Art, Readymade.

Our early art education, and exposure to art through popular culture, has conditioned us to think of art as something particular - a painting, a sculpture.

​This is art; this is not art.

Last week’s homework for Modern Art and Ideas asked us to reconsider those learnings entirely, and go play in the "readymade" space. 

Select three objects from your surrounding environment to combine and designate as a readymade. Brainstorm a title for your readymade. Does the title reflect the way these everyday objects are used or how they change when combined with other objects?

This approach asks one to consider the entire process that leads to the creation of the final material "art" product. Why do we choose a particular media? Why do we focus on this subject? What conversations does the art stir up in the viewer, and how does that discourse become part of the art itself?

After some difficulty in finding objects to use, I was drawn to the beveled and smooth glass surfaces in a decanter and a wine glass; I wondered how the textures would photograph in the afternoon light. Needing a third element, I decided to turn water into wine with some food colouring, and to capture the process of change in the picture. 

The title, "Alchemy", reflects how the glass components are sometimes used in spiritual practice, how the water is shown to change into a stronger drink, and my own opinion of religious ceremony. (The reflection that resembles a church steeple was a lucky bonus.)

Stepping outside of my photography comfort zone, I found myself stuck in finding the final concept that I wanted to convey, and then working my way backwards to identify the components of the piece. What it highlights to me, though, is an area in photography in which I struggle - the staging and creation of a scene, and not a novel perspective to be documented.