This assignment is intended to explore issues surrounding the ‘real’ in contemporary society. I decided to analyse these issues with reference to photographic portraiture using the title ‘Reality and the Photographic Portrait’. This is in fact the theme that I plan to adopt for my final photography course ‘Your Own Portfolio (YOP)’. I took the opportunity to carry out research for this assignment which will have value for my photographic work. It has turned out to be a very useful project giving me lots of ideas to pursue.
Richard Brilliant suggests that a portrait’s success ‘depends on [the artist’s] ability to manifest the peculiarities of appearance and character in a manner that is both accessible and satisfactory to the viewer’. He goes on to suggest that the nature of the artist’s response is affected by three questions: ‘What do I (you, he she, we, or they) look like?’, ‘What am I (you, she, he etc.) like?’ and ‘Who am I (you, etc.)?’. I used these questions as a means of organising my analysis for this essay and I am also planning to use it for structuring my photographic investigation for YOP.
My essay can be read here:
Reality and the Photographic Portrait
And my tutor’s feedback, which was very positive here:
This is the last post I will be making in this blog about the UVC course which I have now officially completed. I will miss the mental stimulus that it has provided. I plan to look out for some short courses which will help me keep my learning development in critical studies going. I was interested in the short courses at the Courtauld Institute which my fellow OCA student Vicki is attending but the dates did not fit with my other plans. I am also aware of courses run by The Photographer’s Gallery. I will probably post my learning from any future courses on my main blog http://photo-graph.org .
I have thoroughly enjoyed the Understanding Visual Culture course. I did it for ‘fun’ and it was fun in a way. A better description might be ‘challenging’. Given time constraints and having to prioritise my photographic work (which is to be submitted for assessment) I am not sure I did the course full justice. There are still many ‘grey’ areas in my understanding of some of the issues the course tackled. What I did get from the course more than anything was a great overview of the range of issues which need to be considered in the Critical Analysis of Visual Culture. I now have a good overview of the subject, if not a detailed understanding across the board. It also taught me what kind of questions to ask. I would like to thank my tutor Dr Pauline Rose, who was very patient when my assignments took a lot longer than expected and who always gave very comprehensive and constructive feedback.
Onwards to Photography 3: Your Own Portfolio my final course for my degree.
Understanding Visual Culture - KRG Learning Blog 
Siegfried Ip
/ June 13, 2013Congratulation on finishing the module. I was thinking of this course, so it is great that you post some material online to give me a glimpse of what it is like.
Keith Greenough
/ June 27, 2013Thanks Siegfried…hope the material is useful.
Catherine
/ June 27, 2013Great on completing and a pity it won’t be formally assessed. One aspect I’ve particularly appreciated throughout this blog is the way you’ve managed to condense complicated ‘philosophical’ thinking and make it more accessible to understanding the concepts.
Keith Greenough
/ June 27, 2013Thanks Catherine…you know I still find many of the complicated ideas impenetrable but some progress has been made.