Outlining the most important and the most relevant points of the book called
"Researching the Visual"
RESEARCHING THE VISUAL
Michael Emmison and Philip Smith
The book gives different ideas about the visual and the way it's perceived and how it's accepted and so on and so forth, a lot of interesting facts.
For example, in the very beginning the authors link us to different writers like Prior and Foucault..
(p.5)
"..'A case can be made for sociology of space rather than a sociological geography.'(1988:87) through focusing not so much on the spatial relationships which exist between buildings, settlement patterns and the link characteristics of urban landscapes, but on the internal features of buildings- upon their architectural configurations.
Prior's own work on the changing architecture of hospitals draws extensively upon Foucault in developing a discursive conception of spatial organisation, knowledge and control.
Faucault's example of the panopticon and gaze similarly can be very easily seen as a major contribution to theorizing the role of the visual in social life, more particularly their links to power and social control."
So the book begins with the musing around the general urban landscape of buildings and structures and the actual inner world of those buildings, we see how the big and the small can co-exist and depend on each other.
To me, it's an interesting start when it comes to thinking about how an installation can be connected to the structure of the building/gallery (venue) itself:
-in design
-or in size
-or in the interesting way the ceiling is structured for instanse
-or may be put the exterior design and the interior (corner/installation) in odds,
-or vice versa, play with the balconies and put the whole structure in a perfectly matching visual details. It is very cosy for the audience to come and explore it, as it feels easier and more comfortable (Burberry's Regent street, ex-cinema venue converted into the large store and with a real cleaver use of space)
EXAMPLE ONE- PURE EVIL GALLERY
EXAMPLE TWO- BURBERRY REGENT STREET
EXAMPLE THREE- DENIS SIMACHEV SHOP&BAR (MOSCOW)
The authors also say (p.6-7)
" All aspects of the room- the oak panelling, leather chairs, high ceilings, the glass-fronted bookcases, the spatial arrangements of the tables, the presence of the uniformed commissionaire- convey the formality and solemnity of the occasion:
'This is a room in which serious matters are discussed: the room has a presence that is forced upon our consciousness. This is a room that, even when unoccupied, impresses on the visitor a solemn demeanour and subdued speech. When occupied it retains its solemnity, and speech is now formal, carefully spoken, and a matter for the public record' (Stimson, 1986: 643)
EXAMPLE - COMPARE THESE TWO/ IMAGINE HOW YOU FEEL AND HOW YOU SPEAK WHEN YOU ENTER
'Words spoken in this room, evidence, deliberations, and disposals, become part of this history.' (Stimson, 1986:645) "
So I think it's an interesting point, it is important to choose a right venue, to create a special atmosphere. A kitschy but stylist paintings (like by Pure Evil Gallery examples I've shown earlier) can relax the tension on an expensive place or brighten up and empty gallery. If the place is a pure kitsch it much look cheap and tacky. Same with the expensive items. Depends on the state I would want my audience to get into when they enter the store/gallery and see the installation or see the visually merchandised display..
It is also obvious that the installation is a metaphor in a way and the authors remind about it taking the example of printed media:
(p.11)
"For many forms of publication, from newspapers and magazines to books on cooking and art history as well as many branches of natural science, 'the visual' is an integral component:
'the pages of the scientific journal such as Nature depend upon depictions: tables, graphs, scattergrams, maps, sketches- all of those and more are to be found in the articles it publishes. The science that it reproduces would be impossible without visualisation' (Fyfe and Law, 1988:3, emphasis in original) "
The authors mention that the natural sciences tend to be more specific about the visualisation whereas the sociological sciences are a bit less exact.
EXAMPLE- ANATOMY&PSYCHOLOGY
Then they move onto the photography saying that it became a popular object for analysis of perception and representation relatively not so long ago.
And therefore, it can be a good tool to manipulate and speak my own creative language with the viewer, I reckon.
Might be a very good idea to select the series of sketches or a photo set. The books mentioned Becker, whose idea is relevant to be mentioned now:
(p.25)
"For Becker the most important way in which the photographic explorations of social life can be made more sophisticated (sociologically) is for the researcher to avoif the accumulation of isolated images and seek instead to photograph 'sequences of action' which try to capture something of dynamic aspects of social organisation or the patterns that cause and affect."
THEN, there are some ways of using the photography- conventional distinctions mentioned
(27-29), according to Jon Wagner's theory:
-photographs as interview stimuli (i.e. pictures shown to conduct a survey)
-systematic recording (i.e. when recording a bird-life, etc.)
-content analysis of naive photographs (i.e. mix of what happens when the photographer with his idea collaborates with an advertisement shoot enquiry)
-native image-making (idea to discover world-wide views on something)
-documentary photography
To me, it's a good way to once again, remind myself, what the display should contain of, should it TELL a story for example, or should it give an idea TO THINK of a story?
