Liz Reviews New Media Concepts

Last night (29 March) I attended the opening of an exhibition by five
fourth year students from Leeds Universities Fine Art
Degree. It was a show that they had organized
themselves and was held in The Merrion Centre. The
Merrion Centre is a shopping centre not far from the Uni,
however, not unlike Gosford, there are quite a few shops
that are closed.

The exhibition – in one of these shops was an exploration
of conceptual art through new media, so many works
included the use of film and sound. I found the works to
be extremely interesting, and three in particular
innovative and exciting.

The first work that caught my attention was by Eva.
She had set up a television monitor at the back of the
shop, this was connected to a small camera at the front
of the shop that went unnoticed by passerby’s. The
camera, pointed to the ground and recorded the
shadows of light, people passing, moments that are
still and moments that change.

I talked to her after the show about her work, it
was a work that revealed her fascination with time
and place and these two ideas intertwined to create
ephemeral moments where the viewer, unwittingly
is part of the artwork, yet does not realize this until
the moment has passed.

The second work that fascinated me was by Rosa.
She had set up three booths at the back of the shop.
Each booth contained a disc player for the audience
to listen too. Each disc contained a conversation of
sorts between the artist’s sister and their
Grandfather. All three conversations consisted of
a German word (their Grandfather is German),
reflected back between the two, each time the word
becoming more meaningless as the rendition
becomes more ridiculous. This work looked at the
linguistical meanings of the three words and how
that falters under the misrepresentation, or
mispronunciation of the word.

The third work, that actually links into my current
research to do with the body, is by Hammam. His
work, through the use of sound, maps his body,
recording its experience in a certain condition.
Lined on the wall were approximately 60 tapes.
Each tape contained a recording of the sound of a
microphone tapping on the different parts of his
body. You could select a tape and listen to it on
the walkman provided. I listened to his left jaw.
This work was interesting to me because of its
reference to phenomenology, or the
representation of an experience felt by his body
(and thus consciousness).

This exhibition showed a quality of work,
conceptually and practically that reveals the
potential of these students to show at an
international level. It has shown me the
advantages of living in the UK ( or Europe), and
having easier access to world renowned artists
that push the conceptual boundary, and how this
can inspire art students here to do the same.

I am not criticizing the remoteness of Australia
at all – that can have its own advantages,
however, I am glad to have had this opportunity
to see the standard of student work here in the
UK, by some truly talented artists.

Liz Wright.

.. Long, Lost, Liz ..

St. Patrick's Parade, Dublin

Liz (centre) with her friends and flatmates Steph and Marie

I know that it has been awhile since I have written a

journal entry, but the past two weeks have been rather

eventful – and not all to do with my studies. Firstly though,

I will update you one how my studies have been going.

.
Last week, practical wise, I had a refresher in the technical

side of photography. Claire, the photography lecturer,

spent the afternoon with me showing me how to set up

professional lighting, to do a meter, how to do effects with

brollies, etc. It was a very interesting afternoon, and

allowed me to think more about the technical aspects

of how to achieve my practical goals. At the moment,

with reference to my theory, I feel that using photography

as a documenting process for my ideas is the

way to pursue my prac ideas.

.
In regards to theory, I had another meeting with

Griselda, and discussion was raised in consideration to

the fine line drawn between identity and subjectivity. In the

Collins Online Dictionary, identity means – ‘the state of

having unique identifying characteristics held by no

other person or thing’, or ‘the individual characteristics

by which a person or thing is recognized’, whilst subject

(in reference to a person) means – ‘that which thinks

or feels as opposed to the object of thinking and feeling;

the self or the mind’, or ‘a substance as opposed to

it’s attributes’. Within my own research I view identity

as that with which I am labeled socially, such as woman,

white, disabled, short, etc; the subject, however, I

consider as being my self, my inside, the experience of

my embodiment. It is through subjectivity that artists

such as Hannah Wilke, Jo Spence, Mary Duffy and Alison

Lapper have managed to express the experiences

of their embodiment, the attempted destruction

of the object by becoming the subject.

.
I plan to begin writing my dissertation proposal these

holidays, as I am writing it I intend to contribute

more diary entries, in an attempt to draw discussion

into my work, please feel free to comment on

my research – I am curious as to what other

people think on the subject.

