Theory and Practice
Behind the Wall: Understanding the Soul of Your Artistic Practice
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session William Catling
To be an artist is to translate the invisible (ideas) into the visible (art works). Behind the wall is a process of gathering metaphors and deeper thoughts that provide a more tangible way of thinking about one's art practice. The “wall” is symbolic of the gallery wall and behind are the concepts and beliefs that hopefully come through the art for the viewer to engage with. Intentionality in articulating our ideation and conceptual framework opens the door for the viewer to access the depths beneath content and subject matter. So much of the time, content and media practice become the "what" in an artist's practice and “Behind the Wall” is the "why" behind the art. There is a layered journey of entering the process and it requires self-awareness and peeling back layers of thoughtfulness and mindfulness that make up the "why." Thankfully the “why” is already in each of us, and what is behind the wall most likely has not been fully developed, accessed, nurtured or cultivated. It is an extensive process of internal excavation that results in a greater potential to connect with viewers who stand in front of the “wall.” The work of internal investigation informs the artist in a way that allows for more conscious decision-making to infuse the art-making process with intentionality and depth. The hopeful result is that the artist is empowered to create art driven by things that matter, that authentically reflect the concepts and beliefs that mean most to the artist.
The Backyard Journey: Environmental Interpretation as Artistic Methodology, From Childhood Play to Digital Creation
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Mohammadhassan Asnaei
This research investigates the symbiotic relationship between childhood creative play and professional digital artistry, introducing an innovative pedagogical framework for contemporary art education. Through a phenomenological analysis of developmental trajectories—spanning from unstructured backyard play to advanced 3D rendering and blockchain-based art creation—this study establishes a theoretical framework for understanding early creative environments' influence on artistic cognition. The methodology synthesizes structured randomness principles from generative art theory, cognitive pattern recognition, and spatial awareness development, employing a mixed-methods approach that combines autoethnographic analysis with quantitative assessment of digital art outcomes. This investigation culminates in "The Generative Path," an evidence-based educational program integrating experiential learning with digital art methodologies. The findings demonstrate that unrestricted creative play in childhood, despite resource limitations, fundamentally shapes advanced artistic capabilities. This study contributes to digital art education literature by bridging early childhood creativity with professional practice, while offering practical implications for educators and artists in the digital age.
Unsettled Minds: Material Preconditions for Openness and Change View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Erich Schnekenburger
Philosophy, in its many forms, ought to concern itself primarily with an understanding of the processes by which social formations and human lives are improved and denigrated. The emergence of critical theory in the 20th century exemplifies this attempt to understand the structural influences on thought and perception as necessary capacities for progressive change. While contemporary immanent critics such as Axel Honneth, Rahel Jaeggi, and Charles Taylor participate in developing and outlining mechanisms of change, they have lost a crucial element of earlier Frankfurt-style forms of critical theory. That is, real social change requires both an understanding of the mechanisms by which change is possible and the necessary structural changes required to enable those mechanisms. By reintroducing the critiques of modern industrial society within the works of Adorno and Marcuse, as well as the structures of openness and attention in the work of Simone Weil, I argue that we must not ever separate our basic capacities for the thought and attention from lived human experiences which are structurally and forcibly shaped.
