"More Than Meets The Eye" Animated VR Experience

Critical Reflection – Coding Memo_048   30 June 2020. David Interview Process and flow of coding ideas: Phase 1: Immersing myself in the data identifying codes to include context and deeper understanding or intention and actively searching and identifying coded extracts that will create cohesive sub-themes in later phases of reflexive thematic analysis. Initial codes identified today: Not knowing if the artistic output reflects the intention is not a concern; as it will never be known by the artist who has sight loss Visually descriptive words spark and access the internal data library of associations and thoughts Visual words describing   colour evoke powerful memories Both the sighted and non-sighted have internal visual libraries Inner libraries of visual date inform judgements Descriptive words act as reactive cues, enabling access to internal visual data libraries The collaborative process is important and very much part of the creative process Objects

Presentation accepted for Digital Research in Humanites and Arts DRHA2020 conference  http://www.drha.uk/salford2020/ - due to Covid the conference, originally planned to take place in Salford, is now online. Exploring Animation and Virtual-Reality to Represent the Perceptual-Experiences of Artists with Blindness and Sight-Loss Author keywords: Virtual-Reality Animation Visual Impairment Blindness Sensory Topics: Digital arts and design Abstract: How do art practitioners with blindness and sight-loss imagine and dream? How do they comprehend transparency, reflectivity or color? How does their visual impairment inform their artwork and methods of practice? Whilst the sighted generally imagine people with blindness as inhabiting a black world, only a small percentage of people have total vision loss and many persons, with visual impairment, have some perception of light, shadow, moveme

Process and flow of coding ideas: Phase 1: Familiarising and immersing myself in the data. Identifying initial codes, which include context and deeper understanding or intention. Actively searching and identifying coded extracts that will create cohesive sub-themes in later phases of reflexive thematic analysis. Initial codes identified today: Even with physical risk it is important to create ones own artwork There is satisfaction and autonomy in directing, participating and contributing to the creation of ones own artwork Autonomy is important Assistance that is hands-on and immediate, requires an adaptable disposition With no sight or light awareness at all, assistance are crucial for navigation of workshop space Other sighted artists make good practical assistants Up to a point the practical hands-on approach can be possible, even with sight-loss Personal disposition of optimism or pessimism can be represented in practice Variations in concept, scale and ma

Defined and refined themes today and created a venn style map to show the progress from data extracts>initial codes > data codes > candidate themes > sub-themes > themes. Adjusted the iteration of collating and defining themes and created a revised venn diagram so review the overlap of candidate themes. Generated a new theme from the commonalites. Two over-arching themes selected from the interview with Aaron: Revised and defined theme names (Aaron McP - participant 2): Environments as a cue for reflection and understanding Sensory perception to identify individuality

Phase 4: Reviewing Themes This phase began with revisiting the sub-themes identified and collated against each research question. A focus was given to key points in the research question  e.g In what ways...and...a new film language.....and moving the sub-themes into two new defined groups. By placing semi-transparent circles over each group the sub-themes were visually ' equalised' , which enabled clarity in deciding which one could become the candidate theme. Once decided, the prominent sub-theme became the candidate theme and was placed above the semi-transparent circle, for visual and hierarchical prominence.

Collating sub-themes alongside the research questions.

Phase 4: Reviewing Themes This phase began with collating the sub-themes. The process of collating them out of context, allowed objective review, to see if the sub-themes stand alone. If not, then I renamed them, retaining the essence of the sub-theme. The sub-themes are now collated together and the next step will be to apply them to the research questions.

Completion of phase 3 -  collating codes into potential sub-themes

Continuation with phase 3 collating codes into potential sub-themes...to be continued....