Tuesday 22/10/19 - Final Evaluation

The journey throughout this course so far has been an interesting one to say the least. It has had a range of different processes and tasks to do. I have developed new skills, interests, influences and already found my own style when it comes to this sort of work. It’s also given me a greater appreciation for art as a whole and have a better understanding of artists I previously liked. It has also been a very enjoyable one, there has never been a moment so far where I either didn’t enjoy doing the work or heavily disliked the final product. Even when mistakes were made I learned something new from them.

In terms of my interests something that certainly peaked them would be the dark room, whilst it was only an induction to the idea of using the dark room I loved it. I had previously used a dark room during my GCSE art course but this was another go at it and despite only doing one off pieces as a test, it was something I found an inner passion for. I definitely want to incorporate this into future projects and develop my skills for it. What interests me about it is the different ways I can use it, I could use it with vintage film photography or I could use it in ways similar to induction. This was where we placed objects on the photo sensitive paper to leave an image of the object. I think I could use this to make some really cool designs in future using this process, something different to previous work I’ve done.

Printing was another, in class we tried out both mono-printing and lino cut printing. Mono-printing was something I actually enjoyed trying out despite my work not particularly turning out so well. It’s not my favourite method of printing but it helped me understand the process behind it. I preferred lino cut printing though, this was because I found how it worked more interesting and it had a better overall outcome. Much like the dark room I really want to further explore and use these in future.

Another would be filming. Whilst the films made weren’t masterpieces they still taught me something. They taught me some future advice when it comes to making films such as takes, camera angles, cuts, audio and editing. Whilst this was all meant to be in one take my group did it in multiple and I didn’t only learn from my own group’s work. I also learned from others in the course. Film is a huge passion for me and always has been, especially in cinematography and story writing. I hope to be able to also use this in future, hopefully in accordance with other forms of media.

I have also gained some influence from the course. World renowned artist Vincent Van Gogh being a specific artist. I had an interest in him previously but this course has given me a greater appreciation for his work and everything it stands for. Another would be the street artist Banksy, his work using forms of print and other media have spiked my interest in different processes such as screen-printing. I also like the topics and satirical nature of his work, one of my aspirations is to use this for future projects and ideas.

From the lectures I’ve gained a further appreciation for the idea of perspective and printing. Photography is something I am very passionate about, the fact that I now know more about perspective has helped me develop my skills in terms of photography because I can pay further attention to the specific types. This is useful both in terms of taking the photos and analysis of my own and others work. Another would be printing, before I didn’t have as much of an appreciation for it and the processes involved. The two lectures covering printing and the many forms of it really helped me understand the work put into it and gain an appreciation for it. The lectures showed me different formats, ones other than mono-printing and lino (the methods we used). This included screen-printing which particularly interested me, I am hoping to use it in a future project.

In terms of improvement I want to be more detailed in my descriptions. I often feel that whilst I put effort into my blog posts and writing there is more I could add, more details and such to further describe my work and thought processes. This also includes my self evaluations, I feel that I need to be detailed when it comes to evaluating myself and my work. For example, my strengths and weaknesses or how I could improve. I also want to take more risks and go out of my comfort zone. Whilst I love photography I want to take a look into different forms of media so I have more choice and freedom, I’ve only really focused on one thing so far. I currently really want to explore the idea of using the dark room and forms of printing with my work. It’s something different yet really interesting to me. As stated earlier, I also want to think more about the topics behind my work and possibly take some inspiration from Banksy in terms of satire. However, this doesn’t mean I dislike the work I’ve done. I feel that I have managed to show off my skills as a photographer and what my style is when it comes to photography. Though I haven’t gone out of my comfort zone and I want to push my skills further into what I want. Specifically moving into doing portrait shots and utilising my skills in filming and editing, I’ve been very interested in portrait photography but haven’t had many opportunities to develop it and improve. Most of my shots have been with lifeless subjects that I can only document, with portrait I can have a sense of control. I can use different poses and angles with the subject.