MA DIGITAL ARTS PROJECT PROPOSAL
Research question: What are you proposing to discover or explore?
By 1867 Japan was allowing foreign vessels into its ports. One such vessel- considered one of the first voyages to ever have an onboard photographer- was the HMS Challenger. Symbolic of the Victorian age (it was a hybrid ship of steam and sail), Its 2 month stay collated together photographic images of a landscape at the onset of change and the 131 years since this time has seen a growing imbalance between nature and structure. I am going to address this imbalance by paralleling the journey of the ship’s crew with my own, re-documenting the landscapes in the ships photographs and by presenting a body of work that raises questions of that imbalance and the potential for loss in this modern era of change.
Context: What work, both theoretical and practical, relates to your project?
Contemporary photographers interested in the landscape such as Hans-Christian Schink and Andreas Gursky will be investigated, as will more historical photographers such as Felix Beato who were active in Japan during the Meiji Period. Artists that explore themes of time and potential loss including Darren Almond, Tatsuo Miyajima and On Kawara will also be investigated as well as the architect Tadao Ando concerning structure upon/within nature. Romanticism, Industrialization, the Victorian British Empire and the Meiji Restoration will also provide a context for the work made throughout the project.
Methodology: What methods will you employ to research your project?
Drawing a parallel between my journey and the crew’s in a web blog and through research assistants and Internet discussion boards I am going to initially identify and confirm the locations of the original photographs. This is going to result in a series of photographs that re-document the locations as they are now using a camera devised from a hybrid of digital technology and the original technology used. As the original images are owned by the Natural History Museum, London they will be added to the museum’s collection alongside the originals. For the following phases, I intend to use the images taken and other information and experiences collected to focus, develop and present a body of work to be exhibited in both England and Japan.
Resources: What equipment, facilities and expertise will you require to carry out your research?
As well as the hybrid camera, a variety of other digital photo/video equipment will be used ranging from digital capture to web cams and camera phones. With access to apple computers, I am going to utilize various software packages for image capturing, editing, and maintaining a website, online journal and discussion forums. Scans of the original images have been made available by the Natural History Museum for my research purposes only. These include low-res for web use and forum discussions, and hi-res scans to enable more detailed comparisons when re-documenting. Research assistants will access Japanese resources (museums, archives, etc.) and communicate with individuals and organizations related or connected to the findings. Journals from the ship’s crew and other information concerning the ship’s records will also be consulted.
Gary McLeod, September 200