Putting my work into context

Since playing with the inks and then adding the circles I have realised that my work is very much about trying to control a situation. I am creating these large splash marks and then adding the circles subconsciously until i feel that I've controlled the situation enough, until I am personally happy with it. I think that i have been doing this through out the project. I have taken inspiration from artists that suffer from mental illness, but I have come to realise that I am working in a very similar way to these artists. 

Even the drips will never be completely uncontrolled I place them and I give them a sense of direction, I to get the paper to balance evenly. This reminds me of my research about OCD, it appears that I have been working in a very similar way. I think that this is something that I should continue to do and research, but as I continue to make my work I need to pay more attention to how I'm making the work and this might give me a indircation to why i'm doing it.

Gerhard Richter and Kara Walker

Gerhard Richter

Express- graphite on paper- 1965- 53 X 45 Cm

Richter is a painter, sculptor and drawer and is also a very productive artist; he produces so much work every year. However he is now facing criticism for the fact that it is now becoming to look a bit factory base creating work for the sake of it, a problem that many modern painters art trying to overcome and avoid doing. For each different media his work is very different the painting very abstract, the sculptors very architectural, but then on the side you have photorealist paintings and drawings that are very sketchy.

Richter is an artist who likes to explore colour this is what most of his painting are about loads of different colour combinations, however at the same time his work seems to have this emptiness there doesn't seem to be any other form of emotion or anything like that behind it. It's just colour on a canvas and that's what it is. This isn't as easy in a drawing when you only have black and greys to play with, they drawings seem to try harder to provoke an emotion but they just seem a little lost, Richter says that he just wants to create something that pleases the eye, but then how is his work any different to wallpaper.

I wanted to looks at some of Richter's drawings to look at the way that he uses figures and shapes in the work. The drawings are simple and look as if they have been very quick to do they look carefree, but as I said earlier lost. They are smudged over the top to almost create a distraction from the figure its self. Most of the drawings are there to develop his ideas for his later works. However they don't look anything like any of his final pieces there is almost a missing link in the work.

Gerhard Richter: Panorama 2011

http://www.gerhard-richter.com/

Kara Walker

His story never dies

I wanted to look at Walkers work because of the atheistic connection between mine and her work. However Walker work deals with very serious issues to do with race, power and sexuality. These are quite controversial subjects they bring up issues people don't really want to talk about. She wanted to follow in the footsteps of her father in becoming an artist it was always what she wanted to do from a very young age. She became very interested in these controversial themes when she was at university and when she experienced racism first hand; he work is very personal to her.

Her work is made our of paper that has been cut out then placed on a white wall, the scale of these are huge and there is a surprising amount of detail in these cut-outs. The images that are depicted in the work are often representational of fairytales, but of a fair more mature type. The contrast of the black and white against each other isn't just a stab at racism but it makes the story so much clearer to understand.

Walker wanted the work to provoke an outrage or some sort of shock she wants to get people thinking, to almost get them on her side. I personally really like the work and think it's something that you could look at time and time again and come away from it feeling different. I think that it is important in my work that I will find something like Walker to drive it forward.

http://learn.walkerart.org/karawalker/Main/RepresentingRace

Tony Cruz Pabon, Kira Lynn Harria

Dove Allouche

diptych part 1, lead and ink 70 X 100 CM

When you look at Allouche's work you feel like you are looking into the dark, you struggle to see what are about and what's in them. He uses in and pencils to create these images and obviously the palette is much muted which also suggests that the subject matter is of a dark nature as well. Allouche says that he wants to try and give as much information as possible with the smallest contrast in tones.

The forms in the drawings are almost unrecognisable, but they are of natural wonders created by the weather or space phenomena. Allouche uses these because they are unique events where nature is in complete control. However Allouche doesn't just conscribe the images in the way they look he completely regenerates the picture using what critics call "a syntax of reproductively", it's Allouche's worst fear to be caller a copyist.

The image is both flattened and intensified when using this process, and layer upon layer of pencil are built up in areas until you can't see through parts before the ink is applied. These drawings are made over a period of several months because Allouche insists that they mustn't be rushed, he also wants the lines of the pencil to be completely invisible "as if it was a tattoo onto the paper". The work is very perfectionist and almost OCD, the work is very rich and intense because of the materials used. I think that the artist wanted the process to be the most important part of the work, it is more of a process art piece and maybe viewing this process would allow me to understand it more.

Tony Cruz Pabon

I wanted to look at this artist because in my drawings there is a specific use and play on space which is the same as in Pabon's work. His drawings are mainly made up of lines which represent the distance between two different points. These can be two different locations, a literal space or anything, but the idea is that they show a journey in-between the two lines. The drawings are very literal, the lines clearly show space and distance and I think that the artist does this to show the simplicity of what his art is about.

