Fine Art (BA Hons) ‘The course enables students to develop and produce challenging contemporary artworks that often emphasise audience and context, and investigate the role of the artist in the 21st century. We’re exposed to a range of practices that will enable us to link traditional skills and approaches with alternative media in order to develop an imaginative, critical and informed fine art practice.’
I have successfully completed my degree show, officially graduated Oxford Brookes University with a 2:1 and thankfully managed to get the grade I needed in order to attend the MA in Art, Aesthetics and Cultural Institutions at The University of Liverpool in September.
As some of you may know, I was selected by Leo Fitzmaurice as one of the best Degrees Unedited bloggers as featured in a-n magazine’s degree shows guide, 2012:
My prize was incredible, I’ve never seen so many art supplies in my entire life, I have been making full use of them in my new studio, which is based in Southport. Unfortunately, due to privacy issues, I am unable to post a photograph of my new space and all external links to previous images on this blog have been removed, video links are still available.
This afternoon I submitted an application for the John Moores Painting Prize 2012 bursary, luckily I saw a tweet a couple of hours before the deadline and couldn’t resist applying for it, fingers crossed.
Most of my work has been about the definition of art, truth and authenticity, why we are artists and why we choose to create. What happens if you give an artist a pencil, pen, tube of paint or a video camera? These are just a few of the thoughts which led me to create endurance and time based pieces where the work is created within a specific space at a specific time using specific media.
I decided to upload the fingerpaint animation and one of the performance videos to YouTube in an attempt to receive some feedback from the public regarding my work. Obviously due to the audience not necessarily being part of the art world it was interesting to hear how they perceived the work and how they related to it. I also showed this video to other members of my course prior to the final exhibition in order to compare their comments with those of the public.
Those who viewed this as a work of art saw it as an endearing and thought provoking piece of performance and seemed to realize that I was miming, or lip syncing. They were unsure as to whether or not this work was a joke, if they should laugh, or cry. Whereas those who were unfamiliar with the idea of live art were convinced it was I and not Piaf singing and viewed it in a completely different way, most seemed confused by the sheer quality of sound being produced. I was pleased by the uncertainty amongst both audiences as that is what I hoped to achieve through this work. I predict the other videos to have the same or a similar effect on the viewer.
I wanted the work to be accessible, rather than simply be aimed at a niche audience; it has a wider appeal on a purely audiovisual scale. At least one of the tracks chosen will appeal to and be recognizable to the majority of society, all levels of society, with varying levels of engagement, for example, young people might be more focused on the rap rather than the ballad. Some people may find the work much more engaging than others but this is to be presumed as a taste in music is as varied as a taste in art.
These songs already existed, in the auditory sense, so I took what already existed (much like Duchamp’s readymades) and I made it my own through a natural reaction to the sound, creating an autobiographical and coherent body of work.
My current work is about the inability to define, to stereotype, to group and to mark. It is about the challenges faced by a generation immersed in a virtual reality that consequentially affects the harsh reality of the world beyond the screen.
Screens protect us, they collect and connect us, collect dust. We sit in front of them for hours, all day, every day, televisions, music devices, phones, games consoles, computers, all things considered to be a necessity by the majority of individuals.
Who and what will people think of when they look back at the art being made 2012? I realised that when art historians and critics reference artists of the past, the artist’s work always relates in some way to that period in time, the events that occurred within that era. I decided not to focus on politics, on war, on problems that don’t actually tend to affect people on a daily basis, unless they’re directly involved. Now, imagine if the internet stopped working, imagine if no one on Earth could connect. Sure, those who live without electricity wouldn’t be affected, they probably wouldn’t even notice if they were living far enough from ‘modern’ civilisation but what of those living everywhere else.
There would be an uproar, an explosive mass of frustrated people without the ability to tweet about their outrage with regards to the situation. I realised that we’re not the plastic generation, we’re the wireless generation. We are human beings completely absorbed by the machine.
So, I decided to make art that I felt related to the machine. Although I knew the work had to be relevant to contemporary fine art practices I began by removing all other thoughts from my mind; I reduced all of my ideas until they disappeared. I emptied the recycle bin in my head and started again, new document.
I haven’t updated this blog in a while due to the demise of a relationship, a blessing in disguise for both my personal and professional life. My posting abilities were also inhibited by a seriously hectic schedule.
I threw myself into my work, into hanging out with friends, I managed to get myself Adobe Photoshop CS2, finish my evaluation and research log, pack most of my belongings in to boxes and organise my work for the degree show. Our private view invitations have been sent and our website is up:
http://www.brookesdegreeshow.com
There was a fundraising day in aid of the degree show which included a lot of fun things, tie dye, second hand clothing and delicious food. We made a substantial amount of money and everyone seemed really positive, it was a nice experience.
I’ve had to repeat most of these blog images such as ‘life’ etc. as my copy of Photoshop decided to pack itself in, bravo Adobe, bravo.
I received a letter from the John Moores Painting Prize the other day, I was once again unsuccessful but that’s alright, I can always try again next year. As for my application for the role of assistant curator at the Liverpool Biennial, I was equally unsuccessful.
However, I tweeted Paul Smith (Executive Director of Liverpool Biennial) this: ‘Thank you for acknowledging my application, though I was unsuccessful, I am still looking forward to Liverpool Biennial.’ To which he replied with this: ‘Tiffany, Thank you for the very gracious reply. We look forward to welcoming you to the Biennial. Best wishes, Paul.’ I can’t wait to move back up North.
