Post MA
MA is finished.
Need to revisit action plan and adapt...old plan was as follows;
Aims
“I close my eyes in order to see. “
Paul Gauguin
I work with the themes of desire, death and ritual. Early on I practiced automatic writing and to a lesser extent sleep deprivation in order to circumnavigate the conscious thought process. My making was often spontaneous and direct and I was interested in ideas of the collective subconscious, what Freud called "archaic remnants".
‘libidinal cathexis of the ego’.
Commemorative. A more proactive reaction to or means of processing loss.
"the existential attitude", or a sense of disorientation and confusion in the face of an apparently meaningless or absurd world
The crucial issues which face modern man require that he discover the true nature of his existence
Kierkegaard, wrote that "Truth is Subjectivity."
The four existential realities – the inevitability of death, loneliness, meaninglessness, and freedom.
Summary
It is centred on practice – a body of work
It is more anthropologically aligned in its look at ceremony - it may allude to organised religeon but will not subscribe to any particular dogma. Similar therefore to iceage artefacts ... we recognise their spiritual nature but they remain indestinct and unknowable
Existentialist framework with focus on ascribed/ing meaning - authentic
Develop focus – systems and strategies
This boils down to:
Mode of display to inform the reading and purpose of the body of work
Is the context more important than the object~?
Different contexts become a variable which feeds back into the work
To produce a body of work that explore the ‘Investiture of meaning’ to ritual components of everyday life
The sacred
The role of the sacred
Objectives – What I want to achieve?
Produce objects/a body of work, that convey something of the sacred
Where does it sit in relation to the art world art or commercially?
Exploration of the mode of delivery …thereby informing the work, by its display. Reflective learning models
Rationale
I would make objects, they were not designed- they were spontaneous reactions to the materials and perhaps in that sense unrepeatable. It was about inhabiting the moment and not being distracted by the more cognitive ‘surface’ thought processes. I wanted to tap, deep down, to connect to something ‘other’. Linking back to earlier thoughts mentioned – ie working intuitively with materials in such a way that it does have deeper meaning & purpose than JUST working intuitively alone(exploration of passive and active intuition). There is something more there that I am wanting to tap in to (& potentially evoke in others).
I have a strong affinity to the land (we were until the 1980’s 3rd generation farmers) and the work often has/had strong connections and significance to a specific place (or personal projection of that place). The land as memory or projection or construct …of what may have been, and a powerful connection is made between family, land and location. Maybe with elements of confabulation and delusion.
There is significance in the sense of place-(ing) and context. By changing the context and display mode … this alters the relationship between the object and its original location.
‘Any landscape is a condition of the spirit’ Henri Frédéric Amiel
The work still seems concerned with ritual with many of the objects provoking strong reactions in people as being ‘old’ or ‘prehistoric’ in nature. This I think is incidental mainly because what remains of those prehistoric artefacts is authentic and in a socio/historical/cultural sense unknowable.
Paradox to be based in sculpture and to concern one’s self with the object when so often it is the ‘action’ the making and the journey that has been of interest/significance.
It is borderline compulsion steered by deeply felt intuitions.
Outcomes
Emphasis on the work measuring up to my own criteria, rather than dependence on the reading of others;
Does it feel authentic?
Quality of craftsmanship vs Expression of idea
Cohesive body of work for exhibition
Research issues and methodology
Practical exploration
Critical
Critical reflection
Reflective – the model of Kemmis and McTaggart (1988) -- plan, act, observe, reflect; then, in the light of this, plan for the next cycle. Lends for a flexible approach to learning and responsiveness. Vague beginnings can move towards better understanding and practical improvement through the critical analysis of the information, the interpretation of it, and the methods used.
Observation - first and foremost to record my primary reaction as a measure of my intent
