Milestone 1.0 - Milestone Review of Candidature Document

Ang Xinwei - S3760453

A4. Research Context

How is the research situated in a community of practice or in relation to fields of practice and research? Explain how the research is positioned in light of existing work and whether it has potential to contribute to an existing field, or to an emergent area. How is the PhD level research original and likely to produce new knowledge?

Annotation is a familiar, natural and unassuming practice. It is a personal action and differs to the individual, something we start developing in our formative years, writing on our favourite story books, underlining key phrases and highlighting important information in textbooks, writing and drawing diagrams on margins. This practice starts to diverge especially in creative practice as we develop our signature working methods, own ways of internalising information and unique styles of communication. 

Drawing relationships: With annotation being the lens through which I reflect on my practice and the particular the area I hope to contribute, I begin to see relationships and tangents between things that were previously seen as unrelated. 

External reference points: 

As a mind map of extrinsic influences, reference points and precedents, I have listed creative work that demonstrate connection to ideas surrounding annotation. The following is a list of gathered references: 

In fashion, Virgil Abloh ‘s off-white and the irony of literally annotating products creating this phenomenon in high fashion. Interestingly he has a BA in Civil engineering and MA in Architecture from the Illinois Institute of Technology. An extreme example of how something pragmatic can become poetic in a way.

In art, Israeli artist Shira Barzilay and her line drawings over photographs as fashion illustrations. 

In photography, Alexey Boglepov, a Russian photographer with the superimposition of outlines on buildings. 

In reading, Marginalia (or apostils) are marks made in the margins of a book or other documents. They may be scribbles, comments, glosses (annotations), critiques, doodles, or illuminations.

In writing, Poet Isobel O'Hare and her "erasure poems" made out of the hollow apologies of fallen celebrities including Louis C.K., Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey

In teaching, James Shivers and his work on "A Closer Look", annotative student work in English advance composition, theoretical frameworks and range of practical methods for teaching writing. 

In architecture, Professor Leon Van Schaik's ideograms show how annotations become a way of theorising.

In design, the line sketches of Oki Sato of Nendo, that outline the deep and clear conceptual intent for each design project. 

In history, JHU's Sheridan Libraries partners with Princeton, University College London on a Digital humanities project that will explore annotations in early modern books. "The Archaeology of Reading in Early Modern Europe." 

In coding, // in ASCII coding as a commentary within code that is not read by the computer but by other coders. 

Internal reference points: 

This practice of annotation was made apparent as I worked through the coursework modules for creative practice research as part of the PhD in 2019. From this inflection point I started to pay attention to the way I deployed annotation in various instances. 

To think: From the act of tracing a completed piece of work, to annotation as way of internalising, analysing, processing articulating intent. 

To design: Seeing connections of how annotations are used in design, from ideation, to collaboration and even to the way I rendered and visualised spaces.

To build, I could see how in site instructions, annotating on photos and drawings, actual physical annotation on site and annotating with tape to carry out alteration works. 

To teach: How annotation is used in consultation, in critique and in the development of a creative process journal. 

As I continue to study annotation used through my own practice in relation to a wider constellation of external reference points, I hope to develop greater sensibilities to establish a framework for criticality in design practice that is both meaningful and communicable for future practice and pedagogy.

Community of practice

Areas of interest: 

Design process, Iteration, Rigour, Context, Criticality, Mapping, Pragmatics and Poetics, Representation and Actualisation, Notation, Pedagogy

Contribution to knowledge

Practice

Articulate our ethos, design process and methodology to enable a critical engagement with our current and future design projects 

Academia

Draw from and contribute to the current discourse on practice as research as it will directly impact future developments in the educational landscape of Singapore and the region.