Simon Bill Tutorial and Lecture 

Simon Bill 

This week I had the honour of meeting the artist and writer Simon Bill for a short tutorial to discuss my current mixed media artworks. Prior to our meeting I learned that Simon is a polymath with a huge interest in many subjects. Alongside his art, teaching and writing he is propelled by his academic research (PHD)in neuropsychology and how visual perception impacts on the artist's view. It is quite hard to categorise Simon's work as Hayley Richardson from zing magazine observes,  his large oval paintings on MDF "are like portals into the infinite curiosity and complexity of Bill’s mind in which he pushes himself to make each one completely unlike any other that he made before." http://www.zingmagazine.com/drupal/node/36359

Tutorial

Our discussion centred on objects and images which are invested in meaning and value. At this point in my studies I thought I was struggling to make connective work as I believed my portfolio to be disparate. Simon Bill made me realise that my work did indeed have thematic continuity and that my diverse use of materials was in a sense creating a personal museum. His positive feedback made me reflect on the value my autobiographical,theatrical and artistic representations. We discussed the association of ritual and how I was endeavouring in capturing likeness and presence. He guided me towards the writings of Antonin Artaud (Theatre of Cruelty) and Jacques Derrida (Writing and Difference) in which the 'unconscious mind is a source of artistic truth'. Life itself is perpetually conflicting and this energy, this presence, which cuts through us is something I am trying to represent and engage an audience with.  

  Lecture 

Later I attended Simon's engaging lecture - Visual Perception (07/11/17 UCA Farnham) in which he presented us with theories of neuropsychology on visual perception. He touched upon Gestalt theory and how perception is structured and ordered - the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Simon explained Rudolph Arnheim's theory that vision and perception are not passive processes but in fact operating on a high cognitive level. "Concept formation and images are only meaningful within a specific context." 

Ambiguous figure devised by psychologist Edgar Rabin 

                                             

Although I am familiar with many of the theories presented (from my background in education and research) I particularly enjoyed the 12 black dots experiment. As much as I tried, it is impossible to see all of the twelve dots concurrently. It is only on closer inspection that you can single out the 12 individual dark dots within the grid matrix. It is always astonishing how the eye and the mind perceive information and something that us as artists should consider in our speculative works. I am now keen to read Simon's work of fiction "Artist in Residence" which is said to be closely intertwined with Simon's real life and his imagined narratives.