Coursework

Art & Commerce

| Phil Hill

I teach digital media at an FE college, so my current practice is focused on this as my full time profession. I have also spent the last number of years working towards teaching qualifications and HEA Fellowship, which has meant the commercial aspects of my practice have taken more of a back seat. Prior to teaching, I was a full time freelance photographer, working on the travel and lifestyle sector mainly for airline publications (Fig: 1). Although this is far removed from the practice that I am aiming to develop on the MA, I do still license images from my archive on a fairly regular basis through a range of different platforms.

Figure 1: Phil Hill (2012) ‘Australia’s Wild West’ spread for Sawasdee Magazine (Thai Airlines).

Throughout this process, I have sought commercial opportunities with the work that I have produced for each of the module in order to raise my profile as an art practitioner over an editorial photographer. I enjoy teaching, so see myself producing longer term projects whilst moving more into higher education teaching in the medium to long term.

During the afternoon 'Children's Procession' at Gillingham Carnival. Part of Wessex Grand Prix: Gillingham Carnival
Figure 2: Phil Hill (October, 2019) Gillingham Carnival
During the afternoon 'Children's Procession' at Gillingham Carnival. Part of: Wessex Grand Prix
Figure 3: Phil Hill (October, 2019) Rory, Gillingham Carnival

During Positions and Practice for example, I created a project around Somerset Carnivals that I grew up with (Fig: 2). As this was the first project that I produced for the MA, I feel that it was more in line with the work that I used to produce. I aimed to share this work through a number of platforms and gained initial interest from the BBC and C41 magazine but unfortunately, owing to the pandemic, priorities changed, and the work no longer fit into what they were publishing. I did get one of the portraits from the series into the KLPA this year and although that has no reward as commerce, it does help to raise profile (Fig: 3).

Figure 4: Phil Hill (July, 2020) Beechfield School marketing banner
Figure 5: Phil Hill (July, 2020) Luis, Beechfield School.

During the last module, I also produced a series of images for a local school, which they used for marketing (Fig: 4) and in return I was able to access and create a number of portraits that contributed towards my project (Fig: 5).

Jumping to this module, my aim is to try and create some projects that would run alongside the development of my WIPP, which also have more commercial possibilities and could translate into funding and/or building of profile. To develop my approach from the first module, I also want to see the possibilities of creating work utilising the research, style and intent developed over the past year. I have been continuing to send work and have gained some interest, which has yet to translate into something tangible but has been quite positive. One of my aims since the beginning of the MA was to also explore the potential for funding, which might be more in line with my intent, so will be creating a community focused grant application to gauge possibilities in Art and Commerce.

Alys Tomlinson – Tomlinson comfortably blends both her commercial practice as well as her long term art projects on her website as there is a clear difference between these two areas. Her client list is very much based on working with institutions and focussed on people, which aligns quite well with her personal work, such as ‘Ex-Voto.’ She has said that she doesn’t see a significant need to separate these two on her site as they all represent her practice and her ability to work in both realms (2020). Tomlinson has also stated however, that even though she is represented by a gallery and she would like to see her work move towards this area, she acknowledges the need for her commercial practice to co-exist with her art practice (2019)

Clementine Schneiderman – What is most interesting about Schneiderman’s approach is how she embeds herself into the communities that she focusses her work on. And by doing so she creates opportunities for both her own practice and also commercial outlets for her images without compromising her intent. ‘It’s Called ffasiwin’ (2019) for example, is an ongoing collaborative project with a community of the Welsh Valley and merges seamlessly with commissioned work that she has completed for Vogue.

Simon Roberts – Roberts has established a practice that also blends his personal projects with his commercial work and seems to have reached a point where he is commissioned to create work related to this personal practice.

