The Placing of the work "Testing Boundaries". An offering.

Reflections: My last visit at the centre was personally a memorable one, and also an eventful one. I can fully understand the meaning of connectivity and I feel totally in harmony with what I was offering to the "baitka". I also have to analyse my feelings at the time of the placing of the work for I was offering something that felt so important to me. Was Everybody around feeling the same way? I really do not know, However I get this heartfelt feeling that people around have already accepted me as one of them: I form part of their circle and what I was offering to them was making some kind of meaning. Joyful faces and smiles meant encouragement: they were in favour of art.

My audience was open to change and acceptance: they had asked many questions at the time of making as they were not accustomed to abstract responses. Being an educator, I asked myself if some kind of teaching has been taking place. This was not an intentional goal, however people who are so inviting and kept an open mind for things could rapidly move on to different stages in their level of reading an artwork. They were sensitive to colours, and could understand expression and communication for some of them were performers and skilled dancers. I ended up becoming enthusiastic too. I would like to think that my whole experiment was a successful one.

1. Question: Does the opinion of the public makes a difference to me?

Answer: I think this is an important question and I have been reflecting on this at different levels. I would like to think that this whole task was really a collaboration and that the outcome had depended on their interaction to some important level.  However, I think that if the audience would have reacted in a different way,maybe my response would not have been so enthusiastic.

2. Question to myself: Was I working to please an audience?

Answer: I definitely felt I was working out on something that would be given away and that would exist in a place around a particular audience. I was definitely working around that audience. This artwork exists mainly because of its audience.

At the placing of the artwork, different suggestions were offered, rejected and finally accepted. One suggestion was to place the artwork at the balcony garden as it could enhance the surroundings. Another was to place it where the people of the "baitka" usually gathers to do their morning prayers. The last suggestion, accepted by everyboby however, was the staircase where everybody voted in favour of.  

 THE CHOSEN PLACE:

Recent Discoveries..

This is a Facebook page called "Beyond Henna" that instantly got me connected with my recent research. Here are some of its posts :

And this post strangely resembles my spiral work at the start of my experimental work. I took my inspiration from rainbow colours. Here I feel strange how this idea had already existed before. Maybe this is what research can bring forward: the idea that what was in my mind had already existed somewhere. I can weigh down how research can bring us to think again about what we could have thought to be original.And the ideas projected also coincidentally and mystically represent harmony in an interesting way...

Reflections: This is like I am filtering tons of information at the same time. I realise that these images, as that of my association with Hindu festivals,etc. forms part of my environment and culture of everyday life.

1. Question: Am I being a little cliched here?

Answer: I really do not think so, I am only surfacing something from my subconscious. I feel like I only have to dive into an ocean of ideas which I feel is present somewhere in my mind, bubbling to come out. What is coming out is starting to make sense to me.

2. Question:Why do I feel that I need to do this?

Answer: As I work, I feel excitedly alive and I feel a kind of rich inspiration flowing. Maybe by being so constantly imbedded in this environment, what has to come out inevitably has to be a reflection of it...   

Tutorial Report with Caroline.

Date:   Monday 20 October 2014                                Name:             Roshni Goonraj Beeharry

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Reflection on outcomes since last tutorial:

Since my last tutorial with Les Bicknell, I have been able to implement one full cycle of making through peer discussion/monitoring and guidance and I am actually at the reflecting stage to further plan the next step.

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Current projected aims and outcomes:

●       Testing my Boundaries.

●       Extend an appropriate area of investigation and establish parameters for my exploratory activity

●       Analyse the conceptual context of my practice to generate creative ideas and practice.

●       Demonstrate personal responsibility and independent thought through an integrated approach to practice and contextual issues.

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Discussion and recommendations:

Our discussion was mostly concerned with the latest development for the Unit Task 1: Testing My Boundaries. I explained to Caroline that I have actually started with my task with everything concerned such as research, sketches,etc. Following Les’s advice concerning audience involvement and choosing a different way of working, I have decided to get absorbed in the place and to work from spontaneous response rather than working alone in my studio at home. I wanted to explore on primary source as far as possible and I had been visiting the place several times already. This way of working was totally new to me. I noted down several discoveries as how to deal with the audience as well as get on with the work done at the same time and take instant decisions on the spot. I was also learning a lot about human relationship and making new friends. I also noticed that during my visits I had to keenly observe and assimilate most of what was present so as to remain truthful and bring out the atmosphere that reflected at the place.

