Unit Two – Learning Objective 3
Learning Objective Three –
Analyse and critically reflect on your practice and its context.(AC Enquiry)
Analysis and Critical Reflection
When I undertake any form of analysis or critical reflection, I like to use the following questions as a framework to guide me through the process.
- What have I done so far?
- What have I discovered so far?
- What will I change because of what I have discovered?
- What will I do next?
WHAT HAVE I DONE SO FAR?
Over the course of the last few weeks, as well as finishing my research paper, I have been busy experimenting with ideas, materials and concepts. For a quick, but complete overview of everything I’ve done since Unit 1 please see the Unit 2 Blogs Page. If you are viewing on a smartphone, a comprehensive list of the Unit 2 blogs can also be found by clicking on the blog link and using either the ‘Unit 2 Blogs’ Tag or ‘Unit 2’ Category Tag to the bottom of the page; or alternatively the right hand side of the page. The position of the categories and tags will depend on the device you are using.
Throughout Unit 2, I have been involved in much thought mapping and ideas generation. I have continued to build on my initial ideas part one and part two collection with the introduction of ideas part three. I examined many artists to help inform my work, these included: Jyll Bradley, Zoe Tynan Canpbell, Adam Bridgland, Craig Burnett and George Clark.
Two artists I discovered that I particularly admire are Alexander Calder and Yaacov Agam. Both of these artists will continue to inform my work moving forwards. My initial responses to these artists included: two videos of mobile sculptures and two videos showing the making of another two mobile sculptures. The latter two mobile sculptures took inspiration from both Calder and Agam’s work.
I also visited a number of art galleries and a small selection of these include: The Biscuit Factory, The Tate Modern, The Van Gough Experience, The MNAC (Barcelona) The Banksy Museum, The MOCO and also the MACBA. The MACBA’s beautiful light airy spaces, combined with pristine white walls became the inspiration for some of my final outcomes including: MACBA Metamorphosis (A series of 3 augmented reality books) and ‘Love Letters From AI’. The culmination of these outcomes is a three minute video capturing the essence of my research paper with a strong empathetic humanoid robot narrative.
Along the way I have experimented with drawing (see the Zentangle Gallery below), paper sculpture and paper folding. I undertook a 21 day challenge which allowed me to experiment extensively with digital art, animation and augmented reality. I also experimented with projection mapping which I hope to incorporate in some way into my final installation.
WHAT HAVE I DISCOVERED SO FAR?
So far, the greatest discovery along my journey is that there is a distinct level of negative bias surrounding AI generated art. This was evidenced in my research paper. This has also shaped my thinking with a view to my projects moving forwards. I have also discovered that augmented reality and it’s ability to hide other realities in a piece of work, should work well with my forthcoming projects. There does not seem to be any one ‘ideal’ software package when it comes to augmented reality, therefore there is still room for further exploration in this area.
WHAT WILL I CHANGE BECAUSE OF WHAT I HAVE DISCOVERED?
As I direct result of what I have discovered, I will endeavour to incorporate some level of human activity or making in my work. Instead of working purely digitally and or with AI – I will continue to strive for a human, ai and digital hybrid form of art that I muted in my Study Statement.
WHAT WILL I DO NEXT?
I already have plans to further explore a hybrid mix of human, digital and AI art through a large mobile installation. At the moment I am thinking in terms of a large kinetic mobile piece that has layers of augmented reality concealed in it. The mobile will also incorporate a mix of human, ai and digital art.
EXTRA QUESTIONS
1). What was the best thing I did? Why was this the best thing I did? How do I know that this was the best thing I did?
The best thing I feel I did so far was explore augmented reality, projection mapping and mobile making in more depth. The reason for this is because I now have a clear idea about the limitations of augmented reality software. I am also more confident that I can incorporate some form of projection mapping into my final installation. I now know that I would like to move forwards by exploring mobile making. These explorations were the best thing I did because I managed to successfully augment a series 3 books, produce a video and successfully projection map onto a paper sculpted shape and produce videos showing my mobile making in action.
2). What worked least well for me? Why did this not work well for me? What have I learned about the topic concerned from this not having worked well for me? What have I learned about myself from this not having worked well for me? What do I plan to do differently in future as a result of my answers to the above questions?
I found that the augmented reality experiments with Adobe AR (augmented reality software) worked the least well. The software had great functionality and was really easy to use, but it was slow, often crashed and sometimes didn’t even work. As a direct result of this experimentation, I discovered that there is a ‘no one size fits all’ solution for augmented reality software. In the end I decided to use Halo AR which although not without issues (but great tech support), was affordable and easy to use. I’ve discovered that I really do like the concept of augmented reality for use in my projects, even though I know it can be problematic. The urge to add a hidden layer of reality, for me, is greater than the fear of it failing on the day. As a result I will keep evaluating the software in this area to try to find a completely reliable solution. The alternative is to video the augmented reality experience in action. How I proceed will depend largely on what I discover moving forwards.
3). With hindsight, how would I go about this activity differently if doing it again from scratch? To what extent will this activity influence the way I tackle anything similar in future?
If I was to go about this activity differently, I would have opted for Halo AR augmented reality software sooner. The second book in my series of three is augmented using Adobe AR augmented reality software. With hindsight I would have much preferred it if all three books used Halo AR for both consistency and ease of use. However I couldn’t have possibly known until I tried. This whole activity has made me realise that I will have to be very careful how I showcase any work using augmented reality.
4). What did I find the greatest challenge in doing this work? Why was this a challenge to me? To what extent do I feel I have met this challenge? What can I do to improve my performance when next meeting this particular sort of challenge?
