PhD Archive

final planning of Spring Green Conference with Steve Roberts and Andy Read. Follow-up preparation.

reading, writing and wiring on Corsica.

writing a second draft programme for completion.

Visit to Museum in Corte.

Attachments

completion-of-phd-april.-a-1366441428.doc

5 AM start for walk between the two River crossings – little owl, bitter wind, owl taking song bird in talons, cold gripping my head with icy talons. Everywhere flooded but frostily firm to walk on. Car pulls up and occupant with tattooed St. George’s cross on forehead, camera and binoculars to hand, asks the way to footpath under the second road bridge.

Tom is interested in the remnants of a previous culture, pre road bridges – the turn pike, the former road stopping at the river’s edge and the small, now isolated settlement.

I photograph Tom walking. Transition, movement, change.

20th to 23rd – various emailing,reading and writing, preparation for conference.

Tutorial with Drs. Robert Newell and Paul Jeff.

Revised ideas on structure of thesis and developed ideas for final show and viva.

after an enforced break from writing for almost a month, I’ve re-read the previously sent synopsis and made a few minor changes to it in the attached version for the focus of our discussion on the 19th at 10.30. Apart from spotting repeated misspelling and misspelt author’s name, I feel quite secure in what I’d written and have only subtly changed the meaning.

As well as the questions below I’d appreciate updating you on some funding I hope to have raised which can be used to develop two of the projects until the end of the year and firm-up on a timetable for completing the PhD. I have a number of events coming-up or in planning which could be used, although some are in the air at the moment due to uncertainty about the funding mentioned.

The WEAVE:
this has morphed into Stroud Nature Consortium which is running a conference on 15th April and Festival of Nature (including launch of walking Festival) on Friday 6th and Saturday 7th September.

A strand of this is the River Walks Project for which I’ve put in a funding application to the Cotswold Conservation Board. The broad idea is to produce work from the walks by participating artists/photographers and use these as the basis of community discussion groups with local residents about landscape change processes regards the Cotswold AONB Management Plan (Landscape Character Areas). This was an original intention of the project and is coming live now due to ‘real world’ constraints and opportunities alongside the development of my own ideas through my studies. I am running a workshop for the participating artists tomorrow to prepare for this. Part of the funding application is to present the idea at the April conference and the work at the festival of Nature/Launch of Walking Festival.

I have also been provisionally offered exhibition space in the main gallery of the Museum in the Park in Stroud between 6th and 10th November – they have a very full programme and its a good opportunity. I’d like to discuss the possibility and usefulness of this as a part of my final showing.

Folly Wood:
Along with three other members of the group, we have been offered funding to carry out research into ‘well being benefits’ of being a member of the group amongst the wider membership. This could give me the opportunity to be gathering complementary data or to refer to the interpretation of the paid research. Again, I’d appreciate being able to discuss this with you. I’d also like to discuss the timing of the viva.

Finally, I’ve discovered that the bursary payments stopped in January although the person I spoke to in Finance agreed that the first payment was made in May 2010 (for April). I had presumed that there would be 36 monthly payments up until the end of this month. I’m not at this point asking you to do anything and hope that this will have been resolved/clarified before I see you.

best wishes
Richard

On 5 Feb 2013, at 20:08, Richard Keating wrote:

Dear Rob, Andrea and Catrin… and Paul

I hope that the attached synopsis is helpful in taking forward discussions about my thesis next week.
I have a number of questions that you may be able to help with next week, including:
terminology in general – do the references to ontology, epistemology and methodology seem to work?
I know its hard without seeing more of the actual text but does the breadth of coverage and the way its structured seem coherent – does it begin to build a clear case for the research and potentially lead to a useful set of conclusions?
chapters – do the break points in chapters seem about right? Do you feel that sub-chapters for the three projects is strong enough – I’m keen that they hold together and are seen to be studying specific aspects
overall content – does it seem to include enough in terms of making the case and addressing it? Are their gaps which you feel should be addressed
Perhaps the biggest question – what is your take on the idea of artefact as metaphor.
Its not apparent in this text, but I’m aware that many of the words used are all open to debate and discussion – ideas on how to address this without over running the word count would be appreciated
My methodology and theories are non-reductive, they look to address difference by say ‘and, and, and’ – does this seem at odds with academia?

As you will see, this steps back from the way I’ve been writing and gives a more complete picture of what I’m trying to say/cover/do.

Thanks and I look forward to seeing you next Wednesday

Richard

Attachments

synopsis-march13-1364131912.doc

preparing text for River exhibition and working on collaborative piece

Introduction to thesis

12th to 15th

notes, phone calls and minutes to do with meetings.

Meetings with Max Comfort regards Capel Mill and site visit to Stroud Brewery with Kel Portman.

Writing introduction to thesis

meeting with Helen Keating, Kel Portman and Martin Large to develop content of ‘book’ for Morten Clemetsen and Jorun Barane, taking their earlier comments into account.

