LYALL DAVIESMETHODS AND MADNESS

YEAR 2 : SEMESTER 1

GRIDS: THE MAKING AND BREAKINGI have always written above and below these lines; I know nothing else.A representation into how we have grown up with constructed grids which have never been conceptually challenged.

GRIDS & LINESA abstract interpretation of drawing straight lines.

BIOGRAPHY: VIRGINIA WOLF - HEAR WHAT YOU WANT TO HEARBorn 25th January 1882 - 28th March 1941, she suffered severely from depression throughout her life. As a result she was subject to several mental illnesses; the most prominant being hearing voices in her head. This however would later become an asset to her when writing some of her most famous books such as ‘Mrs Dalloway’ where she would reference the voices to characters. Subsequently though, they were

also a key factor which contributed to her suicide.

I have developed her methods into my own practice with a piece I call ‘Hear what you want to hear.’ In reference to one of her quotes which says:

‘Language is wine upon the lips’

I have ignorantly taken this saying at face value and depicted this in a writing style similar to her own.

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On the following two pages I have designed two posters which are a continuation of ‘Hear what you want to hear’ where I explore into the mishearing of spoken words

within songs and how we then interpret them into new words.

SHOOTING THE STARS: CHILEAN MINERSThis piece is a remade letter by one of the Chilean miners. I have subjected the matter of propaganda and the restriction of free speech when creating an image for world viewing.

“HAS HE GOT BROWN HAIR?”

MY PEERS AND THEIR OPINIONS......are all terrible but im inclined to listen. These sticky notes are the feedback from my classmates with regards to my chilean miner brief. It’s a mixed bag.

MUNDANE: ONE HUNDRED ENVELOPESIn the retelling of licking envelopes I decided that a cause and effect approach was the most effective method. On the previous two pages I have photographed the before and after result of licking one hundred envelopes.

The image on the right is taken stills from the video ‘One Hundred Envelopes’.

MUNDANE: NEWS TRAVELS FASTA development into the mundane brief, exploring different

ways of sending letters. In the two images I have shown that by using the content inclosed as the envelope it minimalises

paper consumption..

PERSUASION: ANYTHING BUT THE FACE I BEG OF YOUThe collaberative work of Jake Grear and myself. When influenced by a third party (in this case the camera) we seem to hide the part of our body which we actually use most commonly to communicate ourselves. We regard this third party to be in intrusion of privacy even though it is only an instrument. We are more concerned to what end that instrument is used.

EVALUATION

I’ve really enjoyed and engaged with the briefs presented in methods and madness unit of the course. I already have a great appreciation for thinking and these briefs have helped develop my understandings and opinions further so. Apart from a few hiccups we’ve had as a course (the second year blues) I believe that as a collective and as individuals we’ve really excelled within these units. Feedback has been fed into the course gradually but the right changes are being made and this is a very promising and reassuring thing to see from the students perspective.I think that my shortcomings are linked to my habit to produce written work. I then divulge into thinking rather than doing. However in recognizing this I have helped prepare myself for the next semester and I’m now extremely eager to communicate myself and my self-worth within my practice.

INDEPENDENT PRACTICE

I express interest and passion in writing, poetry, philosophy, ideology, ethics, emotion, sound, sen-timentality, photography and the subconscious, which packed into a common definition, would be human behaviour. Interaction, facial responses, believes, thoughts and morals; contradictions and consequences, that fine line between good and bad; right or wrong.Universally and respectfully they are just words, but they bind us together as people so strongly that they define our uniqueness.Jacques Lacan was a French psychoanalyst and philosopher who introduced the notion of the ‘other’. In example; a moment he calls the mirror stage creates the division between the whole person who we see in the mirror and the fractured person we are. This gap between a person and our united ego-ideal is a place of uncertainty and displeasure where we are both subject and object. So we are constantly on a search to fill this gap to find the moment of being whole.This philosophy coincides with many of my own and sheds light on the direction of my practice. I am driven by the need to fathom one’s self and the world around. Applying all this under a graphical context only fuels my ambitions to gain knowledge and understanding.However even as I write this I am ridden with anxieties and doubts. Will I truly be able to reach conclusions and find my own resolves within my practice? Will I then be able to communicate these findings correctly in the right mediums?

This is where I feel most comfortable; constantly asking questions and seeking answers from both sides of the fence. It is only natural for us to question life but when morality, ethics and opinion are thrown into the mix it can be hard to elucidate and communicate ourselves.I find that when I write my words down I am able to reflect on them as they’re being written; making sure that what I say is the same as what I mean.As Virginia Woolf once said “Language is wine upon the lips”. Using type and words has manifested into my work and has shed light on what I enjoy about this practice.

Within my independent practice I will examine moments in my life to which have I given alot of thought continously while growing up. Moments of worries, contentment, happiness, regret, and resolve.I created my first screen print on the 8th October. This discovery is something that I now wish I had unearthed sooner. It works in symmetry with my practice with such a variety of mediums to convey myself.

In extending my practice further, I have started using photography to broaden my profession and the skills I am able to implement into my art. I’m very much looking forward to using this medium with full effect and it to be evident in my work.

Stars aligned and you might findA little piece of sky to call your own

And from there build upon it

Even though your bones are oldThe fire in your soul remains aflame

Just like them days

But you’re cold, from the stormAnd you’ve been sitting in that chair

For far too long

Remember times you’d run and hideIn cupboards under stairs

Those moments will be yours until you die

First loves kiss, passing blissThe song in all our hearts

Oh please forgive me father and grant me this safe harbour

Home, from the stormAnd let me lie within this chair

Forevermore

EVALUATION

I Independent practice is like an extra arm to me. It flows naturally and I find it the only way to express myself beyond the use of speaking. However I cannot help but feel a sense of disappoint within myself. Self Indulgence seems to rear it’s ugly head around every corner. This is by no means a ‘bad’ thing but the subject matter is a complex entity. When I use myself as the object, I am then lost within the workings of my own head. I give myself little space to relate to others. Bluntly, I see myself as the producer and not the consumer. This being said, I have been given honest and appreciated advice by peers and lecturers alike. I am still finding my feet; I know what I want the world to hear, but I’m carefully communicating them.

I’m continuously in search for questions and answers and I love embedding that into the fabric of my work. I will continue to use poetry and philosophy as a means to extract my thoughts but will use new media to support their content.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

http://www.ffffound.com/

http://www.itsnicethat.com

http://www.youtube.com

http://wikipedia.com

http://www.hamish-fulton.com/

http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/exhibitions/morandi.htm

http://www.davidshrigley.com/

Ritcher, H (1997). Dadaism: Art And Anti-Art (World of Art). Great Britain: Thames & Hudson. p1-end.

Coverley, M (2007). Psychogeography. Great Britain: Pocket Essentials. p1-end

Basil Tanzer, M (2002). Heidegger, Decisionismand Quietism (Contemparary Studies in Philosophy and the Human Sciences). Prometheus Books p1-end.

LYALL DAVIESLYALLDAVIES@YAHOO.CO.UKLRSD.TUMBLR.COM