Thank you.

This is just a short message to say a HUGE thank you to all those who have participated in this project.

Without you, it wouldn't have been possible!

You are ALL truly inspirational and have provided liberating responses and contributions.

So, thank you!

Jaz

One final piece of artist research.

I have speaking to our very own Taz at uni, and discovered that her practice is involved in participatory art.

Here is an example of a project that she developed and implemented. It's called 'The Blue Blob Interactive Art Project':

"The Blue Blob project is an interactive art project created by Taz Lovejoy during her Fine Art Degree at University Northampton with the intention to inspire creativity and in an attempt to reach communities all over the country and break down the barriers surrounding art by engaging all in simple creative fun.

 

The project provides a free ball of blue plastercine packaged with instructions, asking anyone interested to try their hand at creating their own miniature blue sculpture. A key feature of this project is not only the form created with the plastercine but the location in which the sculpture has been photographed. The project is geared to exploring the colour blues interaction with different environments and with that in mind many that have already participated have developed interesting locations and reactions to the concept."

 

Taken from: http://www.theblueblob.com/

 

This project is similar to mine in the fact that it is asking people to participate by breaking down the common barriers that surround art, and engage in fun and enjoyable activity, but in a more personal context.
 

Here are some of the pictures of the sculptures that have been sent to Taz. (These have also been taken from the above website):

 

 

These images are rather pixelated because they have been taken on camera phones. This was the intention of the artist to make the process and the concept for accessible for participants, and indeed moving with the technological trends of the time, whereby camera phones are now widely available and can be used an immediate means of communication, and indeed art & expression.

 

A great discovery and another link to some more participatory art. Thank you Taz!   :-)

Some reflective and final thoughts.

I know that I have taken a great risk in doing what I have done for my art this year. But taking this risk has really allowed me to build my confidence in developing a way of working that has really allowed me to value learned experience as opposed to a final and static outcome.

Within my art, many people have participated already, and many have chosen not to which is also equally fine. The art of participation in itself is one that remains a personal preference and a choice.

My intention this year has been to facilitate art, and see myself as a facilitator rather than a 'maker'. I wanted to break participants away from understanding that the label that has been placed on 'art' means much more than the traditional aesthetic components that are commonly associated and percieved as art e.g. drawing and painting. I intended it to be more about the concept of self expression, engagement & participation.  

This element of self expression has become particularly evident in this project. For example, many participants have created responses which are of a large scale, and do not fit into the sandwich bags.

However, these responses have still been included and valued within this project as they have been photographed and placed into sandwich bags which are exhibited within my installation. For example, one participant created a huge mobile to represent her identity:

McNiff (1998, p.60) explains,

"Successful expression involves the ability to let materials and unplanned gestures to lead the way."

 

As Roux (2007, p.3) explains,

"Many art forms require participation to some extent. After all, experiencing art by observing, listening or watching is also a kind of participation."

My intention has been to facilitate art by the concept of participatory art being artist led, but the responses created within this approach to be recognised as those of the participants of the project.

In this context, the art has become the exchange of information between the artist (facilitator - me), participants, and the viewers.

I have envisaged the audience as a community which as a result produces and generates subjective encounters. Through these encounters, meaning is elaborated both individually & collectively, rather than in individual consumption in relation to one art object.

My work elevates the concept on which it is based. I wanted to challenge perceptions on art in relation to a theme (identity) that directly influences the way we participate and engage with the world around us.

 

Fisher (2004, p.8) states,

"Creativity, like evolution and education, is founded on experiementation, variations that sometimes succeed, sometimes fail.

Creativity, therefore, requires the courage to take risks - the risk to be different."

The Critical Issues Module which I have also undertaken this year has completely changed the way that I value, appreciate, create, and teach art. Theoretical perspectives & ideologies have been explored, discussed, and considered that surround arts education & the development of  these within my own pedagogy.

References:

Fisher, R. (2004) Unlocking Creativity. London: David Fulton Publishers.

McNiff, S. (1998) Trust the Process: An Artist's Guide to Letting Go. Massachuttets: Shambala Publishers.

Roux, X. (2007) Participation in Contemporary Art. New York: Redseeds Art.

Private view.

It's private view of the 3rd and 4th ITE students' art exhibitions tonight, and I'm really excited about this!

All of the presentations and assignnments have been done and handed in.

It's now the time to celebrate all of our hard work, and share our art exhibitions with friends, and family.

I hope that my installation recieves a good response tonight, and that people will be intrigued and open to participation. It will also be interesting to directly observe the response of the viewers of my installation, and the responses to the participants that have to date participated.

If you are reading this, and have participated in this project, I would like to invite to come and celebrate your work, and that of others as well as my peers!

If you haven't participated yet, but would like to, please also come! Everyone is welcome!

Private view will take place between 4-7pm tonight in the art studio and Chapel at Newman University College, Birmingham.

See you there!  :-)

My first unknown repsonse.

