Brown,+D+Wk+11

Wk 11 Reflection on my VSP re: Malcolm and Ramage5

There are a few things in my VSP that I can relate to Ramage. Ramage states that "any given relationship that forms around a sybolic act must finally be understood as a //complex series//of relationships...one can think of them as distinct, like separate fingers, or one can think of them as one interrelated whole, like a hand" (152). The pairs of photos I'm using in my project can be looked at independently or as a series, as each pair conveys the essence of the entire series (the myths and realities of first time parenting). Another thing that Ramage talks about is the use of personal experience. He states that, "Personal experience, even if it is highly idiosynchratic, can serve a function similar to that of a shared text, providing we can construe a shareable narrative account of that experience. And all of us draw on personal experience, including our own idiosynchratic reading history, to help us diminish our uncertainty over a new text that puzzles us" (156). While this idea for my project is based on personal experience that I've had and continue to gain, I've had to take a step back to really get an understanding from a consumer and parent viewpoint in order to convey my project in a way that viewers will understand. I would like for the viewers to get some humor out of the project, yet also a glimpse of truth.

The title I'm using for my VSP is "Babies: The Industry Myths and the Reality." The photos that I'm using to convey the viewpoint of the baby industry myths as well as things that actual parents go through. For example, one of the pairs I'm using shows in one photo a series of books that are marketed to parents that convey "expert advice" on how to properly raise your infant, get them on a sleeping schedule, et cetera. The other photo is a book that promotes parenting by instinct, rather than expert books. I feel that arranging the photos in pairs will help viewers make stronger connections to the topic (something that Malcom had actually talked about in regards to photo arrangement).