Rosie Kearton
MACAP 501 proposal
“… drawing is part of our interrelation to our physical environment, recording in and on
it, the presence of the human. It is the means by which we can understand and map,
decipher, and come to terms with our surroundings as we leave marks, tracks, or
shadows to mark our passing. Footprints in the snow, breath on the window, vapor trails
of a plane across the sky, lines traced by a finger in the sand - we literally draw in and on
the material world” (Dexter,E p.5)
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. I am drawn to old technologies such as Super
8 film and slide transparencies but I also embrace the new digital age.
My starting point for this module will be a day spent recording and collecting marks at
Newlyn Harbour and to explore through making how I can translate my experience of
being in a place into a phenomenological experience for the viewer.
Aims
To explore the translation from place (Newlyn Harbour) to artwork
To question what is it that is lost or abandoned and what happens in the time between
an object being useful and of no use
To critically reflect on the aspects of chance, unpredictability within my work
Objectives
To explore the effects of time and abandonment in the quotidian and incorporating
found/used materials
Produce a body of work that explores processes such as painting, sculpture, video and
sound.
Make work that captures the sensory experience of being in a place
Explore the notion of trace and trace residue
Explore the differences and similarities of indexical and trace marks
Intended outcome
A record of the processes and work made during this module on my blog and in a book
format, and to have a body of research work, which will inform the development of my
practice.
Methodology
Collect and examine objects that are lost, discarded, abandoned
Make a number of works using mark making/drawing to translate a sensory experience
Make a series of 20 small works of each different processes/materials, sound, video,
objects, paintings, etc
Use the following concepts within the making of the work
chance
unpredictability
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
Develop a set of questions that provide insightful critical feedback.
Use a forensic model to collect and record evidence
Research
Artists and art movements
Arte Povera
Richard Wentworth
Gabriel Orozco
Joseph Beuys
Jannis Kounellis
Ann Hamilton
Marco Maggi
Guiseppe Penone
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 and alternative
photographic techniques (photogram, pinhole etc)
Bibliography
Dexter,E To draw is to be human,
http://blog.lib.umn.edu/ali/2008fall/htdocs/blog/ali/2008fall/vit_d.pdf
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
Bois, Y.A. (ed) (2009) Gabriel Orozco, October Files 9, The MIT Press, Cambridge Mass.
London
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