Salazar Quas | The National Art School, Sydney (original) (raw)
Papers by Salazar Quas
** undergoing re-editing oct. 2022 - draft version ** subtitle: A new materialism approach to e... more ** undergoing re-editing oct. 2022 - draft version **
subtitle:
A new materialism approach to ethical quandaries in the expanded field of drawing (investigating material agency in studio practice that may yet save the planet).
abstract:
This paper addresses the entanglement of material form, how the nature/culture binary asserts its influence on human behaviour, why facilitating a shift in nuance toward environmental consequence is the best way forward, and how this is placed in the context of my studio art practice. Within this milieu are questions on how we handle and manipulate materials for our purposes in a drawing-based art practice; of empathy, kinship, and agency of the material object. This is often reflected in the relationships built between objects where human intervention is integral.
I propose an interim ecology that constructs a mixed media ‘environment’; sparse yet multi-faceted compositions that present scenarios exemplary of material regard, and that portray kinship between materials through the art-making process. My approach is dialogical, leading the process with thread or ‘strand drawings’ across multiple materials; implementing artefacts manipulated by the human hand and those sourced in their raw ‘earthly’ form. Within this dialog is an unfurling of what we consider as ‘raw’ or of ‘nature’, both traditionally and as re-defined in the Anthropocentric context. With this comes a sense of consequence toward - and responsibility for - the broader environmental dialog, and the entanglements inherent to the nature/culture binary. In this project, I query the ethical basis of material manipulation inherent to art-making via a deconstruction of dialogs in contemporary philosophy where that intersects with contemporary art.
My MFA project is a drawing-based, studio-driven investigation into materiality and the narrative between artefacts both manipulated and in their ‘native’ form. Throughout this process, I query ecological consequence through the philosophical tropes of New Materialism, prompting a shift in my approach to composition and the manner in which I use object and artefact in my work.
A deep dive into some of the works produced and exhibited by the Kaldor Arts Project at their 50 ... more A deep dive into some of the works produced and exhibited by the Kaldor Arts Project at their 50 years retrospective show at the Art Gallery of New South Wales (7 Sept 2019 – 16th Feb 2020). This paper was produced toward a Master of Art Curating degree at University of Sydney (2020).
Profiling 1989, American text-based Artists and the Conceptual Art movement – without whom Contem... more Profiling 1989, American text-based Artists and the Conceptual Art movement – without whom Contemporary Art would not have arrived as we know it today.
Cultural and Political Shifts toward the emergence of the Chinese Contemporary with focus on the ... more Cultural and Political Shifts toward the emergence of the Chinese Contemporary with focus on the artistic practice of Xu Bing and Zhang Xiaogang. A critical examination of the significance of experimentation in the development of the contemporary in China.
The portmanteau ‘transpondence’ is intended to transcend its raw sub-form elements and portray th... more The portmanteau ‘transpondence’ is intended to transcend its raw sub-form elements and portray this merge as a tool – a tool for expression, as one would a drill or a hammer, a feather or a sword, hence it’s pre-occupation with terms of disposition rather than actions – medium as it were over fundamental subjective matter. The refuse of adjuncts and half words, multi-faceted synonyms, reverberated contexts, tonal and atonal nuance, apparatuses that traverse segues of definition all impact how ethereal or literal its interpretation is perceived. It is an invitation to respond, to replay, to negotiate an answer, to ping pong and to use any means present or assigned to do so. A reference to our daily behaviour and communication methods is intended; a characteristic of crisis within utopia is suggested and analogies to shifts in societal condition are an undeniable pillar in the construction of its terminology.
