As an epitome of postmodern television, Mad Men engages in narrative breaks, non-linear storytelling, open symbolism, and self-reflexivity. Such a model of memory-shifting and creative historical presentation is hard to relate to scripted television, seemingly conflicting with the standard model of television production as seen in sitcoms, occupational dramas and crime or detective series. It’s also a far cry from the agenda-bearing television of the postwar era—if Mad Men is promoting a particular politics or family model, it’s certainly not the promotion of the nuclear family. Yet, as an hour-long weekly drama, Mad Men has clear narrative structures, and a team of writers, directors, actors, and creative staff to produce a series, one with defined plot lines, season-long character arcs, a sequence and chronology, even if one of the trademarks of the show is its non-linear narrative gaps.

http://ivc.lib.rochester.edu/current-issue/

InVisible Culture is an electronic journal of visual culture. The journal is dedicated to explorations of the material and political dimensions of cultural practices: the means by which cultural objects and communities are produced, the historical contexts in which they emerge, and the regimes of knowledge or modes of social interaction to which they contribute.

From Design Observer

Rob Walker

Where We Work

The fascination with the personal spaces of creative individuals is established, even familiar: Many people clearly want to see the artist’s studio, the writer’s desk. Projects like From Your Desks and Windows of The World respond to that desire, and aim to connect us to space and place in a way that possibly reveals something about a creator: The objects around her, the view from his window. I understand this, at least in the abstract

http://observatory.designobserver.com/feature/where-we-work/33438/

Counterparties: Why Facebook bought Instagram

Instagram created not a social network, but instead built a beautiful social platform of shared experiences…

“I have made friends based on photos they share. I know how they feel, and how they see the world. Facebook lacks soul. Instagram is all soul and emotion.”

http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2012/04/10/counterparties-why-facebook-bought-instagram/

The latest inVisio project will be launching in London on May 22nd 2012 6 -9:30pm, with a keynote address by Professor Sarah Pink, a champagne reception and hot buffet. Launch Flyer

inVisio inspire is a brand new resource for anyone wanting to learn more about visual methods and approaches in business and management studies. Funded by the ESRC Researcher Development Initiative, the online pages contain reference material, “how-to” guides, case-studies and teaching resources on a wide range of visual methodologies. The evening launch event is FREE, but places are strictly limited so please email invisiolaunch@gmail.com to book a place by 10th May 2012.

This video “Green” is entirely shot by hand on a small camera and has no dialogue or narration. Funded by the AHRC (one of the UK research councils) it is a powerful example of the forcefulness of film, and a great teaching resource for courses on environmental management, sustainabilty etc. with accompanying teaching notes and essay contributed by viewers.

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Postdoctoral Research Fellow to join our group of researchers in the School of Health Sciences and Social Care at Brunel University in West London. The successful applicant will join a team of experienced academics and will work on the ESRC funded research project Photographing Everyday Life: An Exploration of Ageing, Lived Experiences, Space and Time. For full details of the post click here

The study is exploring the significance of the ordinary and day-to-day and focuses on the everyday meanings, lived experiences, practical activities, and social contexts in which people in mid to later life live their daily lives. The project involves visual methods (photographic diaries) and in-depth interviews with people aged 50 years and over with different daily routines.

This is a dynamic and challenging post that requires particular skills in researching with photographic diaries, and the ability to analyse and disseminate  visual data. It would suit an enthusiastic computer literate, flexible post-doctoral researcher with experience in working with large qualitative datasets of visual and textual data.  Candidates will need to demonstrate good research knowledge, experience in visual methods, especially the analysis of visual data, and the willingness to be creative when disseminating visual research.  Candidates are expected to be well organised, responsible, capable of using their own initiative, and able to work to deadlines. This post provides exciting opportunities and possibilities to participate in the dissemination of visual research and to be actively involved in the writing and authorship of peer reviewed publications.

A critical review of between 800 to 1200 words is required by June 30th 2012.

“Visual Methods in Psychology: Using and Interpreting Images in Qualitative Research” (Reavy, 2011) Routledge.

Changing our Textual Minds: Towards a Digital Order of Knowledge (Van Der Weel, 2011) Manchester University Press.

Please contact the editor including your full postal address and short bio.
William G. Feighery
Editor
Visual Methodologies

http://journals.sfu.ca/vm/index.php/vm

Art Makes a Statement for Business, Too

By JEAN EFRON

Published: March 31, 2012

Daniel Rosenbaum for The New York Times

Jean Efron, an art adviser, with a sculpture by Elizabeth Catlett at Terrell Place in Washington. In a former life, the building was a protest site against racial segregation, and “we decided to reflect this event,” Ms. Efron says.

Corporate buyers are looking to complete their space in an interesting way. They also select paintings, photography and sculptures for their employees’ enjoyment and to project a certain image. Some view their art as an extension of their corporate work life. I enjoy the challenge of coming up with a plan that reflects what a client wants to say about itself.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/01/jobs/art-as-an-extension-of-the-corporate-image.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=art%20makes%20a%20statement&st=cse

An excellent review of photographic approaches in organization studies by Joshua Ray and Anne Smith has just been published in the prestigious U.S. journal ‘Organizational Research Methods’ – there’s a great footnote to the paper encouraging readers to join inVisio, so thanks for that Joshua and Anne!

Images and Visualisation: Imaging Technology, Truth and Trust

17-21 September 2012, Norrköping, Sweden

For more information visit: http://www.esf.org/index.php?id=9115

Both Leonardo da Vinci and John Constable claimed that painting is a science. This science has been explored extensively in traditional aesthetics and art history. Given recent advances in science and visual engineering, creating images for science, of science and for the translation (interpretation) of science has become at one and the same time commonplace, even easy, and even more scientific.  The aim of this conference is to bring together experts from across the natural and social sciences, with curators, artists, producers and users of images based on advanced visual engineering. By exploring emerging challenges at the interface between advanced visualisation technologies, truth and trust we want to stimulate talk, interaction and collaboration between the arts, humanities and (natural, medical, engineering, computer) sciences, in a context where both science and (visual) art are increasingly converging and, at the same time,disciplinary boundaries still separate those working across them.

Chaired by:

Brigitte Nerlich, University of Nottingham, UK

Andrew Balmer, University of Manchester, UK

Annamaria Carusi, University of Oxford, UK