Well, second week in the studio and already I feel different: the sun is shining and the drive to uni this morning was joyous and a real pleasure. To be honest, I have decided to make the journey a mini holiday and so I even stopped for a cheeky Starbucks along the way.
This morning was centred around material manipulation by following Richard Serra's Verb List (from 1967 - action related verbs)
I found the idea beautiful and I really wanted to have a go but I have noticed that there is a lot of time spent by explaining and talking and providing a theoretical background which does not leave much time to actually "making stuff". Hence, here following are some of the experiments I then made at home while using cardboard:
I have to admit that when at uni I tried to do something else. And the reason I did it stems from when I tried back at BB college to make something and by mistake, someone threw my test into the bin. This time I made sure that it looked like a piece of work and not just a couple of paper cups with some scribbling inside. Here it is:
So, do you remember my test a year ago with those three cups? I am very pleased with how this turned out, v pleased indeed!
After lunch, we had a session learning anthotypes and transferring images onto paper by using vegetable / fruit / spices juices. I found the practice so beautiful and delicate, with these images which are somehow temporary, fugitive, fragile and it made me consider time and memories, how they fade anyway over time.
This is one of those techniques I am not so sure I will be using in my practice but I am glad I have learned because you never know.
rƏflƏction
And this is the whole point of being at uni: to learn and discuss and exchange ideas and options and knowledge and views. I like the idea that I am learning new things even though I am aware that some of the things I am presented with, as of now, have no resonance within me. But I don't know what is around the corner and more than anything, I am interested in how I react to the new techniques, not the techniques in themselves. As per those verbs: I might be perfectly aware of how cardboard react with water and pliers and how it looks like when torn. But I don't know how I feel when submerging cardboard in water or how I react when tearing it apart. Or stomping on it, or bash it, bang it, bend it, twist it, or pierce it.
Can I allow myself to be violent on something that I collect and save? What is my emotional response?
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really looking forward to my little room tonight!