Assignments

Float Your Boat: Bring in something that influences your work- (for example, a work of art, artist/s, music, place, object, etc. )

  • Prepare a 10 minute presentation.
  • This assignment is intended to give us a better impression of your influences, ideas and work.
  • Why and how does this influence you?
  • Is it a good or great work?
  • Is it disagreeable – something you detest and are pushing against?

Interview Fellow Student in their studio/work place.

  • Prepare a 15 minute Artist Presentation about your fellow students work.
  • Your Presentation will be given to the class, followed by 10 minutes of discussion.
  • Pick an object or image to bring in that is related to your impressions of the work and Studio
  • this is an open brief- examples would be another art work, film still, object, piece of music, news article.
  • Consider the descriptive language used to specifically talk about the work in that discipline, for example, painting versus photography.
  • What are the similarities and differences between works and processes in the other students discipline and yours. How can you speak about the other students work successfully?
  • Consider ways you engage with the work — process? conceptual foundation? materials? history?
  • Consider the format of your presentation. Keynote or Powerpoint? Physical samples? DVD? Website? etc.
    To Prepare for the interview:

Studio Visits:

If possible we will visit your studio or show to critique works in progress. If we can’t get to your studio, bring work to class. This is a critique so have the work you want to discuss ready to display.

Write your Manifesto or an Artist Writing.

  • Prepare a 1 page written Manifesto or alternately, a 1 page Artist Writing, that will be read in class.
  • An Artist Writing can take many forms and is not necessarily an Artist Statement pertaining to a body of work. It can be about ideas or more of a creative writing project.
  • Consider:
  • What are your beliefs?
  • What does your work stand for?
  • What are the stakes and why?
  • Tell us why you do what you do.

 

Make a 10 minute presentation on your Artist Nemesis.

Choose an artist who might be your nemesis. It is best if you choose someone working with a similar medium, genre or conceptual framework as you. Please choose a modern or contemporary artist.

This should be an artist whose work really bothers you. You might feel like their work is terrible or you really hate it. There may also be things about the work of this artist that scare you- because they are things you don’t like but fear you may be heading towards in your own work.

In your presentation, you need to articulate why this artist is difficult or ‘bad’ for you. Avoid using phrases such as “The work is ugly”- and instead give us a more complex critique of the work.

Bring in images so we can see what you are referring to. Contextualize the pieces you show in relation to the medium or genre the artists works with. Why is this work unsuccessful, compared to other work you can place in the same category?

No character assignation. There is too much of that in the current election. This should be a reasoned argument with supporting examples as to why you believe the work fails so miserable.

 

Presentation:

Prepare a presentation of finished work. It can be a Keynote, Power Point, or Google Slides. Treat this as if you are showing your work to a bunch of curators, a festival program or a granting body. You need to convey aspects of the work that we can’t see in slides- and articulate the nature of your work clearly. Include a discussion of how you work, your motivating ideas, your chosen materials and the specific pieces of work you are showing.