Unhung #2
Unrealized practice-based research at York University
March 2017
Statement of Interest
The last text I completed for my MA in Art History was a 17-page cutup that investigated and embodied mute, discursive, and practice-based responses to the desire to communicate. My MFA in Visual Arts thesis exhibition involved making art in various ways with viewers, darkling beetle larvae, my son, and a person presented only as William. Underlying both of these projects is an expanded understanding of collaboration, one that recognizes making as an inherently collective performance in which process matters more than ownership. Through York University’s PhD in Visual Arts program, I would like to focus on this particular understanding as it applies to quotidian materials, events, and interactions. The following are three projects to be completed as part of this research:
1) Strike
In the arts, ‘strike’ means to dismantle and dissipate a set or exhibition. It is derived from the Old English ‘strican,’ which means to move, to go, and to flow, but also to caress and to smooth. Borrowing from the theatrical usage and Old English connotations of transience and intimate touch, the six-act exhibition will slow and accentuate a gallery space’s return to normal after a different artist’s exhibition:
Act I: The art is taken down but not taken away.
Act II: The art is carried away and a vacuum with only subtle tells of its recent past remains.
Act III: Any display mechanisms are dissembled and the holes in the walls are filled with dyed drywall compound.
Act IV: The display mechanisms go on to the next phase in their lifecycle, the drywall compound is sanded smooth, and the dust is swept into a pile.
Act V: The walls are painted white and all intervention is erased as much as possible.
Act VI: The space sits empty and poised for the next exhibition.
The necessary tools-cum-props-cum-art-objects will remain in the gallery for the duration of the act in which they are required.
2) Conversations in Plaster
For the entirety of the project, I will be available on location to have a conversation about anything, with any viewers who would like to talk with me. The participant(s) and myself will each hold wet plaster in our hands for the length of the conversation. The conversation will end when the plaster cures enough to maintain its form. The casts will then be etched with the date and a mutually decided title appropriate to the conversation. The participants’ casts will be added to a growing display and mine will be given to the participants.
3) Piss
During the winter, blocks of ice will be placed in various dog parks around Toronto and left to be subtractively sculpted by the depositing of social information – by dogs urinating. The resulting series of ice sculptures will be cast in the most common precious metals used in telecommunication devices.
This research is collaborative and cross-disciplinary, like the School of the Arts, Media, Performance and Design. It is also process-intensive, and would benefit greatly from the school’s printmaking, photography, and sculpture facilities.
Unrealized practice-based research at York University
March 2017
Statement of Interest
The last text I completed for my MA in Art History was a 17-page cutup that investigated and embodied mute, discursive, and practice-based responses to the desire to communicate. My MFA in Visual Arts thesis exhibition involved making art in various ways with viewers, darkling beetle larvae, my son, and a person presented only as William. Underlying both of these projects is an expanded understanding of collaboration, one that recognizes making as an inherently collective performance in which process matters more than ownership. Through York University’s PhD in Visual Arts program, I would like to focus on this particular understanding as it applies to quotidian materials, events, and interactions. The following are three projects to be completed as part of this research:
1) Strike
In the arts, ‘strike’ means to dismantle and dissipate a set or exhibition. It is derived from the Old English ‘strican,’ which means to move, to go, and to flow, but also to caress and to smooth. Borrowing from the theatrical usage and Old English connotations of transience and intimate touch, the six-act exhibition will slow and accentuate a gallery space’s return to normal after a different artist’s exhibition:
Act I: The art is taken down but not taken away.
Act II: The art is carried away and a vacuum with only subtle tells of its recent past remains.
Act III: Any display mechanisms are dissembled and the holes in the walls are filled with dyed drywall compound.
Act IV: The display mechanisms go on to the next phase in their lifecycle, the drywall compound is sanded smooth, and the dust is swept into a pile.
Act V: The walls are painted white and all intervention is erased as much as possible.
Act VI: The space sits empty and poised for the next exhibition.
The necessary tools-cum-props-cum-art-objects will remain in the gallery for the duration of the act in which they are required.
2) Conversations in Plaster
For the entirety of the project, I will be available on location to have a conversation about anything, with any viewers who would like to talk with me. The participant(s) and myself will each hold wet plaster in our hands for the length of the conversation. The conversation will end when the plaster cures enough to maintain its form. The casts will then be etched with the date and a mutually decided title appropriate to the conversation. The participants’ casts will be added to a growing display and mine will be given to the participants.
3) Piss
During the winter, blocks of ice will be placed in various dog parks around Toronto and left to be subtractively sculpted by the depositing of social information – by dogs urinating. The resulting series of ice sculptures will be cast in the most common precious metals used in telecommunication devices.
This research is collaborative and cross-disciplinary, like the School of the Arts, Media, Performance and Design. It is also process-intensive, and would benefit greatly from the school’s printmaking, photography, and sculpture facilities.
Dear Quintin,
I wanted to let you know that the committee has completed our deliberations concerning PhD admissions. Unfortunately, we are unable to offer you a place in the PhD program for the coming year 2017-18.
Before I continue, I want to say that you were one of the candidates we discussed the most, and that it was a very close decision. The committee was impressed by the thoughtful responses you gave to questions, revealing a kind of articulation of thought through speech that indicated deep reflection. We also noted your accomplished and idiosyncratic approach to writing as a strength, in addition to and in relation to your multifaceted art practice.
I realize you have already applied twice to this program, once being placed on the long list and more recently on the short list. The committee still thinks you have potential in the future for undertaking PhD studies, either in Visual Arts or Art History, or some combination of both.
Sincerely,
The Graduate Program Director
I wanted to let you know that the committee has completed our deliberations concerning PhD admissions. Unfortunately, we are unable to offer you a place in the PhD program for the coming year 2017-18.
Before I continue, I want to say that you were one of the candidates we discussed the most, and that it was a very close decision. The committee was impressed by the thoughtful responses you gave to questions, revealing a kind of articulation of thought through speech that indicated deep reflection. We also noted your accomplished and idiosyncratic approach to writing as a strength, in addition to and in relation to your multifaceted art practice.
I realize you have already applied twice to this program, once being placed on the long list and more recently on the short list. The committee still thinks you have potential in the future for undertaking PhD studies, either in Visual Arts or Art History, or some combination of both.
Sincerely,
The Graduate Program Director