A Look at the installation work 'Spiral Incense Bardo' from Charwei Tsai (Taiwan) at the 20 th Sy... more A Look at the installation work 'Spiral Incense Bardo' from Charwei Tsai (Taiwan) at the 20 th Sydney Biennale, and what voice this may provoke in the larger curatorial discussion. I myself am not a spiritualist in the sense that I respect spirituality, and do not use it as a crux-theme or as a fad for some sort of esoteric keychain into a new and refreshed dimension of superior well-being and innocence. I am also not a Buddhist. However, I have and still do practice (i.e. meditate after strict training program), which if anything means that I am a lived and jaded human being as any other and rather than swallow it and keep looking for the next best thing – the next distracting 'solution' – I have insisted on putting my life on pause for a period in an effort to pay attention; to repair; to turn off the noise, and to focus on non-focus. The essence of the most diminutive symbols then become things of recognition, then distance, and then subject of non-affect. The stillness of emptiness, perhaps one can say, stems from a philosophy closer to Eastern Buddhist tradition than any other accurate source. It is also paralleled in equally valid context in the work and writings of Heidegger and Wittgenstein-both philosophers who have borrowed from Pali scriptures and from Japanese Zen Buddhist writings respectively. (To those that have read some eastern texts, these – not unconstructive influences-are quite apparent and the exchange is seemingly amicable). Part of this conceptual 'subscription' to the stillness of emptiness is the recognition of silence, and of emotive flux in reaction to a space or a work of art. A finer receptivity to sensations that begins within. To allow that reaction to simmer and dissipate enables one to enjoy and immerse that given space in a 'purer' state, uncorrupted and non-reactionary: "it has to do with issues that lie beneath the material, with fact that materials are there to make something else possible... The things that are available, or the non-physical things, the intellectual things, the possibilities that are available through the material" says Homi K. Bhabha of another well-known artist originally from the East. i On entering Charwei Tsai's installation at Mortuary Station, the ability to do this is simply magnified and made easier, and the amount of mental noise, thoughts and distractions clears quite instantly to a level of clarity and coherence toward an understanding of something not yet defined. Reflection upon geometric contrast between the circular forms of the gigantic burning coil incense and the small detailed angular motifs of floor-tiling appear more succinct in a juxtaposed balance-itself an intervention of aesthetics. The smell emanating from the coils, one of a unique neutrality far far removed from the researched frangipani or common herbal scents, carries no familiarities nor triggers reminisce. Then there is the silence on the platform. The background noise from traffic beyond literally subsides. The Embassy of Transitions is a space of sensorial 'subversion'. A subversion of material noise (even the invigilators' tones of instruction and guidance seem to reduce to a hushed silence upon entry). Likewise, a subversion of inner noise; a tonal variance only usually achieved via a truly utopian environment or a place of meditation. Once remarked, there are few places to go but to observe and consume moment by moment.
Updated regional parameters within the Contemporary Arts context, the ever changing, constantly s... more Updated regional parameters within the Contemporary Arts context, the ever changing, constantly shifting plates of consideration shrink, grow and affect those participating nations involved. The Contemporary Art world is a malleable organism that defines today's national identities and considers an entire socio-political, multi-cultural, and industry-related eco-system in the doing. This paper profiles the youngest country in the Global South, Planet Earth and proposes the current positioning of the region it belongs to within the contemporary Art-world industry ethos.
Housed in the National Gallery of Australia in the Decorative Arts and Design Collection, Surge 1... more Housed in the National Gallery of Australia in the Decorative Arts and Design Collection, Surge 16 (see fig.1) is a work in glass that embodies a rare combination of styles, processes and effects within its single form. The piece, that belongs to the stringent and scientific creative discipline of Glass Art (or ‘Studio Glass’), relays a narrative captured within materials and processes, and yet one that attracts multiple sociological, ecological, and institutional queries due to its potential ability to truly break free from the very genre from which it originates - and due to its unique craftsmanship. The work is a 2011 creation that belongs to a series of works under the same (numbered) title spanning from 2008 to present day, 2016. It is a work of immense subtlety and yet is visceral, full of energy and movement. It is a temporal work that is frozen in transit from one process to another, and to another again, and is highly reflective of the medium and the materiality of glass while acknowledging the tradition for which the genre stands. The work is very beautiful – even sensual – and while sparkling like a diamond it is, nonetheless, a precariously fragile and dangerous object to come close to. Surge 16 is ultimately an illusory object that, while restrained both physically in its display, and dialectically in its minimalist background narrative, its simple success ignites discussions of investigation into territories unchartered and highly guarded; it is a work that relates as directly to nature and the environment as to nostalgia and romanticism; a work that makes claims to no conceptual territory and yet is seemingly able to belong to many, simply by the recognition it receives and the gradual impact it is making.
