I have been creating compositions of photographs and printing them to a small scale – A4 and A3. The photographs detail areas of interest that I have found from walking around different locations. I would like to experiment with printing them to larger scales or creating compositions that can fill walls, be printed on three-dimensional objects etc. as this would completely change the feel of the pieces.

If I were to print the image above to a large scale, it may make the enlarged textures seem even more abstract and add to the mystery of the areas of everyday life that are often overlooked. Greater detail and textures could be seen, and the blues and reds could seem more striking. I feel as though a larger-scale piece would seem more impressive. If several of these images are enlarged to fit walls and 3D objects, they can act more as an installation piece. The bright colours and interesting textures can be very pleasing to the eye, and the shapes in the images would lend themselves well to three-dimensional recreations, e.g. large-scale blue plastic netting. This would bring the textures to life and make the installation area aesthetically pleasing and calming to the viewers.

I have found some of the Research and Communication skills challenging, especially task 7 as it has been a while since I have compared texts. However, overall it has been a useful way to document areas of interest in my work and to talk about my own and other people’s work, which has been useful in group crits.

Although I wasn’t pleased with my work in task 1 I like to be able to explain why I constructed my work the way I did, explain other ideas that I had and changes that I would make. Writing this down is very helpful to me as often I have lots of different thoughts unstructured in my head – writing them down helps me to make sense of them. It is also interesting to see how different my recent art is from the first task.

I enjoyed consuming a book, as I enjoy reading and it was a challenge to summarise the content of an entire book and also find a supporting quote. I then used the same artist in task 9 as I am really interested in Pipilotti Rist’s work and wanted to think more about the context of it. Reading the book has helped me in my own work, giving me inspiration and making me more interested in video and installation (which I continued to research in the Contemporary project).

I rarely write reviews of exhibitions, but think that this is a useful skill to have, so Task 4 was very interesting for me. I like the idea of having the blog so that I can remember what I thought about certain art pieces, exhibitions and my own artistic practice. Being given certain tasks, e.g. appropriation, seems daunting at first but has made me realise how much of the work that I create includes a form of appropriation.

The blog has been very useful in encouraging me to reflect on my own work and the work of others and look at different ways of working. I think I may continue writing similar short passages about my own and other people’s work or even just notes, to help me remember my thoughts later on.

Recycled

Textured

Colourful

Three-dimensional

Assembled

Fun

Detailed

Spontaneous

Time-based

Painterly

My artistic practice currently involves the use of found objects, hence the words ‘recycled,’ and ‘assembled. I like the idea of combining natural forms, e.g. plants and trees, with inorganic forms, e.g. hubcaps, metal, plastic, etc. and looking at the varying forms and patterns (‘textured’). Having recently been interested in installation art, I have become interested in the idea of three-dimensional works and including varied media to best express the objects of focus (e.g. photographs to highlight colour or installation of objects to allow full appreciation of structures).

I have mentioned that my art is ‘time-based’ as I like the idea of continually adding to pieces, e.g. collating more and more found objects and adding on top of them. I like the idea of pieces of art being temporal, changing over time when displayed in a gallery so that different viewers’ experiences are different. The spontaneity of my work depends on the collection of objects and decisions as to what to do with them and how to link them together. Time and chance are therefore a key part in my art, as the collection of objects depends on me being in the right places to find them. I sketch them and write the date and place where they were collected as a form of documentation. The idea of the previous histories of the objects is really interesting to me, again linking to time, as many of the objects that I collect have had past uses and functions which are no longer relevant. For example, I have an old microwave, a broken part of a light and an expired student id card.

I describe my work as ‘fun’ as it often has a playful nature, seeming somewhat random and drawing from overlooked aspects of everyday life. It is ‘detailed’ in that I pay attention to small details of objects that I find and also have thorough object documentation. I am looking at specific shades of colours. Although the image above isn’t ‘painterly,’ I would like to experiment more with the use of paints to recreate textures and colours, and I really love the effect of mixed media added to found objects.

Pipilotti Rist’s ‘Ever Is Over All’ (1997) involves a video of a woman walking down the road humming a tune. During the carefree, joyful walk, she breaks the window of the cars with a long stalked flower, and this is accompanied by the sound of breaking glass.

