SUPERVISORY MEETING 30/06/2020

Date of Supervision Meeting30/06/2020
Start time of Meeting12:00
Length of Meeting in minutes30 mins
Meeting Notes & Action Points1. Discussed the FMP proposal. WM was generally supportive of the proposal (exploring Fred Ritchin’s concept of hyperphotography to tell stories about climate change) but was concerned that the hyperphotography (HP) platform should be just that; not the primary aspect of the project. I replied that HP was to be used for storytelling and that the story was the important part of the work.
2. WM stressed the value of the visual meaning of pictures. As much meaning as possible should be in the picture and not rely on text or other media.
3. WM suggested Matthieu Asselin’s Monsanto Project as an example of campaigning photography.
4. WM recommended the Guy Martin guest lecture
5. Also Peter Kennard/Cat Phillips’ work.
6. We discussed Gideon Mendel’s work including his flood pictures which WM felt were open to criticism.
7. Referring back to meaning within the picture, we discussed “work-shopping” a picture to see what meaning different viewers saw in it.
8. Discussion of the work I had done on developing the HP platform. WM preferred the Ritchin / Four Corners approach as the picture was on-screen at all time. Rather than the v0.2 in which the visitor navigates to different storied from the picture.
Date of Next Proposed Meeting22/07/2020 11:30

Response to meeting:

3. Matthieu Asselin’s Monsanto Project https://youtu.be/KGjnjVDOmO8
I have researched this online and it appears to align very much with my project. I ordered Asselin’s book.

It did not disappoint. As well as being a damning indictment of Monsanto, the book is beautifully designed and put together. It can be read quickly but invites further attention to its graphics and non-linear content. The text is in both English and French. Since Asselin is French, this is a perfectly understandable strategy. It also serves to increase the potential readership and from a design point of view, gives the book a more global feel than had it been produced in one language.

4. The Guy Martin lecture contains a lot of material relevant to my project. In particular the intentional cross-over of soap operas, fake news and real news. That same effect can be seen in the UK; soap storylines entering into the news whilst progressive activity, especially anti-corporate, gets no mention. Martin’s examination of this phenomenon opens up lines of investigation into how the UK media and government work.