The impact of seemingly farcical work on the political rhetoric of curatorship. A 4000word submis... more The impact of seemingly farcical work on the political rhetoric of curatorship. A 4000word submission for theory in a Master of Visual Arts degree at the ANU.
500words paper submission for Perspectives in Art & Cultural Theory 2 part of the Master of Conte... more 500words paper submission for Perspectives in Art & Cultural Theory 2 part of the Master of Contemporary Art course at the VCA (lecturer N.Loeffler).
Taking the medium specific term to a more abstract level entails the clarification of what has come before, the death of previous definitions, and contemporary applications of the same discipline to existent and variable art forms.
4000+ words submission for Perspectives in Art Theory 1 MCA Masters first year paper (lecturer N.... more 4000+ words submission for Perspectives in Art Theory 1 MCA Masters first year paper (lecturer N.Loefler).
Impact of public spectacle on both the landscape of society and as reflection of societal condition.
Drafts by Salazar Quas
subtitle: A new materialism approach to ethical quandaries in the expanded field of drawing (inv... more subtitle:
A new materialism approach to ethical quandaries in the expanded field of drawing (investigating material agency in studio practice that may yet save the planet).
abstract:
This paper addresses the entanglement of material form, how the nature/culture binary asserts its influence on human behaviour, why facilitating a shift in nuance toward environmental consequence is the best way forward, and how this is placed in the context of my studio art practice. Within this milieu are questions on how we handle and manipulate materials for our purposes in a drawing-based art practice; of empathy, kinship, and agency of the material object. This is often reflected in the relationships built between objects where human intervention is integral.
I propose an interim ecology that constructs a mixed media ‘environment’; sparse yet multi-faceted compositions that present scenarios exemplary of material regard, and that portray kinship between materials through the art-making process. My approach is dialogical, leading the process with thread or ‘strand drawings’ across multiple materials; implementing artefacts manipulated by the human hand and those sourced in their raw ‘earthly’ form. Within this dialog is an unfurling of what we consider as ‘raw’ or of ‘nature’, both traditionally and as re-defined in the Anthropocentric context. With this comes a sense of consequence toward - and responsibility for - the broader environmental dialog, and the entanglements inherent to the nature/culture binary. In this project, I query the ethical basis of material manipulation inherent to art-making via a deconstruction of dialogs in contemporary philosophy where that intersects with contemporary art.
My MFA project is a drawing-based, studio-driven investigation into materiality and the narrative between artefacts both manipulated and in their ‘native’ form. Throughout this process, I query ecological consequence through the philosophical tropes of New Materialism, prompting a shift in my approach to composition and the manner in which I use object and artefact in my work.
A new materialism approach to ethical quandaries in the expanded field of drawing (investigating ... more A new materialism approach to ethical quandaries in the expanded field of drawing (investigating material agency in studio practice that may yet save the planet).
This paper addresses the entanglement of material form, how the nature/culture binary asserts its influence on human behaviour, why facilitating a shift in nuance toward environmental consequence is the best way forward, and how this is placed in the context of my studio art practice. Within this milieu are questions on how we handle and manipulate materials for our purposes in a drawing-based art practice; of empathy, kinship, and agency of the material object. This is often reflected in the relationships built between objects where human intervention is integral.
I propose an interim ecology that constructs a mixed media ‘environment’; sparse yet multi-faceted compositions that present scenarios exemplary of material regard, and that portray kinship between materials through the art-making process. My approach is dialogical, leading the process with thread or ‘strand drawings’ across multiple materials; implementing artefacts manipulated by the human hand and those sourced in their raw ‘earthly’ form. Within this dialog is an unfurling of what we consider as ‘raw’ or of ‘nature’, both traditionally and as re-defined in the Anthropocentric context. With this comes a sense of consequence toward - and responsibility for - the broader environmental dialog, and the entanglements inherent to the nature/culture binary. In this project, I query the ethical basis of material manipulation inherent to art-making via a deconstruction of dialogs in contemporary philosophy where that intersects with contemporary art.
My MFA project is a drawing-based, studio-driven investigation into materiality and the narrative between artefacts both manipulated and in their ‘native’ form. Throughout this process, I query ecological consequence through the philosophical tropes of New Materialism, prompting a shift in my approach to composition and the manner in which I use object and artefact in my work.
