Analysis of visual material

Categorising the photographs collected during the research project based on recurring patterns and their interpretation constitutes another important part of analysis in my study. Gillian Rose (2001) has boldly described the process of analysing visual material as, “Successful interpretation depends on a passionate engagement with what you see. Use your methodology to discipline your passion, not to deaden it” (p. 4). I would like to point out the use of term

‘interpretation’ in the analysis of photographs as it is a highly subjective field as compared to analysis of written material which is more objective. For the visual analysis and interpretation of photographs collected during the research project I have used “compositional interpretation” (p.

33) described by Gillian Rose in her book ​Visual Methodologies

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According to Rose, “...there are three sites at which the meanings of images are made: the site of production, the site of the image itself, and the site of its audiencing” (p. 188) which are also the three ways in which images become culturally meaningful. Additionally, “...each of those three sites could be understood in terms of three modalities, [​...​] ​technological, the compositional and the social” (p. 188). Using random sampling, I have categorized the twenty photographs from each workshop in the following sub groups (five photographs per group):

1. Workshop location: making, placement (of final artwork) 2. Participants: portraits, groups

3. Process: planning, making artwork

4. Final artwork: portraits, group pictures (research team and participants)

Now, using methods of compositional interpretation, the group of images under each category were analysed by their “expressive content” (Rose, 2001, p. 46). This means that the feelings evoked by the cluster of images were written and then arguments were drawn based on those feelings. One example is illustrated in Figure 8.

Every individual workshop, evoked both ordinary and unique feelings under each category.

Based on the analysis, the general feelings evoked by the photographs were related to these factors:

1. Workshop location: open/ closed; central/ isolated; season/weather; colorful/

monotonous (based on season)

2. Participants: number; age group; expressions (if determinable)

3. Proces: individualised/ group work, skill level required (easy/ difficult); materials; tools 4. Final artwork: accessibility (based on location); temporary/ permanent; general feelings

evoked by the artwork; attachment of participants

Figure 9: Visual analysis of photographs from Karesuvanto workshop

Analysis of photographs was an exciting process since it yielded information that supports the analysis of written material. Illustrated above (Figure 9) is an example of the visual analysis of photographs collected from the workshop in Karesuvanto. Similarly all the four workshop that I was part of during this research project, were analysed in the similar manner (Figure 9).

For Karesuvanto workshop, the conclusions that I drew based on the photographs and their analysis area are as follows:

a) Karesuvanto school offered a great location of making artworks since it had a big campus with plenty of open space. The atmosphere of the school was calm, playful and spacious. Arrangements for the actual making of the artworks was outside the classrooms, which offered an excellent opportunity for children to get inspired by the natural environment of the village ( since theme of coloring task was ‘our village’) as well as to enjoy the activity. Summer season provided a great opportunity for everyone to relish the process of art making in abundance of sunshine and warm air.

b) Karesuvanto school was an appropriate choice for the workshop since it assured a considerable number of participants, unlike the case in Palojärvi workshop. The two active members of the project, Unto and Kalevi along with the whole research team participated in the workshop. Overall the children looked happy, excited and enthusiastic about the event. Some children exhibited exceptional coloring skills, some were extremely thoughtful, some children were slightly carefree and uninterested, and some children looked shy and hesitant. Overall it was an interesting and pleasant experience.

c) The process of making the final artworks was exciting, as we were unaware of what the children might paint. Everything worked according to our plan, especially the warm up sessions were a big hit. There was a considerable increase in the energy level of children after the warm up exercises and it turned out into a successful experiment.

Materials and tools used in the workshop were extremely common for everyone. The coloring part of the workshop brief was easy as compared to the assembling part which was tiresome and time consuming.

d) Location for placing the artwork was also ​felicitous unlike our experience in Palojärvi.

The final artwork was placed alongside the main road, on a high sand dune with fells in the background. It was easily visible to the passersby and looked mysterious in the middle of nature. The opening ceremony was attended by the local members of the community, children and staff from the school and a local press reporter. The artwork looked colorful, joyous, attractive and had a immensely positive feel to it.

Some arguments that were drawn from the analysis mentioned above are as follows:

1. Choosing a closed community such as a school is advantageous over an open invitation to entire the village for collaboration or research because the former assures a substantial number of participants. I believe, such a strategy is beneficial especially in the initial stages of any project for the project to gain popularity.

2. Apparently, including children as the main actors of the project, builds a sense of attachment towards the event, even in the older members of the community. Some elders who may not be interested at first, may accompany their children in the event and consequently become participants.

3. Warm up exercises works as an excellent ice breaking tool between researcher or project organisers and participants. It instantly boosts the energy of all the participating

members, and helps in making the environment comfortable, light and cheerful.

Especially in multicultural collaborations, where everyone doesn't share a common language for interaction, a quick warm up session helps in building a feeling of trust and an instant connection.

In a similar manner, photographs from all the workshops were analysed and the arguments were drawn from their analysis.

Once again, as defined by Kothari (2004), “Research methodology is a way to systematically solve the research problem” (p. 8). However, amidst all the methodological restrictions, procedural rigidity and the pressure of doing a ‘scientific enquiry’, my journey as a researcher, an artist and as a person, has been exhilarating. As described in the start of this chapter, my research methodology was arts based action research and reflexive research. Several data collection methods were used the study such as note taking, observations and documentation.

Additionally the methods used for analysis were open coding for written material and compositional interpretation for visual material. Arguments drawn from the analysis of data, are extensively used in laying down a practical framework for similar community art projects. To summarise, this chapter has presented the backbone of my study and the following chapters introduce the research project and discussion related to the findings.