Tutor reports

Please click here for tutor reports on Assignments 1-5.

Feedback from Assignment 5

The feedback was very positive: "this was a very impressive submission, which I have judged as outstanding across all four criteria."

Tutor note how I have progressed from an "intelligent cynicism about the course to an understanding of how you might use it to enhance [my]  appreciation of everything from contemporary cinema to [my] partner's poetry and from your experience of a visit to the Tata to an analysis of your own photographs"

This one paragraph does summarise very well an eleven month journey grappling with some difficult concepts, and trying to be open-minded while endeavouring to understand. It is easy to give up, to blame the message rather than one's understanding thereof. There has always been a slight tendency to see the light side of things - 'wry humour' tutor calls it - as an antidote to the complexity of the concepts and the ways in which they are enunciated. 

Tutor expands on some of the concepts, noting how Farid and Turkle set out that new technology is somehow a new phenomenon. It isn't; as tutor says, the printing press was a major trigger of the Reformation. I would add that the camera was a (emphasize 'a')  precursor of Modernism as artists moved away from copying visual reality.

Two things really came home to me in this chapter and the Assignment:

1. How all pervasive the concept of reality is. I watched the first in the series The Secrets of Quantum Physics on BBC4 recently. The presenter sets out the differing views of Einstein that there is an objective reality, as against Niels Bohr's contention that there is no reality until something can be measured or observed (Schrödinger's Cat experiment discussed in this section set out to debunk the Bohr theory. This really gets ot the nub of existence itself;
2. As a corollary, how important it is to visual culture. The course did not explore children's TV or cartoons, but of course the latter (entirely) and the former (mostly) are all about exciting the young viewer's imagination of an alternative world, as were books by the likes of Lewis Carroll on which many of the films and series are based. In a less obvious way, I wish to explore this further in Photography 2. Landscapes are, prima facie, as close to an objective reality as you can get, but our portrayal of landscapes is anything but. 

This was a high on which to finish, very pleased with reports generally and this one in particular.

Feedback from Assignment 4

Received feedback from tutor on my Assignment on the portrayal of women in sport

Am very pleased with the comments:

"This is an impressive submission, which I have judged as excellent across all four criteria. I particularly liked your discussion of the representation of women in sport. which I thought raised very important questions about the ability of cultural theory to keep up with changes in technology as well as with what is new and significant in popular culture."

It is particularly gratifying that tutor notes my attempts to present visual culture as far as possible in a contemporary way. A major paradox of reading books and periodicals as source of understanding and reference for visual culture is that they are two dimensional, static, and often include minimal examples of  the very visual element about which they write. I have tried to use the blog as a medium to include colour images, and short video clips. There is an argument that perhaps at least one Assignment should be presented entirely as a visual presentation. 

I spent a long time researching the Assignment, reviewing and reading many articles, as tutor notes, and several that are not included, either because out of date (this is a fast moving subject); using inadequate research (I used mainly the work of researchers who had performed substantive studies); or would have made the essay too long. Most articles were found online, but I bought a few from subscription sites, including a few that were not incorporated in the essay. 'Less is more' is an important adage when writing essays within a prescriptive word count; there is a temptation to include too much and lose the thread, a point by implication that tutor notes:

"Your research is indicated by your references to twenty different sources in your bibliography, all of which you evaluate with an enviable ease and discrimination in the text."

Tutor highlights that I use Mulvey's distinction between voyeuristic and fetishistic gaze; the idea for the Assignment came to me while reading the article, as it seemed to me that the portrayal of women in sport probably demonstrates Mulvey's argument better than the movies she used as examples (with due recognition that she wrote some time before there was significant female participation in top level sport).

My use of statistics and related issues such as health are viewed by tutor as 'admirable'; I thought it important that while the topic needs be discussed against the backdrop of an academic study (that was, after all, the brief), it should also be placed, as tutor says 'in wider context of sexism.'

