Joshua T Howell documentation year two semester onewww.joshuathowell.co.uk

TraceAn exhibition organised in collaboration with other members of the

Critical Fine Art Practice BA (hons) course of Brighton University running throughout the first week of December 2010 at the Regency Town House, Brighton.

As well as contributing an artwork for the show Joshua T Howell took a prominent curatorial role alongside a few others responsible for the show as a whole. In collaboration with Rebecca Field and oth-ers the concept and direction of the show was decided.

Intended as a meditation on the concept of the ‘trace’ described by Derrida as an ‘always-already absent present’. The shows placement in a transitory space mid renovation coupled with the decision (main-ly due to gallery restrictions) to create temporary structures on which to place work; allowing for artworks to remain autonomous, managed to further this idea of objects ability to perhaps be present and in their presence allude to another place or other objects not present.

TRA

CE

i ii iii iv

v vi vii

viii

ix x xi xii

xiii

xiv

xv xvi

xvii

xviii

xix

A tra

ce, a

n ar

row,

a p

oint

ed h

and,

a s

ign

that

read

s ‘lo

ok a

t thi

s th

at is

no

long

er h

ere’

.

Hum

anity

ass

umes

an

orig

in fo

r eve

ry tr

ace,

arti

sts

incl

uded

. To

crea

te a

rt is

to s

imul

ate

the

crea

tion

of a

trac

e, e

nabl

ing

the

inta

ngib

le to

be

touc

hed

and

the

invi

sibl

e to

be

seen

. To

follo

w o

r dis

cove

r, m

ake

or m

ark,

trav

el o

r pas

s ov

er, d

etec

t or d

ecip

her.

For D

errid

a, tr

ace

refe

rs to

wor

ds th

at a

re e

nvel

oped

in th

e m

etap

hysi

cs o

f pre

senc

e, a

w

ord

like

‘bei

ng’ o

r ‘th

ing’

that

refe

rs to

an

assu

med

exi

sten

ce, b

ut o

ne th

at n

eeds

not

ha

ve e

ver e

xist

ed.

Mar

ked

abse

nce

of a

pre

senc

e, a

n al

way

s-al

read

y ab

sent

pre

sent

.

Wor

k si

tuat

ed in

a s

pace

that

is it

self

in b

etw

een

two

stat

es a

llow

ing

cons

tant

pla

y an

d di

ffers

con

tinuo

usly.

Con

stan

t ten

sion

bet

wee

n th

e un

finis

hed

build

ing

and

high

ly fi

n-is

hed

wor

k re

mai

ns p

rese

nt th

roug

hout

the

show

, the

lack

of p

hysi

cal a

ttach

men

t to

the

build

ing

itsel

f allo

ws

wor

ks to

rem

ain

auto

nom

ous

whi

lst s

till e

ntan

gled

by

the

thre

ad o

f tra

ce.

An E

xhib

ition

by

Crit

ical

Fin

e Ar

t Pra

ctic

e

v

xvi

xvii

ix

xiii

x

xviii

iii

Elen

i Tou

lekk

iIz

zy M

cGou

ghM

ax J

eter

Izzy

McG

ough

Reb

ecca

Fie

ldTa

msi

n D

ever

eux

Sam

anth

a H

arve

yM

ike

Puda

nM

atth

ew V

itty

Beth

any

Willi

ams

Mad

elei

ne F

lynn

Dan

Nut

tPh

ilippa

Sha

rpe

Ros

ie M

arch

ant

Loui

se E

vans

Emm

a Pa

lmer

Fran

ces

Odi

m-L

ough

linAn

n R

ober

tsJo

shua

T H

owel

l

i

ii

xix

vi vii

viii

xixi

ixv

xiv

iv

Trac

e yo

urse

lf N

o. 1

In m

y cr

aft o

r sul

len

art p

t II

Unt

itlle

dIn

my

craf

t or s

ulle

n ar

t pt I

36 D

uke

Stre

et (k

unst

kam

mer

)Lo

ve lo

stA

one

way

exc

hang

eR

etra

cer

Peac

e cr

ane

Tran

sitio

n of

a g

utte

r girl

Pres

sing

I, P

ress

ing

IIAn

edu

catio

nal t

oy“O

ur T

race

”C

onve

rsat

ion

Mem

oria

lC

old

Cas

e N

umbe

r 000

1I d

on’t

rem

embe

r bei

ng to

ld h

e w

as il

l, bu

t I re

mem

ber

Cha

nce

proc

ess

‘hid

es’

TRA

CE

i ii iii iv

v vi vii

viii

ix x xi xii

xiii

xiv

xv xvi

xvii

xviii

xix

A tra

ce, a

n ar

row,

a p

oint

ed h

and,

a s

ign

that

read

s ‘lo

ok a

t thi

s th

at is

no

long

er h

ere’

.

