It must be stated first
that art is our pursuit here, photography our emphasized method.
Not even 'visual art' will suffice as a term for an art
of ideas that utilises 'the visual' alongside all other possible sensory
or super-sensory phenomena to achieve it's end. Your artwork for [situated]
photography should preferably ignore, or otherwise raise issue
with, the gallery wall as THE CONTEXT for art in general and the photographic
image in particular. Many audiences other than gallery-goers await
your cultural production: identify them; engage them; deliver.
Neo-conservative critics from the mainstream artworld
champion a return to the gallery wall and connoisseurship, just as
they question recent trends toward a more general acceptance of art
as a conceptual practice closer in intent to Philosophy and Literature
than it is to a formalist History of Visual Art & Design. Consciously
or otherwise, they forefront art's commodity status at the expense
of all its other identities. Art like everything else becomes subject
to 'market forces' as it's chief arbiter of value. The very term 'value'
shrinks in meaning to signify little other than 'cost'. [Think about
the Music or Movie Industries without their "indie" or alternative
aspects.] Of course the gallery is a type of venue for art where artwork
is sold - a shop - but that shouldn't even begin to imply where an
artwork is best situated.
The situation or site of
work. Those
using digital methods will obviously have cyberspace as
a logical alternative to conventional gallery-space [not an easy
option - it will need to be really good]; those using chemical photography
will recognize the space of publicity [especially print-media]
as an option; video will have it's own set of deployment considerations. We
will all need to reconsider the term public space [or public
domain]
and it's implications.
The potential for group collaborations, with individuals
contributing according to particular needs, is highly encouraged. A
website with a photo-documentary theme could, for example, require
both chemical and digital expertise. Video work might get placed as
a commercial in a cheap local cableTV spot and require a full
production team. A physical installation of artwork into public space
would demand research and negotiation alongside all other necessary
production skills. A sequencing and dynamic animation of a collection
of stills [Ken Burns 'Civil War' style] might require Final Cut Pro
compositing skills and/or Flash animation plus a soundtrack after
the shoot.
In close co-operation with the instructor you will be
asked to identify and plot your work for the quarter in a written
contract. You will then pursue the agreed schedule of research, siting,
shooting, editing, printing etc., maintaining a constantly growing
image-bank of chemically or digitally printed material. Fixed dates
for regular group critiques will be negotiated in class. The first
4 weeks of the quarter will be given over to this process, alongside
illustrated talks, and introductory demonstrations. By week 4 you will
have shot and collected many images - keep everything, all versions,
we want to see them. Always bring evidence of your progress to meetings,
you will regularly be called upon to 'show & tell'
- if you have made no progress or you are absent your grade will suffer.
Grades will be affected by: attendance & punctuality; individual
contribution to discussion and groups; amount, quality and success
of work submitted compared with your initial written proposals. Remember,
'C' is average.
At
the end of the autumn quarter [situated] photography will be
the subject of an exhibition at gallery1434,
[this is no paradox - there will also be work elsewhere and online].
Those artists who ALSO have another well-prepared situation for
presenting their work for the quarter will get to exhibit in gallery1434.
The Gallery presentation will be a token of the situated photography
and called de[situated]
photography.
Graham
Budgett [http://www.arts.ucsb.edu/faculty/budgett/] budgett@arts.ucsb.edu