September 10, 2015

9.15 am. Paintism continues around the school:

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The colour scheme of the concourse reminds me of Churchill’s War Rooms; the décor of the main lecture theatre, of a Robert Adams’ house:

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The decorators have done a really good job. On a more modest scale, but with an equal commitment to quality, our completing MA Fine Art students prepare their exhibition spaces:

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9.30 pm. Having battled with a computer emergency, I arrived late for an MA Fine Art tutorial. But we’d sufficient time to discuss matters that were, barring a little trimming at the edges (quite literally), already in the bag. 10.15 am. Is Facebook ailing? I cannot upload photographs. Postgraduate admissions responses dispatched, spontaneous advice about sound installation given, and a tour of duty complete, I awaited a PhD inquirer at 11.00 am. 12.30 pm. My penultimate tutorial with one of my MA painters. (I’m getting nostalgic already.)

Some principles and observations derived from the morning’s engagements:

  • Neither the course, nor the tutor, nor the resources are crucial to a student’s success. (They help to create a level playing field only.) Success is chiefly the result of an individual’s triumph over ignorance, misunderstanding, inability, stupidity, laziness, unconfidence, defensiveness, defeatism, criticism, petulance, and egoism.
  • We may know of a surety that we want to do something long before we know what it is that we want to do.
  • It may take twenty or more years for you to discover an individual ‘voice’ as an artist. And, there’s no guarantee that you ever will.
  • Art never lets you down.

2.15 pm. After a lightning lunch, I returned to my research proposal. There are dimensions to this idea that I’ve not considered before. I’ve too many problematics and too few answers. ‘Just write down what you know for a fact, John!’ ‘Play 21st Century Schizoid Man very loudly, John!’ ‘Clear your head!’ 4.45 pm. Progress.

6.30 pm. Further formatting on the Messiah tracks:

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Something is emerging, but this is not a major piece. I’ve no problem with that. My commitment, still, is to resolve it with all the professionalism, intelligence, and imagination that I can muster.

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