & watched a couple of interviews with him, I ‘got’ what he was conveying.
The whole video is quite playful. It’s not just a straightforward documentary-style piece of work. It’s a series of vignettes that have been subtly edited or given a particular set of sounds. An example of this is at 4:09. A young man is dancing to a percussion beat while people look on.
The camera is following his face with a panning shot. At first, it looks like a continuous piece of footage. However, when looking at the time code on the screen, it becomes clear that this sequence is played forward, then reversed, then forwarded again. The film is then paused halfway through the second reverse. The paused frame featuring the man’s face is turned into an animated sequence of three shots which turns into an extreme close. The sound sample for that short sequence is a sample of Feel So Real (1985) by Steve Arrington, which was a Soul dance classic at the time. This sequence then continues by focusing on other faces from that era.
Another scene I noticed at 7:06 was during footage of young men dressed in “soul boy” fashion typical of 1984. How do I know the year? Firstly, I was about the same age of those featured in the footage, plus the time code has been changed (as in the screenshot below):
This aspect highlighted the nostalgia aspect for me quite strongly, taking me back to the early 1980s.
Another playful element is additional animation to the footage. For example, there is a scene at 2:55 which features a man dancing when a bird tattoo appears on his palm. The tattoo then ‘flies’ to the next cut of the footage, appearing on a man’s arm.
The next piece of Leckey’s I watched was Dream English Kid 1964-1999AD (2015). The film comprises original footage, animated drawings, time-lapse, computer-generated images, edited footage & shots featuring small-scale models. During the film, the point of view continually changes & includes tableau, close-ups, establishing, panning, zooming, dolly & sequence shots.
The film opens with a black screen then an electric ‘beep’ followed by a voice counting down from 10 to one. It’s 1964, which is the year Leckey is born. Then, original footage of a Beetles concert appears with the camera looking through the lens of the filming camera.
After the countdown is completed, the opening guitar chord of Hard Day’s Night is played. This establishing shot is enough to get your attention & make you want to know what happens next. The piece continues on a timeline to the eclipse of 1999, showing glimpses into Leckey’s life. Incidents that have stuck in his psyche & still haunt him according to an interview shot by the Tate.
For example, at 13:25, there’s an interesting scenario that appears to be from a night out in 1983 that didn’t quite go to plan. It starts with a hand changing channels on a car radio after an announcement of a civilian Korean flight that had been shot down by a Soviet interceptor plane.
Following this is a series of repeating footage that includes a heaving dance floor in a dubious night club, Red Cinzano. Two pieces of this footage feature a woman who appears to have a weak bladder & a red sunset juxtaposed to a sample of Luther Vandross’ “Never Too Much”. The third piece of footage features people in the nightclub listening to the horrific news about the incident. It’s worthy of note that red is the colour screaming out during this vignette. It gives a real feeling of stress & anxiety. Which is the general sensation felt when watching this piece.
Leckey also explains that this film is about life in the UK during a specific time. It’s anxious, fretful – not a joyous film. Episodes of Mark’s life. Dark. Festering, lingering. For Leckey, it was like performing a kind of exorcism.
In another interview for Tate Shots, Leckey describes himself as being an ‘outsider’ & on ‘the edge of the dancefloor’, on the periphery & observational.
Having researched Leckey further, it really has given me quite a lot of potential devices for my own time-based work. From narrative structures to different ways of combining shots & types of footage, there is something to be gleaned from his inventive approach to time-based artwork.
My second task for this unit is to explore a location that resonates with myself then find out everything I can about it. I then need to document aspects of it with a set of still photographs. The following is the starting point of this process.
Over the last few months, I’ve visited Brighton & Hove most weekends, shooting the images for the first two units of this course in this location. I’ve become increasingly familiar with the area, but there are still places I haven’t explored. Each time I go for a walk in both towns, I’m always coming across something new. I also don’t know much about the history of either place.
The one thing that did spark my interest in Hove was the recently installed Constellation sculpture.
When looking for further details online of this plinth & this new installation, I discovered the following website: http://www.hoveplinth.org.uk/. This website featured a close up photo of each item on the sculpture.
