Odradek's Cousin?

I was riding along the street enjoying the Autumn sunny weather when suddenly I noticed an object in the street. Squashed, you could see the indents in the metal and the plastic which demonstrated how much force the object had experienced whilst lying on the road. 

Interestingly the red lipstick 'bled' from within the tube, and had smeared on the outside. How very human-like! I was immediately intrigued by the object, and delicately picked it up and carefully carried it back to my studio.

Squashed lipstick - could it be Odradek's cousin?

It got me thinking about 'things' which is a continuing internal dialogue I am experiencing at the moment, having been totally immersed in my theory class which is about the same topic - 'Things'.

Some of the heady questions we have been discussing lately are whether it is possible to kill a thing by naming it? And this made me think about how we personify objects.

There is an interesting short story written by Franz Kafka who wrote about Odradek - an object that defies description that lurks in the corridors of the home, an undefinable object that has been anthropomorphised and has been given the human qualities of talking, laughing, and lurking. Whilst it is not possible to define exactly who or what Odradek is, one possible interpretation is that Odradek represents any useless, harmless object that is kept around for no reason. 

In a sense my found object, the squashed lipstick, is a kindred spirit to Odradek who was found on the street and is currently lurking in my studio. Who knows what adventures it will get up to next? 

Despite its current form, it is likely that this object will outlive me.

222 Grips for a Stone #18 - #21

I am participating in the MFA course 'Things' which considers the historic and contemporary discourses around the experience of things and the significant role that our relationship to things retains in the production of objects and subjects in visual culture. The course is taught by the dynamic Bob Bean and I am finding it fascinating.

We explore questions like: What are things? What do they do? and why do they inspire creative and critical attention? 

So far we have discussed 'things' ranging from the found object, Heidegger's philosophy of the jug and the void, collecting things, nostalgia, the broken tool, how language and words are things too.

Lately I have been giving a lot of thought to Heidegger's notion of the object as 'ready to hand' which refers to tools that we often overlook such as hammers, needles, pens etc. 

Which led me think of the readymade, and Duchamp's iconic artwork that changed the way we think about modern art. A urinal where he changed the context and meaning by turning it upside down, renaming it and placing it in a gallery, titled Fountain 1917.

I have also been thinking about the found object and the ready made in my work. 

I started noticing 'ready made' grips for a stone on the architecture in and around the city. So I thought I would include them in my 222 Grips for a Stone exploration. 

#18 of 222 Grips for a Stone 

#19 of 222 Grips for a Stone 

#20 of 222 Grips for a Stone 

#21 of 222 Grips for a Stone

The beginning of the Second Year of the MFA

Its hard to believe that my summer holidays are over already! Already I am wondering how 4 months have disappeared so quickly, but when I think back to what I have achieved it makes sense. 

I received a scholarship to attend the SNAG conference in Boston in May.

I also received a scholarship to study traditional jewellery in Florence during July. 

And I was also selected to participate in Ruudt Peter's workshop Ground Now in the Netherlands at the end of July.

No wonder time has passed so quickly.

And now it is my first week back at NSCAD for the second year of my MFA (Master in Fine Arts). Due to the interdisciplinary nature of my work I have been graciously provided with a studio space at the historic Fountain campus and one down at the Port.

The Fountain studio is full of charm and character. Tucked away in the attic of an historic building, which must be over 200 years old, I am nestled in amongst old large giant wooden beams, large thick brick walls that look out over the Halifax harbour. I delight in watching the ferry go past and thinking about the history of the building.

View from my attic window

I feel a little like Rapunzel sitting up so high and watching the world go by. It is a great place to read and think. This semester I am participating in a class which discusses the philosophy and theory of Things, and I am sure you will find me tucked away in here contemplating Heidegger's Thing theory or the fundamentals of phenomenology and metaphysics.

My attic studio looking very clean and organised

My studio at the Port campus is in ceramics and allows for the messy making of larger scaled objects, particularly in ceramics but can lend itself to other forms of sculpture as well. This campus is newly built and has wonderful floor to ceiling windows with great views of the harbour (when there isn't a cruise ship in the way) and natural light.

View from Port Studio
And yes, that is a cruise ship you can see blocking the view!

My summer adventures have led me to realise that I the direction of my thesis will be changing this year. Last year I focused on the pioneer and post colonial feminist theory. My travels provided the space to critically asses my project and with my new experiences I came to the realisation that I was would like to explore the themes of place, travel, loss and regeneration - which essentially does include pioneering (so thankfully my previous research can be incorporated). However I wish to move away from the pictorial and towards a subjective, and perhaps ephemeral or atmospheric artwork.

To give you an idea of my current thinking, check out Olafur Eliasson's phenomenological art work.