tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27910394554903099852024-03-19T09:37:28.626+00:00Unfinished Essaysa record of thought, ideas and practices
by Nick RangaNick Rangahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15723291371423789079noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2791039455490309985.post-65671823047735025582009-08-19T13:56:00.001+01:002009-08-19T13:58:22.433+01:00Bibliography<span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;">My on going bibliography for my practice and my PhD research:</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><em><strong></strong></em></span></span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><em><strong>Bibliography<br />(for research interests across practice and PhD research)<br /></strong> <br />Ackroyd, P. (2000) London: The Biography London: Chatto and Windus<br /><br />Aragon, L. (1999) Paris Peasant US: Exact Change (Watson-Taylor, S. trans. Original work published 1926)<br /><br />Auge, M. (1995) Non-Places: Introduction to an Anthropology of Supermodernity London: Verso (Howe, J. trans)<br /><br />Ballard, J. G. (2006) Kingdom Come London: Harper Perennial<br /><br />Ballard, J. G. (2004) Millenium People London: Harper Perrenial<br /><br />Benjamin, W. (1997) Charles Baudelaire: A Lyric Poet in the Era of High Capitalism London: Verso<br /><br />Bourriaud, N. (2005) Postproduction New York: Lucas and Sternberg<br /><br />Bourriaud, N. (2002) Relational Aesthetics Dijon: Presses du reel (Pleasence, S. et al trans)<br /><br />Breton, A. (1972) Manifestoes of Surrealism Michigan: Ann Arbor (Seaver, R. and Lane, H. R. trans)<br /><br />Breton, A. (1999) Nadja London: Penguin (Original Work published 1928)<br /><br />de Certeau, M. (1984) The Practice of Everyday Life Berkeley: University of California press (Rendall, S. trans)<br /><br />Cohen, M. (1993) Profane Illumination: Walter Banjamin and the Paris of Surrealist Revolution Berkeley: University of California Press<br /><br />Coverley, M. (2006) Psychogeography Hertfordshire: Pocket Essentials<br /><br />Debord, G. (1992) Society of the Spectacle London: Rebel Press (Knabb, K. trans. Original work published 1967)<br /><br />Gadamer, H. G. (1975) Truth and Method London: Continuum (Weinsheimer, J and Marshall, D. trans)<br /><br />Gadamer, H. G. (1981) Reason in the Age of Science MIT (Lawrence, F. G. trans)<br /><br />Harvey, D. (1973) Social Justice and the City Oxford: Basil Blackwell<br /><br />Harvey, D. (2005) Paris, Capital of Modernity London: Routledge<br /><br />Harvey, D (2006) Spaces of Global Capitalism: Towards a Theory of Uneven Geographical Development London: Verso<br /><br />Kester, G (2004) Conversation Pieces: Community and Communication in Modern Art Berkeley: University of California Press<br /><br />Knabb, K (ed)(2006) Situationist International Anthology Berkeley: Bureau of Public Secrets<br /><br />Lefebvre, H. (1991) Critique of Everyday Life Vol. 1 London: Verso (Moore, J. trans. Original work published 1947)<br /><br />Lefebvre, H. (2002) Critique of Everyday Life Vol. 2: Foundations for a Sociology of the Everyday London: Verso (Original work published 1961)<br /><br />Lefebvre, H. (2005) Critique of Everyday Life Vol. 3: From Modernity to Modernism Verso: London (Elliott, G. trans. Original work published 1981)<br /><br />Lefebvre, H. (1991) The Production of Space Oxford: Blackwell<br /><br />de Quincey, T. (1994) Confessions of an English Opium Eater Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Classics (Original Work published 1821)<br /><br />Roberts, J. (2006) Philosophising the Everyday London: Pluto Press<br /><br />Roberts, J. (1998) The Art of Interruption: Realism, Photography and the Everyday Manchester: Manchester University Press<br /><br />Ross, K. (1989) The Emergence of Social Space: Rimbaud and the Paris Commune Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press<br /><br />Rumney, R. and Woods, A. (2001) The Map is not the Territory Manchester: Manchester University Press<br /><br />Sinclair, I. (2003) London Orbital London: Penguin<br /><br />Sinclair, I. (2009) Hackney, That Rose Red Empire London: Hamish Hamilton<br /><br />Self, W. (2007) Psychogeography London: Bloomsbury<br /><br />Soja, E. (1989) Postmodern Geographies: Reassertion of Space in Critical Social Theory London: Verso<br /><br />Solnit, R. (2006) Wanderlust: A History of Walking London: Verso<br /><br />Vaneigem, R. (2006) The Revolution of Everyday Life London: Rebel Press (Nicholson-Smith, D. trans. Originally work 1967)<br /><br /> </em></span></span>Nick Rangahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15723291371423789079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2791039455490309985.post-58513273950640970332009-08-07T17:23:00.001+01:002009-08-07T17:25:06.878+01:00Statement, July 2009.<span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;">A statement written for the Degree Show catalogue:</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><em><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;">My practice is based on walking, that is, walking as a fundamentally creative spatial practice – a process of experience and documentation that produces narratives. The word ‘psychogeography’ is a useful term in describing this practice, in that it is concerned, primarily, with experiences of urban and suburban environments – I am fascinated by buildings, public spaces, monuments, and how memory and narrative become manifest in physical spaces. The work is informed, creatively and theoretically, by a number of spatial practices that can all be described as, or have some aspect that is, psychogeographical.<br /><br />This body of work presents an experience of an urban environment. It is in many ways an exercise and experiment in shifting perceptions of the city. However, the work does not seek to politicise (although there are political aspects), nor to present a particular message (although there messages buried within the work). This is not what concerns me here. Instead the work seeks to question, and in turn, to open up new ways of experiencing urban environments. It is here that the practices gathered under the term psychogeography are most relevant, as it is psychogeography that symbolically transforms our everyday experiences of these urban spaces.<br /><br />In short the work is a direct response to the built environment - the photographs compose themselves, texts written by semiotic stimulus. Through the creation of disjunctions and discordance within the work, just as in the changing of our reasons for movement through the city, our perceptions of the representations of these spaces can be changed.</span></em>Nick Rangahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15723291371423789079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2791039455490309985.post-77923585966033923702009-07-31T15:30:00.002+01:002009-07-31T15:33:50.897+01:00Compton Road<span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;">Sunshine on windscreens in the street,</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;">populated by the semiotics of property.</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;">'The big season kick-off preview',</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;">tribalised by black and gold,</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;">united by carling and vodkaredbull violence. </span>Nick Rangahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15723291371423789079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2791039455490309985.post-58890214956110588062009-07-24T16:43:00.002+01:002009-07-24T17:05:22.765+01:00new works, thoughts on degree show, PhD.<span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;">some things I'm working on: </span><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;">- I'm planning to make a film using the nightvision button on the camcorder. I plan to head over to West Park once it gets dark, sometime next week, and shoot some stuff, either walking around the park (as you cant go in at night) or shots with a static camera. I'll either leave it without sound, or maybe add walking sounds, or the sound of lots of people, whatever seems to fit.