UNIT 1 assessment

Learning Outcomes
Develop your Project Proposal to plan a challenging and self-directed
programme of study.

My original project proposal was written down when I was applying for the MA Digital Arts course. I was inspired by Hiroshi Sugimoto’s photos which are peaceful but bring philosophical thinking of time from his works. His work reminds me that is harder and harder to try meditation (or experience simplicity) in modern society. So I wanted to make a work to let audience stop for a while and think about the issue about too many distractions to concentrate on one thing.

The first proposal had a huge theme. In John Meada’s book simplicity, he talks about sometimes technology make our life more complicated instead of simple. I found the balance between simplicity and complexity is interesting. And I want to explore the relationship between simplicity and complexity. So I choose simplicity and complexity as my research object. After several tutorials and researches, I completed a project proposal.

I created some ideas and practical work to develop my proposal, in the process, I found my ideas were too broad. In the mid-point review , I was suggested to look back. That’s true, I was doing a subject about simplicity and complexity, why not just make it clear and simple?

I didn’t change my main aim. However, it was a long way that I got one idea followed by another and could not decide which one should be continued. Finally, making it simple is the best choice.

Demonstrate a critical engagement with practice-based research reflecting on
the critical skills and framework presentations.

My research paper is about comparison of immersion in new narrative media and simplicity. In the paper I prove that there is a kind of immersion. Audiences receive minimal information from an art work but create their own immersion. Not only more information can give immersive experience, but also reduced information can. At the same time, in the high-technique time, more and more audience are received too much information to forget how to think or create themselves.

I searched minimal art work, for example, Kazimir Malevich’s Black Square (1915), which makes me stop, think and feel the unique mood in the painting. Each audience has a different idea about the project, that’s what the work provides. And I hope my work could achieve it—a complex meaning behind simplicity, and immersion audience would have as well. I searched and quoted from several authors and artists, such as Marie-Laure Ryan, David Batchelor, Janet H. Murray and Frances Colpitt and so on. Their writing proves or explains my idea. The paper is a good support for my proposal and practical work.
Articulate a clear understanding of methodology and context in your creative
practice.

I tried various practical definitions of simplicity during unit 1  . These works contain my understanding of simplicity and inspirations of the references I searched. For example, Paul Klee’s Flora on the Sand is one of my favourite abstract paintings of his, the method that he arranged different colors into different size cubes to present flowers and the sand inspired me to use blurred moving image. The blurred picture could attract more when audience looked at (showed in the mid-point review), that’s what I was expecting.

Inspired by Andreas Gursky’s photos  , I realized that a straightforward work to express relationship between simplicity and complexity may be is a good direction when I made my project more and more complicated. In the process of the project, I learned that making it simple should be considered when I get lost. I found these references not only by me and tutors and peers as well. The references give me inspirations and solutions to problems.

Evaluate and present your Project

In the beginning of the course, I focused on the method of expression of my aim, such as out of focus, symbolization, shadows and so on. After the reflective thinking and notes  from the mid-point review, I realized the problem I faced.  What I had done were all about how to visually simplify a complicated scene and lacked of a meaningful idea. And they needed to be expressed directly instead of wandering. I found that I spent too much time on making them complicated when I look back. Now I have decided to film complicated scenes which every person in the scene has one goal and edit them in a simple shape to present the relationship between simplicity and complexity. The project should be presented in a big scale. Using a projector is my first consideration.

Contribute actively to debate and discussion through Pathways and across
the Course

Because of my introverted personality, I am not good at discussion or debate in a big group especially when peers made so many active contributions. However, in small group I could contribute, like discussion about the paper of immersion. And after the discussion, I posted my reflective thinking about it

And in my blog site, I contributed some artists, works in it.

Be aware of your own personal and professional development.

I got a little of lost in my previous process of deciding which definition of simplicity and complexity. But I carried on according to my timetable and I think every idea I recorded is important and useful whatever it works or not. In the unit 1, I learned to reflect and record my thinking to blog, that’s really helpful, and I searched many great artists and projects through websites, books and exhibitions. I will keep on doing these.

About programming, I was learning processing and hope I can finish even I may not use it in my final project.