Reflective Statement

When researching I responded so much better to visuals than written text. Because of this, in this section of the Research and Enquiry module, I spend hours browsing through images on Behance, Pinterest and websites such ashttp://www.creativebloq.com/, http://www.thisiscolossal.com/ & http://www.juxtapoz.com/ . Although I am a visual learner and feel I lack the skill of verbalizing and documenting my findings. 

In early to mid December I took a risk and decided to change the direction my art was moving. I was beginning to wander into areas I’d never been and so was faced with information and articles I was struggling to make sense of. I fear that this had a negative affect on my progression academically, however I feel much more confident in my practical work. 

I found it difficult to pin-point any exact fields or areas of art which I needed to explore. In my work, I hope to document the life of a person or people who are deemed to be eccentric by society. I want to investigate how these people are viewed by the general public, how they view themselves in the publics eye and to document my journey/relationship with them.
I decided that the most appropriate place to start was to look at the various ways in which people or events can be documented visually. I had no specific goal in mind and allowed art pieces to stand out to me, to generate a reaction. I would hope that this method of research would be reflected in the work that I will produce and broaden my understanding of immediate response to a piece. I questioned the images possible meanings, their origins, the context in which they were produced etc.
In the creative fields which I investigated I tried not to limit myself to a specific area. I feel I achieved this. I included in my research: video art, photography, painting and illustrations. However, within these various fields I tried to keep myself within the spectrum of ‘styles and methods of documentation’. I looked for works which I felt could challenge me to move out of my comfort zone but not far enough to risk a loss of strength in my abilities.

I find visual connections easy to make. In contrast, theoretical connections are a difficulty for me. In viewing a piece of art during this module I questioned mediums and translation of concept/context and atmosphere. I’m aware that I have many weaknesses when it comes to research and enquiry. I am a person who lives by heart and emotional responses. Connections are what motivate me. Because of this I hit brick walls when it comes to verbalizing my work or that of others.
My weakness in this is my ability to back up points i make with strong theoretical words and references. It’s not that I don’t read articles, books and documents, it’s that I struggle to refine so many viewpoints while intertwining them with my own. Theory in practice is a side to my art that needs to be developed and I am aware that I’m slow to this.
The process of creating the blog itself has helped to drive me to engage in mediums which I would have previously avoided. This drive, I feel, may have reflected in the artists I researched.