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;">- Drawings made by walking. I've recently discovered the artist Tim Knowles, who creates contraptions that produce drawings (<a href="http://www.timknowles.co.uk/">www.timknowles.co.uk</a>). I want to do something similar, but for walking. I want to make something that will record the action of walking. I figure I can do thing with a box, lined with paper, either with a pen on a spring that would make marks as you walk, or a tin of paint with a small hole in the bottom that would make lines as you walked. I'm a little concerned as its not a very original idea, but I think it'll produce some interesting drawings so i'm going to do it anyway.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;">- I'm also writing poem-type things. Inspired by particular places. Dunno what they are or what they're doing yet.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;">- Found Abstracts. Pretty self-explanatory - photographing abstract things found on the streets whilst walking about (lampposts are a rich mine of these).</span><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;">For the degree show that is looming, I'm planning an installation. A series of slides (some general city shots, some found abstracts, some monument shots) set to a soundtrack. I want the soundtrack to be quite long, with various different types of sound recorded in different places.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;">As for my PhD funding applications, the AHRC have decided whether or not to give me some money, but I have to wait till the get round to sending me the letter. Wolves uni are also offering 5 PhD studentships, so I'm going to have a go at that too. I reckon I should be in with a shout as my proposal has already been accepted.</span>Nick Rangahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15723291371423789079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2791039455490309985.post-502865615417815462009-07-20T18:22:00.002+01:002009-07-20T18:25:43.072+01:00A Poem (of sorts)<strong><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;">Staffordshire House, Fold Street</span></strong><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;">5.30, waiting.</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;">An alienated pedestrian,</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;">please see reception.</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;">as drivers follow</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;">one way systems between interiors</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;">lone motorists ignore lone pedestrians</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;">Attention: delivery drivers visiting this</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;">site must reverse under supervision.</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;">Everyone is liable for prosecution</span>Nick Rangahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15723291371423789079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2791039455490309985.post-42973081348530318782009-07-09T13:00:00.002+01:002009-07-09T13:19:14.564+01:00Degree Show Plans<span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;">following the meeting yesterday, I now have, provisionally, two projection booth type spaces in which display some work. As I've written in previous posts, the work I'm planning to exhibit is a kind of srtipped down montage: images and sound, but from two different sources. In one of the booths I'm planning to display a projection work/film about a Russian war memorial in Riga that I photographed. For the soundtrack I was planning on writing something (a history of the occupation of Latvia, a poem etc), or using a section from a text, then getting my grandma, who speaks fluent Latvian, to translate it into Latvian. I would then read it out and record it.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;">As for the other booth I'd like to do something with Matt. We've collaborated previously and share common ground when it comes to practice, so I think it'd be a good way to finish our MA's if we were to collaborate on something. What I'd like to do is again along the lines of images and sound, something about urban experiences. I'd like Matt to make a soundtrack and me to put images to it. Something along those lines</span><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;">I'm also working on a series of photographs - found abstracts. I'd like to, if there's space, display some of these in the show. </span>Nick Rangahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15723291371423789079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2791039455490309985.post-73485727598473212082009-06-09T11:50:00.002+01:002009-06-09T13:23:43.329+01:00Plans for my Final Semester<div align="justify"><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;">Some things Alistair said to me whilst half-cut last <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Friday</span>: firstly, that I'm doing the right thing pursuing a theory based PhD, and secondly that, in the meantime, I cant forget that I'm still on a practice based MA course. My research proposal for said theory based PhD (90k words - I'm really in for it) has been passed and approved, my funding application (which everything is now hanging on) is in, so I've got a whole summer ahead of me to fill with practice. Here are my plans:</span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;"></span> </div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;">- Found abstracts: an idea thats been kicking around for a while, so I thought I'd do something with it.</span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;"></span> </div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;">- black and white super 8 films. an idea I had when I was thinking about hand processing some super 8 stock. I wanted, originally, to film out of a train window at night then process it as a negative, but Idont think this'll work because of reflections, so it might now be a film, still in negative, of streetlights and car headlights. In negative so the lights appear as black spots on a white and grey background. I might also make the film where I video west park at night using the night vision function on the camcorder; film looking into the park at night through the fence, then adding some kind of soundtrack. I recorded a conversation some people were having in the post office queue the other day, so maybe that.</span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;"></span> </div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;">- I'm still making films (a series of images with a soundtrack of some sort, a kind of stripped down montage), and I think this is the main contender for the degree show in september. Though I dont want to display it as a film as such. I want to separate out the images from the sound. I want to use slides for the images as I think there's something about a darkened room with a slide projector whirring away, along with recorded sounds, and I'd like to capture this in this work if I can. I'd also like to collaborate with Matt on this as there's common ground here.</span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;"></span> </div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;">- 12 Photographs (the Center of the Universe). Being the title of a project (see previous posts). I'm thinking that this will now be a book.</span></div>Nick Rangahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15723291371423789079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2791039455490309985.post-91762080376033572692009-06-01T16:17:00.004+01:002009-06-01T16:30:09.823+01:00Is it Enough That Something Merely Looks Good?<div><div><div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;">Some images I made with my mobile. I like them, but I dont know if thats enough.</span><br /><br /><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg33e7QDirFhgxwFzU7Jq1CqoNGzLSVMDj1u603YOGsHMUNHvzdVGm0DKy5fvoiQ3oJ9Nqf6xr_ooCls799ZjjRy5QGSp-ic2If7QnNb3i5ea2qCQlAQQ2TK_sfG_IfRyKM_F-nbG6Jo1w/s1600-h/DSC00041.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342380040462074082" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg33e7QDirFhgxwFzU7Jq1CqoNGzLSVMDj1u603YOGsHMUNHvzdVGm0DKy5fvoiQ3oJ9Nqf6xr_ooCls799ZjjRy5QGSp-ic2If7QnNb3i5ea2qCQlAQQ2TK_sfG_IfRyKM_F-nbG6Jo1w/s400/DSC00041.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpKT9eDO98hGJjZBNtfQe1e8VvlaQyeNCM35cnekChZ9No4gbDL24a-JK6OEEAemEf0JxIIJOY59MWY1JCFoiu4ttEEX6vip3v4yrEXWZoHoQIOGei5ylNjHIxvDHcOEcGxupP4hrz_WA/s1600-h/DSC00096.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342381327754834658" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpKT9eDO98hGJjZBNtfQe1e8VvlaQyeNCM35cnekChZ9No4gbDL24a-JK6OEEAemEf0JxIIJOY59MWY1JCFoiu4ttEEX6vip3v4yrEXWZoHoQIOGei5ylNjHIxvDHcOEcGxupP4hrz_WA/s400/DSC00096.