/stāj/, 2021
mixed media installation, Dimensions variable.
In context of my praxis in the Fall 2021 semester:
thinking about what roles an artist inhabits
modeling an art practice that involves other disciplinary practices that bridge several fields of science, as well as an ethics of care
"overall work is materially engaging, provoking questions and propositions for the viewer, evoking curiosity, contextualized in scientific apparatus, making as thinking, and referencing instruments of observation"
Notes from Class Critique: “The obvious is not said”
Presentation & Format
physical set-up allows viewers to step behind table
to hang elements higher – may use space more effectively or overwhelm viewer more
reference to both kitchen and laboratory context
can expand beyond dualities: work apron, lab coat, other personas or roles the artist can inhabit (collector?)
Engagement: comments on the visibility of process and levels of engagement
intrigue in materials, motion of instruments and ephemera
desire by some to touch
notes, diagrams in background – not everyone may flip through them, but some do
should you be present to activate the space and invite question/engagement?
lets you stay in experimental phase - live on-going process
Questions about the purpose of these materials and process (what is its intention?)
implied in how sheets are placed next to real wrappers – imply potential use but also may be confusing
do you forefront the production of a material or process, or the space of curiosity (play with the act of investigation as the work itself?
can/should we see more of the research? - i.e. we don’t know what these materials are capable of?
can the installation disrupt the knowledge presentation? a thinking wall, a question made manifest, a proposition or thought experiment?
Considerations Moving Forward
continue exploring strategies of installation and performative elements that support research as a live, on-going process (how to underscore the act of investigation itself)
how to frame the work as installation, performance, time-based, or an assemblage of artifacts crossing all of these elements
think of strategies for revealing how the work is informed by scientific research
how to make manifest the questions that inform the research?