I said in my Proposal for this Assignment that I felt way out of my depth because of the practical/craft skills required. I felt I did not have a non-visual skill set and felt inadequate for a long time, but I knew I had to "bite the bullet" so I reflected for a considerable while on possible projects. I didn't know if they were silly and a waste of time, or if I thought they may have plausibility and if they did, whether I could be successful in their rendition.
However, the first exercise gave me a smidgen of encouragement, as I felt I had pulled together the concept and the expression of it together with subject matter that was relevant to it. It was influenced by the Jean Tinguely work illustrated in the project notes, and I was concerned that it might not look as though I had given much thought to the project because I drew upon an illustration that appeared in the notes. That would have been my only reservation.
The tableaux or Diorama was interesting for me because I expanded it slightly to include text and illustration by way of a Conceptual piece, which I felt added to it as a Tableaux/Diorama. It was also light-hearted, which is something I don't often get to do in my art. It therefore offered an opportunity to create a multifaceted object with crafted apple cores; a found object in the processor and a tableaux incorporating a real life situation. I was happy with the references to Marcel Duchamp, and the Womanhouse by Robin Weltch which I felt worked really well. The idea of Work in Progress was twofold, it referenced the male/female inequalities, which are still not addressed as well as to the piece itself and I felt this was equally effective.
It would have been nice to do the bottle bank idea but I don't have a vice and workshop so wouldn't have been able to put together a frame of the sort I was planning.
The limitations I professed at the outset were considerations I had to overcome by the choice of work, so my options were somewhat limited by my ability to undertake work outside of my inadequate skillset and facilities.
As far as Witches Wood is concerned, I had this project in mind sometime ago so had been taking photographs in various weather conditions. It would have been nice to have uncovered some local history, even if it had only been anecdotal, but my research didn't come up with anything. However, with the link to the Witch-finder General it begs the question and leaves it to the viewer to speculate the existence of the wood.
The final project didn't quite end up as my proposal but metal was the material that persuaded me to pursue the Final Project. I had been reading some Philosophy on the subject of the cosmological argument, which is always very interesting hence the subject matter.
The tying of various pieces of metal with micro thin line was a test in itself and the small pieces of rock were the most difficult. I had to glue the line to them before tying them as the line kept slipping off. I was also slightly uncomfortable with defacing the wall of my studio with the graffiti, it was similar to how I felt when painting the frame in an earlier project.
I think there is a lot of scope with 'objects' that I hadn't previously realized. Indeed the whole idea was completely alien to me, but with the right tools and facilities I can see that this would merit further exploration. Scale is one of the things that is difficult to achieve for the same reasons, and I feel the success of a work is dependent on or constrained by matters relating to this issue. For example one can imagine Space and Time being exhibited in a gallery space with much larger elements but pragmatically up-scaling equals commercial support both financially and with appropriate equipment and labour. Such up-scaling would give the piece more gravitas which may be missing in my attempt.
I could have tried to sculpt Einstein's equation from polystyrene but it would have required a hot knife. I tried with an ordinary blade but I could see it would not work, then I thought that using the wall itself in a graffiti style would add to the piece, by bringing it into the modern world of art. Using spray cans on a large wall would be great. I am thinking of a space similar to that used in John Ahearn's Homage to the People of S. Bronx.
I am still hoping to get some hands for my 'Time-piece', and will have to see what might be available at a car boot sale.
Despite the trepidation with which I started this assignment I feel I have achieved more than I expected.
Friday, 13 February 2015
Critical Review - The Creative Process
INTRODUCTION
I find myself pondering how it is
that what I consider to be the decline through the 50s and 60s of the visual
arts has come about. The tendency is to apply: philosophical, political and social
definitions and concepts to a non-symbiotic world or discipline. These concepts are not irrelevant but in my
view are peripheral. In order to arrive
at a different, more accessible interpretation of the art world I consider that
not only must the language change but different perspectives are needed to add
more pertinent weight and depth to the understanding of the creative process.
The Conceptual creative process is
almost the reverse of the traditional aesthetic approach. A concept is conceived almost as a textual
document and this equals the art, moving away from authorial ownership towards self-reflexivity
so that a work reveals the process of its own making in order to avoid the illusion
of art. Yet, it seems to me, it is the
illusory nature of art (artifice) that opens doors to emotional reaction,
thoughts and ultimately an understanding of the work before us. Without that
imaginary veil I wonder if access to our hidden/subconscious perceptions is
limited. Would we merely perceive in a
direct retinal, or optical way minimising the artist’s psychological motivations?
