PRIMARY SOURCE RESEARCH PRACTICE

A different group member should record notes about your group discussion for each part of the exercise.

PART 1. CONTENT – 5 MINUTES

Describe your group’s primary sources. Record brief statements about the primary sources from looking closely at them. What details jump out at you?

Try not to interpret them. Pretend you are describing these items to a friend.

Consider your initial impressions. What assumptions might you be bringing to your observations?

As I begin to observe the photographs, I can not help but notice the very dark and dull mood. As the sequence of the photographs progress, we begin by looking at speakers dresses in dramatic attire, to images of celebratory balloons, finally leading up to ‘neato inflato,’ structures. There is evidently some very bad lighting and an absence of humans. The inflato structures are given a structural framework and definite form. The scene is set in a dark secluded zone with no evidence of connection to the outside world.The inflato structures intertwine themselves with the balloons to form a prominent display. The structure dominates the very secluded and empty nature of the scene. The chairs are laid out in a orderly and precise manner.The lighting filters in from the ceilings but the pictures fail to capture its effect. The speakers seem dramatic in their nature and appear to have serious expressions on their faces.

PART 2. CONTEXT – 5 MINUTES

Think about the context of what you’re looking at:

­— immediate context : How does each item relate to the other items in your group’s set of primary sources? If one item, how do text and graphics work together?
— the social/cultural/political aspects from the period in which the materials were produced

What information would help you to understand and interpret these primary sources?

As I look at the images, the most important factor to take into consideration before analysing  the context is the fact that the images were taking in the 70s. This allows us a clearer understanding of the images and what they contribute. The fact that the pictures were taken in the 70s explains the mood that the images display. The dullness of the pictures could be caused by the photographic techniques available at that time. This would thus filter light creating the visual effect that we bear witness to. If we look at the way the speakers are dressed in the initial few pictures, their thespian  attire reflects the theatrical aspect of the 70s. The pictures demonstrate a strange intensity and a feeling of isolation. The celebratory and synthetic balloons create a contrast with the remote surroundings. The ‘neato inflato,’ structures I believe contradict the purpose of earth day as the aspect of conservation is overlooked.All the images seem to share similarities in their range of colour and composition.

 

PART 3. SIGNIFICANCE – 5 MINUTES

Create a minimum of 5 questions about your group’s set of primary sources. They can be very general or very specific.

Your group may answer with your own hypotheses, but it’s also fine to leave the questions open-ended.

1) What do the ‘neato inflato,’ structures signify?

2) What contributes to the isolation that the pictures demonstrate ie. the absence of humans?

3) Do the ‘neato inflato,’ structures connect with what the speaker has to say in his speech?

4) What is the purpose of the sausage like shape that the inflato structures form?

5) How do the balloons connect with the inflato structures?