Representing Reality

I just came back from one of the most hectic excursions I have ever been on; 4 days, 5 cities, 2 countries, 9 galleries, 2 castles, 3 churches, an artists community and a medeival settlement. I saw well over 3000 images in theses galleries, some were huge whole wall instalations. I saw Monets' , Miros', Munchs' and Picasos'. Yet of all of these, the one that stood out for me was this note (not even a photograph) by Duane Michals; no larger than a postcard.

Image courtesy of:  http://www.reframingphotography.com/content/duane-michals
(this is not the exact one that I saw but almost)

Text reads:

A FAILED ATTEMPT TO PHOTOGRAPH REALITY


How foolish of me to have believed that it would be that easy. I had confused the appearences of trees and automobiles, and people with reality itself and believed that a photograph of these appearences to be a photograph of it. It is a melancholy truth that I will never be able to photograph reality and can only fail. I am a reflection, photographing other reflections, withing a reflection. To photograph reality is to photograph nothing.

When it comes to are as research, it is true that such reserch will not depict reality; rather a reflection of a reflection. But is that realy any different from other research?

Duane Michals lecture on Photography and Reality for the International Centre of Photography

On Blogging

Some reason I feel like I should apologise for the last post. While I like the text (mostly) and genuinely wanted to share it, but somehow it seems out of place, a bit of a cop out. Perhaps it lies in my motivation for posting, I think it was really that I wanted to post something – to keep things moving – but wasn’t sure what to write. A/r/tography has been populating most of my thoughts and so when I sit down to write, I want to write about the understandings I have come to about this methodology about living this kind of inquiry. But that would be like spoilers; like being told the story before you read the book – would it not? So I stop and don’t know what else to write.

But then again, I have played with the idea of using the blog as a “study journal”. I like the idea of study journals, it is important to spend some follow up time reflecting on articles, lectures, seminars etc, raising questions and making connections. However, I have had trouble writing them in the past. I normally need someone (normally Gábor by default) to listen to me as I reflect, comments are helpful but a “hmm” or an “I see” is enough, but a journal just doesn’t give enough response. Perhaps a blog would work, maybe I will get enough response to help me put my thought together (and give Gábor a break from listening to me).

I have also been wondering about comments on blogs, well specifically Gábor’s blog. I often have comment on his posts but he is normally sitting next to me as I read them. I want to make the comment on the blog but I can talk faster than I can type. I try to keep it in, but I can’t. But then I wonder if I should type it anyway, even once I have said it. Is that just odd?, or is it just blogging our dialogue like we blog the events in our like?

How to build a community

I got this from Keri Smith (an artist who has been fairly influential in my thoughts about my thesis topic), who got it from a flier printed by...well someone in Vancouver.

The flier (and Keri) noted "if you take this poster, make copies & pass it on!". I like the idea of one person's vision that gets passed on. Something that starts off as a small spark, a thought, that picks up momentum and grows exponentially over time. So here you are, if you like it make copies and pass it on.

How to Build a Community
turn off your tv~leave your house~know your neighbors~greet people~look up when you're walking~sit on your front steps~plant flowers~use your library~play together~buy from local merchants~share what you have~help a lost dog~take children to the park~honor elders~support neighbourhood schoools~fix it even if you didn't break it~have pot lucks~garden together~pick up litter~read stories aloud~dance in the street~talk to the mail carrier~listen to the birds~put up a swing~help someone carry something heavy~barter for your goods~start a tradition~ask a question~hire young people for odd jobs~organize a block party~bake extra and share~ask for help when you need it~open your shades~sing together~share your skills~take back the night~turn up the music~turn down the music~listen before you react to anger~mediate a conflict~seek to understand~learn from new and uncomfortable angles~know that no one is silent though many are not heard~work to change this
text: Syracuse Cultural Workers

What is knowledge? ....and what is the point of exams?

This week I made the odd decision to abandon exams. I may seem like a quitter or some nonsense like that but I think I have reason. As a student teacher I have an interest in learning (doing it and in the concept) and don’t take these things lightly.

I went along to an exam the other day for a course I had been doing; The Social Uses of Language. It has been a very interesting and useful course covering topics such as English as a Lingua Franca, Language Planning and Policy and Language and Identity. There has been a lot of reading for the course, sometimes as many a 5 articles for a 90 minute class, but on the whole they have been well selected and thought provoking. The thought provoking part is the key to where I am going here. In Oulu, with our study journals and open book exams, I have become accustomed to the idea that it is not the knowledge in the books that is important when it comes to exams but the knowledge I create from the books; my thoughts, my reflections my connection, my questions, my (attempts at) answers. Bearing this in mind; when I looked at the exam questions which wanted me to reiterate the authors knowledge presented in the articles I was a little (re. hugely) unprepared. Don’t you want to hear my knowledge? Don’t you want to know my thoughts? I have so many. In the end all I wrote was a not saying I will have to sign up for the resit.

I came home utterly disheartened. I don’t take failure well. It didn’t last long though because like I said, I have lots of thoughts so it didn’t take long for me to think about this in a different way.

To pass the exam I would need to reread all 30-something articles again using a different lens; I would need to memorise the authors’ knowledge. But do I need to memorise their knowledge when I already have my own? The answer I cane to is “only if I want to get credits”. However there are other ways to get credits, and I will always have the knowledge that was constructed though participating in the course.

I have a new plan and I am very happy.

So yes, I have abandoned the exams, I am not going to spend the month of exam leave rereading articles and memorising data and (in the case of syntax) trying to understand things that I simply don’t get. Instead I am spending the month doing concentrated work on my thesis, and I am filled with joy. It’s new and exciting and thoughts are rushing around in my head and it hurts because with a/r/tography, even the way of thinking is new and my brain is trying to resist, yet I’m inspired. I have dug out my sketchbooks but still trying to get over my nerves and make he first marks on the pages.