Reflections paper on cluster two

Reflections Paper

After a close reading your group’s chosen inspiration cluster, write a 500-800 word reflection on the concepts that inspired you. Feel free to do some extra research into a particular topic but make sure you leave plenty of room for your own ideas to develop. In your paper you should indicate your preliminary ideas for how these concepts might translate into your individual projects. Post your reflection on your blog under the category mdcm2003. You also need to hand in a paper copy in the assignment box.

From a close examination of the key concepts in cluster two, the concept of understanding the subjectivity of an individual in regards to perception is an intriguing one. Perception is largely dependent upon an individual’s personal cultural, historical, socio-economical and religious background, beliefs and experiences. These factors contribute largely in the materialisation of an individual’s perception of a subject. Although all individuals may be able to view, see, hear, and touch the same subject, their perception of this subject is tainted and affected by their past history, experiences and beliefs which may relate to this particular subject.

Jonathan Cary (Suspensions of Perception, MIT  Press: Cambridge Mass., 1999) makes a valid point in stating, “perception is fundamentally characterized by experiences of fragmentation, shock and dispersal”, these states of mind can be associated with the subjective, as these states of mind often alter one’s personal perception of a particular experience or object. For example, a video clip of a car crash may have connotations of being more traumatic and frightening to those who have experienced first hand a shocking experience of a car crash. In particular artists vividly illustrate the subjectivity of perception as they attempt to portray their subjective and unconscious memories and feelings through different mediums of art and also through different characteristics of the artwork such as line, texture, colour…etc. In particular the period of expressionism saw artists use ecstatic colour, emotive distortion of form, agitated brushstrokes and disjointed space to emotionally express concepts of death and torture reflected in the effects of World War I.

In addition to this, Cary adds that, “perception is primarily a way of indicating a subject definable in terms of more than the single-sense modality of sight, in terms also of hearing and touch and, most importantly, of irreducibly mixed modalities which, inevitably, get little or no analysis within “visual studies”. Cary reiterates how perception relies on all senses such as sight, hearing, touch and aural qualities as well as these “mixed modalities” which constitute towards an individual’s personal subjectivity and experience. However, it is also interesting to think about how each of these senses can stand alone in invoking personal and sentimental thoughts and memories. Barry Blesser and Linda-Ruth Salter (Spaces Speak, MIT Press: Cambridge Mass2007) describe how “solely through sound, an entire environment, complete with memories and emotions, comes alive.” The same can be applied to sight, where through a single image, one could subjectively evoke a mass of emotions, and memories.

From close analysis of these concepts and issues, incorporating these ideas into producing a video piece can be challenging. The medium of digital video cannot ever fully succeed in evoking a particular subjective emotion within each and every individual who views the video. Therefore, through a multi plot storyline, the process of presenting different individuals within the video with distinct characteristics and experiences and exposing them to react to the same event or experience can show how perception varies amongst each individual due to their subjectivity.

In trying to depict these different memories, feelings and sentiments that affect their current perception of a particular subject, different technical effects could be used. These include different uses of angles and shots to create a sense of voyeurism as we peek into psychologically their memories and thoughts. These angles could even be distorted, blurred, or even unfocused.  Proper use of sound and shots of flickering of their thoughts can create a sense of fragmentation and dispersal like Cary described. These attributes and more can be portrayed effectively to show the human subjectivity of perception