As we both looked at my blog concerning my latest development in my work, I explained to Caroline that during my last visit, I have worked from instant flow and had not planned previously. As it was a Classical Indian Dance Class and the main leading dancer was magnificent in her costume, I started my work directly from her and moved on with what was around before me. I later realised that the main disadvantage of taking such a risk(working from no previously planned material) was that I had to capture in the moment rather quickly and that my model was constantly moving.

However, this was not my most serious concern. It was that at the end of the day as I returned home and reflected on the progress of my work, I was wholly unsatisfied. I realised that what was more important to me was the lively and joyful atmosphere that the place radiated. I wanted this atmosphere and sense of mysticism in my work and my central character seemed sad and lost. After reflection I took an important decision. As I was looking back at my preliminary works, I decided that I could include some part of it in my work, removing the whole of the character completely and radically changing the work. This is what I did during another visit and after this yoga session, I stayed back to have some feedback from my audience and afterwards from my family and friends.

Caroline was most helpful in offering advice. We talked about public engagement and discussed how we could record this activity/event through photography after finishing the painted work. I finally concluded that I was at a stage where I needed further reflection and that in future, I need to be prepared and to have at least some previous rough planning so as to remain focused on what I wanted to achieve.

Signed tutor:      Caroline Wright                                Signed student: Roshni Goonraj Beeharry

Additional tutor thoughts.

I was thinking about your intention to capture the essence of the place and the experience you have when you are there and wondered if you could work with different media – recording the sound of the dancers footsteps for example, or videoing the flowing robes but only showing part of the picture, such as the hem of the fabric.  The music would provide a soundtrack. This is no doubt too late for this task but if you were to continue to work in this location  - or a similar one – it might be a way of gathering visual and audio material.

Testing my Boundaries: Personal Evaluation.

This is finally my completed artwork.

Interesting Observations: For me this work is no less than our experimental tasks from year One in the sense that I am being confronted with the same problem solving issues. However, each task from year One has been a firm step further ahead: I am now finding myself to be more confident as I am able to overcome challenging situations with of course with the help of my group peers, tutors and others. I think that as each and every task of our MA course dealt with "out of the box" situations, consequently these interesting outcomes  need to be analysed. Self- analysis is an important non-negligent factor.

 I personally think (I may not be right on this: maybe I need to self-analyse this part also..) that if I am getting the right "feel"on my work, then I should not be bothered about anything else. This was an issue that cropped up when I decided I had to erase an important part of my work. I really want to think about this decision because I feel its weight of importance. What I have finally come to realise is that with a technique like painting, one can revert back so drastically and continue on. With Sculpture, once the armature is set for any particular chosen form, the decision cannot be so drastically altered. I think that painting in this sense offers multiple possibilities to spontaneous and personal response. With Sculpture one always has to remain in check; when building the armature, the decision is already set and aspects of the sculptural technique causes the artist to remain alert and calculating. Is there some sort of limitations here?

My reaction to the public: This is real. A very important aspect to bear in mind. THE AUDIENCE. I always liked to think that my artworks were meant for my self-satisfaction but they are not. Other people are as much involved and as an artist I have to think about them too. I have never been involved with any commissioned work, however this particular work makes me realise how important it is to be fully involved with people. Being an introvert, I always liked being involved in group exhibitions rather than being on my own: I could safely stay within my comfort zone and not be in the limelight. As I went to the people, what I have recently noted is that the whole concept behind making a work consciously or subconsciously changes constantly and evolves around the audience. 

 Also, the artwork is absolutely genuine when constructed around/within a group as the artist gets first hand information. The experience of the artist is also exceptionally unique every time with interaction and participation. When making in my studio, I could stay concentrated for long hours without being disturbed. Here I was always surrounded by curious glances,polite talks; and when I was working, I was feeling a kind of subconscious alertness that I was not accustomed to before. I was also learning about human relationships when existing as an artist,which is an important factor as I have never considered whether I could become financially dependent on my art one day.Most importantly, I am learning to share and isn't sharing an important tool for progress?