End of Module Student Evaluation BA (Hons) Illustration Module Code: OUIL501 Context of Practice Name: Siobhan Spencer Student ID: 254696 Please identify where the evidence for each of the learning outcomes is within your submission and how well you feel you have met the learning outcomes. Please also grade yourself in relation to the learning outcomes using terms: poor, satisfactory, good, very good, excellent (Note - This is so that the team have an understanding of how well you feel you have done. It is not an indication of the actual grade you may receive.) 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)
Blog
Very good
5A2 Demonstrate an awareness of the relationship between the theoretical and practical contexts of their own creative concerns. (Knowledge and understanding) (problem analysis/definition)
Visual journal, essay, and blog
Very good
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)
Essay and blog
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
Visual journal, blog
Very good
skills) (research)
5D1 Organise and carry out selfdirected projects and communicate outcomes through written and other appropriate forms. (Key transferable skills) (professionalism / technical competence / visual quality)
Visual journal, blog
Very good
Summative Evaluation (See Evaluation Guidance on next page for more information) You are required to write a 750 word Summative Evaluation of this module. Please type up your Summative Evaluation in the box below. Make a PDF of the document and post the PDF as your final post on your OUIL501 blog. This module began as an exploration of independent musicians and their motives for wanting to turn against the mainstream, commercial side of the industry, possibly putting themselves at a disadvantage. I primarily used first-hand accounts from independent artists and found that they desired creative control and in wanting to escape the money-oriented nature of major record labels, they were happy to be responsible for their entire output. This Do-It-Yourself attitude led me to research the punk ethos of the 1970s and discover how intrinsically linked music and art are in this community. I wanted to explore artists’ commitment to their craft and if a band’s consideration of their own commerciality calls into question their authenticity. I was also interested in how the digital age aids or hinders artists and what the impact of digital technology is on music artists in terms of free streaming and the income they receive from it. I wanted to know why artists might turn to producing physical records as opposed to purely digital releases. I then looked into physical objects generally and how their tangibility rivals the non-physical, causing people to collect. In my visual journal, I have primarily explored shape as a means of communication. This allowed me to distill my images into simple and bold designs in order to be more impactful and clear in my messages. My explorations have come about as responses to my research, themes and quotes, acting as extensions of the theories that I have looked into and my own interpretations of them. In some cases, I’ve aimed to visually convey a specific quote, while in other cases, I just wanted to represent a theme as a whole. The square format of my refined images was used as a way to limit the amount of information I was able to convey and to link back to my starting point of music graphics. Again, this forced me to use visual motifs to represent my ideas, acting as if I was designing ‘album covers’ and conveying the essence of my research. The consistent use of this format also makes my images become part of a collection, which fits in nicely with my subject matter. A large part of my visual exploration was based upon the theme of collecting and collectors, of which Eisenberg’s and Baudrillard’s theories formed the basis. I was particularly interested in why people collect and why they may be drawn to physical objects, which led me into thinking about the ideas of identity, belonging, function, nostalgia, and control. My use of analogue media was intended to represent the qualities of the handmade and acknowledge the
uniqueness/individuality of an original work of art. I wanted to demonstrate why collectors might be attracted to one-off/limited edition items through the tactility of the handcrafted/physical image. I later edited and refined my images using Photoshop, which may have taken away some of this physicality but I wanted to convey that digital media can be beneficial. I also produced 3x3cm versions of my outcomes in order to evaluate their success on a smaller scale, as they would appear on a handheld digital device, taking into account the factors that designers must consider today when producing music graphics. I have produced work in a naïve style with an emphasis on analogue media (cut paper and paint) to allude to the concept of democracy and DIY in both art and music, as well as the anti-design ethos intrinsic to 1970s punk graphics. The research for my essay has taken me down a number of unexpected paths and I have adapted my focus accordingly as I have discovered new things. I have cited a range of references, including accounts from musicians, anecdotal books, and theorists such as Benjamin and Baudrillard. I feel I have integrated all of these references into my investigations well and used them to compare and contrast against one another. I’m really pleased with how I have used my research as a starting point for a range of outcomes, which sit together as a varied set. I have interpreted my findings using visual symbols, mainly using paint and cut paper, which I think have allowed me to produce dynamic images. I did use Photoshop to refine my outcomes so I do wish that I hadn’t relied upon this and that I had produced larger, more tactile images outside of my journal to emphasise the concept of tangibility. I struggled to know where to start on my journal at first but distilling my essay down into a list of topics/words helped me to get started and I felt free to interpret my findings in my own way.