i found myself googling "what makes a favourite". it was early in the morning, barely having finished the first cup of tea and by page 10 of the results it occurred to me that i was looking for something that i hadn't found.
so what was i looking for? some kind of definitive blog post or research article that for me would encompass the whole idea?
this spurt of activity comes at a time when there are other things happening that are making me aware of the need to prepare some words to help publicise the trail in the media at large.
i've learnt through experience that mediation words are important yet can also get in the way of the pleasure for an audience. too much mediation and the space for the audience to enjoy the work in their own manner is reduced, too little words and there's a potential for the exhibition to not communicate an appeal to as wide a group as possible.
getting back to my google search, i think i was actually looking for a favourite result amougst all the links presented to me. a favourite that might have been a preferred one from a few.
the first link that caught my attention was
http://bloggers-heart-books.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/what-makes-favorite-favorite.html?m=1
i read with interest about the blogger's relationship with some books. in the post there are some interesting considerations of the question.
my search continued until i found this
http://www.flickr.com/groups/favourite-favourites/discuss/72157603876421632/
a discussion about what makes a good photograph.
after searching 10 pages of google results i felt the need for more tea. i saw that there were no posts that asked the direct question about what makes for a favourite visual art work.
i appeared to be progressing toward a point of querry about what to write about the journey of favourites. to some extent i hope that the title conveys what the trail is. i also hope that the title sets out a suitably bounded space for an individual to feel safe to wander within it and get from it whatever it is that happens.
there does seem also a developing discussion around a favourite. a need to let others know about a recent find or thoughts about why it's a favourite.
at this point if i were writing a funding bid for this project i expect that i would be drawn down the path of setting up some sort of way for members of the audience to send in their thoughts about their favourite etc etc. in this reflective blog post i'm torn as to wether that would be authentic enough for me. what do i mean? if there is a structure set up to intentionally feedback about a particular thing, are the results authentic or a construct in response to afore mentioned intention. i would prefer to hear about and read about reactions to the trail in places like this blog, twitter and facebook as the mood takes people to make a comment. it's risky as we may never know what impact the trail had, however it's not being set up to impact on anybody, merely to facilitate a trail of visual artworks all of which are the favourites of those who made them. what the trail is or becomes is very much in the hands of those who see it.
so is this project about authenticity?
i turn to wikipedia...
Authenticity is a technical term used in psychology as well as existentialist philosophy and aesthetics. In existentialism, authenticity is the degree to which one is true to one's own personality, spirit, or character, despite external pressures; the conscious self is seen as coming to terms with being in a material world and with encountering external forces, pressures and influences which are very different from, and other than, itself. A lack of authenticity is considered in existentialism to be bad faith.
it's interesting that i turn to wikipedia... because in the moment of asking the question i became unsure as to what the word meant and that's the thing about words, they have fixed predefined meanings, which makes me think that visual art is not so fixed in it's meanings. so is the trail also about ambiguity?
once again to wikipedia...
Ambiguity of information, in words, pictures, or other media, is the ability to express more than one interpretation. It is generally contrasted with
vagueness, in that specific and distinct interpretations are permitted (although some may not be immediately apparent), whereas with information that is vague it is difficult to form any interpretation at the desired level of specificity.
Context may play a role in resolving ambiguity. For example, the same piece of information may be ambiguous in one context and unambiguous in another.
interesting how context now appears in the mix. for me the biggest risk with staging the trail in retail outlets is context based on ambiguity. it is something that has to be really considered when attempting to marry a work with a potential displaying venue. i suspect that underneath all of that is confidence.
so might the trail also be about confidence ?
once more to wikipedia dear friend...
Confidence is generally described as a state of being certain either that a hypothesis or prediction is correct or that a chosen course of action is the best or most effective. Self-confidence is having confidence in oneself.Arrogance or hubris in this comparison, is having unmerited confidence—believing something or someone is capable or correct when they are not. Overconfidence or presumptuousness is excessive belief in someone (or something) succeeding, without any regard for failure. Confidence can be a self-fulfilling prophecy as those without it may fail or not try because they lack it and those with it may succeed because they have it rather than because of an innate ability.
ummm.... maybe the trail isn't about confidence.... maybe the making of the trail is about confidence.... confidence being with those that made the works and confident in submitting, confidence in finding a place to show the works, confidence in making the selections.
this now implies to me that confidence plays a big part in notion of favourite.
ummm... confidence is present in the trail then ... as a sub-context.
so as something begins, it so to draws to a conclusion and i'm now wondering where this post concludes. i look to wikipedia for help and there's not much available about conclusion, so i'll go it alone.
to find something i had to begin to look for it and in looking for it i came to understand a little more what i was looking for. that understanding gave rise to breadth of knowledge and subsequent questions. in trying to conclude the search, it turned into a summary, leaving a conclusion as an on going something to try to find.