Although the woman is the epitome of femininity (wearing a flowing blue dress and holding a flower which Rist has described as ‘clitoric’), she rebels against societal normalities and the video acts as a form of self-liberation of the female. This links to the sexual liberation movement of the 1960s, where there were a series of political campaigns for changes to issues such as reproductive rights, maternity leave, equal pay and sexual violence. A key feature of second-wave feminism was an ’emphasis on unity and sisterhood’. The video can be seen to show the fight for women’s equality, highlighted by the acknowledgement of the woman by the passing female police officer, who doesn’t try to stop the chaos but instead seems to endorse the forbidden act; through this the two female figures seem united and powerful.

During the 1990s in which the video was created, the rise of third wave feminism was prominent. This built on the rights gained by the second-wave. The rise of the feminist punk subculture, the use of Internet, blogs and zines allowed women to express their dissatisfaction with society and show that women’s issues were still very relevant. Many female artists, such as the Guerilla Girls, created art which exposed female stereotypes. Rist’s video can be seen to similarly draw from these stereotypes and reject the expectations embedded in society of how women are expected to act.

The third wave redefined women and girls as assertive, powerful, and in control of their own sexuality. In popular culture this redefinition gave rise to icons of powerful women, for example the singer Madonna. Second and third wave feminism also worked to desexualise the female body. Giving women more power and control over their own reproductive rights allows them to have more control over their lives and have the same lives as men without having to worry about unwanted childbirth. ‘Ever Is Over All’ links to the desire for erotic, emotional and social freedom which was prominent in the 1960s. Rist does not objectify the female body in her works, similar to artists of the 1960s and 70s who used the body as a medium in their art, for example Yoko Ono’s 1970 ‘Fly’ video. The bold, personal inclusion of the body instead empowers the female. This is similar to Rist’s use of the female in ‘Ever is Over All’ due to the woman’s confidence and cheerful state.

Although some post-feminists believe that gender equality has been reached, Rist’s video can be seen to reject this idea, rebelling against male dominance in the world (perhaps signified by the breaking of car windows or the phallic imagery of the long flower). Rist’s video is referenced in Beyonce’s 2016 ‘Hold Up’ music video, where the idea of the empowerment of women and gleeful feminine destruction and subversion of gender norms is shown to still be relevant to society today.

Bibliography:
MoMA, Pipilotti Rist Ever is Over All 1997, Available from: https://www.moma.org/collection/works/81191 [Accessed 26/11/17]

Oxford Dictionaries, Feminism, Available from: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/feminism [Accessed 26/11/17]

Brunell, L. Encyclopedia Britannica, The Third Wave of Feminism, Available from: https://www.britannica.com/topic/feminism/The-third-wave-of-feminism [Accessed 27/11/17]

Burkett, E. Encyclopedia Britannica, Feminism, Available from: https://www.britannica.com/topic/feminism#toc216008 [Accessed 27/11/17]

Ferroa, S. (2014) Pipilotti Rist Ever is Over All 1997, Available from: https://sabrinaferraoblog.wordpress.com/2014/12/09/pipilotti-rist-ever-is-over-1997/ [Accessed 2711/17]

For the manifesto project I worked with Maryam and Lauren in appropriating from everyday life; when creating our anti-manifesto zines we used words and phrases or imagery that were readily available to us. Many of the phrases incorporated came from around the studio (stuck on the walls from the drawing workshops), e.g. ‘Feople’, ‘Satappy,’ ‘Kaleidoscope,’ ‘Bloody Vegan,’ etc, and from conversations whilst creating them, e.g. ‘She started doodling on his face’ and ‘Why do my nostrils flair so much all the time?’

Appropriation is very relevant to the work here as rejection of the notion of set rules of the manifesto meant that we wanted our work to seem more random and the content to be varied and somewhat confusing. The sources from which we appropriated – magazines, books, studio space and conversations – are varied and allowed us to collect different types of inspiration. One zine solely appropriates images of hands from magazines and newspapers, cutting into images to remove only the hands. I like the idea that some of the references are obscure, so whilst some viewers of the zines may understand the references (e.g. those in the same studio), others may not understand the origins.

Although the idea of appropriation can seem somewhat daunting, after thinking about it I realise that lots of my work is based on appropriation, drawing from other artistic ideas and styles. Directly appropriating other people’s work can feel risky, as changing the original meaning or context too much or also just taking from their work and not changing it enough can lead to negative responses and issues in terms of copyright infringements. However, as mainly only words and not paintings/sculptures, etc. were drawn from I feel as though those that we appropriated from were less sentimental about us taking their phrases, especially as they were only created in quick exercises. Although sometimes it can be flattering for people to want to appropriate your work, different artists will take it differently. Annoyance from artists is often caused by direct ‘copying’ (e.g. adding to an image) without crediting the initial artist.

