Surfaces and Strategies

Surfaces & Strategies // Project development //

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I have started to think about transparent prints, right now I have only made it as far as printing on transparent film, and I have played with the images as a negative and not. I think I will be happy to experiment with this a little more. The first sets were fine, but I feel that there is more room to get more creative with printing my images like this.

I have also used the transparent prints to play around with cyanotype prints, again, this time I kept it very simple but enjoyed the process printing on ready-made cyanotype cloth, and ordered the chemicals so I can start to experiment with my own materials, and start figuring out if this is a path I truly want to take my project.

Surfaces & Strategies // W. Seven // Thinking about pages //

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Louis Reith

I originally saw this work as a serious of photos published in a beautifully simple bound book. However the more I think of my work displayed beyond a single or series of framed images, the more I want to book to relate to how my work is presented. Louis Reith was the first to grab my attention. His monochrome Décor - made from old book pages and assembled to function as a new visual story that he wants to represent. I don't feel the need to do that, I am more drawn to the collage style and printing methods he uses. I like the very basic approach of the printing, that allows there to be more freedom when creating the layout and images, without it being too overwhelming and messy.

Though I have not had much of a chance to start putting a book, I intend to experiment in the next few modules.

reference : http://shelter-press.org/louis-reith-decor-sp071/

I have also started to think about layering and using different page sizes and papers for my publication. I think by combining different, sizes and paper, it will give the book a unique feel to it, and possibly a very direct extension of certain buildings and Land I visit.

Reference: Grant-Harder


Surfaces & Strategies // Contextual research // Elena Damiani.

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I have recently come across work by Elana Damiani, and have been very inspired by her project Fading Feilds which reflects on the past and present.

The viewer struggles to grasp at once to totality of the image, which keeps fusing with the space in the background. As a result, the works function as constant reminders that it is only through the eyes of the present that we can catch a glimpse of the past, and that both realms -virtual and physical- merge constantly in the act of remembrance.

- Elena Damiani

The images from this project of hers are printed on to silk chiffon, which is translucent and causes the image to fade in and out of site depending on the position of the viewer.

I find my self drawn to her way of layering and manipulation of the images without making to many changes to the actual photo its self and allowing each image to be its self, and this has inspired me to start thinking that rephotography could play a role in my work, to help make the past of certain area's like Twentynine palms more apparent and shows it’s evolution to the present.

I am also very inspired by the way this work is presented. Having it displayed at a large scale helps to really capture the viewer's attention and wonder, allowing them to "play" with images.

Surfaces and Strategies // W. Six Course work // Thinking About Spaces //

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Some Considerations

Where will you put it?

At this stage, I like the idea of displaying my work outdoors in a public space where people would be able to come upon the work and view it at their leisure.

However, if I do display in a public space I would not want my work to overly intrusive in its location, I would like the display/installation to be something that catches the eye of someone passing by, without being too obvious.

Paul Farmer and his Meditation Trail, Paintings in the wild is a good example of using an outdoor space that already has people visiting it and it not overbearing on the space.

At this point, with the space available to me, I could do something very similar at a smaller scale, for a shot time.

Paul Famer - meditation trail, paintings in the wild

Who will be looking at your work?


The location I am thinking of will be in a small park that has nothing in it but a few trees and is located in my hometown where a number of locals walk by every day. Also having my work being on display in an area that has nothing else in it, would be quite noticeable and hopefully pique the interest of people passing.


Other thoughts on the space.

When using a public outdoor space, I have thought about the permission I would need and, how the majority of the people in the town would accept me having work up in the park.

There is also the fact that my work will be exposed to the elements, so using materials that would have resistance to the weather.

As I am just beginning to explore the idea of creating installations to display my work, over the next few modules I will start to narrow down, how I want my work displayed, what materials will work together and hold up outdoors, and even if I want to continue to think about using outdoor spaces.

Do I want to exhibit my work at the locations I am shooting, or do I want to have an indoor exhibition in a gallery? and will the locations have a large impact on how I display my work?


Surfaces & Strategies // Contextual research // Sem Langendijk

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Sem Langendijk

When coming upon Sem Langendijk’s work I was instantly drawn in as he is very focused on certain communities and their role in shaping the landscape of these harbors, the influence they have on a city 's development and he questions the ownership of land.

His series Amsterdam- Agency, in particular, I find intriguing as it focuses on the ADM community in Amsterdam- a community that was developed 1997 by a group of people looking to create an alternative lifestyle for themselves in a former harbor.

Much like Langendijk, I am focused on communities, their habitats, and their impact on the land, and how their additions to it, function within the landscape. As I am moving forward with this project, I have tried to consider ways of approaching and documenting my chosen areas and communities in a less typical documentary style, and I feel that Langendijk starts to do that with his work. When looking at his Amsterdam series, I find that there is another layer to them, that is genital, unintrusive and an non judgemental reflection of the whole community, which I try very much to keep in mind while shooting and spending time within this communities.

Surfaces & Strategies // Contextual research // Reflection

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"I think of my life’s work as a celebration of all of nature, an orchestra that plays not the sounds of one musician, the music of one species, but rather an expression of all of nature’s songs."

- Gregory Colbert

Gregory Colbert's’ Ashes to Snow exhibitions, has long been an inspiration, mostly because they are so immersive.

The work that he creates is very intimate, bold and moving, and I think that allowing people to really feel the full expression of his work an immersive experience is the only way to really do so. I also feel that when you create such an experience, it opens up the work to more people and a wider audience, as there is a draw not just to the work, but to the event its self.

