When I was in college I decided to create a work around the myth of the three graces. I went to the school library and found a few books, each of which told a different version of the myth. I combined the information that I found and edited so that it would serve my goals for the work. It was a breakthrough that I wouldn't make good on for over a decade.
There is a group of artist building an artistic practice around the idea of research as a creative act. Research in one form or another has long been a part of creating artwork, but looking at the process of research as the creative act that the photograph or drawing supports is something different. This new direction is pushing artistic boundaries, but it is doing so in a quiet way.
Columbia professor and artist Graeme Sullivan's book Art Practice as Research shines a light on this method of making artwork. He outlines different approaches that artist are taking. It is exciting to know that I'm not alone in my endeavor.
Two years ago I was working on a series of paintings. At the time I was reading Howard Carter's account of unearthing and cataloging King Tut's tomb. His book became the foundation for my paintings. I had limited my paintings to a grayscale color palate, and this allowed me to focus on the one that aspect of my artistic practice that was most compelling. I began putting the focus on my research process rather than the final work. In a way I'm finally fulfilling the potential that I wasn't prepared to fulfill in school.
