Progression of ideas

For our studio group, we were invited by our tutor to come prepared to discuss a piece of work or artist that we distinctly disliked. Below is my presentation on the work of Mike Kelley, with particular focus on my dislike of his transgressional works;

Artworks that you dislike

Having completed this task, I was even more secure in my own studio practise, knowing that I wanted to continue addressing the concept of art being used as a form of therapy. As such, and having been inspired by my investigation into the concepts and artists that arose from my VIVA, I was acutely aware of such themes when Pil did a short presentation of some work he was particularly interested in.

I then had a 1-1 meeting about my practise where I discussed my ideas for progression into the next term. I had planned to use the patches of fabric people had sewn into as part of my previous term’s perforative piece, and create an object with them that related to each individual, encouraging them to see it every day and thus begin to adopt the thing they initially wanted to uphold. With this being our first meeting, however, I had to discuss my concept from the previous term alongside this proposal and I felt I was unable to fully articulate my thoughts. As a result, during this discussion I was encouraged to look at a performative experiment, whereby people of all different races, political views and social views were asked to create a canvas of works and, upon completion, invited to add to each others’. After just 20 minutes, the individuals had almost completely destroyed each others’ works. Having a discussion following this about works that shock and bring about discomfort for the viewer, I was confronted with two choices;

Conform to the pattern of the art world and begin creating work that aims to be transgressional, revealing human characteristics that show no hope of a brighter future

or,

Continue making my work with a view to do the exact opposite, revealing the concept of hopeful possibility for a positive trajectory of mental wellbeing

Feeling overwhelmed by my inability to convey the importance of art therapy, and that resulting in the suggestion of pursuing abjection in my work, I felt even more compelled to achieve the latter. But, having had these discussions, I was unsure as to where I should take my practise and thus fell into the well-known state of ‘Artist’s block’. This lasted for two weeks. During Week 6, I engaged in several activities; woodblock printing, stone carving and the gallery tour with Tim in London. This time was beneficial, allowing me to have a break from my own work and be able to recognise aspects of others’ works that were particularly attractive. I was led to consider the way art should not be confined to violations of conventions purely for the sake of it, and was reminded of previous study into transgressional art where I discussed ‘what if it could be better understood as provocation of quandary, inviting transgressions in a therapeutic context to be considered?’

Artist Statement

Considering art as a political and social tool, this body of work encompasses the therapeutic potential of creativity. Leading weekly creative sessions for recovering drug and alcohol abusers, my intention for this work was to outline and honour the incomparable ability of art as an effective tool in improving mental health. In order to authentically ensure this was achieved, I begun by participating in art therapy activities carried out by service users in previous sessions. Upon completing a free sculpting task, I made multiple cubes and, after exploring the meaning of a cube, found that it’s many interpretations all provided insight into my inner state. Acknowledging the significance of this, I was prompted to enquire into artistic movements whose intentions were to encourage cognisance of deeper meanings and concepts behind artworks. Recognising symbols in art as displaced wishes, Freud theorised that surrealists ‘attempted to simulate effects of madness in automatic writing and art alike’, thus opening art up to a whole new field of exploration into therapeutic thinking in the framework of art.
Conceptual art’s dissatisfaction with the capitalisation of art, through forcing it to be purchasable and disposable objects, highlights the importance of context. Resultantly, creative processes are no longer confined by pressures to produce what is typical known as a ‘work of art’ through aesthetic box-ticking. Combining the heightened contextual importance (in this case; help) with the ability of art to encourage unfettered expression in the subconscious, I was then able to understand art’s potential in a therapeutic context.
Following inspiration from Lin Tianmiao’s installation ‘Badges’, which questions the perception and definition of women by examining the way language constructs identities, I progressed my work and looked at the introduction of text. Tianmiao’s use of language such as ‘Butch’, ‘Troll’ and ‘Trophy Wife’, beautifully stitched into silk on large embroidery hoops, suspended from the ceiling, creates a subtle discomfort in the viewer that I intended to capture in mine. Recognising the importance of advancement for the viewer, from their position as a passive consumer into becoming an active participant, I progressed using participatory art. My work was shaped by artists who utilise this to create dialogues between aesthetics and functionality through audience interaction. However, I found this output, of the audience sewing their own desires onto fabric, did not have the gravitas to aesthetically communicate my ideas. Thus, I understood that viewer engagement should not necessarily mean their participation in the work directly. Subsequently, after a time of frustration and struggle with my concept and how to visually justify it, I made work out of a place of anger with the art world and its inability to understand how catharsis through art could extend further than a selfish medium used by artists alone. One piece of work, as a result, presented quotes from these clients about how the sessions have helped them. Placing these quotes in the midst of a pile of rubbish, I aimed to encourage people to perceive how something so meaningful is incessantly belittled by people who, more often than not, claim to behold open-mindedness.
Acknowledging this was not the way in which I intended to continue my practise, while effective at the time, I was grateful for the process I had been through, allowing me to begin asking the right questions regarding effective communication of my thoughts.
Consequently, my final work will aim to address the concept of art therapy and its role in society. In doing so, the ambiguity of the T-shirt designs, containing the story of one of my clients, Anthony, should spark engagement from the viewer, inviting them to question who Anthony is, what each symbol on the T-shirt means, and why it is paired with another shirt with no images. Understanding the risk in surrendering control to the viewer, it will be important to ensure that my work has clear outcomes, however, it could be that certain ambiguities enhance the work. Thus, I will hold every creative thought lightly, allowing for mistakes to create potential directive suggestions.