Hove Beach Hut with Seagull
Hove Amber Cup
Special Effects Cine Camera
Batsman
Elm Tree
The Hove Ship
Skateboarder
Rampion Wind Turbine
Queen Victoria
West Blatchington Windmill
The website featured an explanation behind each of the pieces. The one which piqued me initially was the special effects cine camera. What was this item’s relevance to Hove?
According to the website, “this icon celebrates Brighton & Hove’s pioneering contributions to film making & is a copy of a camera in the Hove Museum collections.” (Hoveplinth.org.uk, 2019)
The explanation continued:
“The 35mm camera was designed & built by Brighton-based engineer Alfred Darling (1862-1931), to create special effects in early films. It has two removable plates with apertures, which produce the effect of looking through a telescope, magnifying glass or binoculars. In 1887, Darling came into contact with a group of filmmakers, including George Albert Smith, James Williamson & Esme Collings, know as the Brighton School of filmmakers. This led Darling to specialise in the design & manufacture of cinema apparatus. He worked closely with filmmakers, offering expertise in the development of new cameras to produce particular effects. His apparatus was very successful, with makers across the world buying equipment from him. In 1899, Hove filmmaker George Albert Smith (1864-1959) bought a similar camera from Darling & soon shot ‘Grandma’s Reading Glass’, which pioneered film editing techniques. GA Smith had developed the old pump house in St Ann’s Wells into a film production studio, which he called his ‘Film Factory’. He created some of the earliest close-up shots in film history.” (Hoveplinth.org.uk, 2019)
Very interesting – here’s the film:
I then researched St Ann’s Wells, which is a garden park in Hove. Unfortunately, the studio isn’t there anymore, but it looked like an interesting location to visit. The park is full of native & exotic trees, has a chalybeate (iron-bearing) spring & lots of interesting history.
For example, GA Smith became the leaseholder of the park in the late 19th century & developed a pleasure garden that had demonstrations of hot air ballooning & parachute jumps, a monkey house, a fortune-teller & a hermit living in a cave.
Here are the photos I took of my visit to the gardens:
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
The next aspect of the area I wanted to explore was the boundary between Brighton & Hove. The two towns formed a unitary authority in 1997 & became a city in 2001. However, the locals still consider these as two separate areas.
The main marker & iconic symbol that most people associate with the boundary between Brighton & Hove is The Peace Memorial.
I didn’t want to focus on something so obvious & was very pleased to discover another marker between the two towns. I had spotted a passage the previous weekend leading down to one of the main streets crossing from Hove to Brighton.
I didn’t investigate further at the time as it was at night & there was a seemingly unsavoury individual lurking half-way down, so I returned the following week.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
This indeed marks the boundary between Brighton & Hove. There is a stone at the top end of the passage with BP on it & one of the markers of the boundary in this area. The stone is Grade II listed.
There is another stone set in the pavement at the lower end of the passage.
That was the start of the research – I did come across quite a lot of facts & details that need further exploration. It will be interesting what else can be discovered.
I was already thinking about how I could feature Brighton &/or Hove in relation to this project, but I didn’t want to go down the beach/seaside path. An initial concept that came to mind evoked the ethos of a BBC2 drama called The City & The City.
This series was based on the novel by China Mieville, the plot of which revolves around the concept of two cities existing next to one another. Set 500 years in the future, the citizens of both cities are forbidden to interact with one another. In the spaces where the two cities meet, the inhabitants cannot look at the other side. The way in which this was portrayed on screen was to blur one side.
This made me think about how Hove is “overshadowed” by Brighton. Could this concept be used in my project? One thought was to have a 360 degree panoramic shot or an interval timer session on the border of Brighton & Hove, blurring when the view of the Brighton appears on the screen.
While watching the first episode, I noticed the ‘blur’ was a strong, continuing visual theme.
It certainly isn’t ‘smooth’ viewing & gives quite an unsettling effect.
The other thought I had was depicting shadows within Hove.
When I was first presented with this unit, my initial thought was to produce something similar to one of my Level 3 projects.
This video is comprised of images captured using interval timer shooting. What I could do differently with the current project is to take footage from different angles & edit it showing different Points of View. This would be in contrast to the continuous tableau shot in my previous piece.
One aspect that I learnt from this project & animation I previously produced was that sound plays a very important part. While looking at the initial brief for this project, I came across a piece of music that could be suitable.
