LAUIL602 Evaluation

This module has prompted me to look at my work outside of studio practice and identify where it can exist, and how it can exist in the wider world. A big part of it for me has been redefining professionalism for myself - being selective with the platforms and mediums I use to promote myself and my practice, and making sure they are right for me. It is easy to get swept up in all of the social media outlets, deciding how to approach them, how to brand yourself, how to capture an audience, or use tools to increase viewership and engagement.

Although this is valuable to an extent, I’ve decided to go about this at my own pace.
With instagram, for example, I post what I see as relevant, I don’t capitalise on trending topics or events, and I don’t approach it from a solely business point of view. I have decided that I will use these things as an artist first and foremost, and then as my own ‘promoter’ second.

Documenting the module on my blog has shown the progress I have made in terms of becoming more comfortable with contacting, pitching, and proposing ideas to other people. From contacting local venues with a proposed exhibition, to applying for residency schemes, and even just getting in touch with professionals asking for advice and wanting to know about what resources and facilities are available to me.

I feel that this year I’ve maintained a good level of productivity in terms of seeking out external opportunities, which is something I wish to continue with post-uni. Being able to select relevant opportunities, contacts, or organisations is very important to me. Not just going with something because it appears ‘professional’ or ‘commercially viable’, but something that will be worthwhile to me on both a personal and a creative level.

I’ve reached the conclusion that there is no correct way of branding and promoting yourself. Of course, people may argue the effectiveness of certain methods and mediums to showcase you and your work. However as long as it is authentic to myself and my artistic practice, and it doesn’t become forced, that works for me.

LAUIL602 Presentation & Notes

Slide Notes

1. Title

2. My Practice

3. Experimenting - with process, how I make images, content, how I combine ideas

4. Professionally amateurish - lo-fi aesthetic. DIY ethos. Poster based on quote from media professor Marshall McLuhan, from The Medium is the Message. High brow vs low brow

5. Tone of Voice - off-kilter sense of humour, usually dark or unusual subject matter. Here I interpret historical content of Irish Myth

6. Editing Process - beginning with lots of work and ideas, selecting and editing work gives a project form, once an appropriate format or context for the work is selected, a final outcome can be made.

7. Editing occurs with preparing a zine - deciding on design or page content, planning a proposal or selecting works to display/exhibit, or even 'editing' an idea into something more refined

8.Considering both the content and context of my work allows me to be all three roles. Artist - generating visual material freely, uninhibited. Curator/editor - being selective, decision making, creating a theme. Production - finishing an outcome, creating prints, assembling a publication, cutting and framing work

9. Editing and curating go hand in hand. Defined as _____. When thinking of what I liked, my influences, I looked around my room

10. Examples of curation; visual material, references, memorabilia, photos, experiences, influences...

11. Showing my interests in plain sight - history, art, things from home, objects from friends and family, music, films, books and publication...my possessions represent me.

12. I could see myself in all of these assembled items, and how they mirror aspects of me as a person and me as a practitioner

13. Relates back to my practice, processing all of these external sources, feeding into what I make

14. Influences from the wider outside world...

15. Ray Johnson - NY collage artist. Process-driven, DIY approaches to making, self-promoting, self-distributing...

16. The Portable February - David Berman. Humour, ambiguity, doesn't have a 'purpose', just exists as a collection of drawings. Visual poetry.

17. Paul Waak. Exists in many formats, his work is authentically him across print, publishing, exhibitions, editorial. The content comes first, context after.

18. Critical journal of illustration. Articulates discussions on visual culture and illustration, however includes art that is 'low brow' 'unfinished' 'lo-fi' in appearance. Importance of personal projects, not solely seeking commercial avenues.

19. Onfim. 13th Century bark drawings. Like the personal work in Limner, when does something become valued art? These drawings from 700 years ago weren't about commercial value. They have historical, anthropological, artistic value. Art is about documenting, understanding the world. Something very funny and human. Naive style.

20. Newspaper Rock, Utah. Similar to Onfim's drawings. Inspired by historical art like rock carvings. Native Americans. Art for art's sake, recording experiences, sharing with community. Ancient art is authentic, simple visual language, stripped back. Not about skill or finesse. Just about doing.

