RHPC1001 Object & Body Brief

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THE OBJECT & THE BODYUnit RPHC1001

B R I E F I N G N O T E S

BA (HONS) PHOTOGRAPHY,CONTEMPORARY PRACTICE - LEVEL 1

This unit sets the foundation for thinking about approaching photography.

All photographs require the photographer to make important decisions

regarding how the photographic subject is represented: the decisions the

photographer makes decide how the photograph represents its subject. This

unit provides an introduction to understanding, realising, and reecting upon

the photographic choices involved in making an image, how a subject is

constructed, and how that creates meaning. This is a fundamental skill that

lies at the foundation of all communication media, and photography in

particular.

The unit looks at two key photographic elds: the ‘object’ and the ‘body’.

Through these themes, you will learn fundamental theoretical and technical

skills. This provides a platform for your photographic development in

subsequent units, right through to Stage 3 of the degree and beyond.

Areas covered involve the ‘A, B, C’s’ of photographic language: depth of

eld and visual hierarchy; perspective and focal length; studio lighting. You

will learn technical skills that enable you to use the facilities: black & white

and colour lm processing; black & white and colour lm printing; 5x4 and

medium format camera inductions; tungsten, continuous lighting and stu-

dio ash. These skills will be contextualised in ‘visual language’ workshops,

which you must in turn be able to contextualise your own practice later in

review sessions. In other words, you will be required to explain the

photographic choices you have - how does your choice of visual language

and photographic process support your idea, made for the set tasks (below).

An object provides a simultaneously simple and complex challenge to the

photographer. An object may supercially not mean that much, but the po-

tential power of objects is a key component of photography. Indeed, the best

photographers are able to transform a single, seemingly innocuous and trivial

thing into an object of depth and profundity.

Objects have possessed profound meaning throughout the history of art.

Artists and photographers have created ‘still lifes’, using objects and their

meanings to create stories and commentaries. The choice, arrangement,

and relationships between the forms are often highly signicant and contain

messages and meanings that can be deconstructed. Through the

workshops, the unit deconstructs the representation of objects into key

photographic areas such as depth of eld, visual hierarchy, perspective,

focal length, and lighting.

Project Tutors: Dr Tom Slevin, Rikard Osterlund & Jonathan Simms

Credit Rating: 30 Credits

Unit Introduction

TASK 1 - THE OBJECT

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William Eggleston, Tricycle, Memphis 1969 - 71 (Dye Transfer Print)

Edward Collier, Still Life with a Volume of Wither’s Emblemes, 1696

This Unit Aims to:

• To promote a critical engagement and understanding of the

representation of objects and the human form through

photographic medium

• To develop research skills that support the generation of conceptual ideas

• To develop the ability to think about a range of visual language

• To manage tasks, meet deadlines and introduce health and safety.

The Unit Technical Toolbox :

• An Introduction into Large & Medium Format ‘analogue’ Camera’s

• The theory and use of ‘Aperture’ and ‘Shutter Speed’

• Introduction to:

• Studio Lighting: Electronic Flash & Tungsten

• The principles of Light & Exposure

• Analogue Processes: Colour and B&W

Project Deadline (BODY & OBJECT): 17th January 2012

Interim Deadline (OBJECT): 3rd November 2011








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THE BRIEF: OBJECT

Alongside these introductions, you will be required to: develop a concept,

plan, organise. Eventually, you will construct and photograph a still-life of

your own, using colour lm and a Large Format View Camera.

Taking inspiration from the history of art and using a visual approach,

employed in traditional still-life painting, construct a photograph based upon

a current social issue. It is your chance to produce an individual comment or

opinion through the objects in your still-life.

• What current debates or issues concern you? Inspiration may come from

the media (newspapers, radio, internet, television, etc)

• There may be something you wish to make a comment upon, such as

your experience of an aspect of the local Medway area.

• You may feel strongly about issues such as vegetarianism, starvation, or

consumption, for example.

