Assessment

Critical Evaluation

Assessment, river project, UNIT 2

First Project Proposal 

Updated Project Proposal

Above are the two versions of my Project Proposal- the first I wrote at the beginning of the course, the second in April 2018. Even in the 6 months or so between them you can see how I found a direction, and a project to focus my time and energy on. Although I have done projects outside of my main project that focus on my personal issues as well as wider social issues (i.e. the Fat Bodies Drawing Workshop I ran as Post Grad Ambassador for Camberwell, the BPD and Me Zine, and the exhibition I set up that it was part of, Mental, and other pieces on my blog) I am interested to reflect on the direction my work has taken.

I originally thought my river project was the least personal, and most frivolous, of my project ideas- but it has turned out to be one of the most personal projects I have done, and the largest project I have ever undertaken. I think at first I thought it was just going to be something fun to explore different processes with, and give myself an excuse to use all the workshops and facilities I hadn’t got to use yet; but I realized that I am happiest when I am physically making and that the act of making is a kind of therapy for myself. I also realized that I wanted to make art more accessible, and that my explorations of these different materials could be used to make my work more interactive and accessible. This was a real turning point- as I discovered that my practical work did actually link with my theoretical research after all, and that they could feed off of and inspire each other very naturally, rather than being separate and distinct paths.

My first proposal was convoluted, uncertain, and vague, with the second one having much more of a clear path and direction, which I definitely needed- but first I needed to find that direction, which the first 6 months of the course did for me. I never drafted up another one after that, although I feel you can see my ideas forming and taking shape throughout the posts on my blog- the explorations of materials, the analysis of these materials and ideas, and the research paper all slowly revealed themselves over time and I think you can see this on the blog.

Throughout the last two years I have developed not only as an artist, with all these new processes and techniques I have learnt under my belt, but also as an activist, and as a person. I have become much more confident in myself and my own abilities, to the point where I am no longer held back my anxiety when giving presentations and talking as part of a group (at this point it’s a miracle to get me to shut up!) I managed to get the job as the Post Grad Ambassador for Camberwell the second time I applied- all because even within that first year my confidence had already swelled- and through that role I have used the position to host events (such as the Fat Bodies Drawing Workshop) based on social and personal issues I care about, and have written about these topics for their blog. I also set up my own society focussed on helping students like myself with mental health issues, because I realized one of my passions is helping others, and being an activist for disabled and neurodivergent people. I really attribute a lot of this personal growth and development to this course- being surrounded by such inspiring and supportive individuals who all genuinely care about each others work and lifting each other up really brought me out of my shell, and has made me the outspoken and confident person I have become.

Going forwards I plan on setting up a network for disabled and neurodivergent creatives alongside fellow neurodivergent and disabled artists I have met through my society, as we are underrepresented in the creative industries, and it can feel very isolating- I hope the network will provide a social outlet, as well as being a place we can share resources, tips, connections, and skills through a website and workshops/meetings/ect. I have also been looking at community engagement and school engagement based jobs in art galleries and creative institutions, as I feel I could make a difference to people’s lives through art within these roles. I think that this MA and all of the extra curricular stuff I have been doing will help me to get one of these roles, and I am hopeful for the future. I still want to make art, regardless of what I end up doing; I have been emailing foundries, print making studios, and ceramic studios around London asking for work experience/trainee opportunities/internships and I am hoping that at least one of them will allow me the opportunity to do so, given my experience with so many materials and mediums. I have also been looking at artist awards and residencies I want to apply for, so that I can get some funding and space to make new works.

On top of this I have also started dabbling in more digital art such as making short videos (Like the I Can’t Help the Way I feel, My Fat Body film) and also using 3D programs such as Meshmixer and Blender, as they are free and open source. I will need to eventually save up for a better PC for this, but right now my laptop is good enough. I also have the tools to do linocut and woodcut prints, and a scanner/printer so I can still make print based work, and I have a few small zines planned that I want to make. I bought too much clay in ceramics, so I am considering making smaller scale sculptures and jewelry- there is a ceramics studio in Peckham near to where I work that offers an affordable monthly subscription, so I could potentially fire and glaze anything I make there. They have put me on their waiting list for a training opportunity which would allow me free access to the studios and free reign on their glazes in return for 7 hours of work a week, where I would be trained in how to run a ceramics studio as I work.

