Week 1 Feb 18th Complete Mapping the territory, print large scale mind-map to work in to, use to outline concepts, generate ideas and moving forward.Produce outline plan first draft, initial thoughts from current practice.
I have worked further in to my 'mapping the territory' mind-map, see images below. I have yet to add these additions to the digital version. It has become apparent that I have far too many connections to context in my work. I will be honing in on what really anchors my approach to art making and developing my essay from those points.I also read through In Praise of Shadows by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki, translated by Thomas J. Harper and Edward G. Seidensticker, 1977.It's an essay that has some questionable opinions in it regarding Japanese life and decor and Western influence of aesthetics but the descriptions of objects, interiors and activities are quite delightful and insightful even if the discussion is very pessimistic.
Week 1 Feb 18th Complete Mapping the territory, print large scale mindmap to work in to, use to outline concepts, generate ideas and moving forward.Produce outline plan first draft, produce some experiments regarding initial thoughts from current practice.
This week has been productive. I created, filled and bound 8 books. I then went on to dip some of the books in white paint mixtures. I built my initial time outlines for both the contextual study and the exploratory project (although I would like to break these down further). I also continued to add to my Contextual Map which I had printed out large scale and at the end of the week attended a peer critique session (the last one, the course has now finished, Yay!) which felt extremely brutal; more on that later. Overall though there has been a lot of reflection, mainly through discussion with peers and some realisations to take forward through the next few assignments.
To start the week I conducted a brief audit of work up until now; looking back over the Form Fracture Frame task my book explorations stood out to me. Being in a personally anxious time at the moment, the security the books provided was calling out, so I proceeded to channel my nervous energies in to book creation. I loved it. I didn’t overthink content, working with pre-existing fractures from my sketchbook and archive piles.
I believed initially I came up with the concept of dipping the books into white paint to discuss the ‘whitewashing’ of history, of my family and myself. The fact that we don’t get a say in our histories, only in our futures but that realistically they are also somewhat constricted by our geographies and biographies. However, reevaluating the process, and slowing down my thinking, this has more to do with the inaccessibility of my own thoughts and feelings, how I restrict sharing personal aspects and struggle with articulation, which can make my work inaccessible to others. An internal binding. I self-censor…and massively self-censor my artwork. The colour white is somewhat irrelevant other than I did not want a symbolic association, but in a cultural context, most colours do have some associations, so it is difficult to avoid this.
Some of the books were partially dipped so with pages can still be slightly seen in the gaps, others were utterly submerged rendering the pages and work inside eligible.
In the critique the self-censorship issue became glaringly obvious. I asked them to ‘cold read’ the work and feedback with their initial thoughts before I explained the context. I asked this to see if it could be read without text. My peers expressed frustration and annoyance about not being able to access my work, not understanding or seeing the point. There was no read for them without my context, which I was refusing to give. I was somewhat pleased that they were frustrated as this is a feeling I embed in my work, but I don’t feel they were frustrated for the right reasons. When I gave my highly edited context regarding everyday life, routines and chaos they couldn’t see it. Something was missing and they began to write me off. I was dying inside, it hit me then that this was a ‘do or die’ moment and I blurted out my real inspiration, my reasons for moving through the work. I instantly regretted it and my emotions began to take over, trying to hold it together I listened to the feedback and realized it changed. They softened slightly and said it made more sense. The advice offered was to make more use of it (my obsessive nature, anxiety and compulsion), to time stamp and create work to a routine. Log work and mass create. They offered artist suggestions and support and agreed to confidentiality, as I was afraid of judgment and being held back. It was one of the most painful things I have ever done, I am not sure if it was the right thing to do and I still feel sore and manipulated in to handing over that info. BUT I do see the positivity in their feedback. It makes sense; it brings in the links I miss in my fast thinking.
So a couple of days later and I have discussed the feedback with outside parties, I have gone over the really negative points and looked at what they could have reflected about the audience rather than taking everything entirely personally. Moving forward I’m thinking about risks for the project ahead….
Here's some honesty…I don't believe I can draw very well. I have always wanted to be a fabulous drawer, I have friends who can render a realistic portrait in biro in minutes, but I have to work at it... really work at it, and it frustrates me. I hate feeling frustrated, so I tend to quit and move on to something instantly gratifying. I know that’s why my work has moved into abstraction, its less risky and I feel less vulnerable. It's also quick and fulfils the need and desire for meditation and release.
