Research is defined by the French as to search, closely, it is the systematic approach, an investigation into a subject or material. Search, on the other hand, is defined as looking for or seeking out. Until this week, maybe like most people I had not considered the difference in the two words and how they may attract opposing definitions. I say opposing, research is the work of careful planning and a methodical approach to sourcing information. Martin Hosken of Falmouth University suggested that research is to re-engage a relationship with knowledge. Hosken explored the concept of research in this weeks lecture, he goes further and claims knowledge is the center of research and it is a reflective process that is also the freedom to wonder. I must agree with this statement, reflecting on my work not only in this study but also in my professional career the model of refection has been the source of personal and professional development. Reflection instigates further research and aims to focus the acquirement of new knowledge. Reflecting on performance has been the only way I have truly learned and adapted to new information. I think that it is essential that we as humans are able to reflect and learn but this learning is an internal journey, it may not be the acquirement of new knowledge. Re-visiting information certainly can gain a new perspective and a deeper understanding of a subject. I have also found that teaching a subject or topic has enabled me to gain a broader and more meaningful relationship with new information. This Latin proverb has stood the test of time: Seneca the Younger (c. 4 BC – 65 AD), who says in his Letters to Lucilius, Book I, letter 7, section 8: Homines dum docent discount. “Men learn while they teach.” The very nature of our brain, the seahorse in us (or the technical term, the hippocampus) requires information to be revisited in order to be fully retained.
The hippocampus is a small organ located within the brain’s medial temporal lobe and forms an important part of the limbic system, the region that regulates emotions. The hippocampus is associated mainly with memory, in particular, long-term memory. The organ also plays an important role in spatial navigation.
If research is the process of purposeful and meaningful investigation, the methodical approach to gaining new and insightful information, how does this definition enlighten my studies? I believe it shines a new light and opens up the opportunity to reflect on my studies so far. A reflective process has enabled me to gain a better understanding and knowledge through my research and learning. Going back to the idea of research and that it is a reflective process. Through my studies and work I have gained new information and taken on feedback, but as Hosken suggests, it is not until we are able to reflect on this information and process it in a way that is meaningful to ourselves that we truly gain a better understanding of a subject. Hosken also highlights the many approaches to research beyond the reflective process, he highlights the Qualitative and Quantitative approach to gaining information and how this may impart new insights. During last weeks workshop task I was able to use a qualitative approach to questioning to gain a better understanding and to better understand the relationship with the Cornish language. Hosken goes on to identify the application of analysis to inform and states there are two approaches to this. Formal and Contextual, both have their place in my work to date and I imagine it will continue to be a part of my work to come. The contextual approach to analysing information enables the researcher to gain a broader understanding of a subject, to understand why something may have happened and under what circumstances. This is something I am very much interested in, research around a subject and adding context and a qualitative approach. This methodology was something that Kristoffer and I had spoken about it previously. I seem to get lost in the acquirement of new knowledge and want to find out so much information that I then don’t leave myself enough time to divulge myself in the design process.
In the spring/summer 2018 issue of Printed Pages, Jessica Walsh and Stefan Sagmeister gave an interview that I found compelling. Welsh and Sagmeister discuss their client work and reflect on their career to date. Walsh goes further to acknowledge the benefits of self-indulgent work. Non-client based work, something for you and it can inspire new projects and collaborations. Walsh claims: for all the award-winning client work with its pumped-up aesthetics and zeitgeist-capturing nouns, it is the personal projects of Sagmeister & Walsh that shine brightest. This idea was also discussed in the Podcast Eat Sleep Work Repeat or was it Join up Dots, it was a while ago now but this suggestion from Walsh reminded, made me reflect on something that I had heard during one of these podcasts. The interviewee spoke about the office mantra and the culture that they had created there. One Friday each month the office would not complete client work but indulge themselves in something, a project, an idea or training that they felt would benefit them. This created more conversations, collaborations and sparked new ideas. Staff was able to learn new skills, share good practice and this then transcended into their client work. Something that had been entirely a practice of self-motivated interest, to do something that combines interests, had created a better working environment. People were more creative and ideas were not under pressure from clients. Ideas and work were free to take an unexpected turn. This is something that has resonated with me as I reflect back at the previous weeks I have been able to indulge myself in the acquirement of new knowledge, reflecting and processing of ideas. Research is and can be a purely self-indulgent process. Maybe there has to be a keen interest to start with and maybe that is why I have been able to delve deep into a broad spectrum of information through my research. The skills now that I need to develop should be to filter this information and select only what is important for each project.
