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    MA Fine Art: FAM6 statement

    My premise is that not everything in life is measurable or quantifiable I do not subscribe to the

    reductionist philosophy that is prioritised in current British society. My choice of material process,

    and work, illustrate my preliminary exploration of this huge subject. If the work provokes the

    viewer to think about our faith in measurement then it will have succeeded.

    The impetus for my work has been frustration about the increasing polarisation of the arts and

    sciences in every sphere of UK life, and the assumed superiority of the scientific method, with its

    presumption that everything worthwhile can be measured and quantified. Personally my work has

    been stimulated by the dualistic management of mental illness in the UK, and by the

    disappearance of the art of medicine, replaced by the apparently unquestioned authority and

    supremacy of evidence based medicine.

    The importance of measurability

    Academically this is manifest by the use of quantitative methodology in all respected medical and

    scientific researchthe scientific method. Occasional references to use of qualitative methods

    (http://www.bmj.com/content/342/bmj.d424.extract) have largely failed to gain credence.

    The dominance of the quantitative is increasingly important as both clinical and research funding

    have become dependent on quantitatively based practice. This leads to acceptance of reductionist

    practice simplistically the idea that everything is the sum of its parts and thus can ultimately be

    understood (and treated). (See appendix 1).

    Digital technology

    The explosion of digital technology since the millennium appears to support the death of thequalitative.

    The promotion of so-called Stem1

    subjects, including science and maths, should be

    extended to digital technology, says the council's report. (Council for Industry and Higher

    Educationhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11214894).

    1Science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

    http://www.bmj.com/content/342/bmj.d424.extracthttp://www.bmj.com/content/342/bmj.d424.extracthttp://www.bmj.com/content/342/bmj.d424.extracthttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11214894http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11214894http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11214894http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11214894http://www.bmj.com/content/342/bmj.d424.extract
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    However digital technology is not constrained by the traditional art-science divide and the above

    report calls for recognition that digital technologies span the boundaries between arts and

    sciences (and thus by implication between the qualitative and the quantitative):

    digital industries2 require skills and types of creativity that cross boundaries between arts

    and sciences. "We know that these businesses are going to be very important," but they do not

    fit within any "rigid boundaries" between Stem subjects and the arts.

    As such the report urges support for inter-disciplinary university projects - including arts and

    humanities, which integrate with science and technology in digital businesses.

    (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11214894)

    Digital technology in Fine Art

    Fine art practice has become more inclusive in recent decades. The advent of the World Wide Web

    has drawn the attention of artists and given birth to new and rapidly evolving art processes.

    Websites are now being developed not only as professional shopfronts, but also as artworks in

    their own right.

    I spent some time exploring the use of the website as my primary art practice, and wrote a

    comparison of two case studies for the FAM3 module. My conclusions steered me away from

    making primarily website-based art, but my website remains a repository for my video work, andoffers the viewer access to all the work that would normally be found in artists sketchbooks. It

    also offers the viewer the opportunity to explore my art process, and engage in online debate with

    me.

    Digital technology (in its widest sense) is a technology that is in its youth and largely unburdened

    by tradition and expectation. It deals with issues that are topical and challenging, such as sexuality,

    gender politics, the body, disability, (e.g. the organisation videoart

    (http://www.videoart.net/home/)). I believe that it uniquely encompasses both the measurable

    and the unmeasurable, in balance and non-judgementally. As such, it seems to be the ideal

    practice within which to develop my investigation (with the caveat that the indiscriminate and

    uncritical content of the Web offers hazards for the unwary.)

    Use of digital video

    2 Digital businesses are a fusion of entertainment, engineering, retailing, design, technology and art - and as such need

    a different kind of support from the backing given to Stem subjects.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11214894http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11214894http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11214894http://www.videoart.net/home/http://www.videoart.net/home/http://www.videoart.net/home/http://www.videoart.net/home/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11214894
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    My decision to work with video was, paradoxically, prompted by an antipathy towards the

    medium as fine art practice. Grappling with the technicalities of video editing and the variety of

    software available diverted me from producing any art work for several months, but confirmed to

    me the appropriateness of my choice. On reflection I made a decision to work with both

    quantitative (measurable) and qualitative (unmeasurable) processes simultaneously. Few

    processes embody the reductive nature of the quantitative more than digital technology, based on

    a binary system, (the binary system underlies modern technology of electronic digital

    computers.3)

    Choice of subject matter

    My initial work was based on ideas of journey and boundary themes which I had explored in my

    undergraduate work. Videos shot from inside a train combined a literal journey with investigation

    of the meanings of inside and outside. These videos were also a journey of material process, as I

    became more familiar with my video editing package.

