Laura Gonzalez = LG
Claire Elizabeth Barratt = CEB
Feb 9
CEB
Laura .. just want
to touch base with you about where i'm at at the moment & blurt out a few
barely coherent thoughts that are rattling around!
i'm having a very very hard time getting my head around what this
project report paper should look like!
as far as the
practice goes - i feel like the journal entries are like islands -each
one is its own entity, yet they are all in the "sea of life" - &
actually, really just what is visible above sea level.
... i have created a
thin narrative thread in my personal voice to guide a viewer from one to the
other (which you heard in my presentation & is also the text on the project
blog pages)
- the narrative
voice basically says: "this is where i am now. these are the materials i
have here. this is how i am inspired to respond to / examine them / myself.
here are the results."
.... this is my material culture / the material culture of each island.
.... this is my material culture / the material culture of each island.
- the narrative voice is kept sparse because i only want it to be a
light guide - not heavy & dominating - the voices of each
"island" / journal entry piece need to be the strong voices.
sooooo ....... now -
for the project report - i need to somehow bring my own narrative voice into
the forefront (or do i ?) ... we talked in our guidance committee meeting about
seeing through many lenses (a kaleidoscope) .. i am inspired by this idea but
still can't quite visualize exactly HOW to do it.
... there are
certainly many things i can say about the work - various contexts i address
.......... the primary focus of Self-as-medium - the raw material with
which to create - ideas of transformation & also bringing it back to the
fact that i am exploring the possibilities of my own pedagogical structure etc.
i can at least begin
by making a list of things i want to say!
- but then it feels
like a jigsaw puzzle!
we are supposed to create an outline - but at the moment the puzzle
pieces are scattered everywhere & i certainly won't be able to have them in
any correct order by the 15th!
okay ... so those
are my thoughts for now
i think i'm going to
make a list of things i want to say about the work & see what that looks
like!
LG
Thanks for this
Claire. It feels like the work itself is overwhelming you so it might be an
idea to consider that the paper won't be able to do everything and that is ok
...
Perhaps you can
think about what is the most important thing about the work, just the one thing
(perhaps its rawness?) and use that as a thread from which to unravel the
writing? The writing is just material, think of it in that way. If it is
rawness, which artists inspire you in to work in this way? Why? Why rawness? If
you answer these questions systematically, you will arrive at a nice
outline.
Don't worry if it is
not right at first. That's why I am here! The important thing is that you give
it good thought and a go, and that you overcome the resistance to the paper, that
you strip it and think of it as practice.
Does this make
sense? Does this help?
If so, what is the
most important thing about your studio work? ONE WORD!! Let me have it and I
will give you a hand with the introduction, content and bibliography.
CEB
Hi Laura,
I'm attaching a
document of my thought process investigating words today ..... I decided it
would be a good process for me to get my brain into gear ..... I hope you don't
mind bearing with me to read through it.
Thank you!
Attatched: word doc
WORDZ
Roget’s
Thesaurus
What is THE WORD?
To investigate words I return to my old copy of the Roget’s Thesaurus
I’ve had since my early teens – a Penguin 1982 edition. I’ve always loved the
Thesaurus even when I was a young teenager I would just sit there reading the
fine nuances in the between the words & be very entertained by it!
Even though I seem to have great difficulty trying to write anything, I
really enjoy the Thesaurus as a resource for words as a Raw Material - &
that is exactly the capacity in which I need it now.
I have just undergone a process of identifying key words in my project &
seeing where those words lead.
Beginning with RAW.
RAW – new young
uncovered culinary painful cold uninhabited immature unskilled sensitive
RAW MATERIAL – source
materials undevelopment
UNINHABITED – desuetude disuse rust decay deterioration
defunct lapse untrained
SOURCE – cause authorship origination discovery evocation
motivation force agent seed root formative seminal fundamental primary initiate
MATERIALS – building material resources means stuff
UNDEVELOPMENT – rawness untrained scratch virgin
RAW didn’t seem to hold much that I resonated with – so I went on to
RAW MATERIAL – which activated some associations with what I’ve been working
with.
OK … so, specifically I’m interested primarily with the Raw Material of
the SELF – so let’s take a look at that …
SELF – intrinsicality
self
INTRINSICALITY – inherence immanence potentiality
subjectivity ego personality essence
stuff principle intrinsic ingredient basic intimate fundamental soul core
nature quality temperament
SELF (speciality) – specific unique original character
feature attribute particulars details exclusiveness subjective ego identity I
myself
(I also attribute the
words listed under intrinsicality to other raw materials besides the self)
This is all good – but what is it about the idea of Raw Material that
interests me?
