ThE ReFLeCTiVE NaTuRE oF CoNScIOuSnEsS

 

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Trying to stay ahead of the degree game really helps minimise my anxiety. I always promised myself, that if I ever returned to education I would try not to make the same mistakes I made when I was younger. My mistakes were mainly around not giving myself fully to the process and leaving everything until the last minute; in doing so I came out of school with really poor results. During my time on the degree I have tried to work with the tendencies I still have in these areas and ‘thinking ahead of the game’ has, I feel, paid off.

Preparing for our end of degree show has not been an exception. A few months ago I was in anxiety over what I could do as a final piece and I also felt a lack of inspiration generally. Due to this, instead of waiting for inspiration, I just started making the ideas I had put in my sketch-book, without judging the results too harshly. This turned into a more positive period of making and along with various influences (as described in earlier blogs), led me to my spheres which I then saw as having installation possibilities for the final show.

I found having some ideas early on, extremely grounding, although I am still working out the exact nature of the presentation of the work. Thoughts regarding positioning them outside have subsided due to my doubts as to how they will deal with any bad weather. I have become much more excited at the idea of positioning them inside on either a bed of small stones or alternatively on fake grass (astro-turf). Small stones seem to create a Zen like effect, which I really like, but it is quite serious. Astro turf appears to add a surreal quality to them. The combination of white walls, fake green grass and giant and small earth-balls seems to work for me. I want to throw the viewer into a mix of visual shock, an experience of the ridiculous and into a state of uninhibited, childish fascination.

Whilst considering moving away from the more serious Zen experience, I would still like to hold onto the idea of a thread of religiousness or sacredness, within the work. When I have been on holiday, looking at large granite tors on Dartmoor, I have been struck by having a combination of reactions; joy at the bulbous shapes and their almost ridiculous positioning on the landscape, like large granite ‘blobs’ of cake-mix dolloped off of a giant spoon, along with feelings of history, pre-history, of ancientness and possible mysticism. In Phaidon’s ‘Vitamin 3D’ Anne Ellegood discusses this area of art and states,

Although artists remain sceptical of the notion of art as idolatory or the supposition that individual works of art can carry an aura of subconscious universal appeal, it is not unusual today for artists to create sculptures that seek to have some relationship to veneration and ritual. This sacredness is not necessarily linked to specific ideologies, but rather to an exploration of the ways in which sculptural objects have functioned in earlier periods in relation to activities that surpass the quotidian and extend into the extraordinary. (Vitamin 3D / Introduction by Ellegood, 2014, p.12)

I find Ellegood’s ideas on surpassing the quotidian (or everyday) inspiring. In creating my large (and small) spheres I have wanted to create an emotional affect on the viewer, rather than a cerebral one. I do not want viewers to think about ‘what the work is about’ in an intellectual way; but rather as in the analogy of the Dartmor Tor, I want them to ‘feel’ the piece. I want them to have a natural reaction to the sight of many spheres together, covered in soil, with little or no exciting colours to tempt the senses. I want the viewer to struggle with notions of ‘adult meaning’, finally giving up to a more childhood sense of ‘just feeling’. I want the viewer to glimpse into the LSD experience where size, shape, ideas, smell and taste all become confused. Where there is a sense of message, but nothing is clear, where the world stops making sense, but where there is a strong aura of something unexplained.

Perhaps due to being a fifty-seven year old student undertaking a degree in fine-art, making a blog seemed quite an alien idea to me. I have a smart phone, several email addresses and go on Facebook; this I felt, was enough of an immersion into the world of online technology. The course, though, required this and I found myself reluctantly drawn into what I considered was a much younger person’s, world.

I had little choice and so I dived in. Initially, I found the ‘a-n blogsite’ quite difficult to get my head around; it didn’t seem to have an easy drag and drop option for photos and I found myself also opening up a new blog, rather than a blog post, which I then couldn’t seem to delete. I also found the steps to get pictures onto the blog ‘clunky’, with the need to initially set up a gallery of pictures / photos to choose from, rather than a straightforward transfer from my own picture gallery on my computer via a simple ‘copy and paste’ process.

