The process of planning for a project begins in the mind -box:D-. In this area I use the following strategies:
· Intuition -box:D&D1-
· Autoethnography -box:B3&D-
· Interpretive interactionism -box:B-
· Genetic epistemology -box:D-
Intuition is the way which a theme -box:E1- emerges through the concept of our cognitive and spiritual existence -box:D-. As an artist I heavily rely on my intuition where the themes are concerned. In fact I do not search for the theme, but it is the theme which usually finds its ways into my mind. Western society values rationality -box:D2-. very highly, and is often suspicious of intuition -box:D1- which has become a “Subjugated Way of Knowing” (Boyce-Tillman 2007).
Since the process of planning a theme begins in the mind -box:E1&D-, I need to establish the fact that as a Persian born artist who lives and work in the west, “Subjugated Ways of Knowing” has a fundamental bearing in the process of planning the themes of my work. I understand that the use of “Intuition” has not been a common practice in Western culture, however, as Gooch argues (Boyce-Tillman 2005, p8); In the 21st century, the West has begun to recognise different ways of knowing; “Intuition” as a reality.
As a result the west…
“…is trying to heal a rift that has developed
in its intensely rationalistic culture.
Gooch defines this rift in terms of two systems of thought,
both of which co-exist in the human personality.”
“Type A, that is, those who are happy acting on logic
and scientific reasoning which are part of system A, and others as
Type B and that is those who favour system B,
acting intuitively and valuing belief.”
(Boyce-Tillman 2000, p8)
As an artist my work is heavily relaying on the “Type
B”, intuitive aspect of “Subjugated Ways of Knowing”.
Physical
and the Cognitive realms
Each of these aspects; “Type A” and “Type B”, have different sets
of laws.
The
Physical world of existence is often known by the adjectives; mineral,
vegetable, animal and the human. The notion of cognitive -box:D-is particular to the
life of the human. The “Realm of Spirit” is another aspect
of existence-box:D1-, which is explored by some philosopher and
religious figures. It is also suggested by some that the spiritual realm is a
natural continuation of life for human; however, there is no materialistic evidence
available to prove that. Therefore, at present state of my understanding I
consider the “Spiritual Realm” as an independent entity which although plays an
important role in life of human, its existence is not supported by the same set
of laws which rules the world of nature.
One of these philosophers who suggest that
“Spiritual Realm” is a further link of the chain of existence is Rumihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumi (Last
visited: March 2010).
"جملۀ دیگر بمیرم از بشر, تا بر آرم از ملایک پر و سر, وز ملک هم بایدم جستن ز جو, کل شیء هالک الا وجهه, بار دیگر از ملک قربان شوم, آنچ اندر وهم ناید آن شوم, پس عدم گردم عدم چون ارغنون,گویدم که انا الیه راجعون..."
“… Therefore, once I
die as human
I shall continue my life as an angel
……
Once again I shall die as an angel
And I shall become something
unimaginable
Eventually I shall burnout to
nothingness like “Arghanun”
And only then reunite with my
creator…”
(Rumi 1976, Section 178, 3rd Volume, translation: P.F)
The
“Spiritual Realm” has a strong influence on “Stylising” the movements of human
leading him to the creation of the phenomenon of “Art”.
As said earlier, as an artist my work is
heavily relaying on the “Type B” -box:D1-,
intuitive aspect of “Subjugated Ways of Knowing”. For that, I look at a
mystical method of research which is explained in a letter by Bahá’u’lláh; “The
Seven Valleys” (Bahá’u’lláh 1986). Beside this, however, I endeavour to
consider the related iconic academic findings -box:D2- and measure up my work against the
work of some other artists -box:C5-.
“The Seven Valleys”
As a Baha’i where spiritually is concerned, I often
refer to The Seven Valleys of Baha’u’llah as a framework -box:D1-.
“The stages that mark the wayfarer's
journey from the abode of dust to the heavenly homeland are said to be seven.
