Art O'Clock

Inspired by Eastern philosophies and tradition, I began to think about how these ideas could be applied to modern thought. The practise of yoga and meditation are routines which are becoming modernised and used particularly by younger people: as people are more aware of mental and personal well-being, these types of routines and structures help us to organise the mind. I'm interested in the way Eastern philosophies relate to modern day and have differences and parallels with branches of thought like existentialism.  The subject of the self, the spiritual and 'otherness' influenced me: the idea of creating a setting, much like Rothko's Chapel; a place of meditation or deep contemplation. On visiting the work of Anthony McCall, I noticed the ways a minimalist concept, like using moving lights in a dark space, could make a person become aware of themselves. I tried my own experiments with light by making a wooden stencil and shining torches on to the wall. I liked th

Initially to begin this module, we were scheduled multiple workshops in order to develop our practise but also personal tutorials with tutors whom set tasks in order to challenge our concepts and ideas of making artwork. I really enjoyed these first few weeks of experimentation and challenging what constituted art and artistic concept. In the workshops, I experimented with film photography, welding, mental casting, illustration, Premier Pro and paper making. While these methods were really useful in developing my knowledge and practise, I felt like some were more relevant to me personally than others. At this point I knew I really wanted to develop my use of making films, so Premier Pro was really useful for me.  During the personal tutorials, the tutor set various tasks in order to challenge how we made work and what work meant. I really enjoyed being forced out of my comfort zone by having to make work in short periods of time. A particular task I enjoyed was re-purposing a mater

In order to sum up my project in a shorter post, here is my 550 word rationale to contextualise my work: The control we have as individuals is something that concerns me more as I grow older, due to me becoming aware of my own and others arbitrary positions in society. Growing up exposed me to the reality of my own choices, my own freedom and my own significance as an individual. "Man is condemned to be free"1 ; both a blessing and a curse. As a young person in society, what is my function? What will it be in 10 years? Can I control any of this?  Provoked by these anxieties, I pushed my ideas through multiple mediums to test the boundaries of control, chaos and freedom. Inspired by Zen philosophy and meditation, I have experimented ways of altering control in my work. This creates a work subject to chance/ result of chance. By removing control, I submit myself to allowing things to happen in their own way, the way of the 'tao', meaning path or way. 'Tao' i

In this project I began with methods of changing my level of control on my work. Being interested in what it means to create raw art, without the expectation of creating good work, I wanted to try different experiments in order to create work using partially chance and part my subconscious abilities. From blind doodles to mapping things from memory, I liked the way my work began to have it's own voice: potentially a voice that wasn't mine. A part of me, unlocked by letting go of the anticipation of what I was supposed to make, draw, create. By removing certain familiar aspects of traditional drawing, for me in particular sight, I was able to create images completely separate from what was intended. What I'd intended to be the portrait of a person became an abstract doodle. Dennis Oppenheim inspired transfer drawings A5 A significant experiment in this process was inspired by the artist Dennis Oppenheim, who conducted a trial with a boy, who would draw an image on