In the case of conceptual art would the viewer look, see, then move on, without
being beguiled or inspired? Conceptualism appears a cold methodical way of
working that has little in common with the ethos of art as an emotionally rewarding
activity for the spectator, or does it offers more, a ‘mind mapped’ view of our
world? Greenberg says “The essence of
Modernism lies ...in the use of characteristic methods of a discipline to
criticize the discipline itself – not in order to subvert it, but to entrench
it more firmly in its area of competence”[1] Is it that the engagement of the viewer is no
longer important, or does the viewer need to become more informed? Conceptual artistic value is difficult to
interpret and award; the hard work has to be done by the spectator from very
little by way of visual clues.
To compare the thought process
between these two approaches would be interesting but I am insufficiently
familiar with the conceptual approach. However, I will do my best to outline my
personal method and try to assess where the conceptual artist might digress.
CREATIVE PROCESS
How does the creative process begin? This is my brief, speculative interpretation
and is probably far from the truth. Benjamin and Adorno viewed artwork “as the
space in which the experience of thought can be exposed to its own
potentialities, contradictions, and conditions of possibility”[2] I would venture to say that is a pretty good
description of the brain.
It seems to me that an initial
“idea” a sort of spark is triggered in the brain probably by some
electro-chemical mechanism, possibly called a neuron, which lights up like a
small starburst – a “flash” of inspiration.
It is interesting here to compare a starburst with similar images,
explosions, the big bang, starlight, cancer cells, nuclear fission, sparks;
they all have some sort of nucleus with emanations leading off in diverse directions,
and are associated with creation or destruction.
THE CREATIVE THOUGHT (IDEA)
However, returning to the “idea”
- pathways whiz off to various other
networks triggering all sorts of related ideas.
For the sake of clarity, the example “idea” is that of the bull (which
has featured in a recent painting). So
“bull” has lit up somewhere in my cerebral cortex (?) That thought triggers all
sorts of other ideas and now sparks are firing in all directions: Spain,
Picasso, bull fights, birth sign, strength, stamina, black, horns, smell,
danger, bulk, death; the neural pathways
are alive with activations that are spreading further and further a field,
colour – red, black, texture, Guernica, fear.
Yet this all takes place in split seconds, and is not defined by any
language easily transmitted. The
conceptual artist is probably stimulated by different things at this stage,
probably from his left brain.
Wittgenstein[3] says that Expression depends on idea
of intention to express a meaning, this will or intent comes before verbal or
visual consolidation and is therefore internal and private to ourselves but
unknown to others. He goes on to say
that a word’s meaning is established in its use and that words become a sort of
language game, they are learned and practiced interpersonally and gain credence
and meaning in that way. He therefore
asserts that private expressions make no sense as they cannot be
articulated. In semantic terms, I feel
he conflates “words” with” ideas” in the term ‘expression’. Ideas can be expressed visually even without a
meaningful linguistic vocabulary to express these private thoughts. It is
through the process of shared visual symbols that the viewer might experience mutual
understanding. The Jungian subconscious springs to mind.
I assume conceptual artists will experience
academic and linguistic thoughts relating to his project. Back to my “idea” lighting up the circuitry of
my brain. This thought has to be
realized in some way so I invent the simulacrum of a canvas support in my brain
where I might attach the “idea” of a bull.
The move towards actual realization is probably occurring in a different
part of my brain, it feels different, it feels more substantive, less
shadowy. I am still being bombarded with
distant links, I recall witnessing a bullfight, I think of my Spanish holidays,
and I am reminded that Taurus is my birth sign. My thoughts are going off-piste,
I have to control and guide them towards the prospect of creating a painting.
With these sub-thoughts appended to the main “idea” I have to find a way of
making choices, or will my brain do that for me? Will the low light starbursts disappear off
the radar leaving a manageable number of selections from which to choose or am
I focusing on the more interesting/relevant elements? I don’t know.
However, my library, which will be unique to me, will have similarities
by way of Platonic “forms” (for want of a better description) in other people’s
minds, and this, I conjecture, is why generic symbols are ubiquitous. The
conceptual approach might be similar though the personal library could be quite
different.
BUILDING BLOCKS (Referential Hooks)
There are timeless conventional
building blocks used in the creation of a painting, and regardless of the
desire by some contemporary artists to shun their worthiness, they remain
valid, i.e. colour, composition, texture, media, support, perspective (?),
certainly in terms of a painting, maybe not so much for an installation and
conceptual art. These are inevitable
functions of the creative process, which at least Francois Morellet[4], painting in the 50s did
acknowledge. But I am ignoring chance
and probability. Is this something that
needs to go into the mix or by its intrinsic nature will it occur anyway? I
think the latter, as one can never have total control over one’s work and
neither would it be desirable. So this
part of the process is relatively easy, colour I know should be red. I have been studying Klein’s monochromes so
that confirms my decision. The bull
happens to be my star sign and now I am thinking of my birth-date and rendering
letters and numbers, texture has to be relatively flat but interesting. Another lot of starbursts as further
possibilities come to mind. I also think
about the Guernica bull and how I might incorporate that and the photograph of
a bull taken in Spain.
