Part 2

Shaft

Today I had an appointment for a tutorial with Alex. Not Nigel. But neither came anyway.
It was for my feedback (but I did get emailed my mark) for my first unit (apart from the Contested Territories option, which played an important and incredibly influential part).
I am wondering what everyone else in my pathway/group has got. I have no idea.

I got 69.
69 per cent.  I'm fine with that.  I think I know why.

I do know 3 other people's marks, they all got 78+.
They all do photography.

I now have until December to work forward from my initial idea's,  it's kind of the development part, I've done the research and visual studies, drawing and photography/recording and now its time to play with it. And obviously, CONTINUALLY researching more. From January I expect I may be starting to produce a final collection of work. I have started to write this (new) proposal which I need to present to the group next week...

Practice 2:

Does an aesthetically beautiful piece have an innate inability to convey the magnitude of horrific and disturbing events such as the holocaust? (Bathrick et al., 2008), is it unacceptable even to use aesthetic means to draw attention to such issues? I need to further question the ‘intentionality’ of my work and imagery.

Aims: 

-Focus on ONE main area and produce some solid work from initial ideas generated in P1.
-Extend and develop these through materials and techniques (in depth investigation)  
-Concentrate on the Chernobyl disaster (Democide: many deaths arising through various neglects and abuses by a government, as opposed to Omnicide: the destruction of all life especially by nuclear war) ? And the Holocaust (Genocide: the deliberate and systematic extermination of a national, racial, political, or cultural group) and related issues. 

-Produce work that will be noticed, possibly by using shocking imagery but more likely thought provoking text

-Understand what I want to achieve and convey it to the critic.

-Research 'Aesthetic Theory' including moral issues and how other artists have conveyed and dealt with sensitive issues

-Leave final outcome ‘area’ open.

-The fundamentals and essentiality of my research is condensed into the acceptance or rejection of the possibility of beauty in disturbing imagery, content, background or suggestion of such – ‘external beauty, internal ugly’.

I recently put some images of my initial Practice 2 sketchbook pages on Facebook. Here I will explain my thought process whilst producing them.

   A great quote from a poem by Ivan Drach, a Ukrainian poet that I found after my concept development came to exactly this point...

Just to get going and get rid of the blank page 'look' I had going on I cut up a test screen print, tore up some black sugar paper I had been using to spray paint things on, 'found' a photograph and Maria and stuck it all down. (That's probably not actually a thought process).

Leftover bits of work on Ivan

The caption explains EVERYTHING about this piece. I do have a printed sample of him on silk that I am going to start stitching on, just to do something while Big Brother's on.

Some Chernobyl forest drawing with non Chernobyl imagery that seems to fit anyway

Maybe I need to paint on this with gouache. I will come back to it, all in good time. I had the laser cut offcuts from an experiment which didn't quite work, but left a 'trace'.

Using negative space and block shapes to indicate what isn't there anymore, many small villages thought to be too radioactive were completely buried after the explosion

I just fancied getting the Quink out here. The result is that the sketchbook is started and now I need to get serious - I will NOT put in anything without an excellent reason and conscious thought. From tomorrow.

Oh, AND I've made a zine about Chernobyl, which is a small taster.
Come and buy one from me at The Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead on July 10/11th.
Only £1.00.
If you don't want to pay that much you can download it here for free… (click on 'share') - you just don't get the hand finished effect.

N.B. I am halfway through 2 more: 'BOX' & "Found!' so you could have a collection 

Discovery of the week: The reason that I really like coming to MMU.

After 2 minutes of long, hard thinking I realise it could be because it's taking just one day a week out of ordinary day to day usuality and doing something completely different. It's like a holiday, split up and spread out to try and make it last longer. It's my parallel universe.

Disclaimer: this is not professed to be a good example of evaluative, in-depth or analytical writing, I'm just too tired.