    A consequence of shooting footage through the train carriage window was that I captured (quite

    serendipitously) some interesting reflections. This observation led to further videos looking

    specifically at reflections. Appropriately that the word reflection has several uses that encompass

    both the measurable (when used in physicslight reflection) and the unmeasurable (when used

    in psychoanalysisself-reflection). (See appendix 2).

    Visual research into reflections led to me making some videos of shadows, which embody many of

    the theoretical considerations of the reflections work.4

    Feminism

    3Computer memory comprises small elements that may only be in two states - off/on - that are associated with digits

    0 and 1. Such an element is said to represent one bit- binary digit.http://www.cut-the-

    knot.org/do_you_know/BinaryHistory.shtml) and yet the intuitively-led editing process produces outcomes that are

    unique and irreproducible (if the interim files are destroyed).4

    As with reflection, shadow has multiple meanings, encompassing the scientific:

    partial darkness or obscurity within a part of space from which rays from a source of light are cut off by an

    interposed opaque body (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shadow),

    and the psychoanalytic:

    Beneath the social mask we wear every day, we have a hidden shadow side: an impulsive, wounded, sad, or

    isolated part that we generally try to ignore. (http://www.reconnections.net/shadow2.htm).

    In contrast to Freud, Jungian theory makes no attempt to claim scientific authority, indeed Jungs writings frequently

    draw on Christian theology.

    http://www.cut-the-knot.org/do_you_know/BinaryHistory.shtmlhttp://www.cut-the-knot.org/do_you_know/BinaryHistory.shtmlhttp://www.cut-the-knot.org/do_you_know/BinaryHistory.shtmlhttp://www.cut-the-knot.org/do_you_know/BinaryHistory.shtmlhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shadowhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shadowhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shadowhttp://www.reconnections.net/shadow2.htmhttp://www.reconnections.net/shadow2.htmhttp://www.reconnections.net/shadow2.htmhttp://www.reconnections.net/shadow2.htmhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shadowhttp://www.cut-the-knot.org/do_you_know/BinaryHistory.shtmlhttp://www.cut-the-knot.org/do_you_know/BinaryHistory.shtml
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    My shadow videos derive from shadows of washing hung outside on a line on a blustery day, and

    thus the work incorporates major references to feminism and its associated political and academic

    theories. Laundry itself has associations not only of domesticity (and the stereotyping of womans

    role in the home) but also of the abusive behaviour of women towards other women in the name

    of religion (the Magdalene Laundries).5

    In-depth exploration of these theories is beyond the scope of my current work, but is something

    that I hope to develop in the future. Feminism relates directly to reductionist theory, with women

    historically stereotyped as soft, mysterious, unpredictable, illogical and irrational. By contrast

    men are hard, logical and rational. It would be interesting to speculate how much the hierarchy of

    academia and research methodologies relate directly to gender politics.6

    Influences on my work

    It is difficult to identify artists who have influenced my current work, as inevitably this work is

    influenced by previous work, especially my degree show work. I have not used digital media

    before, and have found it difficult to engage with at exhibitions, so I bring to digital work the

    profound influences of such diverse artists as Louise Bourgeois, Sarah Lucas, Richard Long, Rachel

    5Interestingly entering laundry & feminism into Google takes me to the Fembot website,

    http://fembotcollective.org/blog/category/laundryday/. Not solely creating a means for traditional scholarship to

    appear online, Fembot seeks to redefine what scholarly communication means in a digital environment by

    transforming the concept of article and embracing multi-modal technologies for production and distribution. Built

    using WordPress and with a commitment to open source, the tools created by Fembot will be shared with the

    community.6Feminism and Science: Mechanism Without Reductionism, Fehr, CDuring the scientific revolution reductionism and

    mechanism were introduced together. These concepts remained intertwined through much of the ensuing history of

    philosophy and science, resulting in the privileging of approaches to research that focus on the smallest bits of nature.