These ideas are now cohering on my
mental canvas and are arranging themselves but they are still in a state of
flux. How do I achieve a balance (i.e.
composition), is it desirable? If not,
what attribute replaces it? Indeed, is
an alternative necessary? I find it
difficult to grasp the idea of something being cogent and mindfully constructed
yet relying on effects engendered entirely by random chance. My thoughts vacillate, as random elements
have an appeal, much as automatism appealed to the Surrealists, and Abstract
artists relied on its magic too. These
thoughts I sense will only become manifest when I begin work. Shall I use collage? I want the look of torn posters and I have a
photograph of some worn, torn posters of Queen on a wall in Spain, I’ll print
those and use them as collage. For the
support, I will use hardboard, without gesso and I’ll scribe it with a knife to
add texture, the blade that kills the bull.
My thoughts are emerging, coalescing into the visual realization of my
initial “idea”. I am nearly in clear air
where the actual work can begin.
PRACTICAL IMPLEMENTATION
I have done the mind work, the real work will involve taking decisions but most will be instinctive rather than worked out pragmatically, because for me that is where the creative energy takes over, working both internally and externally, which is what I believe Jackson Pollock and others have meant by being “in” the painting.[5] The “idea” is conceived in the mind and is shuffled off the simulacrum canvas only to emerge on to the real canvas yet somehow the mental thought processes continue to inhabit it, so that the two canvases seem to converge in an indefinable way. The eventual outcome evolves in unpredictable ways, because the control mechanisms of the mind are somehow sublimated to the creative process itself.
The real empty support is in front
of me. I now have to assimilate some sort of order to my thoughts. First, I scribe the hardboard with a
knife. Fontana, left it there and
submitted slashed canvases for his artwork.
I will go further. I will use little texture but need to sink some
colour into the surface as it will be very absorbent without gesso. I apply red acrylic paint and texture it with
a brush, cling film and impasto. It’s
good enough as a monochrome right now, interesting surface on which to work. I
think about the collage element: photos
of some red peppers (implying intestines), photos of Freddie Mercury, a photo of a bull construction. I work freely, the bull will dominate and I add
collage that will work as a Bull’s eye.
I stencil my birthday in individual letters and mix them up creating “I
am” Descarte’s expression, as well as “i bull”.
I continue staining the collage and adding black to give more contrast. I make marks with oil pastel, and add pastel
powder for texture. Once “in the zone”
or “in the painting” ideas keep coming and I am balancing the painting, adding
collage, paint and texture gradually building up the whole thing until it
becomes a harmonious coherent piece of work.
BETTER FUTURE UNDERSTANDING
If a discussion of the creative process leads to better understanding then we will have an improved experience of the art world. It will enliven and deepen our interpretation of works of art hopefully encouraging a wider, younger audience. Process Art reveals rather than conceals, but does it ‘throw the baby out with the bath water’ by eliminating artifice?
With artists like Grayson Perry http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03969vt we are being introduced to more interesting
exhibits that amuse as well as excite the viewer, and through his Reith
Lectures during October 2013, it is clear he is in the vanguard of a more
positive validation of art appreciation.
Perhaps the timeless “building
blocks “ are back, and with them the creative process, works that give appeal
to the eye and the mind - we may no longer be corralled into black corridors
looking and listening to digits and text, mirrors and sounds, thinking: what am I supposed to be thinking?
Source and Reference material:
Art since 1900, Hal Foster et
al, Thames and Hudson, published 2004
Shock of the New, Robert Hughes,
published 1980, Thames and Hudson
Aesthetics, Alessandro
Giovannelli, published 2012, Continuum
New Art in the 60s and 70s, Anne
Rorimer, published 2004, Thames and Hudson
[1] P.11 Clement Greenberg, New Art in the 60s
and 70s, Anne Rorimer, Published 2001, Thames and Hudson
[2] P 147 Walter Benjamin and Theodor Adorno by
Gerhard Richter - Aesthtics edited by
Alessandro Giovanelli, published 2012 by
Continuum
[3] Source
and Reference material: Art since 1900, Hal Foster et al, Thames and Hudson,
2004, Johns and Stella, p.407 Ludwig Wittgenstein
[4] Source
and Reference material: Art since 1900, Hal Foster et al, Thames and Hudson,
2004, French Conceptualist painting, p517
[5] P 313
Shock of the New, Robert Hughes, published 1980, Thames and Hudson
Final Project
My final project is influenced by Cornelia Parker, Anselm Kiefer and Jessica Stockholder, and combines objects, images and graffiti.
