We will be discussing the evaluation goals for UNIT TWO next class (mars 4).
Now in regard to this, a main evaluation goal is not simply the idea behind the work. I like to see is how the artwork itself expresses or communicates the idea; how the idea itself is in the world and not in your head alone (or if it is to be in your head alone, how might we see it --> see Joseph Beuys Theory of Sculpture, and Social Sculpture). For this course the comprehension of the project brief, your idea, and the relationship between the two are the focus.
To get Started:
There is the loose idea you have about the project brief. To get somewhere with the idea (this can happen on account of being inspired or motivated by an idea - or not!) you actually have to work, with actions of the hands, making things or writing them down. Make a diagram of a concept, doodle, brainstorm, record it, tape or film it, take a picture of it. It is a physical thing, not a discussion anymore or a thought. It's down on paper. This is the start of work in studio.You don't even have to have an idea yet as to what you're going to do. Sometimes it helps just to start sketching and playing.
Then there is a commitment to the process, a determination to demonstrate and experiment, to commit to the mistakes and learn from them. It is to make a statement and verify it with experience.
In terms of participation I love to see a willingness and courage to exact necessary edits and refinements given in a particular course of action in executing an artwork. Plan for yourself and allow for a rest period so the work has time to gestate. Then make further refinements. It's exploration, waiting, labour, waiting, artistry, editing, waiting; execution development, waiting, and remaking. These are the things we do when in studio.
In terms of evaluation: I'm interested in investments that people make in pursuing an outcome, and the evidence of research and discovery done in the preparing to execute a plan of action (with a sketchbook, or models for instance). This is the ask questions first part. It's the why am I doing this and what am I doing it for etc.?
It is a mastery of the materials and the labour in using them to communicate and to present a design. It is a consciousness of the materials, and how they may be read to make the concept known. It's a working with materials to have them do what you need them to. And it's time, to step away from the project and come back to it to understand what it is you've done (which you can't see right away usually).
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To develop work:
Practice seeing (you do this when you draw from a model, or meditate). What is before you? See to know. Explain the things around you; write about them; describe them. Get inspired by words, by sounds, by sights....Put it down. Try to understand something by unknowing it; try to unname it, or to understand why it is you know about it simply because it is named.
Practice being okay with uncertainty. The next two unit projects have indeterminate results. And I've said before - knowledge production is about making choices (largely). It isn't about being right or wrong. It's blurry. You don't have to know precisely where you are going when you begin (you even don't have to know when you're in it). Let the actions of the hands carry you. This is the mind-mapping divergent thinking process. You can stay with an idea way longer if you're writing about it, or drawing it.
To work in Studio:
About Ideas:
The idea behind the work is one thing, but it isn't everything. An idea is the thought or suggestion to a possible course of action. Ideas are philosophical and have been used to cover a range of subjects. The idea provides the plan from which to work from. When chosen, a given idea can direct the way in which you conduct your exploration. It provides a grounding, and boundaries. It motivates and inspires.
To work in Studio:
About Ideas:
The idea behind the work is one thing, but it isn't everything. An idea is the thought or suggestion to a possible course of action. Ideas are philosophical and have been used to cover a range of subjects. The idea provides the plan from which to work from. When chosen, a given idea can direct the way in which you conduct your exploration. It provides a grounding, and boundaries. It motivates and inspires.
