Brief 3 – Individual Project
“Develop a project proposal/brief based on your own interests and research”
Guidelines:
• It must be based on further ‘arts research’
• It may include the development of work from this semester’s journaling activities
• It must relate to the skills related areas covered in Lab B (and A).
In either week 10 arrange a tutorial with me to discuss your ideas. Bring a draft proposal with arts research with examples of journal ideas and previous work, work-in-progress, as appropriate.
Revisiting Research for Creative Practice Weak model: linear, undeveloped, predictable, unimaginative, boring
Strong model: network effect, emergent, dynamic, rich, surprising, interesting
Another model: A process that transcends self by going beyond will and ability into surprise, involving:
a) Being ‘in touch’ with prior expression, traditions, problems, standards and solutions
b) Generation of material; blindly (without foreknowledge of final results) but not randomly (under a kind of plastic control relevant to a)
c) Critically interact with this material; again, under the plastic control of the task and its background
d) Generation of more material; again, not only ‘blindly and not randomly’ but under additional plastic control informed by what has already been achieved (b)
e) Repetitions of ‘c’ and ‘d’ towards a conclusion
A rich process can generate a dynamic relationship between the means and the end; it can weaken the hand of technique-led process by integrating technique (i.e. ways of doing things) into the artistic, communicative and aesthetic agenda. In preparation for the commentary and presentation, researching ideas will develop awareness of what your work is most concerned with and enable you to write about it (by actually having something there to reflect upon).
What to do?
1. By (a) conducting your own research – freeform play and ‘stealing’ and (b) taking into account your skills vs. risks (and related aspirations) define a collection of ideas, principles and procedures that interest you.
2. Construct a brief that combines these ideas, principles and procedures.
Use the worksheet: When researching and thinking about your and others’ work consider the following:
> Values, underlying principles, purpose (why)
> Concept, theme, ideas (why)
> Style, language, way/s of communicating (how)
> Technique, process, method (how) And even more interestingly, the
> Relationship between the whys and the hows…
Document, record, save everything in various, useful and organised ways.ways.