In the excerpt from ‘Other Criteria,’ Leo Steinberg suggests that the traditional vertical positioning of the ‘Renaissance picture plane’ allows the viewer to be able to relate to it, as when the art is uprighted on a wall it mimics the ‘erect human posture’. In the 1950s, new work (such as that by Rauschenberg and Dubuffet) stopped being read vertically and instead could be read horizontally – the ‘flatbed picture plane’. Steinberg explores the relevance of Duchamp’s radical change in orientation of work, discussing the relevance of the ‘ninety-degree shift’ that is integral to many of his pieces. The essay then focuses more on the work of Rauschenberg, whose rotation of objects is believed by Steinberg to change how the viewer relates to it.

The excerpt from ‘The Yale Lecture’ includes Richard Serra’s views on the creation of his site-specific steel works and how they vary from studio-based sculptural practice. Serra argues that it is vital to the piece for it to be built on site and not in a studio space before being moved to a new area, as he believes site-specific works form a relationship with the environment in which they are built. Serra comments that works built in the context of the government, education and other institutions can risk being seen as ‘tokens of these institutions.’ However, contextual neutrality in a site is very difficult. Serra states that site specificity in work rarely leads to commercial gain. If an artist is funded to create a piece, control over their own creation can be lost in order to meet the demands of others, erasing some of the piece’s meaning in the process.

Both texts explore ways of working which are not seen as ‘traditional,’ for example through Steinberg’s investigation into the changing of orientation and context of a piece and through Serra’s rejection of sculptural studio practice, instead wanting sculpture to be site-specific. However, the two excerpts differ in that Serra believes in the importance of his sculptural work being left in the area of creation, whereas Steinberg is exploring different orientations and presentations of work.

Bibliography:

Harrison, C. and Wood, P. (2001) Art in theory, 1900-1990. Oxford, UK: Blackwell, pp. 948-953, 1124-1127

The new mode of practice that I would like to develop is the creation of interactive public pieces, for example making a sculpture or providing resources on which members of the public can write or draw on. The comments and drawings from the public can then be transferred/recreated/photocopied and left in public areas. For example, I can hang them on tags from trees or write on rocks and walls, etc. I like the idea of letting the spontaneous thoughts of members of the public become the artwork. This idea is very similar to Yoko Ono’s ‘Wish Tree,’ which I saw in the Copenhagen Contemporary gallery, in which viewers were invited to write their wishes on tags to attach to the tree outside. However, I would like to stretch this idea further and perhaps give the public more media to express themselves with, e.g. providing paints, pencils, charcoal and ink, also leaving the topic of writing open. The comments and phrases that I collect can then act as starting points for further pieces of my work.

I haven’t experimented much with text in my work so this is an area of interest to me. Although I haven’t written much poetry, I would like to explore this as I find it really effective when it is left in public places, e.g. written on cut down trees or made into a sticker and left on a lamp post. This interests me as it will be overlooked my many, but some people may notice it and take the time to read it. The public comments and drawings can act as inspiration for this writing, and the poems may not even have to make much sense, instead linking to the spontaneous thoughts.

Seeing James Oliver’s piece, ‘B.E.D (BigEpicDiorama)’ at the Matthew’s Yard Gallery space in Croydon was really interesting and has inspired me to want to create works of a similar scale using mixed media. Having seen images of it online, the piece was so much more powerful in person and I spent a while looking at it closely and examining the different media used by the artist. The immense amount of detail and variations in patterns, colours, textures and mark-making make the piece much more exciting when viewed in the flesh. The varied layers are also far more effective when being viewed in person, as in this piece some areas stick out further than others. The process of creation is clearer than when viewing it online, as the varied layers, paint splatters and use of collage can be seen, as well as how far different components stick out from the wall.

I also like how the title and appearance of the artwork references Robert Rauschenberg’s ‘Bed’, adding the artist’s own style to the piece but referencing the layout and mixed media, paint and collage style adopted by Rauschenberg. The large scale of it and use of ‘combines’ (found objects) are similar to those in Rauschenberg’s work, as his piece ‘Bed’ includes a well-worn pillow, sheet, and quilt as the basis for his painting. However, in Oliver’s piece many of the objects are far less natural in appearance, using brightly coloured plastic instead of the muted tones and fibres of fabrics (e.g. through inclusion of My Little Pony heads and Lego blocks and people.) Like Rauschenberg’s piece, Oliver’s ‘B.E.D’ is hung on the wall like a traditional painting, although where Rauschenberg’s piece can be seen to act as an intimate self-portrait, Oliver’s is instead somewhat less personal, as it uses widely available machine manufactured objects. This obviously relates to his style through distinct brightly coloured shapes, rigid geometric forms and an exploration of collage and mixed media.