Thinking about this project and one of the risks that keep coming up is this aspect of drawing. It feels like a huge risk to move into drawing for this project, and it didn't make much sense until yesterday after the critique. I was thinking about a comment regarding embracing this everyday aspect, building routine into my work so it is visible and it connected me to a piece I did at college. We were asked to paint a large (150cm x 200cm) image of a ladder we had been using for activities; I was using a small 3 step set, as I don't like heights. Everyone painted these large-scale, elaborate images, abstracted and full of colour; I painted the whole paper black and drew my ladder slightly smaller than it actually was and reasonably realistically. I got very mixed reviews, and they were disappointed by my lack of 'flare'. At the time I was deep in depression and finding it hard to deal with the outlandish activities the course demanded, and I actually left and joined a smaller class at a different college. I regret that decision, most of the activities I participated in during those few weeks have stayed with me, and I return to them for inspiration, but c'est la vie.
My point is, I found some catharsis at the time in painting those steps as mundane as they appeared. Thinking about building routine into my work I looked around my room and realised that I have a tendency to purchase simple objects that fulfil a need, I keep life simple and mundane, flare is left to artwork, singing and dancing, my objects and possessions are basic. What if my risk is to draw these objects, use them for my repetition and pattern beginnings? Key points from critique:
Too many ideas in one project
Keep it simple and dive in further
Really push the boundaries of routine and repetition by assigning times or routine to work etc. Make it obsessive, mountains of work.
Avoid bringing in subjects of race and history - allow others to add that if they wish.
Look at maps and the routine travels
Find artists that have obsessively mapped/logged work
see slide show that goes with this: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RP_9NbY0r47wbWSavykg30__mfNi95VQ/view?usp=sharing1:Asynchronous seminar:a debate/discussion that happens in writinga text/prompt that sets out the subject of the seminarpost at least twicebe considerate towards others,keep them short: not essays - key points for discussion, think about it as if verbalopen until 17:00 hours on 2nd marchcopy and paste the discussion at the end to keep as it's a good resource2:PPP - slide 6 in presentation:Professional Practice Plan (PPP)a career plan or development plan as an artist. perhaps career, or high profile as an exhibition artist or further study.Each year the word count increases, it is assessed and added to each year.its a fluid document, its going to change and thats not a problem. Its a good thing if you are adapting and changing.From the slides:A working document that starts in year one and continues until you finish study. It is intended to act as a career plan, it is continually revised and kept current over the length of the course.In year one, the PPP is between 500 – 1000 wordsSubmitted for assessment in June 2018The plan should be written to include the following, which should be used as a guide and is not exhaustive:A summary of your practice in professional terms.A plan that sets out your aims for one year ahead, three years ahead and five years ahead. It is about dreams and aspirations, but should be realistic. -+ how will you get there? what do you need to do to get there? think about the methods and requirements. What steps make things possible?+Includes identification of networks, notes on skills needs or facilities acquisitionLists appropriate ways of presenting your practice (e.g. website) public profile, what will work for you. social media, website etc or perhaps you are analogue, zines, postal, books etcEach year the plan is re-worked, amended and added to.Possible formats:Chart, - tables- spreadsheetsPlan, or mapDiagram, colour coded etcMap,A body of text, narrative, like a proposal, punctuated with key points etcColourful/different fonts/tracking method, - to distinguish each year, to show the progress like I do on my mind maps and sketchbooksLinks, references, illustrations, - things that are useful, perhaps programmes etcBusiness document. - this is more of a business document - a proposal and business plan.Book a tutorial on monday 5th march - these are pop - have a draft ready, not refined or finished but something to base our discussion on friday 2nd march before the session.share on journal or on shared drive, it's up to you. eventually on the journal.3:Visual Methodologies - Gillian RoseDiscourse Analysis IIWe all have different views because we are different people and bring a certain baggage with us the influences our subjectivity.How is this work framed... what bias is pushed upon us.Group discussion: responsesWhat are your responses to Rose's writing on discourse analysis II?unnecessarily academic, and tedious links but overall useful if somewhat 'obvious' towards the end.it feels quite outdated as it doesn't reference technology/social media/websites etc which is now a very active part of institutional discourse. There are a lot more exciting opportunities for viewers to interact and view work now.It also highlighted