Gifts and Occupations – August 2009 Residency

According to Froebel: “to give the child a ball to play with is to guard himself against ill-humour and all the moral evils of which it is the root. It also protects him from his own desires and passions…”

Well, i’ve arrived in the countryside after 3 and a half hot hours in the car… wading through the boxes that have taken over my old bedroom in my parents house, i came across a “Book of Knowledge” something i picked up last year in Notting Hill Book exchange (i’ve spent many hours in thier 50p bargain basement). Flicking through it to brush up for the village pub quiz on sunday, i thought back to the ‘general knowledge’ classes at the stuffy primary school i attended. Their teaching methods were a far cry from those promoted by Froebel, with dictation and copying vast texts being their most imaginative way to force knowledge into our brains. Judging by our performance at the last pub quiz, it certainly didnt prove to be a very effective method.

The way Froebel taught is in a sense how i have come to learn as an artist, how materials react, can be manipulated, and how to investigate an idea, show my concepts through form and function. I feel very drawn, not only to his theories, but to the ‘gifts’ Froebel created. Their simplicity and tactility really appeal to me and i cant quite get them out of my head. So many of today’s childhoods are filled with fancy, branded, plastic toys that inevitably break the minute they are really played with, and there is truth in the thought that children are usually more interested in the box the gift comes in. I guess thats because its almost a blank canvas – it can become anything, a car, a boat, an aeroplane, a lab for making potions in, or simply a secret fort. Its the imagination that is pleased by a simple box. There in little room for creativity with a Spykee Micro Bot thing….

Well, its nearly the end of another day, and i’ve had time to do some planning – i have a huge number of lists now – things to make, things to find, things to photograph and things to record… just have to get on and do them now.

I’ve allowed myself a week or so to just play and research before getting down to it properly – i’ve already got a few pieces in mind for the blank white corridor space in terms of 2D pieces.

Hopefully i’ll get my computer back soon and i can get opn with some test editing for a possible animation…

I woke up too early this morning. Decided to walk over to the lake so i didnt set off the alarms in my studio. Beautiful morning… Think i’m feeling a little daunted by this project, its very strange to suddenly be alone in a studio, not surrounded by a dozen other artists. Maybe the culmination of this residency will be my transformation into a hermit. With my computer broken, my only source of entertainment when i get back to my rooms are the books i took from the library and eating a rather large amount of chocolate. Maybe i will go and buy a radio…

Froebel’s key theory seems to be the idea of education through self-activity – that we can only gain knowledge through interaction… i think this too will become a key part of my work here.

This morning ive been playing with some of the “Gifts”. Strangely addictive. Is it wierd that ive spent the last hour or so playing with wooden blocks? I think i ought to get out. Lunch by the lake.