Subject2

Subject leader Jem Mackay - jmackay1@camberwell.arts.ac.uk

= Product, process... =

Hi. I wanted to talk about the process and the product, because I think that this is probably the strongest connection between Digital Art and Drawing. Last year, when the Drawing MA students presented their work there was a strong feeling amongst most (if not all) of the students that Art is more than just a framed image that gets exhibited on a white wall somewhere. The process of making the image is far more significant than the the image itself. Picasso was asked on a TV programme, once, whether he thought that it was in fact a rip off that he could draw a few lines on a piece of paper in 30 seconds and yet it could sell for the tens of thousands of pounds. Picasso replied, //"But it took me 60 years to be able to produce those lines!"// He clearly was referring to the continual practice and discipline of drawing. The process was being referenced by the product. On the other hand, Garrison Frost writes on www.picklebird.com (Tue 18 October 2005) //'beware of any art exhibit presented under the banner of "Art and Healing."'// He goes on to to say that in Art & healing //"art is merely a by-product. The process of making the art is much more important to the narrative. What was the artist feeling when he or she made the art? How does the art reflect the struggle? That's very different from viewing the art on its own aesthetic terms. One could say that this is journalism, not art."// Marshall McLuhan said //"the Medium is the message"// and I see this as very much saying that the process can no longer be divorced from the product that comes out of it. It is particularly interesting to Digital Artists that although most artists use computers in some way to create their art products, that very few would actually call themselves Digital Artists. I think the reason for this, is to do with the mindset of the artist. There are significant issues that a Digital Artist is concerned about and these need to be reflected in the process of creating the art pieces. That is if indeed they create a 'piece' at all! - perhaps 'performance' is actually a better word for it? In Drawing, then, how much emphasis is placed on the 'performance' of the artists's hand would you say? --Jem (Please make comments and submit stuff either to me (email above) or to this wiki)

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I think an issue where art, and particularly digital art, is open to criticism is the language used by artists and critics to describe and define the work. Terms like natural, spatial, rhythm, narrative, conventional movement, etc that are borrowed from other disciplines have been used to back up political or subjective stances. These terms have sometimes confused a central theme of art expressing the human condition. Art has also been hijacked by the media and critiqued in much the same way as visual communications or graphic design.

Should art be mass-consumed; and does this lessen it's value? As you say above Jem the process of art is a journey, with some paths never been resolved and many dead ends been met. With a huge blurring between analogue and digital artists in mixed or hybrid works, art has out-grown the log-held traditional definitions.

The MA course has introduced me to practise based research. The journey and not the goal, or final work/artefact, is what is important. Having space to grow as an artist is vital, without the need to always produce something. It's difficult to define what are is but I know what it 'means' to me, and the feeling I get when I work on a new piece. Maybe it's the emotional or physical bond that is important.

The issue of how digital artist value their own work is interesting. Is low-res/low-tech art also seen as low value? I am looking at a similar theme in my research paper - Is digital art of value to society? The computer potentially makes everyone a digital artist, and maybe this devalues the work of artists when the consumer can also create what they see as digital art.

Colin

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This line of thought is quite interesting the process and the product. The word process is defined as a series of actions, changes, or functions bringing about a result, I liken this to my MA research, while product is defined as what I get at the end of the research. When I started off with this MA digital course it was more about the end product and not the process which to a large extent limited my movement in discovering anything new, my approach should have been more of an exploration than anything else (taking a step of faith into the unknown). As Colin mentioned more focus should be on the journey and not the goal, or final work/artefact which is why at the beginning I found myself going of the rail but thanks to Andy and Maria for putting me right.

Art is a part of our every day life and there are various ways of representing our experiences as we go.

As Digital Artists we present our inner thoughts through the digital medium, as Antonio the Merchant of Venice in one of Shakespeare’s works will have us understand that ‘life is like a stage were we are given a part to play‘ and our part is the digital. Ever since man existed he has always been able to represent himself in one artistic form or the other right from the time of the Cave paintings (which composed of various minerals ground into powders and mixed with animal fat, egg whites, plant juices, fish glue, or even blood and applied with brushes made of twigs and reeds, or blown on) and since then man has discovered different ways of representing art and the door is still open.

Victor

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The exploration of research based practice is a main reason why I have come to do an MA. I’m sure that this is similar across all disciplines at Camberwell. I come from the world of music and sound art where there is a strong desire for the artifact, as the performance or experience of sound is temporal. This raises questions of what you can sell as an artist.

There is an exhibition of new video work by Isaac Julien at the Victoria Miro Gallery in London at the moment. Two separate 3 screen video works with very high production values, shot on film in extreme locations with a strong well designed soundtrack. The works are very much enhanced by the experience of the dark room, giant screens and spatial sounds. Downstairs in the gallery, large format prints of stills from the films are for sale, like souvenirs. They are disconnected from the film, yet have the feeling of the experience embedded within them.

I have a CD that I made (with Naoko Matsumoto) where the packaging was especially designed to work in both English and Japanese, like the music. We attempted to make the artifact represent the totality of our performances.



Phoebe

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How I suggested this morning i would like collaborate in this section too.My proposed will be show a piece I did that very relationated with this point. Basically I speak about a visibility function towards the audience on the subject of the domestic violence. For it the intervention of the user is necessary crossing the points as a game.I think it's a work very related to which we treated, therefore relevant.This is the url if u want check it http://2-red.net/nopasatiempo/

Cristina