On this episode of It's (Probably) Not Rocket Science, host Cameron Goeldner is joined by Meggan Gould, the associate dean of research in the College of Fine Arts and professor of photography in the studio art program.
Gould's research currently focuses on photographing darkrooms and documenting their oral histories. If you're not sure what a darkroom is, it's the dim back rooms often seen in older movies where photos are developed, such as Jaws 2, where the sheriff has a photograph of the shark developed in a dark room. What makes these rooms special is that they are typically basements or rooms where black plastic is duct-taped up to prevent any visible white light from entering and work is instead done under red light. This protects the photosensitive film or paper.
Describing her research process, Gould called it "messy." "I often don't know that I'm doing something until I'm very clearly doing it," she said. "I rarely say I'm going to do X and then start doing X." She also said that because her process isn't as closely linked to the scientific method, it's harder to identify her work as traditional research.
Gould discussed the differences between research in the arts and STEM disciplines, which are often the fields that are most commonly associated with research.
When it comes to teaching research to students, especially photography students, Gould's goal is to lead them to campus resources that help them build a strong foundation in their topic. For example, if they were photographing plants or flowers, they should take some time to visit the Center for Southwest Research, the library and the Map and Geographic Information Center (MAGIC) to learn about botany or plant distribution.
For her darkroom work, Gould is continuing her metaphotographic work, looking at photography through photography. In response to why darkrooms, Gould said, "I've been mildly obsessed with them for years but, like most people, never thought to photograph them. They are these oddly invisible spaces; they are containers of activity, and not visible as such."
She refers to them as non-aesthetic spaces, which are more functional than enjoyable, and thus they are often overlooked as places to be appreciated. Now Gould is seeking out darkrooms to photograph and add to her collection; so far, she has photographed 105 darkrooms across the states. Part of her research has also taken her to darkroom archives and she's deep-diving into the history of photographers, darkrooms and the chemical compositions that lead to different photo displays. While still down the road, she sees the final product of the project as prints or maybe even a book about the darkrooms she's visited.
You can find more information about Gould's work and the UNM Department of Art here.
