After Modernism, Jon Clarkson: During this first study group I learnt so much about many of the most influential artists of the time, some whom I knew of already, others I knew their work but never fully understood what was meant by it and then there were other artists i had been previously completely unaware of. I learnt many new interesting things about each of the movements discussed and got a grasp of what each was really about, what motivated artists under that title to do their work. I found many of these artists were useful in developing my own work further and in helping find inspiration when I was a little stuck on what to do next. One of my biggest discoveries was that of an entire movement I never even knew existed – Fluxus, I was really intrigued by the work of these artists, it was so vastly different from anything I had ever seen before. John Cage was one of the Fluxus artists I was particularly excited by, and although his work is nothing like my own, nor do I see my work heading in that direction at any time soon, it has however, opened my mind to be more adventurous and to let go of my fears of people thinking my art is too ‘weird’- I want to incorporate some of the boldness I saw in Fluxus.
I was also very interested in what we were shown of how art can look very different in the way its displayed, i.e. in an image or on show in a museum or gallery, I will think more carefully about the way I display my work (even in the photos or images I use in my blog) as I now realise that this can have a significant effect on how the work is perceived. I think that sometimes I have the tendency to make things look ‘prettier’ in the pictures than they really are, and sometimes that works but what I have now learnt is that its important not to get too carried away with the aesthetic of the image and focus more on the actual artwork and what it has to say.
Key Note Lectures: I thoroughly enjoined the keynote lectures as a whole,probably my favourite art of Constellation this year. These lectures gave an opportunity to hear and learn from interesting speakers about very relevant topics. The variety of topics and speakers made for an exciting experience due to the individual delivery style of each of the lectures. I looked forward to attending these each week and because they lasted only one session this one sitting contained all the key information in a short snappy way, and I find I remember and thus learn best this in way. I also found it particularly useful to make my own personal notes from these and I have found myself going back to these several times in order to help me develop my work.The lecture which particularly stood out for me was ‘Teenage Kicks’, I was amazed by the history of is such an every day item (DR. Marten Boots) and how it could hold such vastly different meanings to different cultures through the years – I was introduced to the concept of the ‘Cultural Biography of Things’ ( Kopyloff, 1986). This made me consider how other items may hold certain meanings to some and also about the way people identify themselves to be part of a certain sub culture, this is something I hope to explore in my work in the future.
The lecture on the Sonic Arts was another I found especially interesting, mainly because before this time I had no previous knowledge of Sonic Arts or what it was about. As I have studied piano for a number of years I already had a basic understanding of the musical aspect however, I had never before considered using music in a way which would be considered art. I was really inspired by the examples of sonic art’ performances we were shown, and I was amazed at just how powerful sound could be.
I think having experienced being in an interdisciplinary group really broadened my view on the things being discussed in the lectures and study groups. Although it seems very cliché those students in subjects such as Architectural Design Technology and Graphic Design brought a much more practical/clinical approach to things being discussed – often very different to the Fine Artists I am used to. I think it is important no matter what subject you study, to hear and appreciate opinions from a sightly different perspective. I really do believe this aspect of Constellation benefited me and my practise in Fine Art a great deal, and from this I now have the contacts that I could collaborate with another course member or ask them for advice on something I needed a different approach on as well as developing my own personal ability to think from another angle
In terms of my academic writing ability I have noticed some improvement, I think this is down to the support given in the study groups when everything was carefully talked through with us so it was clear what needed to be achieved . I also think that my writing has improved due to the diverse range of subject related reading material and video interviews etc. that I read and watched, which were necessary to analyse for the study groups each week. It was helpful that the suggestions for each week were not always just reading an academic text but that videos were also included, this meant the reading did not become too tedious.
As a whole I feel I have learnt a lot from this aspect of the course, Constellation was both explorative and informative, it has really opened my eyes to many things I had not been previously aware of and made me think in a way which will help me to be more creative when problems arise, and given me many interesting ideas of where I might take my work in the future.
wonderifimalice 