Dedicated to my Husband and three amazing children who have put up with me for this last year.
Contents
Exploring Space Place and Community, through Visual methodologies. Understanding mindsets and exploring, the benefits of arts participation.
This research will look at Space, Place and Community and aim to understand how this is perceived or what this means to different individuals. With the presumption and supporting literature that a Community Art Space would directly benefit a community. For the purpose of this research this will specifically look at the benefits for Tralee, Co. Kerry, Ireland. Through practice based research and visual methodologies, it is the aim that by exploring Space, Place and Community, this exploration will provide the evidential benefits of having arts participation within a community, this aims to demonstrate the need for such a space within the given community. Taking the three headings, I will look at space in terms of what is space? How do people interact with space? And how can a space have a positive impact? With place, How is place defined? How do people perceive place? And how is place explained? For community the research will look to answer, what is the community of Tralee? What are the positives and negatives? What is missing? How do people live their everyday lives and do they feel a part of a community? Finally, I will look at whether or not the experiences of arts participation set out by the research have changed any of these perceptions before becoming a participant. The exploration of space and place will be conducted with visual observation through self study, together with the visual documentation of how others act, react to space, place and the participation of arts through organised classes to enable such participation.
Starting with an exploration of space and place through a series of watercolour studies. enjoy x
Exterior space is dictated by architecture, with buildings surrounding us. Leaving the open ‘space’ to be what we use as space. Does this explain Interior space as being dictated by objects. Again making the objects being that which transalte as space ?
Recording the abstract of our perceptions Is the SPACE the place between ? Is it that which lies between the objects we have placed or created, would this then mean we do in fact create the space ? Is it space or place that holds the beauty ? The place creates the voids that become space, so does this mean they are both equal ? One can not exist without the other ?
what are the influential effects Experimenting with shape and form. How do these forms change through human interaction ... Computer generated models to ogive an understanding of space and scale. Taking this further with photo manipulation software, we can see how the interaction of people could alter that space to become something else.
The exploration continued through traditional model making techniques, involving the trusted scalpal and card to experiment with shape and form. Lots of models were made and photographed. In order to understand how this space may be changed with the interaction of people, the photographs were manipulated with digital software to superimpose figures to give a visual understanding of how the spaces might feel. A traditional teechnique used when illustrating architectural designs.
IMAGINE VISUALISE UNDERSTAND
A call out was made to the people of Tralee. In order for me to attempt to understand, to see how they see. What is Tralee to you , was the first question asked. Participants were asked to submit amaximum of ten images that portrayed Tralee to them. A further development addition to the collection of participant photography, was done as part of a student photography module. I assisted on the module and asked students to think about the theme of Space//Place//Community when taking their photographs. A selection of the images collected are shown in this book. I have also included some of my photographs taken throughout this process.
Participant Photography
Image by : Samuel Mansfield
Tara Maguire
Alexander Maguire
Alex Notter
Space - Tralee, Co.Kerry.
I’ve been known for giving this place a hard time, however, even the view from my bedroom window is breathtaking. This place aint so bad afterall.
Sam Mansfield
Tara Maguire
On experience of walking around Tralee there are many well kept areas but there is also some buildings that are run down and derelict. I think this is a good thing as it adds both history and a style to the town. In conclusion I thoroughly enjoyed the practicalities of experimenting with the various settings on the camera. I also enjoyed the challenge of finding certain beauty in a built up urban area, something I had never done prior to this. Alex Notter
Sandra Moynihan
Sandra Moynihan
I went to the park with Michael and took practice shots using a 50mm lens in some cases and I also shot in monochrome. We bought a pillow and used it for comic purposes. We went to a part of the park which was covered in glass and we even found a syringe, so I thought it was a good idea to make this character a bit of a waste of space, passed out after drinking cans. Which Tralee town park actually has a reputation for. Sarah Garland
responding with words
The Negativity that surrounds is overpowering the spaces are overtaken the criticism is flowing Do we understand place ... We define place We dictate place WE are the beings that instigate it We are born into place therefore the place is deep, in our subconcious We attempt to explain place this requires one to step inside to UNDERSTAND our subconcious vision What is it that causes us to behave in space that becomes our place. The repetative questions, persistently occuring Is it the Achitects, the designgers ... that in fact dictate the place we live we work we breath
THEY design the buildings, the objects the skins in which we reside, we occupy. wait... therefore DOES the responsibility lay with designers planners councilors ? OR IS it in FACT the USERS The way in which we behave within the space the way in whic an individual will use that space WILL in turn define that space to become a place So is it the social fabric that furnishes a space that is infact the creator of the PLACE What actually happens when we STOP we look we observe we percieve
We discover the place in which we are is in reality and undefined space that WE are infact dictating its representation and visualisation Absorbed by the expected the presumed We must remind our eyes to open to see, to hear, to voice our own opinions Only then do we allow our hearts to really see through the invasion. The ask... Community, why community HOW community my community, their community How does this relate ? How is it space ? Is it Place ? So, you see the space, is the place occupied by you, by me, by them ... the people who exist within that space
Communitys consist of clusters of people within close proximity of one another The community is the place of that society. The is the point We can not define we do not dictate We can not presume that the definitions lay within the oxford english dictionary The investigation asks the question ... Immediate presumptions and translations when requesed to define ... Definitions on the spectrum of justifications possibilities are endless on how they respond. From the childhood bedroom saturated with patterns and textures to architectural lines of distinction, housing the mountains and fog that lie far beyond the lines ...
Tara Maguire