Self Appraisal

Birmingham Institute of Art and Design

School of Art

BA(Hons) Fine Art

Student:
Ben Chandler

Module:

Level 5

Developing Practice

Tutor:
David Cheeseman

Date of completion:
23/01/17

Orientation: Outline the imaginative explorations and technical and practical developments in your work in
this module. Has the context changed or developed?
I attempted to explore different forms of entropy, error, and/or impermanence with personal narrative bleeding
through to tease the viewer. This was attempted in a style that combines aspects of Conceptual Art, PostMinimalism, and Process Art, with particular emphasis on space, matter, light, shape, placement, and context.
Additional context was the impenetrable monolith from Kubricks 2001: A Space Odyssey as a metaphor of our
place in the universe, which I tried to place in a state of vulnerability. The listed elements were done to achieve
a particular negative tone that would ideally hit the audience with a realisation that our life is short, and so make
them walk away and react positively towards themselves and others.
This involved exploring digital and disposable photography and observing their relationship, found objects and
their context, process-based painting with oils and turpentine alternatives, text and image projections and their
manipulation of a site, over-ambitious sculptures, and [the build-up of] an installation piece. The Lens Based
Media Suite, Wood Workshop, Mac Suite, and the Casting & Molding room were utilised for this project.

Appraisal: Review and analyse these advances. How have these informed and developed the content and
meaning of your work?
The theme of my work has definitely shifted towards what I perceive to be Post-Minimal Romantic
Conceptualism. Romantic elements of autobiographical elements are much more prominent in the work; the
fraying and passing of family and friends, the self-awareness, and the hinting of memento mori are more
prominent than ever. Physicality of the work is much more considered by exploring the introversion and
extraversion of forms, light, space, and context within sculpture and projection. Using autobiographical
elements has shifted an interest into narrative with the formulation of an installation and a film project, although
neither were completed in this module. Research into my themes and related art movements has introduced
me to arguments and principles of Romantic Conceptualism as well as Kantian Philosophy that aligns with my
understanding of Semiotics.
With these developments and successes, comes my failures. The final piece failed to achieve its surface finish
to appear dense and heavy, and so remained to look like painted foam. Its goal of looking impenetrable and
other worldly reduced to looking fallible, and so the piece has been taken as a tabula rasa, and thus
appropriately renamed Tabula Rasa. Moving away from the monolith form and meaning should challenge me
to be more creative and use as much of the facilities, materials and processes as possible, for I did not
experiment as much as I could have. I did however undergo a greater mental, reflective development.

List of skills acquired / developed: in relation to the module learning outcomes, identify the acquisition of
particular practical, technical and intellectual skills.

Deeper understanding of principles from Conceptual Art, Romantic Conceptualism, and Kantian
philosophy.
Heightened awareness of materials and how their relationship can create new structural harmonies,
which lets me avoid problematic misstructures (learnt from experience!).
How to make photo and canvas frames in the wood workshop with different joining techniques, how to
work with Liquid Latex, Vinamold, and insulation foam, and how to manipulate projections in a spacefor
intended effects.
Bettered analysis of found objects outside formalist critique, and a new desire for installation and film
beyond my monolith format.

Signed Student:

Signed Staff:

Blog: http://benchandlerdevelopingpractice.weebly.com/