WEEK 6.2: SUPERVISOR SESSION (W/ DAVID)
Session with Matt
Series 1. Dark version.
Series 1. Light version.
Feedback
- the pictures are good, nice mood, intimacy
- probably something in between light and dark (depending on print on paper or screen)
- the dark ones have more depth and richness
- light ones are flatter and indecisive, pretend to be something they are not
- sequence with 4 works well, black/white and color as well
- study about him
- psychological study of Matt but still an idea of the clothes
- monastic (like a monch)
- isolation of the current moment
- it's not too far off (high/artistic) fashion photography, like Paolo Roversi and Sarah Moon.
- ask Andrey Walkling for help when processing
- images are suitable for Matt, his personality: introspective, thoughtful, has depth to it, but still has an art/fashion look
Series 2.
Feedback
- good as well but not as moody
- not as strong
General questions about the project
- Will there be a similar amount of images per person? – No, I plan that there will be different amounts. Michelle's shoot might just be one picture, I like the four photographs with Matt. And I don't know yet what to do about the last shoot.
- What about the third shoot? – I cannot make the pictures without my friend, as that's the concept of the project. Problem is, that my friend is extremely unreliable. I knew that from the start and knew he would be a lot of work and would cost me a lot of energy/effort. But I was willing to do that for the project. That was when I had no idea that we'd be in lockdown again. He lives very far away, so no way to do a real shoot. I can try a Facetime shoot but I'm almost certain that it won't work (and also, I would like to be able to print the final images in good quality). And there is the uncertainty if I will get the clothes back and in what condition they will be … which might be the way to go. Asking him to wear the clothes for a week or so and send them back. Then I could either show the clothes with stains on them or scan them or photograph them etc. If I take pictures of the clothes without the model, it might direct the project too much into the interpretation that it's about my relationship with the model (not having them in my life anymore … due to the lockdown or other circumstances).
- Maybe all three have a different focus.
- Impact of lockdown: I show it in Matt's pictures and I could make a point about it in the third shoot. If I don't have access to the model, I cannot photograph them. But they are also not in my life (isolation).
Talking about the report
- Roland Barthes a too old reference? – No. Just reflect more on Barthes, explain better why he's relevant. And find a contemporary theorist who also talks about his ideas. There is a lot of talk right now about the relationship between the photographer and the subject, agency of the subject.
- Methodology: Write about the collaboration. Desire for connection. Desire to be seen as an individual. Which parts of my process reflect those ideas. All the steps and find what speaks the clearest to the aims. Also, why fashion photography? Why custom-made clothing? How was it developed? Was it in collaboration or what was informing the clothes? First clothes I made independent from the subject and then realized that it's not the best way to do it. Explains ongoing experimentation: realization, different method, different process, different methodological approach.
- Rationale: Barthes, Goffman, 3 other more contemporary theorists, other fields of art (music), demonstrate that I have an understanding of other practitioners of the field, artists I used for mood board, but also artists that worked conceptually (like BLESS, Lyndal Walker)!
- Sustainability: People have a deeper relation to their custom-made clothes and won't throw them away after wearing them twice. But other than that it's not sustainable (can't even resell them). It's against mass-produced fashion, but it's not the focus. The project is a critique of the fashion industry but not a solution.
- Focus is the identity, performing the self.
- Be more specific/detailed about the process than in the proposal. The subject's role, how I direct them, locations, specifics about clothing, approach to shoot etc. Reflecting on how the general statements I wrote in the proposal are teased out throughout the process to reflect my point of view by giving specific examples through the work and how I made it.
- Are there rules for who to include in the acknowledgment? httpss://www.scribbr.com/dissertation/acknowledgements/ (subjects, classmates of the master's program, friends, other key collaborators, who were helpful – but not EVERYONE, just the significant ones and focus on the final body of work)
- Objectives are just the summary of aims (could be helpful). What are you hoping to achieve? Through the use of custom-made clothing and the shoots with selected models, I aim to explore individuality as … because I believe it's important that everyone has to value one another … this sounds so cliché. Highlight the critique on the fashion industry and its impact on the world.