Our Initial Proposal...........

“The Naked Shed”

By Emma Leeming and Jeremy Holloway

Proposal:

A Basic Outline:

The 'Naked Shed' is a collaboration between the two persons named above. It has arisen out of a wish to investigate the connection between the verb, shed and the noun; shedding in a shed. Having previously investigated the positioning of nakedness within a life drawing context, and its effect on both artist and model when boundaries and conventions are ignored or broken, this project, which is a collaboration between the two persons mentioned above, will investigate how space affects, transforms, inhibits or enhances a life drawing situation. As part of this project we will investigate;

· The effect of working within a shed, and the responses and affects that intimacy through lack of space have on both model and artist
· The effect of working in a beach hut, thereby maintaining the context of a life drawing area, but in a situation, i.e. in a confined space in a public environment
· The effect on an artist if they too were observed while observing
· The effect of drawing through a small aperture, i.e. a peephole or curtains
· The effect of working in a 1 – 1 situation of model and artist
· The effects of working as either a male or female model, or working together in any of the above environs

The previous workshop help in 2004, which was also a collaboration, but this time between Jeremy Holloway and Nina Cane, was successful for several reasons;

The sessions were informal, relaxed, and model-led
The male/female relationship was such that we had only met once before, thus compounding the trust we had for each other, and therefore between the models and the artists
All exercises that were considered were experimental and spontaneous, thus providing movements and situations not normally encountered within a life drawing context
Because the sessions were model-led, the responsibility was on us to dictate the direction the sessions followed, and to make the sessions work

There are no starting questions as such, only the occasional “what if………”. The process will be an organic, evolutionary one. Because of this no specific outcomes have been considered. The module will, however, give us the chance to experiment, observe, and experience situations alien to most life drawing classes. As the two us are at opposite ends of the country, and of different genders, it is anticipated that there will be differences in our both responses, and those of the artists involved. The way these responses will be recorded are explained below.

We know of no other project similar to this, either being implemented or having been documented, although Nina Cane of Cast Off Drama in Leeds has experimented with role-play within a life drawing context, and has an ongoing agenda relating to life drawing.

A unique selling point (USP) for this project is its informality. As with life drawing itself, there are no ground rules as such. There are conventions and boundaries, but they are unwritten and presumed. All ideas are possible, which means the project can be either a formal response to given situations, or an informal matrix of actions brought about by responses by either model or artist.

Documentation:

This will be by oral/video/written response to the situation we are investigating. A blog 'thenakedshed.blogspot.com' to question and describe the process might be the best form of documentation. This blog has already been set up, and it is anticipated that dialogue between models/artists/interested parties will present ongoing documentation/evaluation.

Evaluation:

The project will be evaluated according to its initial aim, which is to;

“Investigate how limited space affects, transforms, inhibits or enhances a life drawing situation with particular reference to the context of life drawing in sheds”

Individual situations are listed above, but a broad set of objectives for the project are;

Investigate and question boundaries of limited space and gender within life modelling/drawing contexts
Analyse and question model and artist responses to given contextualisation
Consider further investigations as a result of previous responses
Try alternative approaches as a result of previous responses


The responses will not in themselves define success or otherwise of the project. The act of establishing, and consequently investigating, a question relating to the contextualising of life drawing will form, and therefore act, as the principal reason for the project.