Stage 02 of 9
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Research
What already exists in this territory?
Any spark lands in an occupied field. Someone has made adjacent work, in another century or another culture. Find them. Standing on this history is not derivative — it's literate.
Prompts to sit with
- 01Who are five artists who have circled this subject before you?
- 02Which historical movement most resembles what you're feeling?
- 03What non-art fields (science, ritual, craft) can you steal from?
- 04What is your work NOT — the neighbouring work you want to distinguish from?
Small practices
- Assemble a visual reference board — 20-40 images, quotations, artifacts.
- Read one primary source: an artist statement, an interview, a manifesto.
- Write a one-paragraph lineage: 'This work is downstream of ___ and ___.'