Although the room in which ‘B.E.D’ was placed was not greatly lit, seeing it in the flesh allowed me to better appreciate the process of creation and experience the 3D nature of the work and the application of paints and colours.

James Oliver, ‘B.E.D’ close-up

‘Everything at Once’ at 180 The Strand, London, is co-curated by Greg Hilty and Ossain Ward of Lisson Gallery, in partnership with The Vinyl Factory. It is based on experimential artist-musician John Cage’s 1966 quotation that, ‘Nowadays everything happens at once and our souls are conveniently electronic (omniattentive).” The Vinyl Factory aims to display a version of ‘everything at once’ through the inclusion of a range of works from the past 50 years, from Marina Abramovic’s 1975 ‘Freeing the Voice’ to Tatsuo Miyajima’s 2017 ‘Time Waterfall.’ These are not presented in a chronological order, and media is varied throughout to provide the viewer with a taste of ‘everything at once.’

Over two floors the exhibition covers a vast spectrum of themes, media and scales. Trying to find a unifying theme is challenging, although the artists whose work is displayed have often been extremely relevant and renowned in the contemporary scene art, often experimenting with large-scale pieces, the use of video and technology, and installation or three-dimensional works. The exhibition guide states that ‘like Cage’s predictions, time and space no longer act as rational or linear concepts,’ and this is demonstrated in the exhibition through the inclusion of a range of art from different time periods in the same gallery. The addition of free entry reminds the viewer of the increasing accessibility of Art and to other parts of the world and cultures.

A large number of the artworks displayed are recently created pieces, by artists that have had solo shows in galleries in the past few years, for example Haroon Mirza’s installation which explores the interplay between sound and light waves and electric current (whose solo exhibition is currently being shown at the Zalbudowicz Collection, Chalk Farm).

Ryoji Ikeda’s ‘Test Patterns’ is a memorable part of the exhibition, something which interests many people to visit. The large-scale installation consists of glitched black and white screens, converting data from music and photography into monochrome binary patterns on which viewers can walk to fully engage with the work. The varied and unconventional use of media and technology is part of what makes the exhibition so interesting.

The exhibition includes exciting and innovative art, and the lack of a clear order acts to keep the viewer engaged.

Bibliography:

Hilty, G. & Ward, O. (2017), Everything At Once, Exhibition Guide, 5 October -10 December 2017, Lisson Gallery & The Vinyl Factory

Searle, A. (2017), Everything at Once review – A trip beyond death and into a cosmic womb, Available From: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/oct/08/everything-at-once-review-store-studios-london [Accessed 18/10/17]

Nikki S. Lee, Part (14)

The photograph by Nikki S. Lee, ‘Part (14),’ (2002), depicts a woman (presumably Lee herself, as her work often focuses around her interactions with others) in the backseat of a car. The image removes focus from the figure accompanying her (a man, judging from the clothing and hand) by not including his face or body. The main focal point is therefore on Lee’s face and expression. Although the subjects seem fairly close, suggested through the hand gently placed around her shoulder, Lee seems detached and perhaps annoyed. She doesn’t seem to reciprocate the feelings of intimacy, and instead seems distant and distracted, more interested in the view outside the window or perhaps being deep in thought.

The distance between the two also adds to the feelings of separation, as they are not in a close embrace or facing each other, thus implying that they may be having difficulties in their relationship. Lee’s unhappy expression causes the viewer to be interested in her situation – is she unsatisfied with her relationship? Is the relationship abusive? What is she thinking about? The underlying sadness causes the viewer to suspect a darker meaning to the photograph.

Removal of the second figure immediately reduces the couple’s intimacy and adds mystery to the photograph. The dark clothing worn by Lee heightens the mysterious mood. Little is given away about the couple and their destination, and the window lighting enhances the contrast between light and shadows, making the photograph seem more intense and emotive.

The title ‘Part (14)’ also hints at the separation of the couple, drawing attention to the cropping out of part of the image. The viewer may then ask questions about whether the couple has broken up. Including only part of a photograph could imply unhappy memories, evocative of when people cross or cut people out of a photograph, or burn photographs to erase certain memories. The cropped image may not effectively remove the memory, however, as the missing part draws attention to what is missing and the mystery surrounding the unidentifiable second person.