VIVA

Below is the presentation of my VIVA, explaining themes behind and progression of my work and the written text I spoke to accompany it.

viva lh

VIVA written text

Some feedback I got surrounding this was extremely helpful and, as a result, I began to explore the concept of art as a means of catharsis in more depth, exploring artists such as;

Luc Tuymans who claimed that the first few hours of working on a painting were, to him, a living hell. Thus, the ideas surrounding making art being painful helped me to gain an even greater sense of purpose in exposing art therapy as being an invaluable tool in the relief of mental anguish, showing that making art is painful, but causes a long-term release of pain.

and the writings of people such as;

Jacques Lacan who explored the ethics of art and psychoanalysis,  recognising that art therapy process is not necessarily something always good and happy and ‘kitsch’, but a game of pain, one that should only be embarked upon gravely and with commitment and intent.

TheraTees

Continuing my line of work in textiles, I decided to progress my art further in that direction, and, having had conversations with a variety of staff-members, came to the conclusion that my work was addressing the right thing, yet just not effectively conveying it, as anticipated.

Thus, I moved forward from the use of rubbish, whilst holding on to a few aspects of the work I found particularly poignant;

1. The use of quotes directly from the service users
2. The concept of exposing these in a way that makes people physically interact with the work
3. Creating ambiguity as to whether the work itself actually is what it appears to present

I landed back on the T-shirt idea, whereby the concept of ‘wearing your heart on your sleeve’ is made literal. I felt that this was the most accurate way of capturing the above;

1. One T-shirt would represent a service user, with the other being a testament from the therapist
2. The T-shirts will be suspended from the ceiling, exhibited centrally in order to allow people to walk around them and lift the sleeves
3. Viewers should ask questions regarding whether they should ever be worn

Making these seem like actual T-shirts, I have created a brand name entitled ‘TheraTees’, combining ‘therapy’ and ‘T-shirts’, with a fake selling account found at the address below:

https://wordpress.com/posts/theratees.wordpress.com

 

 

 

The T-shirt entitled ‘Anthony’ was so-called after one of my clients. Anthony entered the first session with a very noticeable outward appearance. With electric blue contacts in, lots of facial tattoos that hint at a previous life of gang-membership, I was instantly drawn to the way his manner was completely incongruent to the setting of his own skin. The dot of the electric blue combines his eye colour with the single dot he has on his right cheek, often signifying a previous status as a pimp. The tear drops present those on both cheeks, two on one, three on the other, stereotypically indicative of either murders carried out by the owner or murders committed against loved ones or gang members of the owner, amounting to the number present.

‘Session 5’ was a write-up of a hypothetical session a therapist would have with Anthony. I intentionally made the writing difficult to read due to the way in which a therapist is aware of lengthy times spent wiring being off-putting for the client, causing quick work. Moreover, it is not central to the front not back in order to hint at how the client may be able to often see parts of what is written, but not fully, and how the therapist may be more aware of the client than the client is of themselves.

Exhibited opposite each other, the T-shirts are meant to give an impression of conversation, with the white T-shirt of the therapist being a clean, pure slate onto which words are written; representing the mind of the therapist, and the other being black and defined by an outward appearance, not only that the therapist has to engage with in order to establish anything deeper under the surface, but also that the client now has to live with, often no longer by choice in a therapeutic circumstance.

