Constellation Overview PDP

Rhiannon Settle

Constellation PDP

I have always had a problem with concentrating in class and understanding theory which I believe is  one of the many things that drew me to want to study fine art. I am restless sitting in a classroom listening to a lecture, I would rather be drawing and creating work. This year I struggled with constellation during the first term as the subject matter was philosophy and theory based. I did not find many of the lectures very interesting; most did not link to what I liked doing. Do not get me wrong, learning different ways of perceiving art was enjoyable and I did find the different teaching techniques very interesting. My favourite lecture from the first term was with Alexandros Kontogeorgakopoulos, where I surprised myself and actually enjoyed this highly thought provoking and complex lecture. We looked into how music represents itself in an image; so how a sound, looks. I really got involved in this lecture and was somewhat transfixed with the mental stimulation I got from the lecture. I found his teaching techniques very engaging, I was able to concentrate on everything he was saying.

Option choosing for our specific constellation groups through blackboard was hectic, with the best options filling up first which unfortunately didn’t allow me to choose my original option choice. I ended up getting my second choice which was After Modernism with Johnathon Clarkson. However very surprisingly, I am so very glad that I got this option! I could not have imagined how much I enjoyed the lectures, each one being highly insightful and interesting. I feel as though I learnt a lot about art during the 1900’s and about important and influential art movements and art periods during this time. I did however believe he could have used another method to do the lectures than PowerPoint presentations, as he used PowerPoint presentations for every lecture; it meant I sometimes lost concentration, which is a shame because the subject matter was really fun and interesting. My favourite lecture of After Modernism was the lecture on Fluxus; it taught me a lot and all of it was very much in my interests. I liked the Fluxus lecture so much that I wrote my 2500 word essay on the topic of Fluxus. From the After Modernism Lectures I discovered new artists and new modes of working, some of which related to my Field project at the time. In the lecture on pop art I found out about Ed Ruscha’s picture books and the example that was shown in the lecture was his photo book of 26 Gasoline stations. 

To conclude I personally have mixed beliefs on constellation this year. I did not particularly enjoy constellation during the first term, however my opinion on constellation vastly improved during this term. I enjoyed learning about topics within the After Modernism lectures and I feel as though I have a lot more knowledge about art during the 1900’s.

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