hearing feedback: crits and creative process

Work of Art (Season 1) contestant Abdi (left) during a work in progress studio crit with Simon de Pury.

How do you respond to feedback on your work?

It's a curly question that one, most probably generating even curlier responses depending on your view.

Let me give you some context. I've been engrossed in watching Work of Art: the Next Great Artist on SBS, a reality series from the US about artists and their creative work in a competition environment. You can read more about the series here on wikipedia. Spoiler alert: do not go to the official Bravo site to read about this series if you want to keep the mystery of who wins alive to the end. They have winner information plastered all over their front page at the moment (for season 2).

Have you been watching Work of Art too? If so, I'd be really keen to hear your take on it. There's so much that can be said about this show from many different angles - the competition, the participants, the judges, the studio environment, the nature of the briefs, the personalities (!!!), the made for TV formula, but...I'd like to dwell on the crits for a moment in this post if I may. Because boy, are they lively!

Crits (or critiques), as many people familiar with art or design school environments will know, are one of the most important places that an artist (or designer) receives feedback on their creative work, either the work in progress or the finished work. For a very thorough run down on crits and their role and place in art school education you might like to read this post by Kurt Ralske. A fellow tweeter and colleague, Megan McPherson (@meganjmcpherson) is doing her PhD on the student experience of the crit in the art school studio. She will no doubt have much to say on this topic as her study finishes so stay tuned!

If you haven't seen them, the crits on Work of Art are brutal. They're honest and hard hitting and the whole time I watch that part of the show I sit on the edge of my seat and my heart beats faster. I swear. This may sound odd but I feel some of the pain for the participants. Why? Because feedback is hard. It's hard to hear especially when the feedback is critical or negative and you've been working like a demon to produce something you feel is worthwhile. It's hard to hear feedback in the most normal of crit environments but on tv in a reality show with cameras and viewers all over the world, well that is something else! Sure, it could be argued that the partipants knew that this would be the case, that their crits would be uber public and that's the 'game' they entered into when they agreed to be part of the show. Yes. But all the same, they're creating work in very short time frames while being filmed. And then on top of it all they endure very public feedback on their work via a gallery show and then the crits. To actually hear the feedback, own it, take it in and process it, and then act on it takes a great deal of openness for artists, and I would suggest especially in the kind of environment on Work of Art. 

But I'm keen to hear what you think. Go watch the show. Come back and leave comments. Or just tell me what you think from your own experience of crits. Is feedback hard for you? Do you have any special ways of dealing with it?

artists in conversation

I'm in love with a book I'm reading and think you might like it too. In many ways it encapsulates my dream job: interviewing artists and designers about their practice over many decades. 

'Artists in Conversation' by Australian journalist Janet Hawley has just been published and is well worth a read.

Hawley interviews many interesting (mostly Australian) artists and presents the book as a series of essays about each one. As this review points out "Spanning continents and decades, Artists in Conversation brings to life the creative talents of more than 30 artists including Brett Whiteley, Ben Quilty, Margaret Olley, Bill Henson, John Brack, Sidney Nolan, Arthur Boyd, Adam Cullen, John Wolseley, John Olsen and Albert Tucker, among others."

I've read about 7 chapters so far and was moved to tears by one in particular where Hawley reprints letters between the then dying Lloyd Rees and Brett Whiteley. So poignant.

What's quite special about this collection of artist portraits is the way in which Hawley has developed quite intimate friendships with each of them over long periods of time. Often holidaying with the artists and their families, and always being invited for studio visits and meals and long, interesting, thoroughly-worth-reading conversations. She has the inside scoop on what plagues them, what stirs and motivates them and what fame has meant for their lives and their creative work. 

You can listen to an interview with Janet about her book here recorded 15 November on ABC Radio National Books and Arts Daily.

Fascinating, I tell you!

Dream job indeed. So I'm putting it out there. I'm available to do this kind of project for printmakers if anyone has funding. Just saying.....

just kids

I've just finished reading an extraordinary book. I'd recommend it to anyone interested in the creative process and the evolution of artists. I'm talking about Just Kids, a memoir by Patti Smith focusing on her early life as a young artist finding her feet in New York City and her close relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe.

Extraordinary in so many ways. It's hard to put words to it.

