End of Module Evaluation

End of module evaluation

OUIL501

Jasmin Harbord

This year I took my COP module in a very different direction than 401. Whereas I focused primarily on illustration and image making in my level 4 essay, this year the topics of my research were much more in the realms of culture and society, with the illustrative investigation element coming primarily from my own practical work. There were a number of obstacles that came with this decision, but it is something I feel I have definitely learnt from.

One of the issues that arose with this route of research was that I felt a little like I was starting from scratch. Last year a large portion of my essay was deduced from the analysis of visual illustration, but this year it was largely through theory. Though that wasn’t a problem in itself, there were times I wondered about the relevance of what I was discussing to my course, and the completely new area of focus was a little daunting. I think one of the things I have struggled with in this module is the referencing of appropriate sources. While I feel towards the end of the module in particular, my researching had been extensive; I felt as though maybe I wasn’t translating the things I was learning and deducing as succinctly as I could have done within my essay. This is something I definitely want to address and get better at going into COP3, I think to continually revise my essay, and source material, every few weeks would have been extremely beneficial and ensured the consistency in appropriate and focused content. It would have also left time at the end to tweak things I feel I simply didn’t allow for time to do. The essay needs frequent and considered evaluation throughout the process of writing, rather than patchy revisions over a long period of time.

Another point I feel I could have improved in my submission was the way in which I documented my research. Rather than chipping away and blogging sources as I came across them, I left a lot of it until the end, resulting in a poorer quality of clear research. Though I responded to each of my sources through annotation and contemplation of degree of relevance, I feel I didn’t show this as successfully as I could have done if I’d have done it as I went along.

Something I have learnt and to take away positively from this module however, was the relationship between practical and theoretical research. I feel like my essay did benefit a lot more once my practical investigation was underway, and allowed for a more focused examination of my subject matter. I’m also pleased with how I pushed my practical research to represent something with depth rather than going for something that I felt just illustrated my essay. While I knew I wanted to produce something of relevance and depth, I initially found this very difficult to do. But through a combination of persistent theoretical AND practical research, I was able to delve deeper and make work that was focused and well informed. The practical side of this project could never have developed as well as it did without the theoretical input. And in a similar way, I felt a lot better informed going back to my essay after I’d undergone further research for my publication. This duality between theory and research is something that will become integral in the summer work I produce in response to COP3 and I must remember to uphold both methods of examination consistently.

Although I’ve struggled at times with this module, it is one I’ve found to be very rewarding. I relished the practical side of this task and getting some in depth content in my work is something I really enjoy. Focusing on something that didn’t necessarily involve the arts world was a challenge, but I feel as though my creative practice has benefited from it contextually! I’d like to bring elements of this into my COP3 submission and really get to grips with how the relationship between the visual arts and the cultural world around it work in synergy.

Essay PDF

COP3 Proposal

Practical; Stock Choices & Final Publication

 


I photocopied my final publication onto both yellow and blue paper to see which I preferred for the final. The yellow coming from the smiley face logo adopted by the Shroom nightclub in London and later by the raver culture as a whole, and the blue from both the strobe lighting and 'blue pill' ecstasy.

I felt the yellow most accurately fit with the rave aesthetic, and photocopied a final version to be stapled and folded to a high level.

Towards the end of this brief I did play around with the notion of using a thicker stock so my publication looked to be finished at a higher standard. However when comparing it to the thinner stock I decided to go with that. The thinner paper made for a more DIY zine feel whereas the thicker stock would have taken away some of the authenticity of the piece, and in turn some of the research.

Practical; Final Images and Book Layout

Process

Once the final images were drawn up it was merely a case of editing the levels and creating each pages' composition and text boxes. I had seen that a lot of the raver zines used quite crude graphic design with a lot of type in boxes or in different fonts // sizes. 

Content

I thought it best to write up a little introduction at the start of my zine to give it some context to those about to read it with no previous knowledge of the rave culture. This also fit into the aesthetics I was replicating in the way of text and composition. 

