ADVANCED RESEARCH
Seminar #3
Text: Revealing the Self in Travel Writing
The questions below have been answered
according to my understanding of the text “Revealing the Self in Travel Writing”,
by Carl Thompson.
Questions:
The text highlights the ways in which ideas of
the Self have influenced the approaches of travel writers across the centuries,
in terms of the production of their travelogues. Can you identify two or three
ways in which the Self influences the kind of work produced by these writers?
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In the
case of Addison it is said that he provides details about ‘political and
economic’ affairs that could not have been given, for example, by a woman at
that time, nor by an individual with no care or understanding of the subjects.
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In Ralegh’s case, he is gifted with superior
literary skills than the majority of travel writers of his period and uses it
in his favour to describe his failed expedition in a way that could redeem
himself in the eyes of queen Elizabeth I.
How far can these uses of the Self be applied
to research within our own disciplines?
I believe that the self is extremely
influential when it comes to the way we perceive and describe our life
experiments and the places we’ve been. There are an uncountable number of
variables that can determine how things are interpreted. For example, one that
is fluent in the language of the country one is visiting will probably have a
closer view to a native of that place. In Fashion, designers often do field
trips to gather inspiration for their next collection. During these trips,
their full experience will be influenced by the designer own understanding of
the places visited, being sensitive to the designer personal interests. Perhaps
that is the reason why, for example, two designers that are asked to created a
garment, for example, inspired by the same monument can – and most possibly
will – have extremely different final designs.
In what ways might the Self inluence the kind
of research carried out by designers and illustrators?
I believe that the self influences every
little detail of the research, and that the more personal a research topic the
better. Perhaps one way in which designers and illustrates let their ‘self’
influence their research is regarding to what public they want to speak to,
usually it is a public with which the artist has a connection. For example, a
designer that wants to speak to/for oppressed women might be interested in
researching feminism as part of he/she work development.
Many researchers in different fields reveal
aspects of their selfhood in the kind of research they choose to pursue. How
does this statement apply to your own choices in terms of research?
In my current research I am interested in
create prints for my garments that can represent the colours, textures and soul
of my hometown, Fortaleza. As a Brazilian fashion designer, this is important
for me as a stand for my national identity, and as a way of going against the
commodity of cultures, particularly of the Brazilian culture.
Pages 113-118 discuss the ways in which travel
writing can be used to increase self-knowledge and self-realisation. To what
extent can research in your discipline be viewed as a self-fashioning tool?
Does research in the design field constitute a way of finding out more about
ourselves?
I think that research can basically be seem
as learning, and when learning new things we become more dimensional. I believe
that researching gives us a level of awareness of the subjects that interests
us that changes the way we perform completely. Learning something new can change
some projects dramatically; sometimes you might learn something positive that
will improve your project, other times you learn that you’ve been wrong all
time and that leads you to take a completely new direction, or even to starting
over.
Page 119 discusses the ways in which travel
writers use their research as a means of accumulating what Pierre Bourdieu
describes as ‘cultural capital’. Do designers and illustrators ever use
research / practice as a way of increasing their social status and accumulating
‘cultural capital’? Give examples.
I
think so, I believe that it is often even necessary in the art and design world
to succeed. From my experience, for example, students that had the opportunity
to go abroad to study fashion become automatically more prestigious.
Travelling can be seen as a form of
self-development – our contact with ‘the other’ can be used to create our own
identities. Can we view travel as a legitimate form of research and how might
travel be understood as a research methodology for the designer / illustrator?
Travel can be considered a type of field
research. During a trip the designer/illustrator has the chance to collect
significant data that can serve as inspiration for their research.
Write a short travelogue (300 – 500 words) that
incorporates an encounter with your own area of practice. For example, you
might write an account of your encounter with the typographic landscapes of
London (or any other city you have visited), or with the fashion cultures of
another locale.
When I went to Seoul, capital of South
Korea, in 2014 I was extremely excited. At the time, I was very interested in
Korean pop culture, and quite obsessed with a couple of K-pop groups. Initially,
I was going in the trip with three dear friends. The four of us scheduled our
tickets several months before the trip, which was planned to happen in June.
However, two months before the trip two of my friends had to cancel; meaning
that only me and one other friend – the one that I was less close to – were actually
going to Seoul that year. Knowing that two of my friends were not coming anymore
did make me feel less thrilled about the trip, but my plans of visiting South
Korea that summer were not altered.