the dominate role of a museum so it has opened up the dialogue around that. It's created and increased personal awareness and how dynamics work between different partners in art exhibitions.discussion regarding the power of relations between artist/curator/public/press/critics etc. How the works are chosen? are they picking works that fit in to programming or things they believe are already interested in. is it trend led i.e.: the shows regarding artist that have been banned from travel in the states.How much of an exhibition is about the curators personal taste, research driven or about the public and footfall? Acknowledging the bias and privilege and making sure that it is highlighted and bringing in the people with the experience and knowledge.How do you define a good curator? do they have their own motives?Did Rose's writing change anything for you as an artist?Points that were already in the conscious,its important to consider the context that your work is going to be shown, and how it is created.what your role is as an artist to manipulate and select your own environment, where you wan your work to be displayed and who see it. Whether the systems in art galleries etc are relevant to your work, or that it might not be suitable to be experienced outside the 'white cube' etc.How does this approach relate to our artwork?The artist has some responsibility to make artwork for and decide the end destination, who and where they will see it. You can influence control over this aspect. So the artist as curator, initially.when the artists becomes a curator, the traditional responsibilities of a museum, will transform to the artist's responsibilities. So the artist for instance should be reflexive, although that lack of reflexive, is one of the weak parts of the discourse analysis IIThe right to speak about certain discourses, being aware of your genres and bias, how you are read as an artist and whether you have the knowledge/experience/heritage to discuss the narratives of certain types of work. Being aware of cultural appropriation. Conflicted opinions regarding this, whether this can be restrictive or not to one own practice.
The Contextual essay is a critical and contextual review of your work, positioning it within contemporary practice and detailing the relationship between theory and your own practice. You need to demonstrate an understanding of the development of your work, and analyse the impact of the research activity that you have been engaged in.What are your starting points? – be specificWhat has my work been about? The fundamentals of the Everyday - to date practices has addressed a concern for the decay of social decorum and the prevalence of neglect for the Everyday. - systematic disintegration leading to encasing the chaos in a confined space. How is communication and daily practices affected in environments where these vary due to cultural expectations? Is this discord accepted and how?Looking at: Henri Lefebvre in the Critique of Everyday Life, the bourgeoisie and their elevation from the everyday. Does this elevation exists today: does status or wealth create a simplified routine?; what are the commonalities and differences according to sociocultural factors?; or are the basic components of living so intrinsic that routines are fundamentally equivalent? Lefebvre, Rhythmanalysis creates a science of analysing daily rhythms, inherent in my work. How do the rhythms of daily experience filter in to art? how has this shown up historically? how this affects artists and the current market?What are you curious about?What am I reading, what is drawing me in? What artist am I curious about? Currently reading on Colonialism, deconstructing Colonialism, post-Colonialism, Orientialism, 'whitewashing', the narrative of history, identity politics; these subjects specific to the gulf or UK 'commonwealth' - that term in itsself. Coexistence and intergroup cooperation. Transience, permanent impermanence, 'migrant, expat, national'. Time and consumption of time in routine. Routine, culture and place. Negotiation of routine, time. The chaos of routine, how routines are shaped, deconstructed and reconstructed. Textiles and routine, domesticity, the sense of touch and everyday life, pattern, repetition and fracturing/fragmenting.Artist in the region, looking at pattern, similar concepts, or materials? Whats more imaportant to my practice? Can I find artists that come under all of those headings? Do I use contemporary artists, peers? or art historical references? Do they need to be highly successful or can they be emerging?What strategies will you adopt?How Am I going to do this?Be structured and methodical, keeps clear notes - probably best to use this platform so it's in one place. Feel self conscious about that but can use passwords. Keep to the timeline, reference it regularly, make a time planner to map out slots during the weeks to accommodate each task for the course and other commitments. Thank goodness reading groups end this week! What challenges do you anticipate?Time, organisation, overwhelm, distraction, feelings of imposterism, insecurity, comparison, fear.An outline:
Week 1 Feb 18thComplete Mapping the territory, print large scale mindmap to work in to, use to outline concepts, generate ideas and moving forward.Produce outline plan first draft, initial thoughts from current practice.