The work is obviously very abstract and is very far away from its literal form and it must be quite a process to get to the final outcomes, one of the drawing is a representation of the groves on a vinyl record which when you know what it is it becomes obvious, but it's something that you would have never have guessed. As well as drawings Pabon is also a printmaker making large intaglio prints, which look very much like his drawings as you can see from the picture. "Distance Drawing" is described as an attempt at drawing the distance between San Juan and London, which makes you thing that it wasn't successful.

Pabon wants there to be a feel of distance in his drawings and perspective, as if something is a long way off and they aren't sure how to get it, he says he wants people to feel despair because they can't get what they want and they can't do anything about it. I personally like the work because of the ideas behind it, but also because of the muted colours.

http://cargocollective.com/tonycruz-portafolio/C-V

 Kira Lynn Harris

City room, Chalk and emulsion

I wanted to look at Harris's work because of here use of perspective and monochrome colouring.  Harris wants to unpin the viewer's sense of space by using multipoint perspective to create the illusion of indoor and outdoor space. This causes you to question perception of what is actually in the room. Harris uses black paint and white chalk to create the drawings so they resemble chalk on a black board which give you the impression that she is trying to teach us something but also questioning the mental age of the audience. She can erase them at any time and start again which makes her work quite playful.

She has been influenced by many things as there is such a large variety of forms in the work; however some of the most key influences are space and light architecture, renaissance art and even Rothko. Sci-fi has been a major influence because it embodies her idea of movement, space and time, but you can't see any particular influence of sci-fi in the work it all looks very real and realistic. You can see that in some of her work there are figure that each of their own little story and this is where the influence of sci-fi comes in you have to read into the work description to really figure out what's going on.

Harris likes to tell a story in her work, the work is more illustrative than it comes across and it is encrypted in the work, it is a challenge to figure it out. Harris says that simply writing her stories aren't enough and she needs to draw her ideas to make them come alive. I like the work because of the perception and perspective that is in there, but also because of the space and depth in the drawing this is something that I would like to create in my work.

http://www.re-title.com/artists/KiraLynn-Harris.asp

Tauba Auerbach

Tauba Auerbach

Untitled fold- 2011- 162 X 122 Cm

Auerbach isn't afraid to use several disciplines in her work like many of us in this generation of modern artists. She clearly has an influence of graphic design in her work as you can see; there is a clear structure and geometry to her work.  There is a refined sense of detail and perfection in her work. Auerbach has always been a painter even though even her earliest works have been influenced by graphic design. She says that art doesn't restrict her in the way that graphic design does, and allows her to play on things in particular words and letters. Such as in her "the Holy Bible" project where she placed all the letters in the Bible in alphabetical order, when asked what inspired her to do this she said it was to see the unordered letters together in something that was sacred and untouchable. It's like she is rebelling against being conventional like many artists.

Her most recent work is now more playing with visual illusions and the way people see things, where she has created bodies of work called "folds" and "Crumple" paintings that are meant to look as if the canvas has been manipulated which it has, it has been spray painted while folded and then stretched out. One of the things that are really effective about these paintings is the fact that you have to stand about 25 meters back to get the full effect on what they are trying to show you. There are creates using both painting and printing and the method that is used is called the half-tone process. I find these abstract paintings quite beautiful, they have a gentle feel to them even though the shape black and white should make them really fierce and the size of them rather intimidating.

I think that Auerbach's work is really interesting and I think that I would like to experiment with folding up the canvas and then maybe applying the ink to see what shapes and effects I get to develop my work.

Vitamin P2
http://www.taubaauerbach.com/bibliography.php

Second Body of work final piece

ink, acrylic, marker and biro large development
 350 X 150 Cm

While working on my large scale piece I continued my development and small pieces experimenting with dropping the ink onto different materials such as canvas, cotton and silk to see the different effects and how they work. I think that it would be interesting to work on different materials than paper, and the effects that the ink gives on each material is very interesting. Because of this I decided to do some artist research into artists that experiment with materials and how they use them one of the artists that I looked at was Tauba Auerbach who folds and spray paints her canvas before stretching it.

Example of Tauba Auerbach's work

This gave me the idea of folding and ironing the fabric then painting the circles on the folds before opening it out and stretching it. I did a few of these on paper to test out the idea and it seemed to work really well, it created some really interesting patterns which I could then draw my circle patterns onto. For the rest of the week I decided to continue finishing my last piece before moving onto this next body of work.

Developing Second Body of work Further

I have started the week by creating a very large scale drippy painting with the inks which to capture the process I created a film of me creating it, this will help me develop my work and the process behind it to create some more successful outcomes. The shapes that have been created in the work are really interesting, but I really like the way that it has dried in the middle the patterns reflect the stages in which it dried which also show the process. 

