Sincerity: a Study of Sincerity In
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Creating [in]Sincerity: A Study of Sincerity in Contemporary Visual Art Practice. Rebecca Daynes Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Faculty of Creative Industries Queensland University of Technology 2019 1 2 Keywords Affect; Art; Communication; Disclosure; Discomfort; Gaslighting; Insincerity; Irony; #metoo; Post-truth; Practice-led Research; Reflexivity; Sincerity; Vulnerability. 3 Abstract Sincerity in its traditional sense is commonly understood as the confluence of truthful statement and genuine feeling, or to put it simply: meaning what you say. In recent theoretical discourses however, sincerity has been stripped of its grounding in ethical promises or commitment to factual accuracy. It is not necessarily considered to have an essential relationship to one’s inner truth, rather, sincerity has been reimagined as a media effect that can be employed and manipulated without regard for issues of truth or authenticity. As a media effect, sincerity acts as a conduit for the transmission of affect as the more sincerity we perceive, the more we can empathise and feel. In the context of today’s ‘post-truth’ and media-saturated sphere, sincerity is a key transaction in the currency of emotion that dominates our age. This project aims to explore the nature of sincerity in visual arts practice. Given today’s digital-visual era, reframing sincerity as an artistic stratagem for affective exchange requires a detailed consideration of how sincerity functions across digital platforms, and as a form of visual communication. Although the recent view of sincerity as a media effect alludes to its creative potential, most analysis stops short of articulating sincerity’s capacity as a distinct artistic process. This practice-led art project considers the role of sincerity in ethical, communicative, phenomenological, and affective modes, and devises conceptual and mediated strategies of working with sincerity across visual platforms. It will also address sincerity’s inherent paradoxes in relation to the ironic, its inseparability from insincerity, and the difficulty of performing sincerity. I examine these contradictions and how they can be reconciled through visual art practice for the purpose of providing affective engagement with the question of sincerity for the viewer. 4 Figure 3, I Wish My Mother Understood Me, no.3 (detail), 2018. 5 Statement of Original Authorship The work contained in this thesis has not been previously submitted to meet requirements for an award at this or any other higher education institution. To the best of my knowledge and belief, the thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made. Signature: QUT Verified Signature Date: September 25, 2019 6 Acknowledgements I give my most heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to my supervisors Dr Mark Pennings, Dr Rachael Haynes and Mark Webb. Thank you for your wisdom, patience and guidance. What I have learnt from you extends far beyond this project and I will be eternally grateful. I’d also like to extend my thanks to all of the visual art department whom I have had the pleasure of learning from during my studies. Thank you for all your support, feedback and inspiration along the way. I must also acknowledge the wider university community, especially the Learning Potential Fund support and the APA scholarship that made this project possible. I need to thank my sisterhood of DONAM for their inspirational strength and generosity of spirit. Thank you for holding a space for the ugly truth to transform into a place of beautiful sincerity. In particular I would like to thank the team, a sisterhood in the truest sense. I am better for having you in my life. To my friends that are family, thank you for your unwavering belief, support and encouragement. To my husband, Steven. There are no words to encapsulate how significant your support has been. Thank you for walking this journey with me, it would not have been possible without you. And finally, to my children, Alexandria, Dominick and Ezekiel, there is nothing more sincere and true than my love for you. 7 Table of Contents Keywords ................................................................................................................... 3 Abstract ...................................................................................................................... 4 Statement of Original Authorship .............................................................................. 6 Acknowledgements .................................................................................................... 7 Table of Contents ....................................................................................................... 8 Table of Figures ....................................................................................................... 10 1. Introduction .................................................................................................... 12 2. Methodology ................................................................................................... 22 2.1 Practice Led Research ............................................................................... 23 2.2 Bricolage .................................................................................................... 24 2.3 Improvisation and Innovation .............................................................. 28 2.4 Repetition and Reiteration ......................................................................... 29 2.5 The Reflective Exegesis: A Candid Reflection ......................................... 32 2.6 Disclosure and Discomfort ........................................................................ 37 2.7 Sincerity as Method ................................................................................... 40 3. Practice in Context ......................................................................................... 44 3.1 The Changing Face of Sincerity .............................................................. 45 3.2 Reframing Sincerity: Sincerity as a Media Effect ..................................... 50 3.3 Feeling Sincere: Affective Sincerity .................................................. 56 3.4 Insincerity, Irony and Performance: When Sincerity Becomes “Sincerity” .......................................................................................................................... 60 3.5 Sincerely, Me Too ...................................................................................... 69 3.6 Sincerity in an Era of Post-Truth ............................................................. 82 3.7 The Role of Social Media ......................................................................... 87 3.8 The Art of Sincerity .................................................................................. 92 3.9 Damien Hirst ............................................................................................. 93 3.10 Marina Abramovic .................................................................................. 97 3.11 Eroding Sincerity .................................................................................. 101 4. Sincerity in Practice ..................................................................................... 108 4.1 The Ethical: Finding a Sincere Voice ..................................................... 109 8 4.2 Phenomenological Approaches: Working Without Wax ....................... 112 4.3 The Affective: A Yearning to Communicate ......................................... 116 4.4 The Reflective: Conversing With the Self ............................................... 123 4.5 Embellishing the Truth .......................................................................... 126 4.6 A Sincere Self ......................................................................................... 131 4.7 The Uncanny Self / I Haven’t Felt Like Myself Lately ........................... 139 5. Conclusion .................................................................................................... 150 References .............................................................................................................. 156 9 Table of Figures Figure 1, Feint Hearted (detail) ___________________________________________ 2 Figure 2, I Wish My Mother Understood Me, no.3 (detail), 2018. _______________ 5 Figure 3, Journey, 2011. Animation still. __________________________________ 16 Figure 4, The Age of Knowing (detail), 2017 - 2018. ________________________ 31 Figure 5, Simon Has a Feeling, 2016. _____________________________________ 51 Figure 6 Rebecca Daynes. After Christine, 2018. ___________________________ 77 Figure 7, Michelle Hartney. Performance/Call to Action, 2018. Performance still. _ 80 Figure 8, Betty Tompkins, Apologia (Mary Shepard Greene Blumenstein), 2018. __ 81 Figure 9, Left Ivanka Trump, Right Richard Prince's tweet. ___________________ 91 Figure 10 Damien Hirst, The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living, 1991. ________________________________________________________ 96 Figure 11 Marina Abramovic, The Artist is Present, 2010. ____________________ 98 Figure 12 Marina Abramovic, The Artist is Present, 2010. ___________________ 101 Figure 13 Tracey Emin, Everyone I have Ever Slept With 1963-1995, 1995. _____ 103 Figure 14 Ryan Trecartin, The Re‘Search Wait’S, 2009-2010. ________________ 106 Figure