The work represents time and space and can be read as a diptych, triptych or as individual pieces.
Taking the piece on Space, I am connecting not only the subject matter within a spacial area but the concept of traditional painting by relating it back to the wall by following the conventional practice of hanging paintings on the wall. At the same time I am projecting it forward into observable space, suggesting the idea of making art part of the gallery space not merely adhered or appended to it.
The canvas takes the idea of Kiefer's work on space using real diamonds to depict the planets and stars. In this case I have represented stars and planets by rhinestones, glitter and painted pieces of rock to represent meteors.
The metal bar from which the metal objects are suspended looks like Orion's belt and might be interpreted as such, its shiny surface reflects the viewer much like a mirror, suggesting self reflection, and self reflexivity. The objects are a direct inspiration from Cornelia Parker.
The next element E = mc² joins both objects i.e. Time and Space. It is painted directly on to the wall conflicting with the traditional idea of easel art, suggesting not only progress in art but progress in the space time continuum. It is presented as graffiti street art, because space is ubiquitous, and because street art is also. It hints at the fact that sadly some people populating the streets do not even have their own space. It not only connects the two main elements but could be the central motive of a triptych, its importance is worthy in its own right and philosophically would question its relevance (or relativity) in connection with religion, by being presented as a triptych.
The third element Time could be read separately - a 'Time-piece' showing the explosion or deconstruction of time, or taken in conjunction with Space when it would become an integral part of the whole. I would like to have added some hands but I haven't been able to get an old clock and as they are mostly battery operated these days so it wasn't possible to find any innards.
Throughout this particular Assignment I have consciously tried to minimalize the piece as I have a tendency to clutter. However, I want to say a lot and maybe now conceptually it has become too encumbered with conflicting meanings. But in a sense it is not for me to interpret the piece for the viewer but for the viewer to find these things or re-interpret them.
The work represents time and space and can be read as a diptych, triptych or as individual pieces.
Taking the piece on Space, I am connecting not only the subject matter within a spacial area but the concept of traditional painting by relating it back to the wall by following the conventional practice of hanging paintings on the wall. At the same time I am projecting it forward into observable space, suggesting the idea of making art part of the gallery space not merely adhered or appended to it.
The canvas takes the idea of Kiefer's work on space using real diamonds to depict the planets and stars. In this case I have represented stars and planets by rhinestones, glitter and painted pieces of rock to represent meteors.
The metal bar from which the metal objects are suspended looks like Orion's belt and might be interpreted as such, its shiny surface reflects the viewer much like a mirror, suggesting self reflection, and self reflexivity. The objects are a direct inspiration from Cornelia Parker.
Sorry I can't turn this photo
The next element E = mc² joins both objects i.e. Time and Space. It is painted directly on to the wall conflicting with the traditional idea of easel art, suggesting not only progress in art but progress in the space time continuum. It is presented as graffiti street art, because space is ubiquitous, and because street art is also. It hints at the fact that sadly some people populating the streets do not even have their own space. It not only connects the two main elements but could be the central motive of a triptych, its importance is worthy in its own right and philosophically would question its relevance (or relativity) in connection with religion, by being presented as a triptych.
The third element Time could be read separately - a 'Time-piece' showing the explosion or deconstruction of time, or taken in conjunction with Space when it would become an integral part of the whole. I would like to have added some hands but I haven't been able to get an old clock and as they are mostly battery operated these days so it wasn't possible to find any innards.
(Sorry I can't turn this photos)
Throughout this particular Assignment I have consciously tried to minimalize the piece as I have a tendency to clutter. However, I want to say a lot and maybe now conceptually it has become too encumbered with conflicting meanings. But in a sense it is not for me to interpret the piece for the viewer but for the viewer to find these things or re-interpret them.
Witches Wood - Non-Art Space
I have used the space known as Witches Wood in my village as my non-art space and have set up a Blog to cover this work. I still have to introduce the object I propose into the wood, namely a black polystyrene bag weighted at the head and feet to represent a hanging body. Once complete I will photograph it and add it to my site. At the moment access is limited to my tutor but the site name is http://witcheswoodcsm.blogspot.co.uk/
Op Art
Perceptual art, Op Art, Kinetic Art are all names that describe the visual art that relies on mainly black and white optical illusions as well as colour juxtaposition and contrast to create moiré, three dimensional and movement effects in paint.
