Review: 26/11/21:
There is much from this crit which I have now (often indirectly) addressed – and there is also more which I am yet to address. Display is a big one still – I really want to experiment with the colours of the walls that I display it on – but this is a big step and involves a lot of time that I don’t have at the moment! However, reviewing this has also reminded me to look into magnification methods for the viewers, and the framing and display methods of the work really need to be investigated!
Today we had our first crit all together as Level Six, and it was really beneficial – there were loads of points brought up – some of which I had already thought of and some completely new! Overall, it was definitely the criteria which I have found most productive and useful – I think because I have a clear focus and idea of where my project is going – and that is clear to the audience in my illustrations.
I have highlighted the points in bold those which I will choose to work on first.
Summary of points made:
- Viewers want magnification tools to look at the images in all of their detail, and to be able to appreciate them more for their detail – eg. Magnifying glasses, thread counters, etc.
- Scale: scale was often mentioned – mostly in the idea of blowing the images up much larger. This is something I am reluctant to do for the final outcome, as it removes the idea of the illustration being life sized, and the ‘real’ plant being in front of you. However, I would consider blowing them up for advertising, etc. Alternatively, scale could also be perceived through the size of the total collection of works (when I have built up a collection), and the way in which I display them – in a grid/line/broken grid/organic way organisation. Also potentially explore projection.
- The engaging aspect of the QR codes was really successful and made people much more interested in the plants themselves and more likely to look at them and be interested in them after viewing the work.
- The Styles of illustration are very different, and maybe feel a little disparate? However, some people preferred one style over the other – and maybe in a collection of works, it will feel less disparate? Also don’t display them so close to each other, so that the viewers aren’t comparing them.
- Explore the composition of the illustrations – work on layering different elements of the plants on the same page to make a fuller and more engaging composition – less like the drawings are floating in space. Also maybe consider bringing an element of the natural environment into the drawings to aid the understanding of the plants themselves (although this may be less important when the composition is changed and the context of the plant is a little clearer).
- When exhibiting the work (or deciding on how to exhibit), try photocopying the work I already have, and playing around with a larger number of images, to see how they look as a whole, and to aid the understanding of the scale and meaning of the collection of work. Maybe further explore the positioning of the labels (although I have done this already). Also consider the environment that I am exhibiting in – does it have to be on a white wall – should it rather be a coloured/patterned/textured wall, to stop the illustrations becoming lost on it. Or will framing them stop this from happening?
- Method of display and production: will they be on the wall/as a book/on a table, etc?
- Exploring different techniques and media, such as digital drawing, video, etc. and creating images of the natural environment of the plant 0 without the plant in them, to highlight their endangerment.
