I think I have to get to grips with my Next Stage.
I’ve recently re-discovered reading Art Theory. I really enjoy (I think that’s the right word) reading these books about the reasons for Art. On the one hand they represent a challenge for me, they are in many cases opaque in their language and take some effort to understand, on the other they’re relating directly to the works of Art that I am excited.
Looking back on my time at College I can see that I was always quite interested in the reasoning behind work. Case in point: I’d do little talks as part of my art practice about what I was thinking about with regards to Art (I really must dig out the notes that I made for those sessions–potentially embarrassing). At the time I didn’t place much importance on them–they were just what I did to keep my hand in when I was unable to make objects. But in retrospect perhaps they were more important in forming my practice than I was aware.
The reason I think it’s important is because I’ve never really understood what Art is, and my programme has become the investigation of it and my reactions to it. I have always felt uncomfortable making Art objects–as much as I love them, and I get a real thrill from them–I cannot justify to myself creating them. But thinking about it and trying to explain what I think about them is actually part of the thrill, I see something I like, in my excitement I need to verbalize what it is and why I like it. Maybe I should be a teacher.
So, the Next Stage. I want to develop this, after this 10 year hiatus. I want to write more about my opinions about Art (and other things), I want to thereby develop the writing into a strong medium for my work (I see the writing as my work of Art in the absence of any other medium I can use).
So, I’m reading and I’ll be writing. And hopefully, something will come of this.
