The Untold Story Part 1 - Choosing My Subject

Visual Subject 

In todays session we were given 3 visual subjects in which we could base our picture book on which I liked the idea of as I had bit of a variation to chose from. I made some notes on each of the topics so I could initially pick the one I think would suit me best, which ended up being 'Age'. To gain a little bit of research we discussed with our tutorial peers what we know about the subject and asked each other questions on what the topic actually meant. This gave us starting points and allowed us to create a small book of rough sketches. I think this was really important as it opened up a whole new range of ideas and thoughts on my chosen subject. 

Planning ahead - work for this week.

Audio

As a part of the brief an important source of research involves gaining 3 audio recordings of conversations about my subject. My intentions for this week is to interview different generations of people about the same age, e.g interview my 14 y/o sister about what its like to be 14, and contrast that with what it was like for my grandparents and parents to be 14. I have chosen this idea purely because in todays session I asked students "what was your favourite age?", One said 14 - which I found a lot of students would reply with a similar answer (including myself).

Observation

Another form of research which is needed as a part of this brief is observational sketches. I intend to make lots of drawings from observation in perhaps places I used to go as a 14 year old/young teen. A place I used to go as a 14 y/o was Bolton town hall steps, which interestingly is still being carried on by the younger generations, so it would be nice to revisit this location and gain a sense of nostalgia and make some nice drawings to recreate what it was like to be a young teen. Another thing to think about is similar places like bolton town hall steps - its a place were people gather, much like the steps outside of Uni of Leeds.

Ephemera 

I think it would be really nice to pick objects up relating to my subject throughout my journey. It might be worth visiting some charity shops/antique shops which the majority of the time objects held in these shops are able to show a clear representation of age. I could also consider if theres is anything I can get hold of that represents that feeling of being 14 - like empty cigarette packets on the floor around bolton town centre. (will that look weird picking things up off the floor?)

Secondary

I need to consider collecting any historical information or data? It might be a good idea to visit any museums - museums could open up and influence a better understanding of my topic age especially if theres is any memorabilia across different eras relating to age.