Tutor would have liked more discussion of the Nike advert of Maria Sharpova. The YouTube clip was included only as a sort of taster within the abstract, as sort of visual update on Berger's well known passge of 40 years ago, that was included above it. I considered that Nike cleverly parodied our (male and female) instinct to view the likes of Sharapova as beautiful and glamorous rather than as a great tennis player. Tutor considers that the likes of the bellboy, receptionists etc admire Sharapova because 'she is a great deal less successful than she is.' Not sure of the exact meaning of this statement, but the 'decisive moment', in Cartier Bresson terms, of the clip is when Sharapova serves, drawing breath from the audience and stopping the 'I Feel Pretty' song in its stride. She is (as at 19 October 2014) ranked world number 2, and has won five Grand Slams over ten years: two French Opens, and one of each of US, Australian, and Wimbledon. That is sporting success in anyone's books, and gives Sharapova a sporting kudos as well as celebrity status. By comparison, Anna Kournikova's celebrity status was undermined in a sporting sense by an absence of singles success, an injury at just 21 forcing her retirement. She did win two Grand Slam doubles titles with Maria Hingis (source: Wikipedia).

In hindsight, taking tutor's point, it might have been better to have used the clip rather than the Colombian cycling team as the lead, the instigator, of the essay and use the image as an example of the ridicule (albeit self imposed by one of the female team). The furore over the Colombian women's cycling team's uniform coincided with the idea for the Assignment.

More generally, tutor appreciates the common sense approach, using the discussion around the black maid in Tom and Jerry cartoons as an example. We should be empathetic to the Zeitgeist of the time when material was written and created; it is not a question of the portrayal being 'wrong at the time', it is a question of what is socially acceptable in a more understanding, broad-minded society than existed 50 years ago. Discrimination of any kind (sexism, racism, anti Semitism to quote a few) devalues us as individuals and as a society, but it is foolish to pretend that what we now see as discrimination would have been seen as the natural order of things in the past.

Lastly, tutor considers my discussion of Simba might have benefited from more discussion of the relationship between Alan and Mary and how it 'helped to underscore the portrayal of racial differences.' Fair point, as a subtlety of the movie is the premise white people have loving relationships, whereas the only personal relationship between blacks in the movie is that between the liberal Dr Karanja, attempting to bridge the gap between the races, and his father, Simba, the local Mau Mau leader and perpetrator of much of the violence against whites. Having viewed Battle of Algiers first, I was more inclined to make the comparisons (as noted by tutor, in grid style) and the second movie eschews any significant personal angle.

Feedback from Assignment 3

Received feedback very promptly from A3. Tutor judges as very good across all four criteria. Pleased with that, although I actually though it was better then the previous two, both judged as excellent. 

Summary reads thus:

Once again I was impressed in this assignment by the independent way in which you questioned the texts that you were asked to read. In this case, however, I am not sure if I am right but I felt that I detected an even greater note of frustration in your response to both Freud and Barthes, which I have tried to address in my comments.

The reference to Freud comes about as tutor comments at length on my commentary for the first project for Chapter 4, not strictly part of the Assignment that is being reviewed. Comments are helpful in my understanding of Freud but not specifically addressed in this post.

Reflections

Tutor comments on clear exposition of Barthes' theories and research skills in going "beyond the material to make comparisons to Foucault and others. In your discussion of the ideas of Anandi Ramamurthy, John Tagg and Stuart Hall you gave full rein to your critical evaluation skills."

Tutor makes reference to my comment that the left-wing theories of Barthes and others are outdated. He is not sure about that, but does mention that his ideas may have been overtaken by the digital revolution. I set out similar reservations in Reflections on Chapter 2 and it may well be that we agree more than might appear. A lot of left-wing criticism that I allude to during this course has been aimed at the establishment, whether wittingly or not, hiding its true its aims to retain control of media messages. That may well have been true in 1970s and 1980s; my point (and this is where there is congruence with tutor) is that society has moved on now to a point where people naturally are less inclined to believe what they are told. 

Whether it is a cause, effect or simply a correlation, the digital revolution has coincided with an era of greater informality in society; there is less respect for the professions. The digital revolution has certainly played a major part in this by making information flow quick, cheap and easy. If you have a medical problem, you can self diagnose using on line forums and websites; the doctor no longer "knows best". You can look after your own financial affairs more easily using a plethora of web based resources. It is the era of empowerment of the common man. This is why I believe the left wing criticism is somewhat dated. 

