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!
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