CamberwellCollegeofArtsMAVisualArt:FineArt(Digital)Researchproposalforapplication:26thJuly2016AndrewFarleyhttp://andrewfarley.weebly.comIntroductionMypracticeisbroadlybasedinphotography,sculpture,movingimage,lightandsound installation. My work generally deals with historical subjects andassociated places such as utopian architecture and the history of modernism,oftenexploredwithinamediaarchaeologicalframework[1].Recentprojectshavereflectedonthearchitecturalmodelanditsusebyartists,such as Constant Nieuwenhuys’NewBabylon (1956-1972). NewBabylon wasconceivedasautopian,labryrinthineSituationistarchitecturalprojectextendingacross large-scale models, sculpture, drawing, photography, print, sound,lecturesandpublications[2].Themodelswerepresentedtothepublicalongsidephotographs that were successful in conveying an ambience that the modelsthemselves lacked,but theprojectwasneversuccessfully filmed. InmyprojectLabyratorium (2015), I investigatedthecinematicpotentialof theNewBabylonlabyrinthasanessayfilm(http://andrewfarley.weebly.com/labyratorium.html).Themodelswereanimatedtocreateacinematicspaceusingamotioncontrolrigbuilt in the studio that allows both the camera motion and lighting to becontrolledprecisely.As result of this project and subsequent photographic work(http://andrewfarley.weebly.com/topography---1.html) I have becomeinterested in the role of the model as a vehicle for expressing ideas in art,drawing from other disciplines such as architecture, design and scientificresearch.DevelopmentThere are many different types of model, from descriptive scale modelsemployedinarchitecture,conceptualcomputermodelsusedinsciencethroughto elaborate physical models used in feature filmmaking and animation. Anumber of artists employ models in photography, film and video work indifferentways,suchasThomasDemand,PaulSietsema,ErinShirreffandSaskiaOlde-Wolbers.ErinShirreffandPaulSietsemaworkfluidlyacrossmanymediawhile in other cases the role of themodel is often explored narrowly along aparticularaxis.InthecaseofDemanditismainlyphotographic,whileforOlde-Wolbers,themodelplaystheroleofananimatedfilmpropinanarrativewhilealsodoublingasasculpturalvehicle.Incontrast IanKiaerhasbroadenedthe idea-basednotionofthemodel,wherethemodelisframedbothasanobjectandanidea,ininstallationsthatcombine

painting with found and manufactured objects. For Kiaer the model hasproductivecharacteristicssuchasmobility,provisionalityandplayfulnessandisfragmentaryinnature[3].Modelscanoperateinotherways.Moholy-Nagy’sLight-space-modulator(1930)forexample,hasbeenvariouslytermedakineticsculptureorapropformakingfilms. It could also be described as an idea-basedmodelwhich is all of thosethings,aswellasageneratorofothermediaincludingphotographsandfilm.Taking the Light-space-modulator as an example, I am interested in exploringfurther the framing of the medium as a “middle condition,” where the wordmediumforegroundsaliminalstanceatitsheart.Thetermunderscoresprocessormediation, a vehicle of communication. Sowhile thewordmedium ismostcommonly understood as the physical basis of awork of art, I am reading theterm inawaywhichemphasises its formativevalueasacommunicativeagentbetweentwopoints,asamodeinbetween[4].ForthisproposalIemphasiselessthepolemical,avant-gardepositioningofthemodelinfavourofthemorequestioningapproachexemplifiedbyKiaer.Iplantodevelop work focused on specific themes and research in which themodel isemployedas anorganising concept in a generativenetwork. I amparticularlyinterestedinexploringthefollowing;

• The potential of themodel as an open, generative system. Inwhatwaycanthemodelcreateunexpectedavenuesofexploration?

• Anexplorationof theroleof themediumasamodealways ‘inbetween’.

Theuseofprocessesofrecordingandreproductionasanintegralaspectofthegenerativesystem.Castandmould,negativeandpositive.

• Thephenomenologyof spaceand the relationshipbetween thespaceof

projection,theinstallationandthemodel.Atmosphericsandaffect,limitsandmargins,surfaceanddepth,nearandfar.

• Therelationshipbetweenthedigitalandtheanalog,theroleofthedigitalin facilitating new processes of transposition, mapping andtransformation.

Themodelwill thenbeusedasa framework toproduceprojects ina rangeofthemeswithinabroadhistoriographicapproach.MethodsTheproposedmethodologyisformedofthreerelatedstrandsofactivity;projectorientated research and writing, studio work including process development,andspecificprojectworkinandoutofthestudio.

Project orientated research will explore historical accounts, archives, andtestimonies,alongsidefieldresearchandinvestigation.Studioworkwillbefocusedoninvestigatinganddevelopingnewprocessesandmaterials. Someof thisactivitywillbeopenendedwhileotheraspectswillbedriven by the needs of specific projects. Activities will include a variety ofsculptural processes including moulding and casting in resin and plaster,printmaking, 3Dprinting,digitalphotographyandvideo. Specificprojectswillbesupportedbytheconstructionoflightingrigs,customprojectorsandcameramotion control systems. The following example is given to illustrate theinterlocking nature of the work process; a series of objects are fabricated,mouldedandcastinresinandplaster.Thesearethenassembled,litbyacustomlightingrigandphotographedbyadigitalcamera.Thedigitalfileistransposedtoamediumformatslideandmountedinacustom-builtprojectorfordisplayinaninstallation.Specific project work will based on the project research material and theoutcomeofaspectsofthestudiowork.Itwillinvolveawiderangeofactivities,includingsitephotography,studiophotography,videoproduction,printmaking,sculpture,drawingandinstallationpreparation.

ResourcesandreferencesIamhopingtoexploreawiderangeofnewmaterialsandprocessesforthefirsttime,including3Dprinting,lasercutting,metalpatterningandetching,alongsidenovel moulding and casting processes. Ideally these would be accessed atCamberwell although some facilities also exist at the London SculptureWorkshoponanopenaccessbasis[5]whichisadjacenttomystudio.ResearchsourceswillbeusedatBritishLibrary,CamberwellCollegeof theArtsLibraryandotherlibrariesbelongingtotheUniversityoftheArts,London.[1]DeepTime of theMedia: toward anArchaeology ofHearing and Seeing byTechnicalMeans,SiegfriedZielinski,MITPress,2008.[2] Constants’ New Babylon; the hyper-architecture of desire, Mark Wigley,1998.[3]IanKiaer,EndlessHouse-modelsofthoughtfordwelling,PhDthesis,2008.[4] Chronophobia – On time in the art of the 1960’s. Pamela M. Lee, MIT Press 2004.

[5]http://londonsculptureworkshop.org