Proposal 708 – Julie Ellis

Aims

• Explore ideas of Play as a means to question, resolve and develop creatively.
• Record and document process, and investigate the concept of the act of making itself as Contemporary Art.
• For research to evolve primarily through making and process, ultimately merging making and thinking. Aiming to work in a more fluid way allowing for fluctuations and flexibility through the particular thought processes which occur uniquely through the act of making art.
• Investigate ideas relating to interior space as a source of material to develop ideas, feeding off current physically and psychologically situation.

Objectives

• To continue painting and drawing as a means of externalising my feelings and thoughts through process.
• To develop the work using clay also as a material of expression.
• To record process and the physical performance of making using video and photography. Explore other ways and means of documenting and recording my process.

Rationale

Having combined research and process to better understand intuition both theoretically and practically in year one I am aware of that which consciously and subconsciously affects my physical work. This knowing cannot now be unknown and sits in my conscious thought where before it had not. For example factors such as; my privileged white background, education, ability, gender, embedded personal experiences and environment. Added to this, the current environment I find myself in feels much internalised. I am the only adult and provider in my home and Covid 19 has pushed me back to the four walls which hold the weight of this repeatedly, causing me to over think at times. These things combined have raised questions for me in terms of the content and purpose of my practice and highlighted the need for new subject matter in my work which I feel needs to be authentic and honest. This interior space both physically and psychologically will primarily inform this project, pulling together elements of previous work concerned with space, place and personal associations utilising the time to intensely focus on my practice absorbing rather than ignoring the effects of the circumstances I am in.

I identify as a practice led rather than research led artist in terms of developing ideas and direction. The direct physical interaction with materials and substances produces prolific outcomes and is an asset to my practice. I am interested in how this process feels like a form of immersive play helping me to uncover and develop thinking in a less conscious and deliberate way. Documenting and recording this could be revealing and insightful, possibly performative in some way. This period of intense studio time will inform my direction moving forward.

Mapping the Field

In my essay for 702 I had stated: “Intuition is perhaps at its most liberated when we are young children exploring and expressing the world around us with a natural spontaneity. Those who become artists, poets, writers and musicians appear to hold onto and nurture this naivety to allow the subconscious to be exposed in their work”. Since writing this I have been reading about the importance of play in art to develop imagination, conceptual skills and language. R. F Harle discusses this in his article ‘Biobehavioral Basis of Art’ and similarly this is discussed in Craig Burnetts article ‘The Art of Play’. I recently saw the work of artist and ceramicist Phoebe Cummings at Anima Mundi which included a clay piece entitled ‘Over’ which was created entirely on site as a performative sculpture ‘emphasising materiality, fragility, time and decay.’ There was an ephemeral quality to the installation which had a sense of immediacy which I found interesting and something which I would like to explore in my work. In terms of the interior and space I have been looking at Gaston Bachelard – The Poetics of Space. Other sources for reading are ongoing.

Bibliography

Burnett, C., 2004. The Art of Play. Art Monthly, (279), pp.1-4.

Harle, R., 2008. Biobehavioral Basis of Art. Technoetic Arts: A Journal of Speculative Research, 6(3), pp.259 – 268.

ANIMA MUNDI. 2020. Exhibition – Phoebe Cummings ‘Thought Barefoot’ — ANIMA MUNDI. [online] Available at: <https://www.animamundigallery.com/exhibition-phoebe-cummings-thought-barefoot> [Accessed 4 November 2020].

Bachelard, G., 1969. The Poetics Of Space. Boston: Beacon Press.

Macleod, K. and Holdridge, L. (2006) Thinking Through Art – Reflections On Art As Research. Routlidge