Studio crit

This week, we looked at each others’ work and gave feedback on things we thought were effective and parts we thought were less successful in conveying the desired concept. My notes on other peoples’ works really helped me to critically analyses my own work, and also to recognise that I did not intend to pursue this line of practise any further.

ABONGILE:
The way they move with the air when people walk through adds a sense of humaneness, helping the viewer to relate to the objects as though they are living and breathing in line with them.
The wire mesh without any mod rock really feels exposed and vulnerable, solidifying the concepts elements of the work, being quite an explicit visual depiction of the thoughts behind it
The way in which the almost completed modrock sculpture is suspended almost eyeheight makes the viewer relate more intensely with his specific part, inviting them to partake in the debate around identity and whether they themselves are being inverted, putting on a front and not truly revealing who they are when FACE to face with others.
NATASHA:
The sculpture’s presence on every wall, the ceiling, the floor and encroaching into the empty space creates a sense of invasion that evokes discomfort
That, coupled with the taughtness of the belts reveals a sense of struggle in the work, speaking of confinement and almost a want to escape.
Being in a dark room, isolated as a piece of work possibly suggests the isolation caused by expectations on women of what is considered the ‘ideal body’
As a result, this work quite profoundly explores the concept of body image struggles and the oppression surrounding it

BEN AND MATT
The wires quite visually connect the two parts of this work, that might otherwise be considered as disparate pieces
When the sound contains both the heartbeat and car sounds, it becomes inextricably linked for the viewer, inviting a consideration of how each part impacts the other
Questions are raised like
‘Does something causing the increase of heart rate cause the crash’ – could explain why the heart itself is quite big and overpowering or ‘does the crash cause the increase in heart rate’
Which adds confusion, mirrored in the matted wires, half car, toy-like heart
The absence of a human presence in the car itself again raises questions about the aftermath of the crash, with the audio stopping hinting at the potential fatality, further encouraged by the beating effect stopping

ASH:
Only flashes of red amongst an otherwise black and white piece suggests maybe blood or intense emotion, which, coupled with what appears to be prints of a screaming face, reveals a sense of trauma and confusion in the work
The ripped pages and rough placement of elements implies a sense of urgency in the work, almost a need to escape, whilst also encouraging a deeper consideration and need to continue looking.
No sense of orientation; some pieces presented portrait, and others landscape, creates the sensation of being overwhelmed and almost lost in the work, which secures the piece conceptually, encouraging the viewer to compare this sensation with the overwhelming and consuming nature of music

TATENDA:
Lack of emotion is unnerving and makes the viewer question the future of robots and maybe how their advancement may one day remove humans of their humanity
Humour adds to the confusion of the piece, ‘haha’ with no emotion = confusing and uncomfortable
Slash slash intermission slash slash further supports the computer-like futurity that lies ahead, merging the roles of humans and computers
Simplicity of backdrop and other visual aspects somewhat hints at the desire for humans to have a simpler life, but juxtaposed with the quite disengaging also the danger involved in the take-over of computers//robots
Contrasts completely the set up and the futuristic view

INDIA:
Black instantly points at death, along with the knives, and the lack of detail suggests quite potently the lack of consideration humans have, possibly hinting at a wish to ignore or shy away from (highlighted MY the moon – nighttime = goes unseen) the true detail and destruction involved in animal harming
Swastica makes huge impact on how the viewer sees the piece, invoking questions surrounding the rights of humans versus animals and juxtaposing the horrors of the Jews caused by the nazis with the way we treat animals
Images of knives contrasted with quite innocent, child-like looking flowers invites what could be interpreted as a humorous view or alternatively a naivety of humans as we continue to abuse animals through their mass production for food consumption
The moon could suggest the want to be unseen during these actions, or could further suggest a deeper gravity in the concept, being quite significant imagery of things such as crimes, asking questions such as ‘should the poor treatment of animals for mass food pricution actually be seen as a criminal offense’
Animals are lower down and smaller

