MY BLOG - VISUAL ARTS PRACTICE 1

Response to ´Invasive Assessments, Surprise and Performing the Self in the Sketchbook´by Felicity Allen

Through this article Allen gives us her views on what a sketchbook is, how it should be used and how it should not. An artist’s sketchbook she suggests is a place for an artist to personally experiment with their art as a means to learning about themselves as artists and where they can develop their own style.  As time progresses the sketchbook will reflect changes that impact the artist.  Allen herself keeps sketchbooks and states her writing is based on this experience as well as looking at other artists’ sketchbooks.  She points out that by ‘sketchbook’ she is referring to it in the widest sense.  The sketchbook can take a variety of forms and include art work at various stages.

 

Allen asks two questions early on in the article – ‘How does a sketchbook function in education, in learning and in the production of oneself as an artist (or independent thinker)?’ and ‘How are educational structures teaching us to develop as we produce sketchbooks?’ (p1).  Before answering this question she highlights the dilemma between the self as private and the self as public.  An editorial journal from which Allen quotes, perhaps highlights the situation of the ‘postmodern economic man’ - the ‘self is no longer a place of retreat but a productive force’ (p1). This situation is reflected by a number of institutes of higher education as their practice is to ‘match their educational priorities to that of the business imperatives promoted’ (p 2) by the Confederation of British Industry. 

 

To help us see how sketchbooks function as a means to developing one’s artistic self, Allen gives us an example of an artist, Yvonne Rainer, who kept a private sketchbook from her teenager years and throughout her career.  Allen illustrates how Rainer’s sketchbooks are directly linked to her performance and to the ‘aesthetic, political and social’ (p 3) issues of the time.  Using this example, Allen highlights how through producing her sketchbooks Rainer was not only producing her work but also producing herself. ‘In producing her work; she owned it, it was her work from herself, and it was hers to sell’  (p 3). Today’s situation is quite different according to Rainer.  The self, she says is up for sale and it is there to be used in whatever way companies want to use it.   Allen asks if this affects the sketchbooks of today’s students.  Her response outlines that some changes have occurred, such as more verbal text and less linear progress.  However, the most significant issue is put forward in her two final points regarding contemporary sketchbooks.  Firstly, we get the impression that Allen feels that students are not given enough time between the creation of ideas stage and the review of ideas stage.  If the artist is not given the time they need to develop an idea says Allen, it can impact the artist negatively and mean unproductive results.   Secondly, there is the need for the artist to experience the ‘quality of chance’.  This takes us back to her initial quote on the top of the first page, ‘….that’s what keeps me in the studio, the not knowing part and always being surprised (p1).’  Through the sketchbook the artist can come up with results which are unexpected and wonderful.

 

Moving on to the use of sketchbooks in schools, Allen highlights that assessment in art today requires uniformity, and although she understands this from the teachers viewpoint, she also sees that creativity can suffer.  She writes, ‘The reflexive, demanding, critical, surprising, individual is ruled out.’ (p 7) After giving us an example of how a sketchbook from a specific school is organized she then likens the school to a factory.  A TED talk by Ken Robinson highlights this. 

 

The problems with the sketchbook being ‘an instrument of academisation’ (p8) is thoroughly discussed by bringing in the thoughts of other writers.  James Elkins talks about the problems of self-reflexivity and states that artists have not always been able to express themselves well, and in fact, art has done well for centuries without it.  He also questions what kinds of art need self-reflexivity.  Most importantly, when we make art, we are, in fact, being continually reflective.

 

Kyung Hee Kim, a professor of education and another researcher Allen introduces to reinforce her message, tells us that in America the creativity of children is on the decline.  This decline Kim states is a direct result of too much state intervention and behaviourist thinking in schools.  This point is also taken up by Peter Gray and, in particular, he mentions the ‘pressure to conform’ (p10) as well as teachers being pressurized to carry out continual assessment.

 

In Allen’s final comments she highlights that although our educational systems look as if they give opportunities for creativity, they are in fact, repressive and can create what D. W. Winnicott calls a ‘False Self’.  The ‘False Self’ stifles creativity and learning.  Winnicott also stresses that a child needs ‘to reveal himself to himself’.  This is where the private sketchbook can be a key tool states Allen.  To quote her final sentence, ‘ A private sketchbook practice, whether actual, metaphysical, or virtual, is part of this, a good place to rehearse’. (p14)

 

As someone who has gone through creating a sketchbook for a graphic design course in higher education, I can relate to much of what this article discusses, in particular, the standardization of the sketchbook.  On my course, there was not only standardization of tasks but also instructions on how the sketchbook had to be carried out as well as when tasks had to be finished.  I found this very hard going as I felt pressurized to complete tasks by specific times.  I could not always come up with good creative ideas quickly.  I felt the quality of my work suffered.  I certainly did not reach my potential with many of the tasks.

 

I could relate to Allen´s article not just as a student but as a school pupil.  I remember a teacher in primary school back in the 60’s gave the class a ‘Busy Book’.  In this book we could write, draw – do whatever we wanted.  She never looked at it unless we showed her something.  Mine was filled with drawings and poetry.  I still remember the freedom of being able to create in that book and I hurried to get my work done so that I could work in my busy book.  Sometimes we had a special time in the week to create `work´ in our busy books.  Although it was not a sketchbook it had the same function.  I would take my ideas home and expand on them – I was developing my creative self.  For the teacher, the book was just a means of giving us something to do when we were finished our work or when she needed a break.  I do not think she realized how important that book was to me or perhaps to many others.

 

As a teacher who has worked in primary education up until the mid 90’s, sketchbooks were never used and therefore I have never taught pupils how to use them.  Now, if I had to carry out sketchbook assessments with my class, I would have to do a lot of planning and thinking before the start of term.  Allen’s article is certainly food for thought.

 

Reference

Allen, F (2012) Invasive Assessments, Surprise and Performing the Self in the Sketchbook, First published in De Witte Raaf 160, Brussels.