If I could have done anything differently I might have tried to come in more often- there were a few weeks and even months here and there where I struggled to get myself in to make work- however looking back on it I can see that these dips corresponded with dips in my mental health, which is something that isn’t always in my control, so I have no regrets. I committed myself fully to this course, and I hope that comes across in my blog, and in the work that I have produced. I only wish I could have afforded to work less hours so that I would not have always been so tired and would have been more productive, but such is the life of a working class artist. I tried my best to overcome my low mood, and for the most part persevered, and although I wish I had more time to spend in some of the workshops I think I have used my time fairly well, and this shows in the body of work I have made.

Overall this course has not only taught me more about the art world and all o the mediums I have learnt to utilize, it has taught me more about myself as person, and what I am passionate about and enjoy doing, which is incredibly value. I joined this MA so unsure of myself, my abilities, and my art, and now I feel like I really know myself and what I am capable of, and it is so so much more than I imagined. I just want to say how grateful I am to Jonathan and to my classmates for encouraging me to be my most authentic self, which is something I never thought was possible.

 

Work in the Final Show

Assessment, Exhibitions, Photographs, river project, UNIT 2, Videos

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(I took this photo before I swapped out the keyboard and mouse for the cleaner ones)

Overall I am surprisingly really happy with how my installation turned out- the room is a really good, well lit space, with large windows, and it looks much better since I painted it, and swept and mopped it. I am also really pleased I was able to make the table top for free from scrap wood, as that saved me a lot of money, and I think it looks much better than the Ikea table tops do anyway. I decided to keep the trestle legs I got from the BA student black, as I liked the contrast (and also I’m lazy and painting over black paint with white would have been a nightmare) and I think it helps to break up all the white in the room. I had to ask my classmates to tell me the river Thames I painted into the table top looked fine, because otherwise I never would have stopped trying to touch it up and make it “perfect”. Considering I didn’t use masking tape or anything except the pencil outline and paint I think it came out well, and is fairly recognizable for what it is, without any need for labels or a more literal representation.

In terms of curating the objects for the exhibition I feel that I have chosen the right amount, and the right selection of materials- I was not able to get the aluminum pieces to a high enough standard, so they have been omitted, the other lot of glass wax pieces I made came out much less transparent and much milkier looking (due to the touch of blue wax I added to offset the yellowing that had happened from the glass wax being overheated) so I left those out and put in the first lot I made, which are much clearer and more transparent. I also left out the herculite casts as they were not up to standard, and are also still fairly fragile compared to the other materials, and I left out the iPad 3D prints, as the Einscan ones were of much higher quality.

In terms of the digital work on screen I am very happy with how it looks- I have chosen one of the larger bones that has a particularly interesting form for the audience to play with, and I feel that Meshmixer was a good choice of programme for the audience to use, as it is fairly simple programme to mess around on- hopefully people will use it and enjoy playing around! I made a 2 minute video, which is on one of my earlier posts, which shows how to move around the 3D model, how to zoom in and out, and some of the basic tools they can use on Meshmixer, in case anyone gets stuck, and this is on the Mac desktop, titled “How to Use”.

I have discussed this previously, but I chose the five bones that I did as the jaw bone pieces proved difficult to cast in some of the methods, so much so that I could not get a good cast of them in the herculite, or glass wax, so I decided not to include them at all. Also they are a bit less ambiguous than the other bones, so I felt it best to leave them out, as I like the ambiguity of the shapes of the other bones. Also I left out the brick, despite having cast it in herculite, glass wax, bronze, and aluminum, as I felt it looks odd to have 5 bones and then the brick by itself. This is a shame, as the casts of it are quite beautiful, but it would have stood out too much, so it was necessary.

when I think back I thought I would have recreated the rope, brick, plastic bottle, and driftwood in different materials like I did originally with the vacuum forming, for the final show. Unfortunately the rope and bottle became unusable after the vacuum forming, and the driftwood turned out to be quite complex to cast, so I never ended up doing it. The bones became my focal point quite by accident, as I found myself drawn to the shapes and textures of them when I first started experimenting with the macro lens back in the first term. I don’t regret this, because I feel like I have made a strong body of work, that I am very proud of.