Some have called these SevenValleys,
and others, Seven Cities.
And they say that until the wayfarer taketh leave of
self,
and traverseth these stages,
he shall never reach to the ocean of nearness and union,
nor drink of the peerless wine...”
“It is incumbent on these servants that they cleanse
the heart
-- which is the wellspring of divine treasures --
from every marking,
and that they turn away from imitation,
which is following the traces of their forefathers and
sires…”
(Bahá’u’lláh 1986)
Throughout my investigations, therefore, I
have endeavoured to avoid all prejudgements and/or prejudices, known to my
conscious mind, and launch a journey of investigation without aiming at a
premeditated destiny.
Perhaps this is one of the reason that I
try to tune into my intuition in “My Body is a Temple for My Soul”-box:B-,
Section A of Chapter I, “A Stranger in Charge of the Temple of My Soul” -box:D1-, Section C of Chapter
II, and “The Intuitive Analysis” of “Another Birth” -box:B2,C1&D1- from Section A of Chapter III.
“The true seeker hunteth naught but the
object of his quest,
and the lover hath no desire save union with his
beloved.
Nor shall the seeker reach his goal unless he sacrifice
all things.
That is, whatever he hath seen, and heard, and
understood,
all must he set at naught,
that he may enter the realm of the spirit,
which is the City of God.
Labor is needed, if we are to seek Him;
ardor is needed,
if we are to drink of the honey of reunion with Him;
and if we taste of this cup, we shall cast away the
world.
On this journey the traveler abideth in every land and dwelleth in every region.
In every face, he seeketh the beauty of the Friend;
in every country he looketh for the Beloved.
He joineth every company, and seeketh fellowship with
every soul,
that haply in some mind he may uncover the secret of
the Friend,
or in some face he may behold the beauty of the Loved
One.”
“Love accepteth no existence and
wisheth no life:
He seeth life in death, and in shame seeketh glory.”
(Bahá’u’lláh 1986)
“My Body is a Temple for My Soul”
in Section A of Chapter I, and “A Stranger in Charge of the Temple of My
Soul” in Section C of Chapter II, clearly demonstrate the application of
this method.
For example “My Body is a Temple for My
Soul”, indicates an intuitive -box:D1- understanding of our physical
appearances -box:B- which is based on my personal life
experiences alongside with searching confirmations from the work of academics
such as Haakonssen 1996, Fieser & Dowden 2008 and Spivak 1987.
Similarly, “A Stranger in Charge of the
Temple of My Soul”, beside having evidence of my personal intuitions, makes
advantage of the inputs of other artists -box:C5-,
politicians, philosophers, sociologists and academics -box:D2- such as; Barbra Streisand 1983, Nelson Mandela
2006, Bill Clinton 2007, Madonna 2008, You Tube 2007, Hegel 1998, Bahá'u'lláh1952.
“Autoethnography”
Auto-ethnography -box:D,B&C- or rewriting the self and the social
is a method where a researcher uses participant observation and interviews to
understand and theorise modes of behaviour of a group, of which s/he is a
member her/himself. This method is often used in performance studies, media and
journalism -box:C1,C5,C6&E2-.
My intuition -box:D1- takes off from the inner journey -box:C&D-but it draws on
the outer journey which I have made across the Eastern and Western culture
throughout my life. I refer to the story of my life-box:C1-, as a member
of a group; that is “a Refugee Persian Bahá’í Women who has travelled -box:C- fromIran to England”.
Hence, “Autoethnography” has strong bearing in my planning process.
“Bourdieu holds that through the business
of everyday life people learn and construct models of how the world is, of how
the world ought to be, the human nature, of cosmology. These models do not
simply fulfil purely theoretical or cognitive functions; they are about doing,
as much as they are about things. (Bourdieu, 1977)
(Tieney, William G. & Lincoln, Yvonna S. Editors
1997, p10)
This method of research is very essential
to my project, and with a co-operation with the type “B” -box:D1- aspect of “Subjugated Ways of
Knowing”, plays an essential role.
