TERM 2/WEEK 1 April 24, 2016
Reflection
I’m really tired this week. I over extended myself with workshops and talks I wanted to go to. The week started strong with Bronze casting with Kirstie. I brought a little mound plaster sculpture that I made and decided to use it. It kind of looks like merengue in white. I made the initial mold in rubber so I can make casts of other materials. I will try next week to do more plaster casts and drizzle paint colors over them and use them for the corridor exhibition.
-
Presentation workshops
I am really feeling like there is so much emphasis stressed on presenting ourselves and our work properly. I had no idea there would be so much of this in the course but I seem to be getting the hang of it. I actually never knew how important this was however on one of my talks this week I noticed one of the artists was very ill prepared and she happens to teach at the RCA. I love her work which is why I went to the talk, but she arrived late, and could have had more order to her powerpoint presentation and what she was talking about. I'm learning the benefits of being organised when presenting yourself and your work.
-
Metal shop
I had a talk with the metal shop technician. I need to make my piece that is going to be in the OPEN SQUARES GARDEN exhibition this summer. I showed him my assemblage maquette that I want to scale up and told him I want to build it in modules so it will be easier to transport, also about the cuffs I need to make to go around the tree. They seemed pretty supportive of my idea. I will start working on that next week.
Goal this term to understand and explore what the intersection of Painting and Sculpture is for me. Where they blur and what is the crossover.
Artists to look at this term:
Guillermo Mora
Donna Huanca
Eva Rothschild
Richard Serra
Claire Barclay
Phoebe Unwin
Fiona Rae
Lynda Benglis
Phyllida Barlow
Justine Mortimer
Eva Hesse
David Altmejd
David Renglii
Francois Morellet
Florian Roithmayr
Tania Kovats
Laura White
Yves Klein
Clifford Still
Guillermo Mora
hanging modular sculpture
His work is an ongoing research area for me. I am interested in his use of colour, versatility in ways of displaying his works, and his methodologies.
What's Up Plant? Flower Arranging workshop Stour Space Gallery
Ting Cheng
March 27, 2016
Workshop I attended focused on creating sculptural pieces by using flower arranging as the starting point for the methodology. We had a wide selection of strange objects to experiment in our sculptures. This really opened up my mind to new ways I can approach making my assemblages as preparation for larger sculptural pieces.
Lynda Benglis
Calarts visiting artists lecture series video
American Artist working with Sculpture and painting
Very interested in her approach and varied materials used to creating her sculptures.
Works with wax, latex, wire, cotton, ceramics, dayglo paints(phosphorescence), bronze castings, blown glass, plaster, handmade paper, pigments
Tremendous amount of experimentation, very large scale
Don’t be afraid to collaborate, learn new techniques
Studied: Pre-columbian art
Knots
Lived in new mexico bright colors
Poured latex with color(Guillermo mora)
Ceramic clay is very malleable
Wire mesh and plastic over stapled to wall then poured latex over.
Cast bronze fountains
Handmade paper, wire pigmented acrylic
Polyurethane
Bikin incandescent Column 2002 Paper, wire, light
Pink Ladies fountains (cast pigmented polyurethane and bronze)
“Art is a release of all kinds of emotions”
Tate Modern:
Materials and Objects Collection
Phyllida Barlow Upturned House
I went to see this work as I continue to research Phyllida's process.
"interested in triggers to a process of making and that takes over and becomes the work." This piece was created from her listening to a program of tragedies of hurricane Katrina. She is interested in how we look at sculpture in a given space. "sculpture invites the viewer to crawl, stalk, prow ways that are different from a pictorial space. It's not just your eye level view."
April 16, 2016
Autograph ABP
Rivington Place
Surviving as an artist: Residencies, commissions, and funding Talk
Gayle Kwon Chong
Artist Gayle Kwon Chong spoke about her practice and experiences with the benefits of residencies and commissions. Photography is her main medium although she makes sculpture and installations and her subject is surrounding food in various different ways from the packaging to actual food. In terms of residencies she stressed the importance of collaborations with the natives of the country you’re in. She said it allows her to learn new skills and connect with the natives in other countries in unique ways. Skills like speaking a foreign language can be a handy tool if you want to conduct workshops in other countries and may bump up your CV. I really loved her work and was amazed at the versatility she has in her practice and the knowledge she has about the mediums she uses. Her work is very well thought out looks abstract and you wouldn’t know by just looking at her work that it features food. When getting a commission she sets off to do tons of research about the area her work will be in. She takes a lot of pictures of the surrounding areas and implores many techniques like collage and cutting out negative space. She may use “Mise en Scene” technique to create a story or narrative of the area with the research she has done.
