Minutes: Thursday 29 October

Thursday 29 October 2009-10-30, 12:30
Present: Lu Lu, Judith, James, Dave, Sandra, Natalie, Chris, Kate
Apologies: None

On agreement from last weeks meeting, each person in turn gave a brief description of ideas they wanted to put forward for the groups consideration. Within these are ideas that have sprung up through dialogue.

James –
- to use historical maps documenting the spread of the city centre of Manchester.
- to raise awareness of things that are overlooked and discover ways to represent this.
- Looking at how the city becomes drawn-out as it expands.
- to identify letters within the city buildings/monuments.
- take rubbing of the city to understand texture.
- observational project – perhaps looking at artists that draw attention to sections of buildings that are overlooked.
- end result could perhaps be shown on seven A1 sheets with smaller digital images.

Judith –
- looking at different methods/mediums that could be used for documentation – video, photography, sound, installation.
- could ask people do describe Manchester in one word and use that as a catalyst for creating work.
- look at/video peoples footsteps and map these out or count footsteps and create rhythms from them.
- Devils Causway – how footprints/paths can become engraved into a landmass.
- describe a route through its buildings.
- Could collect objects/rubbish on a trip through the city and create an installation at the end.

Natalie –
- to use sound as a way of capturing the city.
- to either record sounds within the city or to listen and manually record sounds through writing.
- to create an interactive sound piece including the experiences of the group and the wider public.
- find various way of representing the findings.

Sandra –
- to use maps, place and sound.
- to either record or photograph and image of the city, street or people and create an interactive video.
- could use two or three images repeating themselves on a loop.
- perhaps with a still image and sound as the final instalment.

Chris –
- a photography based piece looking at the blasé nature people have within the city.
- to set up cameras in a not-so-obvious place and take 100/150 photos looking for similar mannerisms that people may have, creating a collage of the people that are doing the same movement.
- to actually draw on the city and see how many people follow a map to a place that is not so well know eg Hidden Gem Church.
- place shocking or bright posters at certain locations around the city and take photographs of people seeing weather they notice their presence.
- to use slow exposure photography to concentrate on say a crack in the road, documenting the changing features of the city.

Lu Lu –
- to look at inspiration from the movie ‘Night at the Museum’. Characters within that who are in black and white while the rest of the screen is in colour.
- to look at areas (perhaps Oxford Road) that have had a cultural influence on the city or that have a lot of historical buildings.
- to change colour and texture on a building within a photograph or video to ring true to its origins and time of construction.
- to highlight smaller sections of a scene that seem out of place with the original surroundings.
- Presentation could be in the form of a panoramic photograph.

Dave –
- to look at CCTV and the impact that can have on the public.
- when you get out of a car you are constantly monitored in an intrusive manner.
- think about the journey that we take to work/ university.
- to look at Sophie Calle as an influence. Following someone can also be intrusive into some ones life.
- if you record a journey then that journey belongs to you.
- methods of picking a person to follow – choose a certain carpark and follow the people who leave it on foot until their destination.
- looking at different ways to record the journey.
- using personalised maps and looking at amalgamations of photographic maps and old maps.
- final presentation seen as enlarged maps with different routes within them.

Kate –
- to walk around the city either as a whole or in smaller groups from a designated location. That location could be decided by random, by throwing a dice, picked randomly on a map or asking the first person (perhaphs wearing blue) that comes into contact with the group.
- to decide the direction that the group(s) would take the dice is thrown (each number correlating with a direction) or a random person is asked. This is done for a designated number of times.
- chalk marks are left on the ground indicating the directions that we have taken.
- everything is repeated again another day (perhaps changing one thing).
- The aim is to see where we end up each time and guess if the outcomes will be the same.
- Presentation is either as hand drawn maps or photographic documentation along with findings.

After this the group discussed that factors that the ideas had in common.
- photography
- maps
- the journey
- personal awareness

Ideas put forward -
A small, busy cross section of Manchester city centre will be looked at. Perhaps a map drawn out in chalk marking for the group a short journey and also as a marker for the public to follow if they choose. Cameras will be set up at three to four intervals within this path and a photograph taken every 5/10 seconds. These will then be compared and perhaps exhibited side by side. There may be a distraction set up at each location to catch the attention of the passer by to see if the same mannerisms are repeated from person to person.

It was decided that next week we would, after a short to recap go into the city and look at locations for the work to take place.