Hum

anity

ass

umes

an

orig

in fo

r eve

ry tr

ace,

arti

sts

incl

uded

. To

crea

te a

rt is

to s

imul

ate

the

crea

tion

of a

trac

e, e

nabl

ing

the

inta

ngib

le to

be

touc

hed

and

the

invi

sibl

e to

be

seen

. To

follo

w o

r dis

cove

r, m

ake

or m

ark,

trav

el o

r pas

s ov

er, d

etec

t or d

ecip

her.

For D

errid

a, tr

ace

refe

rs to

wor

ds th

at a

re e

nvel

oped

in th

e m

etap

hysi

cs o

f pre

senc

e, a

w

ord

like

‘bei

ng’ o

r ‘th

ing’

that

refe

rs to

an

assu

med

exi

sten

ce, b

ut o

ne th

at n

eeds

not

ha

ve e

ver e

xist

ed.

Mar

ked

abse

nce

of a

pre

senc

e, a

n al

way

s-al

read

y ab

sent

pre

sent

.

Wor

k si

tuat

ed in

a s

pace

that

is it

self

in b

etw

een

two

stat

es a

llow

ing

cons

tant

pla

y an

d di

ffers

con

tinuo

usly.

Con

stan

t ten

sion

bet

wee

n th

e un

finis

hed

build

ing

and

high

ly fi

n-is

hed

wor

k re

mai

ns p

rese

nt th

roug

hout

the

show

, the

lack

of p

hysi

cal a

ttach

men

t to

the

build

ing

itsel

f allo

ws

wor

ks to

rem

ain

auto

nom

ous

whi

lst s

till e

ntan

gled

by

the

thre

ad o

f tra

ce.

An E

xhib

ition

by

Crit

ical

Fin

e Ar

t Pra

ctic

e

v

xvi

xvii

ix

xiii

x

xviii

iii

Elen

i Tou

lekk

iIz

zy M

cGou

ghM

ax J

eter

Izzy

McG

ough

Reb

ecca

Fie

ldTa

msi

n D

ever

eux

Sam

anth

a H

arve

yM

ike

Puda

nM

atth

ew V

itty

Beth

any

Willi

ams

Mad

elei

ne F

lynn

Dan

Nut

tPh

ilippa

Sha

rpe

Ros

ie M

arch

ant

Loui

se E

vans

Emm

a Pa

lmer

Fran

ces

Odi

m-L

ough

linAn

n R

ober

tsJo

shua

T H

owel

l

i

ii

xix

vi vii

viii

xixi

ixv

xiv

iv

Trac

e yo

urse

lf N

o. 1

In m

y cr

aft o

r sul

len

art p

t II

Unt

itlle

dIn

my

craf

t or s

ulle

n ar

t pt I

36 D

uke

Stre

et (k

unst

kam

mer

)Lo

ve lo

stA

one

way

exc

hang

eR

etra

cer

Peac

e cr

ane

Tran

sitio

n of

a g

utte

r girl

Pres

sing

I, P

ress

ing

IIAn

edu

catio

nal t

oy“O

ur T

race

”C

onve

rsat

ion

Mem

oria

lC

old

Cas

e N

umbe

r 000

1I d

on’t

rem

embe

r bei

ng to

ld h

e w

as il

l, bu

t I re

mem

ber

Cha

nce

proc

ess

‘hid

es’

xivEvery conversation or word spoken leaves som

ething behind. A mem

ory, a feeling, breath, spit etc. The fine dust that coats the page records the w

ords that were spoken

over it. The dust is then fixed into place to create a permanent record of the invisible

marks of the w

ords.

xviiiThe dice is rolled and a photograph taken. The number show

n on the dice is then used to determ

ine the amount of seconds the negative is exposed onto the photographic paper.

The dice is then covered in developer chemical and rolled over the paper. The num

ber of rolls is also determ

ined by the result of the original throw. The developing process is then finished, and repeated how

ever many tim

es the number show

n by the dice was.

ii & iv

A concern about the lack of practical skills taught on an art degree course, and the resulting feeling of inadequacy, led m

e to seek assistance from craftsm

en outside of col-lege.