There is a danger of taking this for granted, for not recognising the subtle controlling messages that still exist as I set out in the Assignment, but it seems there is a need to understand the digital age within a theory of visual culture, a difficult challenge given the rapidity of technological advance.

Patek Philippe Advertisement

Tutor points out there are more visual signs in the advertisement that might have commented on, specifically:

•  The similarity  of the phrase to Keats' poem. I was unaware of Keats' poem so this is useful allegory;
• Contrast of the phrase to the ephemerality of the rose and glass of water  next to it;
• The juxtaposition and relative ages of the two women.  The assumption is that the woman on the right is older, possibly the other's mother. My take on this is that the relative ages are ambiguous; we don't know whether there is a blood relationship, if there is what that relationship is and probably do not need to evince the conclusion of "alleged mutability of women" to use tutor's words;
• The fact that the women are leaning forward to greet an invisible newcomer, possibly the male purchaser of the watch. This is a good point that I omitted. My only comment would be that the missing person would be more likely to be the male donor of the watch

Overall, encouraged and pleased with the comments. 

Feedback from Assignment 2

Have just received very favourable feedback from tutor on Assignment 2, just as beginning to plan Assignment 3, having now only one project to complete first. 

The overall comments are excellent in all respects:

Pleased with this as my overall enthusiasm for this subject is clearly evident. I enjoy the challenge of trying to understand the arcane language and concepts, and can generally see see the relevance of what the authors are aiming at to visual culture generally and photography in particular. My slight concerns about being too outspoken seem unfounded. It seems to be more important to say something that is justifiable in the circumstances rather than hedge one's views too much.

Looking at each work:

La Fortune, Sherrie Levine

Tutor sees that I understand the sexual overtone but points out that I could have made even more of that.

Bicycle Wheel, Sturtevant

I did well to spot that the appropriation was on a stand! To my mind, the importance of that went as far as to question why Sturtevant chose not to use the resultant portability to show the work in a non gallery situation.

Death Disco, Glenn Brown

This one of my least favourite works, I included more out of interest in the artist. Tutor suggests that Brown was furthering the fascination that Rembrandt had "in the disjunction between the image and the subject-matter." 

Sixteen Jackies, Andy Warhol

Suggestion here that the roughness of the images suggest that the photographer may have chosen any one of them to show a different mood.

Empty Room, Fischli and Weiss

I had a soft spot for this work, witty and very clever. Tutor thinks curator sees a contrast between the huge new building and the individuality of the hand tools.

Beyond the Pleasure Principle, Sarah Lucas

Tutor makes very good point that could have compared and contrasted the works in the Assignment (as I did in Assignment 1). Will note, and actually will be doing so in Assignment 3.

Feedback from Assignment 1

Received prompt and thorough feedback from tutor on Assignment 1. Very pleased that my positive thoughts about progress were reflected in the assessment with  the four assessment criteria of Knowledge & Understanding, Research, Evaluation and Communication being judged to be "Excellent" for each of the Assignment, Reading, and Learning Notes, with the sole exception being a "Very Good" for Evaluation of Reading.

The choice of artists appears to have been sound. Tutor says could have added more on Nam June Paik's work, such as that he juxtaposed new media frequently with traditional non western icons such as Buddha. True, but was concerned about writing too much.

Tutor enjoyed piece on Herman Leeson and points out that other artists, such as Marcel Duchamp, have adopted her new identity approach.

There was less to say on Höch, though tutor disagrees with my statement that she "stumbled across photomantage." as the medium is perfectly suited to her message. Absolutely, but my reading is that Höch discovered photomontage before she used it artistically, either by seeing it used by a guest house owner when on holiday with her lover, or possibly when using photomontage for work. She subsequently adopted photomontage very effectively in the work that I write about.

Other comments were favourable on Learning Log. Reading could be expanded by reading course reader. I have started this, which will slow progress on projects somewhat but expand knowledge and understanding.

All in all, feel very encouraged.