Postgraduate applications.

“Art always questions things, to one degree or another. If art consisted in saying, ‘yes’, ‘bravo’, it’s unbearable, it would be boring. There is nothing more terrible than academic art, non- confrontational art, art that accepts. Art should discuss. Art should protest, that’s for sure”

— Georges Pompidou

This last week or so I have mostly spent time working to develop my applications for a postgraduate position. Part of formulating my letters of intent was to create drafts that I could send to trusted others for feedback and advice. This process will help refine my artist statement at the end of the year too, which is part of my Professional Practice research. One area for improvement would be in my writing. One piece of feedback stated. “You probably already know that some of the expressions you end up using are still inchoate or imprecise, leaving a reader guessing at what you mean. If a word doesn’t quite define what you want to say, don’t use the sentence it is in. Just spend time finding exactly the right word or leave the whole sentence unsaid.” I take this as a positive insight into how my writing comes over to the reader. I must start to learn how to try simply and succinctly to convey and articulate my critical analysis in a way that doesn’t come over like a stream of consciousness. Being a deep thinker, writing out my thought processes can be hard to extract a simply conveyed narrative out of my reasoning. Therefore, I needed to go over feedback from all my modules – that being most helpful were Professional Practice tasks and PowerPoint submissions – to remind myself where I can trip myself up when articulating my work. One tip has been to think of the reader. Who am I writing this for? Who is my audience? Yes, a knowledgeable audience may be able to grasp dense text easily. Still, not all text needs to be ladened with a deeply theoretical or philosophical context if the clarity is lost.

An example of feedback I received is as follows;

2. Too much “me”. I know it’s difficult to avoid the self when one is asked to write about one’s own development and performance, but it’s quite possible to keep it to a minimum. Your self will then shine through, regardless…

1. You tend to take too long to make a point. And although you may not see it, you actually repeat yourself, often. This is just prolix and unnecessary. Spot all iteration (the same idea expressed by different phrases in different paragraphs) and be brutal in the edit.

2. Try not to use the passive mode. Always seek out a way of saying the same thing in the active mode.

3. No lists! (…injustice, unfairness, subjugation, incarceration, digital power, financial dominance and political governance…)

4. You probably already know that some of the expressions you end up using are still inchoate or imprecise, leaving a reader guessing at what you mean. If a word doesn’t quite define what you want to say, don’t use the sentence it is in. Just spend time finding exactly the right word or leave the whole sentence unsaid.

5. Parsimony is a virtue in writing. Remember Occam’s Razor (look it up), it’s as useful when writing artist statements as it is in mathematical workings or philosophical argument. I like to think that anything written by an artist should be succinct and crystal clear to any non-artist.

This may help in future blogs too. as I try to get the the essence via a clarity of processed writing.

In this example below, I took into consideration the three points that were highlighted in the application statement section. My response was intended to demonstrate that I had considered each part as opposed to just writing where I think my current practice resides outside of a postgraduate framework.

Going through the application process has been a challenge. I have not been daunted though. In fact I have relished the chance to take a retrospective view of my work thus far. These past few weeks have consisted mainly of review and analysis. alongside this I have responded to the prospects of development offered by each institution. It has been interesting to see how each university requires a different type of response and in doing so, has got me to examine my ability to respond. For example and in contrast to the above application statement, my Goldsmiths application asked for a lot more text - “two sides of A4” - to demonstrate my motivation and response to what the course offers and how I felt it was right for my practice development at this stage of my career:

In conclusion, these last weeks has taught me a lot regarding the process of writing and what one needs to articulate clear and concise meaning. I will continue to develop a writing style that builds on content, expands the definition and gives meaning in a philosophical framework.