When writing out the first person text for each page, I made sure to continually look back on my previous images and how I'd captured rave there, and the articles I'd read in relation to the ravers themselves. It was important to me that my zine showcased both the playful and fun loving side of rave as much as the more serious and prominent features of the movement. The idea of community, spirituality and hedonism were vital things to communicate through this publication.

Once the images were completed they were laid out on indesign ready to print.

Development of Final Images

Practical Decisions 

For the most part I kept to the original plan I'd made in the page by page breakdown of how my zine would work. The only real difference I made throughout the drawing process was that I didn't keep to the one male figure then one female figure layout. I found as I visually investigated each theme that there were better ways of describing them that were less obvious and made for a more a more visually engaging flow throughout the zine. This stopped the subject matter becoming repetitive and made for a better piece in total I feel.

Addition of Text

The text that would appear in my zine would be my own, in response to research and articles I'd collected of people's first hand accounts, stories and lives both throughout and after the golden age of rave. It's hoped that through this first person interoperation, the raver way of life will be translated in a way that portrays them as relatable and tells their story from the inside rather than a tabloid or government driven angle.

The text I would add to this zine in pre-production would be digitally rendered as many of the rave flyers and zines were, it is integral at this point that my piece emulates the raver movement in both content and aesthetics.

Practical; Content Development

Development of Final Content

Idea 1

Began with thinking of showing ravers when they were young and where they are now; old people who you would not think of being hardcore ravers; humorous. Old folk reminiscing of their rave days, combining research of what happened in the rave days and showing the rave people as humorous and human. The contrast in how their lives were and how they are now.

Problems

Layout seems a little repetitive and not sure that the tone will reflect what I want to say about the ravers? Makes a spoof of the movement? Unsure if the link between young ravers and where they are now will be apparent?

Idea 2

Combining well known stories and more personal ones to create an overall image of what the raver movement was. Include motifs from the scene but make it feel relatable and real. How it felt from the inside rather than the outside. Showing the cultures validity through honest experiences.

Process

Make list of rave themes // stories of interest

Incorporate them with personal twist

Pick out eight to fit zine layout

Rave zine - diy feel

Practical; Crit and Feedback

Final crit feedback sheet

Practical; Zine Development & Research

Further Visual Research

In order to gather more realistic visual referenes to use for my publication, I watched this video on youtube to get an idea of what the inside of a rave was actually like, noting the movements, atmosphere and viewpoints of not only the people within the rave dancing but the DJ's themselves.

Focusing of Intent

With all the research undertaken for this module, I felt now was the time for diluting down what I wanted to include in my book. I focused in on what I wanted the standpoint of my publication to have and what I wanted to SAY about the raver culture. They were more than just people dancing on a night out, they were a community of people who shared the same ethos; everyone is accepted because everyone just wants to have a good time.

Practical; Further Rave Research & Drug Research

Building on from the research I'd already conducted, I photocopied some pieces from books to further look into the ravers themselves and how they interacted with one another. Collecting more visual imagery to work from also helped further my understanding of the visual rave scene.

From my crit it was suggested I also look at the affects // sources of drugs in relation to both rave culture and their roots. A lot of the rave scene came from the wide spread distribution of the dug ecstasy, which is characterised in it's ability to enhance the emotional state of the user, resulting in increased sensitivity, a feeling of euphoria and joy without the hallucinations or panic reactions of other drugs available at the time.

While the drug could result in 'bad trips' (instances were the user was already in a state of distress or emotion unstably upon administering the drug) for the most part ravers took it because it displayed a lot of positive side affects without the complications of taking harder drugs.

I also looked into the uses and effects of taking magic mushrooms; as some ravers did in the days of open free festivals. While they also boasted euphoric feelings, shrooms came at a more intense level inducing hallucinations, warped light and hearing. Both drugs however opened up the mind to new ideas and ways of taking in your surroundings at a heightened level. It is important to note the value of the drugs used within the rave community. 