At the time I was living in London,
doing an one year exchange programme. My flight with Qatar airways left from
London Heathrow. It was my first time flying with that company and, for someone
who had already gotten used to low cost flights with Easy jet and Ryanair, it
felt luxurious. Especially because the flight was significantly empty, and I
was lucky enough to have an entire row for myself. I met my friend in Doha,
were both our flights – mine coming from London and hers coming from Rio de
Janeiro – had a connection. It was great to see her and speak Portuguese for
the first time in a while. The Doha airport was very beautiful, hot and huge.
We only had to wait two hours before our next flight, therefore most of our
time in the airport was based in us running through the security check and
towards our gate. Soon enough we arrived at the Incheon airport in Korea and
that was when the experience really began.
Before going to Korea, I actually
had a strong image of what I was going to find there. This image, however, came
mostly from K-pop music videos or Korean Dramas. The first thing that I have
noticed when I got there was that it was all very different from the image sold
in those Medias. In general, I could say that I was a little disappointed with
what I thought was a lack of diversity. Obviously, my idea of diversity had
been altered based on my experience in London. Regardless, Seoul let me down,
not only because it was hard to find those fashionistas you see on media, but
most importantly because I thought, in terms of fashion and beauty standards, there
was a strong general mould that was promoted and followed. For me, a
confirmation of this was the unbelievable amount of ads marketing plastic
surgery that you could see literally everywhere. Although I had particularly
nothing against plastic surgery, what bothered me is that it felt that there
was a ridiculous pressure, especially for women, to fit a very particular
beauty ideal, and this phenomenon seemed to also reflect in the way people
dressed.
Paradoxically, I was very
impressed with the authenticity that I could observe in the way people dressed
in Seoul. Ultimately, I thought that there was a very strong national identity
in their lifestyle that did not need traditional garments to be expressed through
clothing. One particularity that I observed there was the strong presence of what
I would like to call “Couple Wear”. That is a habit that differs tremendously
from my own Brazilian ‘couple culture’, and seemed to be strong in Korea. One
interesting aspect of Couple Wear in Korea was that not only romantic couples
but also friends would match their outfit to go out, and I thought that was
lovely.
Reference List:
Thompson, C.
(2011) 'Revealing the Self' in Travel Writing, London: Routledge, pp. 96-129.
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Seminar #2
Text: Reading the landscape: describing and
interpreting field sites
This
week we were given the text “Reading the Landscape: describing and interpreting
field sites”. In the text the author goes through several methodologies that
can help an unexperienced researcher to efficiently collect data during
fieldwork.
Below
you can find my answers for some questions that have been proposed about this
week reading:
What are the key uses of field notes? Why are
they a useful tool in research?
When you decide to take your research outside,
to a field work, there are some precautions you have to take in order to
organise your findings appropriately. Field notes can help you to collect and
organise your data. Field notes are extremely useful because there are several
different types of field noting techniques, which allows you to choose the one
that best suits you and your research. In addition, they can optimise your time
and avoid the loss of significant thoughts. Particularly, I am constantly
taking notes. Most of the times I take my notes using my cellphone, taking
pictures on the camera or using the note pad app to write down any interesting
though I might have. I also try to always have a pencil and a notebook with me,
this way I can also sketch whatever is too complex to just write.
What does the text indicate as the key issues
in interpreting and manipulating visual images as part of your research? How
might the interpretation of visual material be pertinent to research in your
own field?
Visual material is extremely important in
Fashion. Sometimes fashion designers take pictures of fabrics they intend to
use in their next collection, or they like to photograph street wear. In
general, pictures are significant materials that fashion designers use to
communicate between each other, thus being able to properly interpret an image
in crucial in this industry.
Pages 124-126 describe the use of found images
in a research project that used postcards from Paris as a means of
investigating the connections between France and Algeria during the era of
French colonisation. Can you think of a research use for found images in your
own discipline? Briefly outline a possible research project of your own that
makes use of found images.
This question made me think of one of my
classmate’s past research project. She was using various hand-pleating
techniques to develop a garment design that was inspired by the architectural
lines of the Aqua Building, in Chicago. During the entire process, she used
images to guide her work; primarily she interpreted images to match the best
hand technique that could mimic the building in that image, and secondarily she
used images to register the different patterns she created with her chosen
pleating technique.