With time though, I have managed to get around the site and have found the blog process rewarding. I have found that it helps to see my ideas ‘out there’ and away from myself, so that I can then look at them more objectively; the blog process really appears to help with this. Due to my self-doubt that I am in fact an artist, the blog also creates a platform where I can see my own ideas amongst others and the result is that I tend to have more faith in myself. My blog is psychological and physical evidence that I am one amongst many aspiring art-beings and that I am in the company of like-minded souls, on an equal basis.

The blog has also aided me in reflecting on my own creative process. Scrolling through the blog gives me a reminder of the journey and a kind of ‘bird’s eye view’, with an enhanced and sharpened focus. Although I obviously like to have a sketchbook, it gets a bit tatty and it is a very personal document and evidences all of my messy handwriting, smudges and spilled materials (and tea). The blog looks good, crisp and clear and obviously has the massive advantage of being a document that is ‘out there’ for others to see.

In conclusion, I have become a reluctant convert to the art-blogging process. The ‘a-n blogsite’ is actually straight-forward to use with practise and I would suggest students ‘play’ with the site early-on into their course, so that by the time any possible assessments of their blog entries start to happen, that they already feel comfortable and relaxed with the process. I put off the task of blogging and then had to deal with the desire to bang my head onto my laptop when I couldn’t understand how to use the site! With reflection, I should have got on with it, but at fifty-seven I have many ingrained habits that are difficult to overcome……procrastination being one of them!

 

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Caton, S (2016) ‘Rainschemes for Insomniacs’

Marina Abramovic, (1974), ‘Rhythm o‘

 

 

In October 2016, I had the opportunity to assist an artist called Shaun Caton present one of his performance works at the Spill Festival in Ipswich. Spill Festival has gained quite a reputation since Robert Pacitti created it in 2007. The festival is held in London and Ipswich, alternating each year. Pacitti originates from Ipswich and is committed to bringing high quality performing arts back to the town. Spill is a festival of ‘Performing Arts’ and features video work and live performance staged both inside and out. Shaun Caton has built a name for himself through creating extremely strange performance art which he generally films and which is then available online. Shaun also paints and at present has a studio in Homerton NHS Hospital in London.

‘Rainschemes for Insomniacs’ was a rehearsed piece of performance art with three shows, but was being performed as a world premiere by Caton with the help of five UCS students (as his assistants). It involved the use of bizarre props that he had made, alongside animal exhibits loaned by Ipswich Museum. The show itself was in a gallery annexed to the museum, which museum staff ran and curated. The work was stated by Caton as being possibly post-apocalyptic, although he is keen not to tie his work down with ‘definite meanings’ and seems to revel in each observer taking away their own impressions and understanding of it. The production had many strange props that he had made himself, including preserved (wax) babies in jars and weird and grotesque masks. The production was also accompanied by his assistants (myself included) playing singing bowls and primitive instruments, and also interacting with some of the objects. See part of this production at https://vimeo.com/189566768.

Taking part in this production was extremely exciting, but it also led me into different areas, that I had not yet touched on in my degree course. There was a level of responsibility in assisting Caton with the project, as it relied upon all involved to make it successful. Generally up until this point, I had been responsible for my own individual art-work; if it in any sense failed, it would only reflect badly on me as the artist and no one else would suffer. As this work was reliant on all of us, there was quite a responsibility to Caton and the group. There were also some minor issues with the ‘dynamics’ within the group and although I hadn’t expected there to be issues, there were some obvious differences between us that began to emerge over the few days we were together. Generally, this did not impact on the production over all, but it was interesting to personally reflect on this element later, after the event.

I consider the piece performed, as an example of ‘outsider art’, and Shaun Caton himself refers to it as possibly having prehistoric and ancient influences. He discusses it in terms of having possible connections to a, “parallel world in which reality is distorted…” and states that although the performance is practiced and there is no script, that it “osmotically” works (Caton, S, 2016 / https://vimeo.com/189566768 ).