    This combination of concepts has been the object of intense feminist criticism, as it encourages biologicaldeterminism, narrows researchers choices of problems and methods, and allows researchers to ignore the contextual

    features of the phenomena they investigate. I argue that the historical link between mechanism and reductionism is

    not a necessary one, that this link should be severed, and in many cases has already been severed. Teasing

    reductionism away from mechanism allows us to hold onto the mechanistic view that science should explain how

    things work, without mandating methods and approaches that reduce the objects of scientific investigation to their

    smallest parts. Mechanism without reductionism decenters reductive methods, and so creates intellectual space for a

    plurality of methods that may engage the world at a variety of levels of organization. This ensuing pluralism opens the

    door for a wide variety of approaches to research, including feminist and gender-sensitive science.

    http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CG0QFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fww

    w.public.iastate.edu%2F~cfehr%2FFehr%2C%2520Feminism%2520and%2520Science%2520Mechanism%2520Without

    %2520Reductionism.doc&ei=86AjUKLxC4a90QX8nYDgBg&usg=AFQjCNEEB-

    8i2KLQzxLYtJWqTIdERCW9A&sig2=_hIf2lgx6jIPAiph-fMQ3A

    http://fembotcollective.org/blog/category/laundryday/http://fembotcollective.org/blog/category/laundryday/http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CG0QFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.public.iastate.edu%2F~cfehr%2FFehr%2C%2520Feminism%2520and%2520Science%2520Mechanism%2520Without%2520Reductionism.doc&ei=86AjUKLxC4a90QX8nYDgBg&usg=AFQjCNEEB-8i2KLQzxLYtJWqTIdERCW9A&sig2=_hIf2lgx6jIPAiph-fMQ3Ahttp://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CG0QFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.public.iastate.edu%2F~cfehr%2FFehr%2C%2520Feminism%2520and%2520Science%2520Mechanism%2520Without%2520Reductionism.doc&ei=86AjUKLxC4a90QX8nYDgBg&usg=AFQjCNEEB-8i2KLQzxLYtJWqTIdERCW9A&sig2=_hIf2lgx6jIPAiph-fMQ3Ahttp://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CG0QFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.public.iastate.edu%2F~cfehr%2FFehr%2C%2520Feminism%2520and%2520Science%2520Mechanism%2520Without%2520Reductionism.doc&ei=86AjUKLxC4a90QX8nYDgBg&usg=AFQjCNEEB-8i2KLQzxLYtJWqTIdERCW9A&sig2=_hIf2lgx6jIPAiph-fMQ3Ahttp://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CG0QFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.public.iastate.edu%2F~cfehr%2FFehr%2C%2520Feminism%2520and%2520Science%2520Mechanism%2520Without%2520Reductionism.doc&ei=86AjUKLxC4a90QX8nYDgBg&usg=AFQjCNEEB-8i2KLQzxLYtJWqTIdERCW9A&sig2=_hIf2lgx6jIPAiph-fMQ3Ahttp://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CG0QFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.public.iastate.edu%2F~cfehr%2FFehr%2C%2520Feminism%2520and%2520Science%2520Mechanism%2520Without%2520Reductionism.doc&ei=86AjUKLxC4a90QX8nYDgBg&usg=AFQjCNEEB-8i2KLQzxLYtJWqTIdERCW9A&sig2=_hIf2lgx6jIPAiph-fMQ3Ahttp://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CG0QFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.public.iastate.edu%2F~cfehr%2FFehr%2C%2520Feminism%2520and%2520Science%2520Mechanism%2520Without%2520Reductionism.doc&ei=86AjUKLxC4a90QX8nYDgBg&usg=AFQjCNEEB-8i2KLQzxLYtJWqTIdERCW9A&sig2=_hIf2lgx6jIPAiph-fMQ3Ahttp://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CG0QFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.public.iastate.edu%2F~cfehr%2FFehr%2C%2520Feminism%2520and%2520Science%2520Mechanism%2520Without%2520Reductionism.doc&ei=86AjUKLxC4a90QX8nYDgBg&usg=AFQjCNEEB-8i2KLQzxLYtJWqTIdERCW9A&sig2=_hIf2lgx6jIPAiph-fMQ3Ahttp://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CG0QFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.public.iastate.edu%2F~cfehr%2FFehr%2C%2520Feminism%2520and%2520Science%2520Mechanism%2520Without%2520Reductionism.doc&ei=86AjUKLxC4a90QX8nYDgBg&usg=AFQjCNEEB-8i2KLQzxLYtJWqTIdERCW9A&sig2=_hIf2lgx6jIPAiph-fMQ3Ahttp://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CG0QFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.public.iastate.edu%2F~cfehr%2FFehr%2C%2520Feminism%2520and%2520Science%2520Mechanism%2520Without%2520Reductionism.doc&ei=86AjUKLxC4a90QX8nYDgBg&usg=AFQjCNEEB-8i2KLQzxLYtJWqTIdERCW9A&sig2=_hIf2lgx6jIPAiph-fMQ3Ahttp://fembotcollective.org/blog/category/laundryday/
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    Whiteread, Michael Landy,7

