As an artist, I have learned that method and procedure must never cease. Our general knowledge of materiality can go deeper than we may have ever known, but we have to allow for it. I spend more than 10 hours each week acquiring and experimenting with various materials. Experimentation through materiality is precisely how I developed a comprehensive understanding of the materials that I use for each body of work. Through these exercises in the lab (studio) I have discovered how the body is constantly engaged in an action and gesture process. This awareness would become my understanding of why I am so interested in space, and what can and does happen with-in a physical space. This idea alone is a powerful one. I didn’t understand this when I first began studying my own reasoning for why I make art. I have discovered that one has to engage themselves into this thought process first. We must learn how to see the world as art, as a whole, and then deconstruct it. I became conscious that I myself was “a 3D object” just as all human beings are. The only difference between human objects versus any other object is that we are the most intelligent. I am conducting ongoing experiments through the use of various materials to become further acquainted with them. I want to stretch their limits, and find their relationships to other things that may lead me to new skills and knowledge. At the same time I record how each material affects my physical body, and the physical space the actions occur with in. To communicate with process, I feel that one must use their entire being to understand its awareness and control of content. I understand that content is not always going to be joyous, it will sometimes bring out qualities that are of a much more complex nature. It is this exact contrast that helps me retain things.
Something about Method and Procedure
by RYAN SESLOW | Dec 25, 2011 | Art, Useful Articles / Essays | 2 comments
I agree, as a process hog, I just cannot stop with exploration of every little art tool I can manage. Although there may be such a thing as finished work to some, all is experimentation to me. The key is when to suspend the lab time and let it go. (still working on that one)
Marc
Thanks Marc! I hear you.