Following on from my previous post regarding clichés in art, the art world and stereotypes. When push came to shove, I found the process of vocalising my ideas difficult. On reflection it is apparent to me that my obsessiveness with grades has fueled this and is seated within my own insecurities. Another aspect to my approach in the past has been to visualize the final piece as ‘all important’.
A finished, polished thing – rather than considering the importance of the concept, the idea or the question in the work, or what value can be gained from the process.
Over the course of the last week I have focused on approaching things in a completely different way to break this cycle. This process has included minor changes in my daily habits; such as listening to a different radio station, or working on something different entirely when I experience the ‘head of white noise’ syndrome. These changes have helped me to germinate new ideas by allowing the creativity to begin subconsciously. By physically ‘doing’, and not over thinking, unrelated activities have fueled inspiration.
Returning to my artist research, which included the Alex Prager exhibition at the Photographers gallery and also watching the ‘All in the Best Possible Taste’ documentaries by Grayson Perry – it occurred to me that both artists project their work through though the medium of an alter ego. Artists such as Marcel Duchamp and Andy Warhol have also worked in this way.
With this in mind, I have focused on using the cliché of my insecurities to create the work itself. This type of work has taken me completely out of my comfort zone, and although the end result clearly uses clichés – the way in which I have approached the work and the end result in terms of my practice is entirely unclichéd. The stage is set.
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