Category: Miscellany

Commentary, Coursework, Miscellany, Research & ReflectionLeave a comment

Palimpsest

Suzanne Conboy-Hill

Came across this word in an episode of The Verb broadcast on April 26th 2019 and still hadn’t quite got the meaning by the end so had to look it up. Suddenly then thought there might be a case for palimpsestic art – painting over old prints from boot sales but without quite obscuring the original. Suddenly also discovered that my made up word, palimpsestic, actually exists and that I’m well behind the curve with regard to palimpsestic art! This is from Artopium, accessed 2nd May 2019. I think in my mind I was seeing an old image, maybe even … Continue reading Palimpsest

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Never mind your right brain, it’s your unconscious that needs letting loose

Suzanne Conboy-Hill

The old left brain/right brain chestnut keeps on popping up, especially in reference to creativity. Dead but it won’t lie down. It comes from some very old studies on people with severe epilepsy whose brain hemispheres were surgically separated to prevent seizures swamping the whole cortex, plus the observation that motor functions are generally right side dominant (governed by the left motor cortex), and that language tends to be located in the left temporal lobe. Early studies seemed to support a view that the left brain is logical, ordered, and language related while the right is more spatial and image-led. … Continue reading Never mind your right brain, it’s your unconscious that needs letting loose

materials and miscellany, MiscellanyLeave a comment

Forensic Architecture

Suzanne Conboy-Hill

This is the group of artists, film makers, architects, software developers, and activists you might never have heard of but that might be hitting headlines shortly. I came across them a short while ago in the context of reconstruction of the much-disputed chemical weapons attack in Syria. From all available images, from all available sources, they reconstruct scenes such as this in order to bring out the most plausible understanding of what actually happened, and just now they are contenders for the Turner Prize 2018. As a side bonus (to me anyway – reflected glory and all that), they’re based … Continue reading Forensic Architecture

Commentary, Miscellany4 Comments

‘I don’t know’

Suzanne Conboy-Hill

This is why I value that little phrase “I don’t know” so highly. It’s small, but it flies on mighty wings. It expands our lives to include the spaces within us as well as those outer expanses in which our tiny Earth hangs suspended. If Isaac Newton had never said to himself “I don’t know,” the apples in his little orchard might have dropped to the ground like hailstones and at best he would have stooped to pick them up and gobble them with gusto. Had my compatriot Marie Sklodowska-Curie never said to herself “I don’t know”, she probably would have wound … Continue reading ‘I don’t know’

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The deep space potato peeler

Suzanne Conboy-Hill

Introducing Eric Geusz, a sci fi fanatic who finds interstellariness in everything. Looking at his work and the sources of his inspiration is a little like having a window created in a wall that didn’t have one before. Suddenly it’s possible to see what drawing can be if you both look very carefully at your model and also see what it could be if it weren’t a mundane thing from your kitchen drawer. It’s as if he’s found the alter egos of these implements, their secret lives, what they do when we’re not paying attention. It’s playful but not disrespectful … Continue reading The deep space potato peeler

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Post craft-fair analysis

Suzanne Conboy-Hill

I’m going to assume this is relevant as all of us will be looking at some point to be slapping a monetary value on our work and presenting it to the public and not all of us will be getting straight into a gallery or having any sort of longevity in one. I decided to try out our village Christmas fair for the experience, knowing what the layout is like, the crammed-in table arrangements, and the tendency of our locals to do a circuit, nod, and leave [yep, that’s been me]. You’ll see from the picture that I was covering … Continue reading Post craft-fair analysis

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Routines and self preservation

Suzanne Conboy-Hill

This is mine: Domestic admin. This includes cat requirements, breakfast, and checking to see what world-grade awfulness I might be required to comment on via Facebook or Twitter. Go for a run or, if the weather is a bit feisty, a walk. [I draw the line at anything approaching apocalyptic horizontal rain or Zeus in a bad mood] Pick up the trail of social media biscuit crumbs I left earlier and that someone’s turned into explosively prevaricatory material. Lunch. Dwell on prevaricatory material. Prevaricate further by making lists. Put lists into a spreadsheet and maybe also OneNote. Add pictures because … Continue reading Routines and self preservation