Completing the First Year

I wanted to review this particular module and how I feel that this first year has passed and I hope that I have done enough to pass this year.

Form, Frame and Fracture has to be one of the most enjoyable experiences that I have had throughout this module. I was able to really explore and push forward on this task, I wish that I had more time and opportunity to explore deeper into this project using clay, developing the shapes.

With the Mapping the Territory I really struggled with the visual aspect with the task, I felt what I kept creating was a very poor quality however I did feel that eventually I did succeed at this task and I really learnt alot, especially since looking back on the work I pushed through this I learnt that I can achieve when pushed to the limit artistically.

The Death of Painting has been an enjoyable essay, as the MA has progressed my confidence has risen with my writing I know that I will always be a poor writer this is an area in which I do struggle however I enjoy researching and exploring. 

This year has been the most difficult for me because I not only started this MA, I started a new job which has been very hard for me to settle in. In fact I don't like where I work, and I did not cope and I have depression which was very hard to come to terms with.
So I am now on medication and will be for at least year and I had to step back for a while from the MA.

Yet I have achieved with this MA, I have come so far in a very short while with my painting and if I do not pass, I will hold my head up because I have achieved by just getting this far.

There are so many changes going to happen in the Department in which I work that will not be for the better, therefore I am going into a wedding photographer business, starting off as an assistant and also part of the package will be offering commissions of portraits of the happy couple. So hopefully life will change and evolve and allow me in time to develop hopefully with the MA and become the artist that I am meant to become.        

The Death of Painting

The Death of Painting - Notes

"From today, painting is dead!" claimed Paul Delaroche (1797 - 1859).

I found this a really interesting topic to write about as an artist, painting is one of the main mediums in which I create work, and I find that as a form of expression each brush stroke is an unknown possibility that holds a power for me over photography.

I do acknowledge how photography shifted artists into a new direction towards expression. For the painter the canvas acts as a blueprint for the imagination.

Photography is a widely used tool and so accessible to everybody and a tool to record memories and experiences, that in a way photography has struggled to be recognised as an art form. 

I use photography as an aide within my work practise as I am someone who needs a visual reference for ideas that I want to develop. I use Photoshop to manipulate and edit images - and develop ideas within my sketchbook and paintings.

At times I am employed to paint portraits and in one piece I had to use a group of individual photographs and place within one piece for a painting. Photoshop was a huge assett for me and allowed me to manipulate these images into one main piece that I then could paint a group portrait. Due to two girls being in the process of adoption and two of the people are deceased the image held some unusual dynamics and the final painting created a false projection of unity, which would not have been achieved by photography alone. 

For this essay I looked at the work of Kevin Carter (1960 - 1994) and the photograph of the Sudanese child being stalked by a vulture image won the Pultizer Prize for Feature Photography in 1994. Carter was a war photographer who through the use of the camera captured moments of history.

Whereas the painting 'Guernica' created in 1937 by Pablo Picasso was his reaction to the bombing of Guernica, Basque Country by German and Itatian war planes during the Spanish Civil War.

When I look at this highly charged piece I see terror, violence and pain, also a sense of raw passion as Picasso was compelled to create this piece in 1937 Picasso released a statement stating

"The Spanish struggle is the fight of reaction against the people, against freedom. My whole life as an artist has been nothing more than a continous struggle against reaction and the death of art."

This is such a powerful statement.

These two individual pieces reflect the differences between the painterly reaction and what a photographer captures, what unites these images is the horror of the two situations.

Gerhard Richter (b.1932) is an artist who embraces photography as an image of reality, his work is about the application of paint and he is fascinated with the object and representation of the object.

Photography is widely used and accessible however there has been dramatic changes due to computer technology such as Photoshop - the photographer can put their personalit and creativity within a photograph. 

Aknacer is one photographer who explores human emotions and pushes photography beyond the realms of reality. He explored the long distance relationship he had with Rosie Hardy whilst he lives in America and Rosie in England, she has now moved to the United States.

Painting has never died, we as artists changed direction using the imagination to explore new avenues. A painter has to look outwards but also internally as well. The physical process of painting is so important.

Painting and photography will continue to develop and look at new ways of creativity in a different and yet connected area of visual imagery, what unites these two art forms is the attempt to connect aspects of our lives and the enviroment in which we exist in.