 

 

 

Selected Showcase Pitch

Assessment, river project, UNIT 2, Videos

Unknown Landscapes from Kat Outten on Vimeo.

Projecting onto 3D Bones TEST from Kat Outten on Vimeo.

The Pitch:

I want to expand my practice further into the digital and into installation work, and this piece will offer me the chance to try it out. I would like to move the moveable wall in the space to create a smaller, darker area for the installation, so that I can project my video onto a wall. I want to hang 4 of my large scale 3D prints from the ceiling, so that some of the projection falls onto the surfaces of the 3D prints. The video is made of clips of the bones that are the main focus of my primary project, shot with a macro lens close up, and the 3D prints are of the bones, but 363% larger. These are both explorations of the same objects utilising digital technology to render them unfamiliar.
I am aware that the exhibition is up all summer, and that you might have reservations about the projection, but I live less than 10 minutes walk from the uni, and also work nearby and I would happily leave contact details in case the projector goes wrong. The projector could be left on loop, and I have no holidays planned so I hope this won’t prevent you from choosing my work, as I would appreciate the chance to explore this new avenue in my work.

 

So I really want to take an older piece of digital work of mine, the Unknown Landscapes video, and project it onto the giant 3D printed bones I have made- I originally hoped to make a new video piece using my 3D scans and Blender, but my 3D scans weren’t loading on Blender at all, and I need to figure out why.

I think I need to push my digital skills further in the coming months, as when I finish the MA I am going to struggle to find workshops like we have at uni. I have already been looking at print making studios, ceramic studios, and foundries in London and asking for work experience/internships/trainee opportunities so that I can access certain facilities, but it may be some time before I find something like that or can afford to pay out for access to those facilities. Due to this I want to play around with digital work a little more, as it is more accessible- Meshmixer and Blender are free, and there is other free open source software I can try too- all I need to do is download them on my laptop and get myself a bigger desk so that I have a bit more space to work with. I know it will take time and practice, but at least I can still make work some how whilst I save up and look for affordable studio spaces and workshops. This work is an attempt to step into that, and give it a try.

Weekly blog- 10/06/19 – 14/06/19

Assessment, river project, UNIT 2, Weekly Summaries, Weekly To Do Lists, Work in Progress

TO DO:

  • Upload last weeks weekly blog
  • create short videos of the 3D scanning process and upload with notes
  • work on Symposium video
  • continue working in Ceramics on the clay bones
  • finish 3D scans with Einscan, edit them on Meshmixer, and send as many as pos to print this week

Monday 10/06/19

  • came in for the afternoon and completed another clay bone in the Ceramics Studio, with another almost finished. I also pressed some clay into 3 of the gel flex moulds before I left, so they should be firm enough for me to pull out of the moulds a little easier in the morning
  • I found that working with the clay when it is harder is closer to working with the wax like I am used to so it was a little easier, although I am going to need to pick up the pace if I want to make them all in both the lighter colour clay, and the terracotta. I wanted to make doubles of each too which means more work. I’ve actually lost one of the original bones, and the pieces of jaw have been difficult to cast well, so that means I have 5 bones to display. This still means that I’ll need to make 20 ceramic bones though if I stick to my original plan of 2 of each in both types of clay, which is a daunting task. I think I might end up only making one of each, and if they break in the exhibition then they break, but I’ll have to see what progress I can make this week.
  • I also went to learning zone, to make some process videos, and work on finishing some of the draft posts saved on my blog, and so far I have finished and published 4, plus this post which I will publish at the end of the week

