Four artists, one from the UK and three from Iran, are collaborating on a project that examines the relationship between artist, model and spectator in contemporary figurative art. The project will investigate the outcome of viewing work that has been displaced from one culture to another and the position of choice for the model in figurative art: to be chosen to be looked at.
Time has moved on so quickly in the past two months and as I write this entry, the project is in a state of flux as we wait patiently for the outcome of the funding application to the Arts Council.
Is is so difficult to second guess if I will receive the funding I need for the project, and what will happen if I do not get it? I am considering my options at the moment; alternative funders or doing the project in a way that cuts out a lot of the major costs involved in a residecy. This might involve a 'virtual' project, where the work could still be done and be delivered in a slightly different format.
Considering other options is a very clear reality and sometime I am prepared for. This project is going to happen no matter what. It just may take a different approach to reach its outcomes.
Well , the launch of the project went ahead on 28th March and although a fairly low key event, it produced some insightful and interesting conversations with audiences of all ages. I would say that people were reluctent at first to engage with the issues raised by the project but once they began talking to me, they revealed a lot about their views on being the object of a gaze. What follows is a selection of the comments made by audiences in reaction to the questions regarding the artist/model relationship and the wider issue of how it makes you feel to be the subject of a gaze.
‘What is the model – define it?’
‘Are they the same, artist and model. Known to each other.’
‘The artist and the model: who influences who?’
‘How can the spectator become involved? Maybe they can change the image by becoming part of it.’
‘Perhaps the artist, model and spectator become one.’
‘I would be interested in how the model could perhaps have a sense of authorship – how much the artist has responsibility as the image maker.’
‘Thinking about how I look at myself (perceive myself) is something that can annoy me as I often don’t want to think about it’
‘I much rather enjoy looking at others (secret voyeur) whether it be on the street, passing car drivers or through train windows. I adore people watching and could do it full-time. I don’t enjoy seeing myself though’
‘Its nice to be looked at. There are positive and negative ways. Critical analysis of any aspect of ourselves can make us feel ugly or inferior while presenting us in a soft focus makes us feel attractive and happy. As an extrovert I enjoy focus, but even I have limits.’
‘Is there a conflict between how the model wishes himself/herself to appear and how the artist wants the model to appear? It is like a master/slave relationship? Or master/servant…or is it a co-operative enterprise?’
‘To be the subject of someone’s gaze is puzzling, intriguing and possibly interesting. What do they make of what they see…I ask myself? Can I alter that?’
‘‘Most people would only be able to contribute to this subject from the point of view of being a spectator. How many people can say they have been a model?’
‘There needs to be chemistry not attraction between artist and model, but a connection that means the artist can portray the person, personality and soul of the model.’
‘Being the subject of a gaze always makes me uncomfortable. Being the centre of attention continues to be a learning curve no matter what platform or context. In a society where it is polite to be humble, how do we balance being comfortable being the subject of a gaze?’
The project gets lauched at the end of the month in a participatory event at the Light House Media Centre in Wolverhampton. This should be an engaging and informative event and details of the activity are posted below. I really hope that we get a good audience to come along and find out more about the project, its evolution and future activities.
As part of the launch of ‘Looking and Being Looked At’ the lead artist Elena Cassidy-Smith is inviting audiences to engage with the key issues addressed by the project by leaving their comments and participating in a self-portraiture activity that will consider how looking can be active or passive, depending upon the perspective of the viewer or the viewed. No specific drawing skills are needed and all public work produced at the event will be included in a project exhibition that is scheduled for late autumn 2009.
Things have moved on a speed since the last post for this blog. I have written the majority of the proposal for funding, and what an epic that has turned out to be. It is a fine line between underwriting and over embellishing your thoughts and ideas, when it come to proposals. I am not a natural born writer so composing ideas on paper does not come easy to me. Why oh why do university courses not run workshops on how to write proposals? Maybe some do? I know that the uni I took my BA and MA had nothing on their curriculum for introducing this skills to their students. And a skill, it really is! Writing to funders is exceptionally difficult to do as you are having to ensure that every tick on their checklist is covered in some way or another. Universities…please put practical skills such as proposal writing on your curriculum for your art students. What an invaluable addition to their training as an artist this would be.
How time flies when there is a lot to do! This project is finally getting off the ground but the further along it goes, the more complications arise. Organising a cross continent project is a bit of a juggeling act as every aspect of the project depends upon and is intrincially linked together.
I have received some feedback on the initial public survey sent in the first post and this is encourgaging. More would be most welcomed. It has occured to me that getting people to talk about this subject may be difficult as it seems that the genre of model painting has become lost in contemporary British art?