Planned Commerce
Grants

I stated in my project proposal for positions and practice that I was keen to go through the process of applying for grants and bursaries, especially during this module where it feels the most relevant. I have applied for others prior to this module, for example a Grain Bursary and the RPS Postgraduate bursary, which have been useful to work through the process of these kinds of application. I am interested to apply for an Arts Council Grant as I feel this too would be useful to explore possibilities and work through the process. My aim is to propose a project that is thematically related to my research project and can be worked on alongside it, if not form part of my wider project. As my research is centered around the idea of community, I feel that it would be a good organisation to work with and I also aim to include the college where I work as it performs an essential service for the community.

Writing

I have been developing my academic writing and during the breaks between modules, I have been aiming to consolidate my research by writing essays in response to ‘calls for papers.’ So far I have not had success at publishing any of these however, one of my essays was well received by the editor who replied with interest in the ideas that I presented but unfortunately it did not fit with what they were currently publishing. I take this as a really positive response to my writing yet my approach still needs to be refined. In that case, I submitted what I had instead of considering what they would be interested in, which is clearly not the right way to approach submitting work. I have now focused attention onto themed calls to create a piece of writing that is still speculative but also thematically expected. For example, I was forwarded an opportunity that called for papers on the theme of ‘Community,’ which aligns with my research project and I will work towards submitting for this. Additionally, this has the added benefit of supporting the research that I am creating for my photography.

Feedback from rejected essays has been a challenge as most organisations are not in a position to provide it. However, I recently entered the Source magazine writing prize and although I did not get my essay selected, the editor was willing to respond to my request for feedback, which I was greatly appreciative and intend to reflect and refine my approach to writing.

Bibliography

Schneiderman, C., 2019. Ffasiwn Magazine. Bristol: Bleak & Fabulous / Martin Parr Foundation.

Tomlinson, A., 2019. The Messy Truth – Alys Tomlinson on Awards [Interview] (11 November 2019).

Tomlinson, A., 2020. A Small Voice: Conversations with Photographers – Episode 123: Alys Tomlinson [Interview] (5 February 2020).

Oxfam A initial Idea

| Phil Hill

I decided to select the Oxfam A as I am quite interested in exploring the idea of climate change on my own street. It aligns quite well with the research and my investigations into the idea of community and that I have already begun to create work based in my local area.

One of my key goals for Sustainable prospects was also to see how I might apply the focus of my research project and its core idea into a more commercially viable project, so this creates an embedded opportunity for me to consider first. It also means that there is potential for crossover and any of the images that I create for the brief might also sit quite well in the broader project that I am working on this module.

1. Your Street & Climate Change

Coming up with a concept that shows how climate change impacts everyone, not just how it is perceived in media as happening in other places far away. There is a topicality to how we are being impacted during the pandemic and arguments as to if Covid-19 was as a result of climate change, with no clear evidence that suggests so. However, there are other drug resistant Pathogens that are becoming more and more dangerous as a result of climate change (Richtel & Jacobs, 2019).

We are surrounded by all kinds of fungus, which are unable to live in the human body owing to our warm blood and a body temperature of 37 degrees Celsius, which the fungi will die off as it lives at much lower temps. Yet, one particular strain known as Candida Auris has been infecting a number of people around the world leading to deaths in some of the cases (Webster, 2020). What is being suggested, is that this fungus is periodically being exposed to warmer and warmer days as the climate is heating up ono average every year. As a result, it is able to survive at much higher temperatures, which crucially means that it can also survive in the human body causing disease (2020). Additionally, there has been a steady decline in body temperatures, especially in western culture, which has been linked to the way modern medicine has had an impact on our ability to survive many illnesses (Casadevall, et al., 2019).

What is quite striking about Candida Auris is that it exists everywhere, including on the streets that we live. Until now it has not posed a threat, until climate change has created the conditions for its need to survive at higher temperatures. This is something that has the potential to impact all of us and could even lead to the next pandemic if not addressed.

