Page / Process / Proceed is a curatorial project by Kim Crowley exploring how text-based instruction can act as a catalyst for generativity. This iteration of the project included the artists Sarah Long, Kate McElroy and Ciara Rodgers responding to textual scores to explore their relationship with the building that houses the Backwater Artists Group.
In this text, Sarah Long, one of the participating artists uses a formal constraint to generate a reflection on the experience of Page / Process / Proceed.
Page / Process / Proceed is a project by Kim Crowley created scores (textual instructions) for participating artists to engage with their experience, occupying and working at the Wandesford Quay building on the ideas of this project, this text reflects on Fluxus, language, the OuLiPo, formal constraints and Susan
Sontag wrote in her essay “On Style” (1965) ‘ in art, “content” is, as it were, the pretext, the goal, the lure which engages consciousness in essentially formal processes of transformation’ is a change or alteration (especially a radical one) of the most innovative art movements, Fluxus considered the transformative and essentially formal qualities of language is at the core of Kim Crowley’s project Page / Process / Proceed can be used as a synonym for ‘flow out’ is another word for flux, according to the Tate’s definition of Fluxus artists embraced the idea of the score to instruct others to realise a work can be created through the formal constraints of language alone it is difficult to engage in ingenuity can be prompted by the use of instructions or rules are employed by the OuLiPo is a literary movement that began in France in 1960 was the year Yoko Ono created the work Painting to Be Stepped “On Style” essentially declares a story cannot exist without the telling of it is clear that I am struggling with the constraint I have set myself for this piece of writing this text I am attempting to use the OuLiPo technique of run on sentences known as the stile is more than an artistic
bedizenment is a word I have never heard of before writing this constraint is engaging my critical faculties allowing for fresh thinking about Page / Process / Proceed makes me reflect on the generative power of an instruction or rule of thumb is a phrase that describes a guiding principle based not on theory but on practice is the silent fourth p in Kim’s project is all we can do we ever speak from beyond our subjective? is when the thumb enters the frame is the rigid structure that surrounds something special happens when we can see the thumbs are what make us unique viewpoints are hard to find room for yourself in the frame your ideas within a form your thoughts in the world by following the instructions are open to interpretation of language is a tricky business is a common misspelling of busyness or excessive decoration can sometimes distract from the content as Sontag has already explained is not even half the picture this, three artists follow the same instruction with dramatically different outputs are not the goal of Page / Process / Proceed with this train of thought always thought too much freedom can be found in liberating language from the Page / Process / Proceed knows this project uses language as a material can be manipulated to make art is a tricky business of style, form and content to let the rule take me to wherever there is language there is room for confusion runs throughout this writing this, I am drawn to the sense of entanglement implicit in the word confusion surrounds a great work of art, I’m beginning to think peaked in the 1960s were the decade for interrogating structures and systems can be employed, subverted and discarded notes for this essay have been scooped into a different document your activity with a disposable camera after you have completed the score your place in the world with one definitive mark the end of this project by writing a text can be infinitely translated and its meaning altered versions and new iterations of many of the Fluxus’ scores and word events exist in time to write this text about the project into the future Page / Process / Proceed activities will involve different artists and different practices and different thumbs can be seen throughout this text as I use the rule like a machine to generate writing about ‘style’, Sontag says a great work of art appears secreted not visibly constructed scores allow the artists to engage with the building in their own style is a mysterious thing is not to make it look effortless but to make your thumb visible.
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Sarah Long