Simply taking away the crucial furniture peice away from my deck, we are given context without explanation. I wanted to start easy, simple, but effective, it gave me the opportunity for me to start thinking, how else can I manipulate this space?
Inspired by Ruth Woodbury, I started to rely on natural recources. Through the values my mother taught me she showed me how to propperly cut Harakeke, 1. cut the brown harakeke, 2. make sure you cut on an angle and close to the roots, and 3. (harakeke grow in ‘lines’) make sure you dont skip the line, dont leave a harakeke on its own, cut it. I wanted to take care of the land with this idea.
I have a boat in my back yard, its our ‘pond’ with no fishes, just snails. I acted on this object, restoring it to its original purpose, to keep water out. Allowing this object to be restored I was able to see the full picture, simply view what was always there.
Bruce Nauman is famous for his neon light sculptures and use of colours. since the 1970’s this artist has “investigated the possibilities of what art may be” (Nauman, B 1988) The closeted space, given only a slither of possible movement is interesting, I knew I only wanted to focus on this Idea, I came up with questions on how to further explore this idea.
Bruce Nauman, Green Light Corridor, 1970
How can I re-create that space?
Can I intensify that feeling?
Can I get the opposite effect with the same concept?
These questions gave me ideas on how to move forward. Recreating the space, Using the smallest rooms in my house, the closets I felt restricted, as intended, using the perspectives of what I see and what the ‘audience’ can see seems like the photo (left) seemes trapped while the right photo seems like a safe space, maybe due to the posision im in.
How can I intensify this feeling?, make it smaller. I used my bedside table covered it in ripped cloth and I felt absolutely intensified with claustrophobia, using the ideas from the one minute statue I put myself in places I shouldn’t be, closing it off to make it my own little space. I got to my goal, I was restricted completely.
Can I get the opposite effect with the same concept. Inspired by the walls deliberately built close together I wanted to re-create that idea with mirrors. Interested in this idea, I assumed no matter how close the two mirrors were I wasn’t going to feel compacted, ‘mirrors are the illusion of space’ I thought instead it gave the illusion of someone being next to me (obviously), it made me feel slightly on edge, its weird to see yourself in all types of angles especially multiple and at a close distance, I could relate to the uncomfortability of Marina Abramović’s Imponderabilia (1977) except Im not naked, and not a stranger but I was close, and crammed, so the opposite of my predictions really.
Looking at Erwin Wurm’s one minute sculpture, his common themes are balance and objects or people in places they shouldn’t be.
(Left) The Idea of dressing up an ordinary object suck as a table, It intersted me more then anything, simple cloth really gave importance. not just as an object but it came with a presence.
(right) Simply being distorted from interacting with an object in the ‘wrong’ way we are left with someone who is restricted in movement. This Idea interested me knowing there were many ways to interact with a chair, table, bed etc by approaching with this method.
Presence and ballance.
Using a Mirror I clothed it with what I was wearing, I was given a presence, I use this mirror everyday to get ready etc and now to see it clothed, it brought out the maningful importance of the object itself, not only usefull but important.
Hanging clothes, I previously wanted to be in the jumper as it was hanging to reflect on the idea of restriction and presence, however I am home alone (Level 3), In the end the full potential of this idea was scrapped. The ‘ready made’ Idea of ordinary objects being highlighted as a ‘sculpture’ is very unusual to me, knowing the context of how I got there helps.
Balancing, clearly Erwin Wurm is focused on balance, the relationship between a person and the objects they hold still in an unconventional way, It was entertaining not using my hands, but I dont really fully understand it.
Restriction
Strange, forcing myself in spaces I shouldn’t be, new perspectives definitely, still very strange. The restriction I felt was interesting, the only this I took away from this experience.
Balance
(added to fit the criteria) Erwin Wurm’s sculptures focus on balance, I used salt and peppers, balancing on opposite sides, keeping all three in line while only holding the two peppers and balancing stacked peppers on my head. I was an interesting approach as i focused more on his other sculptures the first round.
Gerhard Richter working on a painting from his “Cage” series.
This German artist focuses on layering, the process of making his artworks is repetitive and completely unpredictable, his technique of dragging, scrapping and re-applying is what makes his art so unique. I choose this artist because I like the long process, the unpredictability and the new perspective this gives me.
I was inspired by this artist which was then translated to my art peice bellow, The process of creating the original portrait had layers of scrapping, dripping, applying pastels. I stopped when I was happy and ready to move on to the next step (ripping and rearranging).Im absolutely happy with the results however, If I had more time I would like to enlarge the scale of my art peice. Gerhard Ritcher clearly loves to work on big canvases, I wish that I focused on that Idea as it is a challenge of mine to work bigger. I would love to focus more on the layers and layers the artist created, Through folding more, ripping and cutting more, indepth layers of pastel, I feel I could have been more intouch with this idea of reppitition.