It could be argued that earlier artists such as Delauney, Kandinsky and Picabia were influential in this style. Certainly Kandinsky's connection with the Bauhaus would be relevant here. Both he and Joseph Albers were teachers at that art institution, along with Paul Klee. Joseph Albers keenly investigated colour effects, minimal artists explored the effects of close colour assimilations, for example Mark Rothko, who was influenced by the German Expressionists. Joseph Albers, along with many other artists left Germany before the start of the second world war and eventually started a school in the Black Mountains College in North Carolina where he developed his ideas of contrasted and related colours and their visual effects, and painted his Homage to the Square. In 1963 he wrote Interaction of Colour. "Practical exercises demonstrate through colour deception (illusion) the relativity and instability of colour" (p. 2 Interaction of Colour, Josef Albers, Published by Yale University Press in 1963).
So too Cubism, Italian Futurism, Russian Constructivism and Dadaism were the defining roots of Op Art.
Cubism had broken planes down into cubes or squares to enable the viewer to observe more than just the front face of an object. Italian Futurism endeavoured to create movement with the help of chrono-photograpers, namely Etienne-Jules Marey who in 1882 produced sequential stills to represents the gait of animals and humans. Constructivism, also influenced by Bauhaus and De Stijl sought to develop sculpture and ultimately architecture based on the angular/geometric styles of Suprematism as practiced by Malevich. The Dadaists brought many of these controversial styles to the awareness of the public through their exhibitions, particularly Duchamp's work, which rejected capitalist ideologies in favour of irrationality. It was this that effectively enabled platform for a "new art" to become established after the horrors of the First World War.
Vorticism also played its part as it had during the war when Edward Wadsworth designed Dazzle camouflage for allied ships, thereby confusing the enemy as to the ship's speed an direction.
Artists like Victor Vasarely, Georges Vantongerloo, Julio le Parc and Francois Morellet, went on to develop ideas which lead to the Op Art style of painting which was one of the signifiers of the "new art" previously mentioned. To a certain extent, in my view, it was also a means of turning away from the visual horrors of two World Wars and the political turmoil which lay behind them. The need to intellectualize and comprehend the difficult elements of the optical process effectively anaesthetized emotional responses to the still raw feelings relating to the war.
For the second time many artists who departed Europe in the face of War decided to choose the USA as their new homes. The openness of the American way of life meant that they felt liberated emotionally and this enabled new artistic ideas to ferment and flourish.
Artists like Bridget Riley, Michael Kidner, Aleksandar Srnec, and Richard Anuszkiewicz have continued to expand Op Art, however its raison d'être, rejection of emotional resonances, may well be its downfall, as it projects itself as a cold intellectual visual art.
It could be argued that earlier artists such as Delauney, Kandinsky and Picabia were influential in this style. Certainly Kandinsky's connection with the Bauhaus would be relevant here. Both he and Joseph Albers were teachers at that art institution, along with Paul Klee. Joseph Albers keenly investigated colour effects, minimal artists explored the effects of close colour assimilations, for example Mark Rothko, who was influenced by the German Expressionists. Joseph Albers, along with many other artists left Germany before the start of the second world war and eventually started a school in the Black Mountains College in North Carolina where he developed his ideas of contrasted and related colours and their visual effects, and painted his Homage to the Square. In 1963 he wrote Interaction of Colour. "Practical exercises demonstrate through colour deception (illusion) the relativity and instability of colour" (p. 2 Interaction of Colour, Josef Albers, Published by Yale University Press in 1963).
So too Cubism, Italian Futurism, Russian Constructivism and Dadaism were the defining roots of Op Art.
Cubism had broken planes down into cubes or squares to enable the viewer to observe more than just the front face of an object. Italian Futurism endeavoured to create movement with the help of chrono-photograpers, namely Etienne-Jules Marey who in 1882 produced sequential stills to represents the gait of animals and humans. Constructivism, also influenced by Bauhaus and De Stijl sought to develop sculpture and ultimately architecture based on the angular/geometric styles of Suprematism as practiced by Malevich. The Dadaists brought many of these controversial styles to the awareness of the public through their exhibitions, particularly Duchamp's work, which rejected capitalist ideologies in favour of irrationality. It was this that effectively enabled platform for a "new art" to become established after the horrors of the First World War.
Vorticism also played its part as it had during the war when Edward Wadsworth designed Dazzle camouflage for allied ships, thereby confusing the enemy as to the ship's speed an direction.
Artists like Victor Vasarely, Georges Vantongerloo, Julio le Parc and Francois Morellet, went on to develop ideas which lead to the Op Art style of painting which was one of the signifiers of the "new art" previously mentioned. To a certain extent, in my view, it was also a means of turning away from the visual horrors of two World Wars and the political turmoil which lay behind them. The need to intellectualize and comprehend the difficult elements of the optical process effectively anaesthetized emotional responses to the still raw feelings relating to the war.