The restoration of the door is an example of one of the skills acquired , all the other

artifacts document the breakdow

n of a relationship with a builder, one of several form

ed in m

y quest to become skilled.’

xi‘Once som

eone passes away they becom

e an object’. History can be captured in a

gesture a gesture that can be prematurely rem

oved. There being no distinction between

history and its representation. The first flower being the original from

the cemetery and

the second being a faithful reproduction.

iiiA simple m

ethod to (in theory) send a series of images, into space. The light’s transition

will never com

e to an end due to it’s ability to travel huge distances creating a permanent

record of the space. An attempt to show

the existence of our reality demonstrating our

physical and contextual existence through a gallery space.

xvMem

orial pays homage to the short life of Em

ily Jane Brightman, a form

er resident of R

egency Square, by engaging in the craft of cross-stitch, an activity that she almost

certainly would have undertaken

viiiRem

nants, particles, fragments becom

e exponentially distant from their greater origi-

nary part; lost to time and space yet uniform

ly ubiquitous. Amongst all how

ever, resides a past essence, one that can be form

ulaically reconstituted into a new, vulnerable form.

i

‘Fingerprints are the traces of an impression from

the friction ridges of any part of a hum

an hand. The flexibility of friction ridge skin means that no tw

o finger are ever exactly alike in every detail.’

Each individual visiting the exhibition will leave behind their ow

n unique trace. People are asked to dip their thum

bs in acrylic ink, make a stam

p of their thumbs into the book.

xiiFor the teaching of World H

istory. Simply alter sym

bols for justification or condemnation

of various opression.

xviThere are more than 1,000 unsolved m

urders in the UK, according to figures obtained

by the BBC, som

e going back several generations. The death of Janet Henderson in

1866 remains unsolved. A new

spaper report at the time records in grim

detail the position of her body and w

here traces of her blood were found. These traces are all that is left.

xixTo photograph a hunting hide is an oxymoron. An im

age made w

ith the intention of being show

n to multiple view

ers depicting a structure built with the express purpose of

concealment.

xviiA process of excavation intended to remind us of the fundem

ental nature of suffering and it’s relation to hum

an existence.

v

Biblioclasm is the practice of destroying, often cerem

oniously, books or other written

material or m

edia. Information, identity and know

ledge, circumstantially linked in selection,

reproduction and destruction.

x

A journey from coast to coast. Escaping the isolation of island life w

hilst the remnants of

family history linger.

viThe richness of mem

ory lost through the passing of time.

xiii

Playing with old practice norm

alities to validate the act of Dabbling.

The Amateur.

tracebrighton.tumblr.com

xivEvery conversation or word spoken leaves som

ething behind. A mem

ory, a feeling, breath, spit etc. The fine dust that coats the page records the w

ords that were spoken

over it. The dust is then fixed into place to create a permanent record of the invisible

marks of the w

ords.

xviiiThe dice is rolled and a photograph taken. The number show

n on the dice is then used to determ

ine the amount of seconds the negative is exposed onto the photographic paper.

The dice is then covered in developer chemical and rolled over the paper. The num

ber of rolls is also determ

ined by the result of the original throw. The developing process is then finished, and repeated how

ever many tim

es the number show

n by the dice was.

ii & iv

A concern about the lack of practical skills taught on an art degree course, and the resulting feeling of inadequacy, led m

e to seek assistance from craftsm

en outside of col-lege.

The restoration of the door is an example of one of the skills acquired , all the other

artifacts document the breakdow

n of a relationship with a builder, one of several form

ed in m

y quest to become skilled.’

xi‘Once som

eone passes away they becom

e an object’. History can be captured in a

gesture a gesture that can be prematurely rem

oved. There being no distinction between

history and its representation. The first flower being the original from

the cemetery and

the second being a faithful reproduction.

iiiA simple m

ethod to (in theory) send a series of images, into space. The light’s transition

will never com

e to an end due to it’s ability to travel huge distances creating a permanent

record of the space. An attempt to show

the existence of our reality demonstrating our

physical and contextual existence through a gallery space.

xvMem

orial pays homage to the short life of Em

ily Jane Brightman, a form

er resident of R

egency Square, by engaging in the craft of cross-stitch, an activity that she almost

certainly would have undertaken

viiiRem

nants, particles, fragments becom

e exponentially distant from their greater origi-

nary part; lost to time and space yet uniform

ly ubiquitous. Amongst all how

ever, resides a past essence, one that can be form

ulaically reconstituted into a new, vulnerable form.

i

‘Fingerprints are the traces of an impression from

the friction ridges of any part of a hum

an hand. The flexibility of friction ridge skin means that no tw

o finger are ever exactly alike in every detail.’

