Friday, December 30, 2016

MY TRANSART MFA BLOG

THE TRANSART INSTITUTE
http://www.transartadmissions.org/

Greetings and welcome to my MFA process blog.
My name is Claire Elizabeth Barratt. I received an MFA in Creative Practice with the Transart Institute, accredited by Plymouth University UK, in August 2016.
The following pages contain my two year coursework process, the most recent posts are of my final project and of my advisor evaluations, followed by my coursework (in reverse chronological order, as it is with blogs.)

My experience with the Transart Institute:
Where to begin ....

in my opinion, Transart is a functioning rhizomatic community. They refer to a rhizomatic structure, as described by Deleuze and Guattari in A Thousand Plateaus - and I can really see it as a living, working mechanism for the Transart community. Because of this, Transart has the plasticity to constantly evolve, morph, become - while maintaining its core precepts and principles. At any given moment, the needs and priorities of a current student body may change, and a rhizomatic structure is both flexible and defined enough to accommodate these without losing its essential purpose.
My experience of this structure in operation was to witness my peers each finding their own unique voice in leadership to influence a result that would have never occurred without them.

The program requires each student to take responsibility for themselves - both as a person and as an artist. And the individuals who become part of this program are indeed each totally unique characters forging their own path in the art world.
Transart does not offer a program that teaches people how to be artists - there is very little instruction on how to develop one's technique or craft. Transart puts one in a position where one has to THINK, to respond, to create, to question, to define, to RESEARCH.
The reason a peer critique group can consist of artists from a variety of disciplines is because they are not discussing the techniques of their craft so much as concepts and ideas, cause and effect (or affect) and aesthetics.
For me, it was not so important that my medium is performance and someone else's is painting or video or whatever - but to be moved by an aesthetic quality or provoked by an idea.
This is very much the same principle as the now legendary Black Mountain College - which I am very familiar with, living in Asheville NC and having been involved with the Black Mountain College Museum + Art Center for a number of years.
It is this meeting of minds that sparks so much inspirational creativity - with the anchor of critical thinking.

I was accepted into the MFA program on the merit of my body of work as an artist - I did not have an undergraduate degree, so it was quite a stretch for me to suddenly be thrown into the academic rigors of critical discussion and paper-writing. It actually took me until the final semester to really feel confident in group discussions - during the last winter and summer residencies.
It was a steep learning curve!
I think that being paired with the right advisors is key - it was critical for me anyway. I was blessed with two advisors who were fully committed and deeply engaged in the process with me. Whether we agreed on everything was not nearly as important as their genuine investment in the work. It certainly did not always feel comfortable or easy - sometimes I would feel quite upset or angry or defensive - I might even dread an advisor meeting - but I now appreciate their challenges. 
Thank you Laura Gonzalez and Linda Montano!
Right from the first summer residency I was forced into defining and articulating what my work is about and what I am doing with it. I was extremely resistant to this, as I enjoy the mystery of being an unconscious conduit of creativity. But I can choose which way to go on that one now - I have the tools for definition when necessary.
It was an incredibly intensive two years. One has to live, breath, eat, sleep, dream the work. ALL THE TIME! Even though the Transart community people are spread out all over the globe, one is still intensely aware of them - it's very strange how the human connection works that way.

My experience of being in Berlin for three summers was quite profound. I'm glad to have had the opportunity to know the city so well and explore some lesser-known nooks and crannies.
Ufer Studios really is such a perfect venue for the residency and I hope it stays there.
The biggest problem with both the Berlin and New York residencies is the housing issue.
In my humble opinion, I really think Transart needs to take some responsibility for helping to find student accommodation. If it's done far ahead enough in advance, a whole hostel could be booked at a good rate. It's just such a stressful scramble for everyone to deal with finding decent and affordable accommodation on top of preparing for the residency, preparing presentations and finishing up the semester's final projects and papers.
Another area I think Transart could provide more assistance with is in securing financial aid. I spent some considerable time researching possible academic grants, loans and scholarships etc. - but that becomes a full-time job in itself and I eventually had to give up in order not to get behind on my project work.
While I think Transart is of superior artistic, creative and intellectual standard, perhaps a little more could be offered in terms of practical survival and being-in-the-world matters. After all, we are human beings who need to eat, sleep, travel, do taxes, stay safe and exist in our bodies!