For the second time many artists who departed Europe in the face of War decided to choose the USA as their new homes. The openness of the American way of life meant that they felt liberated emotionally and this enabled new artistic ideas to ferment and flourish.
Artists like Bridget Riley, Michael Kidner, Aleksandar Srnec, and Richard Anuszkiewicz have continued to expand Op Art, however its raison d'être, rejection of emotional resonances, may well be its downfall, as it projects itself as a cold intellectual visual art.
Friday, 6 February 2015
Diorama/Tableaux
My diorama has many influences and could be regarded as a piece of conceptual art, as it involves text, image and object to reveal the concept.
I have drawn upon the mid 20th century scope of Feminine art, which depicts the female artist as precluded from the art scene in many ways and also emphasizes the so called 'accepted role' of women in society. I do not regard myself as a feminist but I think it is true to say that things have changed very little since then. Women predominately still play the role of housewife except it is now combined with career woman or wage earner. I think she still prepares the evening meal and is prime operator of kitchen gadgets.
My Diorama is based in the home, the kitchen to be precise. The reference to work in progress is threefold: the artwork is not finished; the changing role of women in society is ongoing; the use of the objects for a supposed recipe is incomplete. Hence the kitchen worktop is the appropriate place to display my object and forms part of the diorama. It is influenced by Robin Weltch's Womanhouse.
The cores themselves are also symbolic of the core of the home; the core design of the artwork, i.e. its conceptual/process nature relating to the 4 core processor; the female, who tempted Adam with an apple, and the artist, who effectively is the core processor.
In fact the piece does not relate to a recipe in terms of the artwork, but to a spurious machine called a Logic Busting Image Decoder and Visualizer. It is a take on Marcel Duchamp's Large Glass and is supported by an image and text explaining its purpose. (Purpose, philosophy tells us, gives meaning to life!). The illustration is influenced by Surrealism.
The sculptural quality of the apple cores is influenced by Claes Oldenburg and the overall idea to various conceptual artists including Martha Rosler, Cindy Sherman and Jeff Koons
I have drawn upon the mid 20th century scope of Feminine art, which depicts the female artist as precluded from the art scene in many ways and also emphasizes the so called 'accepted role' of women in society. I do not regard myself as a feminist but I think it is true to say that things have changed very little since then. Women predominately still play the role of housewife except it is now combined with career woman or wage earner. I think she still prepares the evening meal and is prime operator of kitchen gadgets.
My Diorama is based in the home, the kitchen to be precise. The reference to work in progress is threefold: the artwork is not finished; the changing role of women in society is ongoing; the use of the objects for a supposed recipe is incomplete. Hence the kitchen worktop is the appropriate place to display my object and forms part of the diorama. It is influenced by Robin Weltch's Womanhouse.
The cores themselves are also symbolic of the core of the home; the core design of the artwork, i.e. its conceptual/process nature relating to the 4 core processor; the female, who tempted Adam with an apple, and the artist, who effectively is the core processor.
In fact the piece does not relate to a recipe in terms of the artwork, but to a spurious machine called a Logic Busting Image Decoder and Visualizer. It is a take on Marcel Duchamp's Large Glass and is supported by an image and text explaining its purpose. (Purpose, philosophy tells us, gives meaning to life!). The illustration is influenced by Surrealism.
The sculptural quality of the apple cores is influenced by Claes Oldenburg and the overall idea to various conceptual artists including Martha Rosler, Cindy Sherman and Jeff Koons
LOGIC BUSTING IMAGE DECODER AND VISUALIZER (Small Paper)
(Influenced by Marcel Duchamp’s Large Glass)
The known nutritional properties of beans are incomparable
to their mind enhancing capabilities and it is the latter which are exploited
in this revolutionary process. The beans
provide the “wind of change” which in turn has a astonishing affect, bringing
about a mind altering state after being filtered through white coral (now dead)
representing the cerebral four core processor running at 10,000 Mhz with a
capacity of approximately 500 Terrabites.
The mollusc (of Divine Proportions) which lies beneath is
sited next to the unseen “Pits” or Pituitary Gland (to give it is correct
term), which like many glands occasionally “weeps” or “swells” depending on the
ambient air temperature. The position of
the mollusc is therefore somewhat unstable as a consequence but due to its
delicate nature cannot be affixed to the Cerebellem (white coral) due to the
metallic third harmonic thrige resonances
and resistances of the crown wheel and pinion appended to it.
A fly wheel mechanism obviates any major dislocations but no
device has yet been introduced to prevent shells from dropping. Passers by are therefore recommended to wear
protective clothing as the blast capabilities may well surpass the design
parameters specified for the “wind of change” for which the mollusc was
intended.
This briefly outlines the initial Logic Busting Mechanism,
which, as can be seen ensures that any prevaricating logic or skeptisim about obscure
and difficult images is easily irradicated by its employment. The viewer is
immediately transported by the fly wheel into a different world of engagement.