Tuesday 11/06/19

  • Finished 2 more ceramic bones, and have another 2 half done (one of them is frustrating me so I started another one and kept going back and forth between the two)
  • I now have some bones and a few small things made out of the Earthenware Scarva drying on the drying racks, which I intend to fire when Tas next lights the kilns. I may experiment with glazes on the other objects, to see if I want to glaze the ceramic bones or not.
  • Also sent three of the Einscan 3D bones to print, they should be ready for me to pick up tomorrow
  • Jonathan showed me some tricks on Meshmixer with one of my scans, so hopefully I’ll be able to finish it on my own
  • Picked up the iPad scan 3D print that I sent to print last week, and it looks good- low poly and only the shape, but good as a test

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  • Screenshots of the 3D printing software, Cura, below. You can set the size of the objects here (which I kept the same as the scans, meaning they will be the same size aprox as the real bones) and you can also tell the programme to automatically build supports for your objects which will print with it. We arranged them so that the supports will be touching, to save space and the filament.

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Thursday 13/06/19

  • Was unable to attend the group session due to illness, so instead I added some more bits to a few drafted posts, including this one, and finished another post. I also had a play around on Meshmixer with the more difficult bone (the 3 I sent to print only needed minimal fixes). I have managed to sort it out a bit, but I think I will need Jonathan’s assistance to get it ready to print. (Screenshots below)
  • this same bone is also proving to be tricky to sculpt, due to how big the inner gap is- it is very easy to squash in the soft clay, and prone to falling apart

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Friday 14/06/19

  • Finished the clay bones I was working on- I now have 1 of each of the main five, and a spare of one of them which are on the drying rack
  • Spent all day working on those, they should be ready to fire next week

SYMPOSIUM 2

2ND YEAR PRESENTATIONS, Assessment, river project, UNIT 2, Videos

I originally made this video for the Symposium 2 for when we were supposed to present the videos to the rest of our classmates, but as I was just finishing working on it (and despite saving the file every five minutes or so) the Mac I was working on crashed and I lost about 4 hours worth of work. This all happened at 4am, 6 hours before we were due to present to the class, and so I ended up giving a verbal presentation with some of the images I used in the video to demonstrate what I was talking about. This was a very stressful and anxiety inducing situation, but I am very pleased that I did it, and that Jonathan and Ed were understanding and allowed me to present the way I did.

This video is a little bit longer than it was supposed to be, and even that was a struggle, as I found I had so much I wanted to show and say. I am fairly pleased with the outcome though, and I feel that it captures my process and research quite well.

Symposium 2 Feedback for Peers

Assessment, UNIT 2

Steph

  • speech was too fast to follow
  • visually very engaging, with a strong body of research
  • is the large scale print necessary? I feel that the wooden jigsaw piece is stronger as it encourages audience participation- it invites them to explore the landscapes in a similar way to how she has
  • the shapes and manipulation of the found imagery echoes how mankind has shaped and manipulated the landscapes around it

Janet

  • painting as a living entity, “painting making”, with each painting having its own agency
  • video echoes the idea of cycles and life, and organic matter growing
  • it would have been nice to see some of her research, and an idea of what she is putting into the final show- one painting? Multiple? Screens? A combination of painting and animations?

Robin

  • the video is beautifully made, but the text was at times hard to read- although perhaps this was the intention?
  • the video shows a great deal of consideration, but I would have liked to have seen your research
  • I really enjoy the aspect of your work that is immersive, interactive and has to be experienced- it opens up art to a wider audience which is something I am passionate about

Gabby

  • making sense of loss through documentation
  • a strong body of photography, film and painting
  • the idea of voyeurism and photography is well considered, and I can feel that you care about being sensitive and not exploitative
  • I can see how your photography skills have developed through the selection of images, and use of colour and composition
  • depicts a universal feeling and a strong sense of empathy, viewers will bring their own narrative and emotion to the work
  • I am interested to see what prints you choose to put in the show!

