Rosie Kearton
MACAP 501 proposal
“I like it when things don't work: often then, something better than
expected happens. Exhibitions that fail fascinate me. On failing, a space
is opened up for the viewer, a possibility for dialogue. If something
doesn't work out, there is more to talk about, and there is a reason to
develop something in the future. Think of an artist who makes a perfect
artwork - it is the moment when that artistic practice is no longer of any
interest, and when there is no point in making more work” Lisa Le Feuvre
Context
At this moment in time, at the end of my degree, I am struggling to define
exactly how I want my practice to develop.
During my degree, I explored the mystery of our existence revealed through
our connection with the world, and the marks and traces we leave behind;
embodying the relations between history, daily life, memory and the everchanging present. I am a collector of ‘seemingly’ mundane objects that hold
a personal fascination. My artistic practice often feels like a forensic
investigation of 'historical' fragments; a search of the past in order to
create associations that can be illuminated in the present. I am interested
in layers of meaning and memories, and concerned with what has been lost or
discarded. I focus on the transitory, fragile and fragmentary nature of
existence; human identity and mortality. Being experimental, curious,
playful, risk taking and accepting of failure is central to the way I
develop my ideas. I chose ‘Failure’ as the subject for my Praxis project. I
am drawn to old technologies such as Super 8 film and slide transparencies
but I also embrace the new digital age.
Aims
 To develop a direction and clarity about my practice.
 To develop the ability to formalise and clearly explain my work.
 To research further into aspects of chance, unpredictability and failure.
Objectives
 Critically examine and reflect on my practice.
 Produce a body of experimental works that explores new processes such as
painting, photographic techniques, and printmaking.
 Fully engage in critiques and discussions about my own work and the work
of others in the group.
Intended outcome
The work I produce as a result of this module will be experimental and
documented in a book format and on my blog.
Methodology
 Respond to the world around me with particular attention placed on
quotidian mundane objects – produce work that responds to really being IN
a place, IN the now! Focus and attention are the key objectives along
with working with the following concepts:
chance
unpredictability
failure
spontaneity
repetition
 Document thoughts and processes (including group crits, tutorials) in my
journal or/and in my blog at the end of each working day with particular
attention on the above concepts.
 Develop a set of questions that provide helpful and insightful feedback
such as ‘What does it mean to think about failure as being pivotal to the
creative process?’
Research
Artists and art movements
Arte Povera
Richard Wentworth
Gabriel Orozco
Joseph Beuys
Jannis Kounellis
Ann Hamilton
On Kawara
Exhibitions
Turner Prize 2012, Tate Britain 2 Oct 2012 – 6 Jan 2013
The Far and The Near – Tate, St Ives 6 Oct 2012 – 13 Jan 2013
Potential resources
Print Workshop
Letterpress
Casting and Moulding
Screen printing
Film – super 8 and 16mm found footage
Video – Final Cut
Photography – both digital and analogue – slide transparencies
alternative photographic techniques (photogram, pinhole etc)
and
Bibliography
Le Feuvre, L, (ed) (2010) Failure: Whitechapel, Documents of Contemporary
Art. The MIT Press
Ricoeur, P (2006) Memory, History, Forgetting (trans. Kathleen Blamey and
David Pellauer), Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press
Dean, T and Dellar.J (2005) Place: Artworks Thames and Hudson
Adam, L, S Methodologies of art; an introduction, 2nd Revised edition
edition (2009) Westview Press Inc;
Kwon, M. (2002) One Place After Another: Site-Specific Art and Locational
Identity, Cambridge, Mass. ; London : MIT Press
Turkle, S, (2007) Evocative Objects: Things We Think With, Cambridge, Mass.
; London : MIT
Ann Hamilton : present-past, (1998) Exhibition catalogue, MIT Press
Gibbons, J, (2009) Contemporary art and memory: images of recollection and
remembrance, I.B. Turius, London
On Kawara : Horizontality/Vertically / [Introduction by Ulrich Wilmes,
Essay by Michel Butor]. Koln : Walther Konig 2000
Orozco, Gabriel, Selected Writings ?
Websites
http://www.annhamiltonstudio.com
http://www.theartstory.org/movement-arte-povera.htm
http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/exhibition/gallery-lost-art
“Every journey conceals another journey within its lines: the path not
taken and the forgotten angle.” Jeanette Winterson