.
Now, onto the reason my journal entries have

not been frequent. I have gone into holiday mode

this past week and that included a weekend away

to Dublin, Ireland. I got to see the St. Patrick’s

Day Parade in Dublin, which was so much fun,

and of course, drink way to much Guinness. I

would recommend everyone go to Dublin – it is my

new favorite city. Whilst there I was also privileged

to see The Book of Kells, which is housed in Trinity

College, it was fascinating to see; the detail in

the illustrations and the neatness of the writing and

the age of the book gave me goose bumps. I am back

in Leeds now, and unfortunately am paying for

my all night Guinness binge, because I am

suffering from a cold. So lots of sleeping at the

moment and not much work done, Dublin

was worth every second though.

Liz

More from Leeds (Diary part 2)

My experience at Leeds University is proving to be challenging and motivating, particularly in regards to the writing of my dissertation. I’ve been extremely lucky to be allocated Griselda Pollock as my supervisor whilst here and she has been extremely encouraging in the direction that I take my research in not only my dissertation, but also my practical work.
Here is her research biography from the Leeds University website –
Griselda Pollock's main research interests are in the issues of gender, race and class in the formations of modernism in late nineteenth century Europe and America;the history of women in the visual arts with a current project focusing on femininity, representation and modernity 1928-1968; the work of Vincent van Gogh; women's cinema 1940-9; the legend of Tarzan: myths of empire, identity and place, contemporary visual arts by women. Major research supervision is offered in cultural studies, art history, film studies and feminist studies in the visual arts. Her new research areas include issues of trauma, history and memory after the Holocaust and Jewish Art and Modernity.
My research is dealing with the representation of women with disabilities in the Visual Arts, and with Griselda’s prominent knowledge in feminist studies ( I am currently reading three books written by her ), her supervision has been priceless. How, you may ask? Well, when I first arrived here in Leeds, I admit I felt a little lost in direction, yet after my talk to her, she encouraged a lateral look at my research. This means the investigating of other minority/oppressed groups in society, and exploring how artists in these groups represent the embodiment of their experience/situation within a bodily/self context. For my own research, this has proved quite interesting, as the disabled body is considered all body and therefore viewed as asexual, uninteresting and repugnant. This is far from reality however.
I am still heavily reading on topics to do with my research – topics such as: embodiment, definition of self/body, expression of the body, performance work within art practice and body art. I am also currently looking at artists such as Hannah Wilke, Jo Spence, Alison Lapper and Mary Duffy. These are artists that deal with the female experience through the context of the body, and I am particularly interested in the last two as they are artists who deal with their disabled experience through their art practice.
Hopefully in a few weeks I can write a more comprehensive profile of my research, as I am only now beginning to gather my ideas and make sense of the thoughts that are directing me towards performance and body art. So yes, when I return to Australia, prepare for a work of performance!

Elizabeth Wright

Artist Diary from abroad ..

Elizabeth Wright, Central Coast Artist, eO member

and Superb Personality, is currently undertaking

Bachelor of Fine Art Honours (Newcastle University)

and as a part of this course is studying at the School of Fine

Art, History of Art & Cultural Studies (http://www.leeds.ac.uk/fine_art/index.html)

which is situated in Leeds, UK.

.

.

.

The following is an excerpt from a letter from Liz which

begins her three month diary on her studies and

experiences as an artist in Leeds.

.

Next week: ' comprehensive detail of my research'

.

.

I have been busy. The time is going too quickly -

I can't believe I have been here nearly 6weeks now.

My house is a lovely old Victorian place, with three

stories and a cellar. My flatmate's and I only occupy

the bottom floor however, the other levels are empty.

My room is big and roomy. I am at the front of the house,

so I have a lovely large bay window in my bedroom.

My flatmates are fantastic. There is Marie from Denmark,

Marie from America, Stephanie from Canada and Isa,

Kathy and Nina from Germany.

.

.

The university is lovely and well situated. It is only a

fifteen minute walk from the city centre, a five minute

walk from our house and the campus isn't too big.

The lecturers have been amazing, they are so helpful

and passionate about their work. I am doing a second

year studio module (because the fourth years are organizing

their final year shows and therefore I couldn't really be

involved), and I am doing my dissertation module.

My supervisor is Griselda Pollock - she is rather famous

over here for her feminist writings and she is a fountain

of knowledge and has inspired me to think outside the

square in regards to my research.

.

Elizabeth Wright.