Week 2 Feb 25th Begin research reading and gathering, use Textile reader (Hemmings, 2012) and Everyday Reader (Highmore, 2002); texts related to touch, histories, colonialism, colour, routine, textile usage. Explore artists already working around my exploration. Mon 26 Feb: Writing Workshop
Week 3 Mar 4th Reflect on current production, note relationship to readings, narrow down to key artists/works/methods.
Week 4 Mar 11th Continue with reading, reflect immediately to stay on top and compare with each other and practice - make links, why is it relevant? - Mon 12 Mar: Tutorial AR
Week 5 Mar 18th Be aware of burn out or possible stopping points, seek support if feeling overwhelmed. Mon 19 Mar: Tutorial DK ART WEEK DUBAI
Week 6 Mar 25th begin to construct layout and possible structure of text
Week 7 Apr 1st HALF WAY POINT good time to review the current body of research and writing, what is successful and what isn't. Can anything be 'rescued' or needs to be cast off? is it fulfilling the initial concept and ideas? Does it need to? Has it produced new ways of thinking? Changed direction? What unexpected things have emerged? Does this still feel true? Am I doing something that needs to be discussed? Am I relevant?
Week 8 Apr 8th Working on draft for peer review, have a large majority of document ready. Possible proof read from outside source. Peer support.
Week 9 Apr 15th Work on document utilising feedback from peers.Mon 16 Apr: Peer Review
Week 10 Apr 22nd Keeping writing, revising, checking. Prepare for tutorial with AR next week
Week 11 Apr 29th Work towards completion using critique from tutorial. Mon 30 Apr: Tutorial AR
Week 12 May 6th check document and referencing meet criteria. spell check and final proof reads.
Week 13 May 13th Deadlines for contextual study and PPP.
Monday 4 June: DEADLINE FOR PRACTICAL WORK SUBMISSION - End of unit review AR/CW
AimEncourage greater speculative and experimental approaches to visual research and making.Emphasis on risk taking, risks that are personal to you. Curiosity and suspension of your usual judgement are crucial. Reflect carefully.Choose an area to explore that will challenge you.You may need to change your plan as you go along.Not expected to produce fully resolved work;The quality of the exploration is key.Outline Project PlanUsing the structure below, produce an outline project plan to be discussed in tutorials on 12 March and uploaded to your MA journal:
What are your starting points? – be specific
What am I thinking about?The fundamentals of the Everyday - to date practices has addressed a concern for the decay of social decorum and the prevalence of neglect for the Everyday. - systematic disintegration leading to encasing the chaos in a confined space. How is communication and daily practices affected in environments where these vary due to cultural expectations? Is this discord accepted and how?Looking at: the bourgeoisie and their elevation from the everyday. Does this elevation exists today: does status or wealth create a simplified routine?; what are the commonalities and differences according to sociocultural factors?; or are the basic components of living so intrinsic that routines are fundamentally equivalent? Lefebvre, Rhythmanalysis creates a science of analysing daily rhythms, inherent in my work. How do the rhythms of daily experience filter in to art? how has this shown up historically? how this affects artists and the current market?Whitewashing, genre, inherited genres (gender, race, age, class), control, space, confinement, touch, personal space, routine, space of routine, repetition, chaos, fragmentation...
What are you curious about?
What am I reading, what is drawing me in? What artists am I curious about? What materials am I curious about? What techniques do I want to explore?Currently reading on Colonialism, deconstructing Colonialism, post-Colonialism, Orientialism, 'whitewashing', the narrative of history, identity politics; these subjects specific to the gulf or UK 'commonwealth' - that term in itsself. Coexistence and intergroup cooperation. Transience, permanent impermanence, 'migrant, expat, national'. Time and consumption of time in routine. Routine, culture and place. Negotiation of routine, time. The chaos of routine, how routines are shaped, deconstructed and reconstructed. Textiles and routine, domesticity, the sense of touch and everyday life, pattern, repetition and fracturing/fragmenting.Artist in the region, looking at pattern, similar concepts, or materials? Whats more important to my practice? Can I find artists that come under all of those headings? Do I use contemporary artists, peers? or art historical references? Do they need to be highly successful or can they be emerging?Books, layers, lines, disruption, neutrality, binary, repetition, paper, paint, wet, dry, encrusted, texture, touch, comfort, weight/wait, time passing. fabric, stitch, fragility, density, opacity, fibre, cloth, natural/degradable, dissolvable...