It is up to you to construct a meaningful photograph through research and

careful use of objects. There will be tutorial support to help and develop your

idea. Your photographic decisions will also be crucial: how and why wi ll you

decide to shoot the still-life the way that you have?

Laura Letinsky, from Hardly More Than Ever, 2002

OBJECT Shoot Production Date: Week 5/6 - see timetable for the specic details.

Edward Weston, Nautilus 1927

Untitled from the series Pictures from a Rubbish Tip, 1988 - 1989 © Keith Arnatt





OBJECT: SUBMISSIONUnit RPHC1001

A S S E S S M E N T N O T E SSubmission Requirement: The Object. For the Interim Review you will be

assigned a Studio to present your work:

Interim Deadline: 3rd/4th November 2011 (See iCal for specic details)

Final Deadline: Tuesday 17th January 2012 (See iCal for specic de-

tails)

With this Unit there will be both a ‘Formative’ Review where verbal feed-

back will be provided and a ‘Summative’ Assessment where your work

will be graded. On this occassion for the ‘Object’ submission you will

have the opportunity to rene your work. This allows students to gain an

understating of the University’s assessment procedures.

Thus for the Object submission, you will have to repeat the following for

the Interim Review (November) and the Final Deadline (January)

• Print out the key elements of your blog:

Your visual references, and a 300 word, critical appraisal outlining the

concept behind the impression of the ‘Still-Life’ you have created and us-

ing your critical understanding of representation your self evaluation - the

appraisal is designed to help you place yourwork into context when you

present. What were the reasons behind your photographic choices and

how do think they support the represntation of the object in the

photograph.

• Remember your “Blog” will be used, to assist the tutors with evaluation.

The ‘Blog’ should be kept up to date and demonstrate your research

approach to the project, contact sheets from the workshops and an

initial self-evaluation of the project prior to your shoot. The ability to have

worked to the relevant deadlines will also be considered at this time.

• Format must be 5x4 Large-Format

analogue/lm cameras. Using either Tungsten or Studio Flash l ighting

• Final Colour ‘C-Type’ analogue print, no smaller than (30x40cms) - Theprint must be to the highest standard, evidencing your ability to control

focus, exposure and colour correction.

• Contact sheets from the shoot. Here we can discuss matters of camera

position, focal length, exposure and lighting.

Assessment Criteria:(Please note you will not get a seperate mark for the

Object & Body. However for this Unit we do give greater importance to

Research over the Creative Project.

Research and Development - 60% (LO1, LO2)

Creative Project/Images - 40% (LO3, LO4)

LO1) Knowledge and conceptual understanding of representation

LO2) A developing research skills in support of conceptual ideas

LO3) Ability to understand and employ photographic technique to represent

a visual strategy

LO4) Appropriate project management: planning and organisation

(preparation, heath & safety, shoot production skills, etc.)

Assessment - How does it work?

Stages, Levels & Years - Your 3 years Honours Degree course

is divided into 3 stages: STAGE ONE, FOR THE FIRST YEAR; Stage Two,

for the Second year and Stage Three for the nal Third year.

- You must successfully complete each stage before you can progress

to the next stage. For this year, all assignments which are set at an

“Introductory Level’

- If you successfully complete Level 1, you will then be able to

progress onto Level 2

- The key aspect to consider is that ALL MARKS at Level 1, DO NOT

effect your Final Award in Year 3. This is to encourage experimentation and

the notion that failing is not negative- However you MUST PASS ALL UNITS.

- Please refer to the Handbook for further details.


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Units & Credits - a UNIT is as a self-contained component of your

learning. Each UNIT will be assessed and will count towards your award.

Each UNIT has its own aims, content, learning outcomes, methods of

assessment and assessment criteria.

Within a UNIT there are PROJECTS or ASSIGNMENTS, there may be one

project, there could be several projects within a unit.