Because of the scale of it I decided to do it in different sections which again to me makes it more interesting because while working on one you cannot see the others so you can't tell if you process has slightly changed or if it looks the same, which is something that I really like because you will probably became to see the progress of my refining process by the end of my piece.

This is what I have been focusing on this week so I have been continuing to look at process art to help me think of how I can now take my work further. I have been looking at process art this week Ignacio Uriarte and Chris Drury. From my research and my videos I have come up with an idea to place the water down before applying the ink to maybe control the splash area more. 

my video on process art

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lf-0P9RIAlU

Ignacio Uriarte, Process art, Chris Drury and Niki de sant Phalle

Ignacio Uriarte

Bic Cycle- 2010- each 65X65cm

Uriarte's work is of a very minimalist style and the work is all about music and noise this is the biggest inspiration to him. This has been done so many times before, but Uriarte does this in such a way that has never been done before. The pieces like my work are done in simple different coloured biro pens. He says that in his work also he is looking at the way that office work is "dematerialised labour" that we have to put ourselves through.

He says that most people will doodle at work and he has taken this to a whole new level, but has kept it in such a controlled way that it becomes something else. He argues that most artists actually will spend most of their day at a computer the same as someone who works in an office.  You can see that there is a clear influence between Uriarte's work and Frank Stella even Reinhardt.

He uses normal biro colours that are produced, but you can see that there is a pastel pallet that is deliberately chosen to keep his work as minimal as he can, but to also give it a very gentle feel to it. From a distance you can barely see what it actually is made up of this is something that I would really like to include in my work.


http://www.ignaciouriarte.com/

Process art

This week I have decided to look at process art because it ties in so well with my project. This is an art movement where the actual finished article of work isn't the most important part of the work it is the concept behind it. I is what the actual craft of it behind it is important, this can be from the patterning to the gathering of the materials to make it.

This movement happened in the 1960's and has been popular in Europe and America; it is thought to have come from performance art because the two have very similar concepts. However it is also very similar to aboriginal art for an example, which predates any modern art in a long way. Some people argue that any art could be classed as process art, but in my opinion I think that there is a fair reasoning to this because anything has a process to getting to the final outcome, but this form of art does have more of a story it provokes the viewer to think more about it if they want to appreciate it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Process_art

Chris Drury

Rhine Mosel Slate Whirlpool- 14 X 14M- 2010

Chris Drury is a progress artist who is inspired by nature and its forms, most of his work is very organic and at one with nature. His work comes in many forms them being paintings, land art and sculpture. He says that his work is about the connections between culture and nature and how they can work in unison or clash. He is very serious about his work and doesn't want to get anything wrong so he works with technicians and scientists to make sure that the work is scientifically correct. It is also an interest to him he likes to understand science, it's all part of the process.

Drury often collaborates with institutions, he wants people to know and understand his work, and he doesn't just want them to see the finished articles of work. This is one of the reasons he creates videos of his work. He is obviously inspired by nature, but there are other key inspirations such as Henry Moore, Andy Goldsworthy and there is a clear connection with aboriginal and cave art in the work. The link with the Aboriginal work is very clear in the land art it is created in the same circumstances as the aboriginal art; outside on the ground looking up to the gods.

I like the work because of the link in with history and the patterns that are involved with the work, I also like the way that is fits right into the landscape and a lot of them aren't permanent. I think that like Drury I need to start taking videos of the process in my work for people to see how it is made.

http://chrisdrury.co.uk/about/artist-statement/

Niki de sant Phalle

shooting picture Tirage-1961

1430 x 780 x 81 mm

I was looking specifically at her shooting painting as the way that the paint has moved is very similar to the way in which I have been conducting my ink to move. This is a form of process art and the process is very important to Phalle as it was just after the war. She actually stopped creating these works in 1963 as she felt that she was now getting addicted to shooting, she said it was like a drug to her.

The paintings were created just after the second world war, which is quite significant considering that there was a gun used to create the work, this suggests some sort of nod towards the war effort, it wasn't until the 1960's that she started to make this work up until then she worked in collages and oil paints, before moving into sculpture briefly before these works started being created.

This shift in her work happened when she visited Paris and saw an American exhibition that included the likes of Jackson Pollock and De Kooning. She had a good friendship with Jasper Johns who is famous for his "Target" paintings which undoubtedly is a key influence of Phalle's work. Phalle said that she found these works exciting because of the way that the ink might or might not fall; you never know quite what's going to happen. In time you are bound to learn what might happen, but the fact that different people are shooting each shot makes impossible to know, but also gives Phalle no control over her work it is more of a performance.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niki_de_Saint_Phalle