Being Critical Tutor led by Andrea Norrington 20^th July 2020

This was a really useful session, we discussed:

Bring critical on:

• On the work you read – by peers and other academics/writers.
• On the work you view – by peers and other artists.
• On your own work in progress – use reflective practice to evaluate and move forward with projects.
• On selecting work for assignment/assessment. Don’t rush decisions, it’s good to live with work before submitting. But when you submit be final in your choice, don’t leave it to tutor/assessor to decide on edits for you.

Being critical is not being negative. It is not designed to pick faults but rather to be a process where you engage with work and move forward:

• How do particular texts work?
• What effects do they have on the reader?
• Who has produced the text, under what circumstances, and for which readers?
• What’s missing from this account?
• How could it be told differently?

Think: What? Who? Where? When? How? Why? And then move onto: • What if • So what • What next

This process allows to work through the following stages:

• • Describe define terms: say exactly what is involved
• • Analyse examine how parts fit into a whole: give reasons, compare and contrast
• • Evaluate judgements: on success/failure, conclusions, recommendations

Critical thinking can also be used to ask questions about and assess other people’s writing. Try asking questions about a text to see how scholarly or scientific it is: What does it claim to be true? Can you believe its claims? Does it provide you with good reasons, evidence, or both to support its claims? And how ‘good’ are the reasons, or is it ‘good’ evidence?

Four questions to frame critique:

• Describe- what do you see- explaining only what is in front of the audience
• Analyse -how has it been done: techniques, formal elements
• Interpret– what do the audience get from it, meanings, visual communication, mood, how do they feel about the work?
• Judgement– now the audience know the facts what do they think? Does it work, what else can be done for it to be engaging?-

An important way to demonstrate the quality of your arguments, or evidence, is by referring to work by others:

“The status of work depends on how authoritative it is, look for ‘authority’ in references to relevant supporting work which has been published in academic journals, or text books (the content has been ‘peer-reviewed’, it should be independently evaluated by another qualified academic); this is unlike the material which may often be found in newspapers, magazines or from many online sources, where the content may not have been checked by anyone else, or where the work simply puts forward one person’s opinion.”  

(Learning Development, 2010) The Critical Thinking PDF from Plymouth University is a very clear resource.

OCA Librarian Helen has created a Library guide for photography students https://ucreative.libguides.com/OCAPhotography

Suggestion: (Ossian Ward, writer on contemporary art)

• (T) Time – stand still for a few minutes
• (A) Association – can you relate to work
• (B) Background – understanding context but no need to be an expert
• (U) Understand – maybe you are just one step away from understanding
• (L) Look again – second look, use background to inform
• (A) Assessment –subjective but the process above allows for understanding and maybe appreciation

Make sure you have the whole picture before making judgments/conclusions

• Have you got all the information you need?
• How does the work fit as part of a series?
• In evaluations/summaries you can highlight gaps in knowledge

My learning:

My notes from this session are now pinned to my wall, I shall try to integrate this line of thinking into my practice when researching and looking at photography – invaluable!

References:

Learning Development, (2010) Critical Thinking, [PDF] At: https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/uploads/production/document/path/1/1710/Critical_Thinking.pdf (Accessed 21/07/20)

Norrington, A. (2020) Photography Zoom Talks 2019/2020. At: https://oca.padlet.org/andreanorrington/laq2kvhc5mpg (Accessed 21/7/2020).

OCA HANGOUT TUTOR LED: ANDREA NORRINGTON 13.5.20

RESEARCH: HOW AND WHY    

WHY TO RESEARCH

• Research is essential to move work on, stimulate broaden knowledge.
• Copying is a good way to improve your own photography then develop your own style:
• Gives you attention to detail and helps you understand technical aspects

Rankin shoots Bailey: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p010wn00 where David Bailey – recreation of an iconic photograph

Photographer Rankin recreates a famous photographic image. He works alongside David Bailey on the famous 1963 Vogue picture of model Jean Shrimpton, using 1960s photographic technology.

Bailey brought energy, charm and Technical brilliance to fashion photography and produced iconic images. Here Rankin tries to cop’s Bailey’s image of Jean Shrimpton with his own girlfriend posing:

Uses a rolliflex the same backdrop, same cardboard flap for wind, same pose…Then shot digitally to compare. The point was that he learnt a lot by going through the copying process.

Also watch Richard Avelon: Contesian (2015) Richard Avedon 7 fashion photographs that Changed the world BBC: At: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kj5O0sRXSlQ (Accessed 18/05/2020).

HOW TO RESEARCH:

• Think laterally and use other media poetry, music, art, tv, films
• Look at lighting and the construction of photos
• Delve deep but explore wide
• Follow up references on what you’re reading
• Read what’s interesting
• Move on if something is not grabbing you – be selective

• Remember to look at the stars not your feet – Stephen Hawkins

“So remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious, and however difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do, and succeed at. It matters that you don’t just give up.”

Professor Stephen Hawking from speech given at Cambridge University in 2017.

OCA article recommended by Andrea on being curious: https://www.oca.ac.uk/weareoca/creative-writing/being-curious/

OCA librarian Helen Barrett – Students are welcome to contact for any help (e.g. using the Online Library) this was new to me that we can contact and use her, for referencing and even if looking for research outside of UCA/OCA). Contact details are:  library@oca.ac.uk or Ask the Librarian on OCA Discuss. Helen works work Monday to Friday 8.30-14.30. Also as part of the OCA Learn launch, Helen has also created a Library guide for photography students https://ucreative.libguides.com/OCAPhotography

ON REFERENCING: Good to re find that UCA recommends paperpile

RESEARCH ACTION

• Your response
• 30 second rule – take 30 sec straight afterwards only to record my response/important points
• Key elements you take from a photographer’s work – As I do

Maybe I should keep an index of my photographers research across all courses – this would be good for work that’s not relevant at the moment or that I’ve not used.

SYSTEMS

• Guilty of open tab syndrome. Maybe back them up on a draft sheet?
• Check out Evernote for storing you tube links *** trellofor note taking notion for note taking

ALIVE V DEAD TIME

• So much content online at the moment, share with others even if it’s poor
• Be critical of your sources question everything
• Think about the source of the story- context/angle
• If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking – be divergent

Robert Bloomfield post decolonising the curriculum about placing yourself within the perspective of the course you’re on: Decolonising the curriculum – a ‘serious need’? | The Open College of the Arts (2020) At: https://www.oca.ac.uk/weareoca/education/decolonising-the-curriculum-a-serious-need/ (Accessed 18/05/2020).

Padlet of this session:    https://oca.padlet.org/andreanorrington/laq2kvhc5mpg

MY LEARNING AND ACTION POINTS

• Its definitely okay to copy to learn!
• Remember to be critical of all sources
• Use the OCA librarian as a resource
• Note to self to make a personal index of research done on photographers across all courses
• Checkout evernote for storing you tube links?
• Be curious – don’t let the course work stifle my curiosity; so don’t feel guilty about taking time now to access all the virtual material available even if its slows me down
• Look for Dan Robison q and A on new assessment under the forum photography under Covid 19.

References:

BBC Two – Bitesize Secondary, Creative and Media, Media, David Bailey – recreation of an iconic photograph (s.d.) In: BBC At: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p010wn00 (Accessed 18/05/2020).

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