This is an initial idea at this stage, but I do see some potential in exploring it as a way to highlight that climate change impacts everyone and Is not just something that effects those in faraway places. I will pitch the idea as I feel that it can fit the Oxfam brief however, do realise that it also has a lot of links to the Welcome Trust ‘Climate and Health’ brief. If we as a group decide to create something else for the Oxfam A challenge, I may still explore this one independently and submit to the Welcome Trust photo competition as I feel it should be explored.

Bibliography

Casadevall, A., Kontoyiannis, D. P. & Vincent, R., 2019. On the Emergence of Candida auris: Climate Change, Azoles, Swamps, and Birds. American Society for Microbiology.

Richtel, M. & Jacobs, A., 2019. A Mysterious Infection, Spanning the Globe in a Climate of Secrecy: The rise of Candida auris embodies a serious and growing public health threat: drug-resistant germs.. [Online] Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/06/health/drug-resistant-candida-auris.html
[Accessed 1 October 2020].

Webster, M., 2020. Radiolab Podcast – Fungus Amungus. [Online]
Available at: https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab/articles/fungus-amungus
[Accessed 1 October 2020].

Project Development – Notes

| Phil Hill
Figure 1: Phil Hill (June, 2020) Wais.
Figure 2: Phil Hill (July, 2020) Disused Rail, Watford.

In the description for my last WIPP submission I stated: “Watford, a commuter town between city and countryside.” I feel that I only really had half an awareness of what I meant by this in the sense that my focus on the work has been focused on the collection of portraits (Fig: 1), which I believe is one of my strengths however, potentially at the detriment of other elements of the project considered only secondary (Fig: 2). There needs to be a more focused development on these other images within the broader narrative of my work.

Alys Tomlinson has discussed that within her own investigations, the relationship between the people and the land that they inhabit is of fundamental importance, which is why she remain fixed to a location and explores within (2019). The link in the land to the people could start with investigating Watford as a commuter hub and also in its position between countryside and urban; at what point does the countryside become suburban, and then urban. I feel that it would be good to resolve the idea of a place between places; especially as we are undergoing some fundamental societal changes, which place different priorities on the commuter associations of Watford ad what Malcom Beynon et al refer to as ‘Rurality’ (2016), yet not something that necessarily quantifiable, as Weisheit et al note: “Like concepts such as “truth,” “beauty,” or “justice,” everyone knows the term rural, but no one can define the term very precisely” (1995, p. 6).

An area of research I am finding useful is in the agency of the object, or specifically the impact that the qualities of the object have on the construction and the reading of the image. My focus for the last module was in the portrait but also in the medium that I chose to create the work. I took special care to really consider the qualities of the black and white image and see how it has a fundamental impact on the outcome of the image. In my feedback, there was a question of ‘flatness’ in the presentation of the photographs, something which, I felt was reflective of the place that I am photographing however, something that I did not spend enough time discussing in my reflections. It would be useful to experiment with different methods of editing. I also made connection to the location of Watford through the use of design and colour of my zine, this can continue through the use of medium; I have been photographing on Kodak film, which had a significant presence in the area. Watford was also between two Kodak production sites in Hemel Hempstead and Harrow, continuing the link to the place and the idea of being in between.

My aim was to start drawing attention to the process of the photograph to somehow separate it from the sea of images and also create an awareness of it being photographed. Black and serves this purpose because of its contrast to the concrete world as we perceive it. The switch black and white also represents an opportunity to re-visit some of the initial work that I undertook to see if there are any locations that would be worth re-visiting. This would be useful research tool in order to re-consider anything overlooked previously.

Bibliography

Beynon, M., Cawley, A. & Munday, M., 2016. Measuring and Understanding the differences between urban and rural areas, a new approach for planners. Environment and Planning B. Urban Analytics and city Science, 43(6).

Tomlinson, A., 2019. The Messy Truth – Alys Tomlinson on Awards [Interview] (11 November 2019).

Weisheit, D. R. A., Wells, D. L. E. & Falcone, D. D. N., 1995. Crime and Policing in Rural and Small Town America: An overview of the issues, s.l.: National Institute of Justice.

