[00:42.34]JESS:How are you getting on with your art project, Tom?
[00:45.61]TOM:OK. Like, they gave us the theme of birds to base our project on, and I'm not really all that interested in wildlife.
[00:54.07]But I'm starting to get into it. I've pretty well finished the introductory stage.
[00:59.19]JESS:So have I. When they gave us all those handouts with details of books and websites to look at, I was really put off, but the more l read, the more interested I got.
[01:10.19]TOM:Me too. I found I could research so many different aspects of birds in art - colour, movement,texture. So I was looking forward to the Bird Park visit.
[01:21.67]JESS:What a letdown! It poured with rain and we hardly saw a single bird.
[01:27.89]Much less use than the trip to the Natural History Museum.
[01:31.31]TOM:Yeah. I liked all the stuff about evolution there. The workshop sessions with Dr Fletcher were good too, especially the brainstorming sessions.
[01:40.86]JESS:I missed those because I was ill. I wish we could've seen the projects last year's students did.
[01:47.39]TOM:Mm. I suppose they want us to do our own thing, not copy.
[01:51.44]JESS:Have you drafted your proposal yet?
[01:54.10]TOM:Yes,but I haven't handed it in. I need to amend some parts.
[01:59.47]I've realised the notes from my research are almost all just descriptions, I haven't actually evaluated anything. So I'll have to fix that.
[02:08.68]JESS:Oh, I didn't know we had to do that. I'll have to look at that too. Did you do a timeline for the project?
[02:16.64]TOM:Yes, and a mind map.
[02:18.54]JESS:Yeah, so did I. I quite enjoyed that. But it was hard having to explain the basis for my decisions in my action plan.
[02:27.02]TOM:What?
[02:27.74]JESS:You know, give a rationale.
[02:29.95]TOM:I didn't realise we had to do that. OK, I can add it now.
[02:35.14]And I've done the video diary presentation, and worked out what I want my outcome to be in the project.
[02:42.33]JESS:Someone told me it's best not to be too precise about your actual outcome at this stage, so you have more scope to explore your ideas later on.
[02:51.36]So I'm going to go back to my proposal to make it a bit more vague.
[02:55.94]TOM:Really? OK,I'll change that too then.
[03:45.33]TOM:One part of the project I'm unsure about is where we choose some paintings of birds and say what they mean to us.
[03:52.71]Like, I chose a painting of a falcon by Landseer. I like it because the bird's standing there with his head turned to one side, but he seems to be staring straight at you. But I can't just say it's a bit scary, can I?
[04:08.27]JESS:You could talk about the possible danger suggested by the bird's look.
[04:14.39]TOM:Oh, OK.
[04:15.72]JESS:There's a picture of a fish hawk by Audubon I like.
[04:20.51]It's swooping over the water with a fish in its talons, and with great black wings which take up most of the picture.
[04:28.90]TOM:So you could discuss it in relation to predators and food chains?
[04:33.41]JESS:Well actually I think I'll concentrate on the impression of rapid motion it gives.
[04:38.68]TOM:Right.
[04:39.55]JESS:Do you know that picture of a kingfisher by van Gogh - it's perching on a reed growing near a stream.
[04:46.41]TOM:Yes it's got these beautiful blue and red and black shades.
[04:50.83]JESS:Mm hm. I've actually chosen it because I saw a real kingfisher once when I was little, I was out walking with my grandfather, and I've never forgotten it.
[05:01.40]TOM:So we can use a personal link?
[05:04.91]JESS:Sure.
[05:04.84]TOM:OK.There's a portrait called William Wells, I can't remember the artist but it's a middle-aged man who's just shot a bird.
[05:14.45]And his expression, and the way he's holding the bird in his hand suggests he's not sure about what he's done.
[05:21.67]To me it's about how ambiguous people are in the way they exploit the natural world.
[05:28.41]JESS:Interesting. There's Gauguin's picture Vairumati. He did it in Tahiti.
[05:34.62]It's a woman with a white bird behind her that is eating a lizard, and what I'm interested in is what idea this bird refers to.
[05:44.73]Apparently, it's a reference to the never-ending cycle of existence.
[05:49.14]TOM:Wow. I chose a portrait of a little boy,Giovanni de Medici.
[05:54.62]He's holding a tiny bird in one fist. I like the way he's holding it carefully so he doesn't hurt it.
[06:02.24]JESS:Ah right.