An important part of the Transart experience is the constant stream of presentation deadlines - whether to the peer critique group, one's advisors, the big presentation at the residencies, smaller pecha-kucha style presentations, or just posting work on one's student blog.
I think this is the best way to keep progressing forward with the work. Even though it's understood we are presenting work-in-progress, the fact that it is a presentation heightens the working process, bumps it up a notch - forcing a stage of completion, however temporary, enough to define something and stop to look at it.

And then suddenly, just when I've really clicked into place, found my pace and truly love everybody ... it's all over!

So now what?

To continue on the struggle of life and survival in the world as an artist!
Yes - better equipped for sure.
Equipped with an MFA certificate, with a defined method and resulting body of work, with the vocabulary for discourse about it and with a new community in the world ...
the Transart diaspora!

THANK YOU
Cella, Susie, Jean Marie Casbarian, Andrew Cooks, Honi Ryan, Laura Gonzalez, Linda Montano, Lynn Book, Michael Bowdidge, John Newling, Gwen Charles ... and all my dear TI peers.



FINAL PROJECT: RAW-(Material)

Final project blog.
Follow all links to project journal, project report/thesis paper & final project disseminations.

http://raw-material-journal.blogspot.com/2016/05/raw-material-home-page.html

FINAL ADVISOR EVALUATION REPORTS



LINDA MONTANO - STUDIO

In all of my years of teaching/advising etc, I have never found anyone as  hungry, passionate and focused on producing and sharing as  Claire Elizabeth Barratt. She was unstoppable and it was somewhat ironic because in Berlin we talked about  the art of NOTHING  in a way, and the art of self knowing and self loving. She took that and ran with it, turning it upside down and sideways and inside out! Claire grew up performing and her mother is a music teacher, voice I think, so she is steeped in the art of sharing her talent, having done so since  childhood; that is if I remember correctly, putting on shows  as if that was a normal activity...not watching tv but making tv shows!!!Claire took good advantage of my presence in her life and I feel that I was able to play the role of guide and co-thinker with her and it was actually very stimulating for me as well. She worked with her advisor on the dissertation and it felt very much like a trio, the three of us, dancing through the reams of video and writings and curiosities and imaginings. I literally will miss Claire and her plethora of beautiful outpourings. It was a deep and satisfying ride.
Linda Mary Montano 2016

 

LAURA GONZALEZ - RESEARCH

By her own admission, Claire does not consider herself a writer and has faced the research side of her MFA as a challenge. Yet, she has risen to it admirably. Her project report is wonderfully structured, discusses interesting sources and artists, frames her studio work, Raw -(Material) very well and is well written. Especial mention must be made to the way she has been able to organize the work around the seven stages of alchemy and to her written voice, true to her artistic self and her project. Both of these show the sophistication and confidence required of a master.

There are a couple of issues that would require addressing should Claire wish to pursue further academic work in the future. The navigation is at times difficult and one forgets in which section of the alchemic process one is. Simple headers could help with that (which I reminded her throughout the year, as a paper is not simply content). In general the referencing system needs work, as it is very confusing, not consistent, and does not provide all the details required. This extends to citations too, and to images, which need referencing. The images in the report add much richness to the writing and to Claire’s analysis but they are too tame and could be much bigger, juicier, the focus of enquiry. More can be done with her choice of artists, especially in relation to a discussion on gender and the body, which feels absent from the text.

Having said this, Claire has been excellent at linking this work to her project last year, providing a clear trajectory to her thinking, and a situation of her work in relation to chosen artists. Why those choices and a little more criticality around the discussion could make the piece stronger, but Claire has certainly proved at masters level, with confidence. Perhaps her criticality lies in her poetics, in the way she links these artists’ works to her own and discusses them from her own point of view, a subjective criticism. The Q&A with her advisor Linda Montano is fantastic primary material, very well placed and a gem to read.

As a student, Claire is wonderful to work with. She asks advice when she needs to and is able to express her anxieties so we could discuss them. This, I think, has been key to the high quality work she has produced and should be proud of. She has been an extremely hard worker, providing drafts and diligently completing section as the semester went along, linking them to her studio work. The only thing I wish is that she was more confident with her writing, because it is good and just needs practice to be what she wants it to be. I would encourage Claire to write poetically in the future, as I see it as a great accompaniment to her studio performative and video practice. They could really enrich each other!