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4-pshqOLDD3wmOTYpV2UyzCjk2I-xt9n4HfWaYKAXtSaP5aagEs3EwKTupQUAgK36Jqy-wuG3NXdsFIE3JndftX00Ad1KsIxKMRNMziIz4Kxr4FZHGaFqptSG7uvZkvRT6Aa4yD-5UPk/s1600-h/DSC00098.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342381335097027714" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4-pshqOLDD3wmOTYpV2UyzCjk2I-xt9n4HfWaYKAXtSaP5aagEs3EwKTupQUAgK36Jqy-wuG3NXdsFIE3JndftX00Ad1KsIxKMRNMziIz4Kxr4FZHGaFqptSG7uvZkvRT6Aa4yD-5UPk/s400/DSC00098.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5BKp1Fh0Y7p-E_m87TpLWLwKE8Dqqlpkaj6TD372hBfPCsc5sauyN5WBcOunmlRu71dlp6W6F88y525KSyJb7pskYTxisC3UPpeiJE3HhcmPTnGfI9r1Z1cYnZqCzKS_-RDleKrpcd1g/s1600-h/DSC00097.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342381333375303298" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5BKp1Fh0Y7p-E_m87TpLWLwKE8Dqqlpkaj6TD372hBfPCsc5sauyN5WBcOunmlRu71dlp6W6F88y525KSyJb7pskYTxisC3UPpeiJE3HhcmPTnGfI9r1Z1cYnZqCzKS_-RDleKrpcd1g/s400/DSC00097.JPG" border="0" /></a></div></div></div></div>Nick Rangahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15723291371423789079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2791039455490309985.post-25493495136687689942009-04-16T11:47:00.002+01:002009-04-16T11:58:28.804+01:0012 Photographs (the Centre of the Universe)<span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;">An idea Helen and I bounced around whilst we were out for a walk yesterday: from my flat, walk for a set amount of time (10mins, half an hour, 2 hours whatever) in all 12 directions of the compass. Once I reach that point I take a photograph of whatever I see (using a decent dslr this time I think). The images are then displayed, along with notes made along the way, recordings etc. On Kawara springs to mind. I like the idea. The problem I have with it though, is that its, again, about a journey I've made and will the viewer be able to engage with it? I dont know if this matters, I think sometimes you can loose sight of the fact that when you are productive and producing work, viewed as a practice it is interesting.</span>Nick Rangahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15723291371423789079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2791039455490309985.post-26630753072664304552009-04-15T16:26:00.003+01:002009-04-15T17:00:56.259+01:00Filmmaking, Research, Walking and 'Blogging'<span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;">I haven't updated for a while, so here's a synopsis of the goings on with me:</span><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;">- <strong>Filmmaking. </strong>It seems I'm making films again. My current practice consists of walking and documenting. My original intention for this documentation was to produce an installation with images, texts, drawings, projections etc covering the walls, recorded sounds playing, the idea being that the viewer would enter the space and be able to explore, constructing their own journeys from my documents. This still may happen, but on advice from Alistair, I threw together some images, stuck a voiceover on it and made a film. The film seemed to achieve some of what I was planning for the instalation, in that it took the viewer on their own journey through wolverhampton. So I'm now persuing the film idea: a series of images with a voiceover, all produced by walking. The success of the film - and indeed what I need the installation to be - is that it is no longer merely documentation (and why should anyone care about a journey i went on and recorded?) but becomes an 'artwork' that accomodates the viewer and allows them to go on their own journeys.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;">- <strong>Research.</strong> I am currently persuing a PhD. I've put in an application for funding, which is currently making its way through the long bureaucratic procedures it has to pass through, and I'm writing a research proposal. The idea for the research comes from my practice, but is separate from it. Its very liberating to be able to separate the theory from the practice, as it was getting to the stage where they were hindering rather than helping one another. The title for the progect is: The Spatial/Cultural Politics of Walking: Psychogeography, the Everyday and Post-Object Aesthetics'. What that means is, I'm interested in examining the potential of psychogeography and its interventions in the everyday for, what I've termed, post-object aesthetics. The main objects of my research are Henri Lefebvre's theories of space and the everyday and the Situationist International. The aim of the research is to get to what it is that makes the practice interesting. The PhD will be theoretical however; 90,000 words, no practice. This wont mean me giving up on practice completely (although it will be difficult to continue with it), and I do have genuine academic ambitions. How theory affects the practice will be an interesting one.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;">- <strong>Walking. </strong> I'm still walking, sticking my pins in the map and documenting, though not as much as I should be. I'm using twitter as a log of my walks, plus I have a large map of Wolverhampton that Matthew got from the planning dept on which I mark where I've been.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;">- <strong>'Blogging'. </strong>Another outcome of my walks will (hopefully) be a website, or blog. I want to produce something that, again, allows the viewer to make their own journeys, and a blog or website seems like a good way to 'activate' spectatorship. Working along the lines of the map - territory dialectic, I want to produce a site that the viewer has to navigate via the documentation; ie, without navigation menus etc, the only way to get around would be to click on images etc. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;"></span>Nick Rangahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15723291371423789079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2791039455490309985.post-18124178223302568292009-01-29T12:31:00.000+00:002009-01-29T12:42:26.367+00:00'Look Both Ways' (Boyle Walk no. 3)<em><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;">the latest in my series of random wanderings around the city of Wolverhampton. This time its things I've read on the way:</span></em><br /><em><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;"></span></em><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;">Paradise sundays the red house look both ways unit to let furniture warehouse one way all traffic academy of dance only instore finance headquaters the diner bell street metro-st Georges mehan bargin centre loose materials babywear panahar peacocks 1/2 price sale is fast food slowing your kids down? image sale shopmobility east west original oriental grocery the bag shop telephone we are open sundays oceana first port 2 for 1 drinks bank's timpsons game clarks key cutting shoe repairs engraving motor industry cash aid reaction minder coming soon 1 minute walk beauty pharmacy dental surgery final clearence ideas your photos in seconds baking here now bannuttal loyds bank limited evening mail art gallery charlies fish bar baego's beer and burger time to invest in me smart ply funeral care open pawn broking adult bookshop</span><br /><em><span style="font-family:Courier New;"></span></em><br /><em><span style="font-family:Courier New;"></span></em>Nick Rangahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15723291371423789079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2791039455490309985.post-57472306776682281732009-01-08T15:20:00.000+00:002009-01-08T15:35:33.176+00:00Boyle Walk no. 2<span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;">The Second in my series of 'Boyle Walks', inspired by various artists including the Boyle family. I walked through an industrial area of Wolverhampton, around the Chapel Ash area, near where I live. The photo's have come out really bad; they were shot on 100iso slide film and have come back all washed out, riddled with camera shake, as I didn't use a tripod. Next time I'll use faster film. Some of the images I've been able to rescue and I think there's something to them.</span> <div><div><div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-cU9GymLSqK3f2memumcOEKx-mZ-sMNMghlqYtn7EQ21cVAlfrM_rkx1KOM2HIRqyRcAp1mTtGInqcSSsOIBZtFQbcSEXAoJbgSzB5s-2Ydd4b3EfmKvCH5hGgglkq-idVdtiyFFXcAY/s1600-h/imm027_N27.