Previously on the Foundation Course
All good reflection journals must start with a look back over what has come before. So before we move on to the new work we should probably have a swift trot through the highlights.
I produced an A to Z of Grief in my first term. It was my first attempt at collage but I also turned it into a film with the narrative from the diary as the sound track. That’s when I discovered that a strong narrative is important to me. I need a story to work on.
In my second term I focused on collective memory and the special powers we vest in ordinary everyday things. I found loads of stuff in junk shops and made up stories about it. This film was inspired by a really kitsch statue I found in a charity shop.
The final term started off being about reflections and was particularly inspired by this model I spotted in a shop window in Rimini. Freaked me out and was definitely judging everyone that went by.
So it became the star of a found footage film noir. Using work by Jean Cocteau, Sarah Pucill and Bill Viola I made this spooky but amusing film.
However, a diagnosis of Rheumatoid Arthritis and a few months of limping about changed all of that and overnight a dream about my reflection giving up on me for being a boring old cow became the subject of my work. This animation was the result.
So what have I learnt about myself as an artist over that time?
I like to tell a story. Words have been an important aspect of my work
I like striking images and I’m pretty good at creating them
I like odd juxtapositions
I like to look for symbolism and use it in my work
My work has made people cry but it has also made them laugh so it all evens out in the end. I need to be emotionally invested in what I’m doing
I’m not even a little tiny bit Delphic and I feel like I should be but I don’t know if I want to be or how I would go about doing it
I’m wed to the concept of pretty. I like decorative things
The feedback I’ve had from tutors and from my artist colleagues has been pretty positive in the main. They have flagged up areas for development and I’ve thought of a few of my own:
I don’t want to move away from creating narrative work but I want to work with my strengths and see if I can produce narrative work using images only. No words. That’s going to be a challenge, I reckon
Comments from feedback sessions propose that I could take the work I do ‘further’. I must admit I don’t feel that comfortable with totally free experimentation. I tend to have a strong idea that I work towards but this can mean that I miss things that could have added to the work so the first part of this term is all about playing around with images. No fixed ideas. Jazz art
I’m going to experiment with being more obscure in my messaging
There we are. Challenges for the next 11 weeks. Let’s see how that all goes.
