MAPPING THE INTELLIGENCE OF ARTISTIC WORK, An Explorative Guide to Making Thinking and Writing
by ANNE WEST
Moth Press & MFA Archive Project, part of MFA in Studio Arts at Maine College of Art (MFA at MECA), is pleased to announce the publication of Mapping the Intelligence of Artistic Work; an explorative guide to Making, Thinking, and Writing, by Anne West. In this timely book West describes a technique she calls "mapping through writing" that encourages visual artists to ask strategic questions, approach problems, and catalyze creative thinking. The book is structured as a series of exercises and prompts that define the mapping process and introduce methods for artists to develop, articulate, and disseminate ideas. Mapping the Intelligence of Artistic Work was edited by Moth Press Director Katarina Weslien. According to Weslien, "Anne West has cultivated a flexible, non-linear writing approach for the artist-writer. Mapping the Intelligence of Artistic Work introduces multiple skill sets to stimulate creative thinking, raising connections to the surface by creating visual maps of interconnecting links. It is a book supportive of the making process, an invaluable tool for anyone interested in articulating the layers of meaning embedded in the process of making."
"During a period when American public life suffers from a dangerous failure of the imagination because of an industry of distractions and the cultural dictatorship of cynicism, there comes this humble Manifesto of Sincerity to gift us with a quiet map out of darkness. This book is unquestionably the product of transformative field experiences. Thoughtfully constructed for visual artists, it should also be given to performing artists, writers, MBA students, and scientists; to anyone and everyone in critical need of thinking outside the box, of developing their voice, and the ability to hope again. The author generously shares her insights, her accumulated wisdom, in accessible handbook format. It is remarkably contemplative, with a wealth of priceless quotable truths. West's book can serve as a class text, but also as the kind of magical document that one can open randomly and surrender to through an exercise or meditation."
- ERNESTO PUJOL, Founder & Director of the Field School Project & UteHaus Associated Performers
ANNE WEST is an educator, writer, and independent curator. She teaches in the Division of Graduate Studies at Rhode Island School of Design, where she supports students across disciplines in conceptualizing and writing their Master’s thesis. With research interests in phenomenology, poetics, mapping, and interpretive human studies, her work focuses on the nature of imagination, understanding, and being. West has a Ph.D. in Arts and Media Studies from the University of Toronto, Canada and is a Fellow of Syracuse University.