Concept Statement | Bibliography Â
For my first assessment, I explored how conflict is good and is a necessity for the development of a strong community. Â For my second assessment, I continue to explore the conflict aspect within my question. This time, however, I wanted to directly challenge the question, as the question implies that collaboration in arts always brings communities together and that there is always a solution to the conflict. My final work conveys the idea that collaboration may not always bring communities together because sometimes conflicts within collaborations cannot be resolved regardless of how much effort is put in.
When I think of conflicts I think of opposing forces between two or more individuals. This led to me exploring and experimenting with materials that display signs of opposing forces such as magnetic forces, oil and water and opposite flavours.  During these experiments, I was able to relate the interactions between the opposing forces within the object that I was experimenting with to how we behave in a collaborative environment where conflict is present. Realising this link and observing the objects gave me a better understanding of conflicts and why sometimes it canât be resolved. The objects capture different aspects of conflict rather than one homogenous idea of two parties fighting. I really like this idea of exploring different aspects of conflict rather than looking at it as a whole and felt that it is something that I want to incorporate in my final work to help show how conflict may not always be resolved and why collaboration may not always work.
To help me develop an idea for my final work where I can achieve this, I researched how other artists have captured different aspects of conflicts in their work. I discovered artist Mona Hatoum who uses internal conflicts in her design to challenge our expectation and perception of every day. To an extent, I am using conflict to challenge our expectation and perception of conflicts. Hatoumâs aim to challenge our expectation and perception and her method of adding a design conflict to an everyday item to achieve this is a method that I plan to use in my own work. I felt it was an effective way to get the audience to challenge their expectations.
The expectation and perception aspects reminded me of commercial products. As commercial products, especially âAs seen on TVâ products often challenge your expectation and perception of a product. Due to the often-disappointing nature of the products after purchase. This too can relate to conflicts in collaboration. As consumers have an expectation of products to be good but sometimes they are disappointed by the products as their expectations are not met. Similar to how expects the collaboration to run smoothly but sometimes we are disappointed by how this is not always possible. They both desire an expectation for something but sometimes they are faced with the reality that their expectation cannot be met.
I decided to incorporated my experiments into commercial products that could be interacted with, adding a conflicting design element to it that represent different human behavioural aspects of conflicts. The use of commercial products represents how a good collaboration is something that we desire but may not always be possible. Each product has 2 labels on top of each other. The labelling of the products as âCommunity Brandâ represents how the idea and aspect that is being represented is present in communities. The top labels have an instruction claiming that doing so would allow for achieving a successful aspect of collaboration. The instruction cannot be achieved due to the conflicting element design. The top label has an obvious tab, signalling the viewer that the top label should be removed, reviewing the bottom label that showing the true intent of the product as an aspect of conflict of collaboration and that the conflicting element reflects it.
Smell of great/bad chemistry | The conflicting element here is water and oil. Water and oil cannot mix due to its different chemistry. Representing how we desire to get along with everyone, however, sometimes regardless of how hard we try we just cannot get along with them.
Cube of Great Minds/Single Mindedness | The conflicting element here is opposing magnetic forces. The opposing magnetic forces show the magnet from aligning with each other. Representing how we desire for everyone to agree with each and to share the same idea, however, sometimes regardless of how hard we try not everyone will agree with each other.
Elixir of Sweetness/Sourness | The conflicting element here is the expectation of sweetness but receiving sourness instead. Representing how we want to work with people who are kind and supportive, however, sometimes we will have to work with people who are nasty.
âCapturing conflict through artâ, Khan Academy, 2015, viewed on 13September 2018, https://www.khanacademy.org/partner-content/tate/conflict-contradiction/art-and-conflict/a/what-about-internal-conflict-in-art
âWhat about Internal conflict in art?â, Khan Academy, 2015, viewed on 13September 2018, https://www.khanacademy.org/partner-content/tate/conflict-contradiction/art-and-conflict/a/what-about-internal-conflict-in-art
Arteffusion, âUntitled (Wheelchair) by Mona Hatoumâ, Arteffusion, August 2017, viewed on the 14 September 2018, https://arteffusion.wordpress.com/2017/08/26/untitled-wheelchair-by-mona-hatoum/
B. Geiger, âSweet and Sour Opposing Forcesâ, Fine Cooking, [No Date], viewed on the 8 September 2018, https://www.finecooking.com/article/sweet-and-sour-opposing-forces
C. Davies, âEyewitness: a war artist in Afghanistanâ, The Guardian, March 2010, viewed on the 13 September 2018, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/mar/18/jules-george-war-artist-afghanistan
J. Georges, âThe art of war artists: Capturing the 'organised chaos' of conflict in Afghanistanâ, Independent, March 2016, viewed on the 13September 2018, https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/features/the-art-of-war-artists-capturing-the-organised-chaos-of-conflict-in-afghanistan-a6946601.html