FINAL THOUGHTS

The time spent in Critique Class has been immeasurably valuable. From reading and discussion on critical issues in contemporary art, both which I had some familiarity with and others that were new to me to the consistent workshop and development of both the midterm and final projects, I have been able to expand my methodology for approaching art as a whole.  The peer approach, in which each student gives weekly feedback and critique along with the professorial relationship has expanded my output from a singular vision to a well workshopped group dynamic.

In the first project, whose original model was devised when I was first admitted into the school, as I was thinking of how I explicitly related to ‘digital intermedia’, I had various formats to consider as to how to present the work. The first iteration, which was a simple stream of photos on a website presented an interesting vantage for viewing bulk photographs, but had no finesse. The second iteration, which I transformed a few of the photographs into an ‘adbusters’ style campaign for the ‘Broca Brola’ company; a distribution company of broccoli, was humorous, but perhaps too obvious in its reformulation and appropriation of the Coca Cola visage. In the third iteration in which I created a filmic strip of the photography from left to right, it was clear in response that this was the targeted approach to move forward with. Once I had this approach, I had more formal presentation considerations to make; what material to print the images on, what size, how to present the images, on what type of material etc. The forward motion towards the final result came when I decided to create an iteration that felt as close to the Point of View perspective that I shot the photos. This plan was devised with the acquisition of van window glass that was as accurate as I could find to simulate the experience of seeing the Coca Cola truck drive past. The installation of the window glass proved problematic as I had issues with getting lighting correct. It was only once I realized that the glass would stand self balanced that I augmented the final presentation during the ‘open studio’ visit and was much happy with the result. This change from horizontal to vertical presentation reconfigured the window glass, masked their original function and allowed for better lighting and presentation of the photographs.  I plan to continue to use both the images of the Coca-Cola trucks and the window glass in future work beyond this exact project.

The final project in which I made a mock book of my father Syeus Mottel’s archival photography was exciting and invigorating because I was able to approach the archive through a specific goal and aesthetic in mind. Once I had created a single focus of the type of photography I would choose (street photography), I had created a limiting value that allowed me to make decisions and edit to select upwards of 50 images. I also recognized the constraints that this gave me, and found that even 50 or so images is more than enough for one viewing of a book. Through this project I learned about book design, layout, image editing, cropping, captions, and more. I am excited by the finished mock book, and plan to continue to working with my father’s photographic archive toward an eventual professional publication.