Week 42

Observations:

- from the final week of the MA Drawing program at Wimbledon College of Art [UAL] consist of the following images that I have been experimenting with for presentation as parts and pieces of my graduation and final assessment show. It is hoped that the pieces displayed in the show, which will include the accompanying Artists statement; together with my Research Paper [included in Week 40] and the contents of this rudimentary blogging effort will form a cohesive and self explanatory review and explanation of my 42 week journey at Wimbledon.

Artist Statement:

“The Physical Impossibility Imagining Old Age by Someone Young”

This studio work is presented as a physical embodiment of all the thoughts and ideas outlined in my Research Paper and Folio [as presented in blog form] and is the culmination and result of the entire M.A. Drawing year at Wimbledon College of Art. It is my hope that this studio work will support, and be supported by, the research work such that they become almost seamlessly complementary and cohesive. The work here plus the Research Paper and Research Folio need to be read as a whole; however, the “stand alone” work here attempts to speak to a number of the major concerns that have dominated my thinking in the past year. The questions and concerns that I have regarding how we age and specifically how it has and will continue to affect me and my journey as a Life Long Learner are presented in the work.

             The work also is done with a purpose. The purpose is to help me and others understand how art, particularly Drawing, can assist in bringing together many disciplines to help solve very complex problems. In this case I am looking at the interdisciplinary areas of neuroscience and how the mind/brain ages; the social science of pedagogy and paragogy in particular and how teaching and learning must change as we age; and the social science of gerontology. I believe that the arts provides an ideal setting for such an interdisciplinary exploration and is one that, as well as providing a platform for visualizing and thinking about the complex issues, can also provide some of the answers to these complex problems themselves.

             The work is an exploration of how society views age and ageing and how this impacts older persons. I am interested in what changes could be effected by older persons and by society at large so that progress can be made in respect to the wellbeing of this single largest, and fastest growing demographic of society.

             Finally the work is autobiographical in its representations of some of the internal struggles and conflicts I have dealt with as I inexorably age and in my Life Long Learning. It will surely be a reflection for us all as we are all going there! As the saying goes, “our death rate is rapidly approaching one per capita”. Ultimately the success of how one ages lies in his or her ability to be engaged in Life Long Learning, which is both an individual and a societal responsibility. It is part of our core humanness, and insofar as it is achieved one can constantly grow and progress with wisdom, dignity, and great feelings of self worth. The results of this process could be a great shame or a great credit and benefit to all.

The work is presented in a combination of sculpture and drawing and the materials used in the making are primarily found and recycled ones.

R G Wilson

 Sept. 2012

Although all of the answers to all of the questions that I have posed in these weekly writings, to myself and readers, are not provided and some are only partial answers the search will go on; the final question is :"in what forum and in what form"?