September 2013 Review

Practice 2 project: Collections-visual documentation of objects. Experimental processes

Defining area of research/interest- Fascination/repulsion, wonder/Horror

Study of Bottled body parts- Horror and Thrill

Death/ Decay/Beauty

My own photographic responses

Practice 2 Exhibition

At the end of the Practice 2 module in September, I put up a small exhibition of my work based on discourses on collecting and collections. I experimented with image transfer onto slabs of stone, making Rayographs with insects and plants.

I also coated a piece of aluminium with  liquid light and exposed a negative onto it.

I like the way the liquid has run down the surface of the metal. I also like the sheen of silver through the negative and where the thin layer of emulsion has flaked off.

The second part of the exhibition was a selection of photographs, some composed from  images of collections taken at museums. The others were composed from images taken in the studio.

I am still working with symmetry and exploring the combination of natural and man made objects like flowers and metal clasps, insects and silver spoons. I am examining what people collect and value.

The Morbid Anatomy Library

This is an Artist's project in the form of a research library and private museum in Brooklyn, New York.
According to their website:

' It is committed to celebrating and providing materials dedicated to the places where death and beauty intersect'


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Definitions

Jarred is a useful word to describe this next phase in my practice.
I have always liked installations and art that lure you in, then give you a shock, a jolt, an unexpected, sometimes unpleasant discovery or realisation.
according to www.thefreedictionary.com
To jar is to:
 disturb or irritate
to startle, unsettle, shock
to have a harshly unpleasant or perturbing effect on one's nerves or feelings
To have a sudden unsettling effect upon the mind, feelings or senses.



 I do not have an unnatural fascination with death or the macabre, but it seems that I am being drawn in that direction. From my earlier research into the Memento Mori in Dutch paintings to the use of insects, meat and animal parts in my own work I am moving on to the fascination with the contrast between death and beauty. In the Dutch still life, there are little winged or multi legged reminders amidst the flowers that beauty will fade, disease will invade you and you will die. In the 16th century the continuation of that message may have been-so repent and be a good Christian and earn a better, never ending life in heaven. But today the message is more like-so do everything you want, have surgery to look young, you deserve to have experiences and adventures, lots of sex with whoever you choose, a bucket list to tick off,  an expensive lifestyle, watch, holiday, car... Death will still catch you though!



The fascination with the macabre is evident on the internet, with people buying and selling bottled dead creatures that look unusual or frightening.
This is a specimen someone found and bottled. 'Dyno1' describes it as an 'Alien Foetus' and wants $40 for it.( www.kaboodle.com)

Jared Specimens

I am still researching the themes of:
Fascination/Repulsion
Ugly/Beautiful
Chaos/Order
Wonder/Horror
Decay/Preservation

I found a website offering advice about how to preserve creatures in jars. I didn't know that with fish for example, the formaldehyde is used to kill the creature in the jar, then it is preserved. So I presume you have to watch it die before you continue to bottle and preserve it! Here are some exerts from their website
www.preserve.sivasothi.com

 'Injecting large specimens: Large fishes above 10 cm,  should preferably be injected with a small amount of 10% formalin after they have expired in the preservative.  This prevents the innards from rotting, a condition which leads to distortion of the specimens'

' Handling: Always make sure that the cap of the collecting bottle is securely screwed. This would ensure that the animals in their death throes do not jump out, and get lost or damaged; Furthermore, struggling fish often splash formalin into the eyes of ‘concerned individuals’.

There seems to be a terrible irony in the phrase 'Concerned Individuals'

They are only concerned that they don't lose the specimen that is  contorting and splashing around as it dies trapped in the bottle of poisonous chemicals. They are concerned that they could splash their eyes with the chemicals they are using to kill something.
They are not concerned about the creature's pain and panic as it tries to escape; or about the moral justification for torturing them, drowning them.
 I have to confess I naively thought that the specimens were found dead before they were sent to scientists who preserved them. Well, really I had not ever considered this aspect in the process of bottling creatures to preserve them.

 

Final Major Project: Planning draft

Although it is quite difficult to plan so far ahead and to make my Gannt chart so detailed, prescriptive, and rigid, I am going to try to stick to it. I will check the plan regularly to check that I am on course and may make a few changes. I have attached my Gannt Chart and proposals of how I will document my process  and what I intend to deliver.

Project Documentation Proposal

I tend to record notes, sketches, questions and lists in a notebook, often in the night or first thing in the morning, then start building a file on a line of enquiry as it arises. I plan to write and post a blog once a week over the period of the year. I build a post as a word document during the week, adding to it as I read or see new work. By the end of the week, when I am happy with it I post the post. I plan to spend about 30 minutes every day on this task.

I do not look specifically and exclusively for inspiration from the field of photography.. I prefer to be inspired by a news item, something I have read in a magazine, an exhibition, a film, a painting, an academic review or theory, the creative industries generally, History, Science, or just a conversation at a party...
This seems to be a more fruitful method as links, themes and connections seem to spark off and develop as I research deeper.
As I discover an artist whose work chimes with my own in some way, I try to understand meaning by making my own analysis. This is recorded in notes. Then I try to read curator’s reviews, or the artist’s statement. I may then edit the post, adding more analysis and evaluation, or create a new, linked post continuing the analysis.
Once I feel I have a better understanding of the work I often change my opinion and response to it. This can either be a disappointment or a revelation. Whatever my feeling has become, the next stage is to make a visual response to the work. It is a bit like an unspoken conversation between us.  I either try to reverse or contradict what I have seen, or push it in a new direction.
It becomes a form of  ‘intertextual homage’
 I then post my visual responses and what I have learnt from that ‘conversation’ .I tend avoid listing new technical skills and their application, as these will be obvious to assessors;  rather, I focus on how well it works aesthetically as a cultural artefact. I will comment on routes towards solutions to specific problems and what I have gained from that process. I have received positive feedback on my blogs, so will continue them in a similar vein, keeping my focus on the desired final outcome.
I will end the series of blogs with a summary, looking back on what I feel I have learnt and how I have used that to better understand my own practice, pushing it forward. This year I plan to open my blog to public scrutiny and ask friends and fellow creatives to post comments. I think this will contribute to my progress and development as an artist.

Statement of Project Deliverables

I hope to show the best cross section of the work I have produced this year in response to artists in the forefront of photography and other media. It will incorporate the knowledge I have gained from on-going research into theories, debates and methodologies pertinent to my area of interest. As I move forward in my own practice, I will apply similar critical self-analysis and commentary to that of the artists I research.
I will record this developmental journey in my blog and will also present a body of images in a portfolio, which will demonstrate my creative exploration, leading to the final pieces.
I aim to produce between 3 and 5 high quality A2 images, which examine themes such as ugly/beautiful seductive/ repellent. I want to evoke a strong reaction from the viewer/participant in my work.