In the book, Visual research: an introduction to research methodologies in graphic design (why and how) written by Ian Noble and Russell Bestley, design Research is identified as a critical investigation, Noble and Bestley go on to say that research provides the foundations of the design process of problem-solving. The design cycle suggested in this book appears to use some similar ideas to that of the double diamond approach to the design process developed by the British Design Council in 2005. However Noble and Bestly appear to focus only on the research and the gaining of new information to develop solutions to problems. The Design Council focuses a little on the research in the Discover and Define stages of their approach but allow for more iterative and exploration of ideas. The stages of developing and deliver focus less on quantifying material but rather allows the design to take on their research and explore a range of solutions. Taking on both these ideologies of the approach to design I am able to find a route through a given problem that works for me. The double diamond approach, that I have spoken about previously is an idea that has enabled me to reflect and focused my attention on the problem rather than too much time spent on the research. This contrasting view then by Noble and Bestly appears to resemble my current practice. Research and the acquirement of new information can lead to a solution to the problem. I’m finding that I can become lost in this process and maybe keep looking for something that is not there. Kristoffer suggested that I draw a line in research and explore the concept. I need to find a happy middle with this, allow myself to indulge in the research and the gaining of new information but I too need to develop my practice in order to generate more sophisticated solutions. And that is just what I will do this week.
Found objects, as soon as I had written this down I knew instantly where this would take me. To the Beach. I knew what I was hoping for, I could see the kind of thing I wanted and even started to write the narrative to go along with it. Trouble is, the very nature of a found object is just that. It is found, I could not entirely plan for the findings that day. As luck would have it, I was at the beach early, just as the tide was leaving the Highline and leaving with it the plastic devastation that is washed up every day. Initially, I found a series of microbeads, plastic pellets that fish can mistake for food. Perfect, (well not entirely perfect but in this case of finding narrative) here is a story to tell. Where did these little plastic pellets come from? I remember once finding a lego man washed up on Fistral beach. The story goes that people collect these, a ship spilled its cargo and with it, a whole series of lego pieces are being washed up on the Cornish coastline. I did not find a lego man, but how awesome would that have been? Lots of plastic pellets and the odd plastic piece. I still believed I had a story to tell here, maybe filling in the blanks as to how it ended up on the beach or how it may still become washed back out to sea and eaten by the marine life, and eventually us. If you eat fish I think that it is fair to say that you also eat plastic. The harsh realities of what I saw that day made the Blue Planet series really hit home. More and more research is being done as to the impacts of plastic pollution and it goes beyond our shores. This stuff is ending up on our plates.
Every day approximately 8 million pieces of plastic pollution find their way into our oceans. There may now be around 5.25 trillion macro and microplastic pieces floating in the open ocean. Weighing up to 269,000 tonnes. Plastics consistently make up 60 to 90% of all marine debris studied.
Many marine organisms can’t distinguish common plastic items from food. Animals who eat plastic often starve because they can’t digest the plastic and it fills their stomachs, preventing them from eating real food [7]
Amongst the debris, I was able to find a little green army man, I began to think about his story and how he would have ended up here on the beach. The image of this little green soldier washed up on the beach, left for dead seemed too much to consider. This idea, in November of all months, had really made me think about not only the plastic strewn across the beach but of the service men and women who commit their lives to the protection of our nation. And, here although in plastic was a small symbol of how military personnel is treated after service. I’m not going to suggest that all soldiers, servicemen, and women who leave the army are not supported and offered opportunities to reintegrate into civilian life. But statistics suggest that there is a large proportion who struggle to adjust. In the month of November, we aim to remember those who have fallen in battle but let us not forget the many men and women who survive a battle, come home and find it difficult to return to a ‘normal life’.
