Creative Enquiry

I decided to cut the stand as I felt that the large piece of visible wood was distracting from the overall artwork that it was meant to promote. I have also taken inspiration from museum layouts, in the way that the structures supporting the ‘artefacts’ are supposed to be borderline invisible and seamless.

Bibliography

-       Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary and Thesaurus. (n.d.). vessel. Cambridge Dictionary | English Dictionary, Translations & Thesaurus. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/vessel

-       Cartwright, M. (2016). Women in Ancient Greece. World History Encyclopedia. https://www.worldhistory.org/article/927/women-in-ancient-greece/

-       Earth Mothers. (2008). TheFreeDictionary.com. https://www.thefreedictionary.com/earth+mothers

-       Feminist Views on the Role of Religions. (2021). tutor2u. https://www.tutor2u.net/sociology/reference/sociology-feminist-views-on-the-role-of-religions

-       Jitna. (n.d.). Overcoming patriarchal cultural norms and traditions. she will survive. https://shewillsurvive.com/2020/01/26/overcoming-patriarchal-cultural-norms-and-traditions/

-       McCluney, C. (2018). For the Bible Tells Me So: Justifying Gender Discrimination Based on Biblical Text. medium.com. https://medium.com/national-center-for-institutional-diversity/for-the-bible-tells-me-so-justifying-gender-discrimination-based-on-biblical-text-83c61dd4e639

-       Thompson, K. (2018). Simone de Beauvoir: Religion and the Second Sex. ReviseSociology. https://revisesociology.com/2018/07/20/simone-beauvoir-religion-second-sex/

-       Webster, J. (2022). 1. Earth Mother (research); https://www.tumblr.com/blog/creativeenquiryjennywebster

-       Webster, J. (2022). 2. Ordering Leaflets (Artist Statement). https://www.tumblr.com/blog/promotionjennywebster

It was at this point in my practice that I decided to take inspiration not only from the mythologies and cultures of the Ancient Greco-Roman period, but also objects that would be most common to that time period. I initially considered the idea of using mosaic tiling with natural materials such as plant-life to explore the female depiction in a modern context, however I felt that this did not fully embody what I was trying to say. I started to think of other natural materials that I could use, which would draw together the connection between women and nature (as discussed in my research on Earth Mothers). It was here that I had the idea to begin working with clay. I initially wanted to find and dig up my own clay to work with, however this proved to be a null idea, so I turned my focus to stoneware and terracotta clays. I became increasingly aware of the amphora, another object common to the Greco-Roman time period. The more I thought about them, the more I considered amphorae to be the best object to utilise imagery of throughout my project, due to their connection to their ancient world and the domestic sphere (of which women were dominant).

I also decided to look at the cornucopia (or Horn of Plenty), another physical vessel that served a similar purpose to the amphora, yet held another metaphorical meaning that could be related to women. My earliest work with clay attempted to create the recognisable amphora-shape by hand, before approaching various other techniques for sculpting clay, such as using plaster moulds. I sculpted small female nudes by hand, hollowing them out so as to be filled by flowers, which I thought emphasised the connection between women and nature. Instead, the hollowed-out clay torso took my thinking back to the amphora shape, and I realised how much women relate to amphorae in not only shape, but also metaphorical quality. I had also squashed clay into a plaster mould, which revealed a solid block shaped by pressure. I recognised that this could be a visual representation of the way women are shaped by the expectations of patriarchal society. With these realisations, I was able to pin down my final concept to work towards in more detail.

My final concept began to form through the idea of women being seen as living vessels, with two meanings of the word vessel being highlighted throughout my conceptual underpinning. As explained in my research, a vessel can be:

1) A curved container that is used to hold …

2) A person who has a particular quality or who is used for a particular purpose (Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary and Thesaurus, n.d.).

Much like the amphora and cornucopia, literal curved vessels intended to contain liquids and food, women are and have been considered as literal vessels for childbearing, intended to contain and care for children (Webster, 2022, 2). Also like the cornucopia, with symbolic qualities of abundance, fertility and peace, women are often expected to retain whichever abstract quality the male gaze places upon them, such as softness, fragility, or sensuality (Webster, 2022, 3). My artwork expresses these concepts, and a retaliation against them, through differing medias and techniques. I created a cornucopia made of paper as a final piece, intended to subvert its traditional role as a vessel for containing physical fruit. It instead demonstrated a direct challenge against this traditional role by losing the cornucopia’s structural integrity, making it unable to carry out its intended purpose. This can also be read as an analogy for women being expected by patriarchal society to bear ‘fruit’, and by rejecting the observation that women are only fit for child-bearing, power is given to women as individuals.