The process is not without hazard, as already mentioned
above, and one can see that the fly wheel itself is a precarious travel process
who’s only recovery modes (in the event of accident) are the’ Identified
Floating Saucers’ and’ Box Under the Sea’ (IFs and BUTs) which shadow its
progress. By their very nature these are not secure Thought Recovery Vehicles,
so caution is advised before reading the above.
PS The fly wheel is occasionally “honeyed” by a bee to keep
it sweet (as seen in the eye of the beholder).
Further details of the Image Decoder and Visualizer will
appear later, this resumé merely outlines the Logic Buster.
Combining Objects and Images
Bridgit Riley developed a style of painting that explored the visual image for its qualities affecting sight, the visual disorientation of movement and dynamic interference and shimmer achieved by her black and white as well as her coloured paintings exemplifies this style.
My piece of artwork draws on the idea of "interference." The context of my work relates to the social context of the television screen and how it invades our personal space; growing ever larger until we become viewers in a cinema space, no longer 'loungers' on a sofa. This "interference" therefore alters the social dynamic space of the home.
The dual meaning of "interference" in the visual sense, as perceived on old black and white transmissions, is also indicated. The idea of a wider space, that of the universe, is hinted at through this interference which is the sound of the hiss of the Big Bang 4.8 billion years ago, and would be played as part of a sound art with the object.
I have represented the screen with a Bridget Riley type print to give an indication of the visual distortion and the hiss, and crackle is represented by the metalic swarf which comes out of the screen and down on to the floor, interposing itself on the surrounding space.
It is therefore a visual and sculptural object combine but alludes to a pedestal in the form of a tv base support, which was the traditional way of presenting a sculpture.
I gave a great deal of thought to this object/combine and have tried to give a context to my work. It is also influenced by Jean Tinguely's "Turning of Friendship of American and France." as well as Robert Rauschenburg and to a limited extend Cornelia Parker.
I am aware that my work sometimes becomes rather cluttered, so I am making a conscious effort not to include too much, i.e. less is more.
Combining Objects and Images
Marcel Duchamp was probably the first artist to introduce the found object with his urinal signed R Mutt. He went on to develop his 'Large Glass' which was a combination of semi-sculptural objects on or within a flat surface, thereby combining sculpture and the visual image. However, it was Rauschenburg who developed an individual style through his painted works which used objects, collage and various materials to bring art to the viewer. By opening up the artistic space into the gallery and off of the wall, art became more accessible. "Off the wall" became a phrase absorbed into our language it was quite literally a term meaning avant garde, quirky, unusual. Everyday object could be regarded as sculptures in themselves without being formed in the traditional way. It was no longer necessary for sculpture to be presented on a pedestal but could be displayed on the floor on the wall, outside in the environment rather than in, say, a park or communal space. It is a way of bringing art to the people, rather than people visiting the art.
One of the earliest exponents of the object being represented almost as a wall sculpture is El Lissitzky, a constructionist in his Proun Room in 1923, and various kinetic sculptures, including, Proun 3A, 1920, responding to specific paintings held in LACMA's permanenet collection. Machine Project Field Guide to LACMA, Los Angeles, 2008. Lissitzky, I feel, was under the shadow of Malevich and possibly has not received the recognition he deserves. He was different in that his work is inevitably geometric and is literally a construction.
Joseph Beuys, who, in his Pack of 1969, uses a Volkswagen with 20 sledges carrying fat, felt and a flashlight. The sledges as seen tumbling out of the back of the volkswagen like a cascade on to the ground.
Robert Smithson used the image and sculpture one echoing the other, in a piece entitled Nonsite: Franklin, New Jersey, 1968.
Sol le Witt is an example of an artist who uses sculpture and image as a combine in his Variations of incomplete Open cubes, where these objects are expressed as small sculptures on a dais and also illustrated in images, photographs and drawings on the wall.
Later artists considered the process and materials to develop a more minimalist style of art. Robert Morris in his Untitled of 1967 uses the gravity of felt display from the wall cascading on to the floor. Here the material itself takes centre stage. Similarly Lynda Benglis in Quartered Meteor uses lead to look like a glutinous excrescence coming out of the corner of the room. So that the material and its qualities start to become more important than the object itself, and does not hide the underlying process.
Allan Kaprow through his performances was inspired by Pollock's process in producing drip paintings combined with Willoughby Sharp's vision in looking at different kinds of organic matter. In this way it was possible to use things from the real world to evoke responses. It was no longer necessary for things to be represented visually in paint. Things could be taken out of context and placed in new ones, so that art is no longer segregated from people and real life, but becomes part of it. These conceptual ideas required the viewer to interpret the work to give it meaning.
