Emily Flanagan OUIL501 – COP2 SUMMATIVE EVALUATION Context of Practise usually stands to be a module that I am fond of. Having important contextual backing to my work is something I am comfortable with, as I usually struggle to see the point of work without it. I firmly believe that work without substance is empty and shallow, and I find it difficult to be inspired when looking at an image that says absolutely nothing to me. Though I am aware that people read into art differently as it is all subjective, I love finding a meaning or a message behind work. Because of this I didn’t find COP to be particularly different from anything I am usually used to doing. This year cop has been challenging in the sense that I found it difficult to prioritise among other modules. When it comes to heavy, in depth research, I like to get into a flow and not stray away from the subject matter for too long. Managing my time around this was difficult because I felt that I couldn’t concentrate or produce any work to my full potential, as I didn’t find I was given the amount of large committed time to do so. If I had balanced my responsive out properly over Easter, I believe that I could have achieved this. I found the essay portion of this years COP much more difficult than last years, as I didn’t have as many pointers to academic resources as I would have liked. Again, I chose a subject which is very difficult to research, as there are no definite facts because the arms trade industry is so secretive. Because of this, resources were very difficult to come across. The practical side of this project was definitely the highlight for me. I haven’t worked with satire since last year, so this was a nice opportunity to go back to doing something that I enjoy. I think that taking a humorous and simple turn on this project was beneficial to communicating the message, as a serious book would probably only appeal to an audience of serious people who wish to be informed, or may already be informed. I wanted my publication to appeal to people who have absolutely no intention of being informed about the arms trade at all, as this was my aim for the practical side of my project. One part of this submission that I didn’t enjoy was the fact that we were unable to submit our physical sketchbooks with the rest of our digital work. I feel like sketchbooks are very valuable as the artist embarks upon a journey when they are visually exploring different themes and working different things out. I feel like quite a lot of depth and feeling within my project as a whole has been lost inside a digital submission, as pictures of art are never quite as special or potent as when you see them, touch them or hold them in real life. If I was to change anything about my submission, it would definitely be the fact that I didn’t dedicate two weeks solid to my project in order for me to become fully involved and immersed with my project. I would have liked to have received more feedback on my essay by completing it and finalising it a lot earlier on. I think getting an outside perspective on my project would have been beneficial, as It is vital that my essay is easily understood by someone who hasn’t gone through the research.
Emily Flanagan I am very excited to begin the research project for COP3, I think I am quite comfortable with the subject matters that I am looking to research, but I still have lots to learn about them. This is exciting because I will be looking into a subject that I love whilst learning lots about something I am very deeply interested in also.