As I mentioned in my post assignment reflection, I felt like I had missed some substantial content but could not identify what it was. Thankyou to my fabulous tutor for pointing me back in the right direction. What I love about the tutor feedback is the way its written, I missed out substantial chunks of information in my essay but still feel like I’ve had a motivational pep talk rather than a smack on the wrist, thankyou!! 🙂
There were several key aspects which I had completely missed from my essay which I will go back and re-draft prior to assessment.
They were –
lacking in quotes to support my views/arguments
unqualified statements (need to be more specific about who said what)
a reason why I chose to use ‘Show me the Monet’
views on graffiti as an art and the arguments for and against
My summary strengths were – Research Skills and Communication skills/writing
My area to work on is – undertake primary research
Due to my interest in graphic design for tv/film I also received the viewing suggestion of the Czech filmmaker Jan Svankmajer.
I actually really enjoyed Assignment Five. Initially I struggled with locating a suitable textile to use as a subject piece, once I remembered about the existence of decades of strong national textile heritage it became a lot easier!
William Morris is a name I have heard bandied about for years on and off. I never really paid much attention bar the occasional eyebrow raising encounter with one of his incredible designs. It was fascinating to finally learn about his creative endeavours and life story.
The essay writing itself felt a lot easier than previous assignments, it was a case of trying to cut down on my typing rather than dredging up ideas to fill up a word count.
Looking at Morris’s work made me realise that quite a few artworks I have seen in films are inspired by him. One which stood out to me is below, the tapestry of the tree which in turn reminded me of the Black Family Tree from the Potter franchise.
It could be the similarity in the colour palette or simply the idea of a tree depicted in tapestry. Looking at it now I see simlarities in the sweeping lines of the leaves and branches of the two different pieces. Writing this has just given me an idea for the first exercise in Graphics 1….double win!
Overall, textiles has been an interesting module. I have learnt more from this module than the other four particularly about the wasteful nature of the fashion industry, that was eye opening. It was also encouraging to learn that artists such as Donna Wilson are able to find success with turning craft into business, and maintain the positive ethic values of that ideal throughout her operation.
My favourite exercise, besides the assignment, was in Part 1 in learning about the material life cycle. I learnt a lot from researching this area and will pay a lot more attention to where my clothes come from in future.
The exercise I found least enjoyable was researching Christian Boltanski’s installation ‘Personnes’ at the Grand Palais in Paris. Whilst I am aware that this will have been thought provoking and intriguing for many people, it’s just too morbid for my taste.
I would recommend this module to people who have no idea which specialised subjects they wish to study, also to those who are keen to learn more about thinking critically in relation to art. I would not recommend it to anyone with an engineering brain or who has low tolerance for understanding philosophical debate. I have learnt a lot from this module, my horizons have broadened and tolerance threshold has definitely increased, but I cannot honestly say I wouldn’t run away screaming if someone offered me a folder entitled Creative Arts 2.
I was very happy with my tutor feedback for Part Two.
Reading ‘The Toymakers’ again for the Assignment was an absolute pleasure so I will gladly revisit it to apply the suggestions made by my tutor.
My other main areas to work on are; primary research on something of interest which relates to the topics of time and place, and to just generally get out and looking at exhibitions more. I absolutely agree that I do not do enough primary research either online or in person. This cant be blamed entirely on my job, when I do get time at home the prospect of going out to visit a gallery often slips down my list of things to do…..after sitting on the sofa and catching up with Great British Bake Off….
One area which I would like to learn more about is Typography so I might use this as my theme to investigate.
I do have a quite easily accessible local gallery, so I do need to get myself down there more to check out the different exhibitions that travel through the town. I would also like to visit the gallery ‘House of MinaLima’ in London which is owned by the two graphic designers who worked on the Potter/Fantastic Beasts franchise. It was this duo which made me realise that graphic designers can also work in film, which I find very appealing. Reading abut their work has led me on further to artists such as Annie Atkins who worked on ‘Grand Budapest Hotel’ amongst other things.
Well isn’t La Jetee thoroughly depressing! What a miserable film. Doing this assignment reminded me strongly of studying English GCSE in school. We had to read several books, one in which a man shoots his dog and then his best friend, one in which a character spirals into negative behaviors and then they ruined Shakespeare. They could have shown us Shakepeare live as it was designed to be seen, but why do that when you could make classrooms full of people thoroughly depressed analyzing every single line of a play in which two people pointlessly (and needlessly) kill themselves!? It took me about 15 years to realise that actually, Shakespeare is really good…but anyway, I digress.
Part Four has been more enjoyable than Part One. With only one stunningly bad (for me) exercise to complete this has been a lot more tolerable than I was expecting. I have even managed to find a bright side to the hours of my life spent despairing over the fame of the work of Richard Long, telling people about it. They either think it’s mental or don’t believe me, both of which reassure me that I’m not losing the plot. I’m sure that someones response to that would probably be ‘ah so now the actual artwork itself has become verbal…your words too are art…they have transcended the physical form’…..but luckily I don’t know that person, because if I did I would have to pick up one of Richard Longs carefully placed rocks and throw it at them.
If I had been interested in studying Photography with the OCA then to be honest this part of the module would have put me off. I think that I just don’t have the ‘high art’ bit of brain that people seem to need to properly engage with it. One positive influence that I will take from it is that I will try more black and white landscapes. I found the picture in the course manual of John Davies power station to be a lot more visually striking than I initially appreciated. This was enhanced by the use of black and white as opposed to colour. When I get back to Photography again, probably after this degree, this will be something that I consider a lot more.
I feel like I haven’t done enough in Assignment Three. Looking at the questions the course manual has instructed me to cover I think that I have covered them all, and am approximately on the word count….but it still feels like a sandwich without any filling.
I quite enjoyed this exercise which made a nice change! It was interesting to learn about Monets work and circumstances, it made entertaining reading. I particularly liked learning about his single minded nature. I’d summarise it as, ‘I will build a water garden right there with these plants and paint it repeatedly and in a style that no-one else really likes if I want too’, which made me chuckle quite a lot.
I am also constantly surprised (probably shouldn’t be by now) oat the talent displayed in so many different disciplines by Banksy. That artist has got some mad talent.
So, in essence, I ‘think’ I have done ok with this one….but wont be surprised if there is a lot of reworking to carry out!
Looking at the assignment criteria in the introduction of the course manual I feel that I have submitted a decent essay for Assignment One. I believe that I have ticked off all the content requirements listed.
To improve this essay I would balance out my arguments a little more. Currently, due to my own life experiences I am firmly on the side of the institution and law and order. This has been further reinforced by working through this Part 1 of the module where so much of the online research I have had to complete has been relentlessly presenting me with a leftist view of the world. Reading about people who present actual turd (Piero Manzoni) or toilets (Duchamp) and call it ‘art’ has been driving me potty – excuse the pun. I think this has probably contributed to my quite one-sided view of Deller’s Battle of Orgreave.
On re-reading my essay what I like is how I’ve tried to use structured reasons to describe my opinion of the re-enactment. I wanted to reference as many different relevant sources as I could to demonstrate that I can relate outside articles to the topic in a constructive manner. I think that the essay flows quite naturally from one point into the next which I like, this is the first essay I’ve written in a while so hopefully the knack of them will come back to be soon!
Creative Arts Today 