    Susan Hiller, (http://www.susanhiller.org/), (see appendix 3), Cornelia

    Parker, Karla Black, Bruce Nauman (I think that his 1968 work Stamping in the studiois

    particularly relevant8)and many others.

    Since focusing my practice on digital video I have been influenced by a variety of work exhibited

    on the Rhizome and Furtherfield websites, and by the work of Thomson & Craighead. I have visited

    exhibitions of Pipilotti Rist, Tacita Dean, and Yayoi Kusama, all have which provoked questions

    about my work.

    I have found that those artists who have the greatest influence on my work are those who appear

    to offer a conceptual/ theoretical reading of their work. This does not surprise me, as my own

    7Michael Landy http://art.tfl.gov.uk/actsofkindness

    8http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8018180473912040117

    http://www.susanhiller.org/http://www.susanhiller.org/http://www.susanhiller.org/http://art.tfl.gov.uk/actsofkindnesshttp://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8018180473912040117http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8018180473912040117http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8018180473912040117http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8018180473912040117http://art.tfl.gov.uk/actsofkindnesshttp://www.susanhiller.org/
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    work has always been theoretically driven (a legacy of my background) but has become

    increasingly process led. I regard my increased confidence in process driven work as a marker of a

    successful transfer from undergraduate to postgraduate work.

    The exhibition

    I hope my exhibition will be aesthetically successful and accessible at different levels. My

    underlying philosophy is that the measurable and the unmeasurable necessarily coexist, and that

    they are co-dependent. The works cannot be created without the digital technology of camera and

    computer/ video editing software. They cannot be displayed without digital technology. These

    technologies have come about through quantitative research.

    The subject of the videos (washing on a clothes line) is measurable. The videos displayed are not

    quantifiable, and their effect on the viewer is qualitative. One could conduct a series of

    physiological measurements to document responses to any artwork, but I believe that this would

    demonstrate the absurdity of applying reductive philosophy to reactions that are intuitive,

    emotionally based, instinctive and visceral.

    The recent exhibition of Pipilotti Rists work at the Hayward gallery has been influential on

    planning my exhibition. Yayoi Kusamas Tate exhibition has also (to my surprise) influenced my

    exhibition. I hope to subvert the white cube element of gallery video exhibition and at the same

    time introduce ideas of the unexpected (and unmeasurable) (see appendix 4).

    I hope to extend this research at doctoral level, exploring what I believe to be the symbiotic

    relationship between the quantitative and the qualitative. My eventual aim is to work

    collaboratively with colleagues in medicine to help to re-establish the importance of the non-

    verbal narrative.

    Word count 2440

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    Appendices

    Appendix 1

    In wider society the perceived superiority of the quantitative is encouraged by government

    education policies that prioritise measurable subjects such as science and mathematics (so called

    Stem subjectshttp://www.nationalstemcentre.org.uk/). There has been a shift in emphasis in the

    education of primary school teachers towards demanding a higher level of attainment in science

    and maths amongst prospective applicants.

    The devaluation of soft subjects

    The corollary of increased emphasis on Stem subjects and the accompanying superiority of

    quantitative methods is a devaluing of the arts, and a relegation in status of that which cannot be

    measured. In 2011 the Russell Group warned A level students against taking soft subjects, and

    declared significant preference for science and maths A levels, regardless of the degree course

    applied for. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/feb/04/university-places-traditional-

    subjects-a-levels). Although there is no definition of soft subjects, there is a broad agreement

    that hard subjects are those based on quantitative methods, whereas the soft subjects tend to

    be more qualitatively based.