Practical; Crit, Self Evaluation & Revised Practical Proposal

General

Going into this crit I felt a lot more confident with the work I had to show, although I was still a little unsure of what content I should put into the zine exactly. For the most part everyone agreed with what I had to say, the visual language side of the brief was really developing and matched with the subject matter well. The use of text and imagery together was engaging and reflected the raver attitude, but I needed to focus on what I wanted to SAY about the ravers.

Feedback

It was agreed that my current tone of voice and material was something I should continue to take through into further developments, and the notion of making a rave zine was also well received! When it came to content I also had a ton of great ideas thrown at me. I explained my research and how I'd been looking at ravers as people, looking at articles and interviews of ravers where they were and where they are now, the stories I'd pulled up in relation to rave culture and how it was presented. That though there were troubles within the movement, as there are with all, for the most part ravers felt very positively about being a part of the counter culture. My group gave a lot of really useful and inventive ways of representing my research, but which I chose would depend on how I wanted to portray the culture; did I want it to be humorous and playful or something more serious and hard hitting? Intent is key to the development of this project!

Possible Outcomes

One page advertisement for rave - next page after the rave (the comedown)

Ravers in public everyday jobs (Bob at the office) VS them as ravers (Bob off his face at the weekend)

Ravers top trumps - vice articles

Puffin books for adults (humorous take on rave culture "Chris really regretted letting that man spit in his mouth last night")

Spoof raver reality

Things to Keep in Mind // Capitalise On

Personal is good! Ravers as people

Greyscale with coloured paper on photocopier

Synthesis of what's working in practical with research

Rave Zine Research

Source of Zines; http://ravearchive.com/zine

Featuring; Atmosphere Issue 2 (1993), Blaze Issue 6 (1992), Interdance Issue 2 (1993), Ravescene Issue 12 (1992) and Underworld Issue 1 (1991)

Rave Zine Research

After doing some preliminary sketches of ravers with zines in mind, I took the time to sit down and really read through some rave zines. While the content of my publication would be dictated largely from my research, it was the aesthetic elements of rave zines I was really interested in.

Their lo-fi DIY quality really embodied the "doing it 'cause you love it" attitude upheld by many in and around the raver movement. Largely printed in black and white with a few coloured pages in them, I thought about how my own publication could replicate this.

Media

I started thinking about rather than printing my publication digitally, with high end production methods in their hardback and embossed quality, what if the publication was the employ this mentality instead? Something well crafted but using more 80s//90s methods. The images and text itself could be greyscale and then photocopied onto coloured paper to really give it that 'rave feel'.  It was also around this point I took out a book on club flyers from the 80s//90s from the library. The crude graphic style that many of the flyers for raves were printed on fit with the rave zine aesthetic perfectly. I think this is definitely something I'd like to emulate with my own publication.

Practical; Drawing Ravers & Zine

Technique

I decided to take a step back form my research and essay and take a slightly different approach to the practical side of this brief. Though I had a practical proposal written down, as stated before it wasn't something I really felt confident in taking all the way through to a final publication.

When I sat down and thought about what had drawn me to this subject in the first place I found myself remembering the people that started and carried the rave movement through it's golden age. The community and spirituality of rave was one of the key factors that had drawn me to it in the first place; it was the PEOPLE that made this movement so spectacular. And so it made sense to get back to basics.

References // Further Research

While googling images of ravers to draw from, listening to the happy hardcore sounds that would often be played by the Hacienda, I came across a couple of black and white photos of DJs that in turn lead me to a few pictures from rave zines. Rave zines were something I knew of, but hadn't looked into directly for this project, which seemed a little strange given their relevance!

As I looked further into rave zines and images of people at raves, I found my images progressing in a much more beneficial route. It was finally as though my research and practical work were beginning to synthesise in a way that elevated my research into new unexplored areas.

