During my one-to-one sessions with Karen we looked at researching further into art writing and courses available for myself if I was to consider doing an MA. During our research we came across a lecturer and academic Maria Fusco whose work follows this idea of art writing. Looking through a series of academic papers and essays, we found one called "Don't say yes - say maybe! Fiction writing and art writing." Through investigating this further we requested a copy at the library of which I've just received and read.
My own understanding of the text...
Fusco begins by explaining how an audience responds to and what we expect to encounter simply by a structure that comes in reading fiction or art. It is this response that may unhinge or disrupt viewing if it breaks from this structure. By going too far-off the structure in writing can be found to disrupt the audiences reading as they have nothing to relate to, in doing so makes the work messy and unable to capture an audience attention. Fusco suggests by creating something out of the norm, the audience starts to not predict the outcome through the structures of story telling and in turn experiences writing in a different way. The idea is that there are two kinds of writing fiction writing which follows the structure of storytelling and then art writing which breaks from that.
Having founded the journal 'The Happy Hypocrite,' Fusco addresses how there is a "lack of legroom for art writers to write away from the form of traditional reviews." From my understanding Maria Fusco is taking this idea of critical art writing and exploring how we can experiment with the tradition of critical writing to remain as critical writing, but becomes something different at the same time. By looking at fiction writing and other forms of writing we may learn how these structures or destroying/changing the structures form better written pieces for new ways to write about contemporary art.
The purpose of looking at art writing and experimental art writing is to explore different ways writing is involved within the art world. This very critical journalistic yet contemporary and experimental approach is something to consider through looking at my own practice as an artist and also my practice as a writer in terms of journalistic and critical writing. Art writing may be something to look at that bridges between the two practices better. By reading this essay I have an insight into how fiction structure and critical writing structure may vary or meet together to produce something very different.