(p.28) " 'the first involves using photographs in the conventional sense of data gathering.. visual sociologists also study photographs produced by the culture for example in advertising, newspapers or family photo albums...Some sociologists take photographs to study the visual world, whereas others analyse photographs others have taken' (Harper, 1988: 55)"
There is a reference to John Scott in the book:
"The use of various props, backgrounds, and poses were subject to changing fashions; moreover 'the subjects in the studio photographs have in general acquiesced in the aesthetic contexts chosen for the pictures' (1991:193)'"
so here comes to semiotics science and the meaning research, to me , it is another reminder of how I can adapt the means of expression and attributes in my final work to express the pre-thought idea.
Another interesting idea from this book can be found in the paragraph titled "The analysis of video recordings of natural interaction", as I am hoping to make a video for the installation..
"The major innovation in this context has been the work of researchers in the field of conversation analysis who have provided both an elaborate conceptual framework for analysing sequences of actions, and equally importantly, a transcription notation system which allowed the details of interaction to be recorded and subject to be recorded the investigation"
So I think it's an another reminder of possible ways of using the moving image in my project..
And then on the page 67, I found another important thing, that I should not forget about Narrative and Reading..
"Narrative involves a story line. This can be achieved through a series of images or else can be projected onto a single image by imagining what could happen in the past and perhaps, what is going to happen next; Reading- this is the process of decoding the image"
I've just reached the point when i have to start explaining the video part of my research, I was wondering if I could produce a video with animation whilst on this course.
Here's a video with animation that covers the idea of aesthetic I really adore!
p.82 "in the last decade or so cartoons and comic strips have begun to receive more attention, particularly from feminist communications researchers who have argued that they are important sites for reinforcing stereotypical gender assumptions."
As we know, many photos and pictures/painting can be observed from the semiotics point of view, so there is an anthropological connection between objects and their makers. Which is so important as a CORE of any installation. There is an inspiration behind, there is a story, and there is a maker..
Also, I find it interesting to see how the book classifies the purposes of the venue, i.e. Museum:
(p.121) "Henrietta Lidchi (1997:159) suggests there are several significant features to museums:
-Representation: refers to the claims of the museum to reflect some larger order of phenomena in microcosm
-Classification deals with the way that the museum divides objects to themes
-Motivations refers to purpose of the museum
-Interpretation is the function of museums to provide a coherent understanding of the purpose of its exhibits and to place them within a broader framework of meaning"
/ ALL LINKS :
SAGE PUBLICATIONS
2004
/videos and photo examples- selected by me
"Researching the Visual"
RESEARCHING THE VISUAL
Michael Emmison and Philip Smith
The book gives different ideas about the visual and the way it's perceived and how it's accepted and so on and so forth, a lot of interesting facts.
For example, in the very beginning the authors link us to different writers like Prior and Foucault..
(p.5)
"..'A case can be made for sociology of space rather than a sociological geography.'(1988:87) through focusing not so much on the spatial relationships which exist between buildings, settlement patterns and the link characteristics of urban landscapes, but on the internal features of buildings- upon their architectural configurations.
Prior's own work on the changing architecture of hospitals draws extensively upon Foucault in developing a discursive conception of spatial organisation, knowledge and control.
Faucault's example of the panopticon and gaze similarly can be very easily seen as a major contribution to theorizing the role of the visual in social life, more particularly their links to power and social control."
So the book begins with the musing around the general urban landscape of buildings and structures and the actual inner world of those buildings, we see how the big and the small can co-exist and depend on each other.
To me, it's an interesting start when it comes to thinking about how an installation can be connected to the structure of the building/gallery (venue) itself:
-in design
-or in size
-or in the interesting way the ceiling is structured for instanse
-or may be put the exterior design and the interior (corner/installation) in odds,
-or vice versa, play with the balconies and put the whole structure in a perfectly matching visual details. It is very cosy for the audience to come and explore it, as it feels easier and more comfortable (Burberry's Regent street, ex-cinema venue converted into the large store and with a real cleaver use of space)
EXAMPLE ONE- PURE EVIL GALLERY
EXAMPLE TWO- BURBERRY REGENT STREET
The authors also say (p.6-7)
" All aspects of the room- the oak panelling, leather chairs, high ceilings, the glass-fronted bookcases, the spatial arrangements of the tables, the presence of the uniformed commissionaire- convey the formality and solemnity of the occasion:
'This is a room in which serious matters are discussed: the room has a presence that is forced upon our consciousness. This is a room that, even when unoccupied, impresses on the visitor a solemn demeanour and subdued speech. When occupied it retains its solemnity, and speech is now formal, carefully spoken, and a matter for the public record' (Stimson, 1986: 643)
EXAMPLE - COMPARE THESE TWO/ IMAGINE HOW YOU FEEL AND HOW YOU SPEAK WHEN YOU ENTER
So I think it's an interesting point, it is important to choose a right venue, to create a special atmosphere. A kitschy but stylist paintings (like by Pure Evil Gallery examples I've shown earlier) can relax the tension on an expensive place or brighten up and empty gallery. If the place is a pure kitsch it much look cheap and tacky. Same with the expensive items. Depends on the state I would want my audience to get into when they enter the store/gallery and see the installation or see the visually merchandised display..