When I come to producing my own work and creating an experience, realistically I will not be producing a show on such a scale as Ashes to Snow, but I want to take elements from it. I want to be able to create spaces that are intriguing, intimate and open to a verity of people.

Creating small structures that could be placed almost anywhere, at this stage would be very doable.

Have something small with minimal materials will be easy enough to construct and place in a public space, where it would be accessible to a number of different people.

I have been thinking about producing a small exhibit with 3-4 images printed and presenting them in some sort of fashion such as the examples below.

Surfaces and Strategies // Project Development

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Arcosanti:

My last two trips I have been keeping a visual travel journal, (That I post to my instagram highlights) with photos mostly taken with my phone. I find that it helps me think about how I want to approach the space and the people within it and when using a phone, especially when I first get to a new location I find that it is less intrusive and a little more discrete.

Full WIP gallery can be found here.

Surfaces & Strategies // W. Five course work // Roadmap // Refection

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Roadmap

Title of work: High Desert.

Keywords: Land, Community, Interdisciplinary, Collaboration.

Methods and methodologies: With this project, I will be exploring high desert areas in the American west (California, Arizona, and Colorado ) I wish to do so with of mix of techniques, such as digital, 120/35mm as well as cyanotypes.  
These images will range from environmental portraits to landscape within the communities I will be visiting.

I feel that this approach will offer a wider perspective of the subject and hopefully and alternative approach to straightforward documentary photography.   

I have also considered producing a few short videos that will help document the people and surroundings, as well as show my process. I hope to do this with my creative partner Mae Frances, so I can focus on producing images for my project.

Number of shoots: I intend to travel to my chosen locations and spend a few days shooting at each.

Outcomes:
I plan to produce a number of images with my chosen mediums that will be made into a publication and exhibit. 

The relationship:
All the work produced relates to my final project and is allowing me to explore, and connect with people within certain communities  I am visiting as well as the approach and techniques I want to use during this project. I feel that is helping refine and explore new ways of using digital and alternative process alongside each other. 


Surfaces & Strategies // Contextual research //

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JACKRABBIT HOMESTEAD

After my first trip to Twentynine Palms, I came across Kim Stringfellow. Her work explores the Mojave desert. The Jackrabbit Homestead, in particular, caught my eye. They are a collection of mostly abandoned shacks left from their former residents, who received the land from the US government as part of the Small Trace Act of 1938.

Stringfellow spent time documenting some of the abandoned houses as well as interviewing local residents, historians, and artist, which reside in reclaimed structures and use them as inspiration for their work.

This led Stringfellow to produce a photobook, photographic exhibit, and web-based multimedia presentation featuring a downloadable car audio tour exploring the cultural legacy of the Small Tract Act.

This work and other projects that she has worked on, has greatly inspired how I want to approach my own work and allowed me to truly think about the presentation and methods that I could use to present my work and make it accessible to multiple audiences.

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Surfaces & Strategies // W. Four course work // Hands Off! // Refection

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This week was one of the more refreshing and inspiring weeks so far. 

I am always drawn to the work of Mike and Doug Starn, two twin brothers that have been together since their teenage years. They have a very conceptual approach to photography. Over the years they have worked with silver gelatin papers and a number of toning and bleaching methods, they tape together fragments of torn and distressed prints together and use other materials such as wood and metal to create beautifully crafted images that go beyond a simple print. 

I very much admire their approach and the way they challenge the idea of photography.

More recently I have come across Peter Calderwood & Lena Gustafson of Night Dier Press a small print press in California. They create and publish prints, books, zines, and monotypes using a number of different processes and alternative printing techniques.

The cyanotype prints caught my eye especially and I was considering trying cyanotype for this weeks activity as I have never done it before.

Not having a lot of time to create more in-depth images and layering for the cyanotypes, I used found objects, mostly from the garden, and overall, I like the results, but more so I enjoyed the precesses, and it has made me consider possibly adding cyanotype prints to my work.

Surfaces & Strategies // W. Three Strategies of Sharing// Course work // Making a Zine

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This week I started working within a group to produce a zine.

We have decided to focus on the theme of Social Documentary, and each of us submitting a number of images from around the world.

https://www.flipsnack.com/nickmurrayphoto/pho703-zine.html

One of the reasons I have always been drawn to photography personally and professionally is that there is always some form of collaboration, whether it be with a subject, client, a team and even the viewer. I find it a way to constantly learn, not only about myself but about my practice, others, and it helps me be aware of how to communicate with others.

Surfaces & Strategies // W. One Strategies of looking // Where are You At? // Reflection

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After my first trip out to Twentynine Palms, CA I left feeling inspired by the land and the people I met while I was there. It helped me see the reality of the romanticized lifestyle and landscape that is the essence of the High Desert and life in the American West.

My observations and thoughts about my trip that I want to be present in my project

The high desert brings people together.

The high desert is about opening up to an inventive and creative life that gives back to the community and land.

It’s a vast and expansive environment, which makes you feel that there is endless potential and adventure waiting.

My main focus will be to continue to develop this project and concentrate on how people used the land in the past to how they are building a life in high desert areas now. I will explore how individuals and communities have reclaimed and repurposed the structures and the land its self.

Will be exploring the world Arcology.

I also made a trip to Blue Mesa Reservoir, and after spending a few days there I came to realise that this location will not be a good fit for this project. Though the location is convenient, it would be harder to connect with communities in the area for this specific project.

Blue Mesa May 2019

Blue Mesa May 2019