i’ve needed some time to ponder and process what’s happened in the last week.
part 1.
what seems to have happened is some sort of right of passage. just over a week a go, the work i’d made as part of the academic process was on show to schools and colleges. their appreciation of the work on show was interesting to watch.
the following day was the big public opening of the degree show. we were called in for a last minute clean up and pep talk and also to be informed of the prizes that would be selected from the work on show. i was disappointed that the judging panel only actually looked at one work, strangely it received recognition. it set up a bad taste of competitiveness and subjectiveness or the corporate gaze. i could go randomly on about that stuff; frankly i’ve got better things to do.
the friday night was quite uncomfortable for me. trying to think why a week later. i don’t think i’ll explain why, it was a personal thing and as such will remain so.
as this week has gone on, as i get further away from the academic process and the work starts to sit by it’s own merit, as i have new conversations about it with people seeing it for the first time, the notion of passage is with me. it’s quite unsettling as it’s me realising that soon i’ll be able to make work away from the rigours of an academic driven requirement process. i’m aware i need to be having more fun with the work i make. the academic process has been intense and i have discovered that my academic spoken language is weak compared to the visual language. if i’m going to continue to make work, i feel i need to be able make work and talk about it at a level that i am comfortable with.
i did have a very interesting conversation about the work yesterday, with someone who had taken time to watch and ponder and think. as a first year helper said during the installation “if someone has taken time to make something, the least i can do is spend time with it considering it.” i guess that’s the constant issue. the point of departure of interest being so varied. i’m not quite a theoretician, so that big question can be left alone for now.