Justin Mortimer I saw his work at the National Portrait Gallery. I did more research into his practice. Collage Technique to develop his paintings. His use of abstract figuration, movement, topsy turvy angles, muted tones contrasted by saturated bold colours is something I can learn from and a way to add to my paintings what I do in my sculptures.
Development of my practice:
Reflection and analysis:
-
Recycling work or samples that didn’t work the first time. Bold colors, 9-5 schedule in the studio. I find I am consistent with making work if I keep with a schedule. These artists spoke on this being helpful in their practice: (Guillermo Mora, Phyllida Barlow)
-
Keeping a sketchbook to experiment with papers, techniques, combining materials, experimenting with what paint can do. (Phoebe Unwin, Cecily Brown) I have a few ways of developing work. Keeping a sketchbook has been a handy way of working through ideas of colour form and experimenting with materials.
-
Collaging images to prepare for paintings, using magazines etc. hand made old fashioned way and using Photoshop to collage, using architectural fragments shapes to break up canvas plane. I made a few works over the summer using this collage method. It's a really great starting point for me in developing paintings. I found that I eventually ventured off from the main idea but it keeps me making work. This artist relies heavily on collage in his paintings: (Justin Mortimer)
-
Jenny Saville's Exhibition at the Gagosian gallery. Her drawings of the figure overlapping the images to describe movement. Large scale made you want to walk into the works. I continue to investigate ways to draw the figure for the sustainable part of my practice.
-
Working and experimenting with color. Gentlemen of the Bacongo book (rules max. 3 colors in wardrobe)
-
Changing rules to get new outcome, changing tools, techniques, ideas etc. (Daniel Richter)
Royal Drawing School
Drawing Marathon
July 4-July 8
This drawing marathon was very interesting. I participated in this workshop because I've been looking for ways to incorporate my skills of painting and drawing the figure and portraiture in my current practice as a sustainable professional tool set. I also wanted to free up my drawing technique. We had some great tutors and helpful exercises each day. It was basically life drawing or sketching all week from 10-5 everyday. I was worn out by the end of the week. For me it was all about freeing up how I draw the figure. Not feeling like I have to be so exacting when drawing the image. We were introduced to many artists sketches and drawings and dissected their mark making techniques. We were given exercises to free us up like only looking at the model, or drawing in such a wild way thinking no one would ever see the finished drawing. Also, drawing the room around the model not just the model, exploring different ways of mark making in this endeavour. On one of the days we travelled and sketched the city. I did find that I’m not that interested in drawing buildings. It was great to jot down these ideas from the week and see how they could work in my practice. I think I find it more interesting infusing different textures and materials, and seeing how I can develop my drawings further in various contexts. I think life drawing is something I will continue as it keeps my eye hand relationship sharp.
Photography Developing Induction
April 29, 2016
After finding out about Gayle Kwon Chong making sculptures and installations using photography. I found it could be another interesting way to continue to develop my ideas sculpturally. I asked for a one on one induction for developing my own film. I got my camera from the AV store and set out to take some images mapping my environment with the Derive. Afterwards he set me up in the developing lab and took me step by step through the process. I've been so used to using digital and the immediate image it took some getting used to this slower considered process. Also, the facility would only allow developing in black and white and I have a fondness for colour. Still I think this could lead to some interesting work.
Jenny Saville
Gagosian Gallery
Camden Arts Center
Drawing for Contemporary Art Workshop
My goal for taking this workshop is to free up my drawing and “play” more in my work. Investigate different ways to develop a mark.
Anna Barribal
I just saw and liked her work at The Drawing Room. I like her the surfaces of her works. Since I have been looking for new ways of continuing to develop my practice outside of the metal and wood workshops, I was interested in investigating the way she uses pencil and paper sculpturally.
