MY BLOG - VISUAL ARTS PRACTICE 1
Artist Teacher programme at the University of the West of Scotland - Autumn 2014
Emma Arthur
Walking through time and space with a walking artist
Theorising Art Practice as Research by Graeme Sullivan
The aim of the book is to ‘encourage new ways of helping visual arts practitioners pursue imaginative and independent forms of enquiry.’ The book encourages discussion, debate and challenges established thought processes in art. In Part II of his book, Sullivan attempts to consolidate the artist as a researcher and theorist by developing new methodologies in art which will result in original ways of thinking and new knowledge.
Sullivan chooses to open Part II with an artwork by Damian Ortega called, ‘Cosmic Thing’ from 2001. ‘Cosmic Thing’ is a disassembled, suspended Volkswagen Beetle which evokes a variety of responses, particularly in those who remember the car. Sullivan contends that observers see something new in Ortega’s art. The suspended car makes us look at the Volkswagen Beetle in new ways and therefore encourages us to think in new ways. It is this, says Sullivan, that is at the core of visual arts as a research practice, i.e. thinking in new ways.
Sullivan questions using research methodology from other fields but adds that ‘imaginative insight remains an elusive goal for research’, therefore new criteria is necessary if art research is to make significant changes. Adding to human understanding is a priority for Sullivan because it is only through knowledge that we can make changes. The themes that artists take up today are often cross-disciplinary, their art is often created using a variety of art media and deals with the problems that concern our modern society. As an example of a modern artist´s work Sullivan describes the work of Anne Graham to help us understand the complexity of an artist´s thinking when tackling a historical theme through art.
Sullivan then moves on to state the need for frameworks for art practice as research. This need is due to the ´diversity of positions and perspectives´(p99) seen in artists work. A framework would help describe the different perspectives from which artists approach their work and would act as a frame of reference. In attempting to bring all of his ideas together on the importance of having a systematic structure, Sullivan puts forward a ´Framework for Visual Arts Research´. At the centre of his framework is art practice which involves the concepts of create, critique, reflexive and post-discipline. Around the core of the framework are three practices; empiricist, interpretivist and critical. The artistic inquiry process moves from a ´stable state to a liquid form of understanding´(p102). The framework encourages transformative research. An example of this type of research is put forward by Sullivan on p117. The installation ´dis-positive´by Richard Jochum puts ´art critics, curators and theorists on display as objects of art themselves themselves in order to create a space that explores how the relationship between art practice and art theory is shaped by discourse about art.´(p117) This gives the public an arena to discuss the relationship between art and those who claim to know most about art.
More flexibility in art as a discipline allows new ideas to flow more easily. This ´new era of visual arts research´ p120, enables artists to carry out transformative research at the university as well as giving them the opportunity to create art that is culturally relevant today in their studio.
I found this text very difficult to grasp. I think the idea of creating a systematic framework for visual arts research is essential to carry out culturally relevant contemporary art. This conclusion is based on Sullivan´s text as well as on the other texts I have read for this module. On saying this however, I do not think I would be able to use it in my own art making or research as I have not fully grasped Sullivan´s text. I hope to do more reading in an effort to find out more about Sullivan´s framework as I feel it is important in improving my own art.
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