Blog Post 4: Peer Review

I have chosen to review Stefan-Adrian Cimpeanu’s Blog post 3 for my peer review. Stefan is a fellow member of the Fashion PR and Communications course, yet he chose to cover Contemporary Portrait Photography, whereas I chose Activism, therefore I wanted to see how someone from my course found a different Better Lives unit.

Stefan’s blog post concerned his project reflection & outcomes from Contemporary Portrait Photography, from both before and during COVID-19.

For me, it was hard to see how he had brought in the Better Lives themes during my first read-through, however, upon closer inspection, it was clear that they were all engaged with appropriately when necessary. Firstly, it is hard to convey any kind of meaningful opinion on sustainability in photography during a time of crisis, but I believe that Stefan touched on this theme when describing how he missed the wider world and immersing himself in local culture by being trapped at home – this emphasizes why we need to be more sustainable, as without an increased focus on sustainability we will no longer be able to experience these delights.

Secondly, the theme of diversity was tackled very well. Stefan stressed the importance of a diverse portfolio for photographers, be it in skillset, location, personnel, or conceptualization, and how hard he was finding university life without any of these variables in place. He discussed the benefits of setting “workplace parameters” and how these can often improve creativity, which allowed him to thrive in the opening weeks of self-isolation, focussing on a diverse range of topics, from music production and mixing, to simply spending time with his parents – therefore showing the importance of diversity in our lives once again.

Now, perhaps the most interesting aspect of Stefan’s reflection, for me, was how well he articulated the negative feelings encountered during these uncertain times. The lack of any clear schedule in our lives is taking its toll on all of us, and Stefan asked himself if “creating anything was a still worth it”. That is a thought that has crossed my mind also, as when hundreds of people are dying every day in your country, university work pales into insignificance. Stefan did persevere, however, and ended up photographing his parents’ dog, caged up in the house – normality in most cultures, as he rightly points out, but he also links this normality of being caged up to how we are currently feeling whilst in lockdown, which I thought was a neat way of linking themes of social responsibility into his work.

In conclusion, whilst overall I believe Stefan’s piece, and subsequent work, to be of a high standard, I did not agree with his closing point about why we go to university, as for me, the university is a place to learn, get qualifications, and then go out into the working world. That may seem a quite bleak overview, however, given the structure of LCF’s courses, it’s hard to see university any other way. That being said, the fact that Stefan views university life so differently once again stresses the importance of surrounding oneself with diverse opinions in everyday life.

References:

– Cimpeanu, S (2020) https://1920betterlivessmc.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2020/05/09/blog-3-project-reflection-outcomes/ (accessed 10th May 2020)