ADAD Assessment Task #2 - Concept Statement:
3. How does collaboration create communities in art and design? What challenges do collaborative approaches face and what are some of the solutions?
Collaboration refers to the ability to work with someone to produce something. This often extends to the aspect of groupwork which most people, if not everyone, have gone through and experienced different outcomes. The notion of collaborating can be viewed disdainfully by some – the thought of working with individuals to create a cooperative piece can be difficult, with conflict of ideas and visioned goals being marred due to negative factors such as singular ownership and group entitlement being played. This ruins the ethics behind good, even great, collaborative tactics, and creates a toxic community. If the notions of control and ownership were removed from such ‘teamwork’, the result of achieving better collaborative approach would be fruitful as all participating members would be appreciated.
Alternatively, collaboration can be perceived as a positive, uplifting experience for others as it enhances their skills and helps them to learn new perspectives in their art and design practices – a group cooperating in achieving a great workflow, right leadership and ability to voice out opinions freely can attain great results in both their group and personal endeavours. These tactics help to create an optimistic community that is sure to team-up again.
Collaboration, particularly in art and design, often refers to the ability to create communities through extensive communication and participation from audiences of any age, diversity and gender. Often, collaboration in artistic practices with the help of audiences is significant as it helps the artist to create a live-performing piece that enlists the help of the community to make it alive and successful, and to deliver the message that people themselves are needed to contribute to not only an artists creative practice, but to help inspire more positivity when it comes to creating new neighbourhoods and communications.
When envisioning the potential idea(s) for the major project, I reflected on Rirkrit Tiravanija’s 1992 exhibition ‘Untitled (Free)’ at the 303 Gallery in New York. Tiravanija constructs a makeshift kitchen within the gallery space and opts to serve rice and Thai curry for free to passing audiences, whom he invites for a taste. With this simple concept, I appreciated the artists take on ‘interaction’ with audiences to interrupt the ‘fine line’ between the creator and viewer. The audiences are a part of the art and contributing to the artists’ work, whilst also communicating with new found acquaintances all with the help of food and the use of invitation.
Considering for my last project I stated that I considered collaboration as a ‘tangible subject’, I decided to create a mini performance piece that would reflect on Tiravanija’s ideals and use the element of food to help demonstrate the understanding of collaboration and the optimistic attributes attached to it.
My project consists of a breakfast bar that invites people to make for themselves their preferred brekkie toast or sandwich with the spreadable options presented.
The ingredients are as follows:
- 2 x Tip Top bread (White and Wholegrain)
- 2 jars of Nutella
- Honey
- Margarine
- 100s & 1000s (sprinkles)
- 6 x Twinning’s Tea (Chai, Chamomile, English Breakfast, Green Tea, Lemon & Ginger, Peppermint)
By allowing audiences to make their own favoured brekkie choices, I am considering their own insights to how they prefer their food be made. This is a step ahead of what Tiravanija constitutes as while he provides the set prepared meal of Thai curry and rice for every single gallery recipient I am providing audiences with a basic set-up of a makeshift breakfast bar that invites them to conjure their desire choice of food with the various options present.
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