Meanderings Issue 1…
Quotes of the Week
“At times failure is very necessary for the artist. It reminds him that failure is not the ultimate disaster. And this reminder liberates him from the mean fussing of perfectionism.” (Berger 1972)
“The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing which stands in the way . . . and some scarce see nature at all. But to the eyes of the man of imagination, nature is imagination itself.” (Blake 1799)
People/Books
A Thousand Mornings by Mary Oliver (2012)
Between the Word and the World by Anna MacDonald (2019)
Walks in the Wild by Peter Wohlleben (2017)
Image of the Week
I had cause to browse my wildlife images this week for a talk to PhD students in Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design.
Concepts and Ideas
‘Alert reverie’ – investigate this concept – Iain Sinclair
Also, ‘flaneur’ – a man who saunters around observing society – a term used by Baudelaire and one also applied to photographers wandering.
Reminds me of the ideas in A Field Guide to Getting Lost (2017) and Wanderlust (2014) by Rebecca Solnit. Also, the Walking Artist, Hamish Fulton.
Jottings
Thinking about when I started my PhD six months ago the following terms described my approach:
- Focus
- Output
- Linear
- Rigid
- Structure
Now I am starting to see changes in my academic research, photographic practice and general demeanour to allow in a sense of uncertainty and in-determination. I am moving towards an approach based on:
- Play
- Process
- Breadth
- Open
- Reflective
- Organic
Hooray!