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288946314076318994" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-cU9GymLSqK3f2memumcOEKx-mZ-sMNMghlqYtn7EQ21cVAlfrM_rkx1KOM2HIRqyRcAp1mTtGInqcSSsOIBZtFQbcSEXAoJbgSzB5s-2Ydd4b3EfmKvCH5hGgglkq-idVdtiyFFXcAY/s400/imm027_N27.jpg" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFpDO3oxuFR7xIRWu0unq-zIvLGZ2qCh2GB1os-_R7Az-T8GlXJuEGyf-vIvSgV0oZJ_42azqgLuIC21Yr0zt1UGzVenkmw7mhMNH5kL8HRCSpN5yvBgTH05IuW0TDtCALeJCWEPsFpg4/s1600-h/imm004_N4.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288946293971573010" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFpDO3oxuFR7xIRWu0unq-zIvLGZ2qCh2GB1os-_R7Az-T8GlXJuEGyf-vIvSgV0oZJ_42azqgLuIC21Yr0zt1UGzVenkmw7mhMNH5kL8HRCSpN5yvBgTH05IuW0TDtCALeJCWEPsFpg4/s400/imm004_N4.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqgDbDKDvby9aR7GszHUpmKgQzk_X7cL0ylknEH7M2zyiiyESZYfrfHr0ggTai0mRDFGzdl1CykOIKBaO80sPRiTSfcs65ujYJ28rpkrz3g_hDACufZ6I5_rDVf3plDMgzd5X1luKru-I/s1600-h/imm021_N21.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288946305076809826" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqgDbDKDvby9aR7GszHUpmKgQzk_X7cL0ylknEH7M2zyiiyESZYfrfHr0ggTai0mRDFGzdl1CykOIKBaO80sPRiTSfcs65ujYJ28rpkrz3g_hDACufZ6I5_rDVf3plDMgzd5X1luKru-I/s400/imm021_N21.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-size:85%;"></span></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><span style="font-size:85%;"></span></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM-6VVfHqOZOnU_3p_pFzCxSSjFh2tegJ6NZ5KDP_wXvKDpgNl9kN2VhGGucpU9yB_Z4ousVbD8ToOLJfdZUvf3T-zRHmHzuOIwF3iWLuYXrk5Theh8Z_LPTnAszx8WhAKfHsAIyrc150/s1600-h/imm006_N6.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288946302848362098" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM-6VVfHqOZOnU_3p_pFzCxSSjFh2tegJ6NZ5KDP_wXvKDpgNl9kN2VhGGucpU9yB_Z4ousVbD8ToOLJfdZUvf3T-zRHmHzuOIwF3iWLuYXrk5Theh8Z_LPTnAszx8WhAKfHsAIyrc150/s400/imm006_N6.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><span style="font-size:85%;"></span></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><span style="font-size:85%;"></span></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><span style="font-size:85%;"></span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmGSxI9neV1p9g8ovcyZ6H7Bag7-HAVl2G20HxcEDyxko4SY1G1sarjE2yDHquIfeZmKyuWnto-j546zK5wwsS8RR_d18uhU_aBor2PYt5u5uucj9NkTUbAcM6GY6z1B6WQqw52AW9KHI/s1600-h/imm003_N3.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288944740972938626" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmGSxI9neV1p9g8ovcyZ6H7Bag7-HAVl2G20HxcEDyxko4SY1G1sarjE2yDHquIfeZmKyuWnto-j546zK5wwsS8RR_d18uhU_aBor2PYt5u5uucj9NkTUbAcM6GY6z1B6WQqw52AW9KHI/s400/imm003_N3.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><span style="font-size:85%;"></span></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div> </div></div></div></div></div>Nick Rangahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15723291371423789079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2791039455490309985.post-21494064570418240932008-11-27T10:20:00.000+00:002009-01-08T16:23:26.507+00:0026/11/2008. Wolverhampton. Or, 'Study Governed by Chance (after Richard Long and the Boyle Family)'<div><div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;">The first in a series of walks. The starting point and end point are determined by sticking two pins in a map at random. The experience is then documented in whatever way seems appropriate. What you read here are snippets of conversation:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;"><em>Start. What? Come on. Which way are we going? Memorial: 'Their name liveth for evermore'. S.I, Lefebvre. Drop your reasons for movement to experience the city in a new way. The Planet really is a dump. Need faster film. Found a pen. Are matches relevant? Where's the Post Office? I want to go see the reindeer. Where are they going? Cactus in the window. Princes Street. We're also on a project, another project. Get that one. Princess Alley. That's really bright. Look at the amethyst. Bag fallen off the van. I've never been down here before. You're in my way. Walkabout. Manhattens, whats that? Used to be chiggi rock. Want to see the reindeer. Hang on. Failure is interesting, but failing because you're cold isn't. That's two lame franchises. My bum's cold. Carpets. Look at this. New watch? Bell Street, TKMaxx. The Beach? What's this? End.</em></span></div><div><div><em><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;"></span></em></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;">Below are images shot by Helen, who came with me:</span></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCjs3Z94GnQJhDGIOe4LrMepdBEXM5wzAFhG68w4J0Zw_c1Ml6p7hy898qvo-CR7ReF9pp_5mzq7YMan-8W48sCrC-ND-CWLhn1QmIkTvDd4DmWAJvzNiszYOrU2kQVLgwb3SJ8wfno-c/s1600-h/imm003_N3.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288955455359323762" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCjs3Z94GnQJhDGIOe4LrMepdBEXM5wzAFhG68w4J0Zw_c1Ml6p7hy898qvo-CR7ReF9pp_5mzq7YMan-8W48sCrC-ND-CWLhn1QmIkTvDd4DmWAJvzNiszYOrU2kQVLgwb3SJ8wfno-c/s320/imm003_N3.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyXMfBSMa5Tw8BbajXAlSLwzN5uIAA7V8zTi2TVOMnTMhzFu9tZc8AmM5o7LwyB5BZVfOWHNutswbgbjlOnMV5lS8Q7opi8n9-RpLW7PWqjc59JSQNJETVDG_Nz4r__tKKjMZq69pdncQ/s1600-h/imm000_N0.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288955434827277890" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyXMfBSMa5Tw8BbajXAlSLwzN5uIAA7V8zTi2TVOMnTMhzFu9tZc8AmM5o7LwyB5BZVfOWHNutswbgbjlOnMV5lS8Q7opi8n9-RpLW7PWqjc59JSQNJETVDG_Nz4r__tKKjMZq69pdncQ/s320/imm000_N0.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;"></span></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijo8O-ocUgeK3f60bSLZPRAwcqnt1DyH89__tWU45-FAGgp2KtAZ9skpBU_fOJGijMWyufbkursr_bAWJuGE8MA0a0a_8CPCtoow8UjLhQ2XXAUXWXGGjtJEDPDz1A8r_e1008RThmVQ0/s1600-h/imm012_N12.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288955465581186930" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijo8O-ocUgeK3f60bSLZPRAwcqnt1DyH89__tWU45-FAGgp2KtAZ9skpBU_fOJGijMWyufbkursr_bAWJuGE8MA0a0a_8CPCtoow8UjLhQ2XXAUXWXGGjtJEDPDz1A8r_e1008RThmVQ0/s320/imm012_N12.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7P9rdpCcc3uiwtgTdHraFt7it33tMJjuLe4pToCRvgiwuzdRrhwajvIe1cOMYUFWl0JBVM7woxMN9IHrvm7NlJA58Xb3l902A-eUdE8HFelxBBUdCoN9Agaqtsgk2rZfLKLeIrJ2XhWY/s1600-h/imm013_N13.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288955469460639106" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7P9rdpCcc3uiwtgTdHraFt7it33tMJjuLe4pToCRvgiwuzdRrhwajvIe1cOMYUFWl0JBVM7woxMN9IHrvm7NlJA58Xb3l902A-eUdE8HFelxBBUdCoN9Agaqtsgk2rZfLKLeIrJ2XhWY/s320/imm013_N13.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVACwiFujJF5wLL8aspmgGeXHCrUqNFjwD48HNyFxxMlH9RkjlUCX36q-D7pOByTP5TiVTi7a5GThPma34Kukh0VotLZySK4osZgDuDFZUx56DjPRKvrfEL4RImJtMbC0e56HVmbgODSk/s1600-h/imm022_N22.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288955481733044690" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVACwiFujJF5wLL8aspmgGeXHCrUqNFjwD48HNyFxxMlH9RkjlUCX36q-D7pOByTP5TiVTi7a5GThPma34Kukh0VotLZySK4osZgDuDFZUx56DjPRKvrfEL4RImJtMbC0e56HVmbgODSk/s320/imm022_N22.jpg" border="0" /></a></span></div></div></div></div>Nick Rangahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15723291371423789079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2791039455490309985.post-16567759368755388542008-11-05T12:41:00.000+00:002008-11-05T12:42:46.925+00:00Statement October 2008 (extract)<span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;">Heres a section of a statement I'm working on for my creative enquiry module:</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;">The major turning point in my development as an artist, crucial to my practice, is the realisation that the process is equally important as the exhibited work. This illustrates a shift in position and understanding, a shift away from any notion of finality; from understanding artworks as ‘end products’ to reading them as documentation of a process. A recent article on the MA Fine Art show at the University of Central Lancashire addresses this very issue. In it Chris Young refers to Site specific art in the late sixties/early seventies and Lucy Lippard’s 1972 book ‘Six years: The Dematerialisation of the Art Object’. Young poses the question of how the process of engagement and exploration, which is where the interest lies, can be communicated to an audience?