Arlette

  • clearly explained journey, with a strong feeling of direction
  • I really love the concept of ideas–>practice–>ideas
  • parameters can often feel restricting, but for you the boundaries you set yourself helped you to create a rich body of work- clearly you know yourself and your practice well, and this shows

Kehkashan

  • the video is beautiful, although for me the music is a little distracting- it feels like a strange motivational video
  • community building through art, building narratives through curation and making challenge is curating your work well in the show- you have a lot of work!

Dwa

  • silhouettes, shadows, lack of faces- allowing viewers to insert their own narratives, challenging stereotypes and the idea of identity
  • pushing the pieces further and exploring other media/editing
  • I really enjoyed seeing your research!

Justin

  • sight and sound as complimentary forces
  • the bias in art toward visual over sound and where it came from
  • a strong body of practical and traditional research that compliment each other well, with a lot of technical skill
  • I am very keen on the use of old analogue tech, as it works aesthetically and through the sounds they add (static, ect)
  • very excited to experience the work you put in the show

Iris

  • making emotion physical- becoming data, physical reactions v.s. emotional reactions
  • a really diverse range of experimentation exploring emotions as a concept and how we express them (or not) or repress them

Lyu Wen

  • pushing the boundaries of performance art, with a huge amount of work, varying from serious to silly
  • sense of time and space, in art and in real life- a very strong theme with a lot of research
  • I think you’re really brave to put yourself out in public for your performances

Ben

  • the idea of a digital pleasurescape
  • digital memorials and digital death, data footprints left behind
  • embrace the questions and uncertainty- these should not be feared, as there are many things we may never know the answers to
  • fascinating research and striking imagery
  • The key is how you are going to present your work- screens, prints, installation, ect

Anfal

  • mixed media- photography, text, digital editing, and drawing
  • how different kinds of photographic manipulation change the viewers perceptions
  • the use of your work as a kind of journal is very interesting- I would like to see more!
  • the digital illustrations are colourful and engaging
  • keep testing out and experimenting with layering- take test shots and play around with the layout until you get an arrangement you like

Eugenia

  • amazing that you have tried so many pieces of software and have such a good grasp of them so fast
  • I love your character videos, very humorous and fun to watch
  • rather than sticking images to fake iPhones- can you actually show the works digitally on the screens? I get that trickery is desired
  • I would love to see you come as one of your characters on open night!

Vanessa

  • connection to the physical act of making- printmaking, painting, photography, and drawing
  • empty buildings whilst there are people living in tents, a sense of isolation and emptiness- the photographs work really well as stand alone pieces of work, not just as studies for the paintings/drawings
  • are you going to put the photographs in the show, or paintings? both?

Alena

  • very hard to hear what you are saying the video
  • how will you differentiate between your own work and others in the magazine? If that is the plan?
  • more like a look book as opposed to a magazine? Adds texture and depth- it becomes more of a 3D object than just a magazine
  • how will you present the book? Is it going to become an installation, or will the magazine sit on a shelf/plinth?

Ziyan

  • the act of preserving becomes more important than what is preserved
  • choice of mediums and access
  • diverse range of research and critical thinking
  • can’t wait to see what you install in the show!

Manolis

  • Ai in art and the creation of art
  • AI generated work shown on the screens
  • lots of problem solving and collaborations to complete the work which is very fascinating
  • Jonathan could photograph and measure the bed/chair in the Quiet Room at uni and potentially borrow it? Then he would just need the cushions and headset need to be brought to London

Paola

  • I went to the bathroom and missed your presentation 😦
  • but your solo exhibition looked really cool and your digital skills have come really far over the past two years!

World Capital at Arebyte

Assessment, Exhibitions, UNIT 2, Workshops

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As part of the exhibition World Capital at Arebyte Gallery I was asked to come in and run a workshop for the local children, inspired by the exhibition. World Capital explores how cities and city planning has become homogenized due to capitalism and globalization- with newer parts of cities being impossible to distinguish from other cities across the world. The artist, Felicity Hammond, explores this topic through digital collage, and the gallery space was turned into a collaged city, complete with water ways which mirrored the installation and created an almost ethereal space in the gallery.