Julie Mehretu works with geography & politics she investigates researches prominent buildings and works from there. “ She has been building a vocabulary of marks for 10 years” exploring marks and if I feel it successfully communicates an energy, then I can build on it and not move on to new marks and forget about those I’ve excavated.
Building a catalogue of marks and using them when I choose. Exploring the environment with the Derive and mapping it with sound, rubbings, photos etc. Essentially looking further and deeper into what psycho-geography can offer me.
Anna Barriball
sculpture piece with crumpled paper with very deliberate marks made with graphite
About Face Symposium
National Portrait Gallery
July 1, 2016
Many speakers talked about the constant debate and role of contemporary portraiture. After this symposium my scope of what portraiture is and what the edges are has been opened. Instead of constantly saying painting is backward facing Stephen Farthing said, he thought there should continually be a dialogue in art schools about how we can move forward with painting and portraiture and I agree.
Reflection and analysis:
The collaborative project I participated in Park 16 was a great experience. I was in charge of collecting the money from all who wanted to participate. Preparation for making the pieces was fun as I spent time with my classmates and learned new skills.
Collaborative Video project Marion Phillini was daunting because it was happening right when we were kicked out of the studios for the 2nd years to prepare for their degree show. Feelings of anxiety struck as there was no studio for us to keep projects we were working on and it was right before we were off for the summer. At the time of gathering information on how we would proceed with this project I couldn't see where video work would sit in my practice. We had a great group and we were all on the same page in how we would move forward on this project. We all set off to record videos on our take of personal space and brought the findings in to be edited and sent to Marion Phillini for the exhibition.
Canary Wharf Residency was an interesting experience since this was my first residency I participated in. I had no idea what to expect or what I would get out of it. I learned how to write a proposal with ideas on what I wanted to look at during my time in the residency. I wanted a bit of time to gather reference photos and proceed to think on how I would develop these further into a work. I wanted to do this residency to get the experience, also to keep the flow of continuing my practice throughout the summer. I have to say I felt exhausted and my head was spinning from the end of the MFA course. I've been told this is an ongoing project that would continue through the year and beyond. I endeavour to focus on developing a piece later on in the year.
Interventions Exhibition working closely with my peers through the summer was a great way to continue the momentum of preparing and exhibiting my work. I continued to work on my piece up until it was time for the exhibition. During the install I had to make adjustments to how I wanted my piece to be hung. I was anxious mostly because this was an outward facing exhibition and up until this point I had been developing my pieces in the studio and could manipulate them as needed. This time once the show was curated it was open to the public. Once the show was up and running we took turns invigilating and it gave us an opportunity to talk to patrons about the show and our work.
In the Shadows... Crypt Exhibition I found developing my piece partially at home and then finishing up once we were back in school very useful. As we had limited time once school was back in session to the workshops I had to be very diligent with my time management. I was always thinking a few steps ahead to make sure I was on top of everything. Once again I had to make a proposal for what kind of piece I wanted to make. Going with making a floor piece I found invaluable to me because I had to learn new ways of working. I now feel I have more options in terms of displaying work and I don't have to necessarily be dependent on hanging something on a wall. I had to be organised and detailed with install instructions as we decided as a group to let the curation team make decisions on where our work would go. I had to learn to let go of my work and trust in my team. At the PV I helped at the bar with Emily and Sarah and tried to be useful behind the scenes. Once the show was opened I enjoyed my time invigilating and talking to patrons.
Artists I'm looking at & Reading Research:
Clare Barclay
Eva Hesse
Phyllida Barlow
Richard Serra
David Altmejd
Florian Roithmayr
Guillermo Mora
Fiona Rae
Donna Huanca
Teresita Fernandez
Basics Product Design 02: Material Thoughts by David Bramstom
The Language of Space
by Bryan Lawson
Interesting ideas on how architecture is designed and how we interact with objects in space.
What Painting Does? Lecture Wimbledon
Fiona Rae, Dan Perfect, Daniel Sturgis
The book What Painting Is by James Elkins was sited during this talk. Excellent talk by 3 painters on their painting practice.