<br /><br />‘Thirty-six years on , the case of process-based work takes the issue further still – where the outcome of a project is uncertain there may be no physical end product at all. The interest is in the exploration of ideas and the process of investigation. How can this be communicated to an audience expecting and deserving an involving visual experience?’ (Young, 2008, p6)<br /><br />With regards to my own practice this question is crucial, and one which, at this stage in my development, I have yet to find a satisfactory answer to. The important point is, to reiterate, the shift from reading the artwork as an ‘end product’ to reading the artwork as documentation. Two bodies of work from my practice highlight this shift, work that illustrates crucial points in the development of my practice. The first of which is a large body of photographs of the various studio spaces I have worked in over the last couple of years. The practice of photographing my studio and work in progress was one I picked up at foundation level and continued through my undergraduate degree. The photographs often depict unfinished art objects (paintings), and as such are documents. The essential point is that these are, at the same time, also ‘end products’. The major revelation was that these photographs of my studio were to be valued as much as ‘end products’ as the paintings they depicted were. They are ‘end products’ in as much as they are produced by a process, but it is a process that is theoretically endless, and so they are also documents. The defining factor is finality. The difference between the two terms is the degree of finality inherent to the work: An ‘end product’ has a heightened finality as it is the end point of the process. A ‘document’ is its polar opposite having little or no finality, as it comes during the process, a process which, theoretically, may have no end point.<br /><br />The second body of work I produced for my undergraduate degree show. It consisted of a series of paintings, drawings and a video/performance work that utilised the Dadaist/Surrealist technique of the automatic. The paintings were made by covering the canvas in one or more layers of automatic writing. Whilst there was a certain amount of chance involved in this process, it is a controlled amount as there were conditions (Number of layers, size of text etc). This marks a major shift in my practice, in that the work actively privileges the process over the ‘end product’: As there is little aesthetic interest in the finished works (many of the canvases were completely covered in either black or white paint, a deliberate choice to minimise the aesthetic value of the works), the artworks as ‘end products’ approach redundancy, as the art objects exhibited become interesting only because of the process. While this work was produced at undergraduate level, it is only in my current practice I am able to fully comprehend the implications of this shift. My current practice centres on the word ‘Psychogeography’, a word that has a long history but whose major touchstones, for my own practice, are the Situationist International and the revival psychogeographical practices had in 1990’s London by authors such as Iain Sinclair. This work consists of going on walks and documenting them through film, photography, drawing and writing. <br /> </span>Nick Rangahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15723291371423789079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2791039455490309985.post-21762350724315435062008-10-16T16:36:00.001+01:002008-10-20T10:55:42.206+01:00Review at Rhubarb<span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;">A selection of images I took for review:</span><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9W2wyL14brlBl4soJsFWMX7gfrZin2jAHQQOzm1Ke_ddc7DZUBOr3sVM5610xO0QmXJ8UbDhi5oDM64r8kIaU9cw1UfVZrdPfPdYBjAoanz64teubSkqunVwfImd4i7AXgUUy1SFR67M/s1600-h/method+acting22.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5257778480237937410" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9W2wyL14brlBl4soJsFWMX7gfrZin2jAHQQOzm1Ke_ddc7DZUBOr3sVM5610xO0QmXJ8UbDhi5oDM64r8kIaU9cw1UfVZrdPfPdYBjAoanz64teubSkqunVwfImd4i7AXgUUy1SFR67M/s400/method+acting22.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQzuPq7doQCi8UYMHRj2pXFih-GS4qJI3D8SS1I83bwB403cA1OEOkj9sBtg4m3DtNpJ-FyIBlgnJ9qdciy-4fW2FrwMMAvLyzRwCDKxnXPwnY4v4YZG1Qcu97SSTQPZZBD4oNzeDL1vQ/s1600-h/method+acting19a.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5257778219145040114" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQzuPq7doQCi8UYMHRj2pXFih-GS4qJI3D8SS1I83bwB403cA1OEOkj9sBtg4m3DtNpJ-FyIBlgnJ9qdciy-4fW2FrwMMAvLyzRwCDKxnXPwnY4v4YZG1Qcu97SSTQPZZBD4oNzeDL1vQ/s400/method+acting19a.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZHJRfNArLDA1t4b5UjUhPt6RpUcE8nzE7eBtSW5AvafzY_y4pzDGmU4qnK3GresfUenAjosrCNdTLEjcwlDqEycHis73nilX0ISyYPES-D_ZOXRI52qZdOiDAUZLX0KQ0EWNHguWPOtI/s1600-h/method+acting+001.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5257776968097467186" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZHJRfNArLDA1t4b5UjUhPt6RpUcE8nzE7eBtSW5AvafzY_y4pzDGmU4qnK3GresfUenAjosrCNdTLEjcwlDqEycHis73nilX0ISyYPES-D_ZOXRI52qZdOiDAUZLX0KQ0EWNHguWPOtI/s400/method+acting+001.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv0IWalN6NsQTGitRXjZU8X5uzvBpHN6tkMhIqHbaw8H1JKJYRQr1ULoxwmMtqhYg5DOWakMPT2_YtB2PdIOoqf8Gi34TPtwU9EBv2lOmkxtWrZHej9qd8MHXjwuiLOAF5ozs849dmFIM/s1600-h/method+acting18.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5257776520461316722" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv0IWalN6NsQTGitRXjZU8X5uzvBpHN6tkMhIqHbaw8H1JKJYRQr1ULoxwmMtqhYg5DOWakMPT2_YtB2PdIOoqf8Gi34TPtwU9EBv2lOmkxtWrZHej9qd8MHXjwuiLOAF5ozs849dmFIM/s400/method+acting18.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /></div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div><br /></div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div><br /></div><br /><br /><div></div><div> </div></div><div></div></div>Nick Rangahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15723291371423789079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2791039455490309985.post-39560633481290907352008-10-16T16:13:00.000+01:002008-10-20T10:54:52.942+01:00Review at Rhubarb<span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;">Today I went for my portfolio review with Rhubarb Rhubarb. I had mixed feeling about going - Rhubarb Rhubarb is very much a photography agency promoting photographic work from the West Midlands, yet I <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">don't</span> really see myself as a photographer despite my current work being largely lens based. In the end though I figured it couldn't do me any harm so I went.</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;">It was actually really useful, the woman reviewing my work (Lorna, I think?) immediately spotted my problems, namely that the work I was producing wasn't what I wanted it to be, the things I'm trying to convey are getting lost somewhere between thought and image. There is a lot of potential in my work, I knew that already and she <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">seemed</span> to pick up on that ('a good start' I thing her words were) but, again same problem, that potential is getting lost somewhere. At the minute I'm struggling to figure out what exactly the work is: I know its not painting, and I think it might be lens based, but i lack confidence because <em>I <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">don't</span> know what <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">I'm</span> doing. </em>The solution suggested is to experiment, play around with cameras, film, printing the photographs myself and to go out more with my camera. Once I've done that and my work has progressed some I'm to go back for another review session.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;">While <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">I'm</span> feeling a lot more positive about my practice than I have been as of late, I know a PhD, which must come out of practice, even if it's a theoretical research project, is <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">further</span> away than I thought.