The combination of text, some of which I was getting from rave zines and others I was writing down in response to what I was finding through research, seemed to work with one another quite well. I felt as though my work was finally starting to reflect the rave ethos and what I wanted to say about it. Though many theorists would disregard the rave movement as something largely superficial, I really felt as though it had a lot to say. It wasn't a movement that had necessarily SET OUT to make huge changes or defy authority, but by dancing to the rhythm of their own bass, had subsequently done so. The ravers held protests, formed communities, birthed mainstream dance music in clubs, practiced not merely tolerance but acceptance of people no matter their race, sexuality or gender. It was the people at the core of this movement who's stories I wanted to tell!




 getting personal

Progress Crit - Peer Feedback

Feedback

Overall the feedback from the mega crit was positive, however I felt it wasn't really beneficial in progressing my work further. A lot of the comments were regarding practical aspects of the project and where theory was concerned, vague comments were made such as 'narrow it down'; which is what I was struggling with!

Problems

I'm still unhappy with what the content of my publication will be. It feels undeveloped and I'm unsure of how to push it into a new direction. Things feel a little stale at this point; I think I need a more in-depth peer crit to help push my project on so I can explain the difficulties I'm having and in turn get more relevant and direct feedback.

Moving On

I definitely need to push on with more research!! I think a lot of the issues I'm having at the minute are because I'm looking over the same source material, looking at new source material and drawing a lot more, I'm hoping, will free this up. Right now I think I need to get back to drawing while researching and see what comes out of it, rather than trying to stick with an idea I'm not 100% confident in.

Practical; Deconstructing Essay & Proposal

Further Investigation

In an attempt to draw more from my essay I printed it out and highlighted parts that really appealed to me. I find that while drawing with my subject matter in mind, I enjoy it and get most from it when I'm researching but drawing through personal experience // interpretation. I'm unsure how this would fit into a publication format or what content I would focus on however.

Practical

When writing my proposal I kept in mind what my peers had said about making a concertina from then until now. I thought about having a hardback embossed cover for each end in a bright yellow, with bold colours throughout to reflect the raver aesthetic. I could potentially use neon coloured duck tapes for any details. The safe option at this point is printing it digitally, however I could use screen print if time allowed for it? Something to consider. 

Moving On

Though I like the aesthetic elements I have in mind for my publication, the content still bothers me a little. It feels like a lazy solution and as if I haven't conducted // developed further research to make this piece something of contextual worth. Before committing fully to this idea I feel I definitely need to conduct some further research, both theoretically and practically. 

Practical; Peer Crit & Hotdog Books

Going into this crit I felt my knowledge on my chosen essay topic had improved and grown greatly, but felt as though my current practical work did not reflect this. I was a little lost in how to tackle the brief without just illustrating my essay.

During the crit it was suggested I maybe take on the idea of how rave has developed // stayed alive through time from the late 1980s to modern day. It could work in a concertina format moving from warehouses to fields to clubs, with a change in fashion // settings to show the progression of time. While I like this idea, I'm still a little unsure as to whether it is developed enough from my essay. At the moment the concept behind the imagery seems a little stagnant and just a regurgitation of what I've explained in my essay, with slightly more information and depth.

24 Hour Party People

24 Hour Party People Trailer

Film Synopsis

Manchester, 1976. Tony Wilson (Steve Coogan) is an ambitious but frustrated local TV news reporter looking for a way to make his mark. After witnessing a life-changing concert by a band known as the Sex Pistols, he persuades his station to televise one of their performances, and soon Manchester's punk groups are clamoring for him to manage them. Riding the wave of a musical revolution, Wilson and his friends create the legendary Factory Records label and The Hacienda club.

Research

It was suggested during my Essay Map peer group session that I watched the film 24 Hour Party People, to help introduce me to the time period I would be studying, and some of the main players involved in the development of the scene from Factory Records to the Hacienda.

