Cooperative, collaborative and collective art and design practice
ARTISTIC COLLABORATIONS:
****Claes Oldenburg and Cooseje Van Bruggen, David Chipperfield architects, Alexis Mark design studios, Bibliotheque design studio, Yonk design studio, Judy Chicago and Miriam Schapiro (WomanHouse), Digo studios, Standards Manual, Christo and Jeanne Claude, Steina and Woody Vasulka.
Cooperative, collaborative and collective art and design research in preparation for the commune process.
a. Judy Chicago and Miriam Schapiro (co-founded), 'WomanHouse'
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/12/arts/design/women-house-judy-chicago.html
Schapiro and Chicago's established house entitled 'WomanHouse' had a great impact on feminist art in America in the 1970s, inspiring the work of Laurie Simmons and Robin Schiff during a pivotal moment in modern art. I wanted to include this collaborative work in my initial commune research as I found the establishment of areas of the 'domestic' space like the 'menstrual' bathroom particularly interesting. I have come across Chicago's work prior, with specific works like Dinner Party (1974) exploring the use of space and how the artist is able to tap into prevailing issues in a collective manner, be it through tapestry or exploring the boundaries of the home.
b. Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen http://oldenburgvanbruggen.com/biography/bios-team.htm
Although I have previous knowledge of Claes Oldenburg I had no idea of his close collaborative relationship with Coosje van Bruggen who completed forty major projects with Oldenburg, similarly to including Chicago and Shapiro I wanted to begin to recognise cooperative pairings. Thus, the period of the Dadaists during the turn of the 20th century rejected heavily modern capitalist society which pushed collaborative work further. The avant-garde group included artists like El Lissitzky, Francis Picabia, Fernard Leger and Richard Boix. I wish to include some design studio collaborations in order to understand collaboration on a grander scale.
c. Yonk design studios
d. Bibliotheque studios
e. Steina and Woody Vasulka
http://www.vasulka.org/index.html
f. James Richards and Leslie Thornton, Abyss film
Following on from this research I came across the collaborative film artists James Richards and Leslie Thornton, the pair recently completed a project entitled Abyss Film which is an electric one-hour collage of raw material and new experiments from a conversation started by Thornton surrounding her grandfathers work on the atomic bomb project during the second world war. The pair compiled all film material from the largest European scientific research centre, CERN; the pair's use of raw material and x-ray imaging showed some links with the work of Valsulka. This idea of approaching media like matter is both an interesting approach to the medium but a reflection of how the artists cooperate in a shared creative space. Thus, in the description of the new collaborative work the pair's project was described being formed from the 'third mind', which I found both a challenging but dynamic way of describing sharing the creative process with another individual; I intend to carry this term through the commune project in relation to creating a working relationship with two other people. The pair's interest in challenging the contours of the medium of the film explores a strong desire to inquire into the themes of technology through archival research. Linking again back to Vasulka, this deep interest in using archival research to push the use of technology in creative forms is what ties me to the pairs work. Thornton, in her individual practice, explores and examines the role of the media and engages with ethnography, which I think would be a particularly interesting area to keep in mind when setting up a manifesto for the commune project. Furthermore, Richards and Thornton's mutual interest in the construction of ideology and certainly technologies place in culture; this puts archival research for both artists at the heart of their practice through each artists experimentation with medium and cultural engagement. There is something very fluid (partly reminds me of Bill Viola's 'Stations' (1994)) about Abyss film with its exploration of particle physics and the use of collage in its raw material.
https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/film/james-richards-and-leslie-thornton-abyss-film
I intend to take the concept of the 'third mind' which in the Tate description reads as follows...
'......this is the result of a process in which the artists channel and unsettle each other’s sensitivities. They approach media like it is matter, innately malleable, in a dynamic improvisation.'
Relating this artwork back to the role I play in the commune and creating these social relationships with two other people, it is apparent through Richards and Thornton's collaboration that working and thinking in a 'malleable' manner is key to creatively cooperating. The pairs use of CERN to generate particle physics in the one hour project is a great example of an inquiry into a new surrounding. Therefore, I have initiated using the platform 'Neocities' as its an open-source website that allows groups to collaboratively build a platform. I would like to reiterate the importance of having an open mind in terms of exploring mediums in a fluid manner in order to generate work collaboratively.
Examples of Leslie Thornton and James Richards artwork:
https://frieze.com/article/bad-science-james-richards-and-leslie-thorntons-studies-cold-war-fear
https://www.artnews.com/art-in-america/aia-reviews/james-richards-and-leslie-thornton-62702/
e. Steina and Woody Vasulka (collaborative artists)
Exploring the collaborative work of Steina and Woody Vasulka; I am interested in the video art pioneers due to not only their creative practice set-up but also the compelling online website I studied which had an interesting layout, which could be adopted during this collaborative project to share information and ideas. After I researched the American pair, I created a neocities.org account for the purpose of collaborative work.
Stills from the Vasulka website:
I find the particular layout of the archival work interesting, in terms of its ability to capture the pairs aesthetic of their work but similarly the use of captions to reinforce the pivotal period the video artists were working prior to the establishment of developed websites.
12/02/20 Peer review and project proposal
Completing a peer review feedback was really helpful in discussing our initial ideas for unit 4, I was able to discuss with other students the process they wished to undertake in order to create a successful outcome for the lengthy project. I found asking and responding to questions equally as useful, through this process it pushed me to become clearer with what my intentions were behind the project and most importantly how I was going to use Commune (next week) to test and explore my idea on two other people. The review pushed me to begin thoroughly researching around my subject and later (in a group tutorial) initiated the different layers of the project I could undertake through a mixture of methods.
I have begun writing my project proposal, reflecting back on my peer review in order to clearly set out my intentions for my self-driven project.
Commune directed day plan (17/02)
Exploring cryptocurrencies and blockchains:
My commune group, the 'Third Mind' created a manifesto which details our differences and what rituals we will carry out in order to create a collaborative environment; through researching the collaborative work of Vasulka, I intend after the three days to create an 'archival' website using neocities to expand on the recordings I create over the three days. In relation to neocities and my interest in creating shared experiences, I have initiated an idea in relation to exploring blockchains and cryptocurrencies in my project. I initially looked at using the game of monopoly to explore the formula of currency and commerce, however, I thought it would be more effective in terms of interacting and documenting taking my group to money exchanges. For example, as my commune group will be based in Marble Arch I had the idea to plot each money exchange in the area, using our different languages in order to agree on a currency price in several different money exchanges in the area. Thus, my exploration of tokenisation will be explored collaboratively.