</span>Nick Rangahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15723291371423789079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2791039455490309985.post-66059412653892003172008-10-09T15:01:00.000+01:002008-10-09T15:03:04.150+01:00Notes on 'Ways of Seeing'<span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;"><strong>Notes on ‘Ways of Seeing’ (1972)<br />by Berger, J. Blomberg, S. Fox, C. et al<br /></strong><br /><br /><strong>Chapter One<br /></strong><br />- The essay seems to take the central ideas from Benjamin’s ‘The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction’ (loss of ‘aura’, displacement of notions of ‘the original’) and situate them in a structuralist context <br /><br />- Berger seems to be, much like Benjamin, be writing from a Marxist perspective. A lot of what is said seems to connect with the Situationist International. A lot of Situationist tactics are alluded to throughout the essay (e.g., detournement: ‘Because works of art are reproducible they can, theoretically, be used by anybody.’(p29) These could also be connected to postmodernism and, more recently, postproduction. The text is essentially Marxist, not postmodernist however.<br /><br /><br />- The premise of the essay, and indeed the book, divides up the world, like structuralism does, into signifiers and signifieds. Connections can be made with Lacan’s ‘mirror phase’ ‘Soon after we can see, we are aware that we can also be seen. The eye of the other combines with our own eye to make it fully credible that we are part of the visible world’ This notion of the other can be connected, and indeed is present in, (post)structuralism.<br /><br />- ‘Adults and children sometimes have boards in their bedrooms or living-rooms on which they pin pieces of paper: letters, snapshots, reproductions of paintings, newspaper cuttings, original drawings, postcards. On each board all the images belong to the same language and all are more or less equal within it, because they have been chosen in a highly personal way to match and express the experience of the room’s inhabitant. Logically these boards should replace museums.’ (p30). Sums up the essay. Art should be appreciated for its use value rather than its originality, or uniqueness. This position is shared by postmodernism, neo-avant-garde and the Situationists (and etc). It is an essentially Marxist statement in this instance as it is directed towards removing the bourgeois hierarchy of modern museums and open up art to use by the lower classes.<br /><br /><br />- The comodification of art a major theme, especially painting. After mechanical reproduction any notion of originality lies in the work being the original of a reproduction, its value lies in its quantitative value not what the image contains; ‘The meaning of the original work no longer lies in what it uniquely says but what it uniquely is’. Central idea from Benjamin’s essay.<br /><br /><strong>Chapter Seven<br /></strong><br />- Publicity: The colonisation of the everyday by capitalism. This is the central premise of this essay<br /><br />- Publicity sells the past to the future; ‘Publicity images also belong to the moment in the sense that they must be continually renewed and made up-to-date. Yet they never speak of the present. Often they refer to the past and always they speak of the future.’ (p130). Again the debt to Benjamin is prominent, notions of mechanical reproduction are central.<br /><br />- ‘Publicity is about social relations, not objects.’ (p132). Publicity is about potential: when you buy a product you buy potential for what you could be. The product embodies your relations to others, this is why publicity is never about the product itself, but potential.<br /><br />- Publicity’s use of history significant: presents history as something to ‘dip into’ (again Marxist, links with postmodernism, situationism). Art and history lend the product a sense of authority and speak of social mobility. Again, the potential for what you could be.<br /><br />- ‘Publicity turns consumption into a substitute for democracy. The choice of what one eats (or wears or drives) takes the place of significant political choice. Publicity helps to mask and compensate for all that is undemocratic within society. And it also masks what is happening in the rest of the world.’ (p149)<br /> </span>Nick Rangahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15723291371423789079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2791039455490309985.post-75086136301230777072008-10-07T14:06:00.000+01:002008-10-07T14:18:29.944+01:00updates and ideas<span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;">I've had a few ideas for work recently so I thought I'd post them on here. Basically, this is what Im up to at the minute:</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;">I'm working with a local poet/writer called Emma Purshouse. We plan to produce some work to submit to the open exhibition at the riverside gallery in London, the theme being 'Age and Memory'. I dont normally do things like this - I hate themed open submission things - but this seemed like a good common ground for us to produce something, and the deadlines the end of November, so that gives us a good timeframe to get out and produce something. I'd either like to produce a film or photography/text/sound stuff, somewhere between Patrick Keiler's film 'London', psychogeography and 'Nadja' by Andre Breton.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;">I've also had an idea for a sort of site specific work, based on the idea of desire lines. The idea is to use lines painted on the floor to mark out routes across Wolverhampton. I've contacted the council and have been referred to Wolverhampton art gallery, so the next step is to email them and see if this is possible. What I'd like is to get a dialogue going between people to work out what the project could be.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;">Theres more but those are the two things at the forefront of my mind at this juncture.</span>Nick Rangahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15723291371423789079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2791039455490309985.post-38215944640245252262008-09-26T14:30:00.000+01:002008-09-29T12:37:47.065+01:00Lets play at being lecturers<span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;">today was my first day teaching the undergrads. Its unpaid work experience of course - I'm still a long way from being good and experienced enough to get a job as a lecturer - but hopefully doing this will help me develop skills that will help me get paid to do it when I'm finally ready. I'm helping out with the second year drawing elective module: basically its a series of workshops introducing them to an 'expanded field of drawing' as it was refered to today. Then they'll have time to develop their own 'drawings' - used in the expanded sense, whatever they may be - for assesement. I'll also be giving a talk/lecture/presentation on my own work and how that relates to the stuff they're doing, and really this is exactly what my work is about. The idea that drawing - or any form of practice - can be a moment, or a document of an event was what really came across, for me at least (It'll be interesting to see how many of the students picked up on it). </span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;">It's been really usefull actually because its given me a new perspective on my practice; I've been thinking about giving the presentation and how I can relate that to this expanded field of drawing and this has made me realise that drawing in the expanded sense <em>is what I do, </em>its all drawing: my video's, photographs, writings (and etc) are all documents of various events, moments, processes, (and etc). This very blog, the words you are reading now are a drawing. </span><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;">I was reading an article today about the problem of presenting 'process based' art. This really struck a chord as I've been saying for a long time that my practice is process based. As I understood it, the problem seemed to be about finality: when is something finished? What is the end product? The problem being that with a lot of these process based practices, the project is never finished, and there isn't any 'final piece' - a horrible term that I've fought against for years because of this very issue - these things are part of an ongoing process. Yet when this work is exhibited, it is read as being an end product, and doesn't really provide enough of a 'way in' to allow us, as viewers, to read the work as part of an self-perpetuating process, which of course it is. With this kind of work there are never any conclusions, only more questions, never any end products, only documentation.