This Amercan Actor/ Artist is based in LA. This artist focuses on abstract portraits and is inspired by the emotions that we live by. what interesting is that he takes away the distinctive facial features and lets the audience ‘picture whats missing’, which lets us convey the emotion he’s presenting. I love the simplicity in the portraits, the fluffy colours he uses as darks, lights and shadows, and the harsh selective brush strokes he uses.
I used these Ideas to influence my art peice below, I simplified the facial features to simple shapes and let the audience interpret ‘whats missing’. Focusing on the overall picture, colour and pattern I was able to create this pastel art. If I had more time, I would focus on vibrant colours, I should have seen how far I could take it to obscure the original, simpler lines, vibrant colours (as said before), blocking out obvious facial features. Im happy where I finished but theres always more to do, Always a new idea and direction.
This artist feels naturaly drawn to charcoal, the messiness of the process is the tool that they feel conveys their thoughts, they make art to relive stress, and inspired by life experiences, songs, films etc. I love the deliberate yet also messy strokes, its an artform that I am yet to get comfortable in and looking at these peices im inspired.
This art peice is my favourite. Using these three images I am inspired by the simple shapes, expresive lines, vibrant colours, negative spaces and rearranging. I love the Ideas that flowed from this artist, I struggled with using pastels for the first time, Looking at this artist So many Ideas came to me, Im satisfied with the end result on this art work. I wish I could make more artworks with this Idea, however I didn’t have the time.
Lockdown gave me challenges, I was limited in supply, starting over and my overall mental health, it wasn’t easy. It took a lot of effort to continue what i’ve started in Visual Arts, trying times where I was ready to restart, and do everything last minute. In the end, Im happy with what i’ve created, it’s a direction that I belive applies to the Ideas from Week 1 & 2 and is art work I never would have previously worked on or cared about, this fresh new perspective is exciting.
The ideas that i’ve developed on throughout the assesment were, ripping, cutting, rearranging, pastels, sewing, tracing, folding, highlighting, sketching, dripping, splashing, smudging, creasing, negative spaces, contrasting colours, pattern and the dissruption of pattern.
I focused on the natural pattern of cardboard, using pastels. Portraying ‘the girl with a pearl earring’ ,with simple shapes I was able to create this piece. I decided to incorperate this in my final brief due to the importance of the idea of natural pattern and what I can create with it. I would drag the pastel which would create a variation of lines, from cris cross, thick to thin, bent lines, it’s interesting due to the unique unpredictability the cardboard allows me to create/ highlight. Depending on the colour some patterns are obvious and some are slightly hidden giving clear contrast. This idea develops further in my next art work.
Frank Ocean’s Blonde heavily relies on emotion, after listening to the album I wanted to try and capture the feeling that I experienced behind Blonde. Using techniues similar to my previous art work, scrapping, contrasting colours, simple shapes and bringing out natural patterns I was able to create the art on the left.
I know I could develope this further I wanted to rely on more techniques like cutting, rearranging, patterns and disruption of the pattern. This decision made my art interesting and I loved this new twist, the seperate squares gives you a reason to pay attention to the strokes of pastels rather then the actual piece itself. I decided to rearrange it in a way where it is bottom left heavy with detail and harsh colours and becomes more light and simple as it gets closer to the top right, this decision was made due to its surroundings, knowing the composistion I was going for I wanted to make sure it wasn’t to messy next to my art pieces.
‘Girl with a pearl earring’
Tyler, the Creator ‘Call me if you get lost’
Girl with a pearl earring, I used techniques like scrapping, dripping, pouring, folding, smudging. the result I was left with, I knew I could develop it further.
Tyler the creator, after my first attempt I knew what to do, focusing more on the folding creases and completely letting myself have the creative freedom of making it messy, simple and, far from detailed.
I ripped both art pieces appart, noticing the folded creases highlighted by the pastel, I connected the individual ripped papers by the lines I created. This process was interesting, I love the carefree nature that I allowed myself to rely on. The process behind this art work is more important then the end result, knowing where I started and how I got to the end is the key to understanding this art piece. If I had more time to develop this idea I would continue to make this piece grow with more messy creative ripped up works, branching off into painting, sketch, using different types of surfaces like magazines, newspaper, plastic etc.
Conclusion:
The challenges I faced in lockdown and the new perspectives that I gained from relying on a new way of creating art, It was demanding but inspiring. I created abstract art on a bigger scale, using pastels, which dosen’t sound difficult, but i’ve never been interested in creating this type of art. I’m glad I was able to gain new ideas and develop them in a way which was un-thinkable to me at the start of this brief, process will continue to have an impact on my future art works.
Ive chosen my room wall as the creative space that im working with. I feel, restricted, not because of the physical space but mentally, I want to create work that I enjoy. Being in the class I was able to keep Uni art and personal art seperate, I was able to create abstract art as that was what I was assessed to do, now that im in my own creative space I only want to create art that I like, I want to spend hours on one peice till im happy with it.
My paints are in the class, one of my most favourite ways of creating art, pastels are going to be something im going to have to get used to. Im not necesseraly complaining, simply assessing the challenge this lockdown has given me. This will help me get a new perspective in art, little annoyed, but needed.
