Author: Isabella

Yesterday in class we all had a look at each others work and gave feedback to each-other. I found this exercise very helpful as it gave me ideas and advice on my photos. My class mates all took a liking to my photos with shadows, I also really like this photo and it came out better than I expected. The photo also was littered with leaves, rubbish and graffiti showing that the was human life there but is not anymore, I really like this concept and would like to further develop it

Today I was working in the dark room. Most of my photos came out well but there were some that were over exposed and one that was under exposed. I am still working on getting the timing right depending on the weather.

For my second walk of the day I took a route that I take often but I slowed down and had a look at things from a different perspective. I saw buildings that I had never noticed before and graffiti, stickers, posters that I had never paid much attention to. By taking my time and taking in my surroundings I saw art that I enjoyed within a city I don’t much enjoy.

 “The best thing about a picture is that it never changes, even when the people in it do.” – Andy Warhol

I went on a walk around Auckland, I chose to go to a place I didn’t spend much time in. I also took a route I was not familiar with. I headed down Wakefield street and ended up finding a set of stairs that led me to a park. There I found an abandoned small house that was filled with graffiti and rubbish. I then followed a path up to a fenced off building that was also covered in graffiti and overgrown plants. On my walk, I stumbled upon a tree that had small pink berries frowning on it. This brought back childhood memories of my little sister and I making potions out of these berries, I hadn’t seen them in years.

I can appreciate the skill it takes to be a photographer. Photography is not my strongest skill but I am willing to learn more about it. I take as many photos as the next person but with no particular expertise. Today we began by taking a walk around Auckland, using a coin to determine our path. This led us to a place we did not expect. When taking photos I took a curiosity to the mix between nature and man made objects, as well as the effects on these materials, causing things like rust, erosion, mould and decay.  I am excited to see where this brief will take me and what I will learn.

Something that I find really interesting in my works is the textures that are left from the different fabrics that I experimented with. At first, I was concerned with the fact that they were not all the same but I ended up liking it better this way. The wool that I used in one of my hammock shaped works made a different imprint on the plaster than the calico. The wool texture is very soft and a lot more durable than the calico, allowing me to make a much stronger sculpture. As for the calico work, it is a lot weaker and a lot more fragile but that is not a bad thing either. When handling this piece it started to crack and crumble in some places but I liked the worn-out look I was left with.
A struggle I came across with this brief was trying to pinpoint a subject matter of theme in my work. I was fascinated by the hammock shape that I started out with my first metal sculpture, and I can see that theme all the way through my works. I also like the idea of balance within the form itself and it having the ability to be free-standing without any exterior support. This did come with its own challenges though. I had my fair share of failed works that just did not work out but this was a way for me to learn from my mistakes.
Some ideas that I could see in my works are levitation, balance, gilding, drifting and floating.
In terms of presenting my works, I had a conversation with Ryder and he suggested that I use nails to display my two hammock shaped works as the pins were not able to hold up the heavy plaster and fabric. I took this as a sign to accept the nails as another element in my work rather than trying to hide them. After all, I think they add a great contract in material, shape and form to my work.

As we are coming to the end of the weight off your mind brief I am reflecting on what I have learnt and what I can do in the next few days to bring my work to an end. The most recent work I made was a piece of fabric dipped in plaster and then suspended against the wall. I was very happy with how this work turned out and especially how it did not need anything to support it. I was interested in how the work looked like it was levitating by itself and as a way to take this a step further, I went to the 3D labs and got some acrylic sheets to place under the sculpture. Now that the work looks as if it is suspended in thin air I am wondering if I can make an object to further support it, therefore it would not be leaning against the wall and be an entirely free form. I have also been looking at the work of Cy Twombly, I am interested in the textures and patterns that are on his sculptures. I was also inspired by the work of Alicja Kwade, the work I am referring to had been described as mind mending as she has bent materials that should not be able to be in the shape that they are. An article I read on her work stated that “Her work explores our perceptions and physical experiences of time, space and reality.” I am inspired by the concepts and forms that she is exploring. (please find the image below)

