A Burning Confession (2015)

This video art hopes to challenge what is considered art. It aims to express emotions that are otherwise brushed under the carpet. Therefore, I have used art as a tool for forcing the audience to listen (as they would have to out of respect; if I were to say it otherwise, it would be ignored or invalidated, or simply perceived as exaggeration).

The video is shot almost like a blog (inspired by Youngman), continuing with the style of work from the previous term. Hopefully, this makes the experience more personal for the viewer, as if I am conversing with them, and posing questions towards them. The questions raised are concerning art education: it does not accommodate for artist block, how should the wok be judged if art is subjective etc.

The Evident Burnout (2015)

The Evident Burnout (2015)

For this piece, I decided to complete Freudenberger’s Burnout Questionnaire. The results are displayed because they were interesting; I was on the border of being dangerously burnt out.

Considering this result and the information that I have researched about artist block, it would not be surprising if the burnout has induced lack of engagement with my art practice.

Concept

I decided to research the concept of being burnt out and artist block for reasons outlined below:

1. It was not taken seriously when I spoke about.
2. It is something that I believe other artists have experienced.
3. It could possibly explain my uncharacteristic work ethic this far.

However, I could not find any artists that discuss these concepts, and so most of my research and knowledge was gathered from psychology journals.

Revised Mark Scheme (2015)

Refined Scheme

Refined Scheme

This piece is a development of Artist Notes (2015), taking on board comments form the critique. I decided to work with the mark scheme because I think that it was the strongest aspect of the piece. I made the writing more obvious and hopefully more accessible, and this hopefully portrays the almost superficial way in which work is sometimes assessed. Once again, this work was framed so that it could be presented as the ‘holy grail’, so to say, because it is what determines ‘success’ as an art student (in terms of grades).

Critique: Artist Notes (2015)

The tongue in cheek nature of this piece was appreciated in the critique. However, it was suggested that the work was ‘too dry’, especially the mark scheme. Academics do not enjoy using the mark scheme because of its blandness, so to say, so it was suggested that I communicate the message of the in a more obvious way to make the work more accessible.

This feedback was slightly frustrating because I had intentionally made subtle changes to the mark scheme in order to avoid overt satire. Also, with regards to dryness, that is the type of work that I enjoy (evident with Trajectory of an Artist, 2015).

Artist Notes (2015)

This series consists of three works aimed for educating students: a comparison of an artist and art student, tips for being a successful art student, and finally an art mark scheme. As a whole, the piece aims to express frustration and flaws with the (art) education system, and it is framed because it should be considered as significant – it is easy to ignore the negative aspects of a situation, but this piece aims for individuals to acknowledge them.

Comparison of art student and artist

Art tips

The comparison questions whether an art student prepares you for bring an artist, and although there are similarities in the role, there are some major differences that I think should be considered. For example, an artist does occasionally create sporadic works, not everything is created thematically.

Tips on being a successful art student

How to be a successful art student

Tips for being a successful art student consists of a set of rules that students should follow if they want to achieve a ‘good’ degree. All of the points are valid, but also contradictory, and this is reflects the contradictory nature of the degree. I think it is important for students to realise that there is no right answer, and that art is subjective. So regardless of what you do, you will not always win, and sometimes you have to contradict yourself in a similar fashion to the art institution.

Art scheme

Art Scheme

Finally, the mark scheme is another tool that is used to highlight some flaws in an art institution. The wording remains fairly similar to the official document, so that close analysis reveals it’s true meaning. This piece should also be relevant to academics, because it is a document they are familiar with.

Educating Art (2014)

In an attempt to overcome my artist block, I decided to look back to work from the first term because it was work that I was happy with. A satirisation of art education was what I exhibited for the Autumn exhibition and this worked well.

Till Now.

At this point, I was extremely unhappy with my art practice. Those who told me to create work were not happy with it, and I was definitely not happy or enjoying the work that I created. Then, I tried to create work that I was happy with but this did not please others. It was a lose-lose situation.

I was trying to understand what was wrong, because it was not intentional apathy that was causing lack of work, because when I tried to create work, it was still unsuccessful. I felt a lack of inspiration, but had no motivation to challenge this.

Simply put, I realised that I was struggling to produce ideas – a fundamental aspect of creating art. This was when I realised that I was experiencing some form of artist block.

Critique: Trajectory of an Artist (2015)

I was happy with this piece, because it was something that I wanted to create and it expressed how I felt.

However, my work was negatively criticised once again; it was called ‘bad art’. Ironically, I experienced the process that this work was trying to highlight. Comments included:

1. One cannot project emotions on to an object, because it is just a canvas at the end of the day.
2. Work should be titled because it provides the viewer with context for the piece (this was interesting considering Cindy Sherman’s lack of titling work).
3. Do not jump from one theme to another because you are creating sporadic works.
4. It looks like work that has already been created (see Angela de la Cruz).

This was demotivating, because it was a piece that I was relatively happy with, considering the works that I had created previously. Also, other academics I had discussed the piece with seem interested and enthused by the work’s somewhat cynical message.

Trajectory of an Artist (2015)

Following the bad critique of The Chai Happening, I decided to move away from that concept because I did not like, let alone enjoy, the work that I was creating. I wanted to create a piece that expressed how I felt.

Trajectory of an Artist (2015)

Trajectory of an Artist (2015) is inspired by minimal art. The self-explanatory title describes the intent of the piece: it aims to portray the journey of an artist. So, the canvas frames become a metaphor for the artist. The first frame is the artist when they start, slightly small and possibly insecure. The next frame has canvas attached to represent when an artist presents an idea or piece of work. This canvas is much larger because courage is taken to exhibit work, and the artist has grown and developed through creating a piece. The final canvas however, is much smaller and at the bottom of the piece. The frame is literally unable to hold canvas, which suggests that the artist is destroyed. This is supposed to explain the consequences of criticism and judgement; the artist spends time to create something, only for it to be deconstructed by the art community. So, they are left feeling insecure and belittled.

Trajectory of an Artist (2015)