Evaluation

1.  What skills have you developed through this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them?
·       I am quite surprised that I have been able to understand and analyse the texts studied to the extent that I have. I have had support from a study support officer which has helped me break down the reading into manageable sections so that I can focus on gaining understanding. From there I made points and extracted relevant quotes as a form of analysis which I then spent time thinking about as to how they could be applied. ·       Because of this I could explore the theories in response to the quotes through the development of my journal by applying the ideas to image analysis (ie. the album covers) and then to the journal by exploring ways to visually represent the conversation between analogue and digital reproduction. ·       Alongside this project I have been introduced to producing artwork digitally, in particular Photoshop and Illustrator, which were totally new to me. I needed to apply my experimentation on other modules to this module to extend my skills, which were all analogue up to this point. ·       The most challenging aspect I have found is the way vectors are used to create shapes rather than lines. I am still not entirely comfortable with this but I have tried! I can see the similarities of this way of working with colography as they are both shape-based. ·       I used my Wacom tablet for the first time as part of the project. This was a way of bridging the gap between analogue and digital crafting. As an illustrator I liked the outcomes because they have an aura, showing the maker’s hand and yet are created digitally and so can be reproduced with the advantages of digitalisation.
2. What approaches to/methods of research have you developed and how have they informed your practical outcomes? ·       I have found it extremely useful breaking the research into small stages to ensure that I have a solid understanding of the theories/ principles studied in the texts. The reading skills which I have been helped with I can apply myself in future now I fully appreciate how to go about such tasks, which will give me more independence and confidence. ·       I found it helpful to be limited to a number of key theorists who I then could see how they represented a debate which took place over time. ·       To understand their arguments and their ideas I found it helpful to focus on direct quotes, building a list for each key theorist. This has been important to making sure that every experiment was directly connected to the theories and allowed me to connect the image making experiments. ·       I became clear of the common theme through connecting the quotes so that my image making supported by my essay writing allowed me to visually portray the conversation between the theorists, so everything in the project married together.
3. What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these?
·       Essay writing has always been a huge challenge for me in the past and, being able to produce a series of linked essays which I feel confident in explaining and presenting, has been a huge achievement for me. ·       I know that essay writing needs to be a long process for me and requires me to work in lots of small bursts on focused pieces of reading. This is so that I can process what I have learnt and begin to become analytical. Therefore, I have done lots of work on the essays frequently over a long period of time to draft, reorganise, develop and finalise them. ·       Because this module spans over the whole year it means that there has been lots of time to process the theories and think of ways to explore and communicate them. This has suited me well as I have been able to reflect on what I have learnt in the other modules and keep this thread of thinking going at all times. This has resulted in some of my best ideas coming at strange times, such as on breaks or overnight. I enjoyed the time to reflect and spend time organising my thinking and developing experiments. ·       I feel that I have used a range of different media to respond in my journal and I was able to draw on the printmaking techniques which I have always really enjoyed. I look forward to being introduced to further printmaking techniques to expand my options for reproduction. ·       I think I have remained focused on the theme of analogue versus digital reproduction and there is nothing in my visual journal which is not part of this conversation.
4. What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these in the future?
·       I find ordering my thoughts and constructing essays in an order which is easy to read for other people difficult, but am finding that with support I can tackle this in order to become more independent. ·       I have really struggled with labelling the blogs and linking these to different study tasks. I like to be more spontaneous about my blogging as I get ideas for them from a wide range of inspirations, rather than from the set tasks. It is therefore not easy to fit them into the expected format afterwards. I feel that my blogging is more holistic in response to the ideas I am developing personally than in response to tasks which I don’t always find help my thinking at the best time. ·       When I first write essays they are always way over the word count and then I struggle to choose the important pieces of information and analysis to keep. This is because everything, to me, is important and interesting. I have needed help in organising the lines of argument but feel that, as I cut words, I have lost some of the interesting facts and ideas along the way. What I am unclear about is on what basis I should be cutting, rather than keeping, writing as I am unsure what the mark scheme will be looking for. ·       I have worked a lot on the research in hard copy before putting anything on my blog because I find it easier to work with paper copies and handwritten notes. I am aware that I should have added to my blog more regularly at each of the different stages, tracking my thoughts and processes, but was working in hard copy at these earlier stages. I too am stuck in the analogue-digital divide! ·       I feel that I will be perceived as not being very active in the sessions. I am active in the discussions and in giving feedback to others. But I find it really hard to generate written ideas, understand tasks and process thoughts quickly and in a public space. I need to work through the tasks and research in an enclosed quiet space. Therefore I find that I really have had to create work/basically complete the whole COP module at home. This has been in 45 minute bursts, when I am not too tired, without music and when in the right frame of mind. This is different to the way I have worked on other modules. The is because of the need to process the ideas.
5. Identify five things that you feel will benefit you during next years Context of Practice module?
·       That I feel I really am begin to have a solid understanding of the theories provided and am genuinely interested in exploring them much further and going off on tangents into specifics, some of which I have already identified. ·       I will enjoy reading around this more over the summer as wider research. ·       The theme I am following is a debate that is ongoing, especially in the digital age in which we live, and so I am sure there will be even further exploration of reproduction and technological development. I will need to keep up to date with this. ·       Keeping on top of a visual journal is an important aspect of developing thinking and image making and I will need to make sure that I manage the work of research, journal keeping and essay writing throughout the next year. I know this needs to be balanced against other deadlines. ·       I need to take up opportunities to explore as many ways as possible of reproduction to expand my practical understanding of image making. This will need to be both digital and analogue methods. I would like to explore some of the methods I have seen used in my research and try them myself to think about how they might be adapted using modern digital methods.
6.How would you grade yourself on the following areas: (please indicate using an ‘x’)  5= excellent, 4 = very good, 3 = good, 2 = average, 1 = poor
	1	2	3	4	5
Attendance			x
Punctuality				x
Motivation					x
Commitment				x
Quantity of work produced				x
Quality of work produced					x
Contribution to the group			x
The evaluation of your work is an important part of the assessment criteria and represents a percentage of the overall grade. It is essential that you give yourself enough time to complete your written evaluation fully and with appropriate depth and level of self-reflection. If you have any questions relating to the self-evaluation process speak to a member of staff as soon as possible.

ISSUU Presentation

Study Task 8 - Reflection

•My key findings

•I have been challenged to consider how people think about originality and reproduction.

•I have also found out how artists have responded to new opportunities provided as technology has developed as well as how art critics and artists have reflected on its impact. It was important to research this over time to hear the debates and how they too have developed

•I have been able to hear views on the benefits, suitability and problems associated with both analogue, digital and merging both methods when image making.

•My emerging interests

•I’ve found researching the ideas of analogue and digital, and getting to grips with what has been written and published about this really interesting and I want to explore this more specifically, to develop an expertise in this and find a niche.

•I’m really interested in the music dimension to this. I see a parallel in how new technologies for creative design and mass reproduction have affected album covers (and presumably also gig posters, although I have not researched this as yet). I am interested in the connections between the designs used to represent and advertise music and how the choices of method of reproduction relate to the identity of the bands and the vision for the associated music.

Synthesis

I think that everything I have done has been really connected and a thorough exploration of the quotes following the theories of Benjamin, Berger, Douglas and Taylor.