    Andrew McGettigan presents many of the problems that face academic art researchers who try tofit into the quantitatively based methodologies of their validated and respected STEM subject

    counterparts. (http://afterall.org/online/art-practice-and-the-doctoral-degree).

    Reductionism in Fine Art

    De Smedt and De Cruz have recently advanced eloquent arguments (from within the fields of

    psychology and philosophy) for integrating reductive philosophies to study art, and appear to

    conclude that a reductionist approach is possible:

    The search for causal mechanisms in the human brain may well be the most powerful

    strategy to account for cross-cultural universal patterns in artistic production and appreciation,

    with the potential of unifying sciences dedicated to the study of art. (De Smedt and De Cruz,

    2010)

    At the other end of the spectrum King introduces the concept of the postsecular:

    By bringing together a fragmented but growing recent scholarship on art and the spiritual,

    and suggesting that this forms part of a postsecular sensibility, a new andpluralistlanguage of the

    spirit can be articulated for the arts. (King, 2005)

    http://www.nationalstemcentre.org.uk/http://www.nationalstemcentre.org.uk/http://www.nationalstemcentre.org.uk/http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/feb/04/university-places-traditional-subjects-a-levelshttp://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/feb/04/university-places-traditional-subjects-a-levelshttp://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/feb/04/university-places-traditional-subjects-a-levelshttp://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/feb/04/university-places-traditional-subjects-a-levelshttp://afterall.org/online/art-practice-and-the-doctoral-degreehttp://afterall.org/online/art-practice-and-the-doctoral-degreehttp://afterall.org/online/art-practice-and-the-doctoral-degreehttp://afterall.org/online/art-practice-and-the-doctoral-degreehttp://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/feb/04/university-places-traditional-subjects-a-levelshttp://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/feb/04/university-places-traditional-subjects-a-levelshttp://www.nationalstemcentre.org.uk/
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    Appendix 2

    Reflection

    In mathematics reflections are measured in geometry using highly specific equations,

    (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflection_(mathematics)) and in binary relations reflexive relations

    are described by true or not-true, surely the ultimate in quantitative methodology.

    (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflexive_relation).

    Reflection in psychoanalytic terms is describable but unmeasurable:

    Psychoanalysis is an art of reflection, i.e. it tries to facilitate the subject's retrieval of his

    own self. The 'material' to be reflected upon consists of the products of human symbolization.

    (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20955247).

    Interestingly academic arguments have been made for considering the psychoanalytic art of

    reflection as a logical, empirical science:

    Psychoanalysis is relevant to us as the only tangible example of a science incorporating

    methodical self-reflection. The birth of psychoanalysis opens up the possibility of arriving at the

    dimension that positivism closed off, and of doing so in a methodological manner that arises out of

    the logic of inquiry. This possibility has remained unrealized.

    (http://solomon.tinyurl.alexanderstreet.com/cgi-bin/asp/philo/soth/getdoc.pl?S10023352-

    D000011).

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflection_(mathematics))http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflection_(mathematics))http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflection_(mathematics))http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflexive_relationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflexive_relationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflexive_relationhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20955247http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20955247http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20955247http://solomon.tinyurl.alexanderstreet.com/cgi-bin/asp/philo/soth/getdoc.pl?S10023352-D000011http://solomon.tinyurl.alexanderstreet.com/cgi-bin/asp/philo/soth/getdoc.pl?S10023352-D000011http://solomon.tinyurl.alexanderstreet.com/cgi-bin/asp/philo/soth/getdoc.pl?S10023352-D000011http://solomon.tinyurl.alexanderstreet.com/cgi-bin/asp/philo/soth/getdoc.pl?S10023352-D000011http://solomon.tinyurl.alexanderstreet.com/cgi-bin/asp/philo/soth/getdoc.pl?S10023352-D000011http://solomon.tinyurl.alexanderstreet.com/cgi-bin/asp/philo/soth/getdoc.pl?S10023352-D000011http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20955247http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflexive_relationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflection_(mathematics))
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    Appendix 3

    http://arttattler.com/archivesusanhiller.html

    Timeless and Eternal Stories Drawn from Artifacts of the Ephemeral

    Susan Hiller, Psi Girls, 1999, Video installation: 5 synchronised

    programmes, 5 projections,

    colour with stereo sound, realtime audio processing, Programme

    duration 20 minutes, Dimensions variable.

