just as i was getting ready to compose this post i saw the word critical again, at the entrance to artists talking. threw me a bit, i’ve moved my work into the gallery today, having left my work there, i had left feeling critical, leaves me now wondering again what is meant by critical. can anybody help me here ?
while in the gallery it felt really good to chat with the others, to share stories and start to feel part of a group show in a gallery.
recently i watched the goldsmiths maf programmes. here’s the catch, what is critical and what is not critical. if any thing is possible as the democratic capitalist construct allows that (and ignoring lazy technicians, and i can say that as i’ve been a prophicient technician) (oh maybe that’s not critical that just personal view of a situation, and heaven forbid personal view)….oh hang on i’ve lost the thread.
our culture is a construct, it’s made up as it goes along.
dam got hung up again about critical. please can anyone explain to me clearly what is meant by it?
i’ve gone onsite today, i feel a little less tense and i’m looking forward to seeing the work in place.
i’ve entered a controlled panic. always have liked walking into aroom and making a big statement.
it’s the last few days of preparation prior to installing the work in the space. in controlled panic there is enjoyment in the process, as drummond said ” the art is in the making”.
what does drummond know though? he knows his own thing, he does his own thing, does his thing test what my thing is? if his thing is to do things to things with monartary value in a personal exploration of how that feels, then jolly good show i say. does it test me? not really.
i’ve got what research is this week. i’ve been making the vantage points for the piece. i rapidly went through the right i’ll do this, to oh that falls apart really easily, to i know if i do this it’ll make it stronger, to right i do this, this, this, drink tea, then this this and finally that. i’ve always researched with new media endeavours, not realising that the process i was going through was indeed research. with a physical object, the research has a much more tenable nature. my exploration of sculptural new media continues….
i’ve enjoyed myself this morning, chatting with mr gilbert. made a little mistake in not eating enough prior to the afternoon meeting. not eating affects my mood rather. something i am aware of and something of a project yet to be started.
this project is reaching installing time. it’s difficult to reflect on a day when part of it is tarnished by disappointment and hunger. one making the other worse.
in my present,the recent past calls into focus happenings of an older past. adding recent past to older past, creates a present condition informed by recent and older past. considering older past, recent past and present is enough to start to project possible futures, only by challenging the recent past, ie asking why they were not at the meeting, can i challenge the possible futures. this is very close to what my work is about.
last week i realised an answer to the question
“so what is your work about?”
i answered…
“ambiguous answers to notional questions”
ambiguity is important to me. especially work made by me to go into a formal gallery space, where social convention is to look at art.
i want viewers of it to talk about the work, to break the compliant silence, to dare to vocalise their thoughts. to dare to ask…
“what the f*** is this about?”
only a question can evoke an answer. … …..
how difficult is it to ask a question.
it’s not particle physics after all.
