End of module evaluation

End of Module Student Evaluation BA (Hons) Illustration Module Code: OUIL501 Context of Practice Name: Kyle Brian Prior Student ID: KP253087 Learning Outcome

Evidenced where?

Blog, Visual Journal, Roughs, Final Illustrations, Storyboards, Development Sheets etc. (No more than 75 words)

Your grade Using words: > poor, satisfactory, good, very good, excellent

5A1 Demonstrate a critical understanding of the aesthetic, cultural, historical, technological, social, political or other contexts relevant to individual subject disciplines.

(Knowledge and understanding) (Research / critical awareness)

This has been evidenced in the blog, primarily when beginning my research and defining an essay question, but also in several the early study tasks. This is also evidenced in the early practical work in which I began to explore the contexts relevant to my practice. It can also be seen throughout my essay and practical work when considering the aesthetic, cultural, historical, technological, social and political elements in relation to my theories and disciplinary interests.

Excellent

5A2 Demonstrate an awareness of the relationship between the theoretical and practical contexts of their own creative concerns. (Knowledge and understanding) (problem analysis/definition)

This is evidenced in the connections drawn between the essay and visual journal, with them both informing each other throughout. This relationship is evidenced in my reflection on the blog, in the essay and visual journal directly and in the 10-word pitch and poster.

Excellent

5B1 Evidence the ability to use logic, reasoning and critical judgement to analyse ideas from a range of primary and secondary sources. (Cognitive skills) (Critical awareness)

This is evidenced in my blog when researching my initial research question, the essay content and the visual journal. This is also present throughout the progression of my visual journal in which I have responded to research from both primary and secondary sources. This can also be found in numerous study tasks including the triangulation tasks. The CoP3 proposal (studio brief 3) also has elements of this evidenced.

Very Good

5C1 Evidence the capacity for undertaking practical and theoretical research that demonstrates an informed application of critical, effective and testable processes.

(Practical and professional skills) (research)

This is evidenced in my blog posts which reflect on my practical work, in my early visual experiments and in my visual journal. In the visual journal, I have applied theories and processes practically to research my chosen topic and develop a critical understanding of it.

Excellent

5D1 Organise and carry out selfdirected projects and communicate outcomes through written and other appropriate forms. (Key transferable skills) (professionalism / technical competence / visual quality)

This is evidenced in the completion of my essay, visual journal, poster, 10-word pitch, study tasks and CoP3 proposal, particularly with in the self-directed aspect of choosing an essay question and developing it within the written and practical outcomes. My organization and ability to work on self-directed projects can also be found in the blog.

Very Good

Summative Evaluation My journey within this module began with my interest in science fiction, an interest which has often informed my practice in past modules, but that I’ve not really explored in much depth critically or academically in the past. The research question and theme that I picked at the beginning of this module arose from wanting to have a better understanding of science fiction and its relationship to the aesthetic, cultural, historical, technological, social and political.

I originally intended on researching authorship in relation to science fiction, looking at where the sci-fi aesthetic originates. Instead, I eventually chose to research ‘how modernism has influenced the visual language of science fiction’, this was a choice that I made in order to focus on a much narrower field, but it also tied in better with my practice, making the project more about the visual language of science fiction cinema and the art and design principles that influenced it.

I believe that I have really refined and developed my research skills throughout this module. This seems to have been a result of the numerous study tasks I have responded to, many of them taking key research skills such as triangulation, which I have then used in practice while researching and writing the essay.

The combination of theoretical and practical research, essentially praxis, has been something else that has pushed my research skills to a new level within this module. Until mid-way through this year, I have been seeing the written portion of CoP and the practical portion as two individual elements that simply shared the same topic, however, as I have worked through this module, I have found the boundaries of these two elements blur, each informing the other. Working on the visual journal and essay simultaneously have allowed me to reach this stage. I’ve found that the essay would often make me re-think my practical work, and my practical work would make me consider the theoretical in a new light, or help me understand an aspect of the theory through doing.

A key example of my visual journal playing a role in understanding the theories within my essay can be seen in the latter half of the journal in which I have taken the forms and shapes of Modernist design buildings and objects, and have transformed them into space craft. Through this exercise, I found just how similar the forms of these buildings were to the forms of stereotypical spacecraft within the visual language of science fiction. This highlighted further numerous theories within my essay regarding the influence of Modernist architecture specifically.

I think that the proposed conclusions I have arrived at within my essay are a result of an extensive body of research. I’m extremely happy with some of the ideas and theories that I have found through research, but also the ideas and theories that I have developed on my own as a result of triangulation. A great example of this would be the idea that I propose within the essay regarding the ‘Death Star’ from the film Star Wars and how it meets the Modernist design principle of form following function.

I found the visual journal to be extremely challenging to begin with, I think I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of pages and the endless possibilities of what area of my research topic I might focus on. The only solution to this was just getting started, which is why I chose to begin by looking at a timeline of science fiction through shape and form. I don’t think I truly began to enjoy the visual journal until I had reached the second half (Modernist spacecraft), and I think this was since I had a much better idea of my theories as I had written more of my essay, and I had a more specific area to focus on.

If I were to re-do the project, I think I would have picked a much more specific focus for the visual journal from the beginning as I think it’s when I really started to make progress. I also would have liked to have that stronger codependence between theory and practice from the beginning and not see them as two separate tools, but as one. This is something that I will be able to apply to future projects, and is something that I have already started to consider in relation to CoP3 when proposing my next research topic.