2nd Year Art Student

Before I sign out of the blog before my hand in tomorrow I just wanted to speak about my works Conjunction, Part the Bench and Abode in relation to two artists which have similar themes or motifs. It was mentioned in a crit held at The Hive Exhibition that my work reminded people of CCTV.

Mark Wallinger

Wallinger has produced two performance that are a particular interest  to me.

‘Sleeper’

Wallinger’s famous piece, the Bear that walked around a gallery in Berlin for 9 nights, the Turner Prize winning performance discussed the term sleeper in the respect of double agents and identity.  CCTV only shows us what is on the out side. Wallanger is seen then unseen. In a distinctive Bear costume holding value with Berlin but trapped within the walls of a gallery he wonders disappearing around tight corners and walls and re-appearing in other areas, do we truly know what we are looking at/or who?

‘Shadow Walker’

Mark Wallinger  documented ‘his own shadow during a walk along Shaftesbury Avenue, as it fluidly moves on the pavement and over other people. ‘ (http://www.widewalls.ch/mark-wallinger-hauser-wirth-london/)

This relating to the CCTV theme but also with the way I have filmed people feet and obvious but not so obvious street scenes.

Jill Magid

One Cycle of Memory in the City of L

Magid has CCTV in Liverpool. follow her in a red trench coat. ‘At one point in the video, the artist walks with her eyes closed through the city streets, and the CCTV operators steer her away from collisions with pedestrians and other obstacles. At the conclusion of the project, the surveillance cameras follow Magid as she is picked up on the back of a motorcycle to depart for the airport.’ (http://ilikethisart.net/?p=4248)

Again fitting with the CCTV theme maybe a more obvious choice of art works, I had for the majority of the filming static. and the camera seems to follow me rather than me following the camera. Magid follows the cameras to gain the shots she wants, she is guided by the operators. maybe something I could request to add to my video performance work in the future, It would defiantly add a different view point any way.

I must take this time to say thank you for anyone that may have read this blog. I will be starting up a new blog on AN over the summer with a possible collaboration project due.

I will update on my new blog in due course, until then…

Over and Out!

My performance lecture has been heavily influenced by the writings of Albert Camus and Friedrich Nietzsche. But I had added quite a absurd twist in the ritualistic Goldfish bowl aspect and wanted to know why.

I was walking from University to Homebase to get some ‘none damage’ hanging strips, I was half way through preparing my studio space ready for marking displaying what I deemed to be my most successful work. I came across a common sight on public car parks especially those that are attached to retail parks.

I took a picture mainly because everyone had parked around this ‘doughnut’. It wasn’t until later that I met up with Emma that we then visited Homebase together, my third time in a matter of an hour or two but don’t ask. I showed Emma the picture and showed her the actual ‘doughnut’. I asked why do think that people make these sort of marks or why do people make circles. To which Emma replied ‘it might originate from the egg on a circular cell level , when the egg becomes fertilised from this early involvement, might be the core to why people feel the urge to make circles, whether that is whilst drifting in a car or in a painting. The marking of the circle could well be from as early as this stage, to why people make circles. Maybe it’s something embedded in people.’ I found this interesting. It really did get me thinking. People on a cellular level are very intuitive and things happen at this level that we do not quite understand. For instance an organ transplant carries a side effect, it can actually change a person, I’m not just on about the experience I’m talking on a cellular level and nobody is sure why, Lizette Borreli from the medical daily talks about cellular memories. ‘The cell memory phenomenon, while still not considered 100 percent scientifically-validated, is still supported by several scientists and physicians. The behaviors and emotions acquired by the recipient from the original donor are due to the combinatorial memories stored in the neurons of the organ donated.’

I know that Lizette is speaking in the terms of person to person memory, but, surly if someone is able to carry memories in their cells then obviously we carry memories from the womb?

ah, but, you would say that the cells that live in our bodies now are not the one you were born with?

The cells in our body reproduce through a term known as mitosis and meiosis, and though I will not bore you to much but cells replicate, one of the reasons we get cancer, I will not go into that though. Basically we have bodies full of clones, like Dolly the sheep.

so all in all I think Emma Starkey is on to something there.

I have decided I want ‘my’ performance lecture to be about the absurd of suicide and the introspective bringing in the thoughts and philosophical views of Nietzsche and Camus.

I do not want it to be to serious nor do I want to come across all pretentious all of a sudden. so I have not actually quoted Camus nor Nietzsche in my script only used forms of consciousness through objects to display these thoughts and readings.

Emma my partner and fellow performance artist exchanged with me earlier today saying that ‘what a better way to speak about your work than actually doing it!’ and I agree. If Ryan Gander can set off a smoke machine during a lecture,

I can perform and I mean actually perform in a lecture surly?

Between the last time I blogged on here and now I have been incredibly busy.

