In my first year of university, I created a piece of site specific sculpture, prior to a site specific module. My studio space was turned upside down, my work ruined and I vowed never to work in the studio space again.
I received a first-class grade on my next project, a number of large sculptures, completed in my bedroom, displayed in a white cube setting. In my second year, I fell ill. In my third year, more or less recovered, I attempted to ‘play the game’ to make up for my time spent away from university.
My friend and I shared a studio space, it was great. I worked really hard. I even started a sketchbook, something I don’t usually do. I made collages, drawings, paintings, diagrams, I experimented, I spent time in the library, I worked myself harder than I’ve ever worked myself before and it still wasn’t good enough to bump up my grade. Yet there were those working from their rooms, the way I did in the past, achieving higher marks with less visible research and development, which was the whole point of the module.
So, I have decided that this year, in the weeks leading up to the degree show, I’ll work from my room. I’ll work in an environment where I feel comfortable enough to just get on with things, without distraction, without having to leave the house. No concern for whether or not I’ve had a shower or brushed my teeth, or combed my hair, to just roll out of bed and start working, start making, start creating. A video relating to this post: http://player.vimeo.com/video/26547280
My collage work is currently being exhibited in the form of a billboard on Galvez St. & Canal St., Louisiana, as part of Art Below’s first Pop Up in New Orleans, USA. Some original works and prints are also being exhibited at Gallery Orange, 819, Royal Street, New Orleans, 70116, Louisiana, USA:
http://www.artbelow.org.uk/ab/Gallery.action?galleryId=101
My dissertation was entitled ‘An Analysis of the Concept of Truth and Authenticity in Existential Art’; I received my feedback this week. The work was marked by two tutors, Dr Tracey Warr and Dr Stelios Manganis, it was also reviewed by an external examiner.
From my feedback I have yet again established that I need not attempt to cover such a vast array of subjects, concepts, terms etc. and that I need to avoid ‘patch writing’ in future. I didn’t allow the reader to ‘concentrate on a single line of investigation’, something that I find hard myself.
My mind seems to constantly store new and exciting information without ever going into detail about anything. I can be an endearing intellectual in conversation but it seems as though on paper, my thought pattern is bewildering. I feel proud that although I’m not a first-class honours student, I have written something described as being ‘overall an ambitious and very interesting essay’. I like that I introduce the reader to ‘challenging ideas’, that my work is ‘obviously a committed piece of research into the nature of art’ and that I ‘express subjective judgments’.
My subjective judgments on paper strengthen my personal definition of art in discussion and allow me to form more cohesive, objective opinions with regards to the theories, definitions and opinions of others. I was told originally that to question what art is, would be too broad a subject matter for the critical essay. In my feedback and thinking back on my research, it would have made more sense for me to stick to that idea rather than over complicating my work due to my interest in existentialism, truth and authenticity.
The module I am working on alongside my degree show project is called ‘Fine Art Evaluation’; next year this will become the ‘Art Writing’ module, a much more fitting title for the work expected of us. I am incredibly excited by the prospect of another written module as writing is something I often struggle with but enjoy whole heartedly.
I am reviewing a Performance Evening with Anya Liftig & Dr Tracey Warr as part of Roves and Roams on the seventh of February at OVADA, the event is now sold out:
http://anyaliftigevening.eventbrite.co.uk/?ebtv=C
For me, all art is in some way an interpretation of the human condition, expressed in a manner considered to be art by the artist.
‘Degrees unedited blogs are for students to discuss the lead up to their degree show, revealing how things unfold.’
Bearing this in mind, things have yet to unfold. My practice is currently folded, like a crisp white bed sheet at the bottom of a drawer. Lying there, doing absolutely nothing but keeping the bottom of the drawer company.
I spent most of today waiting for canvasses, paints, groceries, books, an easel and a tomato growing kit to arrive. My groceries eventually arrived. I am still without books, art supplies, soil and seeds.