The use of this method is clearly visible
in Section A of Chapter I; “My Body is a Temple for My Soul”, Sections
A, B & C of Chapter II: “I Mask, Therefore, I Am”, “Happy
Birthday O Womb-Man”, “A Stranger in Charge of the Temple of My Soul”
and also Section A of Chapter III:
“Another Birth”.
In “My Body is a Temple for My Soul”
and “A Stranger in Charge of the Temple of My Soul”, my argument
originates from a personal study of self and self development -box:D1&D2-. In doing that,
I analyse the notion of my own physical -box:B- and mental developments -box:D- within the contexts of the very
different cultures that I have been living within, that is the Persian,
English, Bahá’í and our fast developing global culture. My attempt is directed
towards understanding these cultures and their contributions to my personal
development by looking at their impacts on me. Through that; their impacts on
me, I try to understand these cultures and their interactions with other peoples.
In other words, I look from inside out at these cultures and their working
mechanism, instead of trying to discover my personality by studying these
cultures.
“I Mask, Therefore, I Am” -box:B2,C&D-, is an art
video based on one of my own poems. In this work I study and question my own
life experiences and feelings -box:B,C&D- by looking at my own social placement
as an emigrant, and the way I have been striving to establish a new character
within the host culture of mine. From artistic point of view -box:C5- , I impersonate myself as a
representative of my own social like, and similarly narrate the tale, using my
own voice -box:C1-.
Looking at Section A, Chapter III,
“Another Birth”, although I have used a poem which is written by another
poet Forough Farrokhzad (1989-92) -box:C5,B2,D1&C1-,
I have lived the characters of poem throughout the work. In a way, I have
endeavoured to analyse and to understand the poet’s viewpoints by placing
myself within the context of the poetry and its meant atmosphere -box:B1&C1-. This has been
discussed in great details in the later part of Section A, Chapter III;
“Intuitive Analysis”.
“Where is it Written”, Section B,
Chapter III is yet another example of my work in
which I have put myself in the context of another artist’s work, this time
Barbra Streisand (1983), and a song from her film “Yentl” -box:B1,B2,C1,C5,E1&E2-.
As it is obvious from the above examples
of my work, “Gender” -box:B- and “Emotion” -box:B,C&D-are two angels
from which I look at life, and those aspects of life could be analysed via:
“Interpretive Interactionismn"
In my work, I show how gender -box:B- has been an important part of my inner
and outer journey -box:C&D- and this has made interpretive
interactionism a useful strategy.
“Interpretive research has the following
characteristics:
· It is existential,interactional
and biographical
· It is naturalistic
· It is based on sophisticated rigor
· It can be both pure and applied
· It is postpositivism
and
builds on feminist critiques of positivism
· It is concerned with the social
construction of
gender, power, knowledge, history, and emotion.”
(Denzin
1989 p19)
The reference to “Interpretive
Interactionism” becomes
particularly apparent in Section A & B of Chapter II; “I Mask, Therefore, I Am” &
“Happy Birthday O Womb-Man”, two of my own pieces of expressive writings
(Farid 2008)box:B,C&D-.
“I Mask, Therefore, I Am” is an
autobiographical and interactional piece of poetry with an obvious reference to
gender and a sophisticated rigor of strong feminine emotion in its conclusions-box:B,C,D,E1&E2-.
“Happy Birthday O Womb-Man” is a
piece which justifies itself within the parameters of post positivism, where it
challenges the society in forming the individuals’ social character, by
launching a direct personal interaction and challenging the society for
allowing itself to interfere with personal developments -box:C&D-, “Theory of
Justification”, being a part of epistemology that
attempts to understand the justification ofpropositions and beliefs. The sarcastic language which is applied in this poem,
demonstrates a strong emotion which is another characteristic of "Interpretive
Interactionism”.