What strategies will you adopt?
How Am I going to do this?Be structured and methodical, keeps clear notes - probably best to use this platform so it's in one place. Feel self conscious about that but can use passwords. Keep to the timeline, reference it regularly, make a time planner to map out slots during the weeks to accommodate each task for the course and other commitments. Thank goodness reading groups end this week! Photograph, document, upload, repeat...
What are your personal risks?
What scares me? Is it practical risks, theoretical risks or personal/private risks? This scares me... being distracted. Not producing enough, not understanding or misinterpreting the task or feedback. Underachieving, I know what I am capable of but seem to hold myself back, becoming self critical and apprehensive until I give up as it feels like the safest option. Comparison scares me, wanting to achieve and understand things in the manner of my peers.
What challenges do you anticipate?
Time, organisation, overwhelm, distraction, feelings of imposterism, insecurity, comparison, fear.
Plan an outline programme over 13 weeks; build in time for reflection and evaluation:
Week 1 Feb 18thComplete Mapping the territory, print large scale mindmap to work in to, use to outline concepts, generate ideas and moving forward.Produce outline plan first draft, produce some experiments regarding initial thoughts from current practice.
Week 2 Feb 25th Begin research reading and gathering, use Textile reader (Hemmings, 2012) and Everyday Reader (Highmore, 2002); texts related to touch, histories, colonialism, colour, routine, textile usage. Explore artists already working around my exploration (also links to contextual study). Continue production experiments, break process down and source materials.
Week 3 Mar 4th Reflect on current production, note relationship to readings, additional areas to explore or possible changes in direction etc.
Week 4 Mar 11th Continue with production, once each moment of production is 'completed' as such, reflect immediately to stay on top and also revisit and compare with previous productions - Mon 12 Mar: Tutorial AR
Week 5 Mar 18th Be aware of burn out or possible stopping points, challenge with an activity from the list provided to move work in to another dimension/area/scale/technique. Mon 19 Mar: Tutorial DK ART WEEK DUBAI
Week 6 Mar 25th Production, again being aware of reflection, and managing the other course commitments, refer to course-mates for progress and feedback, communicate strengths and weaknesses and possible areas for consultation Mon 26 Mar: Exploratory Project - Challenges and Learnings - Seminar
Week 7 Apr 1st HALF WAY POINT good time to review the current body of work, what is successful and what isn't. Can anything be 'rescued' or needs to be cast off? is it fulfilling the initial concept and ideas? Does it need to? Has it produced new ways of thinking? Changed direction? What unexpected things have emerged? Have I challenged myself? Does this still feel safe? How can I take even more risks? Prepare for making day. Create a list of questions to pose to group for structured and meaningful feedback. Sat 7th Apr: Making Day
Week 8 Apr 8th Production, again being aware of reflection, and managing the other course commitments, move forward using findings and feedback from making day.
Week 9 Apr 15th Production, utilise activities list if stuck or needing an extra challenge. Prepare for Group crit next week.
Week 10 Apr 22nd Production, self reflection and future planning. Prepare for tutorial with AR next week Mon 23 Apr: Group Crits 1/2 cohort
Week 11 Apr 29th Production, again being aware of reflection, and managing the other course commitments, move work forward using critique from tutorial Mon 30 Apr: Tutorial AR
Week 12 May 6th Reflection and assessment of progress, prepare for group evaluation, clarify thoughts and findings, plan for future development of practice Finish: 11 May: upload images by 24.00 for group evaluation and seminar on 14 May
Week 13 May 13th Deadlines for contextual study and PPP, thinking about submitting work for assessment, evaluate progress and outcomes. Mon 14 May: Exploratory Project Seminar / evaluation - Mon 4 Jun: DEADLINE FOR PRACTICAL WORK SUBMISSION - End of unit review AR/CW
Meet in a small group at least twice throughout the project. MZ, RF, KVW - GCC collective (although that is an actual collective that exists so may need a new name!)
