Draft 1 Artefact - Contextural Research Project/ Reference List/ Tutorial feedback

DEIRDRE DOWLEY

GCOP 200 - Space[time] & the Everyday 

Contexts of practice 2

Artefact -  Contextural Research Project and Reference List

DRAFT 1 (Photographs to be added)

For the last 3 months I have been collecting the residues of human existence, consumption and labour from the world around me. I especially covet objects from arterial economic highways along which I travel. Objects that have been weathered and beaten beyond recognition or altered by random acts of violence or chance.  Collections of unrecognisable randomly sourced cast off resources from the world outside which I have brought into an inside space creating the structure in figure 1 below. 

For my exploration into  the artefact I have been deconstructing the form and re constructing the materials daily to create an ever changing sculpture which I have now named A38 and it reflects for me some of the issues in modern life to which I am drawn to explore. These include the relationship of material to space, the throw away society, transience and transformation.

I have placed and connected inert heavy, light and crushed found discarded objects in the studio 11 space creating a fragmented, open, soaring structure. Is it the high tipped, floor to ceiling crescendo of inert heavy matter, fixed, balancing, lightly in space that attracts the curious gaze or is it the once un noticed everyday space it occupies? Without the material intervention does the spatial remain unseen and is this union created by the artist a God like act of creation and ultimately a potential starting point for change?

One of the pieces that has influenced the making of A 38 is Spartacus Chetwynd’s The Folding house, 2010. I saw this in the BAS7 exhibition and was very inspired by its towering presence, the look and the concept of the piece. I loved the fact that as a folding house, despite its size, it could be taken down and reassembled anywhere, this caught my imagination. The piece soared up into the top of the room and drew my attention to that place where I never normally would look and although the piece dominated the room it did so in a gentle and magnanimous way. 

Chetwynd’s use of reclaimed materials, old wood, window frames, doors, scaffolding boards and colourful material throws, which made it inviting and familiar resonated with me. 

In Kurt Schwitter’s mind, “a work of art comes into being through artistic evaluation of its elements. To artistically “evaluate” one element against the next is to unveil their basic spiritual content...”(J.Elderfield,1985 p 32)

In A38 familiar found objects transcend their status as waste and take on a new importance as they are evaluated against each other in the art work. New narratives evolve and take precedent and somewhere from this gut level quagmire a glimmer of hope is born, a new life, elevated and projected up into an altered reflection of the quagmire from which it came. 

I have been told that some of my art resembles the work of the early 20 century Futurists. In the Technical Manifesto of Futurist Sculpture 1909, Boccioni stated in his demand for artistic change, “Destroy the literary and traditional ‘dignity’ of marble and bronze sculptures. Refuse to accept the exclusive nature of a single material in the construction of a sculptural whole. Insist that even 20 different types of materials can be used in a single work of art...” (Krauss, 1977 p 291) 

Today many contemporary artists use everyday or un conventional materials. BAS7 artist Karla Black is an artist who comments on her use of these materials in her statement ‘Materials I have used are medicines for minor ailments, packaging, old clothes, carpets, foodstuffs, household cleaners, toiletries and make-up. These softer elements are often used along with harder or more structural and traditional art-making materials like plaster, glass, wood, cardboard, mirror, paper and paint.’ (Lowndes, 2007)

There is so much plastic detritus on the A38 that I began to wonder about how it could be used in the same way as paint is used on canvas and so a more in depth study of Blacks use of large swathes of plastic sheeting became a starting point for exploration. Of all the found objects it is by far the most versatile and exciting material because it can be manipulated so easily. It can be hung, twisted, stretched, pulled, spread and wrapped. 

It is light and easy and has a see through quality easy to handle, yet strong and powerful.

In his book Understanding Media: The Extensions Of Man, published in 1964 Marshall McLuhan stated, "the medium is the message". (McLuhan, 1965 p 23-24).In a number of my previous pieces I have explicitly intended to convey a message. However working with an abstract form in A 38 I find McLuhan's statement particularly relevant. I have always been drawn in my life and my art to people and subjects that have been marginalised, given less of a voice. I find now exploring working with in animate objects that I am still drawn to a similar theme. I reflect on my dismissal to use more traditional artists materials. I find stuff, anything, everything and what this stuff has in common is that nobody wants it. It’s the left over leftovers, discarded objects not fit for a bin because if they were I wouldn't find them. 

