A while back (post 7, 4th July, actually earlier on than I had thought) I asked the question “What’s wrong with obviousness?” Because at that time my work did seem obvious, I defended the position, saying that obviousness made my work accessible to a “non-art” audience such as my quilting group. An element of this is still true I think, but I’m doing them, and myself, a disservice perhaps. I think I’m starting to work past the obviousness and the work hasn’t suddenly become incomprehensible!
I’ve also stated in recent discussions that my work has a little edge of the confessional about it.
If I work in an obvious, literal way, it is very difficult to include the confessional elements. Confessions are supposed to be secret, held sacred and dealt with quietly behind the screen. (Catholic upbringing, sorry, can’t help it.) So when I do make or write something confessional, I feel the urge to hide it, cover it, stitch it inside, rip it up, unpick it.
I had also thought as I worked through my ideas that the text, the subject matter would become less personal, more of a “universal truth” (Why did I think this? What is the basis for this premise?) But I think I’m finding that as I develop the means to be less obvious, less literal, hand in hand with that is the means to be MORE personal than ever before. Moreover, the way for me to express a universal truth is to be as personal as I can.
That’s a bloody scary thought!
On a more practical level, I also think that as I use words with music and sound, I’m less likely to need to use words with the visual elements of my work. The song doesn’t need the picture. The picture doesn’t need the song.