I have:

Set up an exhibition at the Hive

Performed a Live performance

Put the finishing touches to the print project

Had an artist meeting to help promote art in Worcester

and came up with a performance lecture.

Right where do I begin?

The Hive Exhibition

The hive exhibition was one of the first things I spoke about way back in October. Well. The exhibition has been set up and has ran from the 22nd of April and comes down tomorrow. It has been an experience and a half. and It was great to have my work show along with others in such a central point in Worcester. My work in the exhibition was ‘Conjunction’ video, performance, ‘Park the Bench’ video performance and a Performance I have since called ‘Abode’ (appearance of appearance).

Abode

I will start with the New performance I called Abode. For this performance I combine 3 props which I had used this year.

The head

The Door

and the Bench

I wanted a performance that focused on doing. Something that also refined me to a smaller space, I had spoken about performing under the arches before but you may have noticed, earlier on, a image of a brick curved wall.

I found this pace particularly interesting the textures the derelict type nature of the bricks. and the general aura and sound of the space. I wanted the performance to be missed but have the potential to be seen. offset from the main Hive site the arch provide this for me. I wore the head as a extra element of the incongruous. An appearance of appearance. Visually the performance worked well sounds of the loud bangs echoed around the arch and were particularly satisfying, but, the manner in which the performance was witnessed particularly distressed me. Originally I was going for a live feed but for various reason the feed wouldn’t work I decided to film a part of the performance the take it into a studio space to try to fool people. between the weather turning for the worst and the video becoming a film screening this got lost along the way.

Park the Bench and Conjunction were shown on all the main screens in the Hive this meant that my theme of a journey was able to be experienced as a journey while journeying around the hive, a journey within a journey.

Print Project

Above is the box for the print project portfolio containing prints from the whole second year Fine Art students.

 WXW

Warwickshire university and Worcester University have teamed up in creating a group based on promoting art in Worcester. The first event a artist picnic at the garage studios in Worcester on the 17/05/2016. I personally hope that this really kicks off.

Performance lecture

Above are two photo prints taken from the performance lecture I am developing as part of my final hand in, I will be performing this on Monday. the two images taken from my 4th practice with the materials and contexts.

Beginnings

 For me beginnings in the sense of art is a form of production, Lefebvre (1974) talks about how production cannot happen without first answering five questions “Who produces?, What?, How?, Why and for Whom?” stating that “Outside the context of these questions and their answers, the concept of production is purely abstract.” Visual research can be seen as a form of production, through visual research I ask myself questions; what can I do with this? How would I work this?

Conceptually how does this influence the world around me? Where is its place in the world? This production process is a beginning and influences the work I produce through the method of portfolio building.

Abstract

Watching the film Frank (2014) I took a quote “what goes on inside that head inside that head” It really described the introspective of the human mind, the human persona. It had always seemed absurd to me that people only see from one point of view really, this cannot really be changed. Bollnow (1963) stated that “perspective is on the one hand the expression of the ‘subjectivity’ of his space, meaning that man in his space is bound to a particular point of view, that he can only ever see it ‘from inside’”. The themes of the introspective and the absurdity of this seen in A Clock Work Orange (1964) “Suddenly, I viddied what I had to do, and what I had wanted to do, and that was to do myself in; to snuff it, to blast off for ever out of this wicked, cruel world. One moment of pain perhaps and, then, sleep forever, and ever and ever”. Burgess here; through the eyes of Alex, describes the absurdity of suicide, this is perhaps the most introspective moment a human can go through. Camus (1955) describes thought processes like Alex’s. “It is confessing that life is too much for you or that you do not understand it.” The word you or I, It is about the introspective, the mind inside the “head inside that head”, never the extrospection.

Proposal

I propose a performance lecture based on the absurdity of the introspective of the human, looking over the themes discussed philosophy, relating back to my visual research taken from film and reading. I would like to take into account the writings of John R. Searle, Timothy Bewes, Albert Camus, Otto Friedrich Bollnow, Henri Lefebvre and Ray Brassier, I would also like to look at real life scenarios and literacy to further my research basis.

Concept design for mask taken through Camus’ texts passage bellow.

Though whitebread individuals are usually white, the term is not necessarily racial in meaning – the implication lies more with the blandness, predictability, and banality of plain white bread. Accordingly, “wonderbread” is often used as a synonym.

Brown Bread – Meaning – dead. Originating from london, England

(http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=whitebread)

Monday I had a crit, I tried out a performance that I am creating for a ‘Performance lecture’ for my visual research module at university.

The above images are images of the props I used. Bellow are images from the performance.

Bellow is the notes from the crit.

‘The absurd holy communion’

• Nobody feast on my death except me
• You aint allowed my bread it could kill you.

Materials I need

• Bread
• Wine
• ????3rd object????

The materials I have used do not quite work I need to do some further thinking and reading, practising.