Pages 133/134 outlines the use of soundscape
recording within a research project on the social divisions between the daytime
and nighttime inhabitants of downtown Edmonton, Canada. Can you think of a
research use for soundscapes and/or smellscapes in your own discipline? Briefly
outline a potential research project of your own that makes use of these
textured layers of recorded sound or smell in the environment.
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Soundscape:
I think that the fashion industry is strongly connected with the music
industry. It is very odd to think of a fashion catwalk show, or campaign that
has no sound/song to it. I think that when you combine music with fashion you
create a more complex message that, at the same time, can be easier
transmitted.
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Smellscape:
When I think of smells in Fashion I think that they can be used as an effective
Branding strategy. I believe that it is now quite common for brands to have
their own and unique fragrance developed and used in their shops, packages,
sprayed in their clothes. This creates a stronger shopping experience for the
costumer. One brand that in my opinion really uses this well is the Brazilian Melissa.
This brand is knew for its lovely plastic accessories that exhale an unique
scent. I first started wearing Melissa in a young age and every time I pass by
a Melissa shop or purchase an accessory from them that fragrance inundates me
and gives me a strong feeling of nostalgia.
Reference List:
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Seminar #1
Text: The Welsh Dresser
My previous practical
work, developed during the “Developing Practice” module of the MA Fashion
programme, started with the keen to investigate the concept of identity, and
how it is constructed/performed through clothing.
Throughout this study,
I focused on the use of the human figure as a source of inspiration for artists
and designers. My interest in understating the representation of the human body
in visual arts and my curiosity for the body alterations/augmentations that can
be find let me to Tarsila dos Amaral’s paintings. Successively, while studying
the story behind these paintings, I learned about the Anthropophagic movement, that
comments the philosophy behind the cannibalism practiced by native indians from
Brazil, and creates a relation between that literal cannibalism and the
social/cultural cannibalism that followed post-colonial Brazil. Inspired by the
Anthropophagic movement and the concept of consuming others to modify/improve
what already exists I created a series of designs made with paper collages,
which “consumed” pieces of clothing acquired from charity shops in London to
create new/improved garments.
Fig. 1: Antropofágica, the
painting was created from the combination of two of her other iconic paintings
A Negra (fig. 3) and Abaporu (fig. 4). painting by Tarsila do Amaral.
Fig. 2: Sample of Design-Collages.
Fig. 3: Sample of Design-Collages.
Fig. 4: Sample of Design-Collages.
Moving on to the
module(s) we are currently studying, Advanced Research and Body & Space,
the students were asked to think of the practical/theoretical research we want
to be developing. Whereas right now I have not decided the path I am going to
be following for my practical work to be developed, I know that I want my
practice to continue to comment about identity, focusing on my national
identity. In addition, my previous work has left a few open ideas/questions
that I would like to investigate in the following weeks.
One of the questions
that I have asked myself regards national identity, traditions and cultural
heritage. Coming from a multicultural country like Brazil I have always felt
that there are many questions about the construction of our society and the
legitimacy of our practices, considering its origins.
Therefore, for my initial
individual research I have decided to look for texts about Brazilian heritage,
Brazilian traditional craftsmanship, tourism, commodity of cultures, etc. And
the text that I picked to start my study with was “The Registry of Intangible
Heritage: the Brazilian Experience”. The author of this text, Doctor Cecilia
Londrès, has worked at the Minister of Culture in Brazil where she was responsible
for the Decrew-Law concerning intangible heritage and she was the Brazilian
expert at the UNESCO meetings for drafting the International Convention for the
Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. Her text was very focused on
the politics behind the registry of cultural heritage, especially of intangible
assets. The text also briefly comments the political difficulties for former-European
colonies, and explains that heritage is a concept that regards that which is considered
by a group or nation a culture of ‘it’s own’. (Londrès, 2014, p. 167)
Due to having a
strong focus on political aspects, this text was not satisfactorily helpful for
my personal questions, however it was an interesting reading with an accessible
vocabulary.
Reference List:
Amaral, T. (1929) Antropofágica [oil on canvas]. Fundação José e Paulina Nermirousky, sP, SP.
Londrès,
C. 2004, "The Registry of Intangible Heritage: the Brazilian experience:
The Registry of Intangible Heritage", Museum International, vol.
56, no. 1-2, pp. 166-173.
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