Research Methods

| Phil Hill

For this module, I intend to focus my research into testing a number of ideas ready for the FMP. I have spent the last three modules looking at the idea of community and my connection to it, which has been fairly outward in its focus when actually, my work is about me. My aim is to broaden my reading to consider theory outside of the field of photography. For example, Ferdinand Toiness defines two types of community: Gemeinschaft (family, personal, emotional connection) and Gessellschaft (societal, impersonal, civic connection) (2001). My project has been very much based in the Gessellschaft and I realised during the break that I should also consider more of an emotional and personal connection to the work that I am creating, which could result in a stronger body of work.

My feedback reflected this for the last module in how I need to create more metaphor in my non-portraits, which also create a link between the people and the land they inhabit. My research will center on this and bring in anthropological elements to hopefully make the links I am currently lacking

I also have a number of plans to produce work, either directly from my research projects, or related to the ideas that I exploring in more of a commercially focussed way. As David Campany notes: “The commercial images that survive their principle function are the ones that are better than the principle function required, or deserved” (2020, p. 26), which suggests that it is possible to create meaningful work that exists in both the commercial and conceptual spheres, yet able to transcend the context of commerciality.

Figure 1: Alys Tomlinson (2019) From ‘ex-voto’
Alys Tomlinson

Tomlinson’s work is deeply rooted in research and underpinned by her anthropological approach to her subjects. Her own MA was in the field of Anthropology and it was during that time, which she created the body of work ‘ex-voto’ (Fig:1) Her use of black and white is what drew me to the images in the first place and how she discussed the way that she made this switch from colour from a need to slow down her practice and be more considered. The initial work that led to the switch then became part of her research and informed the final body of work. Tomlinson had an increased awareness of the location she was photographing and how the people were linked to the land, which she was able to consider from all of the initial visits to the location and also the initial images, even if they are in colour.

Figure 2: Bryan Schutmaat (2015) From ‘Grays the Mountain Send’
Bryan Schutmaat

Schutmaat’s approach is based in the first-hand experience of the area steeped in its own mythology (Fig:2). Schutmaat avoids detailed research into the history of a location and instead reads regional literature and works to understand the culture by observation and also by talking with local people and spending time where people are. Schutmaat’s approach is in the construction of the place, which is supported by an overview of the area beforehand. This creates discovery, and as he put it “inventing a sense of place” (Schutmaat in Pollock: 2011) Although, in interview, Schutmaat is trying to steer away from the idea of a research based approach, it is clear that it exists in his images. It makes sense to look at regional literature that might seek to create an ideal when Schutmaat is working to create a mythology in his work.

Applied to my practice

Tomlinson takes a very anthropological approach to her photographic work, clearly driven by her own Anthropological background. When looking at the forum for this week, it is clear that anthropology is an area of significance when considering photographic studies that explore concepts similar to my own research project – connection, identity, community. I aim to bring this area of research into the centre of my reading for this module and start to see how the theory can really underpin and clarify what I am aiming to achieve within my own work.

I find Schutmaat’s approach to researching his subjects quite interesting too. The use of literature about an area and the culture could prove useful to developing my research project. It is something that I did – without realising – during informing contexts as I utilised Junichiro Tanizaki’s ‘In Praise of Shadow’s’ (2001) to support the development of my project during the lock down period. A more focused approach to this could be useful and finding material and literature that is set in the area that I am trying to photograph.

Bibliography

Campany, D., 2020. On Photographs. 1 ed. London: Thames and Hudson.

Pollock, D., n.d. BRYAN SCHUTMAAT. THE PROCESS OF DISCOVERY. [Online]
Available at: https://urbanautica.com/interview/bryan-schutmaat-the-process-of-discovery/348 [Accessed 22 September 2020].

Tanizaki, J., 2001. In Praise of Shadows. London: Vintage.

Tönnies, F., 2001. Community and Civil Society. Translation ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.