One of my peers Joel Simpson gave another very interesting and extremely well put together micro teaching session. His lesson was about finding interesting, relevant research questions for the critical practice elements of his course and was based around a slightly unnerving stuffed toy fish. Throughout the presentation there was an element of humour that was really well executed but I couldn’t help but to attempt to unpack it.

What I found most interesting was the way in which he’d designed his presentation. On every slide and even in its style the PowerPoint was laced with a kind of anti-design illustrated by memes.  

The use of memes as part of art practice is something I have become increasingly intrigued by. So often successful artists, particularly the more knowingly contemporary ones use memes and online humour religiously on their social media. So much so some artists, Gray Wielebinski being a particular culprit, post more memes than art.

I’d be really interested to know if this is now a talked about part of contemporary art practice. Or is this just a way of de-intellectualising art practice in a way that makes the practitioner more relatable to a wider audience and therefore more successful?

Zadie Xa who has had a long running solo exhibition at the Whitechapel gallery is also another meme champion. Work in progress documentation will often be interlaced with seemingly random humorous animals and tik toks about rappers.

I suppose I’d just be interested to know if this is something Joel has picked up on as a way to make his presentation more aligned with contemporary practice or he just loves a lol?    

One of my peers D, presented an excellent micro teaching session based around his name as an object. He gave a brief but eloquent history of the why and how of his name and then put it to the rest of the group to discuss their own.

Each of the group gave 5-minute reflections on the reasons for theirs that touched on so much. We learnt about each member’s heritage geographically and religiously; we heard anecdotes about early life and touched on ideas of self.

I found the exercise difficult, for me my name, particularly my middle name being my father’s conjures up ideas of family. And without going into too much detail, this isn’t something I love talking about. So, in the exercise I felt I fell a bit short of the others.

As the subject got passed around however, I realised there is so much more in a name then the people that gave it to you. I realised I’d given myself many names over the years that accurately represented different roles I’ve taken throughout my life. I really wanted another go at the end as it really got me thinking.

It was such a great exercise in immediate self-reflection that also acted as the perfect tool of introduction. D went on to explain how it also acts as a perfect starter for a project. There is so much in a name subjectively and objectively that makes for great conversation but also, I can imagine being really inspiring for students. Well done D!   

“…No one can prove …that any given book or film is better than all the others.”

Does me liking a student’s work matter? Could you argue my experience has some precedence? Is there any experience that warrants educated taste?

“Beautiful art . . . promotes the cultivation of the mental powers for sociable communication”

Putting the definition of beautiful to one side, shared aesthetics can build collectives, often in the face of adversity (the impressionists). Updating this post Duchamp would probably require substituting ‘beautiful’. What would a shared adjective for the aesthetics of punk be?

“…On the other hand, a work art may be spoiled if used in the service of an external purpose”

Controlling an image through location is as important as the image. For example, it’s impossible to appreciate the artwork of music you hate even if the imagery is great. Or an artist’s behaviour putting you off the work (Michael Jackson).

“…decentring, in which patients move to a wider perspective on their symptoms and problems. Instead of “being” their negative thoughts and emotions, patients are helped to “reframe” these as mental events in a wider context of awareness.” Using a psychotherapeutic stance to view art is a great but not without issue. Stepping back to widen your observational stance in relation to other factors is the sound advice. However, in standardly taking this wider view could you overlook nuance?

Bibliography:

Callender, J.S. (2005). The Role of Aesthetic Judgments in Psychotherapy. Philosophy, Psychiatry,

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