</span>Nick Rangahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15723291371423789079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2791039455490309985.post-39422101992192384342008-09-23T14:20:00.000+01:002008-09-25T13:07:44.369+01:00Back to School<span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;">First day back at uni today. We had a group seminar with our second year group and the six full time students from the first year group. It was mainly a session of introductions and updates, but it was really good to see everyone again and talk about art. I find the support a group of fellow students provides extremely helpful. </span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;">We've also had a change of studio, our old MA room has been given over to the undergraduates and instead we've got a space on the ground floor that was filled with third year undergrads last year. Its a really good move as the room is bigger, the light is better and we've even got a desk area for seminars. I will miss having a pc in the room though, as a lot of my time spent in the studio was using the computer. It's still going to be rather cramped in there, as there's ten part time first years as well as the six full time students, and along with the ten or so in our group that makes 26, so board space is going to be at a premium. We have, however, decided to keep one wall free for displaying work, so those who don't/can't use the MA studio as much as others have somewhere to put their stuff up. I suspect I might be one of those people as I dont know how much I'll be able to use the MA room. Having a space at eagleworks will probably mean I'll spend the majority of my studio time there and use the MA room for displaying work.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;">I've also arranged with Maggie (one of the lecturers on the undergraduate course) to do some teaching, unpaid of course, but its valuable work experience and looks pretty good on the cv. So then this coming friday I'll be helping run a drawing workshop with the second years (I think),then maybe doing some work with the undergrads doing the dissertation module. should be fun. </span>Nick Rangahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15723291371423789079noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2791039455490309985.post-48552074970886102602008-09-22T12:45:00.000+01:002008-09-22T12:49:47.428+01:00one thing to tick off my list<span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;">I've just booked train tickets to London for the super 8 workshop at Nowhere Lab. It still amazes me how it can cost so much to travel relatively short distances in this country. I have Latvian roots and I've been there a few times. Over there you could probably travel half way <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">across</span> Russia for the same price as a return ticket to London. Still it feels like I'm finally getting things done.</span>Nick Rangahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15723291371423789079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2791039455490309985.post-28768840777448211672008-09-19T14:42:00.000+01:002008-09-19T15:04:10.876+01:00updates, studios and more things to do<span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;">I spent some time in my eagleworks studio yesterday, I moved some books and cameras over there. I remember watching the long way down/round - Ewan McGregor and Charlie Borman's motorbiking trips that were on BBC 2 a while back - in particular I remember the office they had, filled with various documents, maps etc. Thats the kind of space I want my studio space to look like, a kind of office like base, (or rather my half of the studio space as I share it with Beckie Mayers). </span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;">I think I may have to make eagleworks my main studio, because with a new group of first year MA students moving in, space in there is going to be limited. I would still like to maintain a presense in there though, still keep things on the walls, so an idea was to turn my 8 foot of wall space into a free exhibition space that everyone can use. It would have to be curated, but I think it could be really useful for a lot of people, particularly people who mainly work elsewhere. Another option would to be to share a space with my sometime collaborator Matt Black, although I'm not sure how he'd feel about that; it was suggested a while back and he didn't want to do it.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;">I need to give Emma Purshouse a call sometime today. Emma's a writer and she worked with a fellow MA student back in our first semester, and I, allong with our tutors, really liked the film he made (Emma provided the voiceover, reading a poem she wrote for the film). Since then the idea of using fictional narratives has been lodged at the back of my mind and over the summer Emma and I started exchanging emails and, I think, both would like to work together. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;">Also I got an email back from my brother, Dan. He says its ok for me to walk to his house from brum new street, should be able to get some good pictures and do plenty filming. Plus he's just bought guitar hero 2 for the wii! </span>Nick Rangahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15723291371423789079noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2791039455490309985.post-20365228587875180712008-09-17T15:46:00.000+01:002008-09-18T13:18:12.511+01:00To Do List<span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;">As I'm feeling motivated I thought I'd post my current to do list. I write these all the time: I find that they are a good way to keep track of what you are actually acheiving with your practice on a day to day basis and to keep yourself motivated, because as you tick them off the list, you feel as if your getting somewhere - or at least getting things done.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><ul><li><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;"><strong>book train tickets for super 8 workshop.</strong> I'm attending a workshop at Nowhere Lab in London on shooting and processing super 8 film. As I've said previously I've recently been experimenting with super 8, but without any real knowledge of how, hopefully this will show me how to use the camera properly.(<a href="http://www.no-w-here.org.uk/">www.no-w-here.org.uk</a>)</span></li><li><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;"><strong>Prepare images for portfolio review.</strong> Also in October I have a portfolio review with Rhubarb Rhubarb's Rhonda Wilson. I dont see myself as a photographer as such, not in the way some on my MA course would; I studied fine art at degree level, so I feel like I'm coming to this review from a very different position. Although photography and lens-based practices are important to my current work (central even, as almost all my work is now done through a lens of some sort), I dont see myself as being connected to or part of any photography industry, and Rhubarb Rhubarb are very much in the photography industry. Its fine art photography - no wedding photographers here - but it still feels different to what I do. Having said that my knowledge of photography as a practice is still limited, so hopefully this review will give me some pointers as to where to go with my practice.(<a href="http://www.rhubarb-rhubarb.org/">www.rhubarb-rhubarb.org</a>)</span></li><li><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;"><strong>Spend at least one day per week at eagleworks. </strong>After giving up painting (maybe temporarily, who knows) the time I'm spending in my studio at eagleworks has dropped dramatically. This needs to change, as eagleworks is probably the only creative group in Wolverhampton and its a real privilage to be part of it. There is also a really good gallery space that can be used by members of the group - this means regular solo exhibitions, which I've always thought of as vital. My plan is to use my space less as somewhere for making, more as somewhere for thinking, so I'm planning to turn it into a kind of office/study space, somewhere to plan walks, think through ideas, read books etc. Dropping painting has brought about some major changes not only in my work but in the way I go about making work. Hopefully I'll be able to work through this, then when I feel as if I'm using my space like I should I can arrange my first exhibition there.(<a href="http://www.smfrancis.demon.co.uk/eagle/">http://www.smfrancis.demon.co.uk/eagle/</a>)</span></li><li><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;"><strong>Go on more walks/journeys and film/photograph.