    Susan Hiller, An Entertainment, 1990, Video installation: 4 synchronised

    video projections, quadraphonic sound duration 19 minutes; dimensions

    variable, AP (Edition 1 + 1AP).

    Timothy Taylor Gallery

    15 Carlos Place

    020 7409 3344

    London

    Susan Hiller: Proposals

    and Demonstrations

    October 31-December 20,

    2008

    Susan Hiller uses ephemeral,

    everyday objects to tell

    stories and to extract new

    meanings from them

    producing an art that is both

    visually stimulating and

    emotionally compelling. She

    is intrigued by the

    unspoken, the unrecorded

    and the unnoticed in the

    gaps and overlaps between

    space and time, dream and

    experience. For Proposals

    and Demonstrations, Hiller

    premieres new video and

    photography, alongside

    earlier works from the 1970s

    and 1980s, all focusing on

    her long-term interest in the

    relationships between

    altered states of

    consciousness such as

    dream states, trance,

    meditation and art practice.

    http://arttattler.com/archivesusanhiller.htmlhttp://arttattler.com/archivesusanhiller.htmlhttp://arttattler.com/archivesusanhiller.html
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    Susan Hiller, Magic Lantern, 1987, Audio-visual installation: slide

    projections with synchronised soundtrack; 3 carousels each with 12

    35mm slides, driven by electronic pulses, Programme duration 12

    minutes, Dimensions variable, Edition 1/3.

    Susan Hiller, The J.Street Project, 2002-2005, Video installation: single

    channel projection colour, stereo, PAL, 16:9 FHA,

    he inclusion of significant

    earlier works in the

    exhibition reveals Hillers

    long association with the

    exploration of the hidden:

    Brian Dillon describes

    Hillers work as "conjuring

    the visible from the non-

    visible, tracking the

    movements of the unseen,

    tracing the outlines of the

    evanescent hearing

    voices out of the ether and

    giving a shape to what is not

    there."

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    Appendix 4

    There is a huge archive of feminist art, but feminist video art is a much more recent genre. One of

    the best known recent exhibitions was Reflections on the Electric Mirror: New Feminist Videoat

    the Brooklyn Museum in 2009-10.

    Shannon Plumb (American, b. 1970). Still from Commercials, 2002. Single-channel video, 25 min.

    37 sec. Courtesy of the artist and Sara Meltzer Gallery

    May 1, 2009January 10, 2010

    When video emerged as a new medium in the early 1970s, feminist artists embraced it as a way to explore issuesrelated to their own bodies, experiences, and identities. The rather straightforward capture of the artist performing

    (usually alone) in front of a stationary camera served as an avenue to investigate desire, autonomy, and

    selfhood. Reflections on the Electric Mirror: New Feminist Video presents recent video by a new generation of feminist

    artists. Like their 70s precursors, these young artists place greater emphasis on their performances for the camera

    than on complex narratives or special effects.

    The videos presented in this exhibition show varied approaches from humor to intense revelation. Thematic threads

    include the embrace of media appropriation and parody; repetition of self-imposed tasks; and rebelliousnessthe

    lashing out against society and the self. Exhibiting artists are Cathy Begien; Jen DeNike; Harry Dodge and Stanya Kahn;

    Kate Gilmore; K8 Hardy and Wynne Greenwood; Klara Liden; and Shannon Plumb.

    The exhibition title Reflections on the Electric Mirroris taken from an eponymous essay written in the 1970s by

    artist/filmmaker Lynn Hershman that examines the link between television and video art. The mirror serves as an apt

    metaphor for work in which artists use their own images for various types of subjectivity and self-analysis, ranging

    from role playing to autobiography.

    This exhibition is curated by Lauren Ross, Interim Curator of the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, Brooklyn

    Museum.

    Reflections on the Electric Mirror: New Feminist Video is made possible by the Elizabeth A. SacklerFoundation. (http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/new_feminist_video/)

    http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/new_feminist_video/http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/new_feminist_video/http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/new_feminist_video/http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/new_feminist_video/
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    Like earlier feminists, the works in this exhibition predominantly used the video camera as a

    facilitator of performance art rather than an art process through which to make a feminist

    commentary.

