Work Experience: Life and Work behind the piece! (LGP)

I have recently started some work experience in a local Galley, The Lancaster Projects Gallery! I wanted to do this work experience to gain an insight to the life and work behind the piece.
As this is an area I have never had any experience in, I felt it would be valuable to see if this was an area I would possibly want to work in when I had finished my degree. Not only that I also felt it would be useful to see the behind the scenes set-up of a gallery in preparation for my future end of year and degree shows.

So I am evidulating in the gallery, which means being available for any visitors every tuesday afternoon 2-6pm. I also have to be able to help, guide and inform any visitors who do come to visit in order to help them understand the artists intentions and work.

Currently I am really not enjoying the role, I'm still unsure as whether this is because of the piece, whether its because there are no visitors, or even it's the gallery itself? As an installation piece, I am subjected to 3 video pieces totalling 45mins for 4 hours, it wouldn't be so bad but this piece uses extracts from CIA speeches and other philosophy narratives. By the time my time is done, my eyes can't see due to the dark conditions and I feel as though I am ready for war!

I am hoping that with a different exhibition I may find this time more enjoyable, as at the moment it is only useful for me to do all my written university work. With a different exhibition I may also get more visitors which will the mean I will have people to discuss the work with.

I am going to continue with the work experience for now as hopefully it could lead to gaining a more useful insight into the marketing and research side of setting up an exhibit? I have also learnt that even in the art environment I do crave human interaction. Hours on end by myself is not something I could do as part of my job.

Missing Uni....

Short but sweet day today but big learn from yesterday so thought I'd share:

Through ill health I have missed a few weeks of Uni... Only a few so I thought this wasn't too bad! I knew what I was I was doing in my arts practice so figured I wouldn't miss too much, so would be fine!

Also as it fine art I don't miss valuable lessons where I could have missed the solutions to ground breaking equations, don't miss assignments based on missed lessons... You catch my drift!

So yesterday I had my first tutorial with my Tutor in weeks.... Boy was I amazed!!

My missing class I wasn't missing workloads, assignments or homework I was missing the invaluable knowledge that my tutor had to offer!

Artists that I didn't even know existed, that no amount if Internet surfing would did were placed in front of me! Ideas for arts practice were shared that only someone with her knowledge and experience could provide! Not only that, I was instilled with a proud confidence in my work that could only come from someone that you respect and admire!

So my learn, missing university although I can't always be helped, doesn't leave you behind necessarily with your work! It could leave you missing the most valuable insight, experience and knowledge AT&T could make your work that little bit more special!

Sorry, that wasn't short or sweet, was it!!!

Mid module review: looking backwards, forwards and sideways...

So I have finished my module but not the work its created, this module leads directly in to my final module of the year and also my end of year exhibition!

So this is more of a comma than a full stop so to speak!

Looking back: I am so happy with how my experimentation has gone, after initial nerves and hesitation my work progressed as did my self exploration!

The key thing I have learnt is that if hit with a mental block or hurdle the best thing to do is just get something on the paper, a piece of paper with something on is less intimidating than a blank sheet!!!

Not being afraid to cut into my images was hard but once I did it my work got more and more intricate and interesting!

Looking forward: I think my main focus for this module will be to start to consolidate this work into my final piece! I want to look into different ways of display such a an installation piece. I also would like to look at the possibility if having a VoiceOver track in my work!

The main thing I have learnt from the last module is that by doing a little but if work often means in always making progress! So I need to keep this up in order to keep my momentum, inspiration flowing.

To log or not to log

So initially when I was told I needed to keep a log book of all my work, exhibitions I've been to, inspiration I've seen and anything else that's had anything to do with my work... I nearly died!

I did not see that point in creating more work for myself, I thought it would interfere with my work and get in the way!

In actual fact it wasn't any work at all and I found myself putting all this together naturally just to keep myself organised!

We don't need to do this for Year2 but I definitely will as its now like my bible, I use it all the time to refer to for my work!

My log book holds they key to my work, my artist research is neatly collated, as are reviews I've read, exhibitions I've been too... Not forgetting the pages of lecture notes I've written!

So if ever you get asked to do one! Do it.... It doesn't need to be backbreaking and it's easier if you do it as you go along!

End of the project... But not the end

So it's the end of the module, but not the end of my work as this project will continue into the next module! This is just a comma in my work until the final exhibition!

The three pieces in a row are my latest bits the rest are different experimentations!

I particularly love these pieces as they are my most intricate and brave! I have left 2d and jumped into 3d, bringing my work off the paper!

Krishnamurti and me...

The main aim of this project is to take a deep look at myself as both an artist and as a person. When I found this book it was initially for me to read, but as I read it I was amazed at how fitting it was to my work and wanted to combine it somehow! You will see from my previous post, I have started to incorporate this in my work. Carefully selected pieces are placed within my work as I read them, it is important that only the narratives I have read are used as the process of reading the book is as important as the process of distorting my images. Doing this has made me realise how important it is for me to include in my work processes and meanings that are significant to me. It makes my work flow by itself and inspires me to keep going it becomes less about the final piece and more about the activities going on behind the scenes. By incorporating my life as it is into the work it also makes it more personal, less like work but more like a personal project of exploration. Again this excites me and becomes my strength. The only problem I have found is that it can be nerve racking demolishing an image or book as its so personal you feel like your destroying something that is part of you. So it can take a bit of time to have the courage to just make the cut so to speak. However I am working on this and trying to view it as giving the pieces a new permanent life in a new context: preserving its significance to both me and hopefully the viewer.

Is art individual!?

Just been to my friends PHD Sale and trash sale and it really made me think about where I will be at the end of my degree!

The first thing I noticed was how similar our art practices were, which has made me think about whether any is art individual!? Is my art any different to anything that's out there at the moment!?

I'd like to say yes, as although similar to the eye our processes and philosophy behind our work is what makes us different! And will make every artist different to the fellows and peers!

For this reason I am excited about where I will be in a few years time! I can feed of others and be influenced but still be me and this excited me.