Art in the Interview seminar materials

Content
In this seminar we will look at how practitioners express their ideas and use the techniques of interviewing/answering questions to explore this communication.
Using interview/questions enables two ways in which you as a practitioner will learn to express your ideas and to enable others to understand them.
We can use questions and answers to enable us to express ourselves and by capturing this expression we can use the information to construct our statements, ideas, context, references, narratives, techniques, emotions, instructions, etc.
We should also be aware that you may be interviewed/asked questions so that someone else can write, talk, express understanding of your work, so it is also important that you express yourself so that someone else will understand what you want them to understand.

Observations
• For the first part we will look at some practitioners expressing themselves through interviews.
Eg. Andy Warhol, Louise Bourgeois, Thomas Hirschhorn, David Shrigley, John Cage, Douglas Coupland, Renny Remakers, Tracey Emin, David Lynch

• Case Study: My own work for Oak Trees and Fountains project at Drum Castle made use of the interview to gain information on the artists and work. We will look at the processes of capturing this information and how useful it was. My questions, to Jim Harold, Victoria Bernie.

Activity
Interviewing each other.

Decide on the questions (3) to ask about your practice and what its about, why are you creative,
In groups of 2/3, (interviewer, interviewee, note taker) take some time to interview each other and so compile some answers to the questions.
This information can then be used as a basis for a statement on your work and also a learning technique to understand and clarify what you are working on, development of ideas, conceptual rationale, articulation of creative process etc etc.

References
Diers, Michael, “Infinite Conversations” or the Interview as an Art Form, in Obrist, Hans Ulrich, Interviews volume 1, Milan: Charts; 2003.

See Oak Trees interview leaflets
http://freespace.virgin.net/iain.irving/Oak%20Trees%20website/index
http://www.hermannvaske.com
http://www.youtube.com/
BBC THREE documentary, Spin, Wednesday 23 November
BBC Arena Series 1994 interview of Louise Bourgeois by Nigel French

Further Reading and information:
Below is a selection of potential springboards for discussion – available in the library.
Weintraub, Linda, Making Contemporary Art, London: Thames and Hudson; 2004.
Contemporary Artists series, Phaidon Books
Most journals - MAP / Art Monthly / Frieze/ Arts Review etc
Online
Audio Arts - http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/exhibitions/audioarts/
Tate Shots - http://www.tate.org.uk/tateshots/issue17802/default.htm
Baltic - http://www.balticmill.com/podcasts/

InterView questions

Why are you creative?
What is your Practice?
What are you working on just now?