Shorter Oxford Dictionary - defines AUDIT - "to make an official systematic examination.."

Shorter Oxford Dictionary - defines TAXONOMY - "Classification especially in relation to its general laws and principles; that department of science, or of a particular science or subject which consists in or relates to classification..."

Shorter Oxford Dictionary - defines TAXONOMER - "a scientific classifier".

WHAT IS IT ? Here is an Audit of Concepts which the Research Centre Committee has discussed in the context of the Images in Practice (IiP) network at the University of Portsmouth.   The network is dedicated to the proposition that images are largely generated to satisfy predetermined purposes. Yet the preponderance of critical, historical and aesthetic criticism and scrutiny is applied to a proportionately one tiny section of activity, the productions of Fine Art. In the last century many of the ways in which artists and designers performed the tasks of the trade had slipped into misuse, abuse or oblivion. A correspondingly inflated sense of the mysteries of individual creativity further alienated the understanding of even the most intelligent of the audience for visual information. Much of the Twentieth Century debate about Imagery and its deployment within Society was surrendered to the Word and the Charlatan. The Audit is dedicated to the notion that such activities described above can be made into a taxonomy of activities, and each performance of a visual task is capable of being improved by reflection or tuition rather than just left to intuition, taste or inspiration (secular or spiritual). It is a taxonomy of information in which there is a constant preoccupation with the mechanisms of Visualisation, how certain people can conjure forth an image to a suggestion, be it, say, to a literary text or to a technical problem. This Database might be seen as a Timely Reminder, and, as you may suspect, its taxonomy may prove of infinite extension, but there is no excuse not to try. WHAT IS THE CONTENT ? This is not a BOOKLIST. It is a structure of activities about which some decent books have been written, and with some interesting weblinks. It is different because, wherever possible, I have transcribed the author's chapter or section structure. This gives you some ideas how any one concept might be further broken down. I have included a definition most people might agree to as a start. I have added verbatim commentary on the subject as a set of quotes which will provide a beginning for debate and a refinement of project proposals but to the Research Centre. The next step will be to attach to each concept an indicative reproduction to show how information in the form of text and image on any given activity - has been laid out in examples of good practice. WHO WILL USE IT ? I see the information to potential students as a means of orientating themselves for possible research project titles. It could be a template against which original ideas are measured. It might reinforce to a potential collaborator the scope of the field from which collaborative projects might be drawn. It is designed to introduce the making of images to people whose dominant culture lies outside the Arts - in, say, Science and Engineering, with a view to further research. NAVIGATION is an item within a section; takes you to another section of the Audit; takes you elsewhere on the WWW. Dr.Chris Mullen Creative Director IiP