MY WORK
camouflaged by the rubbish
Rubbish is the work aswell
Neatly organised enough to be seen as a piece but can sssume its rubbish
Saw writing – wanted to read the notes, someone has said something’s important to them but it’s been thrown away
Easily dismissed and swept up with rubbish
Evokes negative emotions
Opinions strewn on the floor as rubbish and not valued
Statement of how seriously (or not) art therapy is as a statement
Forces the viewer to get up close
Words are disregarded
Message of whole piece is drowned out because of the rubbish
Little written notes are the piece? Or part of the rubbish?
Go hand in hand or disparate?
Litter from the art department itself
Person and environment
Speaks of how art works; when you identify something in art studio, stops being objects from the world as now valuable things selected by someone
Stopped being generic rubbish
Post-it’s for groupwork feedback
Remnants of a creative session
‘Rubbish stops being rubbish when you turn it into art’ undermining the whole premise of the piece
Weird paradox – rubbish, but also ‘look at me’
‘Looks like my room when I’m depressed’
Story about a creative session
More notes
Fewer items – more selective
Bigger pile – sculpture
Things brought into the context of art created an external language that it’s confined by
Bin bag ‘find the art therapy notes’ none in there
Stronger way to critique
⁃ who says those things?
⁃ Who’re you fighting?
⁃ And what grounds
⁃ What would you like to claim for art therapy?

Don’t be trashy.

Given security in myself as a (temporarily) physically absent artist, I was able to harbour my feelings towards the art world and its inability to understand art as an effective means of therapy.

Art is recognised by artists as a means of communication; whether that be of ideas, feelings, political views, colour and many others. This concept is widely accepted

Art therapy is defined as a form of psychotherapy that uses art media as its primary mode of expression and communication.

Therapy is not a pretty process. It’s a struggle. A painful exercise of battling against the attempts of the conscious to suppress its counter partner; the unconscious.

Lacan (1988) posited that unconscious desires were often covert and repressed due to their individualistic nature. In order to prevent a negative manifestation of such inner expressions, he claimed that articulating and bringing the ‘desire into existence’ was essential for a healthy exposure. Hysteria is a psychological condition described as a way in which the mind gives expression to desires through the physical manifestation of psychologically-based symptoms. However, due to a lack of being addressed properly, usually these symptoms are presented in ways that inhibit normal functioning, thus providing an evidential basis for Lacan’s musings. Acclaimed the ‘science of the unconscious’ (Foster, 2011) psychoanalysis is a therapeutic technique utilised for exposure of unconscious processes that would otherwise go unseen, and, being established during the early 20th century, psychoanalysis shared historical ground with modernist art. Resultantly, the two were able to converge in various ways. Despite being a psychological technique, psychoanalysis techniques were often utilised in artworks, with artists ‘exploring its ideas visually’ (Foster, 2011), as seen in 1920/30s surrealism. Renowned for its propensity for obscuring reality and creating fantastical views, the surrealist movement marked an innovative way in which art captured inner cognitions through external expressions. Despite providing a more healthy outlet for suppressed desires, any form of subconscious exploration in this respect has the aptitude to unveil the most extreme and, sometimes, concerning characteristics of individuals.

Why then, is art therapy consistently belittled, and sometimes even mocked for being a concept ‘too nice’ for a body of work to explore in a potential exhibition?

This frustration and, in all honesty, anger at the art world, an environment that claims to be the most accepting of them all, for dismissing this work as something that should be altered to conform to a certain pattern, fuelled my following piece of work.

trashy

ˈtraʃi/

adjective

1. (especially of items of popular culture) of poor quality.

This piece of work aimed to address the above aguish, presenting art therapy as it is sometimes very wrongly portrayed. I asked my art therapy clients to state their thoughts on the art sessions I provide. Below are some quotes I picked out of what they said;

I’m one of those who is indebted to it

Wouldn’t be here without it

It distracts me from feeing bad

It’s productive and fun at the same time

I was struggling on holiday and needed to do something to help my head. I came into the centre and carried on my art to help myself

My experiences of addiction are so much easier to explain through art

When reading these back, I am reminded of, and overwhelmed by, the journey these individuals have been on and continue to struggle through. Maybe that can’t be seen or experienced until one comes face-to-face with someone who has lost everything to their addiction. I don’t know. But, I do recognise that, upon reading the above, some credit must be placed on the power of art therapy, even if miniscule. As a result, I wrote these quotes down on different bits of paper, screwed them up, with the text mostly visible, and strew them across the floor along with some rubbish items I found in the studio. It was important that the rubbish came from the studio because then it fully represented the ignorance is coming from the art world itself.

This image showed my work as I left it;

Being left like rubbish during exhibition time, my work was mistaken for a poor attempt at creating a rubbish pile and was added to by people in the studio. This enhanced my work, only improving the case that my concept is not taken seriously in the context of the art world. Below are the images of my work, after it had been added to;

Within two days of the exhibition opening, my work had been completely removed and disposed of, only emphasising my concept further.