Narrative 1: Come in private, can you hear me? God damn it, not another one lost, I can’t take this anymore, the sound of help from the radio sent an eerie echo across the beach. As the soldier is able to take to his feet, he looks around to see the disaster that surrounds him. It is a sight of unbelievable catastrophe. The radio muffles, private, if you can hear me, respond immediately. A quiet murmur replies; I’m okay Sir. In shock at what stood before him, a sound of disturbance forces the soldier to stand to attention, he begins to investigate, asking himself: where am I? how did I get here and, what is this? The beach is strewn with debris, it must be the result of an accident he proclaims. Okay boy, you had better tell me what you can see, asks the voice from the radio, where are you?
Sir, there are hundreds of them, little plastic balls, pellets, beads, of all colours in front of me, they must have been washed up onto the beach with me. But, but what happened? Where did they come from? where did I come from? the soldier questions. No time for this now son, we need to get you out of there. Can you see a vantage point, climb high and tell me what you can see? Yes sir, replied the soldier
The vast open space opens up before his eyes, the bleak reality and contrast of the immediate beauty. Standing on the shoulders of giants we are able to see things in a broader perspective claims the soldier. From up here, things aren’t so bad, it is beautiful, breathtaking in fact. It is only when we take a closer look when you really notice the harsh realities of the ignored that the scary truths come to light he reflects. This plant needs help, I may be one person, but I will help.
In this narrative, I tried to add a human element to something lifeless. It may be lifeless but it does impact our lives and in one of the most talked about issues of our environment. I wonder where this piece of plastic, this child’s toy. Where has it been, what has it seen? The way the tide had left its mark on the beach that day I was pretty sure it had been washed up. It really makes me think about the impact we are having on our plant by our consumption of single-use items such as this.
Narrative 2: The questions of where it comes from or how did it got, it is irrelevant in many ways. The issue here is that it is here in the first place. Millions of tiny particles of plastic, polymers of crude oil. This is not the food of the future, this is the food that will kill us. Our sea life, the great expanse of blue is being crowded, cluttered with these pellets. This is a war that is being lost on a monumental scale. Yes, it is in the media and people are starting to take small steps to reduce their plastic or more specifically, single-use plastic but is this enough?
We have seen from the amazing footage in the Blue plant film, the impact that our actions are creating. We can see first-hand the devastation this pollution is having but is everyone aware of what some of us see daily. It is not until you walk the beaches, see the plastic strewn across the vast landscapes. Until you truly see the seabirds lying dead, starved to death due to their consumption of plastic.
But what can I do to help I hear you ask? I believe that we are, most of us are doing all that we can in cases like this. As a nation, we are consuming less single-use plastics with more and more of us using a reusable drinks bottle. Our coffee cups and being used over and over. We have found alternative resources for single use materials such as vegware, a plastic derived from vegetable starches. The issue here is bigger than our individual commitments, there needs to be a bigger change, a change from industry and a change in attitudes by supermarkets. Do we really need our fruit wrapped up in plastic?
The narrative for me, in this instance, with this find is almost irrelevant as the images and feelings that this image brings to mind. There are two big issues with this image and I did not expect to find this little green soldier or the emotions that it would stir. Some of the images are a little out of focus in some main areas but photographing something this small has been difficult. With the equipment I have, the focus and focal point are set to the middle of the image. I need to take this guy back to the beach and reshoot to ensure I am completely happy with the outcomes. I appreciate that the images are almost a means of documenting this object but for me, I wanted to capture the item where it was found. I have enjoyed photographing this found object and will go back in search of more items.
Pixels and Serifs. 