Suggestions for Activity from project brief:
immersing yourself in a subject or narrowing your subject
breaking a habit or acquiring a habit
generating lots of visual ideas from one source or trying the same idea again and again
changing scale, mass, speed, volume, orientation
moving into colour or moving into monochrome
testing materials or learning a new technique
using drawing or photographs of existing work to rework pieces
combining, juxtaposing or sequencing existing work
encouraging ambiguity, taking risks, doing something open-ended, pushing a piece of work as far as you can
collaborating with someone or something else
responding to an artefact or archive
producing a series of experiments
constructing work from multiple parts
exploring collapse and disintegration
borrowing strategies from other fields
Project evaluation Use the following to structure your evaluation in your MA journal, feel free to amend or add categories/questions. What did you discover?What went well and why? What did not go so well and why? Comment on what have you learnt about:
Your making and thinking process
Your use of resources
Your capacity to take risks
How you cope with problems and challenges
How will you use what you have learnt in the future?You will be asked to share your experience of this project in one-to-one conversations with others in the group.
Deadlines:Monday 19 Feb: Visual Methodologies SeminarMonday 5 March: Tutorial CWMonday 14 May: DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION13 weeks.....Professional Practice Plan (PPP)A working document that starts in year one and continues until you finish study. It is intended to act as a career plan, it is continually revised and kept current over the length of the course.In year one, the PPP is between 500 – 1000 words. Submitted for assessment in June 2018.The plan should be written to include the following, which should be used as a guide and is not exhaustive.1.A summary and map of your practice in professional terms.2.A plan that sets out your aims for one year ahead, three years ahead and five years ahead. It is about dreams and aspirations, but needs to be realistic.3.Includes identification of networks, notes on the need for skills or facilities acquisition, appropriate ways of presenting your practice (e.g. website)Each year the plan is re-worked, amended and added to.Headers for document:Profile BIO: Katie Venner-Woodbridge (b.1982, London, U.K.) is a conceptual mixed media artist living and working in Dubai, U.A.E. Venner-Woodbridge’s work explores the ways in which pattern and routine facilitate human life, but also the ways in which breaking patterns and systems can provide both opportunity or discontent. Through disassembling and reassembling patterns, her work examines anxiety and disruption as both positive and negative forces. It challenges the boundaries between beauty and awkwardness, and between manageable quiet spaces and the uncomfortable containment of chaos. Venner-Woodbridge has exhibited in various group shows in both the U.K and U.A.E.Personal DevelopmentBusiness card - important for networking in Gulf region.CV – relevant to artWebsite – katievennerwoodbridge.comSocial media links – insta, behance, twitter, fb, pinterest, dribble, blogs - how to develop them, which to develop and whyonline sales and promotion: society6, drawback, redbubble, pattenbank etccritical practice programme at tashkeel: funded opportunity.apply for residences and open calls etcComplete MA - most importantlyCommunity Future plans – applications: sikka, , Artist In Residence, research, postsecret (how do I get in), Critical Dialogues, CAD6.0, Project space M Proposal, JJ proposal residency, arts related job for stimulation.Research Proposal for ProfDoc - explore research further and make it more specific to arts.consider making it more focused. a smaller question. Contact tutor on course as she has offered mentorship regarding future application. feedback has already been very promising and was considered for supervising team.Reflection Need to put in time frame and concrete goalsbe aware of personal needs and development deficiencies.utilise help availablehave more confidence in what your doing and don't stop due to lack of confidence.Practical Issues Finances, location, access, family. TIMEself-doubt.career and availability of time and resources while managing job and family.
Up scaling work from the hand-bound book overlays using a domestic printer and adobe acrobat to tile print the images. The smallest images in the photgraph below are A4, the middle image is ink on paper, a fragment drawn freehand, from the page that was then scaled up in the printing process.Using a scrap length of muslin, the cloth I favour due to its transparency, I taped to the largest image and utilised various colour markers to trace out the different fractured patterns. This is prep of density embroidery testing.
notes and observations from presentations and discussion
Thoughts sparked by other peoples presentations:
RT - accordion book - cutting pages - context of local artists - those she is interacting with - wish I had thought of that, but also know that I didn't because it's not how I work.
