Rory Luxton

Evaluation

I started much of my research in the Library, reading several books and essays on Philosophy by writers
such as Bertrand Russell, and authors like George Orwell. This was all new ground for me – I’ve never
studied philosophy at school or college – but I’ve come to realise how important it could be for my work in
the future. I spent a lot of time researching Philosophers before attempting to research other Artists. This
was, however, hugely beneficial. Being ambitious with the pieces does mean that I now have a body of
work with plenty of research, development and reflective bookwork in different areas of Art and
Philosophy.

I attended two events by Brian Eno during the Brighton Festival which really stood out for me with this
project. An exhibition of generated music and images called 77 Million Paintings at Fabrica, and a
screening with live music of his film about space “For All Mankind’. Both of which clearly asking bold
questions not too disimular from my own. Allowing me study the means in which they were able portray
them to the puplic.
Internet Art Blogs were a great way to find contemporary conceptual art, most notably a blog's named “I
Like This Art” and ''But does it float'', but also multiple article's featured in, “It's Nice That”. Internet
search engines such as Google were also very useful.

My project stayed fairly similar to my Project proposal (PP). This is because I spent a long time thinking
about the PP and ensuring it was as relevant as possible at the time of writing. The project evolved hugely,
especially in the early stages of research (when researching Philosophers), but this was expected even when
writing the PP. Unfortunately the humorous manner in which I expected to get my concept across was not
found.

My initial ideas were vague and very broad. Over the duration of the project I gradually narrowed the
concept to one or two key foci. I did this mostly through writing thoughts directly into my blog. This was
an essential stage - I had too many initial ideas, although they all revolved around the same philosophical
concept.

Throughout this project mistakenly I feel that I have become too involved with the contextualization of
what I’m trying to create, rather than the work that is been created. This is an important point for me –
perhaps I think too deeply about things.My abilities to articulate some of the ideas have greatly improved –
however - when relating these ideas in a visual perspective, these ideas can become unclear.
This project was quite a challenge in terms of time management for me - I personally feel that I have not
reached the full potential of where this project could be. However, now I think I have a much greater
understanding of the importance of planning + taking notes during my project - making sure that all
processes are not forgotten - both mental and physical.

Overall, although very difficult for me personally at times, I think it has been the right concept for me to
tackle, in comparison to some of the more superficial initial ideas I put forward. It has allowed me to reach
a greater understanding of the process and the meanings behind art in general - pushing my art to a new
level. Some of the fundamental concepts behind my project, I would like to push forward with, in my
future work and life.