The piece is only two minutes long, broken into two halves. The second minute features a piano & double bass. This could work as a theme when depicting the two halves of Brighton & Hove. Or I could isolate elements of the music & combine it with other sounds, channelling a touch of Mark Leckey.
I also know the musician, Allessandra Cellitti, & was delighted when she gave me permission to use this piece. There is also a very interesting background to the music.
The following is an extract from Cellitti’s website:
‘More than 20 years have passed since the release of ‘Hidden Sources’ the first album that I dedicated to the music of Gurdjieff & De Hartmann. Yet, after so many years, I remember the emotions I felt in the daily immersion in the study of such intense & profound melodies.
At that time I was living in Prague & them mysterious & hypnotic landscapes of Central Asia evoked by these compositions, mingled with the snow & the bitter cold of the Bohemian capital. It was a strange alchemy. So this year, after a long time, I thought of going back into the sacred atmosphere that Gurdjieff managed to explore during his countless journeys & brought to light thanks to the collaboration with De Hartmann.
This time, however, my piano is not alone. For “Sacred Honey” I tried to imagine & recreate the exotic & esoteric sounds of the movements, hymns and sacred dances of Gurdjieff and I involved the multi-instrumentalist Daniele Ercoli who honoured me with his participation with the sound of the double bass, the kaval and of the flugelhorn. In many of the compositions, I created the electronic sounds myself and played the harmonium (an instrument very dear to Gurdjieff), that I bought in a small shop in Mumbai during one of my concerts in India. I would like this new work to have the strength to transport into soundscapes full of charm and enchantment.
Why Sacred Honey?
The word Sarmoung means “bee” and there are traces of a Confraternity of Sarmoung whose origins are lost in the mists of time; signs are found in Babylon since the days of Hammurabi. The Sarmoung taught that objective knowledge is a material substance that can be harvested and stored like honey. It is believed that the Sarmounis (the bees) possessed teachings antecedent to The Flood. Once again comes the metaphor of the Ark and although it is certainly possible that no real universal flood has ever occurred, it is probable that the Sarmoungs referred to their responsibility to keep safe the Ark of ancient wisdom through the floods of time. It seems that this confraternity had recorded the destructions and periodic rebirths of humanity believing that its tradition represented an eternal and unchanging nucleus of wisdom to which humanity could always draw.
At critical moments in history, the Sarmoungs distributed their “honey” throughout the world through duly trained agents. The traveller, scholar of metaphysics and of ancient religions John Bennett, believed that the symbol of the enneagram at the base of Gurdjieff’s teaching, as well as the knowledge of the Law of Seven, the law which according to the mystical Armenian, regulates every process of change and many of his sacred dances, had arisen from the Sarmoung Brotherhood.
From this suggestion the choice of the title for the sound itinerary within the musical world of Gurdjieff and De Hartmann. The inspiration also evokes a question of absolute topicality and importance on which I was interested to dwell: “If the bee disappeared from the earth, humanity would remain four years of life, no more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more human beings. ” (Albert Einstein?).’
After a discussion with Ria during the class session, the concept of using Boundary Passage as my location became clearer. After some further discoveries, the idea of portraying this as a passage way as a ‘no man’s land’ came up.
This was sparked when I checked out Google Maps to see how Boundary Passage appears. I checked. It doesn’t.
Also, when I looked at Google Street view, the images were very intriguing. As they were taken during different times & seasons there is a weird discontinuity with clothing & the light. There are also some interesting multi-exposure effects as shown in these screen captures:
They reminded me of the cinematic style of The City & The City:
You also can’t access the passage at either end.
There isn’t much online regarding the passage, but enough to get the ideas going. It’s briefly mentioned in an article regarding the Brighton boundaries, but not much else. However, there is one building in the passage that has a colourful history – the Spiritualist church. Bought by the church in 1978, it previously housed a brothel. Very apt location for this & the visiting clientele.
My alternative source for further information was likely to be the Brighton Museum &/or the Hove Museum. Will be interesting to see if they have any records about the passage & this building. I could also visit one of the Brighton libraries to see if there are any newspaper references.
Another aspect I came across is the name for a place like this: Twitten. This is a specific Sussex colloquial word meaning ‘alleyway’. Could be a good title for the final piece.
Photo Arcturus 