This is something I would like to take forward within my work. Working on large scale is definitely a strategy I need to work with as I feel it's my main limitation throughout my work, being fairly small, so by making it bigger I feel the viewer will be forced to contemplate my work as it will be impossible to avoid; just like death, therefore having a larger impact on the viewer in the process.
Found this artist called Asia Gensken, whose work often consisted of three dimensional sculptures but she also embraces photography, video, film and collage. The piece that's of particular interest to me is , 'Rose II' which was originally created in 1993 and was reprised in 2008. It's part of a project that takes on themes such as the way we perceive and define objects and images through our senses; through the implications of scale and the integration of architecture, nature and mass culture. This is something I would like to take forward within my work. Working on large scale is definitely a strategy I need to work with as I feel it's my main limitation throughout my work, being fairly small, so by making it bigger I feel the viewer will be forced to contemplate my work as it will be impossible to avoid; just like death, therefore having a larger impact on the viewer in the process. Image from: http://www.hauserwirth.com/artists/8/isa-genzken/images-clips/59/
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Completed my presentation today!! To say I was nervous was an understatement, but I kept telling myself I'm talking to the people I talk to everyday, the only thing that's different is that it's in a formal setting. I feel as though it went well, saying everything that I needed to say and what I had planned (on my cue cards :'))
I included my evolution from semester 1 and leading into semester 2, what research I've collected, from books, artists, theorists and news articles. What work I'm currently producing and where I feel I am going in the future with my work and the possible constraints I may face. What I done well: - spoke clearly - made clear and valid points Where I need to improve: During the critique I was told to look at the documentary of Karl Pilkington, if you know his name then yes you are correct, he is usually the guy that features in Idiot Abroad. He did a mini series called the Moaning of Life, but the episode I was interested in was 'death'. It was about eastern attitudes toward death and how they treat the dead/dying. He travels through eastern continents such as Africa and Asia, visiting in on funerals, grave-sites, cemeteries and mausoleums. His reactions and narrative are comical throughout the episode, its still interesting to see these third world countries, cultural traditions with their dead; which are so opposite from the westernised traditional attitudes to death, that its quite shocking.One thing that became clear to me whilst watching this is that western and eastern attitudes toward death are polar opposites, they are completely different.
Today alongside my peers in my year, the year below and the year above, we had a group critique on the work we've done so far, how we can develop and what translated to them as the viewer of my work.
What translated to them: Delicate Precious Fragile News Enclosed Death Regimented Ordered What people said: "Deconstructing a harsh reality and turning them into a symbol of love and romanticism" "Daring text" "very touching" "negative news in an aesthetically pleasing format" "hiding the truth with something beautiful" How to develop:
Overall I would say my individual critique was a success, allowing me to see how someone other than myself views the work, and if it translates what I want - which it does, so it let me know that my language is being translated properly. The main point I need to consider for my practice is SCALE. At the moment my work is very dainty and pretty, and I feel my subject matter is such a harsh reality that I need to make my work larger to translate the seriousness of my message. After working on canvas, I decided to work with something else - a mason jar. My theme of death and life's transience is sometimes quite a dark subject matter, making me think about the limited time I have on this earth. I feel as though the decision to put the flowers into concealment is a metaphor for my subconscious telling me to stop thinking about such a depressing subject, but I need to do this, I need to express to myself and to my viewers that one day we will die and our mortality will take us one day, whether we want to or not it will happen. The flowers represent the fragility and delicacy of life, they're beautiful, but they are also fake, they will not die, they will not age, they will not decay, they are paper. Unwilling to accept life's mortality. Creating an interesting juxtaposition between life and death. The appearance of them is aesthetically pleasing but the message within the petals is the opposite, contradicting each other.
After I collected a sufficient amount of articles to make something with, I began to think what I could actually do with them. I wanted to do something different than just a detailed painting like I usually do, so I decided to incorporate a sculptural aspect into my work, coming off of the canvas. Ultimately I chose to work with the natural form of a flower, in particular, the white rose. In The Meaning of Flowers - Myth, Language & Lore by Gretchen Scoble and Ann Field, the symbolism of the white rose is "purity and silence… In Asian tradition, white stands for the ultimate absence, death. In Japan, funeral armbands are white".
I've been gathering news articles from both primary and secondary sources as of late, on the subject of death, murder or health. It surprises me how many deaths are around us on a day to day basis, to be publishes on the news, yet people still don't like to think of it happening to a loved one, so ignore it. If people acknowledged the fact that one day you will die, then perhaps we'd treat our loved ones with more respect and be open about everything in our lives. This can be shown in a book I've been reading lately called Western Attitudes toward Death - From Middle Ages to the Present by Philippe Aries. Which looks at the changing attitudes to death that have taken place in western society, in particular, mortality and our destiny. We seem to hide death as if it were an embarrassing family secret, which can be shown through the way we treat the dying, to the steps taken after they die.
Visited London this week, seeing numerous exhibitions. First was at the White Cube, exhibition by Christian Marclay, most of his works involved film, my favourite piece of his was featured in a large dark, black walled room. On the ceiling were four projectors; each facing a separate wall. The film/projection plays continuously from one wall to the other, creating a surreal atmosphere. With a Roy Litchenstein feel to the work, it mainly featured words, being portrayed into different arrangements - very fast!
Next gallery was at the Tate Modern, here i saw two exhibitions and they both linked into my work in terms of their concept.
Firstly, I saw Marlene Dumas - The Image as Burden. Which consisted of vast amounts of paintings; all of peoples faces or the human form. Throughout the exhibition it is clear that the paintings are always human, often vulnerable, violent, suffering or dead. Getting the viewer to think about the subject of the paintings as well as who is the person in the painting and why? It is clear that she is a very talented painter, pieces that stood out to me include the portraits of Princess Diana and Amy Winehouse; captured in time never to change - even though they are both dead in present day. This reminded me of my own mortality - even those with extreme wealth and knowledge of life still died, it happens to everyone. It also mad eke remember the news coverage of their deaths, they caused a universal mourning across the country, which always came across as strange to me as death is almost like a taboo that no one speaks about, so that no one gets upset, yet when these two died - everyone was speaking about it! The last exhibition I went to see was called Conflict, Time and Photography by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. It contains works from artists and photographers from the mid-nineteenth century to present day. All of them looked at moments of conflict from different perspectives to consider the effects on the people and the places that survive through horrible events. This exhibition looks backwards, first images of straight after the events they depict, then made days later, then weeks, then months, and finally years after the event occurred. Its almost like a timeline of how a place has recovered and slowly you can see the evolution of that place. Its amazing to see a place in total devastation, in ruins, almost as though there is no possible chance of recovery turn into a beautiful land full of life through the years. For me, the exhibition reminded me of the passing of time. Things/people die and are destroyed, only to be reborn again and rebuild themselves. This is the beauty of human life and nature; things will constantly die, just to be reborn again. I also visited the Jerwood Space to see The Granchester Pottery Paints the Stage featuring ten artists. The first thing I noticed whilst looking around at the work is that nothing is placed on a wall; everything is suspended from the ceiling and placed at varying levels, which is interesting as its going against the traditional norm of how a gallery space should be presented. I also liked how everything looked like it was made from scratch, down to the making of the actual canvas.
What can I take from this exhibition? It interested me how the gallery space was layer out, could I possibly incorporate the suspension of work in my practice? |
Ellen HardyThis blog will outline my ongoing artistic practice throughout my second&third year at university. Archives
March 2016
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