21. My interests and what I enjoy informs what type of work I want to make.

22. I think what media, culture, etc, you consume affects your output. I can see parallels between these references and values in my practice. Creating art your own way, utilising DIY processes and approaches to making. Immediate visual language, ambiguity, personal.
23. Last year's presentation I stated my aims for level 6 were...
24. To experiment more

25. To be more ambitious

26. To seize opportunities

27. I feel I've achieved these aims. I've grown in confidence about creating process-led, lo-fi work that doesn't have a crisp or clean look. I've pushed myself with ways of working, as well as with contacting organisations, pitching ideas to venues, and putting my work out there.

28. Future ambitions?

29. To continue developing and understanding my practice

30. Actively seek out events, opportunities, and ways of putting my work in the wider world

31. Becoming more involved with the wider arts community

32. To keep approaching venues, people, organisations with ideas

33. To become self-sufficient with producing work. Gather the equipment and resources. Become my own art factory. Self-reliant.

34. Thanks!

LAUIL602 Presentation Boards

LAUIL602 Portfolio

Presentation Content

MIND MAP

MAIN POINTS

This mind map explores my practice, my influences, personal interests, creative values, as well as my ambitions for the future. From this, I can create more of a structure based on the following main areas: MY PRACTICE, OUTSIDE WORLD, FUTURE.

This will guide the flow of my presentation content. I feel all of these areas overlap and relate to one another, so they won't seem to disparate. I've selected what I feel is the most interesting and varied outside references, and points within my practice.

Although discussing professional areas in this is important, it is valuable for me to have those personal threads because I feel my interests inform my practice massively.

Creative Presence | Planning

Planning to consolidate all aspects of my creative presence so I can begin putting together my design boards.

What has came to represent my practice?

Typography

In terms of visuals, my practice is almost always handmade. This is represented by paint and ink marks, pencil sketches, very textural, bold marks. The colours are often monochrome, if not black, white, and a striking colour.

Hand-rendered typography has also became a big part of my work. Not only in physical artwork, but on business cards, website headers, and poster designs and products I have made. Much like how graphic designs select an appropriate typeface to represent themselves, I have subconsciously integrated this into my practice and other ways of promoting and 'branding' myself.

Publications

Publications have slowly formed part of my practice. It's for this reason I want my 15-page portfolio to read as more of a specialist publication, rather than 15 single images in a traditional portfolio layout. As mentioned in a previous post, I want to approach it this way like other creatives have with their own artist books.

I have already tried putting together images to form my portfolio, and I the word 'portfolio' has stifled me from making something as dynamic and interesting as some of my other work. So if I go into it with the idea of creating 15 pages of experiments, tests, not just 1-image pages of work, maybe this will make it easier and less formalised for me.

Tone of Voice

Looking back at my Creative Manifesto from October 2017, I said myself that showing a tone of voice was important to me. Maybe this is how I should consider all of the professional aspects of my practice, so they have the same level of play and experimentation, and aren't so regimented and standardised.

Although I understand that these professional considerations are important, I need to remind myself that I can still be creative and playful with how I present my practice.

Professional Contact

East Street Arts

Following the discussion with a member of East Street Arts at the careers fair, I got in touch asking if there were any opportunities or positions available for me with my current skills. I got in touch and send a copy of my CV over.

I chose to speak with ESA because they are a creative organisation who not only support artists, but deal with putting on arts and culture events in Leeds and beyond. I thought they would be a beneficial source of experience from a more operational point of view, as well as having many links to other creative schemes and businesses.

1. careers fair follow up      2. my email

 3. reply      4. sent CV

Leeds Print Workshop

An off-shoot of East Street Arts is Leeds Print Workshop, who run a range of short courses, print workshops, events, and exhibitions in Leeds surrounding traditional print processes.

I got in touch with them asking if there were any spaces for experience, mentioning my experience of print to-date. They replied and mentioned that their membership may be something worth looking into after I graduate.

1. my email    2. reply

Leeds Art Gallery

I also decided to contact the gallery on the off-chance that they had any spaces or work-related opportunities available. They got back to me, and their response was helpful but unfortunately there were no posts. They said that front-of-house posts had no educational requirements, and that more curatorial roles required education in that field.