Video Tutorial and Written Feedback 2
In the second session with my Tutor, we referred to the work of Eugene Atget, as a precursor of psychogeography in the Parisian context.
Atget, with his wandering the streets of Paris and with his large format and long exposures technique, produced images never seen before.
Due to the long exposures, the images of passers-by did not remain imprinted on the photographic plates: the resulting images, with the empty streets and the uninhabited city, are unique in their kind and recall a very personal vision of the urban network by the author, in analogy with a psychogeographic drift, however, conducted in the twenties.
He was an exponent of surrealism, an artistic current contiguous to that of situationism.
We then talked about Patrick Keiller's film "London", and the particular construction of the visual narrative, based mainly on still frames, which suggest or push to have a single perspective on very familiar images.
This visual narrative also has a lot to do with the psychogeographic perspective of the individual.
Considering that in the purchase box of the film there is also another work made by Patrick Keiller (Robinson in Space), we agreed that this film is also worth watching. It has as protagonist Robinson, a fictional character.
In the second part of the session, we examined together the outcome of my first drift on Giudecca island.
I am still undecided whether to use black and white or color images (or both) and the most suitable device (which sensor format?).
Since I am still at the beginning of this unit, my Tutor suggested that I make the choices that best suit me and what I want to achieve.
It is also a question of how I want to move within the urban environment I have chosen and of the physicality, I intend to have towards the environment itself.
How I place myself towards the environment, whether as an insider or an outsider, also determines the choice of composition, and the presence or not of human beings. The chosen equipment allows me to physically get close to my subjects or remain extraneous to them by zooming in from afar.
The theme of the insider or the outsider is not a theme that we addressed directly during the session, but that came to my mind while reflecting on what my Tutor had told me, referring to Cartier Bresson.
Considering that during the unit I will generate a large number of images, my Tutor suggested that I be my own curator and organize the outcome in contact sheets, in order to easily refer to the various images and the various themes developed.
My Tutor also suggested that I replace one of the tutorial meetings with a one-to-one meeting with Ariadne Xenou. This opportunity makes me a little anxious because I am in awe of Ariadne!
The final suggestion was to reflect, to deepen themes such as that of the "genius loci", relevant to what I am looking for in the places that I wander with my psychogeographic drift, and to start referring to other practitioners.
The more I go forward in this experience with psychogeography, the more I realize that the theme is full of ideas and other themes and that I risk dispersion. It is time for me to select a few topics and focus on them.