This thing called "place"

When I say place what do you think of?
Is place landscape?

Breakout Exercise: Comparing Cresswell to Mitchel

  • What is place?
  • How does it differ from space?
  • Why is place such a valuable concept for studying society?
  • What are the core differences between Cresswell and Mitchell? How do their goals differ?
  • How does notion of landscape that Cresswell is talking about compare to Mitchell?
  • Is place a social hyroglyph? A medium?

Thinking with Burtynsky

Edward Burtynsky's photography and Jennifer Baichwal's documentary about his work demand that we ask some pressing questions about the landscapes of our contemporary world.

Here are some things I'd like you to think through as you are watching this documentary:
  • What kinds of things are being captured in these images? (by this I mean not just what the images are of, but what do they show? For example, who works and how? How do we recognize landscapes as being manufactured or artificial? What kinds of things does Burtynsky show and what does he not show?)
  • How does Burtynsky use his photographs to play with a sense of scale?
  • How does Burtynsky frame his photographs and to what end?
  • How might we think about Burtynsky's highly aesthetic (and often aesthetically pleasing) photos in relation to their political message (we are damaging our world through industrialization)?

Additionally, think through the following questions which will serve as a base for our discussion in class:
  • What does the long opening shot of the factory floor (which lasts for the full first 8 minutes of the film) convey?
  • What is Burtynsky's conception of "nature"?
  • What does the "manufactured" in manufactured landscapes and what does it mean?
  • Is Burtynsky complicit in this manufacturing?

Here are a few photos we will explore from the film:

Break out exercise #2

Same Groups: Spend 10 minutes discussing the assigned image for your group. Develop an analysis of it. By analysis, I mean a discussion of the photo that:

a) offers a discussion of the image itself (what is it, what is it doing, what do you think Burtynsky is trying to make us think about with it) 

and

b) offers a critical analysis of the image (is it successful at achieving its goals, what do you think of the ways that Burtynsky presents the image, how does he use things like frame and scale to make his argument, what ethical issues are present/absent in the image, etc.)
Break-out exercise #3

Same Groups: Now that you have had a chance to discuss someone else's work (at length), now it's time to discuss the images that you all have brought to the table. Here's how the exercise works:
  • Choose a timekeeper and a scribe:
  • During the first 10 minutes, each team member presents their chosen image. They explain what it is and why they chose it. At the end of the presentations, the group collectively choose 1 photo to analyze.
  • During the remaining 15 minutes: the group develop a reading of the photo--how does it use tools similar to Burtynsky? What is different about it from Burtynsky's landscapes? How does it evoke place in a way similar to or different from Cresswell's arguments?
  • When we return, the scribe will present the photo to the group and share the team's analysis of it.

Next week's assignment: GEMS OF THE UNIVERSITY--The Blanton Museum of Art

Listen: Outside/In Podcast. 2019. “Chasing the Light.”

Fieldwork:  
Assignment:
  • Select a single piece of work covered in the in the Blanton’s online exhibit “Race and Justice in Art”
  • Write a 500-word analysis of the painting. Your analysis should make an argument about this painting and its use of landscape. To do so it should address:
    • What the painting shows (briefly, do not dwell overly long on unnecessary detail)
    • How it links to the broader theme of the exhibit
    • How the artist uses landscape (what choices have they made about what to represent and how, how do they frame the landscape, etc.)
    • How these choices allow the artist to make meaning with and through the work of art
    • If possible, include a screen shot of the art you chose in your essay
  • NOTE— Submit a draft of your piece to the DRAFT assignment on canvas before class. Bring a virtual copy of this essay to class. We will be peer reviewing and workshopping these essays in class.
  • You will revise this essay based on peer feedback and submit a final version (with a brief note on how you revised based on peer reviewer feedback) on Canvas by Thursday, February 10th at 11:59pm.
 
In-Class:
  • We will discuss your virtual visit to the Blanton and your findings and thoughts on the Special Exhibit on Race and Justice.
  • We will break into smaller groups to conduct a peer review of your Blanton Assignment.