Trillions of rubber tyres are being used and replaced every moment of everyday. Infinitesimal quantities of plastic bags and wrapping material are escaping landfill destinies. Discarded, tired, useless tyres, bereft of wheels, smooth, worn shredded and ripped wind propelled carriers become objects of art and dumping runways are replaced with  exhibition rooms and quizzical glances.

These objects are my working palette but what qualities am I looking for when these materials catch my eye? I am in the business of re-seeing the world and capture in a glance, narratives of past existence and future possibilities. They project their life into my visual mind because they stand out alone in juxtaposition to the environment and they mean so much more than what they appear to be. The materiality of each object informing its own composition and communication.

These large found object sculptures can be made at relatively no cost and therefore make this kind of sculpture accessible and not reliant on income or funding. This is an important consideration for me in art. In addition, plastic, rubber, wood, wire, felt, paint, popcorn all reflect aspects of  contemporary life. 

You only have to scratch the surface and inherent within each of these objects is a massive archive of information. For example an abandoned tyre was once an assembly line produced functional object whose value was in whether it worked. We value it if it does the job and discard it if it doesn't. The process of the tyres production is as Marx would describe it unfulfilled alienated labour and in my hands the tyre becomes part of a art work the process and result of which  represents fulfilled un-alienated labour which is almost the definition of freedom.(Collins, 2012 p18-20)

So physical, emotional and political trichotomies are at work here and are reflected in the tension between objects that support, overlap and entangle.

One of the most unique aspects of this work is its constantly changing form. Most people consider a stretch of motorway to be unchanging but it is the constant adding and removal of rubbish from its hard shoulders that draws my attention and makes it a daily changing landscape. I wanted my work to reflect this by constantly changing the relationship of the objects to each other and by adding or removing items. Conventionally, unlike music or theatre with their ever-changing interpretations, Art tends to have been produced as a finite product, a painting only ever changing its location or a sculpture, which is static. 

More recently, contemporary artists have been creating work, which is intended to be temporary, destroyed after its’ exhibition life is over and not meant to have a future as an artefact. These works comment on a disposable society in which things get used and then disposed of, shredded, burnt or buried. My piece, A 38 explores the essence of the art object in a different way. It reflects the life of those things that have been cast out but, somehow survived, not made it to the landfill. Therefore the piece is not meant simply for construction and destruction but instead to survive in a constantly changing form. (Long live the unwanted!)

The unobserved, unnoticed detritus of the everyday becomes noticed until once again its constant temporal existence disappears in its de construction. Interior space is laid bear, exterior space forgotten. Free, open, un encumbered by heavy matter until once it is assembled and it evolves into another narrative, another new evaluation of its elements in an ongoing attempt to discover a work of art.

In the de constructing and re constructing of this work an exchange occurs between myself space and time. Sweeping, knotted, opaque 3 dimensional plastic planes unravel relieving the material tension, timber frameworks un screw, buzzing neon fairy lights un plug and silence fills the echo. Those objects that proudly claimed space, un chartered above head height unseen territories are coming down and are stockpiling in random combinations reflecting the ‘unintentional’ life they had on the A38 and waiting to be re evaluated and given new relevance.

Reflecting on my experience of A38 I've really enjoyed taking the objects of rubbish and turning them into a piece of art. I love the fact that it's alive, ever changing and exciting, not only for me but for the people around me to. It satisfies an urge in me to see something placed in space and having to go through the process of thinking how to make it flow in a sculptural, aesthetic way. 

As a student, the fact that I can see immediately whether something works or doesn't means I'm getting to understand those concepts which I’ve been exploring space, time and movement.

During my week of deconstructing and reconstructing the piece, I was approached many times by my peers who began to tell me how elements of the work reminded them of their own histories by recounting stories from their childhood. They were attracted to come and sit inside it and some even wanted to bring in their own objects, for example a lampshade to add to the piece. It was as if people wanted to make it partly theirs.  I think this feeling was encouraged by the fact that the structure kept changing and therefore proclaimed itself open to new possibilities.

Some way through working with this piece I found out about the The Lone Twins, Boat Project. The performance artists invited residents to be involved in the making of a piece of art. They were asked to bring along pieces of wood that meant something to them, their stories were recorded, and the wood was made into a boat. I love the fact that 1500 ordinary people who don't usually have a voice in art have contributed something meaningful to a major work and in doing so these peoples stories have become part of it and the individual pieces of wood have now collectively taken on a new narrative. These people can view the boat as a new work but they can also see in it their own stories now given a new relevance in the celebration of this years Cultural Olympiad.

