Russell Squires, Author at The Open College of the Arts

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Russell Squires

Can graphic design save your life?

graphic design study visits

Posted: 14/11/17 09:05 | 3 Comments

Join OCA tutor Russell Squires on the 2 December at the Wellcome Collection in London.

Comfort Zones

comfort zone creativity fine art Photography

Posted: 13/06/17 09:54 | 2 Comments

What is a comfort zone and who defines them? Well, we all do; they are defined by our lack of experience or familiarity with a subject. They can be as little as trying a new technique, to exploring an alternative research pathway, and it is the discomfort and uneasiness we feel undertaking a new task that reaffirms our zones.

Originality

Posted: 10/02/16 09:11 | 19 Comments

With so many photographs out there, trying to find an original idea for your photography project can be increasingly difficult. Just a quick search online may yield scores of images on the subject that you are investigating; perhaps even a series from a photographer, along with an artist’s statement that echoes those thoughts you have had in your head for ages. What happens now…?

A Stirring Interpretive

Posted: 15/07/15 09:16 | 3 Comments

Just ten days after I was born, the music video channel ‘MTV’ was launched; I can truly say that I’m a MTV kid and I grew up on music videos. They were my first taste into ‘Popular Music’; yet I never really listened to the lyrics, instead I watched them and overindulged in their visual allure.

Study Visit Review: Conflict Time Photography

Posted: 09/02/15 02:22 | 6 Comments

Students from far and wide attended this… shall we say mixed exhibition at the Tate Modern. A few had already seen it, yet visiting it on mass generated some interesting dialogues throughout which carried on to the large group discussion at the end. With work from photographers such as McCullin, Norfolk, Schmidt, Shore, and Tomatsu, […]

Photographic Palimpsest

Posted: 20/01/15 10:38 | 6 Comments

Can there truly be a photographic palimpsest where there are layers upon layers hiding and disguising mistakes and decisions made? Or can it only exist in a manipulative and synthetic state where layers are purposefully formed to be decoded in an elaborate ruse? Perhaps through our ever-increasing digital libraries, new palimpsests will form or maybe this data recovery process could be a new movement of found photography.

The lateness of ‘Warm Photography’

Posted: 26/11/14 11:29 | 7 Comments

Generally the notion of late photography concerns itself with the subject of war and conflict, with an objective of recording the aftermath of the event, a document of what is left behind. Somewhat scenic vistas are captured, typically with large format cameras to gather as much detail and clarity as possible; they are an aestheticized response to what has happened.

Power, Narrative and Presentation

Posted: 18/09/14 09:38 | 1 Comments

I have seen rather a few exhibitions this summer and not just photography but sculpture, video, performance, writing, sound and painting; I just could not get enough. What I found interesting though with all these shows, is just how controlling photographic narrative can be through certain forms of production and presentation.

Automation of Art (Part 02)

Posted: 26/07/14 09:43 | 2 Comments

Russell’s back with some further thoughts

Automation of Art (Part 01)

Posted: 13/07/14 05:02 | 12 Comments

Does the digital process and the automation of creating take anything away?