September 7, 2016
Fiona Rae:
Highlights for me at this talk were the painter Fiona Rae. I have done research on her work and her practice. she spoke on many issues that I am addressing in my practice. She spoke about going against the grain of what is expected in painting. Using mark making in a way that goes against the norm. Take it apart & start again. Developing a paint language. How to effectively use source material and continue to do loads of looking at the environment for ideas. The value of the Hard edges against organic shapes in her painting. A very big point was in her wanting to expand what was possible instead of refining what's already been done and pushing the boundaries in painting. By serious experimentation of processes. Never planned a work until 2 years ago and the benefits for her of planning in advance. Improvisation on a set of rules within a specific theme. This is something I continue to do since becoming familiar with the film "The Five Obstructions". Being turned on by a work and knowing for yourself when it's right.
Tania Kovats
she has a practice that includes many different media. Through hearing her speak of her practice and seeing her works I can see how context can meld seamlessly into your practice. She speaks of using “drawing as a way to restore herself” after working with site-specific larger scaled works that require a lot of outward facing activity. I find that painting is restorative for me. I’ve been thinking about why I am constantly drawn to and have to make a painting. Whether abstract or portrait, I have this need in between working on my sculptural works to do a somewhat traditional painting maybe it’s my way of restoring myself.
Exciting New Projects
After the crypt show and leading into November assessment. I am exploring different ways of framing my work. I am also continuing to experiment by learning new processes, working with better quality materials, and challenging the way I display my work.
I am interested in Eva Hesses' extreme experimentation with materials that weren't traditionally used in sculpture and unusual forms of her pieces. Her works that moved between painting and sculpture. Her piece Aught she used canvas and painted latex on it. She created 3d works from her 2d drawings.
Eva Rothschild
I'm interested in her work and process. She makes sculptures and large scale installations. She works in a range of mediums including 2D works of printed weavings. I am looking at her knowledge of manipulating materials and balance in her structures.
Reflection and notes on my practice:
Developing unconventional presentation strategies
Defying gravity
Making sculptures in modules
Using asymmetry in my work. I've started looking at contemporary Architecture to explore breaking up planes in my work
Using Juxtaposition as a device
Collage disparate images
textures
senses
Eva Hesse: “You must begin by making small things as that starts the cycle going. Doing begins things and it continues.”
October Files pg. 9 “One memory I have: I remember always working with contradictions and contradictory forms, which is my idea also in life. The whole absurdity of life”
Rosalind Krauss pg. 28 on Eva Hesse’s work Contingent: “The image of Contingent was delivering the message of privacy, of a retreat from language, of a withdrawal into those extremely personal reaches of experience that are beyond, or beneath, speech.” “What the image of Contingent was delivering to the art world was a declaration about the expressive power of matter itself.” “In art-historical terms, we could say that Contingent was countering the formalist dialogue of the 1960’s with the message of expressionism.”
Eva Hesse
October Files by Mignon Nixon
©2002 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Reflection and analysis:
Making my assemblages has been an ongoing process for me and a great start to developing works. These little creatures or beings made of disparate matter spring to life from some other place. I usually know when nothing more needs to be added to them, when it is whole, complete. I can feel that there is a sense of balance that I'm looking for. These objects may or may not lead to larger scaled works. If I feel a need to continue to explore the form in another way I will continue to play with scale and material.
I just finished making a new piece using different processes and new materials. I used cement and latex to make sculptures combining wax, oil paint and ink. My cement piece did not turn out how I planned. It was initially to be a cluster of pieces combined to make one sculpture. However I'm still learning that certain processes take a long time. Making my own mould and casting in this new material took longer than I expected. I am however noticing that I am better at time management. I knew there was limited time from crypt to assessment so straight after the crypt exhibition I got into my 10-5 schedule in the studio to get started on new pieces. I found that using a new material cement on the one piece and wanting it to perform in a precarious way was very difficult. Working out a way to balance this piece in a frame was a struggle. Although the finished work is not what I initially had planned I do like the way it turned out. I am gradually working towards increasing in scale and quality of my work. Collaboration with the 3D technicians is paramount in bringing my ideas to fruition. I sometimes feel like this effort to achieve and finish all my works to such a high standard is limiting my output and I get frustrated. I feel that I am being too conservative.
On moving forward in my practice. I will continue to experiment with new methods and materials but I am considering incorporating more immediate modes of developing my sculptures and possibly looking at using lighter materials. I have started this already with my latex piece I submitted for assessment. Since I long for that performative aspect in my work I will push the boundary of showing the process of how I make a work in the presentation. For this reason I have started looking into Richard Serra's earlier sculptural practice and his drawing practice."The perception of the work in it's state of suspended animation arrested motion does not give one calculable truths like geometry, but a sense of presence." quote from Richard Serra Writings Interviews.
Donna Huanca
Scar Cymbals
Zabludowicz Collection
November 24-December 18 2016
I've only recently learned about this artist. She works within the same framework that I do: Painting, sculpture, and performance. Her exhibition Scar Cymbals was extremely powerful and moving for me. She seems to have a very direct and immediate way of working with structure, colours, and textures that I found very engaging. I look forward to researching her practice further.
Quote from Eva: “The Perspex sculptures need a lot of planning and have to be a certain size, partly because for me it’s to do with a tension between a sculpture and a knick-knack.” “We have all these objects that don’t really do anything, crystals, lava lamps even flowers, they don’t function in any clear way. They are things that we separate out from the world and assign a specificity to.” “It’s about realizing that an object or image, despite having no defined function, does interact with us in some way, does allow us an experience that we don’t get anywhere else.” Pg. 133-134 Early one morning ©2002 White Chapel Gallery
Claire Barclay
Scottish artist. Her work crosses installation, sculpture and printmaking and often uses craft techniques to explore materials and space. There is a refusal of conventional presentation: plinth, hanging on wall etc I aim to do a similar thing with my work. I started off on the wall and I am explore the myriad of possibilities for presentations and installations.
Jane Bowler
Experimental Materials Workshop
Oct. 29, 2016
Very exciting workshop I participated in the studio with textile and jewellery designer Jane Bowler. Learning and creating new ways of manipulating all kinds of things, taking objects out of context, making new connections with materials outside of the fine art context to inform new ways of seeing to generate new ideas. This workshop was very helpful to my practice to continue pushing myself to look outside of conventional art materials and ways of making.
Quote from Claire: “I really enjoy that process of using the space as a starting point and making a structure that’s attaching itself to the existing architecture, like a limpet. This thing doesn’t have to conform to the rules of conventional architecture, It can be at strange angles, break all the rules and challenge or oppose it aesthetically or formally.” Pg. 92 Early one Morning ©2002 White Chapel Gallery
"To Work out of my own work"
"Follow the direction of the work"
"Investigating the logic of material and it's potential for personal extension"
Florian Roithmayr
Multiverse residency Artists Event
Wysing Arts Centre 11 April, 2015 video talk with Florian Roithmayr and Kit Craig about possible ways of comprehending a multiverse in multiple dimensions, trying to explain objects…
“the moment when these models, substitutes, aids, or stand ins help you visualize something that is otherwise incomprehensible.“ helps us develop this thinking.
The Five Obstructions
film by Lars Von Trier
This film is basically an exercise in fighting stagnation in ways of developing work. I use methods similar to what was put forth by the director Lars Von Trier. I use it as way of setting guidelines to work within, improvising within those guidelines, and pushing me to try new ways of working. Through seeing this film I have found a very valuable tool in developing work. I started incorporating this in my work at the beginning of the course and have continued with it as I find it very useful.
David Altmejd: “When I make sculpture I don’t want to control it intellectually. I want it to create it’s own intelligence.”
He has a background in biology and is the way he approaches his work. Through sculpture he explores his fascination with living things and transformations, life and energy. He plays with the distinctions between interior and exterior, surface and structure, representation and abstraction and the boundaries of paradox. He tries to give the impression that the work contains energy. To do this he uses various strategies by creating tensions (beauty and grotesque ex.) Combining from 2 opposite poles and that generates energy. Interview: France24
Gentlemen of Bacongo Book on the new dandy fashion in Bacongo. Interesting look at this fascinating juxtaposition of the new dandy in areas with extreme poverty and war. They devote such care in how they present themselves to the world through their attire. Developing Ideas on working and experimenting with vibrant colour in contrast to social commentary. Gentlemen of the Bacongo book (their rules for mixing colours is a max. 3 colors in wardrobe)
