Questions

There are many questions that I have still unanswered after today's documentation review.

1. Who is the documentation for?
2. Who is the viewer/audience?
3. What aspects of the thesis journal need to be shared/made public?

At some points I felt like there were more questions than there were answers. I am still not sure how I feel about all of the questions, and I guess that is part of the inquiry.

At the basic root of the question is the idea of a journal. The word journal was derived from the Old French word journee which can be translated as ‘day’ (Diehn, 2002). Thus, a journal referred to a book in which one would record a day’s events. Art journal then is a journal that uses both written and visual expression opening up “new processes of thinking, feeling, observing, focusing, and experiencing life” (Diehn, 2002, p. 8). A journal has also referred to public records including newspapers, and are not necessarily considered private, as is a diary. So with this understanding, I feel that a journal can be more public, even though I create the pages for myself, others may find value or appreciation in them. It is as Tessa commented in class that she has rarely known something to have been a completely unique and individual experience, in this way I share my experience, in my words---and art.

Diehn, G. (2002). The decorated page: Journals, scrapbooks & albums made simply beautiful. New York: Lark Books.