If I had the opportunity I'd like to expand my piece and take it on tour to village halls. Inspired by the Boat project I would like to include local people in the creation of the work by inviting them to bring discarded objects that have meaning for them to incorporate them into the structure. I would then change the form of the sculpture daily. Perhaps this could include specially commissioned music, photographs of the history of the village, an art walk and chances for local people to tell their stories.

Although there is a slightly cynical side to my work, as the impetus of this work was about giving a voice to silence, the minority, marginalized, discarded, voiceless leftovers of lives, my life, ruled by consumption and alienation” as I worked with the piece I began to transform my attitude into a more positive one. I saw the potential of the art work to transform the attitudes of passers by and to inspire them to question the role of objects in their own lives. I hope they will ask themselves the question ‘’Are these objects rubbish or resource?"

In Henri Lefebvre’s 1961 essay Clearing the Ground he states “ A social group is characterised just as much by what it rejects as by what it consumes and assimilates.” (Johnstone, 2008 p 26). In our Capitalist social group we often have the impulse reject and throw away what no longer serves its original function but in many societies these objects are assimilated and simply change their function, everything is seen as a resource. Not only does this approach help create a more sustainable society but it also gives us each the opportunity or responsibility to be a creator; once the tyre has blown, what are we going to turn it into?

REFERENCE LIST

Collins, P. (2012). Great critics and their ideas. Art Reveiw Magazine, 57, pp.18-20

Elderfield, J. (1995). Kurt Schwitters. London : Thames and Hudson

Johnstone,S.(ed). (2008) The Everyday Documents of Contemporary Art. Slovinia : White Chapel Ventures Ltd

Krauss , E. (1977). Passages in Modern Sculpture. USA : Viking Press

McLuhan, M. (1994). Understanding Media: The Extentions of Man. Massachusetts. MIT Press

TUTORIAL FEEDBACK 29/03/2012

J - Look at Susan Stewart she is an poet who describes acts of collecting after giving in this essay for your own practice. 

Maybe look at giving the writing space separate the poetic writing with the academic writing.

Embed the photos don’t have them in a different document. I love the poetic because it is taking this other language and still fitting it within an academic convention. 

This might be a fine art thing, self reflection in this writing, it is not needed.  What we are looking for is critical evaluation. You are positioning yourself as an artist within the field of other artists and theorists. Whats the theory behind it. 

(S)Writing to the artefact and writing  an essay is the same type of writing, - theoretical!

even though you are framing your artefact you are still writing academically.  You need to attach writers such as Lefebvre in terms of the everyday objects into it as well. It should not be missed out. You have got some artists in there so thats good but now its about tying it down and being a bit more emphatic about the Lefebvre connection. 

  

(J)Drop the self reflection/ the tour idea and get the word count back with some paragraphs on incorporating theorist backing. Rather than stating as a student...... you could say is What this project does is it sits within a field of the everyday, it sits within the work of .....

Susan Stewart is a poet and a theorist, your work could sit easily within that field. It does you just didn't know the name until just now. 

(S)Heres an example this sentence the un observed , unnoticed detritus of the everyday becomes noticed... and a Lefebvre quote will sit really easily there because then you are embedding the theory into your thinking.

THIS IS WHAT WE WANT!!!!!

So this sentence as a student , the fact that I can see immediately whether something is working.......is reflection practice which isn't irrelevant but for this module it is!

Its a different type of criticality  but what we are asking is to tie this idea down to a framework that is supported around theorists and writers so that you can prove that your theorising is grounded.(?) That it fits within this framework. That you are making your argument. 

If yo have images refer to them in your text Fig 1 my work is doing this ...

Yes sign post them. give them a rational , a reason for them being here. 

1. One more question so this bit about if I had the opportunity...That is self reflection - Yes? So thats out and irrelevant. 

(S)Ok we are looking at ideas and contextualizing your artefact NOT your intentions on a practical level. This not a professional practice module, its a theoretical module. I can see why you put that in there but it needs to come out because the really good stuff with Lefebvre needs to go in. In the fullness of time you will be able to separate those types of writing.

1. Well I kind of already did.

1. You are figuring this out and by writing this is how you are figuring it out.