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Hendrik Kerstens, Napkin 2009

Johannes Vermeer, Girl with a Pearl Earring c.1665

Portraiture, in its various forms, is one of the most established genres in

every different discipline of art. We take photographic portraits for granted,

taking them has become so in-grained and almost ritualistic within our lives.

Over a lifetime, we will have our portrait taken regularly, especially at

signicant moments such as a wedding or birthday. But what do we really

mean by the term ‘portraiture’?

In terms of painting, the word might conjure up images of oil paintings of

aristocrats and historical gures gathering dust in public galleries and coun-

try houses. The artists commissioned to paint such works would rstly be

attempting to record a (attering) likeness of their patrons, but also some-

how represent aspects of their character, their occupation or their personal

ideology. Certain conventions have evolved within portraiture, such as sub-

jects sitting or standing still ; smiling or appearing deep in thought; subjects

addressing the artist/viewer directly or looking ponderingly into the distance.

These conventions still dominate even contemporary photographic art, al-

though the genre continues to progress, in terms of style, technique and the

photographer’s personal approach to their subject.

introduction: The Body

Like the still-life genre, the representation of the human body – and more

specically, portraits of people – has been a fundamental territory for artists

over many centuries. Like objects, portraits can be both simple and

complex. Images of people saturate the world we live: portraits appear

everywhere from advertising to social media sites. However, this unit asks

you do consider the following questions:

• What is a portrait?

• Is a portrait just a recording of the appearance of a person?

• What can be communicated by a portrait?

• Is likeness always important?

• Who denes what we are?

• How do the photographic choices made affect how we understand

the person?










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Richard Avedon,Allen Silvy, drifter, Route 93, Nevada, 1908

The brief ask you to make a portrait of either:

(a) An individual form the local community who lives or works in the

Medway Towns or

(b) A member of Staff or a Student from another course, from the

University of the Creative Arts

There are certain requirements of the brief:

(i) The person must be unknown to you. So this requires both, careful,

considerate and professional negotiations with your subject.

Their availability for a specic shoot day, as per the YR1 timetable? How

much time can the sitter offer you, on the day of your shoot? Remember you

maybe inviting a guest to UCA, so you will need to meet them, ask them to

sign as a guest and brief politely them on what to do if the re-alrm were to

triggered.

(ii) The portrait must be made in the Studios at Rochester, using B&W lm

of your choice.

(iii) The choice of Format must be either Medium or Large-Format

analogue/lm cameras.

(iv) You must carefully consider your Lighting, which must be either Studio

Flash or Continuous Tungsten Fresnel - tesing is vital here, so the work-

shops leading up to your shoot are designed to support your portrait.

TASK 2: THE BODY

Steve Pyke, Arthur Scargill, 1985

The unit deconstructs elements of portraiture into important areas such as

lighting, composition, pose, and posture. As with the ‘Object’, you will be

required to make a portrait that incorporates the elements you have learnt.

For example, who will you choose to photography and why? Where will they

be and why? How far or close will the camera be and why? How will you

light the subject and why? You must be able to prepare and plan your shoot

both technically and theoretically by having control over the photographic

choices for the specic representation of your subject.




BODY Shoot Production Date: Week 12/13 - see timetable for the specic details.



THE BODY: SUBMISSIONUnit RPHC1001

Submission Requirement: The Body. For the nal Critique you will be

assigned a Studio to present your work:

Deadline: Tuesday 17th January 2012 (See iCal for specic details)

• Print out the key elements of your blog:

Your visual references, and a 300 word, critical appraisal outlining the

concept behind the impression of this individual you have created and

using your critical understanding of representation your self evaluation -

the appraisal is designed to help you place yourwork into context when

you present. What were the reasons behind your photographic choices

and how do think they support the represntation of the individual in the

photograph.

• Remember your “Blog” will be used, to assist the tutors with evaluation.

The ‘Blog’ should be kept up to date and demonstrate your research

approach to the project, contact sheets from the workshops and an

initial self-evaluation of the project prior to your shoot. The ability to have

worked to the relevant deadlines will also be considered at this time.