Cornelia Parker, a sculptor and installation artists uses found objects in innovative ways. She is particularly interested in the material of metal and hangs items on invisible line to display them so that the metal object becomes intrinsic to the display. These objects are often squashed so that its original purpose and decorative nature becomes unrecognisable, thus emphasizing the materiality of the object.
Jessica Stockholder uses plastic in a similar way to that of Parker, except that she uses plastic as her preferred material and creates sculptures involving colour and form. The objects are recognizable but their environment is different. They are combined in a way that creates a new kind of image a combination that is both appealing and "off the wall". She also uses waste materials as well as mixed commodities as in Your Skin in this Weather Bourne Eye-Threads and Swollen Perfume, 1985.
Material starts to take over from commodity as in Mike Kelley's "The Wages of Sin and More Lover House Than Can Ever be Repaid, 1987. It uses waste fabric and wool to create the wall image and incorporates a table with wool on the floor, the latter being, in my view, more prosaic than the actual wall piece.
The exploration of the space itself is referenced by Katharina Grosse, who, by using spray paint is not limited to a particular area, so that the pigment itself becomes important. In this way of working adjacent areas of archtecture need to be considered in terms of relationships, not only to structure but to colour. There is a temporal feel to her work that questions the balance of time and space. She says: ..."the process of art making must lead to an image independent enough, not only from the process of its manufacture but also from the initial idea and the theory that surrounds it."
One of the earliest exponents of the object being represented almost as a wall sculpture is El Lissitzky, a constructionist in his Proun Room in 1923, and various kinetic sculptures, including, Proun 3A, 1920, responding to specific paintings held in LACMA's permanenet collection. Machine Project Field Guide to LACMA, Los Angeles, 2008. Lissitzky, I feel, was under the shadow of Malevich and possibly has not received the recognition he deserves. He was different in that his work is inevitably geometric and is literally a construction.
Joseph Beuys, who, in his Pack of 1969, uses a Volkswagen with 20 sledges carrying fat, felt and a flashlight. The sledges as seen tumbling out of the back of the volkswagen like a cascade on to the ground.
Robert Smithson used the image and sculpture one echoing the other, in a piece entitled Nonsite: Franklin, New Jersey, 1968.
Sol le Witt is an example of an artist who uses sculpture and image as a combine in his Variations of incomplete Open cubes, where these objects are expressed as small sculptures on a dais and also illustrated in images, photographs and drawings on the wall.
Later artists considered the process and materials to develop a more minimalist style of art. Robert Morris in his Untitled of 1967 uses the gravity of felt display from the wall cascading on to the floor. Here the material itself takes centre stage. Similarly Lynda Benglis in Quartered Meteor uses lead to look like a glutinous excrescence coming out of the corner of the room. So that the material and its qualities start to become more important than the object itself, and does not hide the underlying process.
Allan Kaprow through his performances was inspired by Pollock's process in producing drip paintings combined with Willoughby Sharp's vision in looking at different kinds of organic matter. In this way it was possible to use things from the real world to evoke responses. It was no longer necessary for things to be represented visually in paint. Things could be taken out of context and placed in new ones, so that art is no longer segregated from people and real life, but becomes part of it. These conceptual ideas required the viewer to interpret the work to give it meaning.
Cornelia Parker, a sculptor and installation artists uses found objects in innovative ways. She is particularly interested in the material of metal and hangs items on invisible line to display them so that the metal object becomes intrinsic to the display. These objects are often squashed so that its original purpose and decorative nature becomes unrecognisable, thus emphasizing the materiality of the object.
Jessica Stockholder uses plastic in a similar way to that of Parker, except that she uses plastic as her preferred material and creates sculptures involving colour and form. The objects are recognizable but their environment is different. They are combined in a way that creates a new kind of image a combination that is both appealing and "off the wall". She also uses waste materials as well as mixed commodities as in Your Skin in this Weather Bourne Eye-Threads and Swollen Perfume, 1985.
Material starts to take over from commodity as in Mike Kelley's "The Wages of Sin and More Lover House Than Can Ever be Repaid, 1987. It uses waste fabric and wool to create the wall image and incorporates a table with wool on the floor, the latter being, in my view, more prosaic than the actual wall piece.
The exploration of the space itself is referenced by Katharina Grosse, who, by using spray paint is not limited to a particular area, so that the pigment itself becomes important. In this way of working adjacent areas of archtecture need to be considered in terms of relationships, not only to structure but to colour. There is a temporal feel to her work that questions the balance of time and space. She says: ..."the process of art making must lead to an image independent enough, not only from the process of its manufacture but also from the initial idea and the theory that surrounds it."
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