Phootshoot 2

From London to Worcester 

Fine Art Crit #2

1. Make art that makes you questions. 2. Ask the questions.

"A good crit is actually a conversation. It's talking about something, through something, with something." Miraj Ahmed, Lecturer, AA/Cambridge University

As well as offering the chance for us to get feedback and discuss our own work, the crit allowed us to spend time with other works, learn from others and develop our ability to talk about art.

The crit format allows us to bring our work out of our studios, choosing what we display and how we display it. 

One of the most important things I took from the crit is to consider the question can the work sustain conversation? Questions, although mildly terrifying, are a chance to break down barriers and engage with your own, others' work and the community around you. It 'shouldn't' be a scary thing (though let's be honest I'm studying art I'm not exactly the most confident of people), and if things don't go how you expect them to- that's art for you. Other peoples opinions and interpretations are sometimes just as important than whatever the artist was thinking when they did it...hence why it's important to a) actually turn up, b) take notes(on others work and feedback as well as your own), and c) try to take part- no matter how little or much. It's about discussion, rather than criticism. 

"I didn't get it and I'm not going to pretend to"

• Chaos and instability; support structures behind the 'chaos', emotive
• Soundscapes, Synesthesia
• Repetition and noise
• Alien interruption, white noise on TV
• Colour makes it easier to see what's behind, helps to seperate layers
• Where as black and white you can't tell what's there
• Lines, erosion, acid wash, burnt

Another interesting point that came up, not about my work, was the question "Where does the work finish?"

Tabula

How do you look at art?

Thinking about group crits and how to attempt to 'read' art. 

"The best foundation for any fresh consideration of contemporary art is to start from zero"

T- TIME Give the piece a few minutes, what are you looking at?

A- ASSOCIATION What can you relate it to?
B- BACKGROUND Look for clues,
U- UNDERSTAND What is the artist playing with, e.g. line, texture, surface
L- Look Again- using this knowledge and understanding
A- Assessment- Will you applause or escape? How does it make you feel

'Ways of Looking: How to experience Contemporary Art' by Ossain Ward

Fine Art Crit #1

"Art doesn't have to represent anything"

One of the things I've struggled most with about the course so far is the idea that contemporary art doesn't have to be directly representative of anything. It is important to have and be able to form your own opinion around a piece of work- It's what it does, rather than what it's supposed to do. 

During the Crit our lecturer asked someone else doing the joint honours with Psychology course "Would you say it(the piece of art) is an experiment?". I think this is an important question to think about and in my own personal opinion I think all art is to an extent- the artist changing the materials (Independent variables) to see what the effect is (Dependent variables). This has led me to think about my ideas in a more structured, almost methodological way, and consider what I am doing. 

Focusing on my own work, he suggested I could try presenting the paintings in a different way, combining them with the sound to create a moving image. This is something I want to explore. I am thinking of filming the painting from a tripod- layering it with the sound to bring it together. I may also try layering the works digitally, using photoshop, or physically, prehaps printing onto transparent plastic or tracing paper to combine the images- putting one in front of the other to explore ideas of space  and how it effects the work.