Tuesday 29 January 2013

Bringing Things to Life (Ingold, 2010)


In his article “Bringing Things to Life: Creative Entanglements in a World of Materials”, Ingold (2010) seeks to overthrow a hylomorphic model of creation whereby form is seen to be “imposed, by an agent with a particular end or goal in mind, while matter - thus rendered passive and inert - was that which was imposed upon” (p. 2) in favour of a more generative method of creation: the form-giving relationships between materials and forces. Specifically he seeks to establish “an ontology that assigns primacy to processes of formation as against their final products, and to flows and transformations of materials as against states of matter” (pp. 2 - 3).

In establishing this argument Ingold (2010) discusses a number of key components that are significant for Artist Teachers who are seeking to adopt a more wayfaring pedagogy in the classroom. Firstly he states that the world is inhabited by ‘things’ rather than ‘objects‘ (p. 3)  and distinguishes between them, before going on to highlight the significance of this in terms of the way in which we view and interact with this inhabited world - occupation or inhabitation: “though we may occupy a world full of objects, to the occupant the contents of the world appear already locked into their final forms, closed in upon themselves. It is though they had turned their backs on us. To inhabit the world, by contrast, is to join in the process of formation” (pp. 5 - 6). 

Thus, fostering a perception in students of themselves as inhabitants in a world of things is vital to the development of a wayfaring pedagogy. Inhabitants are not connecting up set points of knowledge in a prescribed learning journey but are working with and relating to the things they encounter, to develop their understanding along flexible, multi-ended paths of learning. In an educational setting, viewing oneself as an inhabitant in a world of things opens up a world of possibilities and lifelong learning where understanding and knowledge are not stagnant but are always evolving in a relational process of discovery. This viewpoint is very contrary to the transmission pedagogy and banking model of education that is often promoted in schools whereby knowledge is seen as a commodity (Goodson, 2005). Objects are seen as a means to attain to a previously established point of understanding before moving on to the next point.


References:
  1. Goodson, I., 2005. Towards an Alternative Pedagogy [online] Available at: <http://www.ivorgoodson.com/towards-an-alternative-pedagogy?p=1 > [Accessed 21st Jan 2013].
  2. Ingold, T., (2010). Bringing Things to Life: Creative Entanglements in a World of Materials [online] Available at: <http://www.socialsciences.manchester.ac.uk/morgancentre/realities/wps/15-2010-07-realities-bringing-things-to-life.pdf> [Accessed 21st Jan 2013].

Monday 28 January 2013

Seascape





I created this overcast, brooding seascape by experimenting with and developing an original photo of a washing line:




The colours immediately suggested a simple landscape / seascape so I first rotated the image into a more suitable orientation:




I then developed and explored the image as follows:






















I used ArtRage to add some more deliberate brushstrokes and blends until I felt I had reached a level of completion:




Sunday 27 January 2013

Shattered snapshots

I was grateful for some sunny weather as it allowed me to go out on some 'drifts' to collect more photographs. I am enjoying revisiting the technique of 'shattering' the images by splitting the images into different layers. I really like the effect it produces with the unusual compositions and complexities of line and shape.

Here are 2 images I have created in this way:








Thursday 24 January 2013

Garden wall








The paintings above were developed using a range of digital painting and photo editing from this photo:




Here are some images of the developmental process:
















Bike wheel





I used the same photo of the bicycle that I used for my last post but developed it in a different way to create the image above:



















Tuesday 22 January 2013

Bike trails





I took some more photos whilst out on a small 'drift' around my local area. I came across an old bike and I was fascinated by all the different patterns and shapes that were contained within the structure. There seemed to be more to see each time I looked closer.

I took a number of images such as this one:



I then began experimenting, editing and developing the image:













I liked the quality of line in this last image and decided to work further on this image. I used a shatter transition in a keynote presentation to separate the different layers of lines within the image. This is the finished painting so far:




Saturday 12 January 2013

Explosion






I created this painting using the process outlined in my previous post "circles". It was developed from this original painting:




Here are some images of the development process:












I was not satisfied with the effect of the sections of block colours, so I merged it with another image to create this final, softer, painting.




Drain






I created this painting using the process outlined in my previous post "circles". It was developed from this original painting:




Here are some images of the development process:
























I added some sweeping circular strokes as I liked the contrast between them, the strong horizontal lines of darkness and the organic shapes around them: