Art Research Methodologies: Section 3: Trish Lyons

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Outline of Section 3:
Preface
Lecture notes

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These are lecture notes from a series of of speakers who have recently completed art PhDs. Each was asked to speak abpout their research process and methodology.

The lecture took place at St. Peter's Campus, University of Sunderland, 17 Jan 2002.
These are brief notes from the event, by Debby Akam, Research Student, Jan 2002 .

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Trish Lyons: Discusses her sculptural/moulding PhD Mimesis in Practice. An investigation into the Employment of the Mimetic Faculty in Fine Art Practice at St Martin's School of Art, London.

Trish was based at St Martin's School of Art, and supervised by Rod Bugg and Joanna Greenhill, with external supervision from practicing sculptor, Tony Carter. Her practice- based Ph.D. took five years to complete full- time. She felt that her first degree in mathematics and a knowledge of art history were a contributing factor in her successful application to do a research degree.

She began by describing the tremendous challenge that the Ph.D. had been personally and professionally, made harder because she was the first candidate that St. Martins had put through a doctoral research program. This had resulted in a certain amount of anxiety about the correct procedures needed for the successful validation of the degree, and she had felt like an experiment. There had been an awkward relationship between St. Martins and the validating institution, the Open University, which had insisted on very high standards of citation and notation. She had found the constant need to adjust the text in relation to what she was producing irksome and frustrating.

The practice- based research was focused on the Body and its mimetic reproduction through sculpture and mold-making processes.

The research did not have a utilitarian aim, linked to industrial mold-making processes, or any practical applications like the production of multiples.

The research was driven throughout by a tremendous enthusiasm for casting as a technique, and Trish stated that she was completely amazed by the foundry process, especially the transition of wax or clay into aluminium or bronze. A video of the foundry process was placed within the body of her Ph.D. as a documentary record of her practical research.

She stated that Tony Carter's input was particularly valuable because of his direct experience as a practising artist with an interest in this research field. The research attempted to relate the mold-making process to a philosophical enquiry around the body in space.

This interest was reflected in an early project involving body-casting and a sculpture using the results of this in relation to a dentist's chair serving as a plinth. She then went on to cast garments exploring dress in relation to the body as part of the research. She did not describe the theoretical context within which she was working either through texts or examples of the work of other artists.

Another substantial project involved the casting of the real skeleton of a Victorian child given to her by medical authorities as a result of her request for offers of skeletons. The skeleton was cast in aluminium.

The final case study was a sculpture comprising a giraffe's head juxtaposed with a human body part. There was a final exhibition of work summing up the visual work and this appeared to be the only work in it.

Debby Akam

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last updated 10.2.02.