The golden dream : documentation and theory papers

The primary reflection is that the MFA Course is a golden opportunity to proceed in a different direction to that which I had been following. It is realistic however that many of the inherent concerns of the past few years will continue to assert themselves and the aim now is to accommodate these in a more challenging format. In the initial proposal I stated that I wanted to pursue a path that set aside values such as classical beauty. I now feel that it would be more valid to explore what beauty is in a wider context, before attempting to reject it. Therefore I wish to extend my interest beyond the classical simplicity of the wheel thrown vessel to sculptural forms that are in their influences more reflective of the coming of the machine age and our contemporary milieu. I now find the original proposal to be restrictive in its emphasis on the primitive as a source of vitality and freedom of expression. Furthermore, the selection of\ the humorous the fantastic the whimsical and the magical\" is narrow and the expression available within does not contain the elements of darker forces that I also want to allude to in my course-work. The machine is often portrayed as the servant one who contains the potential to be the master. The work I envisage will reflect human relationships with the machine in many of its permutations. Within this I also include the political machine and the use of images of the mechanical machine as a metaphor for the machinations of the political. Also within this structure I am interested in the placement of allusions to thought that process by which we determine the whole of our individual and collective consciousness and which often holds us overly in its embrace. As a sub plot I want at some stage to explore the relationship between 3D form and 2D representation in effectively communicating my ideas. By this I mean that my intention is to paint 2D works that will draw upon the images and icons of the sculptural forms I intend to make and to within this process to perhaps develop a synthesis or at least explore the possibility of some sort of mutually supportive relationship."