Miss Wales, an art teacher here at Chigwell, presented the Williams Project with a fast and challenging explanation of how visual artists revisit each other’s works, as well as the same themes and ideas, across history. The development of art is not to be seen as purely linear, but one which can be seen holistically – stripping away the temporal dimension allows us to respond more personally and genuinely to what we see, rather than having our eyes guided by the label on the wall in the gallery. A fascinating presentation, and one which led to some really perceptive questions and discussion.
Further reading:
Bachelard. G., The Poetics of Space (Boston, Beacon Press, 1994)
Berger, J., Ways of Seeing (London, Penguin Books, 1972)
Bannan, J., The Philosophy of Merleau–Ponty (Harcourt, Brace & World, 1967)
Daniel Chandler, Semiotics for Beginners, http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/S4B