Unit 13 - 1.1 Use
critical and contextual perspectives to initiate a personal self-directed
A&D project proposal.
Critical Perspectives:
This means to use an analytical and questioning approach to the way that you
approach your FMP. When you conduct your research you need to do so critically,
this means that when you research you need to do so in a way whereby you don’t
simply take things at face value. Your research is absolutely fundamental to
writing a coherent proposal, without the research being completed to a high
standard, the proposal may end up being incoherent.
Through the use of high quality research material you will evidence the 'Critical perspectives' of reviewers and critics, which you must identify, discuss in your research along side your own perception and views (Critical perspectives).
Through the use of high quality research material you will evidence the 'Critical perspectives' of reviewers and critics, which you must identify, discuss in your research along side your own perception and views (Critical perspectives).
Contextual Perspectives:
This means in the context of initiating (Starting) a self-directed project
proposal, you have to identify at the initial research and proposal stage, the context
in which the type of photography that you’re producing exists/fits.
Again; if you’ve been researching over the year using high
quality research material you will be in a position of recognising that
photography is used in many ways to communicate complex messages and meanings.
So, within this unit at the start you may have already decided which context
your photography might sit.
Most of the work that'll be produced in your FMP's will be produced within the context of 'Personal' work that would be...
(A). An integral part of your portfolio.
(B). Produced to exhibit in an exhibition.
(C). Indicative of your own areas of skills, interests and abilities.
You need to discuss, where the work then might be used in a wider context, who would then see the work and consider commissioning you for a job. What will you need to do to increase the potential for this to happen, what do you need to consider and build in to your work?
With the research you do at the start of the FMP, you should use every opportunity to discuss the context of the work you identify and use in your research when generating ideas. What type of photography is it, how might it be used, what is it trying to do, what genre is it?
Method to generate in-depth critical perspective.
Most of the work that'll be produced in your FMP's will be produced within the context of 'Personal' work that would be...
(A). An integral part of your portfolio.
(B). Produced to exhibit in an exhibition.
(C). Indicative of your own areas of skills, interests and abilities.
You need to discuss, where the work then might be used in a wider context, who would then see the work and consider commissioning you for a job. What will you need to do to increase the potential for this to happen, what do you need to consider and build in to your work?
With the research you do at the start of the FMP, you should use every opportunity to discuss the context of the work you identify and use in your research when generating ideas. What type of photography is it, how might it be used, what is it trying to do, what genre is it?
Method to generate in-depth critical perspective.
(1) Offer your own critical perspective based on observational/image analysis skills prior to researching. “Initial response”. This serves a an un-informed critical perspective.
(2) You have to do the above in conjunction with a body of work that you’ve identified as being influential to your own work. Use *images (4 or more) to discuss at this stage.
(3) Then find two reviews or interviews with the artist or professional reviewers where the *work is discussed in-depth an analysed. This will offer an additional 2 x Informed critical perspectives of the work.
You now have 3 critical perspectives, you own (Initial response), and sets of commentary offering informed critical perspectives. Your own response is taken at face value, but the two informed responses have been produced through research undertaken by professionals.
(4) Read what the two professional reviewers have to say about the work. You’re looking for any useful information that relates to why the work was made, who it has been influenced by, what it means, how it’s been made, where it’s been used, how it’s produced and how visual language has been used in the image/s.
(5) Write up a summary of each article using the 13 point prompt sheet or the prompts above. This will be the main bulk of your research work. Where you can, use quotes in your text ensuring that they are identified as quotes (See guidance here). Add additional images where needed, especially when you start to identify what the photographers were influenced by. Also ensure that you mention within your text, what it is you found interesting about the images and what it is you’re going to borrow from the images you’ve chosen to research. (How are these images or the photographer approach going to influence your work)?
(6) Be sure to print off ‘Hard-copies’ of your research material and keep that at the back of your folder stapled together.
(7) Also identify where your research has come from – keep a bibliography at the back of your folder, recording the web-links or the publications your research has come from.
(8) Finally once you’ve done that; using the Gibbs reflective practice model, reflect on your research. Within the Analysis section make sure you identify what type of research you’ve done, whether it is primary or secondary and why you think your research is sound/good quality. The last section of the Gibbs is the Action Plan. The action plan section lends itself to writing a proposal, consider making the action plan section your proposal.
