Study Task 4 - INTRODUCTION

OVERVIEW

The act of viewing and absorbing visual media is organic and is a process we carry out without realising, but the culture of viewing seems more problematic due to social constructs and barriers which determine and stunt cultural awareness. I am interested to explore the culture of visual objects, how they interact with our lives, thus exploring how cultural awareness may be defined or confined by the immediate visual objects around us.  

My research may include a study of the power of visual objects in awareness of social history but also the sense of story telling which is upheld by objects of heritage; which in turn encourages an exploration of the theory of viewing and the acquired knowledge that comes with visual culture. 

A text central to the research is Popular English Art (1945) by Noel Carrington as this discusses the issues of artist and audience, how the artist creates work for the audience and society to which he belongs. Aspects of pride and tradition could be important here in considering the weight of creative practices within certain societies and classes, focussing on industry and the role of the craftsman. 

Roland Barthes offers some interesting ideas around toys that will also drive my research, in his text Mythologies (1972). Indigenity is a theme pivotal to the subject of visual culture, this could make for an interesting consideration in light of Barthes discussion on the nature of children’s toys and how this sits within traditional toy manufacturing and more primitive childhoods. 

Tradition and heritage work closely in my intent for practice to encourage an investigation of belonging and authenticity, particularly within visual industrial practices such as canal boat and fairground ride painting. Craftsmanship seems problematic as it’s functionality can destroy its artistic status so I will be working closely with Bruno Munari's Design as Art (1966) and Isaak I. Rubin’s Essays on Marx’s Commodity Fetishism (2008) to investigate the value of craft and labour and its competition with the high arts. 

SUMMARY

PROTO-QUESTION 

- To what extent is visual media and cultural awareness informed by social-historical heritage?

FOUND OUT SO FAR

- Craft does not attain the same cultural status as art despite the value of labour

- Societies and classes are often confined to a specific visual heritage and way of seeing

- Cultural knowledge can be defined by one's own social context

CORE TEXTS

- Design as Art (1966) by Bruno Munari; issues of form, function and taste

- Popular English Art (1945) by Noel Carrington; heritage and the value of industrial craftsmanship

- Mythologies (1972) by Roland Barthes; the limitations of toys and how toys should encourage a greater sense of curiosity and invention

CASE STUDIES

-industrial crafts such as canal boat painting, fairground rides, toy making

-low art vs. high art and accessibility

-immediately accessible visual objects; toys/books

Study Task 3 - IMAGES AND THEORY

Following my research into relevant texts, I have identified a variety of concepts and problems that could drive my research practice. Noel Carrington's essay has provided the base for my primary explorations of tradition in visual media and the boundaries of craftsmanship within heritage practices.

TASK 3A 

IDENTIFIED TERMS/CONCEPTS
-tradition
-commodity fetishism
-indigeneity
-vernacular
-popularity
-heritage
-craftsmanship

IMAGES/ EXAMPLES
-Grayson Perry's ceramics
-Grayson Perry's 'All in the best possible taste'
-Folk Art/ Industrial Art - fairgrounds/ canal boats/ signage
-Contemporary heritage driven practices - Alice Patullo/ Emily Sutton
-Eames 'form follows function' approach within craftsmanship vs. art dilemma

INTERPRETATIONS
-How does common/ traditional visual media assert the status of art or not? What are the barriers between craft and high art?
-How are boundaries of craftsmanship pushed in contemporary art practice?
-Has the resurgence of folk art brought status to traditional practices?

TASK 3B

LAUIL501                    Research Questions – Initial Ideas – Feedback

Specific areas of interest – Question? Heritage of visual objects and visual/ cultural awareness through traditional art and craft practices. What have you found out so far? Heritage - culture of visual objects and awareness Social relationship with art through accessible objects - books and toys Importance and role of tradition Knowledge is determined by socio-cultural influence Industrial art Low art vs. high art Personal collections Accessibility The people’s art What are your core texts - (choose four - ish) – quotes? Popular English Art - Noel Carrington Design as Art - Bruno Munari Ways of Seeing - John Berger Mythologies - Roland Barthes The Unsophisticated Arts - Barbara Jones Playing to the Gallery - Grayson Perry

Case studies - what images, examples, phenomena How does it link together with your proto-question and quotes? Toys and their value - toys derivative of certain social/ class groups Meaning of certain toys as asserted by lower class societies Nostalgic relationship with objects - personal memories of childhood objects Canal Boats - objects of industry, decorated with folk art/ imagery of heritage and tradition Fairground rides - public, rotating galleries How does the painting of a carousel horse differ from an oil painting of a horse? Thoughts on practical? Collage as a starting point for reappropriation of imagery Subvert context of traditional imagery - industrial/ working class objects in a museum/ gallery context Use bookbinding to create more tangible outcomes - concertina timeline?

Presenting my current overview to my peers, the main issue that was identified was the idea of a 'social relationship with art', posing the idea that our awareness of art could very much be paved by our own social context and personal connection with visual objects. From these discussions I may look into the meaning and value of certain visual objects, perhaps taking a more psychological approach to the research, considering cognitive development and how visual objects can be pivotal in the preliminary stages of coining a creative awareness or how socio-cultural influences can shape our acknowledged definition of art.