TUES:
This week we have started working with new materials, specifically plaster. I have personally never worked with plaster before so the first day was very experimental. Working with plastic was a lot different than I expected. For starters, I was surprised at how malleable plaster can be when you allow it to harden. I experimented with dipping fabric in the plaster and then moulding it around a plastic bucket. I found after repeating this process and allowing it to harden I was left with a very abstract fruit bowl looking shape. As a way to further expand my hammock ideas from working with the steel, I made a hammock shaped mould out of fabric and then poured plaster into it. After it had hardened I had a free-standing hammock. It didn’t quite come out how I expected but this was my first time working with plaster so I was not disappointed.
As for where to go next I want to further expand the “hammock” shape and hopefully go bigger, as I feel like I have been limiting myself with size.
WED:
Today after talking to Ryder he suggested that I try different moulds and methods to try and achieve my “hammock” shape.
THURS: Today James suggested that I upscale my work and try something a bit different. So I soaked some fabric in plaster and lay it up against the wall and the ground so that when it would harden it would create a sort of L shape. When I look at all of my sculptures including the ones made from metal I can see a connection or theme between the works. I can see that I have been focusing on a curved shape throughout my sculptures. A classmate of mine showed me a book of sculptures and I was partially inserted in one artist named Antonieta Sosa. The work I am referring to is a 3D semi-circle that is free-standing. I was inserted in this work as it had similar shapes to what I have been exploring over the past weeks and I would like to further explore her works and art-making style.

Maureen Lander is a New Zealand born artist. Her work is based in weaving, sculptures as well as a range of multimedia installation art. The work I am talking about today is called Atapo, meaning before dawn. This material used in this work appears to be mesh as it has transparency to it but still holds itself. It’s as if the work is neither liquid nor solid. It almost sucks you into a trance and you don’t know where to look. You can see some clear lines and shapes depending on what point of view you are standing from. One of my favourite parts is the different colours of string or cotton used in the mesh in a zig-zag weaving pattern. The work feels very heavy to look at from some angles but from the side, it gives you a different perspective of the work.
Another work I took interest in was Eunoia, this work was displayed in a cylinder form, hanging from the ceiling. It is made up of kiln-formed fused glass. This work is inspired by the geometrical patterns found in Maori weaving traditions. My eye was also caught by the shadows cast on the ground by the tiles. It’s as if the shadows create work in themselves.
So far I have really enjoyed this brief more than I expected. I have finished my first two sculptures made from metal and was surprised by the outcome. Since the spot welder was out of order, I had to improvise. I understand that things don’t always go as planned but there are always rules and limitations. This allowed me to try another way to connect my works. For My “hammock” shaped work I drilled holes in all the joining parts and then threaded the wire through the holes. I found that the wire on itself didn’t have enough friction to hold itself up. So for my rectangle-shaped work, I bought some thin silver wire to connect it. I also like the contrast between the rusty steel and the clean silver.
Next, I am hoping to make 3-6 more sculptures, I am taking inspiration from my last sculptures for ideas for my next steps. I am looking into thin plastic as a way to make plains in my work.

this week I started the next brief called A weight off your mind. This week we have been working on “treading lightly with a heavy hand”. We started by following a set of instructions to create drawings. we experimented with media such as weight, mass and size.

We next read a book called ‘Grapefruit by Yoko Ono we were focusing on making actions regardless of preconceived outcomes and new possibility. I followed the instructions from three of Yoko’s poems. A struggle I came across with this task was taking the instructions too literally instead of just seeing where they take me.

On day two we looked into entopic graphomania. this is a method of drawing where you make dots following criteria or a set of rules. I made three rules to guide my dots. 1. all of the letter ‘i’s 2. all four-letter words 3. every o.

we next took a look at a computer programme as another form of linear drawing. I selected three works from my previous brief and adjusted the settings on the computer programme to make the lines and shapes all on the dark spots of my works.

On day three, I used the CV images to inspire my next 3D work. In order to take my images from 2D to 3D, I had to find a way to convey the linear lines into a sculpture. I was inspired by the work of Susan Hefuna and her sculpture City Sound. I used her as an influence when making my metalwork.

Now that the Palimpsest brief is coming to the end here is my final reflection on thought on this brief.

An aspect of the making process that excited me was experimenting with the things you can do with the photocopier, I would have never thought to copy images on top of each other but I loved the way it turned out. I also never thought that I could make artwork using just printers and found matter.

If I had more time I would have further expanded my ideas of the creases in the artworks and possibly experimented with how I could have taken this further, and where I would have ended up.

a struggle that I came across was my habit of planning and knowing what my final outcome will be. However with the end in sight, I know that I need to focus on quality over quantity, and after talking to Luca about my latest work we decided to make it more of a chessboard pattern.

In the end, I only had two works on display, I had layered on top of another as a way to break up the intense patterns without taking away from the work as a whole