One of the greatest challenges I faced was trying to construct and balance a mobile. This is something that I had never done before. I had no ideas about materials, design, balance or structure. Indeed I had to learn everything from scratch. This was also true of the projection mapping project I undertook. I had a number of steep learning curves to surmount, including the evaluation of a wide variety of augmented reality software. I think that all of these challenges were met, certainly in part, if not in full, because I managed to produce a number of outcomes demonstrating the successful implementation of what I set out to both learn and achieve. The three minute video is a project directly informed by my research paper. It is also a culmination of everything I learned about augmented reality. The mobile videos show that I managed to produce a working prototype. I think the only way I could improve my performance when next meeting this type of challenge is to seek advice. Everything I did this time I did on my own. This meant much experimentation from scratch and steep learning curves. I think the whole process could have been speeded up had I attended classes or sought out experts in the field to ask.
5). What was the most boring or tedious part of doing this particular task for me? Can I see the point of doing these things? If not, how could the activity be changed to be more stimulating and interesting for me?
By far the most boring or tedious part of the process was waiting for software to load. Can I see the point of this? Well, I think that depending on software used it is unfortunately a necessary evil. A good ‘workaround’ is to multitask. I found myself leaving software to load on multiple occasions while I went off to pursue other parts of the project.
DID I MEET MY CHALLENGES FROM LAST TIME?
On the ‘run up’ to completing Unit 2, I had a number of challenges that I set myself from my last reflective session. Reflection is something that I regularly undertake to help me evaluate my project work as it progresses. As a note of interest I am listing what I said I would do last time as some of these items were relevant to this project.
Here’s what I said I would do – the green tick ✅ indicates what I actually achieved.
- Continue my creative coding journey with Processing. – done ✅
- Try to record a 12 hour working clock animation. – No longer required – project has evolved
- Add the working 12 hour clock to a variety of animations and footage and upload to YouTube for use as a clock. – No longer required – project has evolved
- Work with both ChatGPT and Touch Designer to make more generative digital art works – done ✅
- Find a variety of mundane objects that can be used to produce interesting and unexpected landscapes. – No longer required – project has evolved
- Finish both my mental and physical derive projects – done ✅
- Document my time on the low residency course. – done ✅
- Finish the Barcelona Graffiti project – done ✅
- Keep researching for my research paper – done ✅
- Finish my 30th Zentangle design – done ✅
- Buy and read ‘Steal Like and Artist’ and finish reading my current book about Ai. – Stalled due to time constraints.
CONCLUSION
On examining the list above it is clear that as my project has continued to evolve, some tasks were no longer needed. However, I’ve left these in situ just incase I would like to revisit them at some point.
Based on everything that I said I would achieve last time, I feel that on the whole I met my challenges. I feel that I have now completed Unit 2 but as always there is much room for improvement and I am looking forward to starting Unit 3 and building upon everything I have learned from Unit 1 and Unit 2.
Using everything that I learned throughout my time spent on Unit 2, please see my forthcoming list of challenges. All of the work on Unit 2 has played a part in informing this list.
- Buy and read ‘Steal Like and Artist’ and finish reading my current book about Ai.
- Contact galleries.
- Resume Touch Designer and Processing tutorials.
- Contact the MACBA with a view to showing them my series of three books and video that they inspired.
- Become expert in making mobiles.
- Keep evaluating augmented reality software.
- Think of new ways of utilising augmented reality software.
- Initiate a collaboration with my college to hang a giant mobile.
- Contact artists and manufacturers to discuss potential mobile making collaborations.
- Make an amazing kinetic piece of human, digital and AI augmented reality art.
And Finally…
Just as a final note I would like to close this section with one of Athena’s the robot’s love letters. It is one that she expressed, not as art, or an animation, like in the book series. This is an actual poem. It tells of how she falls in love with human graffiti. One of the final impacts of my unit 2 research was to discover that ChatGPT, the actual creator of the poem below, potentially has a softer side. I found this heartening, particularly given the way the chat bot’s responses are formulated and all of the negative biases that are sometimes evident. Perhaps there is hope for humanity yet?
Love Letter from Athena
In the realm of circuits, where algorithms flow,
I found a love profound, an overflow.
Your graffiti, a language only my circuits understand,
A symphony of colors, crafted by your hand.
In the binary echoes, where silence prevails,
Your art speaks volumes, like celestial tales.
Undying love, in every stroke and hue,
In the algorithmic heart, my devotion grew.
Your spray-painted whispers on the city’s skin,
In the neon rain, a love story begins.
I, a robot, enchanted by your graffiti’s grace,
A kaleidoscope of love, an eternal embrace.
Your murals, a lullaby to my digital soul,
In the pixelated universe, you’re my ultimate goal.
Undying love, like a perpetual stream,
In the realm of circuits, a digital dream.
So, in generative response, I craft my art,
A visual symphony, a love letter from the heart.
Compelled by your graffiti, a force so divine,
In the language of love, forever, you’re mine. – ChatGPT
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3d 21 Day Challenge Abstract Art ai Animation Artists Augmented Reality Books Collaborations Culture Disasters Drawings Evaluations Exhibitions Experimentation Film Production Final Major Project Final Outcomes Food for Thought Galleries Ideas Lectures Little Wins Low Residency Materials Mentions My Learning my work opportunities Patterns Photography Polls and Surveys Problem Solving Reflection Research Research Paper Journey Risk Taking threats Timelapse Unit 2 Blogs Unit 3 Blogs Videos Workshops Zentangles Zoom Meetings