Hysteria

Through my bodies of difference module, we looked into the condition of hysteria, and how it effects sufferers’ abilities to function not only with day-to-day life, but also with the artistic process. Looking into this further, Christopher Bollas’s ‘Hysteria’ was so perfectly timed, and almost spoke about the hysteric’s tendency to have artist’s block better than I could articulate how I was feeling too. Below is my summation of the text;

‘HYSTERIA’ CHRISTOPHER BOLLAS (1999)

Bolas states that the hysteric elects to ‘perpetuate a child innocence as the core self’ by castrating personal achievements. Through this metaphor, he then extends his understanding of the hysteric through other aspects of a child’s experience and thus helps us to understand how a hysteric functions in the art world. Claiming that carnal interests are considered to be a distraction from art leads to the subsequent action of repression of such things, therefore the hysteric engages not in what it desires but talking about it, leaving it in the realm of the imaginary. The notion that art is more important than your body runs throughout this text as a result, revealing that the art world makes one more hysterical. This is explained through intentionally refraining from engaging with what the body desires in order to progress artwork, but often the art is saturated in that desire subconsciously.

Seen in terms of a relationship, Bollas then goes on to explain how the artist and their art can be defined as lovers-to-be. Initially, everything is going well and there is ever-increasing excitement, which could be seen in terms of finding inspiration through everything or that materials are responding and outputs are successful. Also, when there is a really good idea and it is executed successfully almost straight away, it is recognised that this doesn’t happen very often but when it does it is very good, much like a good relationship. It also explains, though, how the artist might hold back because they don’t view it as good enough. Therefore, the concept of the hysteric is almost inseparable from the artist. – a very reassuring conclusion.

What is transgressional art anyway?

Renowned for its propensity to obscure and expose reality, Surrealism provided a socially acceptable platform through which art could reveal otherwise repressed desires or emotions. Naturally, this freedom invited potential for certain curious and atypical human characteristics to be exposed and, as summated by André Breton, firing a pistol blindly into a crowd of people is the ‘simplest Surrealist act’. Not only accentuating the aptitude of art to eradicate concepts of normality and form new means for understanding the human mind, Breton moreover invites further discussion into the subjugation of the human disposition. Mike Kelley, abstract artist, maintains that artworks become transgressional when ‘they lie outside what had been deemed proper… aesthetics’. By this definition, it could be argued that any form of art seeking to invite conflict between the imposing nature of the artist’s ego and authentic gestures defies law. Creating work, therefore, utilising only improvised gestures deliberately precludes confinement to be abject. Moreover, creating a gap between the visual and the verbal, Conceptual art facilitates a discovery of something that isn’t self-evident or inevitable; something pitched between sense and nonsense. Refusing to conform to aesthetic laws, this stationed art on a trajectory into the unknown, where the exploration of ambiguity and true expression became of heightened importance. Art began to answer questions before theory could pose them; proving the capability of concepts such as the present being a state of oscillation between past and future. Rebelling against previous artistic laws whilst undermining theoretical concepts, art adopted a new role in society, and was recognised as having potential beyond that of fleeting entertainment. Acknowledging human potential for transgression regarding this specific postulation of law-breaking exposes the prospective enquiry of artworks in a context where transgression is already assumed, like with criminals. Subsequently, further progression for art can be anticipated due to the recognition of transgression as the basis for introduction to art as opposed to being the desired outcome.

Conceptual art captures the flaws of defining art as purchasable and disposable objects, highlighting the oppressive societal constraints that result in defying true freedom of expression. It considers success as the opening up of a fold between seeing and speaking; de-materialising art through relieving it from aesthetic box-ticking. Consequently, providing a delay or gap between the utterable and visible, art then has the autonomy to be anisomorphic, providing a distinction between saying and showing without necessarily doing either. Resultantly, the value of art is not reducible to monetary value, encompassing the Marxist influence within society, due to its questioning of the ‘primordial convention of art’s visuality’.3

The relationship between modern art’s textuality and visuality highlights the conflict surrounding overcoming institutionalisation and it’s subsequent directives, whilst also challenging its own rules regarding material identification organisation. As a result, immaterial things have become commodified, and, due to reflective involvement of the viewer, the spectator is invited to become a participant. This process intends to contrast exhibitions whose impact dissipates upon exit, and encourages the lasting impression of works on any individuals who choose to engage personally. The act of showing as opposed to telling within this artistic framework is by default transgressional, through refusal to make sense without being nonsensical. Post-critical artworks employed this incarnation of possibility through communicating without communication. Artists conforming to this way of working learned to expose oneself to others without imposing demands through embodying possibility and futurity.

