Progress Summary 2
Progress Summary 2
The time has now come to present the draft of the critical review.
The time has also come to definitively orient my personal choices, which will determine all the content in terms of practice, research and external projects in this unit.
To be honest, in recent weeks, I have realized that the topic of psychogeography is, on the one hand, rich and functional for developing many contents; on the other, it is so broad that if I didn't have to make choices and "narrow the things down", I would run the risk of being dispersive not only in the outcomes but also in defining my future as a practitioner.
For this reason, I'd put all the ideas on the table and think, first of all, about what I feel/choose/believe I can be as a photographer in the future.
Actually, I have already stated this before, but I have never been consistent with these statements for fear of not being academically consistent.
However, I understood that if I limit my research to support what I love to do in practice, I will easily find not only the path but also many companions and many creative references and sources of inspiration.
For all these reasons, I aim, in the critical review, for an outcome that supports, confirms and enriches my practice, which essentially consists of doing street photography.
But, as I will try to demonstrate in future works, including the critical review, combining this practice with concepts and methods such as photographic drift is not a purely philosophical exercise but an enrichment. It finds support, whether conscious or unconscious, in the work of some artists, which I intend to select and analyze as case studies.
Critical Review
I chose to set the Critical Review on the relationship between the individual and the urban environment in photography declined in the technique of psychogeographic drift and/or street photography, questioning the relationship (often denied) between photographic drift as a uniquely psychogeographical act and street photography.
In Feedback Point 4, I will submit a first draft and set up a list of potential case studies on authors who interpreted street photography and, consciously or unconsciously, the psychogeographic drift as codified by Debord.
In the critical review, I question the thesis that there is a clear separation in photography between the practice of psychogeographic drift and street photography.
Research and Study
I decided to focus on the theme of drift and its main declinations, whether linked to situationism, psychogeography, or simply the relationship of the individual with the urban environment or street photography.
I chose to study and analyze some authors who have used (even not consciously) the drift as the main feature of their visual work.
For this reason, I am collecting information, sources of consultation and documentation that will serve as a reference for my theses and conclusions.
I was happy with the feedback from my Tutor, who agreed with this approach and gave me valuable suggestions on some artists to explore further.
External Projects
Project 1: The act of walking can be seen as a pure mechanism or, instead, as an essential tool for the complete implementation of a photographic discipline.
Walking is also a practical link between more abstract concepts, such as the individual's relationship with the urban environment and photographic drift, up to another declination which, at first glance, may seem only practical: street photography.
For this reason, understanding the essence of urban walking and its social, historical and artistic meaning is an essential help.
The project is an interview with one of the founders of the Venice “Museo del Camminare” (trad. “Museum of Walking”).
The Museum, in the intentions of the founders, aims to disseminate the practice of walking as an artistic and socio-political act, drawing inspiration from Situationism. Guy Debord, Ralph Rumney and Sophie Calle.
At the time of this writing, I completed Project 1, on which I received valuable feedback in the forum from my fellow students in Feedback Point 3.
Project 2 - Postponed: Virtual photographic exhibition of some images produced in unit 3.1, with soundtrack. The exhibition should have the title “Resonances”.
As agreed with my Tutor, this initiative could be brought to Unit 3.3, or I could think of a canonical exhibition.
Project 3: Traveling "recursive" exhibition. Physically exhibit the prints of a selection of images from 3.1.
The aim is to exhibit the images in the same place where they were taken.
I thought of calling this practice "recursion: I trust can also stimulate the passer-by as an occasional viewer.
Some open points could enrich or, on the contrary, penalize the project from the point of view of the final result:
- the practical application will be made during the autumn or winter period and after more than a year from the original shooting of the photographs.
- in that particular location, it is not allowed to exhibit works on the street, not even temporarily: I should therefore aim for a "flash exhibition", one image at a time, lasting a few minutes, no more. It would be a performance, more than an exhibition, but it could work.
According to my Tutor, I should delve deeply into the meaning I intend to give this initiative and what type of outcome I expect.
Project 4: Interview and field experience with street photographer Marc De Tollenaere. I contacted Marc, who lives in Venice, and he was kind enough to make himself available for this session together.
I expect a lot from this direct experience with a well-known author who has created various street photographic works in some parts of the world.
This project could replace project 3: I await the meeting with my Tutor to make a decision.