Each individual visiting the exhibition will leave behind their ow

n unique trace. People are asked to dip their thum

bs in acrylic ink, make a stam

p of their thumbs into the book.

xiiFor the teaching of World H

istory. Simply alter sym

bols for justification or condemnation

of various opression.

xviThere are more than 1,000 unsolved m

urders in the UK, according to figures obtained

by the BBC, som

e going back several generations. The death of Janet Henderson in

1866 remains unsolved. A new

spaper report at the time records in grim

detail the position of her body and w

here traces of her blood were found. These traces are all that is left.

xixTo photograph a hunting hide is an oxymoron. An im

age made w

ith the intention of being show

n to multiple view

ers depicting a structure built with the express purpose of

concealment.

xviiA process of excavation intended to remind us of the fundem

ental nature of suffering and it’s relation to hum

an existence.

v

Biblioclasm is the practice of destroying, often cerem

oniously, books or other written

material or m

edia. Information, identity and know

ledge, circumstantially linked in selection,

reproduction and destruction.

x

A journey from coast to coast. Escaping the isolation of island life w

hilst the remnants of

family history linger.

viThe richness of mem

ory lost through the passing of time.

xiii

Playing with old practice norm

alities to validate the act of Dabbling.

The Amateur.

tracebrighton.tumblr.com

HidesTo photograph a hunting hide is an oxymoron. An image made with

the intention of being shown to multiple viewers depicting a structure built with the express purpose of concealment.

Four light boxes showing central European hunting hides placed behind an open door.

Alternative magazine StructureA collaboration between Joshua T Howell and Carianne Whitworth.

An alternative or counterpart to a physical magazine, In response to the issue’s theme, a series of images articles and features - selected from the abundant amount of previously published material available on the World Wide Web.

Intending to initiate discussion and to highlight the growing depen-dence that many of us have on support structures such as educational institutions and the internet, the work was presented to a group for critique.

Sadly, the work was described as pointless.

The publication can be viewed here (internet access required)

Imagination Aids for Better WorkA new addition to an ongoing series of works title Imagination Aids

for Better Living.

A number of publications were created using a randomly generated digital still camera (dsc) file prefix inserted to Google image search. The first page of images found were collected and made into a publi-cation.

Intended as aids for those implicated in creative practice suffer-ing from creative block or periods of little inspiration. An argument could be made for the idea that inspiration can be found near enough anywhere if the artist chooses to look for long enough, therefore, the creative aids are generated at random from the plethora of imagery available online.

The physical manifestations of the imagination aids are printed cheaply and bound only by folding with the intention that the user of the publication can rearrange the imagery in order to create new, tailor-made juxtapositions lengthening the time for which the aid is useful.

The digital archive of Imagination Aids for Better Work is available online here (internet access required)

Evaluative StatementMuch of the first semester has been spent organising my trip to go to study in

Kansas City, although I have managed to produce a number of works that I feel have been relatively successful.

I feel that most of my success this term has been in developing the skills involved in organising and bringing together exhibitions. The experience of attempting to work with a number of people with almost diametrically opposed views on all things from content to presentation of work is something unlike anything I have ever done before. Bringing people together to generate a uni-formed and convincing single viewpoint from which a show can be made is a skill that I obviously haven’t mastered as of yet but it was interesting to witness first hand the ways in which interactions surrounding the Trace exhibition took place.

Something I had never given much thought to is the reliance on the assign-ing of titles and roles to certain individuals such as ‘curator’ to have someone to hold responsible for final decisions. Seemingly there are quite strict rules to group dynamics that must be adhered to in order to get things to work, these dynamics are perhaps something that I may chose to study at another time.

The work ‘Hides’ that was showed at the Trace exhibition was not as successful as Ihad hoped it to be. I feel that perhaps the fabrication of the light boxes was not quite up to the standards of finish that they should have been. When it came round to a critique of the work the conversation seemed unable to get past the poor finish of the boxes, something that disappointed me but I am now aware that conscious decisions in presentation work best when near enough invisible to the audience of the work, if something is noticeably presented in a certain man-ner then perhaps it is trying to hard.

Initial dismay at the start of the year due to the fact that the arrangements with studio space had changed soon turned faded as I was forced to find differ-ent places to work. Although it would seem that the intention was perhaps for people to find spaces in the world outside the studio I feel that it was because of our lack of studio based practice that I have begun to develop my work in terms of the internet and occupying virtual space. Although a continuation of a number of ideas I have had for a while now the migration of my work onto and engaging with the internet has developed further this semester, almost all of my work now has a certain element either online or in digital format.

Perhaps the move further towards the internet has had something to do with the move to America at the end of the semester, the existence of my work online will enable me to near enough continue a similar practice wherever I am, this element of universality in the work is something that I am very interested in.