Aiming to transform the banal everyday commodity, Gerhardt Richter re-imagines and re-presents objects within his paintings, making them oddly beautiful. Despite his initial desire to explore unfettered, free expression of one’s unique inner expression, Richter managed to undermine his own intentions. Creating works that all utilised gestural abstract marks meant, therefore, his art was no longer a symptom of self-expression, but merely demonstrative of conformity. Thus was sparked a new way of working. Now, when painting, Richter claims he does so without agenda or intentional aesthetic outcome and, as a result, he acknowledges it as a ‘blind, desperate effort, like that of a person abandoned, helpless’4. Richter transformed his paintings by creating gestures over the top and found certain behaviours desirable in the surfaces of his works. The subject of the work consequently becomes the work itself, personifying the fraught and anxious process as the squeegee takes control. Through intentionally exploiting accident in his work, avoiding a quality of ‘made’ness, Richter allows each painting to exist in between chaos and composition. Deliberately designed to have no overall control as the artist, the paintings take on the role as the new directors; doing things that Richter recognises he can’t. The incorporation of something accidental allows a call and response between him and the painting, leaving him as a spectator of the work, eager to see the final product. Ensuring the work is neither chaotically unfinished nor academically contrived, Richter empowers gestures to be forms of art in themselves, inviting composed disorder to enliven the work. He uses the following analogy as summation of his thoughts;

‘…like that of a person who possesses a given set of tools, materials and abilities and has the urgent desire to build something useful which is not allowed to be a house or a chair or anything else that has a name; who therefore hacks away in the vague hope that by working in a proper, professional way he will ultimately turn out something proper and meaningful.’

Oscillating between photo and painting, Richter’s works mirror the musings of William Faulkner about arrested motion being the ‘aim of every artist’5, allowing art to hover between past and future. As such, his art becomes non-impositional, creating a space to be definitively unfinished, an act which is, in itself, transgressional. Both Richter and Laurence Weiner represent something passed and something about to happen in their works. They signpost an elsewhere in and out of here and now that is indisputably visible and palpable. Not to be mistaken for anti-conceptual works, they simply open a margin between the utterable and visible, producing a space:time continuum of possibility. Subsequently, their art becomes more than momentary distractive art, and extends to being thought of in terms of percepts.

Like most of nature, the human mind is always in the process of changing. Existing in a state between dissolution and resolution, the subconscious maintains a state of anticipation of something maybe happening. This elliptical exposition of mentality can be likened to that of ‘pure becoming’, a concept carefully considered by Deleuze. In order to articulate this concept, Deleuze enlisted the definition of paradox and exclaimed ‘paradox is the affirmation of both senses or directions at the same time’. He expands further by denoting that senses or directions do not necessarily occur simultaneously, but rather, if they are in a state of pure becoming, it is more likely that things go in both directions at the same time while surpassing the present. Things of pure becoming, therefore, are finite in nature, leaving things that end up becoming something as not of pure becoming. As such, the present is avoided because, upon becoming something in its entirety, something of pure becoming stops becoming. Using Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland as an analogy for this idea, Deleuze states that Alice, having drunk the potion, is both bigger than she was and smaller than she was about to become; illustrating the eluding of the present. Thus, pure becoming by definition is transgressional. It surpasses all previous understanding of existence, belittling the present to the point of it’s non-existence.

Sophie Calle, a conceptual artist, sees suffering as having creative potential in her work. Upon being interviewed about her Paris exhibition entitled ‘Exquisite Pain’, it became apparent that as Calle experienced pain, she was ‘starting to calculate how best she can exploit it’7. This way of thinking resulted in Calle seeking out bad break-ups and other circumstances of grief, and her work advanced from simply conveying her personal stories of pain to embroidering text not wall hangings provided by others about their worst moments of torment. Whilst denying any self-help element in her work, it is indisputable that the narrative of Calle’s installations becomes decreasingly hysterical and increasingly detached over time, conveying the gradual healing process taking place. When claiming ‘Grief is inevitably a better subject than joy’, Calle might infact be hinting, knowingly or not, at a deeper concept. As opposed to the surface interpretation that sorrow creates more significance in a body of work, it could be argued that actually a recognition of the process involved in making work around the subject of grief aids one to deal with it more healthily than if one were to ignore it. Giorgio Agamben comments questioning ‘specificity of technique’8 is is considered a reputable way to engage with works, this recognising power in the process. Therefore allusive of the ability of transgressive works to provide a form of catharsis. This process is one example of pure becoming. The removal of self from the past whilst seeking things of the future.

