I had my first MCP tutorial with tom - I told him my new ideas during the summer on the diorama (specifically, the natural history diorama) and also asked about the issues I was concerned about.
Here are my rough notes:
Kent : , diorama museum, Powell-cotton (write account of visit) use as section of essay, not from personal exhibition , but about the exhibition , observation of exhibition. Section , how audience interact with diorama...
geraint (artificial) / mark Farmington (nature of the beast, exhibition with other artists)
General reading/ more u get an idea of what u want to say, clearer it becomes.... background reading what it is (going to museum), artists work with that format- the diorama... sth bigger : staging of nature, artificial...
the edit: Animal-Human.
attitudes to death, encountered death much more often in the Victorian, separated from reality of death, affect the way we view taxidermy.
William. collect specimens. draw the things in his collection.
Popular: cabinet of curiosities. the unknown. popularity. Exotic. fake taxidermies like sea monkey, but just mixed different animals together, strange fabrications.
Susan Stewart the miniature. On longing. theoretical perspective. poetic way of why collections are important to people.
Diorama, collect nature, not something that should happen , root of it is a paradox.
horniman museum
horniman museum
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The issue I was most concerned about is how to go about the breadth of ideas - and Tom said that will become clearer as you research - with the background reading (which could be a visit to the museum) finding out what it is you’re researching, then a direction will present itself through reading. As for not lifting entire paragraphs of information - you will find out how you personally think of the ideas, that is different to others, own argument.
If I visit the powell-cotton museum, perhaps I could include that visit in my essay as a separate section, and the focus could be on the experience of dioramas in relation to the audience. I feel that perhaps I will get different ideas when I go there. Seeing dioramas in real life gives me great joy and fear and disgust. The layers of contrasts within these ideas is incredible. perhaps I could talk about these conflicting concepts…
I suppose I should look at geraint and mark’s work and the exhibitions they’ve been in. That would be helpful in leading the ideas in a new and contemporary way. I’ll also use the edit , especially the Animal-Human section, to read upon those ideas. and expand on attitudes of death.