26.10.07- writing about perception [and making moulds]

Monday was spent reading about perception and starting to put down some words towards that section of the thesis.
I remember coming across the writings of Richard L Gregory FRS, the Emeritus Professor in the Department of Neuropsychology at Bristol University last year and was interested in his work on illusion, which he uses to further his investigations into how sensations are interpreted as perceptions. In looking for online definitions of perception I came across his website. It’s a valuable resource that allows readers to download all his research papers. What is particularly useful about Richard Gregory is that he is at the forefront of current research.
Philosophers since the Ancient Greeks have studied perception. Since that time the dominant theory has been ‘passive perception’ – whereby perception came predominantly from the interpretation of sensations, in a linear way. However, the theory of ‘active perception’, is gaining momentum. Richard Gregory states that perceptions are 90% or more stored knowledge governed by rules generated through experience as we grow up.
In other words, when I look at a container, my brain doesn’t have to rely on very much visual information, as it knows what to expect from the countless times it has previously encountered a container. It will contain something or have the ability to. As a potter who has made many thousands of ceramic containers my brain is taken up with the aesthetics and function of the object, rather than identifying it. But I suppose that is what most of us do to a greater or lesser extent.

On Friday some tests came through that are part of my attempt to disrupt this process. I have thrown a series of cylinders; one without a base, one with a cone instead of a flat base etc. each was decorated with one matt black surface and one black metallic shiny glazed surface. I am interested to see if the glazed surface appears to float or loose definition due to the reflections.

The other big project this week was the making of the mould of the torus 03 CNC milled model. When I arrived on Tuesday Stephan was already at work, so I helped him by mixing plaster. Later on he left me to make the top half, which seemed to go smoothly. The following day we separated the two halves but it wasn’t until the evening that I finally removed the model. The mould is a success, but now we have to work out how to slip cast from it. Before catching the train home on Friday I went to speak to Robin Levien who is involved with Ideal Standard, makers of sanitary ware. He was very welcoming, showing me around the workshop below the studio where the team makes highly skilled models from blue Styrofoam. Robin will contact the manager of the Middlewich factory to arrange for me to visit and discuss the casting of the piece. Ideally I need to make the visit before my French trip.

Week ending 18.05.07 -The Centrality of Clay

Monday:
Teaching at CIA in Carlisle.

Tuesday:
Back to the RCA and upstairs for a chat with Tomek Rygalik, an ex-RCA product designer, who seems to be based in college, partly engaged in his own practice partly as a researcher. We discussed vacuum forming specifically & materials generally. He has offered to take me through vacuum forming next Friday, when he returns from his trip to New York. Meanwhile I set about producing the mould of the outside cone.

Wednesday:
Finished the cone mould.
Our Taiwanese artist friend, Chun Chao sent me some titles from his PhD bibliography that he thought might be relevant to my project. One particular recommendation – The Art of Light + Space was in stock in the library and looks very interesting.

Thursday:
Took the small cone mould down to the large vacuum forming machine in the basement. The third attempt was successful, but doesn’t bear close inspection as the styrene is of uneven thickness. My first impression is that it will appear insubstantial, though with the inclusion of a light source this could be an advantage.

Friday:
Made another attempt to put together the ceramic cone, but the thickness of the clay walls is preventing the pieces from fitting. I then took a ‘cast’ of the inner cones, which after firing will be about 10% smaller and from which I can make new moulds.
The process is slow & frustrating, however it’s partly due to learning new techniques and partly that practical works takes longer in the college than in the workshop at home.
Continued to muse about the centrality of clay to my project on the evening train journey home. It's usually a good opportunity to write without too many distractions.
My thoughts about the use of clay are still not fully resolved, but are being aired in the Centrality of Clay essay in the Writing section of the website.

Week ending 11.05.07

Monday:
It was the May Day Bank Holiday here in the UK, so no teaching at Carlisle. Instead, continued with written work for College and spent some enjoyable time with my family.

Tuesday:
Busy train journey back to College, then straight into the plaster shop for the afternoon to complete the outer cone mould











I was a little concerned that it would be difficult to remove the inner clay & wood model, but it came out surprisingly easily.
They are all now drying in the heated cabinet, hopefuly I'l be able to start using them tomorrow.
Made a semi-matt cream glaze which I'm managing to test fire later today. I'm looking for a neutral, non ceramic surface treatment, this may be the answer.
In an effort to compare materials and techniques I have emailed Corian© looking for contacts & information about thermoforming and including LED into the surface of my pieces.

Friday:
Started the day by rolling out a slab to wrap around the small inner cone as the clay applied to it yesterday stuck very firmly to the surface.
I had to break off to have a tutorial with Jonathan Miles in the Humanities Department. He had been recommended as someone to discuss perception with, and after describing the aims of my project he gave me a brief history of philosophy of perception since Descartes!
The most relevant thing we discussed was the ‘autonomous object’. Jonathan Miles defined it as an object that can speculate on its own condition, rather than being a comment or statement. I find this relevant to my questioning of the centrality of ceramics to the project. But how does an object become autonomous? Surely any contrived object is autobiographical whether it is functional or sculpture? I can imagine a series of objects collectively being ‘autonomous’, each being part of an act of speculation.
I must ask Jonathan Miles for specific texts that discuss this notion.
His general suggestions were:
HIEDEGGER: ‘Being and Time’ and the essays ‘The Question of Technology’ & ‘The Thing’.
ROSALIND KRAUSS: ‘Sculpture and the Extended Field’
MERLAU—PONTY: suggested first reading a commentary or Aesthetic reader. ‘Eye of the Mind’ and ‘Cezanne’s Doubt’.

I came away from the tutorial aware that I have 20+ years of ingrained thinking habits which must be questioned in order for me to truly engage with this project.

My feeling is that my past practice as a functional potter led me to this point and the ceramic container should remain the core of the project. If I abandon the ceramic element I am then moving into territory that I have little knowledge or experience of. However, my investigation of the digital has brought me into contact with making techniques and materials that could well be part of the future of ceramics. This is one of the reasons for undertaking this project and could be part of my post-RCA life.


The rest of the day was spent wrestling with the moulds. I tried to fit the smaller end cone into the outer cone and though I had carefully worked out the dimensions, the thickness of the clay walls was a problem that made assembly impossible. So my plans to have assembled a piece by this evening went completely out of the window. I will have to make scaled down versions of the inner cones by taking and firing clay ‘casts’ from which new moulds can be made. In theory this should work, but I won’t have a fired piece in time for my interim examination on the 24th.