The film was entertaining and definitely helped in giving a rough idea of how things moved from a humble record label, to becoming part of a much bigger movement. The hedonistic lifestyle approach to business, while being integral to the downfall of the venture, was also something that really stood out to me. There was a kind of reckless abandonment in the air at the time, which actually subsequently lead to the start of something huge. Did any of these people aim to make a huge mark in British culture? Probably not, but it's an interesting concept to consider.

Factory Records

24 Hour Party People Interviews

[Timings of People Being Interviewed]

00:00 Peter Hook & Stephen Morris (New Order) 01:42 Bernard Summer (New Order) 03:22 Arthur Baker 05:33 Tony Wilson 09:43 Peter Saville 15:59 Shaun Ryder (Happy Mondays) 21:03 Mark Berry (Happy Mondays) 24:18 Jon Ronson 28:11 Mark Radcliffe 32:50 Tim Booth (James) 34:26 Jim Glennie & Larry Gott (James) 42:13 Peter Hook 46:19 Dave Haslam

Essay Plan

As my research has continued I've decided to focus in on the British raver movement from the late 1980s to the early 1990s, the duality between theorists thinking this movement was either a fleeting moment of hedonism, or whether this was one of value and change is something that interests me and I feel I could make into a substantial body of research.

Proposed Essay Question

Did the ‘raver’ subculture in Britain, from the late 1980s to early 1990s, lead to social change in British culture and politics or was it merely a community of ecstasy infused ‘party people’?

Rough Structure

Introduction 

What is subculture? What is rave culture? When? Subculture or mainstream?

(500 words)

Main Body

Authenticity of Raver Culture (340 words) VS Recreational Drug Culture (340 words)

Inclusivity- race gender sexuality fashion ect (340 words) VS Apathy//Moral-less (340 words)

Political Impact- Anti-Tory (340 words) VS 24 Hour Party People -Unconcerned with Political Agenda (340 words)

Remember to include figures (images) to illustrate points

Conclusion 

Have they contributed or not? Media and Tory VS impact on British society; they did make an impact
Did they mean to or not; argued either way
Made change by doing what they wanted to do without a care for politic around them, ended up being key in political debates ect
 (500 words)

Extras

Have a few hundred words left to talk about pictures ect // add take anything away.
Include photos // pictures to illustrate essay rather than analyse using theory

Essay Crit & Feedback

FEEDBACK

Moving on from this point my main aim is really to research. I've began taking out books//looking up quotes ect to form a base for my essay but more in-depth research needs to take place. There are a few things I feel I should look into in more depth to get a better understanding of this era // the subculture as a whole.

FOCUSED THINGS TO LOOK INTO

24 Hour Party People

The Hacienda 

Madchester

Facts & Figures from the ate 80s//early 90s

Factory Records

London based Warehouse Raves VS Northern Raves

Raves then and now

Is the subculture still alive? Is it diluted?

Rave//Happy Hardcore//Jungle//House - differences? Similarities? 

Raver ethos - did they have one? An agenda? Certain aspects that 'make a raver a raver' - are there any? Could anyone be a raver? What united them?

WHO were the ravers? Class, race, sexuality ect - were there specifics?

Fashion? Bucket hats ect - what were they trying to say with their fashion? If anything?

Essay Map; Study Task 3

Building on from my chosen theme of culture, I decided to narrow down my essay to focus on subcultures. The notion of a group of people banding together to fight the mainstream has always interested me, and the opportunity to finally look more depth into this is one I wanted to investigate.

After a bit of further reading I focused in on the 'raver' culture from the late 1980s to early 1990s; while it's debatable whether this group was indeed a subculture, counterculture or a part of the mainstream is something that could be debated, however it's the people within the movement itself that interest me most.

Under the Tory reign, the ravers were painted as self absorbed delinquents, having massive messy parties with little regard for those around them, but how true is this notion? Did the ravers actually have anything to contribute to society or were they indeed just a group of 'party people'. This is what I want my essay to focus on.