Week 1 CIM 417 Artist Statement 

This is my first pen-to-paper task for CIM417, and I can already see I am in for a wild, formative, and informative ride!

The first task was to read through the introduction of Fashioning Professionals: Identity and Representation at Work in the Creative Industries (Armstrong & McDowell, 2018a). This work is fairly contemporary, and as I read through it, I was struck by how many of the challenges I have faced in my own artistic career were reflected in it. Many, if not all, are writ large across what looks to be the “creative professional experience” for hundreds of years. Let's continue with my overview of this authoritative work.

The introduction invites us to experience, through both historic and contemporary lenses, the elaborations of what artists and creative professionals need to do to fashion, invent, remain relevant, and be perceived as professional by our peers and the wider community, all under the continuous cultural, technological, and social remodeling that societies undergo.

Representation is a theoretical concept that underpins the necessity for identity. The representation of what our creative professional work stands for can be a vital expression of what we stand for. Again, Armstrong and McDowell’s book paints this as an ever-debatable point. However, a quote from the introduction of this book struck at the heart of how representation and identity intertwine:

"It is by our use of things, and what we say, think, and feel about them – how we represent them – that we give them a meaning…  In part, we give things meaning by how we represent them – the words we use about them, the stories we tell about them, the images of them we produce, the emotions we associate with them, the ways we classify and conceptualize them, the values we place on them" (Hall 1997: 3) (Armstrong & McDowell, 2018, p. 15).

The book is thematically arranged into three parts: Inventing, Negotiating, and Making, each part consisting of chapters with specific and individual investigations and elaborations on various lived experiences of creative professionals through time.

Part 1:, Inventing, focuses on how an identity is crafted or invented during various time periods, illuminating the media’s role in inventing. Liz Farrelly’s research delves into the Boilerhouse Gallery at the Victoria and Albert Museum, investigating the intrigue and strife during and after the Thatcher years of the 1980s and 1990s. The media was used as an instrumental tool: “This chapter mediates the ‘fashioning’ of the design curator with reference to the V&A, London’s design industry, and the development of a public-private museum” (Armstrong & McDowell, 2018, p. 30). Government spending cuts and intentional political interference saw the media used to sway public opinion, with Thatcher herself remodeling the Design Museum with a new “Conran Foundation” completely under her control, bolstered by coverage and media content. Over 263 albums contain evidence of TV broadcasts and transcripts for radio (Armstrong & McDowell, 2018, p. 31). The role of curator became a political football, with article after article produced and printed over the control and direction of the museum and gallery collections and spending. I haven’t read it all thoroughly, but it does look to be intensely interesting and somewhat depressing. 

Another treatise includes an analysis of three fashion stylists: Nicola Formichetti, renowned as one of Lady Gaga’s stylists for five years; Mel Ottenberg, stylist for Rihanna; and Marni Senofonte, known for her work with Beyoncé (Armstrong & McDowell, 2018a). Researcher Rachel Lifter argues that the work of these stylists actively contributes to the overall landscape of popular fashion and that they are now recognised, unlike other “invisible” stylists. Somehow, Ottenberg and Formichetti have re-coded the practice of pop styling into a form that is appreciated (Armstrong & McDowell, 2018a).

Part 2: Negotiating. The chapters here characterize and postulate responses, reactions, and transitions that artists and creatives experience historically and contemporarily. It could also be described as emergence—the emergence of debate and discussion across topics such as what professionalism and creativity are required and defined as in the context of today's temporal, economic, and cultural conditions. Gender and inclusivity of alternative genders are a historic and contemporary mainstay to the negotiation. The negotiation is what keeps the artist relevant, included, and possibly experientially able to interrogate their current identity and self-assess, reflect, and react. These are just some of the items I have found on my quick scan. I am completely open to the fact I may have misinterpreted the work, and if I have, I apologise.

Part 3: Making. This section comprises three investigations, some historic and a few contemporary, by June Rowe, Caroline Stevenson, and Catharine Rossi. On my cursory skim, I perceive these to highlight that the creative endeavour fashions something into existence and that expression, at some point, can become a profession. The first investigation by June Rowe uncovers the uncelebrated profession of mannequin maker. Originally sculptors, who historically in their own right also found a profession, as did portrait painters and so on. This one article of the three essentially demonstrates the fundamental aesthetics and culturally valuable contribution that primarily female mannequin designers have brought to fashion and how a cottage industry transformed into a commercial and professional design industry.

Conclusion

I admit to having probably written way more than intended, and I do admit to powering down a little in the last few paragraphs. The takeaways from this introduction and a quick skim through the book, however, have had a powerful effect on me. As an artist, I have really only considered the stories that I wanted to tell for no more than the entertainment value they brought to others, in the form of art for video games. The other aspects I strived for were the acceptance of my peers as being on par or a “good artist.”  and attempting to climb the studio heirarchical structure to have more creative control.  This culminated in eventually co-founding a studio, The invention and evolution of that identity is pretty embryonic and predictable.

Though in the last seven years I have organically been drawn to wanting to tell my own stories around morality, empathy, disruption, cultural diversity, and acceptance. I think the death of my mother and the birth of my two sons has probably had me processing both subconsciously and consciously on these concepts, and on reading this, I can see how I could potentially use the impact and personal growth as part of an evolving artistic identity. I am a father of two, a husband, and the son of a loving, and special mother who was an artistic trailblazer in her own right.  I am also a lecturer at SAE, and I really care about my students. I think that's also part of my identity, and I represent that through my expression to my students and the support and mentorship I provide.

I feel that I will be having many conversations with peers, and also exploring ways in which to represent a more vibrant and recognisable identity for myself..

Bibliography

Armstrong, L., & McDowell, F. (2018a). Fashioning professionals : identity and representation at work in the creative industries. Bloomsbury Academic.