Perhaps because it holds so many potentials …
POTENTIAL –
unreal-(non-existence) energy-(power)
POTENTIALITY – ability
possibility latency
ABILITY – capability possibility capacity faculties
properties
POSSIBILITY – potentiality capacity viability workability
chance likelihood belief feasibility available thinkable conceivable credible
LATENCY – dormancy possibility undercover concealed
undeveloped possible unknown underlying unmanifested obscure tacit awaiting discovery unexplored unspoken
implicit allusive occult hint mysterious esoteric secret clandestine “more than
meets the eye”
Oh yes – I like this ... lots of mystery, hidden potential – anything
could happen … but it just needs something – it needs a PROCESS.
PROCESS – way
convert motion action
procession proceed procedure–(way ritual)
proceedings-record proceeding-deed
WAY – route manner form method mode approach modus operandi
tactics practice routine technique skill conduct passage doorway channel
conduit bridge direction path road artery (also
– Chinese “tao” or “dao”)
CONVERT – transformation evolve becoming transition develop
deteriorate degenerate ferment alchemy influence teach reform camouflage
disguise absorb
MOTION – going progression regression recession approach
convergence divergence deviation ascent descent rotation oscillation agitation
evolution locomotion cinema kinetics travel transference
ACTION – doing enactment performance execution practice
procedure movement motion operation force exertion drama endeavour
PROCESSION – continuity sequence successiveness perpetuity
cumulative flow series progression genealogy
PROCEEDURE – way route method mode modus operandi
RITUAL – way procedure routine order ceremony practice
rubric mystery metaphor symbolism rites initiation
This is great!
But is PROCESS actually my word? Hmmmm … I’m not too sure about that –
it doesn’t sound very exciting.
I’m interested in EXPLORATION leading to DISCOVERY.
I’m interested in EXPERIMENTS leading to RESULTS.
I think that this is the best way to facilitate LEARNING & CREATING
ORIGINAL WORK.
So … what is the PROCESS for???
A process is for something to happen … something to take place … a
change … a TRANSFORMATION!
TRANSFORMATION – transformation
conversion improvement
TRANSFORMATION – change alteration mutation modulation
process innovation reformation deterioration diversion deviation transition
metastasis metamorphosis passage catalyst transfiguration
transmogrification transmutation conversion enzyme ferment alchemy cause-effect disguise distort deform
Conversion – see Convert under Process
(all words in regards
to conversion transformation metamorphosis catalyst alchemy etc are mostly
cross-references of each other in the thesaurus & also often reference
process)
I like this a lot. This is a word that has been coming up throughout my
whole process since I started with Transart & was challenged to identify a
constant theme throughout my work.
I also like the idea of having the role of a CATAYST (it is one I have
been identified with periodically throughout my life)
Other key words associated with this project …
JOURNAL – a chronology, a record, a daily report –
other concepts the term implies can be associated with a detailed breakdown of
events or of what constitutes something – perhaps a taxonomy or a very
subjective emotional account of events.
JOURNEY – a process in order to travel – can be associated
with transit of physical location & also with personal or spiritual
process.
Both originate from
the same root word & are based on the idea of a DAY. A report of the day. A
day’s travel.
For this project, the journal is the format I employ to report the
journey.
PEDAGOGY – a learning method (taken from the Greek
meaning “to lead the child”)
For this project, I utilize a pedagogy I developed as a method for
exploration & discovery – it is also a testing ground for the pedagogy
itself.
PERFORMANCE
ART
My mode of operation
as a human being in the world.
I think perhaps the key word could be TRANSFORMATION.
It encompasses the whole journey. Process. Raw Materiality in process –
into refinement – into decay (each with its own aesthetic)
& the transformation that discovery brings us from ignorance into
knowledge.
(Note: italics = my
own words, regular font = theasurus definitions)
Feb 10
LG
I love it Claire
thank you! Good way of going about it!!! But I am still not clear what your
word is ... Chose one! Let me know ...
Bear in mind that
self and process and performance might not be good words as I suspect they
might be the way with which you investigate something else or they are
investigated by something else. So what I am saying is that those words are
default so you don't need to find them ...
So which do you
chose?
Laura
Laura
CEB
right - exactly what i was thinking in regards to choosing
self or process - so i think the word TRANSFORMATION gives a lot of scope &
flexibility to encompass all aspects of the work ... & it is an underlying
subject that's already been identified in my work in general & that i want
to address
LG
I think that is
perfect! In that case, what I would say, is that in the introduction, you need
to define transformation and then see how it applies to the work.
Transformation of what? Transformation from what to what? What is the process
of transformation? How can the text transform too? So, for example, you could
start your paper with a reflection on transformation and, by the end of it,
transform it into work (because you write in your works).
I think it is a
great anchor!
Does this give you
enough for your first assignment? I must say I am excited!
CEB
it's kind of funny
that "transformation" makes a great anchor!
i will make a start
& see how i get on.
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