TB - maps - volume - height - mountains - this course feels like climbing a mountain - The wanderer Society by Keri Smith <3 - boundaries of scientific and human knowledge - walking, is that the work? or its relationship to the work? process as work itself EC - clothing - the space your in - walking in space
My presentation:
Les Bicknell notes and progress
Mapping my everyday path - the urge to Frottage! A compulsion - to violate the paper before I write.
The only space big enough to work horizontally
Whole body movement - mind-mapping is a physical process for me, music and movement are needed to create rhythm to facilitate order - I discovered this on foundation when we had to play ‘musical painting’ and dance around paper strapped to the floor - it is a practice I don’t use often due to space restrictions but it feels magical!
Notes and layout notes to be processed - bare feet on the floor and tea are necessary!
The path dissected and reordered again - transplanted to studio to be worked on
Messy and uncomfortable - disjointed
The reason I don’t like mind-maps
Transplanted into a digital programme MindX - can save as pdf
White text on black background makes it simpler and clean/organised layout creates harmony
I feel more fulfilled by renegotiating the information in to this context - all processes are needed at this point
Section of map - four key interests of practice - discovered through this process and the continual re-working
Interlinking is happening
Artists and art history ‘timeline’ - my timeline not an actual one, how they relate in my thinking as per Elkin -
My personality requires permission to veer from rules and what I deem as expectations so these texts and activities are invaluable to me
Theoretical and critical - starting to bring in research and reading - possible avenues to explore and also reading list - need to add the interlinks
More on the headings under Critical and theoretical
Additional branch - materiality - interesting as I am encountering a standstill in practice - almost a ‘to do’ list for stuck moments
The comparison of a white background and black - I will be getting a version printed to pin to my studio wall and develop by hand further - a continuously growing and developing document.
Comments:
R: with actual territory - part of the place & movement
Learning a lot about the way you approach the task - travelling through the mindmap is like travelling through the work - a sense of where your ideas come from & what influences you alongside how it influences you and your interpretations of it.
From Chatbox:
E: a real sense of trying to get order to your thoughts in your task
K: I love the tiles, that looked beautiful.
E: you would also love the'cartographies of time - a history of the timeline' by rosenberg and grafton
K: My pleasure, it definitely shows how how your mind operates.
P: Your final slides made me think of electrical circuits.
R: I was hoping that I could see your mind map on the frottage...but maybe it will be too confusing.
EC: it seemed you started out and moved in and then in your chart you moved from in to out
K: It is interesting that you and Jessie used your own territory in some way.
J: walking seems to be a theme today!
R: I'm going to add it to my map!
T: The process as ordeal is understandable. Well done for fitting so much in! I know I'll keep adding bits to my map as I figure more out.
Task 5 - Exploratory Project
Small group meetings throughout task.
undirected, vague, can be unnerving
Les Bicknell - Richard Serra - list of verbs - doing - discover - what you want to do.
Stewart Geddes - several pieces at once - moving - reflective
Scanlon & Grivell - how can we intervene? who with? how can we play? what form will it take? what form now? and now?....
mirror - what reflects back on yourself - Hassan Sharif notes - I made this comment
Keep it alive - not resolved work - quality of engagement. quality of exploration
personal risks - suspension of usual judgement - choose something that will challenge.
making work - carrying on your practice
Whats the question? whats the risk? whats the challenge?
If your struggle is to make something that may be the greatest risk
go back to mapping & feedback & comments - what keeps coming up? what are you 'itching' to do?
words - thoughts - research - digesting research - eating it up? - consuming - time, knowledge, etc.
PROCESS
what can I find? What can I explore?
foam - embroidery around, stitching to fabric - glass tubes embroidered - fragility & transparency - fine fractures - life, time, consumptions - rice - candy - food stuffs that are glass like and delicate.
'research proposal' - outline - see questions - personal responses.
I also read through In Praise of Shadows by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki, translated by Thomas J. Harper and Edward G. Seidensticker, 1977.It's an essay that has some questionable opinions in it regarding Japanese life and decor and Western influence of aesthetics but the descriptions of objects, interiors and activities are quite delightful and insightful even if the discussion is very pessimistic.
Using a scrap length of muslin, the cloth I favour due to its transparency, I taped to the largest image and utilised various colour markers to trace out the different fractured patterns. This is prep of density embroidery testing.
