Paper at an international conference on fundamental problems of artistic research and development. 



It explored the AHRC collaborative project between Dr Cathy Treadaway and Charlotte Hodes which culminated in the exhibition 'Drawing Skirts' at the Baring Wing, University Gallery, University of Northumbria

Hodes, Charlotte

UAL Research Online

Image1Drawing SkirtsMy paper focuses on an Arts and Humanities Research Council funded project Drawing Skirts which documented my process of working on a series of large format papercuts. Image 2 This project developed out of a two year period between 2005 and 2007  as Associate Artist at the Wallace Collection, London. This, on reflection, was a pivotal moment in my career in terms of refining my imagery, developing a working methodology and in the manner in which the resulting solo exhibition at the Wallace Collection Fragmented Images  has positioned me on a more international platform for my overall practice.Image 3The Wallace Collection was a private collection, now a national museum, which, amongst their many historical objects and paintings, contains an important collection of  eighteenth century rococo Sèvres porcelain vases and an outstanding group of  Fête Galante paintings by Antoine Watteau. Image 4  As a painter, I brought my formal concerns  in  painting and my use of subject matter; the female figure, pattern, decoration and the applied arts, to bear on my approach to the project at the museum. Over many months, through digital photographs and direct observational  drawings made  in the museum, I identified what aspects of the works of art would serve as a starting point for my own  artworks. Images 5&6 Out of the body of artworks that I produced within this project, the most pertinent in terms of this paper was that which surrounded my  investigation into the painting by Antoine Watteau Fête in the Park. Image 7 Briefly, what was of particular interest to me, in terms of collage as a methodology of working, was that Watteau made extensive albums of  figure drawings from which he would select and freely place figures within his painted landscapes. It is clear from looking at this painting  that the resulting space is a  fragmented one. In effect, these groupings have been ‘collaged’ into the painting. This method, whilst by some historians being criticised for creating a stilted, mannered style can also be read as contributing to a sense of  dislocation and other worldliness. It is this quality of fragmentation, coupled with a sense of   fragility and melancholia which drew me to these paintings and has provided an inspiration for my subsequent work.Image 8 My own Fête Galante sequence of papercuts is made up of 8 sections each 120cm in height and more than 8 metres in length. Image 9 10 11  I scanned my own drawings and digital photographs made at the museum alongside drawings that I had made of myself from photographs, into the computer and these formed, as with Watteau’s albums of drawings, my  own visual archive. Image 12  I used these to construct my  images in Photoshop, adding and subtracting the visual fragments, using  basic computer functions, the most important being ‘cut’ and ‘paste’. These compositions were then outputted from the computer as large format prints and developed in the studio using  hands on collage. Image 13 & 14 Alongside the papercuts, I made a series of vases in direct response to the Sèvres porcelain using a similar collage methodology. I was drawn to their sensuous shapes, ornate decoration and the  cartouches which contained painted pictures.  Image 15My most recently completed body of work took the form of large intricate papercuts which were exhibited this year in a solo exhibition, Drawing Skirts at the Baring Wing, University of Northumbria.  It grew out of  my interest in using existing objects and paintings from collections as a stimulus for my own artworks. I brought to this new project my love of the rich, compelling patterns and ornamentation of the Sèvres vases and an image in my mind of the lush, sensuous pastel coloured silk skirts of the female figures in the paintings of Watteau.  ‘Drawing Skirts’ was the focus of an AHRC collaborative project between myself and  Dr. Cathy Treadaway, Research Fellow  at Cardiff School of Art and Design, University of Wales Institute and Visiting Research Fellow in Computer Science at University of Bath, looking at the  creative process of the making of a series papercuts which used both hands–on making in the studio as well as the computer. The whole process was observed through video recording  at crucial stages  by Treadaway. The 10 minute video, which I will play at the end of this presentation, was shown on a large monitor alongside the exhibition at the Baring Wing. The AHRC award supported the cost of our time over a period of six months, travel, videoing and a publication which accompanied the exhibition. The aim of the research was to evidence the creative process which used both physical direct practices such as drawing and collage together with digital technology. Treadaway’s focus was to  investigate the ways in which traditional and digital tools impact on cognition and creative practice whereas my own contribution was  to use the research as a means  to  reflect on practice and to further understand the relationship between my image making and  working methodology. In this way, the research became a case study for Treadaway’s ongoing research illuminating, and I quote ‘the ways in which memory of physical body experience and the time related factors involved in making by hand are crucial within the creative process’ and ‘… the importance of physical interaction with the world when working creatively with digital design tools.’ end of quote.The informality of the filming and the fact that this was a collaboration, enabled me to openly reveal my practice step by step, which hitherto, I would have been reluctant to do.Image 16 My source for Drawing Skirts  was the paper pattern diagrams within the early twentieth century books belonging to the Library Archive at London College of Fashion where I hold a research post. These flat paper shapes reference the female figure without actually depicting her. Each flat diagram suggests the sculptural form which it is to become and indicates a distinct character containing meaning and reference to its context.  For me, the fragmented parts of the skirts as diagrams, arranged on the page for the purpose of the designer rather than as ‘fine art’ drawings, invite an alternative use.   I made drawings of the skirt diagrams and scanned these into the computer along with high resolution photos of textile patterns  as well as drawings of myself from digital photographs. Image 17  These became the visual elements that I manipulated on the computer. The completed large scale compositions were subsequently outputted on a large format Epsom printer and developed as collages in the studio.Integral to my working method is drawing, and following my experience at the Wallace Collection, I became  increasingly aware of the different ‘styles’ of drawing, in particular within the drawn line. There was the flat contoured lines of the skirt diagrams; the pencil drawings of myself, where I sought to depict the movement of the pose and the volumous nature  of a living figure; Image 18 the more uniform  lines created on the computer using a Wacom tablet and pen ;  Image 19 the flat figure silhouettes where the precision of the edge is crucial;  Image 20  the cut lines of the  scalpel blade which are the equivalent to the drawn line, and the  fragments which  are layered and pasted onto the paper surface.  Image 21For me, these contrasting drawn lines and edges create a jarring and fragmentation which I hope serve to challenge the painterly fluidness of the pattern and lyrical movement of the figure. The female figure, existing as dynamic but fragile presence.  One of the significant aspects for me of using both hands –on processes such as drawing and collage as well as the computer is that each offer diametrically opposed modes of working. For example, the making of patterns and pattern variation can be done very easily on the computer using scale, colour change, copy and repeat whereas in the studio, to paint or draw a pattern in various sizes would be extremely onerous. The  computer also offers the possibility of working in layers so that each element in the composition can be manipulated separately. Each stage in the process can be saved and re-visited, whilst the history of the process is not necessarily revealed in the final composition. Image 22 Paradoxically, my collage process in the studio, using a scalpel blade and adhesive, is frequently very laborious, with intricate lace like patterned areas being cut out and small fragments added. But the tactility of this process and the potential of being able to make dramatic changes, and possibly causing disastrous destruction by cutting large areas very quickly with the scalpel blade without being able to press the ‘undo’ button,  leads to a clarity of decision making and experience which I feel is unique to the ‘hands-on’ process in the studio.  One could challenge the collaborative nature of this research project, since in the end, each researcher, Treadaway and myself sought to use the findings in different ways. But I was not a passive case study and Treadaway was not a detached observer. The dialogue between us and the negotiations that ensued through working together over a period of time, resulted in what I believe to be a much richer  piece of research.We brought to the project our different knowledge and   exchanged our experiences. For the first time,  I articulated my working process simultaneously as it progressed, talking with Treadaway in great detail about each stage. I  observed and reflected on the subsequent video footage. I became aware of the role of hands - on drawing  in contrast to digital drawing, the way that the speed of the different processes impact on creative thinking. Most importantly, I became aware of the role of tacit knowledge and that, and I quote  ‘ Memory of physical experience informs creative cognition and inspires the imagination’ end of quote( Treadaway 2004). This knowledge has already impacted on my future work and  understanding of my practice.Image 23In an environment where peer review papers for conferences and research journals are at the forefront of research in art and design, Treadaway’s illuminating research paper resulting from our AHRC project entitled  Translating Experience  to be published in an international peer reviewed academic HCI ( Human Computer Interaction) journal  in the Autumn is well placed. Where, however, do I position my own practice led research, in a research culture which continues to place the word and text at the forefront,  when my art practice is increasingly finding a place within the critical context of the international art community?   I am deeply committed to sharing my knowledge and experience with researchers and learning from the younger practitioners within our institutions. But I am aware of the conflict that can exist between the demands of research and the creative risk taking and space that is essential to my practice. There is a limit to the degree that I want to be conscious and reflective as this can act as an inhibiting process that can  make one self conscious at a moment when what one is seeking is immersion. I am convinced that my own research is firmly embedded in my practice, and that what  I have to offer, as you may judge from this paper, is not the word, but the some tacit knowledge and a conviction in  power of the image to communicate all that I have to say.   

Drawing Skirts (conference paper)

https://ualresearchonline.arts.ac.uk/id/eprint/2904/2/Sensuous_Knowledge_paper_HODES.doc

Drawing Skirts (conference paper)

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