Dr. Alexandra M. Kokoli

‘If words were enough …’: The difficult partnership between writing and creative practice

Text for discussion
Susan Hiller, ‘Henry Moore: “Truth” and “Truth to Material”, in The Provisional Texture of Reality: Selected Talks and Texts, 1977-2007, ed. A. M. Kokoli (Zurich: JRP|Ringier, forthcoming 2008), pp. 61-70, ‘Women, Language, Truth’, ibid., pp. 115-117

Susan Hiller – described as second generation conceptualist. Exploration into the unconscious of culture, professionally ‘what are artists?’ Poses the notion ‘if words were enough’ – a paradox between writing and making. Writing to explain the art is an explanation of notions, a discussion not direct specific, is not documentation.

Is writing about art (for an artist) a risk – is it committing to paper, is it seen as a plan? Can writing misrepresent or is it an evaluation?

Art is usually accompanied by text – maybe because art is a visual language that isn’t defined, although the origins of language come from drawing.

A doodle is automatic writing – it is of the self, a style of who you are. Worth looking at automatic collaborative practice – random selection of qualities, random specifications

Is a word an image? words make thing by saying, making a world of your own with text. Words are defined and image has many interpretations – based on your cultural knowledge. Can text have as many interpretations as an image?

Can an image be seen as truth – photography is still used as evidence, it has legal implications

image trickery – text propaganda

we have expectations of text – expectations of a poem, rivets of meaning with no definition.

Maybe an artist needs an interpreter – artists idioms. Is it gaining authenticity through text? do they need to sound intelligent via text? – artists have the quality to chose

is language a gift or are we inhibited by text – is there a purer way of presenting – notion of silence in writing.