    I think that there is considerable scope for using digital video as a tool for exploring feminist issues

    in a more subtle way than through (often autobiographical) performance art. My current work

    does not focus specifically on feminist issues, but I would be interested to develop it within the

    feminist paradigm.

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    Bibliography

    All websites accessed at varying times during the FAM6 module.

    http://afterall.org/online/art-practice-and-the-doctoral-degree

    http://arttattler.com/archivesusanhiller.html

    http://art.tfl.gov.uk/actsofkindness

    Coughlan S. Digital technology should be university priority. Viewed at:

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11214894

    http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/new_feminist_video/

    http://www.cut-the-knot.org/do_you_know/BinaryHistory.shtmlHistory of the Binary system.

    http://fembotcollective.org/blog/category/laundryday/

    http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CG0QFjAD&url=h

    ttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.public.iastate.edu%2F~cfehr%2FFehr%2C%2520Feminism%2520and%2520Sc

    ience%2520Mechanism%2520Without%2520Reductionism.doc&ei=86AjUKLxC4a90QX8nYDgBg&u

    sg=AFQjCNEEB-e8i2KLQzxLYtJWqTIdERCW9A&sig2=_hIf2lgx6jIPAiph-fMQ3A

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/feb/04/university-places-traditional-subjects-a-levels

    http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shadow

    http://www.nationalstemcentre.org.uk/

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20955247

    Pavey J, Lilford R. Qualitative methods: an alternative view. BMJ 2011; 342:d42; viewed at

    http://www.bmj.com/content/342/bmj.d424.extract

    http://www.reconnections.net/shadow2.htm

    http://solomon.tinyurl.alexanderstreet.com/cgi-bin/asp/philo/soth/getdoc.pl?S10023352-