I loved many things about this book. But one thing in particular was having a detailed account of how Patti and Robert worked through the beginning years of creative development, the trials, the explorations, the self-doubt, the hunger and poverty, the small steps forward, the struggles, the sudden unexpected opportunities, and the incredible range of characters that they met along the way. All real. All amazing artists.

As well as all this Patti gives a detailed description of her and Robert's life at the infamous Chelsea Hotel. Absolutely fascinating! It's really quite mind blowing to read about this period of history from a great artist who was deeply immersed in it. Patti Smith, you rock! And thank you for writing this book and recording this history for others to read.

I'm now on the pre-order list for the kindle version of Patti's latest book 'Woolgathering'. Am so looking forward to it.

And she writes so beautifully. Which I guess is to be expected from a poet and song writer of her stature. You must, must, must give it a read. Honestly.

art worth seeing

Chute, 2011 by Sarah Amos
collograph and gouache

Fink Truss, 2011 by Sarah Amos
collograph and gouache

New works by Sarah Amos are showing now at Flinders Lane Gallery in Melbourne. These two images are just a delicious taster. And if you're lucky enough to be in town this Saturday 3rd September go along to the floor talk at the gallery, 2pm sharp. I've been a huge fan of Sarah's work since I saw her massive prints at an exhibition 2 years ago in gallery 101. Gorgeous stuff. Lots of fine line detail and imagery. Images above courtesy of Flinders Lane Gallery.

Belinda Fox
August bloom II (blue), 2010
etching, aquatint and screenprint on hand stained paper

Seems Melbourne folk are very lucky at the moment. Belinda Fox is also exhibiting in our neck of the woods. Belinda is a mind-blowingly talented printmaker. No exaggeration - her work makes me weep with joy. This time she's showing at Niagara Galleries and is exhibiting mixed media pieces and ceramics. I first saw Belinda's work several years ago in Sydney and could not believe how beautiful it was. I think what I'm especially drawn to is the reference to Asia through her use of lotus flowers and jagged mountain ranges. Image above from Niagara Galleries.

Go see and enjoy!

thoughts on technology + artists

I've just finished reading a very good essay about change and technology and the publishing industry by Christina Thompson (editor of the print version of the Harvard Review). It's in the current edition of my favourite journal, Meanjin which is still only really available as a print journal (and that's ok with me).

The essay was a great read because it raises lots of interesting questions about the skill set writers need now and for the future, skills you wouldn't usually associate with writing literature like the ability to use photoshop and design web pages. This is because the publishing industry is changing rapidly and the way writers interact with it is changing too. Thompson talks a lot about the need for writers to embrace the technological skills needed as it will enable them to have more control and therefore more say in their working lives. Things like being able to design a website rather than give it to someone else to do for you because if writers don't develop this skill they won't be able to maintain and update their web presence independently of a third party. And to not be able to do so is disempowering.

Even though the essay is about the publishing industry I think there are a lot of parallels that can be made in terms of technology and the future for artists/designers. Those of us who have an active web presence already have a whole lot of skills that creative folk wouldn't have had 10 years ago (and many still don't have today). A lot of us don't even think about the technological skills we have mastered in recent years. For example, I'm a printmaker (and a pretty low tech one at that as my area is relief printing) but because I've been interacting on the web for almost 6 years now I know how to maintain a blog on the two main blogging platforms out there (and a lot of bells and whistles that go with it like inserting videos and sound files), use image storing sites like flickr, maintain an online shop, set up and maintain a basic website, use twitter, use a digital camera, use photoshop, and the list goes on. My point is I didn't know any of this stuff up until 6 years ago. And it's not the skill set you would usually associate with a printmaker. But because I've chosen to interact online and have an active web presence I have accumulated these skills along the way and now people are seeing them as valuable, and some even as necessary (like Thompson) to work in our contemporary culture.

Interestingly, I now also use this skill set in my main income earning job. Up until recently these kinds of skills weren't really necessary there either but more and more in many different types of jobs it's becoming necessary to get across the technology that is very much a part of modern life in western societies.

