In the Nature of the Event - COORDINATES 2005

It is in the dysfunctional nature of the event that experiential cultural differences will influence the outcome of the works, with artists coming from regions of Europe and beyond. Globalisation of culture means that artists now establish their practice with the influences of external intrusion. They seek individuality in their work through innovation beyond the parameters of contemporary practice, where barriers that once were sacrosanct have been breached. Whether through the casual use of tacky images, which seem somewhat irreverent and juvenile, or in a refined conscious aesthetic, a change has occurred, which does in part offer an answer to the question that art is essentially an intellectual activity.

The transfiguration of the commonplace has always been part of an artist's practice. More so from a materialistic point of view, as in a market-orientated world, base materials are synthesized into the monetary equivalent of gold. Andy Warhol's Brillo Boxes a case in point. One purchases the transfiguration of the idea into an icon. But later exponents of the commonplace image have expressed ideas beyond the realms of questions about art. These have shocked the viewer and the general public alike to engage in thinking beyond references to art itself. Much recent art is a self-conscious act of expression. According to the philosopher Arthur Danto, ‘ For when art attains the level of self-consciousness it has come to attain in our era, the distinction between art and philosophy becomes as problematic as the distinction between reality and art.' (1)

Art functions now not as a medium in itself, but through questions raised by seeing itself activating thought processes. The colour paintings of Sol le Witt illustrate this point well. Sensation is there, yes! But there is more. The works are not simply the result of work on exploring colour. Marcel Duchamp made it clear that art is an intellectual activity, a conceptual enterprise and not merely something to which the senses and feelings come into play.

In the present political climate, it could be claimed that art now plays a genuine part in challenging questions on reality, ethics and moral actions. The works of today seek not to answer questions but to raise them through a one to one experience, sometimes using ‘beauty', ‘shock' and ‘sensation' rather than reasoned argument. Sigmund Polke's work illustrates this point. “He has consistently investigated the terrain of collective visual culture. His paintings ask questions about the meaning of being an artist in a world bombarded with images, and explore the relationship between different kinds of imagery.” (2)

The thinking behind Geographical relevance: Reference to place is part of the ‘Coordinates' brief. Exploring ways of innovation and expression of visual and conceptual experiences that working in an unfamiliar environment opens up. Working outside the normal studio situation will create new possibilities for cultural synergies to form the content of the work.

The time-span of 10 days means that the work will be in an immediate response to the place, although some research will undoubtedly be done prior to working in Harlech. The coordinates in this case would involve lines of conceptual thinking brought to the place of work as well as lines of experience gained from the place.

The point of the project is to avoid polarisation and unification and to seek responses from multi-disciplinary standpoints. The cultural differences give a dynamic to lines of thought as they meet in a coordinated exhibition of contrasting experiences.

The focus of the project is on artists from regions of Europe who have a variety of visual experiences . The residencies and the resultant exhibition of the work produced will be a celebration of differences. The paradoxical notion of mutual dissemination and originality of work is the dynamic the project seeks to create in a multi-discipline activity with participating artists from Wales, Poland, Holland, Spain, Bulgaria, Macedonia, and the USA.

(1) Art, Philosophy, and the Philosophy of Art – Arthur C. Danto. Humanities, Vol. 4 No 1 (February 1983). Pp. 1-2

(2) Sigmar Polke Exhibition - The History of Everything, Tate Modern 2 Oct 2003 – 4 Jan 2004 quote from Website introduction.

John Brown