• Format can be either Medium or Large-Format

analogue/lm cameras. Using either Tungsten or Studio Flash l ighting

• Final B&W analogue print, no smaller than (30x40cms) - Carefully

consider paper surface. The print must be to the highest standard,

evidencing your ability to control focus, exposure and lighting, etc.

• Contact sheets from the shoot. Here we can discuss matters of gesture,

posture and gaze. The issues of

editing and selection, whilst also look at the variety of shot.


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S C H E D U L E & B L O G

Schedule: During the rst semester you will be required to work on several

projects at the same time. This obviously will put demands on your own

ability to manage your time.

The key to a successful production is to set yourself interim stages. Your

research must be completed by a certain date and that your shoot

production must commence by another date, so give yourself sufcient

time to complete the following:

• develop lms; • produce contact sheets; • edit and select images; •

make test prints and then • print nal choices.

You must allow sufcient time to re-shoot work that has not met the

creative and technical standards required. In this case this may be after

the initial hand in date but before your nal end of unit assessment.

Remember you will be on an intensive learning curve, mistakes happen,

embrace these, but do factor in time to make corrections. This project will

run for six weeks; during this time you will be required

to present both your research and your “edited” contact sheets at both

seminars and tutorials.

Use a ‘Chinamarker’ and a loupe to edit your rst, second and third

choices.

As you work on the projects we are asking you to keep a learn-

ing journal on your blog. A learning journal is a record of your

process through the unit; featuring comments on your learning

in workshops; developing your ideas; images of test-shoots and

workshops; research and inspirations; and reection on your nal

images. The journal will enable your tutors to monitor your prog-

ress throughout the unit, and to assess your methodology.

Keep your blogs brief and professional. Let the work on show

express your character. This will be a public-facing journal, and

one to which potential employers, for example, might refer. You

may choose to keep a physical workbook as part of your personal

creative process. These will not be assessed.

Whilst your blog-posts are monitored throughout the project, you

will receive feedback verbally on two occasions; once

half-way through the semester and then again during the

assessment. It is important for you to document the feedback andpost.

BODY Shoot Production Date: Week 12/13 - see timetable for the specic details.




S C H E D U L E & B L O G



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What Unit Blogs should contain:

• Developing your ideas. Inspirational references, a discussion

of your choice of subject and your thoughts about it. Why this

subject?

• Visual approach. Your ideas about your photographic choices.

What approach are you taking and why shoot this way? How

does this relate to hour idea, your opinions and our objectives?

• Making the work. Take notes (text and photographs) during

your shooting, processing and printing. Include visual examples

of your contact sheets and test prints and experiments in

shooting/printing.

• Editing: Include your contact sheets with your edited selection

marked on the sheet.

• Final work: Include your nal images.

• Reection and Critique – Learning from your work. Outline

thoughts prior to the project review sessions on your choice of

image and your own understanding of your work.

• Add comments and insights gained form the critical

discussion. These may be about your work but also you might

include points on other students work or additional references

that could be useful to you in the future.

Written content can be presented as bullet point notes or full

text paragraphs.

Visual content should contain:

• Scans of analog prints and contact sheets. Scans should be

colour corrected and of sufcient quality to the original.

• Digital images

• Final Project images

• Reference images, - behind the scenes - snapshots and visual

documentation.

• If uploading very large numbers of images (for discussions of

editing choices) we suggest you make digital - Contact Sheets

or - Index Prints using Adobe Bridge.

INTERIM REVIEW: OBJECT

3rd & 4th NOVEMBER 2011

FINAL CRIT: OBJECT & BODY

17TH JANUARY 2011

We recommend that you use the blog actively and post

course-related updates at least once a week. It is mandatoryto use the blog and we expect you to make it part of your

image-making process. When entering, do ensure that you

create a ‘catergory’ for each Unit. This way you will be able

to organise and and navigate your blog. Throughout the rst

semester we require you to post on, or before, the following

dates about the topics listed:

WEEK 1: by Monday 26th September (after the brief & studio induction)

Your rst ideas and thoughts about the Object & Body

project. Initial research and inspiration.

