Dear George
Here goes...
I think the simple answer to all your questions is yes.
Sadly I have only today heard of the event on 8 March and I am not
able to attend - did I miss an earlier announcement?
In the meantime, I continue to pursue a part-time (on and off for 5
years) PhD programme of research and after much practice, research
and heartache have come back to my original thesis title, Creative
interventions: drawing in the art of ecology.
The 'drawing', both concrete and metaphorical, is based on making an
argument for 'phenomenological drawing' - an experiential visual
language that contributes to the understanding of our relationships to
each other and with our environment. It's to do with the way things
draw themselves (auto-graph) and pattern recognition, or as David
Hockney once put it: " the way we depict space determines what we do
with it".
I would be delighted to make a presentation and/or take part in a
dialogue about this and related areas of drawing in research / research
in drawing.
Regards to all
David
On 26 Feb 2003 at 15:52, George Whale wrote:
> Dear Colleagues
>
> It is interesting that in the publicity surrounding a number of recent
> drawing events, there has been little or no reference to research. Given
> the current upsurge of research activity, one might have imagined that
> research would occupy a central position in academic conferences and
> symposia yet, contrarily, discussion of the subject appears almost to have
> been sidelined. I don't understand why this should be so. Could it be that:
>
> a. There is still much disagreement concerning the nature of research in
> our field. Consequently, debates are difficult, sometimes heated, and make
> us uncomfortable.
>
> b. The current shift of emphasis towards research undermines the status and
> authority of practitioners occupying academic positions. They,
> understandably, seek to avoid any discussion which might expose their
> weaknesses in this area.
>
> c. Much of the most influential drawing research in the last 50 years has
> been done by experts in other fields, for example psychologists. But the
> historical separation of art schools from mainstream academia has made us
> loath to engage with, or be challenged by, ideas from other disciplines.
>
> d. Artists are uncomfortable about the possible demystification of their
> activities, which might further undermine their 'special' status.
>
> e. 'Making' is the important thing, the primary activity. Formal research
> is an unwelcome and time consuming distraction.
>
> I would be very interested to hear what others think.
>
> George Whale.
>
>
> http://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/ac/ad/htmlpages/staff/gwhale.html
>
> George Whale
> Research Associate
> Loughborough University School of Art & Design (LUSAD)
> Loughborough
> Leicestershire
> LE11 3TU
> UK
>
> Tel: +44 (0)1509 228967
> Mobile: 07944 751088
> Fax: +44 (0)1509 228902
David Haley
Research Coordinator
SEPRU (Social & Environmental Practices Research Unit)
Faculty of Art and Design
Manchester Metropolitan University
Postgraduate Research Centre
Cavendish Building North
Cavendish Street
Manchester M15 6BG
+44 (0)161 247 1093
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