I am presenting here a curated guide through my study proposal, reflexive journal (blog) and practice based research.
The material presented here is intended to serve the dual purposes of;
(A) Documenting my progress through Unit 1 of my M.A
(B) Introducing a phase of action that will constitute the final realisation of this study through unit 2.
The MA visual Arts Course Handbook 2010/2011 provides me with a list of assessment evidence that I need to provide namely.
- Written Project proposal (Project Proposal) Link Here
- Practice based research presented at the mid point review (Mid Point Reveiw) Link Here
- Reflexive journal, evidence of participation and contribution to group debates, and studentship. (Journal and Debate)
- Written paper of 4000-5000 words contextualising your practice based research. (Research Paper) Link Here
Develop your project proposal to plan a challenging and self-directed program of study.
My original project proposal was motivated by a desire to address the symbolic nature of the technologies central to my practice (digital video construction) and to explore the symbolic and asethetic meanings that inform my understanding of those technologies. My Research Paper “Looking at Screens”, was about the electronic screen as an art object or as an object within art. I wanted to address the screen itself as a significant phenomenon in how ‘new media art’ should be thought about. Central to my research paper was a discussion of how certain high profile practitioners have apprehended the screen as both; a functional object, an aesthetic object and a conceptual idea. These discussions were developed through the following blog entries
Alfred Hitchcock and the fractured screen.
Nam June Paik and the screen as sculptural object
Melville’s Whale’s eyes and the gaps in perceptive experience
Martin Arnold and De-programming the mechanisms of perception through video manipulation
La Jette and the dislocated fragment of time.
Brian Eno and the diffusion of vacant screen space.
These blog entries were also of significant importance in the design process that has determined the form I want my realized project to take ‘a techno-mystical video interface’.
Since my ideas have taken clarity and confidence through the completion of Unit 1, I have revised my study proposal and uploaded an updated version.
Which can be viewed here – Study Proposal Unit 2
In comparison to the earlier draft here – Study Proposal Unit 1
Demonstrate a critical engagement with practice based research and contribute actively to debate and discussion.
After a difficult class presentation on 18.01.11 (see presentation notes here and retrospection here ) I decided that I need to design a better visual representation of my project and the form it will take.
I have therefore created this video experiment, which shows an arbitrarily selected 9 minutes of video on 3 channels within a 3 minuet timeline.
While this clip is ok as a demonstration of the video database described in my study proposal it does not fully evoke the sense of a ‘Techno-mystical video interface’ as outlined in my project proposal, one interesting idea that I took from making this piece is a comparison to the gambling machine with its lines of randomized images spinning on a loop. I think this simple video interface begins to evoke such a suggestion without fully defining it.
The main problem I have with this piece is that it looks and behaves like an after effects construct (which is exactly what it is). I have realized and stated in my unit 2 project proposal that I want to move away from the linearity of such video editing software and appropriate a sense of uncertainty and openness through the application of programming techniques.
I presented two pieces of practice based research inside my Mid-point review.
For which the introduction and presentation feedback can be found here and here
3 clips from my original drivers footage was slowed down, looped and presented on 3 television screens as part of the Feedback show at House café galley.
My motive for displaying the work that way was to line the screens up like cars and create a new simulation of the traffic jam from which this footage was recorded. This installation can retrospectively be seen as an early engagement with the theme of my research paper ‘Looking at screens’ which considers the physicality of the screen within installation art.
I also wrote a blog entry which considers Alfred Hitchcock’s use of screens in a driving sequence from Psycho, I discuss his comparative framing between the cinema screen and the windscreen of the car. Link here
Articulate a clear understanding of the methodology and context of your creative practice in both written and verbal forms.
What follows is a written description of my methodology taken from my Unit 2 study proposal.
The basis of how I construct my images; is a process of appropriating aesthetic/symbolic qualities from a range of religions, myths and superstitions and using them freely and arbitrarily to enrich my own art work. In a more general sense this could also be seen as a cultural/theological cutting and pasting of sorts, and also a kind of ‘grotesque mimicry’ or a parody of the way culture, technology, mythology and theology evolve in general.
Above all else I believe in the symbolic significance of actions of artistic creativity and my focus is on artistic processes rather than art products, I intend to experiment as freely and as much as possible while presenting successes and failures simultaneously.
Digital video and sound production have been my major pre-occupation for some years. Until now the processes of recording and capturing have been the most appealing.
The database of video that I have created feels like a burden, the question; what to do with this work? Always feels like a discomforting afterthought. Through a utilization of programming techniques I would like to give life to this database material, to find a new way of ReMembering my work so that it can occupy a place in my present imagination as opposed to being an uncomfortable reminder of the past.
The media interface that I design will display and compare works within my media database in an unpredictable manor, this is a strategy to give life and a sense of openness to work that feels resolved and dead. I hope that once this interface has been created, I will discover a more holistic process of artistic video and sound production, one where my present and past endeavours are enriched by each other rather than being in competition.
It is a new approach to my practice that I am hoping to discover through this M.A course, the methodology that I develop through my studies will be the most important thing that I take away with me. Essentially I am trying to design a methodology that will create balance and a greater sense of purpose in my working life where until now; the past, the present and the future have felt dislocated and out of touch with one another. By a shift in focus from the finished art product, to an open database of creative material, I believe I can create a greater sense of purpose in my continued artistic practice.
