antony clarkson
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The Athole House Studio
Self-Isolation Artist Residency
30th March 2020 - 7th November 2021

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Picture
Over my career I have taken part in many artist residencies in various parts of the world; I have even organised and run a residency program myself. 2020 has brought new challenges to us all, I however intend to treat these challenges as opportunities. With this in mind today, the first day of my self-isolation having arrived back from my studio in the Untied States last night, I I launch my new blog which will become an integral part of this website as I redesign is over the coming weeks.

Artist Residencies give artists the space and perhaps more importantly the time to make new work; I intend to treat my time in self-isolation in the same way that I would if I were on an artist residency in another studio in another part of the world. Athole House Studio maybe one of my home studios but for me it is a work space, and lets face it, we all now have the time.

The Self-Isolation Residency 27th April 2020: Day 29

4/27/2020

1 Comment

 
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So is it finished I hear you ask and the answer is I don't quite know.

Once again most of my day has been spent trying to get the final tweaks completed on the self portrait, but as with all the paintings that I do I now need to give myself some distance from it but at the same time I need to live with it for a couple of days. I have certainly included all the elements that I originally had in mind to tell my story, I have thought of a couple more things that could be included for context, but I also wonder if I might be overdoing it if I put them in. It could well be complete without their inclusion.

This once again comes back to the point that I made recently about spending time reflecting upon a piece before I decide whether it is finished or not. Putting this out here today makes me feel a little exposed. Normally I wouldn't let anyone see a piece of my work if I wasn't sure if it was finished, so this is quite a challenge that I have set myself to allow a piece that I am still a little unsure of it's status to be seen in public, even over social media. I have a very strong reserve about not letting a piece of work be exhibited until I am 100% certain that it is completed. The only time I have done anything that feels like this before was when I was at university studying for my Masters Degree when we were encouraged to put new and experimental work through a process refereed to as 'testing-time'. This involved deliberately exhibiting new work to, albeit a small, selected audience of observers to act as a catalyst for discussion and once again reflection on the work. It's probably from working with such processes that I learned to be so 'considerate' to my work. As I have said, this kind of thing can leave an artist feeling quite exposed and I suspect for some artists, who are less sure of their work that I am, vulnerable.

As a final note for tonight I would like to mention another area concerned with completing a piece of art work, that of titling it. This piece is of course already titled, 'Desiderata'; I have spent a lot of time whilst I have been working on the project thinking about the title, but more than that, thinking about the project as a whole. This in a way is the thing that I would like point out. The title of an art work is a part of the art work, it is something that evolves along with the artwork, it is not a mantle that is hung around it's neck on the pieces completion because the artist can't think of anything else to call the piece. Doing that is almost as bad a 'labeling', I won't glorify such work by saying 'titling,' a piece of work 'untitled'. If you ever see a piece of art in an exhibition labeled untitled it actually means 'unfinished' or even worse, 'incomplete'. And no artwork should ever find its way into the public domain if it is unfinished. If an artist has the  given the correct thought and consideration creating a piece of artwork, the title will have been part of that process of consideration. It might be a simple title, something that has been there all along, as in the name of the view in a landscape, that is a quite acceptable title for something as simple as a landscape painting. but don't be fooled my the by the mystique of the untitled, if doesn't mean mystery, it means sloppiness or even worse laziness.

1 Comment
Colm Docherty
4/27/2020 02:34:36 pm

I agree about titles .I'm particularly fond of Abstract art as in non representional and particular genre is full of "untitled No. 26" . I know people say we shouldnt judge but its pretty hard to come to a conclusion about a piece if the artist doesnt at least give you a clue what their aim was. A bit like making a cake and not saying what flavour its meant to be. With my Abstract work i either start with a working title or a colour or sometimes a shape. Mind you it is a bit funny when you see a painting of a bottle called "bottle". Its like theyre not sure it looks like one. Anyway im enjoying your blog.
On another subject I'm enjoying doing these drawing/painting videos now that I've found an app that can speed things up just a bit.ive seen a few others have made and they get a bit boring as it's not always a quick process. Have you tried any videos?

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  • CODEX
    • plane >
      • Apophenia: An Uncanny Presence.
      • Control(s)
      • Personal Topographies
      • The Self-Isolation Residency
      • Americana
      • Mauve Skies
      • Scotland
      • Selected Drawing & Paintings,
      • The Teaching Years
      • Spatial Paintings 2006-2008
      • Paintings 2006
    • mass >
      • The Blind Men and the Elephant.
      • Spatial Conceptions 2014 - 2022
      • Painted Objects
      • Autograph
      • The Newtonian Nightmare
    • volume >
      • Enso nest
      • Someone else's storey
      • Shower, The Process Residency 2013,
      • Concrete Haiku
      • Atypical
      • The Murder of Crows.
      • Composition in White (Painting), The Breathe Residency:
      • Composition in White (Sculpture), The Breathe Residency:
      • Floorplan
      • Paper Scissors Rock
      • Pilgrimage
      • The Fifth Column
      • Tension
      • Arch
    • blogs >
      • The Self-Isolation Residency: Blog 2020-2021
      • Apophenia: An Uncanny Presence. 2022
    • artist statement
    • cv & education
    • contact