It is also obvious that the installation is a metaphor in a way and the authors remind about it taking the example of printed media:
(p.11)
"For many forms of publication, from newspapers and magazines to books on cooking and art history as well as many branches of natural science, 'the visual' is an integral component:
'the pages of the scientific journal such as Nature depend upon depictions: tables, graphs, scattergrams, maps, sketches- all of those and more are to be found in the articles it publishes. The science that it reproduces would be impossible without visualisation' (Fyfe and Law, 1988:3, emphasis in original) "
The authors mention that the natural sciences tend to be more specific about the visualisation whereas the sociological sciences are a bit less exact.
EXAMPLE- ANATOMY&PSYCHOLOGY
Then they move onto the photography saying that it became a popular object for analysis of perception and representation relatively not so long ago.
And therefore, it can be a good tool to manipulate and speak my own creative language with the viewer, I reckon.
Might be a very good idea to select the series of sketches or a photo set. The books mentioned Becker, whose idea is relevant to be mentioned now:
(p.25)
"For Becker the most important way in which the photographic explorations of social life can be made more sophisticated (sociologically) is for the researcher to avoif the accumulation of isolated images and seek instead to photograph 'sequences of action' which try to capture something of dynamic aspects of social organisation or the patterns that cause and affect."
THEN, there are some ways of using the photography- conventional distinctions mentioned
(27-29), according to Jon Wagner's theory:
-photographs as interview stimuli (i.e. pictures shown to conduct a survey)
-systematic recording (i.e. when recording a bird-life, etc.)
-content analysis of naive photographs (i.e. mix of what happens when the photographer with his idea collaborates with an advertisement shoot enquiry)
-native image-making (idea to discover world-wide views on something)
-documentary photography
To me, it's a good way to once again, remind myself, what the display should contain of, should it TELL a story for example, or should it give an idea TO THINK of a story?
(p.28) " 'the first involves using photographs in the conventional sense of data gathering.. visual sociologists also study photographs produced by the culture for example in advertising, newspapers or family photo albums...Some sociologists take photographs to study the visual world, whereas others analyse photographs others have taken' (Harper, 1988: 55)"
There is a reference to John Scott in the book:
"The use of various props, backgrounds, and poses were subject to changing fashions; moreover 'the subjects in the studio photographs have in general acquiesced in the aesthetic contexts chosen for the pictures' (1991:193)'"
so here comes to semiotics science and the meaning research, to me , it is another reminder of how I can adapt the means of expression and attributes in my final work to express the pre-thought idea.
Another interesting idea from this book can be found in the paragraph titled "The analysis of video recordings of natural interaction", as I am hoping to make a video for the installation..
"The major innovation in this context has been the work of researchers in the field of conversation analysis who have provided both an elaborate conceptual framework for analysing sequences of actions, and equally importantly, a transcription notation system which allowed the details of interaction to be recorded and subject to be recorded the investigation"
So I think it's an another reminder of possible ways of using the moving image in my project..
And then on the page 67, I found another important thing, that I should not forget about Narrative and Reading..
"Narrative involves a story line. This can be achieved through a series of images or else can be projected onto a single image by imagining what could happen in the past and perhaps, what is going to happen next; Reading- this is the process of decoding the image"
I've just reached the point when i have to start explaining the video part of my research, I was wondering if I could produce a video with animation whilst on this course.
Here's a video with animation that covers the idea of aesthetic I really adore!
p.82 "in the last decade or so cartoons and comic strips have begun to receive more attention, particularly from feminist communications researchers who have argued that they are important sites for reinforcing stereotypical gender assumptions."
As we know, many photos and pictures/painting can be observed from the semiotics point of view, so there is an anthropological connection between objects and their makers. Which is so important as a CORE of any installation. There is an inspiration behind, there is a story, and there is a maker..
Also, I find it interesting to see how the book classifies the purposes of the venue, i.e. Museum:
(p.121) "Henrietta Lidchi (1997:159) suggests there are several significant features to museums:
-Representation: refers to the claims of the museum to reflect some larger order of phenomena in microcosm
-Classification deals with the way that the museum divides objects to themes
-Motivations refers to purpose of the museum
-Interpretation is the function of museums to provide a coherent understanding of the purpose of its exhibits and to place them within a broader framework of meaning"
/ ALL LINKS :
SAGE PUBLICATIONS
2004
/videos and photo examples- selected by me
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