Mapping the Territory

Mapping the Territory for me has changed or rather has developed in my mind over the last two attempts. I still want to use the idea of the human cells and the internal workings of the body is interesting to me, furthermore I have been interested in how plants and microscopic views have a visual connection towards the internal human body. So this is what I wanted to create as the visual impact of the piece.

I started this piece in a left hand corner, because I wanted this piece to grow organically, this literally covered a main wall in my room. I also wanted the colours to be more subtle compared to the other pieces I have made for this project. So I have used bronze and brown and black leading to grey tones.

I began writing about the paints I use which are oil paints usually and I wrote the statement 'Oil paints move and allow movement, vibrancy and colour' this statement is what I believe and do generally find oils really do allow me to create interesting work, furthermore the use of oils are able to move and mix the colours enabling blending. This is especially useful when painting portraiture.

I have included the artist Tomma Abts, not because I admire her work, however I am interested in the abstract essence of her work because of my interest in the internal aspect of the human body, so I did ask 'Could I include abstact shapes in my work' especially the mixture of science and art.

I do question whether or not I could enquire whether or not I could create abstracts relating to my main job working in Blood bank, is this a new direction? Because I do believe that the body is amazing and beautiful structure and under a microscopic viewpoint has a abstract element, furthermore as an artist I am interested that I could create work that could allow to use real elements that could be interpretated within an abstracted element.

"The organic line is a line that has not been drafted or carved by anyone but results from the contact of two different surfaces (planes, things, objects, bodies or even concepts) it announces a way of thinking beyond the logic of true or false. (2006:209)

Art after Conceptual Art, The MT Press, London

When I think about creating work around internal aspect of the human body and when I read the book Art Practice as Research. I found a quote that really explains what I feel about exploring the differences between the sciences and the arts.

"Traditional research methodology, which is quantitive studies is linear, iferative, and confirmatory and which in quantitive inquires is cyclical, emergent and discovery orientated. Visual arts on the other hand is dynamic reflecive and fluid as creative and critical practices are used to shed new light on what is known and to consider the possibility of what is not (2010:192).

Sullivan. G (2010) Art Practice as Research; Inquiry in Visual Arts. Visualising Practices. SAGE Publications Ltd, London.

I do believe that a successful artist to me is someone who can sell their work and make a living enabling them to continue to create.

This maybe a simplistic view but it is a true reflection on what I believe.

I then extended this piece by adding some of the artists that inspire me for different reasons, the artist Gerhard Richter is an artist that has developed an incredible extensive knowledge and extensive practice and developed pieces.

Rothko was an artist who's work has an absolute incredible not only visual, his work has a profound presence on me personally when I entered a room containing his work, however my friend who was with me just felt nothing, no emotional response at all, this was an issue that we discussed for hours.   

Jenny Saville inspires me because of her painting style and technique, also her interesting subject matter I am constantly inspired when I see her work.

Furthermore the work of Francis Bacon excites me, I remember the first time I saw the work of Francis Bacon at the Birmingham Museum and I can't explain how I felt, I just know that if I can ever get to being the artist that can explore and react the way that Bacon did, this is something that drives me forward.               

I am fascinated by the work of Peter Doig because I went to see his Retrospective work at the Tate Modern I found his work interesting because of his use of diverse interest in images, he uses images not only from photography but also from films, in fact alot of different collective imagery feeds into his work.  

 I have included the artist Vincent Van Gogh because he was the first artist that truly inspired me to attempt to be an artist many years ago.

Furthermore Tracey Emin is an artist who has interested me for a long time due to the basic honest of the situations that she had found herself, and something that I find interesting becuase I do believe that most of us within our lifetimes do things like smoke and drink too much and then do the most toe curling things which we would rather not admit to and hope that no-one ever finds out.

Tracey Emin lays her mistakes for the world to see and sometimes because of the mistakes I have made, and in the past I have suffered from depression as well as a period when I was not in control emotionally, financially I would like to explore those times through a creative medium, I believe that this is an area that I will attempt at some point.

I continued this piece looking at the work I have created since starting the M.A which are based on encounters and memories that have happened to me, and I have explored some of these situations through paintings.

As I have also stated in this piece that my paintings are my reactions to the society within which I live, so these pieces are a reactive and reflective reaction to situations and once again I hope to extend on this.