Maggie Nelson, author of ‘The Art of Cruelty: A Reckoning’, chose to centre this book around the widespread and convolution of violence, specifically within artistic and cultural contexts. Recognising the media as having a large impact on the accessibility of violence, Nelson examines whether or not cruelty and gore have become so normal that their effects are somewhat redundant. Selecting an extensive variety of topics for her subject matter, Nelson acknowledges how the 21st century provides ease of insouciant access to horror, thus leaving us to question whether typical transgressional art is infact no longer transgressional. Grappling with this debate, Nelson comments on a particular instance during which President Obama disallowed the release of most photos from Abu Ghraib on the grounds that they were so offensive. Stating ‘If you don’t want to inflame via images of the behavior, then you have to stop the behavior.’9, Nelson states the obvious, and relieves the images themselves of the blame, pointing the finger back at the offence. Consequently, with the removal of transgression from being defined by genuine abhorrence, the concept of transgressive artworks must be reconsidered. The use of art in a criminal context, therefore, could be argued as the future of transgressional art. Providing a door from the past into the future without dismissal of the former, but focusing on the acceptance and progression into the latter, the criminal and their future almost become the perfect depiction of pure becoming within art. Foucault exclaimed, when discussing modern institutions of confinement, that, to a list of typical institutions like asylums and prisons, museums should be added. Considering all equally ‘ripe for analysis’10, Foucault suggests that each one is interlinked, always hinting at aspects of the other, thus making them somewhat inseparable.

Mike Kelley is an artist whose work undoubtedly displays transcendence of law. Stating that there is no transgression without the law, and vice versa, Kelley posits that law presupposes transgression; thus lawbreaking becomes the inevitable. Consequently, it could be articulated that, through his works on transgression, Kelley is suggestive of laws being meant to be broken. In an interview with Ralph Rugoff, Kelley proudly exclaimed ‘I’m of the generation of artists for whom there was an extreme reaction against…clichéd ideas of self-expression, including the notion that the handmade art object revealed a personal, expressive psychology.’ Yet, during the same interview, when discussing how one knows if something is a quality work, Kelley declared that this concept can only be understood within the framework of the classificatory system announced, further stating ‘pleasure comes from bouncing off those things and categories’.12 Innately, this provides insight to Kelley’s stance on transgressional art being understood as successful art, but also eludes to an indefinite interpretation of this precise success as the sole definition.

Professing that transgressional art is ‘Susceptible to multiple appropriations and constructions’, Kelley appears to be permitting of art’s liberty within this context. One particular piece of work that speaks of transgression quite overtly is ‘Pay for Your Pleasure’, an installation featuring in a variety of different galleries. Containing artworks created by a criminal from the area in which it was installed immediately evokes an awareness of law-breaking in the most common societal framework of understanding. However, Kelley cunningly proposes subtle discomfort in this particular work, inviting an even deeper cognition of transgressional art’s gravity and influence. Lyotard claimed that the future of art, considered through the postmodern condition, was to ‘preserve various consciousnesses from doubt’ through the explicit representation of images through film, photography and other forms of creative output. He states the issue with this, and the subsequent need for art to reexamine the rules of its predecessor, to be transgressional and regain its credibility as a form of multiplying the fantasies of reality.

Pay for Your Pleasure (1988) was an installation consisting of three parts. The first part was two rows, lining a corridor, of painted portraits of famous people differing in professions (including Oscar Wilde, poet; Piet Mondrian, artist; P. J. Proudhon; philosopher), coupled with a quotation hinting at a connection between artworks and criminality said by each individual. Secondly was a painting of a clown by mass murderer John Wayne Gacy of Chicago, where this installation was set. Finally, a few money collection containers labelled with different local victims’ rights organisations.

