Philip Leider, (2010) ‘How I spent my summer vacation or, art and politics in Nevada, Berkeley, San Francisco and Utah’ In. Adamonson, G. The Craft Reader Oxford: Berg, pp.535-536
1. What information can you extract about the artists in the text?
The artist who is talking obviously has a great appreciation and understanding for art. The artists as a collective are all travelling a way to see an art work which shows their dedication and likely their love of art. We learn one of the artists is interested in art and its problems, likely he enjoys critically analysing.
2. How is the work of art described? Imagine from the context in the passage, describe what you saw, felt. What do you think the piece is about?
I imagine a huge piece of art but the scale is correct, I imagine a cool and crisp evening. The kind of evening you can see your breathe form in front of you. They mention slipping and sliding, that makes me think of the sea, maybe a lake. Or was it their emotions slipping and sliding from the piece in front of them. I think the man-made shape is itself the art, but i think its muse was nature hence why it fits in well and takes its place. Im also considering the name given to the art: ‘double negative,’ sometimes in English Language a double negative forms a positive. So was this artwork actually a positive? Or was it a physical negative, like removing something from the land.
Calvino, I (1983/1999), Mr Palomar, trans. William Weaver London: Vintage, pp.3-4.
1. Describe the visual imagery in this passage.
The sea is smooth, and little waves barely disrupt the sand on the shore. The main visual imagery in here is helping the reader to visualise the sea and the life of a wave.
2. What does Mr Palomar set out to look at?
Just one individual wave.
3. What different ways does Mr Palomar think about the wave and what difficulties does he encounter?
Mr Palomar is thinking through the formation of the wave and essentially the life cycle of it. He runs into difficulty though because after trying and succeeding to concentrate on one wave he cannot isolate it from its family because as soon as the wave has crashed another forms.
4. What do you think the role of the author is in this passage?
The author is telling us everything in the passage, explaining to us Mr Palomar’s thought process. The author tells us about the characters decisions and helps to set the scene for what is occurring or taking place around Mr Palomar.
5. How might we think about the wave in relation to the process of thinking?
I think the wave perfectly explains the process of thinking. An idea is created or formed in the distance, it is nowhere near complete but is beginning to take shape. It still has a long way to travel. It then grows and develops as a clearer more concise idea as it journeys on near to its ‘completion’ (crash against the shore). The author mentions how the waves change form and colour, fold over itself and break. This to me symbolises how ideas can change, mould and form into many other ideas, sometimes an idea has to completely collapse for you to unearth the silver lining inside.
6. Identify different types or categories of thought (memories about the past, desires about the future, present moment, abstract thoughts, real/fictional thoughts?) How do you imagine them?
I imagine memories from the past being all covered in a gold shine, but the painful ones in a dark grey and black tone. They seem distorted.
Desires about the future as thoughts always seem so far away but the more you reach for them I think the more realistic our thoughts become. We imagine ourselves as a better version, a 2.0 if you will.
Abstract thoughts remind me of Picasso.
Present moment thoughts don't feel distorted at all but slow and as if this day will never end.
Lillian Elliot, (2009) ‘Artist, Instructor, and Innovator in Fiber Arts’, oral history interview by Harriet Nathan, Regional Oral History Office, Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley,. In. Halper, V. and Douglas, D. (eds.), Choosing Craft. Chapelhill: The University of California Press, p.99.
1. According to the author, what don’t other university departments understand about art and design practice?
Other university departments don't understand the importance of art and design according to the author. The other departments don’t comprehend the vital links that tie all subjects together and that art and design are essentially a pathway for a lot of sistering subjects.
2. In what ways might you use other disciplines/subjects in your practice?
Many other artists use multidisciplinary mindsets within their work for example an exhibition I visited at the Chinese Centre for Contemporary Art entitled ‘Health Records’ was a project that mixed health and medical work with art. I think a great platform to extend your work to the masses is through using other disciplines in your own work.
3. Do you think other disciplines/subjects use art and design in their practice? If yes, how, if no, why?
Yes, I think many other subjects do cross over into art and design because i personally believe design is an integral part of everything. I think thought that art and design subjects more often branch out into other disciplines than the other disciplines crossing over and branching into art and design.