  

   "That images and sense impressions are exactly that never the real thing making it difficult to distinguish memory images from those produced by the imagination".

Visual Methodologies: An Introduction to the Interpretation of Visual Materials (2007:2)

Furthermore I have added the statement that 'I paint encounters that effect but do not traumatise me' and this is a true reflection once again as I explained earlier I would like to explore those times through a creative medium, I believe that this is an area that I will attempt at some point.

I use memories however I have added a quote that refers to how it can be difficult to distinguish between images and impressions and that can be difficult to distinguish memory images from those produced by the artist's imagination, and this is what is interesting to me and I believe that the tool of imagination is upmost of importance for the artist because it is this in this place that we can explore our pasts, our situations and emotions in a artistic representation that is truly individualistic and unique.

 



 

   





  

      
     

Mapping the Territory

I have taken down the patchwork attempt, and then started a new piece that is based on cells of the human body.
So I have started off by writing words that reflected my territory, not only the area of art but the area of my job.   

Furthermore I wrote questions as well for instance I was questioning why I paint portraits using 'masks'. 

I found myself asking questions as well as answers I did struggle with this piece, i was finding the colours I had used not connecting together.  

What I was attempting to achieve was the reflection of the huge variety of cells that exist within the human body.

All cells with in the body have a distinctive job, and its like a large industry a factory essence that all concerned and all these varieties of cells function to keep the body working.

However after accessing the video of Angela's work I have realised that it is very similar, and this has concerned me, furthermore what I had written wasn't exactly what I was trying to express and I felt the piece had a childlike quality so I made the decision to once again remove this piece and start again.

Mapping the Territory

I started off this project, unable to access the short video that Angela had made and so I did feel at a loss.
Therefore I began at looking at the idea of patchwork design.

So I used patchwork design, and then gathered all the images of my work, and quotes that interested me.  

The starting point was my bedroom, which is also my studio, and the view outside of my window and the society in which I live has been of immense interest to me and a creative area, so I showed images of my work, since starting the M.A.   

The idea of the patchwork came about to reflect how busy I have been since undertaking the M.A. I was interested to show the interaction and the interplay of all the aspects that I have created and the research I have investigated.  

Every area was covered, from Task 1 which inteacted with my job within Blood bank, this lead onto my investigation with the work of Franko B, and how I have been affected by his work. 

This piece is also reflective that however at times I have struggled I have worked very hard to lift that shadow. 

However when I had finished this piece and when I stood back I realised that it looked too busy and possibly not thought out and this was a worry for me.

However I was disappointed with the final piece, even though it covered everything I have done since starting the M.A, and where I want to go, I just felt it wasn't of a high standard or organic enough, therefore I decided that I had to begin again with another piece of work that could represent my idea of my 'Mapping the Territory'.
  

Continuing Fracture, Frame, Form

With the pieces I had made I just kept building the up layers, sometimes it work and at other times I would move the pieces around.

As I put these pieces up on the dryer I wanted to expand what I was doing and create another shape, so I started to transfer the pieces to the washing line, it seemed to fit into what I wanted to achieve within the set timed period.



As I have taken down the pieces I wanted to create finality to this piece, and so I decided to burn the pieces and that is what I have done. So as each piece came off the washing line I put the paper into the fire. It was a cathartic experience.

Furthermore I have expanded the images by working on them using Photoshop furthermore I have made a short film. I do not know whether or not this will open to be watched however I just wanted to extend this Task 2.

I have added all the images that I have taken, there are mixed up and each image piece has allowed to Form, to Frame and then to Fracture.

What I have decided to to do is to transfer all the imagery onto Powerpoint which will make viewing easier due to the amount.

Conclusion

For this Task 2 I looked at the imagery of wings especially dragonfly wings because they are quite distinctive in nature and in the beginning I was interested with the monochromatic image as I was just sketching using an ordinary ink pen. However as I researched the imagery of the dragonfly I noticed the references of colour, which has a gentle essence that I was interested in using.

The imagery of the dragonfly appealed to me because the wings are a form as part of the animal itself, Furthermore when looking at the wings detached from the body of the dragonfly the wings are also a frame because the wing is a rigid structure formed of relatively slender pieces, continuing this train of thought the fractured image of the wings have the characteristic appearance of a broken surface.

