A2 – Reflection on Tutorial

This time we arranged an online tutorial, me writing the minutes, and my tutor amended the formative report. Overall, a great experience, sharp to the point, and with an effective discussion with a one hour timeframe. We covered assignment and coursework as well as my initial thoughts on my parallel project related to medical imaging and MRI with a sense of fragmented identity.

Key aspects that I took out of our discussion:

‘Stop working intuitively’, let the energy of moment not avoid a deeper reflection on what I’ve done
Work more intimately with the material qualities
Give the work more space to breathe (e.g. Two Folds of Folly as too dense, contrived, with too harsh contrast)
Consider more critical composition, relationships, contrast and edges, what is needed and why?
Explore further fragmentation, concealing, trapped, revealing, memory, and transformation
Line and tone, movement and color: some sketchbook pages did work well, e.g Fig 1
Be less impatient, narrow down critically
Be more critical to what and how I am doing what

My sketchbooks did show some intriguing explorations, to be developed more deeply further. My learning log was appreciated for its comprehensive writing and well articulated researches and visit reflections, though less broad interest and deeper interaction with one or two artists might be beneficial.

Stefan513593 - P2SP - Sketchbook - developing Walking Through Painting

FIg. 1: P2SP – Sketchbook – developing Walking Through Painting

Some works stand out for my tutor:

main reasons:

balanced composition with good relationship between forms
engaging edges and shapes
visual flow through the work
idea of trapped objects (partly concealed in Fig.2, in poured paint in Fig.3, around perspex in Fig. 4)

=> My tutor had some concerns re the bright red color in Fig. 2, too reminiscent of blood, violent? Something for me look at deeper, as in Fig. 3 I had a similar bright red. Perhaps, shape matters in how we connotate meaning to color. Fig. 3 is a rather monochrome relief painting (versus the other mixed with white one Preservation Box #2). Fig 4.

: Fig. 2: A2 – Wall Box Sculpture #2

: Fig. 3: A2 – preservation box #1

: Fig. 4: A2 – Two Side Box #1 – back

My Object-Box, submitted for SHOWCASE, was questioned for its ‘crudeness’ (of made objects) and of a shift towards less personal. What is ‘crude’ and what is ‘refined’? Is refined always better? Would one say that gestural abstract paintings are refined? Or is the perception different when we see actual physical objects? The crudeness a a mean to disguise, to reduce recognition was intentional – but this was perhaps the reason for my tutor to respond to it as ‘less personal’ and and with less opportunity’ for further development of revealing and memory.

One point we discussed deeper was how important is the participatory engagement of the audience with my work. I will see next in oxo tower how the audience will interact with the Object-Box.

My tutor suggested the following..

Elements for further exploration

‘Investigate composition alongside exploring media more critically’
‘Transparency/opacity’
‘Remember to consider edges and contrasts’
‘Continue to disrupt the reading/narrative’

Notes on personal project

Fragmentation as I started already some exploration in my sketchbooks, as well ideas of coding and concealing. Along the way to consider format of presentation, e.g book, trapped objects, disrupted surfaces. Explore widely and refine when I reach project 4 ‘Thinking through PP’.

Conclusion: A deeper Reflection

– Materiality – Depth – Relationship –

– Contrast – Edges –

– Fragmentation – Disruption –

Such are the keywords for me to keep not only in mind but also to take them in my making into account. There will be mostly a shift happening in how I approach my coursework and my assignment work: more focus, deeper, establishing a more intimate dialogue with my chosen materials and eventually let my ideas and thoughts merge with the appearance of the visual works created.

Key thing clearly to develop in more steps forward and less multiple steps in parallel without moving forward. A serial versus a lateral approach? Question would be when to shift from the latter to the first mode.

My overall experience with the tutorial and drafting directly the report for my tutor to amend is very positive of much learning support. I feel that starting from the discussion, through rough note capturing and writing down the report, I already learn more and deeper than just reading a sent report.

A2 – Self-Evaluation

How am I doing against the criteria?