</strong> An idea I'm trying to work through at the moment is that of psychogeography. My walk from wolves to brum was very productive, even though my plan to make a film of the experience went tits up. I'm planning more walks: one from Birmingham New Street station to my brothers house in Harbourne, one from Birmingham city center back along the canals to Wolverhampton. I'll have to borrow an SLR from uni for a couple of weeks though, as mine is playing up at the minute.</span></li></ul><p><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;">So thats pretty much what I'm planning. Uni starts up again next week so I'll discuss all this with the group and get some feedback on it. Thats all for now, I'll try and post again soon</span></p><p><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;"></span> </p><p><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;"></span> </p><p><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;"></span> </p>Nick Rangahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15723291371423789079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2791039455490309985.post-30252225720092915572008-09-15T15:55:00.000+01:002008-09-15T16:05:00.299+01:00Psychogeographical Experiments<span style="font-family:courier new;">Here's a section from an essay/article I've been working on, titled <em>'A Psychogeographical Experiment: Wolverhampton train station to Birmingham New Street Station'</em>. If all goes well it will be published in Nat and Chris's book ( see </span><a href="http://ourfineartma.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family:courier new;">http://ourfineartma.blogspot.com</span></a><span style="font-family:courier new;"> ) - </span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;color:#66ffff;">The first question I come to – a pretty major one that needs answering - what is my position on psychogeography? What is this psychogeographical experiment/ stupid idea aimed at? Am I aligned with Guy Debord and the Situationist International in feeling out the psychological contours of the city through the derive? Or am I closer to Will Self and his eotechnical world-view? Indeed, the Selfian approach (if I can call it that) was the inspiration for this first foray into the world of psychogeography. After watching on YouTube Will Self’s lecture at Google</span><a title="" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=2791039455490309985#_edn1" name="_ednref1"><span style="font-family:courier new;color:#66ffff;">[i]</span></a><span style="font-family:courier new;color:#66ffff;">, promoting his recent book documenting his own psychogeography, I became fascinated with the division between psyche and place that ‘modernised’ methods of transport bring about. ‘Walking to New York’ is Self’s attempt to bridge this divide. In the modernised world of machine mediated travel, London and New York exist separately, with no physical relationship in space, or indeed psyche as, Self argues, perceptions of space are registered by the body on a physical, not a mental, level. Self’s chosen method for bridging this divide is walking, thus re-registering his spatial perception of London and New York, and destroying his London and New York micro-worlds as he puts it. His route took him across London to Heathrow airport, from there by plane to JFK airport, and then on foot again to his Hotel in New York. The plane journey across the Atlantic, in terms of physical exertion, isn’t recognised, and so, as far as his body is aware, he has traversed one continuous landmass, as I’m sure his legs would concur.<br /><br />Late capitalist society creates for us an illusion, argues Guy Debord, to whom Self, in his psychogeography, is indebted. This illusion, encompassing daily life, roughly comprises work, home/leisure and consumerism as, according to late-capitalist society, these were the only things we needed to live</span><a title="" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=2791039455490309985#_edn2" name="_ednref2"><span style="font-family:courier new;color:#66ffff;">[ii]</span></a><span style="font-family:courier new;color:#66ffff;">. Self’s notion of micro-environments, is derived from the Situationist’s concept of spectacle: Our experiences of place and spatial relations, registered on a mental level become ruptured by modernised, non-eotechnical modes of transport. Our experiences of place then become subsumed under the spectacle of late-capitalist society. Put simply, we don’t know where we are, and this is just the way late-capitalist society wants it. These concepts of spectacle relate back to Henri Lefebvre’s ‘Critique of Everyday Life’. Indeed, Lefebvre was at one time aligned with the Situationists, and his concepts of alienation and mystification formed the theoretical basis for Debord’s ‘Society of the Spectacle’. Lefebvre insists that the transformation of life, and indeed its critique, not only must take place on an everyday level, but that the everyday as category, crucially, retains the possibility of its own transformation. For the Situationists and Will Self, psychogeography provided just such an everyday act.<br /><br /></span><a title="" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=2791039455490309985#_ednref1" name="_edn1"></a><span style="font-family:courier new;color:#66ffff;"><br />[i] Authors at Google Lecture: Self, W (2007), Mountain View, CA <http: v="zvegoib7bo8">(accessed 27/06/08). Also see: Self, W. (2007) ‘Psychogeography’ London: Bloomsbury<br /><br /></span><a title="" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=2791039455490309985#_ednref2" name="_edn2"><span style="font-family:courier new;color:#66ffff;">[ii]</span></a><span style="color:#66ffff;"><span style="font-family:courier new;"> Debord, G. (1995) ‘Society of the Spectacle’ New York: Zone Books (Originally published in french in 1967 as ‘La Societe Du Spectacle’)</span><br /></span>Nick Rangahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15723291371423789079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2791039455490309985.post-39307225308965675432008-09-13T18:51:00.000+01:002008-09-14T16:54:44.456+01:00Notes on Montage<span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;"><strong>'The film Sense' - Sergei Eisenstein</strong></span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;"><strong></strong></span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;">Montage is a fundamental principle of film. The principle of montage consists in the juxtaposition of fragments (shots, visuals, sound, dialogue etc).</span><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;">Montage is a <em>creative </em><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">technique: fragment A placed in relation to fragment B does not simply create fragment AB but <em>fragment C, a third element. </em>This third element, in Eisenstein's theory, is an image in the mind of the viewer;</span></span><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;"><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected"></span></span><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;"><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">'Piece A and Piece B, derived from elements of the theme, in juxtaposition give birth to an image in the viewer's mind in which the theme is clearly embodied'</span></span><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;"><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected"></span></span><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;"><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">Eisenstein theorises the fragments in montage as representations which juxtapose to create a subjective compound image of the theme in the mind of the viewer.</span></span><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;"><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected"></span></span><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;"><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">Eisensteins theory of montage s directed to literary narrative uses. However montage as a principle (the juxtaposition of elements and fragments) runs much deeper and reaches much further than film and literary uses. Further, I suspect, than Eisenstein suspected. </span></span><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;font-size:85%;"><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected"></span></span>Nick Rangahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15723291371423789079noreply@blogger.com0