Assignment 1 15/07/2020
Part A
Reflective learning
At the beginning of Part One you were asked the question ‘What is art?’
Look back at your initial response to this question and write a short paragraph (150 words) saying if your views have changed or not and why. Explain how they’ve changed if this is the case.
In my initial response, I reflected on art being effort and input towards creativity, and that art did not necessarily have to be understood to be considered art. I still agree on the most part with this statement but I now also consider art from a more analytical perspective. I feel like I actually understand a lot more about contemporary art and how themes as broad as death, time and place are explored through art. This has given me new insight into why we might produce art, where it comes from and why it’s important.
Rather than change my view of what art is, I think I’m more open to what art is and less restrictive about what art isn’t. I now see that there is more to art than artistic skill and consider that art is less about effort and more about thought, emotion and impression through expression, in various formats.
Reflect on what you’ve learned as a result of completing Part One and write about any areas you would like to develop more; this can include study skills or subject matter. (100 words)
In part one, I have learnt how diverse even one piece of art can be and how to really begin to interpret works and delve into big subjects that are dense with history and curiosity. I can appreciate more artworks and let them lead me down further paths of research to form my own opinions more confidently, as well as create a memory log of art that I can use in the future to build on. I would like to improve my time management skills and build my vocabulary further, which I can continue to do with skills I am gaining.
Look through your learning log. It should be starting to reflect your progress quite well by now. We’d expect your learning log to include postcards, exhibition notes, quick drawings of work you’ve seen and printouts, plus your notes, quotes and references to articles. Write a paragraph on how you think your learning log is progressing and how you think it could be improved. If you’re an artist or writer, also reflect on how the work you’ve seen might relate to your own ideas and work. (150 words)
I have had some difficulty with being a perfectionist when it comes to my learning log and I feel I need to relax my expectations towards it. I initially used a sketchbook and typed up my notes, but found this to be unnecessarily time consuming and so resorted to typing only. This way I can print and build an analogue file that can be supplemented with sketches and notes, and upload to my online blog from one source. Having established a better system to create my learning log, I found it easier to recall notes and images and physically track my progress through the exercises which was rewarding as well as helpful to keep me on track. In future, I think if I manage my time better my learning log can feel more elaborate and less rushed. I would also like to add more commentary as this will be essential in the next parts, and become more confident in including my own artistic aesthetics in my log.
Part B
Interpret Jeremy Deller’s Battle of Orgreave and reflect on the importance of time and place in this piece. Write 800–1,000 words.
After looking at the reenactment artwork titled ‘Battle of Orgreave’ I initially judged the piece to be an uncomfortable exploration of a political protest. The photos show gangs of white males in badge-decorated denim, holding banners alongside photos of physical altercations. There is little indication of what the conflict is in regards to. Having watched the documentary and the reenactment I realised I misjudged the piece, probably because my interpretation has been swayed by recent news events. However, recent news events involving police brutality have led me to think about the piece in a new light. In 36 years, many of the issues raised by the protesters are still relevant today regardless of their race or gender. What they campaigned for in 1984 were matters of equality, class, economics and politics. Even as recent as a month ago, though under very different circumstances, these issues are still being protested. In that respect I very much enjoyed exploring this work and loved this retelling of a historical moment in such a dimensional and interactive way.
The Tate holds the paraphernalia from both the original event and the replication, paraphernalia ranging from photographs, items of clothing and slogan adorned stickers and badges from each of the encounters. It really shows the attention to detail in the reenactment and how the piece was layered with undecorated truths. It’s an interesting narrative between two points in time and from different circumstances.
I think this is why Deller chose to create a reenactment. Because this method of recreating a battle is associated with viking or roman conflict and therefore can be reformed and reshaped to suit the actors and their spectators. This could also be a modern form of explaining history, and as Deller was previously a student of art history he would be entirely familiar with classical depictions of battles scenes, through painting, sculptures, poetry and plays. Deller wanted to use a modern form of representation to tell the story of a modern day battle. It was also suggested that when Deller collaborated with the art organisation, they decided to announce the piece as a film rather than an artwork to keep interest! Though today, we are able to use technology to make art in an entirely new format which is far more permanent than a typical painting or sculpture. A recorded video, particularly with thanks to advances in the internet, can remain indefinitely and be accessed by almost anyone, anywhere in the world, at any time. It becomes more universally accessed and therefore the true account of the battle can be the memory of the events and not just the distorted details scribed by journalists and political leaders.
Within the context I came to learn that the reenactment invited around 200 of the people involved, with the original conflict. It is probably one of the very few reenactments that could add this dimension. The surrounding history of the piece taught me a lot about the situation and the hostile realities of that time. It explained the real compassion of the artist and why he had been determined for a long time to investigate the atrocities of the circumstances.
The location of the peace is paramount to its creation. The re-enactment took place as close as possible to the original site and with original people as much as possible. Much like asking the original protesters to take part, it was to replicate and truly reenact the events with accuracy. It was almost a memorial (although thankfully no one died as a direct result of the battle) created by the people it was in honour of. As well as retaining the memories, the town itself still bears some of the scars from the war against the oppression, as families are still fighting to survive poverty and dereliction in the area. I believe Deller wanted to show the event and the outcomes within the same time and space.
By recreating the event on the same day exactly 17 years later (coincidentally on the 17th of June), he wanted to mark the date in time, again as a kind of memorial. In some cases, some of the people involved felt it was almost a ‘reliving’ of the date in 1984, rather than a reenactment. They were transported back in time to the emotions and the passion and fear they had felt before. This allowed more people to gain a sense of compassion with the original event which was somewhat biased in favour of the police officers and politicians when it was reported in the news.
Jeremey Deller could himself be associated with an iconic era in his artworks. He developed his talent through the 90’s and there is a continuous theme of community and investigation into collective works. His works titled ‘The History of the World’ and ‘Acid Brass’ similarly explores replicating a form of creativity into another format. He took 90’s acid house music and had them played by a brass band, changing and integrating different audiences and time periods. This could be said when considering ‘Battle of Orgreave’ because alongside the original officers and protesters, the reenactment invited hobbyists and actors that enjoyed recreating battles from viking or roman times. We can also see in the documentary that children have come to learn of the events that took place before they existed and in doing so, Dellar is memorialising the protest as other battles have been.
In summary, the ‘Battle of Orgreave’ is a multi dimensional work that is a modern form of telling a familiar story through time. It creates the documentation of a battle scene on the doorstep of yorkshire homes in the fight between the north and south, the workers and the leaders. There are many elements of time and place within the story itself, which have been cleverly cultivated to produce a work that is truly transgenerational and tells an unaltered story of a modern battle. A battle that is not unlike many of the thousands of battles before it.
References
https://www.artangel.org.uk/project/the-battle-of-orgreave/ (accessed 13/07/2020)
http://www.jeremydeller.org/TheBattleOfOrgreave/TheBattleOfOrgreave.php (accessed 12/07/2020)
https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/deller-the-battle-of-orgreave-archive-an-injury-to-one-is-an-injury-to-all-t12185 (accessed 13/07/2020)
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2001/jun/19/artsfeatures (accessed 13/07/2020)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5iHDhJ-lis (accessed 12/07/2020)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ncrWxnxLjg&t=244s (accessed 14/07/2020)
Room Five: Politics/Control’ Pages 106 - 107
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