Demonstration of Technical and Visual Skills

Throughout this part, I was facing the challenge of transforming performative and process based visual and emotional experience into a sculptural painting. I experimented with moving images, animation, sketches, object-collages and human scale walking through painting. Some works stayed on a sketch level, not very much in depth and detailed revision of painting. I do consider most of the work created as temporal and experimental work. I am not sure whether these would make it to an exhibition at all. Frustration ended in event-painting. However, I explored different perspectives of how to paint and how to see a painting, in space, on a wall, or in a sketchbook. I felt a raising awareness for edges and shapes and relationships between them. I used color very selectively and intentionally, mostly reflecting on my initial object-box, saturated colors, mostly blue and red, acting as activators.

Quality of Outcome

I moved one step after another though this course, created works that were built on learning and outcome before. I followed a common thread of objects and my relationship to them, at times in a fetish manner. Peer feedback helped me to get more clarity on my direction. Various sidestreams evolved, and with more time I could have spend much deeper on each of them. My weak point still to come faster to focused decisions. The most elaborated work is Walking Through Painting, one that I was struggling with wether it is exercise or already assignment work

Demonstration of Creativity

I explored various territories, not being afraid neither of scale nor medium. Overall, I approached the tasks set with a wide open experimental mind, trying to find all kinds of variations. I am not sure whether this is part of a ‘voice’ or just procrastination. At times it was less about following through a red line. I hope and wish, also for the sake of better focus and time management to come faster to decisions and funnelling down ideas quickly. Also to avoid being side-tracked by other ideas coming in.

Context

I looked at various artists and took from them elements that I found relevant to my work. At times I was surprised, that artists I looked at in the past and at exhibitions finally made sense. I could for example relate in such a way much better to Mark Dion and Abraham Cruzvillegaz. I followed further the route of not knowing what will come out of my doing. I was guided at times by some quotes, at times by few elements I picked from one or the other artist.

A2 – Reflection – A Performative Journey

My reflective account: A Performative Journey

This part was strongly inspired by my struggle in finding an appropriate worktable that works with my life of frequent travelling. Packing my art stuff in a suitcase on my travels, I was wondering how these objects could play a role as part of me, a kind of self-portrait.

Objects I used to draw with were too precious and eventually I made a mobile box with found objects from my direct studio environment, dysfunctional and mostly packaging things. The box became my companion and inspired me to perform with and out of it. My relationship with ‘useless’ items informed my coursework and assignment work. Throughout this part up to assignment my performative box was a key element.

My work played around fetishism, play, performative magic, and establishing entertaining relationship subject-object. I worked flat on the floor, on the wall, on a table, in space. I build maquettes, and more boxes in all varieties. Objects were made and replacing others. I found that painting them out was a constant factor in making sense of what I was doing. I developed a raising awareness of how paint can conceal, activate, uniform. I crossed medium specificity with performative and animated videos and considered painting as an ‘event’ as John Latham once stated his view on artworks.

After a frustrating start and a long relocation break, I could feel some direction surfacing. With different experimental approaches and strong motivation and desire I worked and painted out things. Initially, I couldn’t see how my works and experiments from part One could be further developed or integrated. However, I developed a sense of looking at edges, frames, gesture and control & chance in a different and repetitive way, resolving my struggle. Once more I became aware that only through making my next steps become clearer. All contextual researches were beneficial in that sense only, that I could relate during my reflections how to see and look at my works in a wider context. It turned out to be fun. Especially my large-scale Walking Through Painting stretched certainly the scope of one exercise. I was pondering to use it as my assignment piece. Nevertheless, the work I did for it informed my final Object-Box. My visually mapping out thoughts, contextual references and work done supported me in following through a complex journey.

Peer feedback received supported me in coming to some conclusions for myself. The work presented are mostly not finished works, maquettes and sculptural sketches informing my way forward, e.g. my personal project and critical review.

Some works are not resolved yet, e.g. Spatial Box and the approaches with Two Side Box and the idea of archive. On the other hand, the work Object-Box aka Paint4OCA is more resolved and I plan to submit for SHOWCASE OCA.

I can see how my work on object-subject relationship and staged animations is crossing over to the next part, focusing deeper on human interaction with already some work done during this part.

(word count: 493)