Theory - Reflections from lecture by the academic skills tutors, 16th October.

This lecture discussed the elements of the essay for the theory module.

It discussed at the structure of the dissertation or essay and the recommendation to use chapters and subheadings properly, together with the appropriate referencing methods which should be adopted at the same time as writing the essay itself.

Suggested framework might be

• an introduction, including the background/facts/history, which should be weighed up with its critical strengths and evaluation
• a discussion of the theory.
• Various examples of the theory in practice.

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The 2nd half of the lecture was conducted by Dr Mike Belshaw with regards to constructing a viable question on "an idea and its relationship with a body of work or practice" together with the appropriate research methods.

The "question" is the hinge between the concept and the body of work, and must link with your own studio practice. It is correct that one should challenge the concept.

It is recommended that at least 3 but no more than 6 full chapters are made for a 6000 word essay, plus an introduction and also finally a conclusion. That means a total of 8 chapters is an absolute maximum in all.

Various examples were then discussed, such as
1) the concept of kitsch.

• What is kitsch? It's a kind of cultural artefact, or a way of looking at one.
• Is kitsch in the eye of the beholder?
• Can kitsch be critical?
• How do we recognise the difference between "use" and the mention of kitsch?

Despite kitsch being very much out of fashion, a brilliant example of someone who plays with kitsch directly, is that of the work of Jeff Koons.
Another example might be the portraits work by the ex-US president of the United States George W Bush. -  For example his portrait of Vladimir Putin is a very naive and amateurish style, but because of its precedents and its creation by President Bush, this painting has become quite valuable.

2) Another essay example might be an investigation of "madness".
In art this was first explored by Empedocles the Greek philosopher, and included the 4 elements of earth wind fire and water. Later in art history these became the 4 humours (this was contextually in line with the medical practice at the same time examples of which can be seen in the Thackery Museum of medicine in Leeds).
Later still came the ideas from René Descartes and then Emanuel Kant's reasons and judgements.

3) A further example might be the concept of "nothing".
This for example refers to the index =; the sign points to the effect of something left behind. This is particularly interesting in my own practice. For example footprint or a boot print is left behind by its owner.

• See the works of Rachel Whiteread  e.g. "Ghost" and her plaster casts of complete houses and rooms, which explore the concept of nothing, and the fact that "nothing" can actually be recorded...
• In 1911 someone actually stole the painting of the Mona Lisa from the Louvre in Paris. There was a subsequent photograph of the absent space, which later became an artwork in itself.
• Alan McCallum and Louise Lawler, created a piece of work called "fixed interval".
• Robert Rauschenberg created a piece of work entitled "the eraised De-Kooning Drawing" from 1952.
• An alternative piece of art in the form of a musical score was created by John Cage entitled 4 minutes and 33 seconds of silence.… Only recently it has been discovered that the French movement called "Les incoherence" had actually created a funeral march (which was based on a passage of silence) in the late 19th century. It is not known if John Cage actually copied this work but it is possible. I wonder how copyright might be applied to that?

It is also worth looking at the idea of figure and ground in order to show the concept of "nothingness"

Conclusions;

• Always use paintings and images as examples within an essay to show your discussion.
• Be selective about your work with regards to the individual; it is not about making a biography.
• Find a really good quote, then explain it in detail, but in context with the subject theme. 
• Remember to select good quotes that are ideas, not descriptions, but then you as the original author of an essay have the opportunity to provide your own description of that idea in order to put into context with your own practice.