We talked about the things which I had written about in the draft of my RDa. At the moment the proposal is a net too widely cast to be of much use except as a sort of prospectus for my interests. Not so bad as a breezy introduction to things, but not the guide to research- the series of useful guideposts that I could wish for. Sarah and Iain are of the same mind.
I'm okay about the tasks arising from it, though there are a couple
of things that I'm rather nervous about, to the point of feeling almost
upset about it at the moment... which isn't the most useful attitude.
To be exact, I'm to produce a couple of pieces of work which establish
a characteristic critical method for the project, and I have to
introduce a couple of exemplars within the field of artists books to
talk about. Only I know quite how little I feel I know about either
artists books or the vast supermarket of critical tools available. This
is a rather disheartening thing. (I wanted to write "realization", but
it isn't: I've felt the lack of background for some time).
This is not to do myself in: I'm quite capable of fielding a couple
of perfectly decent exemplars that will serve exactly the roles they
are intended to serve. But I don't feel I have a command of the canon
that they belong to. That has to change, and will. Likewise, I don't
have a wide range of knowledge of critical tools for approaching visual
culture, although I do have quite a good knowledge of a modest range of
things. I'm not going to worry about that right now: the aim at present
is to narrow down the critical approach to something that can be
written about.
On the more positive side, I have good native critical awareness and
originality. Sometimes this gets me into trouble, but I'm glad of it.
Secondly, I can structure my writing quite well and I write with
reasonable legibility, given some grounding in my subject. Actually
writing cogently shouldn't be a problem, I think. The exegesis of my
method will be a task I will warm to quite well: what concerns me just
now is the strange fear I still have of this task before me. But let me
look at it anew: all we are trying to do is to introduce a localised
critical language: a set of smaller questions that we can tool around
in.
Localise. Yes.
I wrote earlier about a part of my thinking on methodology whereby
my framing of the subject and method would produce a series of
"clients' that would generate a "brief" that would commission the work,
and that the process of interpreting the results would be revealing,
and would inform my conclusions. We spoke about this a little and
discussed the possibility of including external influences and review
in this process: I would have the commissioning process and the results
interpreted by others as well as by myself. This isn't a specifically
illustrative commission, it's a way of formalising the relationship of
the artwork to the research.
Anyway, here are my notes from the meeting:
-2 sides of A4: take an exemplary text (John R. Searle The
Construction of Social Reality) and mine its main planks and critical
method for my language. Use the critical method thus outlined to
critique an older artists' book and a more contemporary one. The idea
is to establish the critical method i will be using in my research.
Arguing with the text to illuminate the problematics that arise out of its application.
My characterisation of books as containers: temporary structures. (A
dialectic of difference and similarity). Iain mentions Kearney on this
point. Certainly I can see how the patterns of story and the errrr...
transactions of narrative are poised between the universal and the
particular. Solipsism and language. How culture overcomes
aloneness...ramble ramble...
-Refine RDa: firstly excise the "junk dna". I'll be building up from
a chosen critical language from now on. (Of course this will change a
good deal)
-Client Model is good: some external review of "briefs" formed will be useful ini establishing critical method.
-Meetings with other candidates would be good: likely on a Tuesday.
I am to look into the possibility of a group blog to share text and
other input.
-Some advice on dealing with reading by condensing. I do need to
keep my interests streamlined and a bit of ruthless reduction will help.
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