![Research paper thumbnail of Strand Drawings, Entanglement and the Interim Ecology [re-write under construction]](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/89337450/thumbnails/1.jpg)
](MFA Exegesis (2020) National Art School. This document is a place-keeper while undergoing re-writ... more MFA Exegesis (2020) National Art School. This document is a place-keeper while undergoing re-write before publishing.
Extended title:
STRAND DRAWINGS, ENTANGLEMENT AND THE INTERIM ECOLOGY - A new materialism approach to ethical quandaries in the expanded field of drawing (investigating material agency in studio practice that may yet save the planet)
This paper addresses the entanglement of material form, how the nature/culture binary asserts its... more This paper addresses the entanglement of material form, how the nature/culture binary asserts its influence on human behaviour, why facilitating a shift in nuance toward environmental consequence is the best way forward, and how this is placed in the context of my studio art practice. Within this milieu are questions on how we handle and manipulate materials for our purposes in a drawing-based art practice; of empathy, kinship, and agency of the material object. This is often reflected in the relationships built between objects where human intervention is integral.
I propose an interim ecology that constructs a mixed media ‘environment’; sparse yet multi-faceted compositions that present scenarios exemplary of material regard, and that portray kinship between materials through the art-making process. My approach is dialogical, leading the process with thread or ‘strand drawings’ across multiple materials and implementing artefacts manipulated by the human hand and those sourced in their raw ‘earthly’ form. Within this dialog is an unfurling of what we consider as ‘raw’ or of ‘nature’, both traditionally and as re-defined in the Anthropocentric context. With this comes a sense of consequence toward - and responsibility for - the broader environmental dialog, and the entanglements inherent to the nature/culture binary. In this project, I query the ethical basis of material manipulation inherent to art-making – as well as its ecological consequence via a deconstruction of dialogs in contemporary philosophy that intersect with contemporary art. New Materialism in particular has prompted a shift in my approach to composition and the manner in which I use object and artefact in my work through its emphasis on ….
Tributary Project, 2018
Short Essay review of Exhibition at Canberra-based emerging Artist gallery 'Tributary Projects'. ... more Short Essay review of Exhibition at Canberra-based emerging Artist gallery 'Tributary Projects'. This is a commissioned work yet unpublished.
** undergoing re-editing oct. 2022 - draft version ** subtitle: A new materialism approach to e... more ** undergoing re-editing oct. 2022 - draft version **
subtitle:
A new materialism approach to ethical quandaries in the expanded field of drawing (investigating material agency in studio practice that may yet save the planet).
abstract:
This paper addresses the entanglement of material form, how the nature/culture binary asserts its influence on human behaviour, why facilitating a shift in nuance toward environmental consequence is the best way forward, and how this is placed in the context of my studio art practice. Within this milieu are questions on how we handle and manipulate materials for our purposes in a drawing-based art practice; of empathy, kinship, and agency of the material object. This is often reflected in the relationships built between objects where human intervention is integral.
I propose an interim ecology that constructs a mixed media ‘environment’; sparse yet multi-faceted compositions that present scenarios exemplary of material regard, and that portray kinship between materials through the art-making process. My approach is dialogical, leading the process with thread or ‘strand drawings’ across multiple materials; implementing artefacts manipulated by the human hand and those sourced in their raw ‘earthly’ form. Within this dialog is an unfurling of what we consider as ‘raw’ or of ‘nature’, both traditionally and as re-defined in the Anthropocentric context. With this comes a sense of consequence toward - and responsibility for - the broader environmental dialog, and the entanglements inherent to the nature/culture binary. In this project, I query the ethical basis of material manipulation inherent to art-making via a deconstruction of dialogs in contemporary philosophy where that intersects with contemporary art.
My MFA project is a drawing-based, studio-driven investigation into materiality and the narrative between artefacts both manipulated and in their ‘native’ form. Throughout this process, I query ecological consequence through the philosophical tropes of New Materialism, prompting a shift in my approach to composition and the manner in which I use object and artefact in my work.
A deep dive into some of the works produced and exhibited by the Kaldor Arts Project at their 50 ... more A deep dive into some of the works produced and exhibited by the Kaldor Arts Project at their 50 years retrospective show at the Art Gallery of New South Wales (7 Sept 2019 – 16th Feb 2020). This paper was produced toward a Master of Art Curating degree at University of Sydney (2020).