Globalisation and capitalism are bit much to explain to young children, and we weren’t sure what kind of age range we would attract for the workshop so I decided to focus on the ideas of collage and building a “world capital”. Rather than asking the children to simply sit and do a collage themselves I wanted to push it into 3D, much like the artist herself had created a 3D collage in the space. With this in mind I researched free downloadable nets of famous landmarks, and also some more simple buildings like schools/ect. I designed a file of the river Thames on Illustrator, which I had printed 150cm x 50cm, which we spread out over the tables in the gallery space, and we asked the children to join us in putting together the famous landmarks and buildings with glue and scissors. When they had made a variety of landmarks (with our help) we then asked them to “build their own world capital” by placing the landmarks they had made around the river, to create their own ideal city- complete with pyramids, Big Ben, the Eiffel Tower, the statue of Liberty, and lots of other international buildings!

Rebecca, the curator at Arebyte, helped me to run the workshop and we both had lots of fun, as did the children who came along! They liked it so much that they asked to take the huge river print and all of the buildings they made home with them. I felt that it was super successful, and it is important that art galleries offer fun, free, accessible activities to children- especially children who otherwise would not get the chance (i.e. children from low income backgrounds, children with special needs, act).

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Some photos of the “World Capital” we built! ^

 

MENTAL: An Exhibition Exploring Mental Health

Assessment, Exhibitions, Group Project, Personal Projects, UNIT 2

 

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The “BPD and Me” zine I made was made specifically for the exhibition I organized and put together for my society, The Mentally Chill Society.

As part of this I had to:

  • find out if there was interest from members of the society
  • find out what spaces were available at UAL for student exhibitions, then apply for the space (a very long application form was involved)
  • I had to attend a meeting to learn the do’s and don’ts of the space we were allotted- including the health and safety stuff
  • I then got a committee of society members together, they helped me to write the open call brief asking society members to submit work dealing with the topic of mental health, and more specifically their own experiences of it
  • Shridula put together the poster which I emailed out to society members and also posted and shared on social media
  • we then went through the submissions as a committee and contacted everyone who was successful
  • I then had to fill out a risk assessment
  • One of the members, Carmella, designed the poster, which I then took elements from to design the sheet with everyone’s names, courses, and descriptions of their work on for the exhibition
  • I also filled in an application form for additional funding from the Student Union to cover printing costs, costs of nails/tape/ect, alcohol and other drinks for the private view, ect
  • It was a real struggle to get everyone into the space to put their work over the two days we had to install but I managed, and we got everyone’s work hung!
  • There was a lot of problem solving involved- for example we realized too late that the labels were going to be too expensive, so we got number stickers for everyone’s work, and then had the sheet with all the info on it for people to take
  • the private view went really well and I got lots of positive feedback on the curation and for putting it together!
  • this was my first time organizing an exhibition completely from scratch, and my first time curating an exhibition- I learnt a lot about working with larger groups of people, giving up control to delegate tasks, and how to hang work that is vastly different in a way that works and shows everyone’s work in the best way

Presentation- ISMs in the Art Gallery 07/03/19

2ND YEAR PRESENTATIONS, Assessment, river project, UNIT 2

20190307_123453ISMs In The Art Gallery

I have linked my presentation, above, and the photo shows all of my casts so far laid out on the table during my presentation.

During my presentation I wanted to focus on how my river project is about engaging the audience and being more interactive than your average piece of art, and how this links to my research paper topic of classism in the gallery space. I feel that work that is purely visual leaves out a lot of people, specifically those with visual impairments, and can also put off children and those who prefer tactile work, so I wanted to combat this by making work that is meant to be touched and handled by the audience. Engaging the audience in this way can be effective at breaking down the barriers many people, particularly those of different classes, age and abilities, face when visiting art galleries and museums, and I feel this is vital if we want the art world to be a more inclusive and diverse space. I was keen for my classmates to pick up and interact with my work and get their opinions on it, which is why I laid out all the pieces I have made so far out on the table for my presentation.