There are many examples of performance art and performance artists, and Marina Abramovic is a well-known female example who was born in Yugoslavia in 1946.Abramovic’s performance art is very different from Shaun Catons, in that where Caton’s art can imply violence and danger, Abamovic will actually put herself in extremely threatening and dangerous situations. Her Rhythm works in 1974 were an example of this and in Rhythm 0 Abramovic laid out various items on a table and invited the audience to interact with her using the items. Particular items included a functioning gun and a live bullet. In this performance piece, Abamovic ended up having the gun pointed at her head. The Artstory website states that,

In Rhythm 0, the audience divided itself into those who sought to harm Abramović (holding the loaded gun to her head) and those who tried to protect her (wiping away her tears). Artstory, (n.d)

(Available at: http://www.theartstory.org/artist-abramovic-marina-artworks)

(Accessed: 23 March 2017)

 Reflecting on the area of performance art, I feel that I gained a great deal by working with Shaun Caton. It was a fairly difficult experience at times, as I wore a hot mask for hours during scriptless rehearsals and also for the shows. But, I was not in danger at any point and my participation was purely as an assistant. I am unsure how I feel about creating performance art myself, although I think it is something I would like to do at some point. The nearest I have come so far to a performance piece has been to walk around Ipswich with a very large painted ball made by myself (see my blog entry: Balls Project: Painted Ball Walk).

 

 

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My personal ‘spherical journey’ has taken me to some interesting places. Spherical objects are very tactile, but are also visually, mentally and emotionally captivating. The sphere is a symbol that has been used in different media since primitive times and there seems to be an innate connectivity between humans and the sphere. Very obviously the human head is roughly spherical and the rounded shapes of the human body seem to be associated with sensuality and sexuality. Through making spherical sculptural shapes, I have been aware of a meditative effect in touching and looking at them, as if a primitive side of me has a personal relationship with it.

My own spheres are of a fairly basic construction and are meant to predominantly arouse a visual interest for a degree show piece, rather than being highly crafted and refined creations made from pottery etc. In looking at the use of the sphere in other artist’s work, I have found that it features across the spectrum of art-forms. I have been particularly drawn to its use by potters, and especially in the work of the late Toshido Takaezu (1932-2011) a Hawaiian Potter of Japanese descent (in pictures above) (www.franklloyd.com). Toshido Takaezu was particularly influenced by her interest in Zen Buddhism which is an area I am especially drawn to.

Returning more specifically to the symbolism of the sphere (and the circle), Zen Buddhism views this shape as representing an important element in the search for enlightenment. Monks and Nuns would practice the art of calligraphy and practice painting the circular shape (The Enso) over and over again (zenpaintings.com) to assist reach the meditative state of ‘Nothingness’ or ‘Sunyata’ (www.buddhanet.net) .

Carl Jung also considered symbols to be of great importance to humankind. Jung refers to Dr von Franz’s ideas in his own work ‘Man and His symbols’ (1964) and states that,

The circle is a symbol of the Self.  It expresses the totality of the psyche in all its aspects, including the relationship between man and the whole of nature. (Jung, 1964, p.266) 

In a lecture to the C.G. Jung Society, Howard W Tyas, Jr., discusses the multi-faceted symbol of the ball and quotes the Jungian analyst and author Barbara Hannah as stating,

…I could say that a ball is a symbol of the self – that self-regulating center of the psyche and personality – and we could call it a night… But a ball, as a symbol, is as multi-faceted and complex as the self. (Tyas, 1999)

(Available at: www.jungiananalyticpraxis.com)

(Accessed: 17 March 2017)

As one can see in the pictures, some of my own balls are being covered in sifted soil, with the intention of making them look like large solid spheres of earth. One of my ideas at present, is to create an installation with a number of such spheres surrounding a wooden standing structure. The overall look and feel of the concept, is to convey an ancient and perhaps ritualistic / meditative atmosphere. (See blog entry ‘Rainschemes for Insomniacs / connection with Ritual).