‘I would have girls regard themselves not as adjectives but as nouns, not mere appendages made to qualify somebody else.’ ~ Elizabeth Cady Stanton, 1880.

Women being inherently tied to roles created through traditional patriarchal rule is an incredibly common concept, with cultural norms taking such a deep root that they can be difficult to recognise at first (Jitna, n.d.). The idea of women being considered appendages to men (as noted by the quote above) has survived millennia, with oppressive terminology and treatment of women being evident in early religious texts (Feminist Views on the Role of Religions, 2021). For example, in the Bible it states that ‘“A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet” (1 Timothy 2:11–12, New International Version)’ (The Bible, cited in McCluney, 2018). The feminist philosopher Simone De Beauvoir argues that ‘historically, men, who have traditionally controlled most institutions in society, also control religion. It is men who control religion beliefs, and they use God to justify their control of society.’ (De Beauvoir, cited in Thompson, 2018). With this justification, it can be understood why the very existence of women is seen as subordinate to men (Thompson, 2018). Within my own project, I have been investigating two avenues of the patriarchal treatment of women. I have ventured into both physical and abstract expectations that are placed on women through patriarchal rule, taking key inspiration from the societal expectations of Ancient Greece and Rome. My work focuses on the concept of women being considered as vessels, through both reproductive ability and the forced acceptance of qualities placed upon them by the male gaze.

This project initially started with the desire to explore the concept of preservation, with research into artists that explored both preservation of living materials and preservatory techniques as a medium. From here, I began to progress into the duality of aliveness as compared with decay – with specific focus on the physical feelings associated with living. I made work that explored the opposing imageries of this concept, with life being represented by work that was red and bloody in appearance, and decay being shown through sterile, skeletal forms. The overall intention of this work was to make a reach into the uncanny, and cause feelings of disturbance/disgust amongst the viewers. From this point, I developed further into the decay of living organisms, such as flowers. I discovered that the decaying organisms looked both disgusting and beautiful, and wished to develop my ideas along this conceptual thread. It was at this point that I turned my attention towards humans bearing these characteristics – ugly, yet beautiful. This allowed me to make further research into a whole new field of information, with body image and insecurities, beauty standards and body positivity all coming into the mix. With an emphasis on the physical body, the artwork I created during this period of the project was as much an exploration into my own body insecurities as it was into the general concept. I solidly believe that the work I created at this point not only helped me to address the flawed logic of beauty standards, but also helped me to accept my body and past insecurities in a way that I hadn’t been able to before. In keeping with the decay theme, I began to juxtapose imagery of the human body (particularly the female body) with that of decayed plant-life, creating a tie between the physicality of nature and the physical body.

Here is my final exhibition so far, with the inclusion of development work (these will be taken away for degree show.) I am aiming to fix the amphora on the plinth tomorrow by cutting some excess wood from the stand, which will allow the amphora to remain supported on the inside but will give the illusion that it is standing on its own from the outside. I plan to do this tomorrow, before my final viva presentation.

My final amphora has been taken out of the kiln and placed on its stand in the exhibit. I am happy with how it came out, although I do prefer how the first one that I did looked before it collapsed (in terms of shape, the first one looked more squished). I feel that the stand is also too large and noticeable, so I think that I might paint it white to blend in with the rest of the exhibit and allow focus to be returned to the amphora and rest of the exhibit. Either this, or I will take off the stand completely and just have the amphora balancing on the plinth on its own.

This includes my business cards and leaflets, and also my clay development work for inspection by examiners.

While waiting for my final large amphora to be fired, I had some assistance in making a wooden stand for it so that it could be suspended above the plinth. I took a piece of wood that my tutor had given me up to the 9th floor, where I was able to have it cut to a suitable size that I had measured beforehand. I then sanded it by hand to get rid of any sharp edges, before helping Alan to attach it directly to the plinth (screwed in from the bottom).

For my final exhibit, I needed a shelf on which to place my miniature vessels (laid out like a timeline). To do this, I borrowed a shelf from the 8th floor, which I then repainted and cut to fit into my exhibition space.

Here is the final result of firing my manipulated vessels. also visible are the shards of my large amphora, which were also bisque fired to be utilised for my final exhibition.