From ‘They [artists] are more often the auxiliaries of corruption than of regeneration’ – Proudhon, to ‘I think the destructive element is too much neglected in art’ – Mondrian, the quotations used confirm Kelley’s postulation that criminal activity and art have a long-standing relationship. Through discussions of catharsis and social change as being the so called ‘use’ for art, some declare creativity as a channel for their ‘destructive energies’. Conversely, an alternative interpretation of creating such works is that of it’s provision of a safe environment in which ideas such as these can be explored. If so, could it not be posed that criminals themselves, through their censored filtration through the media, uphold a similar position? As a result, there is an oscillation between the conclusion that artists should be recognised as criminals versus criminals should be recognised as artists.

Placed at the end of the corridor lined with works, Gacy’s painting becomes the centre-piece, proving the latter correct. Gary created this work in a therapeutic context whilst in prison, under the safe assumption that it was a form of sublimation. Whilst Welshman considers this as ‘laughabl[e]’ , this reaction might be seen as a naive one, revealing his inability to recognise the

Being led through a corridor, past Gacy’s painting and into a space where collection boxes are present, it cannot be ignored that Kelley was insistent on ensuring people walked away feeling as though they had paid for their pleasure. After all, being free to both condemn Gacy for his offences and simultaneously enjoy a byproduct of them, one should feel as though a donation of some guilt money is more than appropriate. But what may be initially dismissed, without proper scrutiny, is that the money forms donations to organisations directly impacted by crime. Through making the point that this spectator enjoyment is inappropriate, Kelley manages to immediately redeem it by encouraging them to facilitate aid surrounding the issues present.

Figure 1: Pay for your Pleasure. Mike Kelley

As a result, it might be said that true transgressive works have a broader creative potential than initially stipulated. They are now free to conflict and condemn their own previous behaviours, transformed from being simply abominable images or objects into what could be the beginning of a more comprehensive understanding of how art can engage with transgression positively.

Considering the artist as liberated from the ordinary constraints of law and judgment, artworks enter a defiance of what is considered as socially acceptable, directly comparable to how criminals defy laws. Addressing things otherwise repressed through art is a tool utilised in a therapeutic context. Thus, the creative potential of transgression becomes a concept unfettered by obligation to be abject. Through acknowledging works to be transgressive, we simultaneously uncover the entrenched attitude of art having value beyond simply aesthetics, encouraging the redemptive purposes of art to be recognised. As Nietzsche claimed, ’we possess art lest we perish from the truth’17, opening up a foundation of understanding about art’s ability to both perform escapism from reality, but, perhaps more potently, to address it; providing a remedy against truth. The discussed works reveal how societal oppression of truth augments the horror of reality, and provide insight to how transgression can be potentially better understood within the context of art. Thus, the place of my conclusion is really the place for another beginning. What if transgressional art was defined not solely as the purposive violation of conventions for the sake of it, but as the intentional provocation of quandary in order to question transgressions in a therapeutic context?

Week 6 – Stone Engraving Workshop

Stone carving is an activity where pieces of rough natural stone are shaped by the controlled removal of stone. Owing to the permanence of the material, stone work has survived been an artistic process since our prehistory.

Partaking in this worksop was richly rewarding. I learned the importance of preparation and precise planning in creating a successful piece of work, due to the unforgiving nature of the material. Additionally, I was able to discover the intricacy of typefaces and how they completely dictate how a piece can be read by the viewer. We explored several different typefaces and I alighted on a very traditional one in order to capture the ‘Be still’, mirroring the traditional Biblical content.

Being a time consuming artistic practise, there were moments where I was frustrated at my lack of progression, however I gradually began to appreciate that this extended time and labour invited a connection with my work that linked thematically with the text itself. The concept ‘Be still’ is found in the verse Psalm 46:10 ‘Be still and know that I am God’, acknowledging the importance of patience and recognising that; more potently than being concerned with the final outcome, ultimately we should recognise there is power in the process of making.

STICKS WITH DICKS AND SLITS

Tim Noble and Sue Webster

Noble and Webster created bronze sculptures whilst maintaining the sketchy, continuous effect of wire through casting wax techniques, retaining the spontaneity of the sculptor’s hands. Handmade maquettes made from electrical wire formed the framework from which these self-portraits were made.

What was particularly poignant when viewing this work was that it provides a humorous mockery of artists taking themselves too seriously, challenging the idealistic view of artists-as-art through upscaling playful ephemera into physically domineering artworks transcending human limitations. Being nudes engaging in basic bodily functions (Tim urinating, Sue lactating), the sculptures speak of rawness and truth. As a result, the works critique narcissistic obsession.