Here are some interesting ideas that arose out of focussed research this week. Namely a new perspective on ideological entanglement and new dimensions to the visual aesthetic.
This week, I revised my proposal, it can now be found on this website either in the menu or from the button on the homepage.
I also completed my Annotated Bibliography and Contextual Review this week.
The Third Reich...again
When writing my annotated bibliography, I re-read one of my key texts as its last week I had quoted from a section of it discussing how the nazis adopted the white cube aesthetic before it was standardised in America. What I had missed last week was that Alfred H Barr Jr, had specifically created the white cube in response to Germany. More specifically, how Nazi Germany and Communist Russia had begun to use their dictatorships to control the art being produced and exhibited. The author of said key text Whitney B Birkett suggests that Barr's insistence on blocking out all ideas of the outside world was inspired by a fear of external societal factors influencing and controlling the art world. It is then ironic, that this aesthetic built on rejection of exterior then appealed to and was used by the Nazis to also reject any idea outside that of which was exhibited inside the space. But also, it is ironic that in Barr's attempt to create something that cannot be influenced by autocratic powers, it became a symbol for the capitalist autocracy that controls the art world today.
Visual Aesthetic:
In my tutorial, I asked whether this submission would be an appropriate time to suggest an aesthetic. They said that it would be a good opportunity for experimenting with it, so that I can get some feedback on how successful it is. However, they also said that (as with Dana's work last year) the visual element must provide further dimensionality to the work, rather than just adding illustrations. So I have had to think about ways I can do this.
Smaller Bats:
One idea was to sketch and include some smaller bats, to serve as graphic reminders of ideas. These, I placed near any unanswered questions in my contextual review. As these questions will haunt the reader in a way, until they are once again mentioned and answered. The sketch for the smaller bat will appear a second time in the thesis, when the questions are answered.
Larger Bats:
The larger bats do well to break up the text, but I think they could do better to serve a dimensional purpose.I included them wherever the idea of haunting came up as it felt appropriate, and I also tried to use their subject matter to illustrate what was being talked about. The purpose of using bats, was because they represent the idea of haunting associated with using sound to navigate space and relationality.
Despite the common expression, bats are not in fact blind. Even thought they rely heavily on their ears to navigate at night, they do also have eyes. This is the reason why, when I wanted to talk about the impact of sound on visual art, I sketched a portrait of a bat with a its eyes open, as despite its large ears and echolocating snout, the ears only compliment the bats' already good vision to see in the dark.
Colour:
In an earlier tutorial, I presented my work with blue headings, as is the standard format in a word document. My course mate Katie also did the same, however, the feedback in the tutorial really made me think about changing this. For Katie, the blue happened to be appropriate, as her research is into hospitals, and the colour blue is somewhat associated with their sterile PPE colours. For myself, however, less so. I instead changed all the blue headers to a dark red, as its a colour more associated with haunting. Even the small act of changing the colour of all the headings in my work made the project feel more synergised and composed.
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