Profiling 1989, American text-based Artists and the Conceptual Art movement – without whom Contem... more Profiling 1989, American text-based Artists and the Conceptual Art movement – without whom Contemporary Art would not have arrived as we know it today.
Cultural and Political Shifts toward the emergence of the Chinese Contemporary with focus on the ... more Cultural and Political Shifts toward the emergence of the Chinese Contemporary with focus on the artistic practice of Xu Bing and Zhang Xiaogang. A critical examination of the significance of experimentation in the development of the contemporary in China.
The portmanteau ‘transpondence’ is intended to transcend its raw sub-form elements and portray th... more The portmanteau ‘transpondence’ is intended to transcend its raw sub-form elements and portray this merge as a tool – a tool for expression, as one would a drill or a hammer, a feather or a sword, hence it’s pre-occupation with terms of disposition rather than actions – medium as it were over fundamental subjective matter. The refuse of adjuncts and half words, multi-faceted synonyms, reverberated contexts, tonal and atonal nuance, apparatuses that traverse segues of definition all impact how ethereal or literal its interpretation is perceived. It is an invitation to respond, to replay, to negotiate an answer, to ping pong and to use any means present or assigned to do so. A reference to our daily behaviour and communication methods is intended; a characteristic of crisis within utopia is suggested and analogies to shifts in societal condition are an undeniable pillar in the construction of its terminology.
A Look at the installation work 'Spiral Incense Bardo' from Charwei Tsai (Taiwan) at the 20 th Sy... more A Look at the installation work 'Spiral Incense Bardo' from Charwei Tsai (Taiwan) at the 20 th Sydney Biennale, and what voice this may provoke in the larger curatorial discussion. I myself am not a spiritualist in the sense that I respect spirituality, and do not use it as a crux-theme or as a fad for some sort of esoteric keychain into a new and refreshed dimension of superior well-being and innocence. I am also not a Buddhist. However, I have and still do practice (i.e. meditate after strict training program), which if anything means that I am a lived and jaded human being as any other and rather than swallow it and keep looking for the next best thing – the next distracting 'solution' – I have insisted on putting my life on pause for a period in an effort to pay attention; to repair; to turn off the noise, and to focus on non-focus. The essence of the most diminutive symbols then become things of recognition, then distance, and then subject of non-affect. The stillness of emptiness, perhaps one can say, stems from a philosophy closer to Eastern Buddhist tradition than any other accurate source. It is also paralleled in equally valid context in the work and writings of Heidegger and Wittgenstein-both philosophers who have borrowed from Pali scriptures and from Japanese Zen Buddhist writings respectively. (To those that have read some eastern texts, these – not unconstructive influences-are quite apparent and the exchange is seemingly amicable). Part of this conceptual 'subscription' to the stillness of emptiness is the recognition of silence, and of emotive flux in reaction to a space or a work of art. A finer receptivity to sensations that begins within. To allow that reaction to simmer and dissipate enables one to enjoy and immerse that given space in a 'purer' state, uncorrupted and non-reactionary: "it has to do with issues that lie beneath the material, with fact that materials are there to make something else possible... The things that are available, or the non-physical things, the intellectual things, the possibilities that are available through the material" says Homi K. Bhabha of another well-known artist originally from the East. i On entering Charwei Tsai's installation at Mortuary Station, the ability to do this is simply magnified and made easier, and the amount of mental noise, thoughts and distractions clears quite instantly to a level of clarity and coherence toward an understanding of something not yet defined. Reflection upon geometric contrast between the circular forms of the gigantic burning coil incense and the small detailed angular motifs of floor-tiling appear more succinct in a juxtaposed balance-itself an intervention of aesthetics. The smell emanating from the coils, one of a unique neutrality far far removed from the researched frangipani or common herbal scents, carries no familiarities nor triggers reminisce. Then there is the silence on the platform. The background noise from traffic beyond literally subsides. The Embassy of Transitions is a space of sensorial 'subversion'. A subversion of material noise (even the invigilators' tones of instruction and guidance seem to reduce to a hushed silence upon entry). Likewise, a subversion of inner noise; a tonal variance only usually achieved via a truly utopian environment or a place of meditation. Once remarked, there are few places to go but to observe and consume moment by moment.