(Last visited: April 2010)
“Genetic epistemology”
This is a
study of the origins of knowledge when its validity, which is subject to the
individual’s life experiences/experiments -box:B&C-,is
questioned against the validity of the methods of investigation -box:D-. A self common sense in
understanding the make up and pattern of life in terms of physical and mental
development is considered in this aspect of my work, which is based on observing
a personal development and also having a personal view into the environment
within which I have lived.
“Genetic
Epistemology attempts to explain knowledge,
and in particular scientific knowledge,
on the basis of its history, its
sociogenesis, and especially the psychological origins of the notions and
operations upon which it is based.
These notions and operations are drawn in
large part from common
sense, so that their origins can shed light on their significance as
knowledge of a somewhat higher level.
But genetic epistemology also
takes into account, wherever possible, formalisation - in particular, logical
formalisations applied to equilibrated thought structures and in certain cases
to transformations from one level to another in the development ofthough…
For
many philosophers and epistemologists, epistemology is the study of knowledge
as it exists at the present moment;
it is the
analysis of knowledge for its own sake and within its own framework without
regard for its development…
But it
seems to me that we can make the following reply to this objection. Scientific
knowledge is in perpetual evolution;
it finds
itself changed from one day to the next.
As a
result, we cannot say that on the one hand there is the history of knowledge,
and on the other its current state today,
as if its
current state were somehow definitive or even stab.
The
current state of knowledge is a moment in history,
changing
just as rapidly as the state of knowledge in the past has ever changed and, in
many instances, more rapidly.
Scientific
thought, then, is not momentary; it is not a static instance; it is a process.
More specifically, it is a process of continual construction and
reorganisation. This is true in almost every branch of scientific
investigation…”
(Jean
Piaget 1968)
Genetic Epistemology, a series of lectures delivered by Piaget
atColumbia University,
Published by Columbia University Press, translated by Eleanor Duckworth.
(Last
visited: Feb 2008)
Genetic Epistemology as a method of
investigation is considered in Section A of Chapter I; “My Body is a Temple
for My Soul” and Section C of Chapter II; “A Stranger in Charge of the
Temple of My Soul” in connection with the “Theory of Justification” which
as said earlier; is a part of epistemologythat attempts to understand the
justification of propositions andbeliefs. This is
the reason that in these two pieces I check my understandings against some
iconic scientific theories -box:D2-.
“Hegelian Dialectic”
Every social phenomenon (Thesis) causes an
opposite and/or independent entity (Antitheses). The outcome of
interactions between these two entities leads to the emergence of yet another
independent entity (Synthesis) -box:D2,C,C1&B-.
The process of making a new piece of art work
(synthesis) –box:C1,C5&E2- takes place through transferring the
“Invisible Lines”-box:C2- of
a given theme or phenomenon (thesis) -box:E1- into a set of “Stylised Invisible
Lines” (antithesis) -box:C3-. That process would make the use of Hegelian dialectic “…according to which the Absolute Reality is
progressively manifesting itself dialectically in the form of thesis,
antithesis and synthesis…”(Hegel 1998) an
appropriate strategy.
Hegelian Dialectic has opened a large
window of understanding into the process of my life, character development and
also my artistic responses to life experiences -box:D,C,B1,C1,C5&E2-. The
understanding of Thesis,
Antitheses, Synthesis and
their interactions not only helps me to trace the origin of my ideas -box:D-, but also the way my
art evolves and progresses during the process of making -box:C5&E2-.
This is evident in the creation of the
innovative font -box:C4-,
format and the design of my Persian calligraphy -box:C3,C5&C6- in “Another Birth”, Section
A of Chapter III,
and also in surreal photomontage in that section -box:C2,C3,C5&E2-. The
calligraphy work of mine in “Another Birth” could be regarded as
synthesis which is the result of the emergence of traditional form of Persian
stylised calligraphy, antitheses, within the context of regular writing -box:C1-.