Attachments

words-march-2013blog-1364129766.doc

On 7 Mar 2013, at 13:51, Richard Keating wrote:

Hi

following our previous email, here is a bit more detail about Saturday’s meeting?

the good news is that Mark Connelly, Land Management Officer at the AONB will be joining us for the morning and will give a good overview of how this project will fit into their work and help develop the brief for our work.

Purpose of meeting:

to review the First Friday River Walks Project
purpose of project – Richard and Mark
progress and outline of funding application
community discussion groups in May, possible exhibitions and additional discussion groups
review of work being produced or stimulated by the First Friday River Walks, especially regards SITE13 events at the Stroud Brewery and Museum – please bring sketch books, photographic images, writing, sounds etc.
agree next steps for running events at the brewery
outline possible future exhibition

I’ll be at the Stroud brewery this Friday at 4.00. If anyone wants to join me to look at the space we will be using please let me know.

Thanks
Richard

On 5 Mar 2013, at 16:07, Kel Portman wrote:

hi everyone, (and Fiona who we know won’t be able to make it)
well, after several delays we’ve finally managed to arrange a meeting place for our event THIS COMING SATURDAY…I know, it slipped up on us.

the forum will help to shape our presence at this years site2013 festival and to plan the event/s that will be taking place…. one of our venues is Stroud Brewery – now there’s an attractive thought.
Richard will shortly be sending around an agenda and also be updating us on recent funding initiatives.
We invite you to bring along to our discussions any work in progress.
We’ll have broadband access for any research or viewing images and hope to Skype Tara and Bart who will be in the Netherlands

So here are the details:
date: Saturday March 9th
time: 10:30 – 15:30 (lunch in a local hostelry when we’re hungry)
place: SVA John Street, Stroud (first floor)

SVA are charging us ?10 for the use of the room and I will be bringing along tea and coffee (maybe a cake or 6) so we suggest sharing the total cost between those who are participating.

Please RSVP back to us

Look forward to seeing you all

Kel, Richard and Tom

7th and 8th – preparing for River meeting and updating people about RIVER project

From: Richard Keating keatree@globalnet.co.uk

Hello all,

its been while since we met as a group and a few people have been asking about the relationship between RIVER and First Friday River Walks Project and I know that there are other things that we’ve lost track of.

So to clarify; RIVER is a long-term shared initiative between us all (Martin are you still wanting to be involved? I know how busy you are with other projects.)

As well as visits to exhibitions and get togethers to share work, we have also discussed ideas for exhibitions and prepared a web presence. Ideas/projects have included (and apologies if I’ve missed any, please add them to the list):

preposition proposition – we have unsuccessfully looked at showing work in Cardiff and Newport (unsuccessful as the galleries in question were no longer available
over water/under water – we have from time to time recorded simultaneously but remotely our various experiences over or under water which Kel has put on the WtL website
Bridge – Chris has put forward an idea about celebrating the return of the ownership of the old Severn bridge to the public sector in 2016(?)
The Bore – Chris has put forward an idea for linking the expectation of the Bore with the expectation before a Rugby match at Kingsholm
Waiting for the Ferry – Suze has further developed her idea previously performed across the river at the old passage between Arlingham and Newnham
Where water once was – Kel and Ffin have started to collaborate over a project looking at where water used to run
Watery Landscapes – Kel and Richard have collaborated with Iain Robertson in writing an academic piece based on Purton
Ffin has collaborated similarly on another academic article
Richard and Lucy have run a project along the Frome with young people
Tom is collecting salt for a ‘real photograph’ project from and about the Severn
Between the Woods and Water – Kel is pulling together an exhibition at The Old Passage
Miniature Museum – Tara and Bart have run a project at Sharpness to collect people’s artefacts and memories about the Severn and are incorporating this approach with the First Friday River Walks Project, with a presence during SITE13 at the Museum in the Park
Sketch books and First Friday River Walk – Lucy’s idea of using hand-made sketch books has been combined with First Friday Walks along the Frome and its tributaries. This project is now the subject of a funding application – see below and two workshops have been organised at the Stroud brewery as part of SITE13

First Friday River Walks Project (working tittle)

The purpose is to use the work made on First Friday River Walks to stimulate community discussion about landscape change in the context of the AONB Management Plan. It includes a number of us and some other regular First Friday Walkers – Ffin, Lucy, Kel, RK, Tara and Bart (when in the country), Chris (if time allows), Fiona Meadley, Arabella Lewis, David Moss and Jilly Cobbe, Running parallel to this is the use of the Miniature Museum. If successful with the funding bid, it will also be incorporated into a local Green Space and Community Action Conference (15th April) and an exhibition at Stroud’s Festival of Nature and Launch of the Walking Festival and I hope to include it in my PhD final show

The work from this project could form a part of a bigger RIVER exhibition

Any other of our projects listed above could look to fund-raise

What next?
First Friday Walks River Project – workshop tomorrow – I’ll also let you all know if we are successful with fund-raising
SITE13 – exhibition and various workshops underway

RIVER – arrange a time to meet and review work/project development – any suggestions which month? June maybe once SITE has happened? Please let me know what you think/want to do next

Very best regards

Richard