My bedroom wall:
I luckly had leftover cardboard, fitting within my theme of pattern, this worked nicely. Started with a layout I was happy with, using my mirror to give me more ideas (not sure). I had plastic bags which I could try to relate (In the end I didnt like any ideas). good start.
My art from class, couldn’t stand to look at it, wasn’t my taste and wasn’t going to throw it away. I ripped it up and noticed the lines I previously created, I found them interesting and connected them together, this direction is exacly what I was looking for, I hope to create more and make it bigger, (something I have challanges with)
Small ideas I wanted to experiment on, creating lines and trying to convey the photos through creases. I wanted to see what controlled folding looked like (Left), and what unpredictable scrunched up creases looked like (right). Im happy with the result, just unsure how to elevate these ideas.
Frank Ocean:
I wanted to get out of my comfort zone and create something bigger, focusing on contrasting colours and the conveyance of simple lines, I wanted the overall figure to be obvious with less detail, and focus on the big picture rather then the very tiny details (Something I would always do) Happy with the result, and I love the pattern the cardboard naturally gave, would love to go more simple/ abstract with future art peices.
Dispite the challanges lockdown has given me, Im making progress that im happy with, this direction is something I feeli can develop more in.
Gerhard Richter working on a painting from his “Cage” series.
This German artist focuses on layering, the process of making his artworks is repetitive and completely unpredictable, his technique of dragging, scrapping and re-applying is what makes his art so unique. I choose this artist because I like the long process, the unpredictability and the new perspective this gives me.
This artist feels naturaly drawn to charcoal, the messiness of the process is the tool that they feel conveys their thoughts, they make art to relive stress, and inspired by life experiences, songs, films etc. I love the deliberate yet also messy strokes, its an artform that I am yet to get comfortable in and looking at these peices im inspired.
An American artist popular in the 1960’s a creative man inspired by “the improvisatory ethos of jazz”. His new approach to art by taking the paint out of the usual square/rectangle canvas is inspiring and new.
The Dutch fasion designer Herpen is inspired by nature, all the whimsical spirits within, and “rich in mythological and astrological symbolism.” (Muret,D 2019) she loves to defy the fasion world as seen above, its movable art that I am amazed by, this new sense of direction in the fasion/ art world bring a whole new meaning to what art can be, and where it can lead. Using a 3D printer Herpen wanted to convey her idea (first two photos) of “the evolution of the human body, its conceptualisation over the ages and the hybridisation of the female figure in mythology,”. Her translation of this idea with fasion is exciting, new, Many Ideas will come.
Starting this Week I wanted to work with fabric, focusing on Girl with a Pearl Earring , Painting by Johannes Vermeer. I wanted to see how I could manipulate the fabric to create creases in a way that I could create a 3D peice.
Starting with a simple eye shape inspired by the painting I wanted to see if I could sew the fabric making creases in a eye. Im not happy with the end reslult, It wasent what I had in mind, It doesent look obvious on what it’s supposed to be, I cant even see it myself, But it was a great learning step for my next attempt.
Im really happy with my second attempt, the fabric is much easier to work with and I had a new sense of direction knowing my previous mistakes. Great to experiement, would love to move forward with this, just unsure on how to.
Decided to paint ontop of the fabric, this was really fun, I enjoyed the process and happy with the end result. I felt the painting was too boring, It wasn’t anything new to me so I wanted to destroy it, sew it a bit to make folds and paint everywhere. I wasn’t fussed about the end result, I wanted to give myself the freedom to make my art ‘ugly’ , something I struggle with being a perfectionist (with art)
Happy with what I created, going in this new direction is motivating and creating alot more Ideas. I like the new material Im working with and hopefully I can branch out using all the otehr techniques I tried in week 1.
I struggled alot this week, Unsure of how to approach new works, I started of by cleaning up my board and combining works from the previous 2 weeks. This helped me start with a new way to approach art, I cut out pictures and using my abstract art as the backgroud, It was fun to put together and in this process I knew I wanted to focus on how to incorperate wringkling/ texture into my art.
Continuing the tyler the creator profile I used a damped scrunched up peice of medium sized paper and splashed and dabbed paint onto it, I wanted to focus on general shapes and colours to roughly show who im trying to portray. A technique I can develop but not something I can stick with.
Revisiting the scruch technique, planning to use this as a background.
Stenciling. this was fun I enjoyed this process. At first I waned to paint ontop of this fabric lace, found out the stencling was equaly as interesting. fun process which I need to find more fabric patterns for.
This art peice was more for experimentation. I was trying to see what scrapping and charcoal looked like. with this I wasent too thoughtful about the end result, I wanted it to be messy and ugly.
It was great to try out, maybe I can re arrange, or change it, because im not completely happy with it, its not what I want to keep going with.
Looking at this all together I notice that I am only interested in portraits, not a suprise since its my favourite subject of art. I want to follow this path, I feel I can develop more ideas from this.
