The Gist

 
I've been figuring out a system of researching all the names, artists, writers and others mentioned in tutorials and lectures. The list is growing and I've needed to develop a way of grasping these, working through them, and making them relevant to my practice and the MA. Some of the artists I have referenced myself, some are familiar to me, some not, but the point is to seek the relevance, and distil the message. I hope also to instil an effective discipline that will see me through the four years, as managing time is all. The model is a five minute research and a summary.

At the MA introductory workshop in Barnsley we were given a few minutes to research an artist - in this case Hew Locke, and I remember in previous art school settings given similar tasks. The five minute research task gives a focus and urgency which I have found to be effective, and the information memorable. Of course there is much more to find out about each artist, but it can give a good idea - you can get the gist.

The gist is an important concept in the arts. A film can take years to make, and employ the talents of hundreds. It can be the work of thousands of hours of highly skilled people, pouring in their expertise. It all comes to a couple of hours, and again, comes down to the question, what is it about? Sum it up in three sentences at most, one if possible. The task is to come up with those sentences, those few words.

I have quite recently finished my second novel, and have been writing the synopsis and the proposal letter. The novel is not easy to summarise - it is not a conventional narrative at all, and yet I still have to find the few words to do the job. It took me a year and a half to write, and is full of ideas and strands, and yet, somehow, several right words can hopefully convey the sense of the whole.

Art can only be fully experienced in its entirety, but that is a demanding ask, only the artist themself really gives it complete attention. Why assume that anyone will spend their precious time, their precious mind-space looking at my work or anyone else's. I think you have to give. You have to offer art, and provide the way in - different ways in. The title, the booklet, the presentation, the aesthetic. It's almost a seduction into the artist's way of thinking, rather than a confrontation.

18th March 2011