Once I had decided to use the dragonfly wings I reduced the plural of the wings down to wing. I continued to reduce the image further and to look deeper as if looking at the wing or rather parts of the wing under a microscope in sections. By using the image of the dragonfly wing I had considered the words, Frame, Form and Fracture on a literal level, and then I took into account the definitions of Form, Frame and Fracture as nouns and verbs.

The one definition of a Fracture that I was interested in as a noun is the characteristic appearance of a broken surface, as of a mineral. By drawing images as a section of a dragonfly wing as if viewed through a microscope, my materials where very basic tools of a pen and plain A4 paper to create some sketches. When looking at these pieces there are references to stain glass windows devoid of colour.

I decided to use paper as the basis of the task, because I have looked at the work of Hal Locke (b. 1959) especially the piece ‘Cardboard This piece is an installation which was a large architectural construction created from large flat pieces of card, which were then cut, painted, and then moulded and glued together that become the sculpture.

I extended the imagery by adding colour as a wash.  Furthermore I have cut out sections of the pieces that I have made, attempting to create a window through the pieces at one point within this task I was considering the idea of expending the idea of a book taken from Task 1. By creating a window I had an idea of creating a book that was continuous each page had an image that was reflected from the page before.  

Whilst I continued to look at facets of the dragonfly wing I also have been researching the work of Franko B in conjunction with my studies within the MA in regards with another part of the course and researching and extending the idea of looking at blood cells under the microscope and stained.

On his website which is at http://www.franko-b.com there is a text that Franko B has written a text called ‘Untouchable’ in which he has just written words that are obviously very personal to him.

When reading this text I recognised that this is an area that I wanted to investigate in what and why I am interested in the imagery of the dragonfly wing or rather sections of the wing. Therefore I decided to not think about these issues but rather just write.

In writing this text I found that I did include aspects of the countryside and touched on area of my life in East Sussex where I was born and grew up I lived there until I was 32 years old, and the later times were very unhappy for me and yet the text I wrote was a positive one. This for me is a very important aspect within this Task, possibly the most positive aspect within this Task because since moving to Worcester I have moved on and now lead a better, more contented life since making the decision to move to Worcester. What is interesting is that when I was writing this text that I did not dwell on the unhappiest moments of my life, therefore in creating this text I found this a cathartic experience.

 Furthermore I continued the research of this task by looking at the word One of the definitions of a Fracture as a noun is the characteristic appearance of a broken surface, as of a mineral. This verb I believed related to the extended idea of writing text regarding the subject matter of the dragonfly wings. 

I spent time with the pieces I had created by generally looking at them, I strategically laid out the pieces to fit together and then deliberately spent time displacing the pieces. Whilst considering how I could develop these images I knew that I wanted to use these pieces was to construct, therefore I made the decision to use a dryer as a starting point I looked at the definitions of Form and the one of interest is to ‘Place in order; arrange, organise.’

With the pieces I had made I just kept building the up layers by adding them to the dryer, sometimes it work and at other times I would move the pieces around. As the piece developed I decided to transfer the pieces from the dryer to the washing line, in doing this I was able to extend the imagery by creating a new piece of imagery by recycling the pieces that I had made all this was achieved within the set timed period.

This task has allowed a continual extension of ideas therefore once I had finished arranging all the pieces on the washing line it was a completed process, however I felt that I could extend the idea of completion by burning the individual pieces of imagery, therefore as each piece came off the washing line I put the paper into the fire.

Throughout this task I have attempted to expand this task and the imagery as well as extending what the next stage could be created within the limited set time period. Therefore I have spent time removing the background imagery of the pieces using Photoshop furthermore I created a short film using Microsoft film maker as well putting the original photographs and the manipulated imagery onto a Powerpoint Presentation in doing this I am documenting the visual format the motto of this task ‘Frame, Frame, Fracture’ as well as the expansion of ideas and development that is reflected through this task.

This task has enabled me to recognise the developmental stages that I exercise when I am developing my own work; the format I usually use is to form, fracture and frame.

However within this Task I deviated by developing this task by the route of Fracture, frame and form this has enabled me to recognise that when I am embarking on a new project or idea that it I can open to a rearrangement of the words of Form, Frame and Fracture, and the definitions which allow growth and experimental within my practice.