Updated regional parameters within the Contemporary Arts context, the ever changing, constantly s... more Updated regional parameters within the Contemporary Arts context, the ever changing, constantly shifting plates of consideration shrink, grow and affect those participating nations involved. The Contemporary Art world is a malleable organism that defines today's national identities and considers an entire socio-political, multi-cultural, and industry-related eco-system in the doing. This paper profiles the youngest country in the Global South, Planet Earth and proposes the current positioning of the region it belongs to within the contemporary Art-world industry ethos.
Housed in the National Gallery of Australia in the Decorative Arts and Design Collection, Surge 1... more Housed in the National Gallery of Australia in the Decorative Arts and Design Collection, Surge 16 (see fig.1) is a work in glass that embodies a rare combination of styles, processes and effects within its single form. The piece, that belongs to the stringent and scientific creative discipline of Glass Art (or ‘Studio Glass’), relays a narrative captured within materials and processes, and yet one that attracts multiple sociological, ecological, and institutional queries due to its potential ability to truly break free from the very genre from which it originates - and due to its unique craftsmanship. The work is a 2011 creation that belongs to a series of works under the same (numbered) title spanning from 2008 to present day, 2016. It is a work of immense subtlety and yet is visceral, full of energy and movement. It is a temporal work that is frozen in transit from one process to another, and to another again, and is highly reflective of the medium and the materiality of glass while acknowledging the tradition for which the genre stands. The work is very beautiful – even sensual – and while sparkling like a diamond it is, nonetheless, a precariously fragile and dangerous object to come close to. Surge 16 is ultimately an illusory object that, while restrained both physically in its display, and dialectically in its minimalist background narrative, its simple success ignites discussions of investigation into territories unchartered and highly guarded; it is a work that relates as directly to nature and the environment as to nostalgia and romanticism; a work that makes claims to no conceptual territory and yet is seemingly able to belong to many, simply by the recognition it receives and the gradual impact it is making.
The impact of seemingly farcical work on the political rhetoric of curatorship. A 4000word submis... more The impact of seemingly farcical work on the political rhetoric of curatorship. A 4000word submission for theory in a Master of Visual Arts degree at the ANU.
500words paper submission for Perspectives in Art & Cultural Theory 2 part of the Master of Conte... more 500words paper submission for Perspectives in Art & Cultural Theory 2 part of the Master of Contemporary Art course at the VCA (lecturer N.Loeffler).
Taking the medium specific term to a more abstract level entails the clarification of what has come before, the death of previous definitions, and contemporary applications of the same discipline to existent and variable art forms.
4000+ words submission for Perspectives in Art Theory 1 MCA Masters first year paper (lecturer N.... more 4000+ words submission for Perspectives in Art Theory 1 MCA Masters first year paper (lecturer N.Loefler).
Impact of public spectacle on both the landscape of society and as reflection of societal condition.
subtitle: A new materialism approach to ethical quandaries in the expanded field of drawing (inv... more subtitle:
A new materialism approach to ethical quandaries in the expanded field of drawing (investigating material agency in studio practice that may yet save the planet).
abstract:
This paper addresses the entanglement of material form, how the nature/culture binary asserts its influence on human behaviour, why facilitating a shift in nuance toward environmental consequence is the best way forward, and how this is placed in the context of my studio art practice. Within this milieu are questions on how we handle and manipulate materials for our purposes in a drawing-based art practice; of empathy, kinship, and agency of the material object. This is often reflected in the relationships built between objects where human intervention is integral.
I propose an interim ecology that constructs a mixed media ‘environment’; sparse yet multi-faceted compositions that present scenarios exemplary of material regard, and that portray kinship between materials through the art-making process. My approach is dialogical, leading the process with thread or ‘strand drawings’ across multiple materials; implementing artefacts manipulated by the human hand and those sourced in their raw ‘earthly’ form. Within this dialog is an unfurling of what we consider as ‘raw’ or of ‘nature’, both traditionally and as re-defined in the Anthropocentric context. With this comes a sense of consequence toward - and responsibility for - the broader environmental dialog, and the entanglements inherent to the nature/culture binary. In this project, I query the ethical basis of material manipulation inherent to art-making via a deconstruction of dialogs in contemporary philosophy where that intersects with contemporary art.