And I think it's very important that artists and designer do this. It's a bit like the point Thompson makes in her essay about writers. "We also need to remind young would-be literary types that it's not going to be enough in the future simply to be good with words. If they want to be players in the world of publishing they had better become proficient in a few of these technologies so that they really understand how to take advantage of the changes that are taking place" (p 54). And so it is with artists and designers too. I have friends who are painters and continue to slog away interacting with the traditional gallery world. The disappointment and frustration is endless for them. I keep telling them they need to build a web presence and interact with others online. That it's not enough anymore to just do things the old way. That there's a whole world out there beyond the local gallery shows where people can see their work and where they can make valuable connections. I don't think they can appreciate the value in that just yet. But hopefully soon they will.

In the meantime those of us who are used to interacting online will continue to accumulate technological skills that will be useful in a whole range of contexts and will help us feel more connected to other artists and designers all over the world. Now that, in my mind, is very empowering.

how do you identify?

photo credit: Emma Byrnes

As I said a few posts ago I'm reading a whole of lot of stuff these days, most of it interesting, some of it mindblowing, and a little bit of it taking me off on small but pleasant tangents.

Recently I have been reading and thinking about artists, designers, makers and identity. Yes, that old curly chestnut. Things like where, how and when does identity form for artists and designers, and does it happen in formal situations (like an art degree) or does a lot of it happen informally (or both)? What goes on in the heads of artists and designers as we think about and form our creative identities? Does it happen quickly or evolve over time (a life time)? Does it happen in a torturous, painful manner? Or does it in fact happen with ease and confidence for some? Do key people influence this development? And does it help if there is someone mentoring us through the process of claiming of an identity as artist and/or designer? What does the support needed to claim a creative identity look like? And what are the key issues we battle with in claiming this identity (family expectations & pressures, financial pressures, popular images of artists/designers, cultural and/or gender expectations)?

Believe it or not there is hardly anything written on this topic. Lots out there about corporate identity, branding, marketing and identity, that kind of thing, but not about the stuff I've listed above.

I warned you my head has been rattling on this topic!

Anything to share on this or any answers to these questions to offer?

And in terms of your creative-maker self, how do you identify?

threads

This delicate embroidery work by East London artist Susie Cowie takes my breath away. There's a great picture story of her in the studio here. I've never embroidered before but if I could I would need the blessing of angels to produce beauty like this.

papercut artists

The Red Thread has been posting some great links to gorgeous papercut artists recently and I had to put my own 2 cents worth in about their amazing talent and share one of those links in case you missed it. Elista Mora's papercuts really caught my eye (2 pics immediately below). And I can't recall where I recently heard about Bovey Lee's work (pic above) but it's so intricate and beautiful it makes me want to cry. Just look at that detail! Think of the hours she must put into making her creations.

And then I just stumbled upon this site which seems to be a collection of papercut artists connected to the very talented Beatrice Coron (pic below). How wonderful!

PS. more paper cut loveliness here on ii ne kore.

rosalie gascoigne

How is it possible that I didn't know about NZ-Australian artist Rosalie Gascoigne (1917-1999) until I saw her exhibition at the NGV today? All afternoon I've been asking myself if I have been living under a rock (this is, of course, very possible). Just look at all this gorgeous work!
Her story is truly inspiring. Self taught as an artist, she had her first exhibition at the age of 57 and then went on to become the first female artist to represent Australia at the Venice Biennale in 1974.

If you live in Melbourne you can see this wonderful exhibition of her work until 15th March.

paper boat press

I've just discovered paper boat press through an article in today's paper on Kylie Johnson, a Brisbane based ceramics artist and poet. Her work is just so thoughtful and serene that I have to share it with you. I can think of at least one couple I know (she, a ceramics diva and he, a poet) who would love one of these poetry bowls.

angie lewin

I've just discovered the lino cuts of a British artist called Angie Lewin. I was lucky enough to get a set of her reproduction cards which feature 2 of her prints: Dandelions and Blue Meadow. The one you can see above is called Clifftop IV and was sold out at Bircham Gallery recently along with a whole lot of her other prints.

If you'd like to see more click over and look at the gallery page of her website. I love the colours she uses in her prints. They have a retro feel to them but the lines and shapes are modern, all in all a wonderful balance. She has limited editions of her original prints available too. Oh and she also has some of her prints made into textiles like the lovely one below: