Then there was the lecture and tutorial with Fred Mann. This was extremely helpful; not only did he go into great detail about gallery systems and how to make an artwork marketable, but he also gave me a good deal of advice regarding my own working process.
The thing he picked up on was my current lack of regulation when it comes to collecting. He said that I need a set of rules and a structure to follow in order for me to narrow it all down. By finding a specific method of editing that’s personal to me, I can use a set of guidelines that will then instruct the work. Then once I have established a system that controls the collections, the predetermined process will hopefully help define the artwork. He also highlighted the significance of titles – something that I already know has potential to enhance the conceptual aspects of a work; this is something that I am keen to explore and utilise within future work.
The last piece of advice he gave me was regarding the visuals of an installation- he tried to stress the importance of a sleek, almost minimalistic aesthetic – I need to think carefully about every single object in the collection- does it really need to be there- how would the artwork fare if it was taken out? These are the questions I need to be asking throughout this on-going process, for if an installation is cluttered, unordered and haphazard it will be viewed as a purposeful decision – it will affect how the piece is read conceptually.
One of the artists he suggested for me to look at was Ceal Floyer. The Lisson Gallery sums up her working process- “Floyer’s clarity of thought and the elegantly concise presentation of her ideas resonate through all areas of her practice. The deceptive simplicity of the work is informed by Floyer’s particular sense of humour and an awareness of the absurd. Through subtle interventions with everyday objects such as rubbish bags filled with air, cash register receipts or a Tammy Wynette song, Floyer uses double-takes and shifting points of view to force the viewer to renegotiate their perception of the world.” So I can relate to this, it seems to me her work (like mine) revolves around association and context; through altering the object’s context and our perception of those objects she is able to communicate her own personal connection with the everyday world. Her simplicity and clear artistic viewpoint is why I think Fred wanted me to look at her work. Her process is well-defined, she has a relationship with the objects she chooses and is sure about the reasons for wanting to use them. I personally love the seemingly uncomplicated process behind the Helix pieces- she has a very simple rule when extracting items from the world around her- if the object fits within the circular structure of the drawing template it is subsequently used within the artwork, the items are then connected due to their physical characteristics.