My MFA project is a drawing-based, studio-driven investigation into materiality and the narrative between artefacts both manipulated and in their ‘native’ form. Throughout this process, I query ecological consequence through the philosophical tropes of New Materialism, prompting a shift in my approach to composition and the manner in which I use object and artefact in my work.
A new materialism approach to ethical quandaries in the expanded field of drawing (investigating ... more A new materialism approach to ethical quandaries in the expanded field of drawing (investigating material agency in studio practice that may yet save the planet).
This paper addresses the entanglement of material form, how the nature/culture binary asserts its influence on human behaviour, why facilitating a shift in nuance toward environmental consequence is the best way forward, and how this is placed in the context of my studio art practice. Within this milieu are questions on how we handle and manipulate materials for our purposes in a drawing-based art practice; of empathy, kinship, and agency of the material object. This is often reflected in the relationships built between objects where human intervention is integral.
I propose an interim ecology that constructs a mixed media ‘environment’; sparse yet multi-faceted compositions that present scenarios exemplary of material regard, and that portray kinship between materials through the art-making process. My approach is dialogical, leading the process with thread or ‘strand drawings’ across multiple materials; implementing artefacts manipulated by the human hand and those sourced in their raw ‘earthly’ form. Within this dialog is an unfurling of what we consider as ‘raw’ or of ‘nature’, both traditionally and as re-defined in the Anthropocentric context. With this comes a sense of consequence toward - and responsibility for - the broader environmental dialog, and the entanglements inherent to the nature/culture binary. In this project, I query the ethical basis of material manipulation inherent to art-making via a deconstruction of dialogs in contemporary philosophy where that intersects with contemporary art.
My MFA project is a drawing-based, studio-driven investigation into materiality and the narrative between artefacts both manipulated and in their ‘native’ form. Throughout this process, I query ecological consequence through the philosophical tropes of New Materialism, prompting a shift in my approach to composition and the manner in which I use object and artefact in my work.
MFA Exegesis (2020) National Art School. This document is a place-keeper while undergoing re-writ... more MFA Exegesis (2020) National Art School. This document is a place-keeper while undergoing re-write before publishing.
Extended title:
STRAND DRAWINGS, ENTANGLEMENT AND THE INTERIM ECOLOGY - A new materialism approach to ethical quandaries in the expanded field of drawing (investigating material agency in studio practice that may yet save the planet)
This paper addresses the entanglement of material form, how the nature/culture binary asserts its... more This paper addresses the entanglement of material form, how the nature/culture binary asserts its influence on human behaviour, why facilitating a shift in nuance toward environmental consequence is the best way forward, and how this is placed in the context of my studio art practice. Within this milieu are questions on how we handle and manipulate materials for our purposes in a drawing-based art practice; of empathy, kinship, and agency of the material object. This is often reflected in the relationships built between objects where human intervention is integral.
I propose an interim ecology that constructs a mixed media ‘environment’; sparse yet multi-faceted compositions that present scenarios exemplary of material regard, and that portray kinship between materials through the art-making process. My approach is dialogical, leading the process with thread or ‘strand drawings’ across multiple materials and implementing artefacts manipulated by the human hand and those sourced in their raw ‘earthly’ form. Within this dialog is an unfurling of what we consider as ‘raw’ or of ‘nature’, both traditionally and as re-defined in the Anthropocentric context. With this comes a sense of consequence toward - and responsibility for - the broader environmental dialog, and the entanglements inherent to the nature/culture binary. In this project, I query the ethical basis of material manipulation inherent to art-making – as well as its ecological consequence via a deconstruction of dialogs in contemporary philosophy that intersect with contemporary art. New Materialism in particular has prompted a shift in my approach to composition and the manner in which I use object and artefact in my work through its emphasis on ….
Tributary Project, 2018
Short Essay review of Exhibition at Canberra-based emerging Artist gallery 'Tributary Projects'. ... more Short Essay review of Exhibition at Canberra-based emerging Artist gallery 'Tributary Projects'. This is a commissioned work yet unpublished.