Conclusion

Recap: My Research Project is: an exploration into the creation of form (in 2D and 3D) by using stylistically similar methods (repeated facets) across a variety of mediums

I set out to explore this method of experimentation for my Research Project as I enjoyed the outcome of the technique I found and created for my FMP, but I wanted to know if it could be used for more than just decoration.

The hardest part of the project was starting it, because I didn't like the idea of a project where I wasn't working towards a visible goal (a final product) at the end. Due to this, my main problem became the amount of time I had left in order to create a variety of experiments.

When I first started this project, I wasn't aware of the amount of depth my research could take me into. At first I thought it would simply be an exploration into a variation of my art process. As an artist, I have realised that I often focus too much on the technicalities of art, whereas the most interesting part of it is what is happening 'behind' the artwork - what people are trying to achieve by doing what they do. The creation of form isn't simply done technically - it is created by people who have a reason for making it.

I also found myself gaining more insight into what I was trying to explore by sharing my project with others, as they could share with me artists/art movements (who I hadn't previously heard of) who were either relevant to my work, or who could be used in a way that still linked to what I was doing.

Despite the time constraints (which I ended up putting upon myself due to bad time management) I was surprised at how many artists (whose work I previously knew about) could be linked to my question some way or another. I was also able to find many other artists whose work I'd found interesting, and if I had allowed myself more time, I would have liked to experiment via their working methods.

Although the different experiments I made are in the order I created them, the evaluations of each experiment wasn't chronological. I thought different things of them at different times. I learnt that experiments and research can effect each other - aka you can experiment with creating something first, and then you can discover more about what you were trying to achieve through research. The order isn't always logical - sometimes you don't know what you're doing until you've done it.

Through my experiments I learnt that the 'same' technique can mean different things in different mediums (even if they all represented form in one way or another), and I was surprised at how much the different experiments linked together, for example: how my wire model was similar to the creation of line using embroidery, or how the layering of embroidery on top of a photography could be likened to the layering of paper in my Diorama. Through this technique, I have come to learn that art is much more than decoration - it's about observing, and then communicating what you want to see.

By experimenting using the technique, I have been able to explore form in a way more than just line, but shape, and how important it is to observe, and to see what is within a object, its core, like the bones within our bodies - our form is about more than just the outline - it is about the building blocks of shape. Because of this, I have become aware that I chose a very large field of exploration for my project (the exploration of form) despite there being the restriction of creating it using repeated facets, and that to explore all the variations of form (through this technique) would be impossible.

I don't think any of the experiments I did represented form 'better' than the others. They were all valid - they each bought something of their own, even though they all seemed to be the same technique.

After having creating so much digital work for my FMP, the chance to create traditional work in my RP has inspired me to experiment more with traditional methods in my own personal work (after University). If I had done my Research Project along side my Final Major Project, it might have affected the technique used, because I would have considered my reasons for using the technique I did - like how the cubists were exploring the concept of space and time, I would have possibly liked to have created a 'deeper' FMP - exploring something I thought was important.

If I was to do the whole project again, I would like to have tried more 3D forms, and explored more variations of outcome for each experiment. I would also have liked to have allowed myself more time, instead of such an intense working period. Although, in saying that, had I not had to work as hard as I have, I may not have come to understand the project as well as I (think) I have.

Sometimes you don't know what you're doing until you've done it.