Dissertation PDP

Nature and the environment in which we live has always been a theme at the heart of my practice, however I have never really thought I have understood how to intertwine these themes into art successfully, the research I have undertaken towards my dissertation, writing the thesis and arguing and clarifying key issues has changed this. My dissertation explores broadly, a connection between the art world and the natural world. More specifically, it investigates whether art can play a role in reconnecting society with nature and the affect that art can have on the environment. As technology has developed and the environment has become more and more urbanised, people in general has become distanced from nature, this is an issue that I consider to be incredibly important in today’s society both for the health and well being of individuals but also I thought about the fact that if people are becoming less connected with nature then they may care about it less and it will suffer as a consequence so it’s also for nature’s sake. Within my dissertation, I wanted to find out how existing artists and artworks have addressed this issue and discover whether academic debates state that art in fact does have a role to play in reconnecting society with nature. With environmental issues and the human devastation of our planet being so prominent currently, I wanted to investigate the affect that art can have on the environment. I chose to analyse some artworks that I was familiar with from previous contextualisation of my practice and others that I had come across through reading sources towards my dissertation.

The whole dissertation process has actually been quite enjoyable for me, I have certainly furthered my knowledge about this subject, read many insightful and interesting books and articles and been forced to really deeply consider my own arguments in relation to the points made by others, a skill that I would not have utilised if it wasn’t for the dissertation process. I was very organised from the beginning and started researching for my dissertation in the first term of second year so that I could take it at a leisurely pace without too much stress and really research a subject area that I am genuinely interested in and have time to edit and correct the piece of writing that I produced. Also, starting early, meant that I could read a wide range of sources giving me scope to pick and choose which resources to incorporate into my writing. The Constellation Module has allowed me to build upon existing skills as well as supported me in gaining new ones. My academic writing skills have most definitely improved. The more material I have read, the more I have learnt from the academics both in terms of content and academic writing and confidently been able to articulate my own arguments in relation to theirs using a varied vocabulary. Key Skills such as using library resources and locating key information from a text have been employed and I have learnt how to cite and reference my work correctly and professionally. I have grown much more confidence in writing and research and the dissertation process has proved to me that I am equipped to take charge of my own learning, more so than I may have thought.

For me, the three modules Subject, Field and Constellation are definitively linked. Key debates within my constellation dissertation research such as art as a catalyst for change and raising environmental awareness, art’s place in reconnecting society to nature and whether or not art can have a positive affect on the environment has undoubtedly informed my practice both creatively in my subject module and in terms of exhibiting and displaying my work in the field module. Through my subject work, I am portraying and highlighting pollution and bring to attention a mass cause of the environmental harm that our world is facing today. My practice aims to challenge and confront our nostaliga for traditional landscape paintings which portray unrealistic and aesthetic views of the land and raise awareness of the pollution our earth experiences. It is easy to overlook and ignore the damage that is being done to our environment and to cling on to the image of an unspoiled landscape. I aim to expose the reality of our polluted modern day landscapes by depicting the harm that our earth is experiencing as a result of human neglect and give these issue’s significance and importance.

My constellation research has definitely positively encouraged my subject practice, it encouraged me to work with themes surrounding art and the environment in the first place. Within my dissertation, questions surrounding whether art really can reconnect people to nature and making people aware of environmental issues were explored, this has been echoed within my practice, I have thought about whether making work that aims to draw attention to these issues is valuable and through my research and practical experimentation I have come to the conclusion that even if only a small number of people view the work and are made aware of environmental issues such as pollution, some people have been shown the need to nurture nature and reconnect with it and some is better than none. A small change is better than no change. Investigating artworks that utilised natural materials within the gallery space encouraged me to think about using alternative materials other than paint within my works, I am utilising pollutants such as oil and coal participates to strengthen my work. All of the artists that I have researched within my dissertation work in some sort of three dimensional manner. In contrast, I focus on mainly painting but also drawing and collage, influenced by these artists, I am thinking about working on a larger scale, these artworks have impact as they are mostly large pieces, I feel that creating larger works would benefit my practice. This links to the exhibition field module in that I am thinking about creating a large immersive painting installation type work which highlights environmental harm on the land to the viewer and allows them to realise that they are part of this damaged world.

My approach to my work has changed academically in a variety of ways, but mostly instead of choosing a title to work from and researching, within this process I let the research determine the title of my hypothesis which is a skill I will continue to utilise and can also be applied to my practice by letting the research and experimentation that I do dictate my final outcomes. I consider the viewer of the artwork much more and think about artwork in relation to issues that are apparent in our society and world. I am eager to develop the viewers relationship with my work further. Researching artist’s and academic debates that can be applied to ideas embedded within my own work surrounding environmental issues has definitely given me confidence. I feel much more confident in tackling themes surrounding nature and in environment in my work. Researching topics surrounding art, nature and the environment and writing my dissertation has been an invaluable experience and one that I have learnt a lot from that I will continue to apply long after I have finished my degree.