So I was at uni today, and went to check on my installation. As I was standing in front of it, I noticed that a response had been made and placed in one of the bags & sealed by the participant! RESULT!

I was so pleased that this had happened, as somebody had taken the time to create a response and participate in the project. Thank you participant! You made my day.

Hopefully this notion will continue as more people view my work, especially during the student private view.

Here's the response that was created:

The repsonse contains a sachet of tablets which have been manipulated to incoroporate a different element of the persons identity. For example one of the tablets represents dyslexia, another represents the persons family. Could the medication symbolise and represent the participants underlying health condition that they have combined with the various facets that make up their identity?

It's really thought provoking and inspiring! Good stuff! Thank you again participant!

My installation.

So I have put my installation up, and I'm really pleased wth it!

I need to say thank you to Sarah for helping me with putting it up, and advising me of if things were level and in line and straight! So thank you!      :-)

I am really happy with the number of different responses that have been displayed on the boards. They really reflect a range of perceptions, in addition current affairs and issues.

For example the participant that has created this repsonse has built upon the issue that I raised a while back on this blog, about the ban of traditional Islamic clothing. The participation has identified around the central image 'Celebration or Restriction?' 'Inclusion or Exclusion?' This goes to show that this is an issue that is directly impacting this participant and her identity, and the possible compromise of it.

The filing cabinet works well within the installation. I have deliberately left the drawers open so that viewers would be drawn into looking to see what it contained.

I have also printed the labels off for the invididual responses that have been exhibited on the boards. They have turned out really well, and the font that I have used (Courier) adds to the concept of categorisation and classification.

Here's one example. So the a = female. NN = Not Newman. F = family member. Orange = symbolises a colour that reflects our religion and culture.

On the outside two boards of my installation, I have attached several empty sandwich bags. In doing this, my intention was to encourage viewers to participate in this project by creating a response and preserving & documenting their participation in addition to their responses to the word 'Identity'.

These bags have also been given a label which identifies them as 'unknown' which is identified as _. I have done this as I will not necessarily know who has contributed and participated, whilst it still being a way to document, share, and celebrate their participation.

My filing cabinet

Whilst helping my mum with some of her paperwork, I remembered that she owned a filing cabinet. Upon remembering this, I thought about how I could incorporate this into my installation.

The filing cabinet has two draws and is not very big, so it would be perfect.

I thought about how I would include the responses of the participants whose work would not necessaily be exhibitied on the boards.

Using the classification system that I have devised, I created folders for each corresponding category, and filed each persons response accordingly in relation to their identities and the individual relationship that I share with them. 

Within these folders I have placed all of the responses that I have to date. These include a number of responses from the packs that I have distributed, Facebook comments, images which express and celebrate my participants identities, and the Facebook profile picture of each person that has joined my group.

The reason why I have chosen to include the latter is because many people have joined my group (and participated by doing this), but they may not have necessarily written anything on the group. This is still participation. Whilst printing off all the profile pictures of my group members I have learnt that it has grown slowly but surely across the internet community, and indeed from continent to continent. This is truly brilliant, as people have participated that I know in no way whatsoever, and I have no mutual friends with them. This just goes to show that people are willing to participate in a project where they feel that they can make a positive contribution, and celebrate their right to the freedom of expression.

Roux (2007, p.2) states,

"During the 20th Century and beyond, the focus of art has shifted and a new paradigm has emerged placing inter-human relations at the centre of contemporary art creation, thus creating a fertile ground for participative art to blossom."  

All of the participants responses will reside in the top drawer of the filing cabinet. This draw has been given the label of: 15.3.2010 -  . This is because the project really began on this date when my first pack was distributed. An end date has not been placed on the label as the project continues to progress, develop, and evolve:

The bottom drawer I have dedicated for participation. Within my installation, I will be having a table, with a selection of materials for partitipants to use to create a response to the word 'Identity' if they choose to do so. This will be encouraged through my personal statement, and some guidance which will be placed on the table. In this drawer, I have also created several folder in which I would like to encourage participants to 'file' their response to preserve and document their participation. I felt that it was important to give the participants a choice as to where they would like to file their response based on a personal preference.

So participants could choose to file their response based on colours, feelings, emotions, or within no specific category at all. It would be completely subjective and down to the individual.

As Simon Waterfall states in The National Curriculum (1999, p.116):

"Art and design is the freedom of the individual, the freedom of expression..."

I also plan on leaving some of my packs on the table. This is if people would like to take their time with their response and bring it back when they have completed it. In addition to this, I have also prepared cards to go on my table which state the web address for both this blog and my Facebook group, so they can also participate online if this suits their needs more purposefully. It will also hopefully encourage people to see the development of this project over time.

But it's important to remember that any person who engages with my installation will be a participant. It's all starting to come together now! :-)

References:

Roux, X. (2007) Participation in Contemporary Art. New York: Redseeds Art.

DfEE (1999) The National Curriculum Handbook for Primary Teachers. London: DfEE/QCA.