WEEK 3: by Monday 10th October (at this point everyone has done the

BW darkroom inductions).

Contact-sheets of your images from the workshops and reec-

tion on darkroom practice.

Self-evaluation of your skills - What can be improved?

Developments of you idea for The Object project.

WEEK 5: Friday 21st October (everyone has done lighting workshops

AND colour darkroom inductions).

Examples of images from the lighting workshops and reection

on colour printing.

WEEK 6: by Monday 31st October (all have had their ‘Object’ shoot)

How successfully does your image for The Object meet your

intentions? (after the shoot)

WEEK 7: after the reviews on 3rd & 4th November

Write down the feedback from the reviews and criticaly reect

on your own development.

WEEK 9: by Monday 21st November (after Rembrandt lighting

workshop)

Your ideas for The Body project.

Research and inspiration for The Body project.

Post images from the lighting workshops.

WEEK 11: Friday 2nd December (the week before The Body shoots

begin)

Developments of you idea for The Body project.

WEEK 13: 16th December (before Christmas)

How successfully does your image for The Body meet your

intentions? (after the shoot)

Consider printing for your nal submission?

WEEK 15: 20th January (after the end of Semester 1)

Reect on your projects and process throughout the projects so

far. What has been the most successful and what needs to be

improved?





Indicative Reading List.

Much of your research for this project is visually based so range widelyusing the books but also magazines, and other forms of commercial

image publishing. Any advertising references may be useful, current or

archival as ads often build quite complex narratives using only ‘still life’.

Food/fashion imagery can also often be a good place to check out the

way in which simple references to a background context and lighting

can set a scene and build a clear impression of a place or an event.

The following books are only an indication of some you may wish to

consult for your research. This is not a compulsory reading list - most of

the appropriate titles are available from the library.

Bright, S (2006) Art Photography Now (London: Thames & Hudson)

Campany, D (2007) Art and Photography (London: Phaidon)

Cotton, C (2009) The Photograph as Contemporary Art (London: Thames &

Hudson) - See Chapter 4, Something for Nothing - (Object Project)

Ewing, W (1994) The Body: Photoworks of the Human Form (London:

Thames & Hudson)

Ewing W (2008) Face: The New Photographic Portrait (London: Thames &

Hudson)

Langmuir, E (2010) A Closer Look: Still Life (Yale University Press, National

Gallery London)

London, B & Upton, J (2010) Photography (Harlow: Pearson Education)

Martineau, P (2010) Still Life in Photography (J. Paul Getty Museum)

Barbe-Gall, F (2010), How to Understand a Painting:

Gian Casper Bott, (2008) Still Life, Taschen,

Taylor.P, Yale Press, 1995, Dutch Flower Painting, 1600-1720,

Luica Impelluso, 2005, Nature and its symbols (Guide to imagery),

Clarke, G, The Photograph, , Oxford University Press, 1997 (Chapter 6 ‘The

Portrait in Photography’ & chapter 7 ‘The Body in Photography’)

BBC, The Genius of Photography, DVD 2009



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READINGS & RESOURCES

Resources

Silverprint: www.silverprint.co.uk (Film Supplies)

Process Supplies: www.process-supplies.co.uk (Film)

7 dayshop: www.7dayshop.com (Fuji Instant lm supplies)

Bob Rigby: www.bobrigby.com (Pinhole cameras)

Linhof Studio: www.linhofstudio.com

Walker Cameras: www.walkercameras.com

Robert White: www.robertwhite.co.uk

Ffordes: www.ffordes.com

Teamwork: www.teamworkphoto.com

Sekonic Light Meters: www.sekonic.com

Alternative Processes: www.alternativephotography.com

Photogravure: www.photogravure.com

RHPC1001 Object & Body Brief

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