    D000011

    http://www.susanhiller.org/

    http://afterall.org/online/art-practice-and-the-doctoral-degreehttp://afterall.org/online/art-practice-and-the-doctoral-degreehttp://arttattler.com/archivesusanhiller.htmlhttp://arttattler.com/archivesusanhiller.htmlhttp://art.tfl.gov.uk/actsofkindnesshttp://art.tfl.gov.uk/actsofkindnesshttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11214894http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11214894http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/new_feminist_video/http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/new_feminist_video/http://www.cut-the-knot.org/do_you_know/BinaryHistory.shtmlhttp://www.cut-the-knot.org/do_you_know/BinaryHistory.shtmlhttp://fembotcollective.org/blog/category/laundryday/http://fembotcollective.org/blog/category/laundryday/http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CG0QFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.public.iastate.edu%2F~cfehr%2FFehr%2C%2520Feminism%2520and%2520Science%2520Mechanism%2520Without%2520Reductionism.doc&ei=86AjUKLxC4a90QX8nYDgBg&usg=AFQjCNEEB-e8i2KLQzxLYtJWqTIdERCW9A&sig2=_hIf2lgx6jIPAiph-fMQ3Ahttp://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CG0QFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.public.iastate.edu%2F~cfehr%2FFehr%2C%2520Feminism%2520and%2520Science%2520Mechanism%2520Without%2520Reductionism.doc&ei=86AjUKLxC4a90QX8nYDgBg&usg=AFQjCNEEB-e8i2KLQzxLYtJWqTIdERCW9A&sig2=_hIf2lgx6jIPAiph-fMQ3Ahttp://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CG0QFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.public.iastate.edu%2F~cfehr%2FFehr%2C%2520Feminism%2520and%2520Science%2520Mechanism%2520Without%2520Reductionism.doc&ei=86AjUKLxC4a90QX8nYDgBg&usg=AFQjCNEEB-e8i2KLQzxLYtJWqTIdERCW9A&sig2=_hIf2lgx6jIPAiph-fMQ3Ahttp://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CG0QFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.public.iastate.edu%2F~cfehr%2FFehr%2C%2520Feminism%2520and%2520Science%2520Mechanism%2520Without%2520Reductionism.doc&ei=86AjUKLxC4a90QX8nYDgBg&usg=AFQjCNEEB-e8i2KLQzxLYtJWqTIdERCW9A&sig2=_hIf2lgx6jIPAiph-fMQ3Ahttp://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CG0QFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.public.iastate.edu%2F~cfehr%2FFehr%2C%2520Feminism%2520and%2520Science%2520Mechanism%2520Without%2520Reductionism.doc&ei=86AjUKLxC4a90QX8nYDgBg&usg=AFQjCNEEB-e8i2KLQzxLYtJWqTIdERCW9A&sig2=_hIf2lgx6jIPAiph-fMQ3Ahttp://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/feb/04/university-places-traditional-subjects-a-levelshttp://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/feb/04/university-places-traditional-subjects-a-levelshttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shadowhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shadowhttp://www.nationalstemcentre.org.uk/http://www.nationalstemcentre.org.uk/http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20955247http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20955247http://www.bmj.com/content/342/bmj.d424.extracthttp://www.reconnections.net/shadow2.htmhttp://solomon.tinyurl.alexanderstreet.com/cgi-bin/asp/philo/soth/getdoc.pl?S10023352-D000011http://solomon.tinyurl.alexanderstreet.com/cgi-bin/asp/philo/soth/getdoc.pl?S10023352-D000011http://www.susanhiller.org/http://www.susanhiller.org/http://solomon.tinyurl.alexanderstreet.com/cgi-bin/asp/philo/soth/getdoc.pl?S10023352-D000011http://solomon.tinyurl.alexanderstreet.com/cgi-bin/asp/philo/soth/getdoc.pl?S10023352-D000011http://www.reconnections.net/shadow2.htmhttp://www.bmj.com/content/342/bmj.d424.extracthttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20955247http://www.nationalstemcentre.org.uk/http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shadowhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/feb/04/university-places-traditional-subjects-a-levelshttp://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CG0QFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.public.iastate.edu%2F~cfehr%2FFehr%2C%2520Feminism%2520and%2520Science%2520Mechanism%2520Without%2520Reductionism.doc&ei=86AjUKLxC4a90QX8nYDgBg&usg=AFQjCNEEB-e8i2KLQzxLYtJWqTIdERCW9A&sig2=_hIf2lgx6jIPAiph-fMQ3Ahttp://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CG0QFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.public.iastate.edu%2F~cfehr%2FFehr%2C%2520Feminism%2520and%2520Science%2520Mechanism%2520Without%2520Reductionism.doc&ei=86AjUKLxC4a90QX8nYDgBg&usg=AFQjCNEEB-e8i2KLQzxLYtJWqTIdERCW9A&sig2=_hIf2lgx6jIPAiph-fMQ3Ahttp://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CG0QFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.public.iastate.edu%2F~cfehr%2FFehr%2C%2520Feminism%2520and%2520Science%2520Mechanism%2520Without%2520Reductionism.doc&ei=86AjUKLxC4a90QX8nYDgBg&usg=AFQjCNEEB-e8i2KLQzxLYtJWqTIdERCW9A&sig2=_hIf2lgx6jIPAiph-fMQ3Ahttp://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CG0QFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.public.iastate.edu%2F~cfehr%2FFehr%2C%2520Feminism%2520and%2520Science%2520Mechanism%2520Without%2520Reductionism.doc&ei=86AjUKLxC4a90QX8nYDgBg&usg=AFQjCNEEB-e8i2KLQzxLYtJWqTIdERCW9A&sig2=_hIf2lgx6jIPAiph-fMQ3Ahttp://fembotcollective.org/blog/category/laundryday/http://www.cut-the-knot.org/do_you_know/BinaryHistory.shtmlhttp://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/new_feminist_video/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11214894http://art.tfl.gov.uk/actsofkindnesshttp://arttattler.com/archivesusanhiller.htmlhttp://afterall.org/online/art-practice-and-the-doctoral-degree
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    http://www.videoart.net/home/

    http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8018180473912040117

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflection_(mathematics)

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflexive_relation

    Relevant exhibitions attended:

    Susan Hiller at Tate Britain, February 2011

    Yayoi Kusama at Tate Modern, May 2012

    Pipilotti Rist Eyeball Massageat the Hayward Gallery, October 2011

    http://www.videoart.net/home/http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8018180473912040117http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflection_(mathematics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflexive_relationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflexive_relationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflection_(mathematics)http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8018180473912040117http://www.videoart.net/home/