Developing my Final Body of work

Acrylic on Un-stretched Canvas 140 X 115 Cm

This week I have been developing just using paint on canvas. I have been following the same method of folding it up painting a circle and then unfolding it. I is now a more controlled method that I'm using which I am happier about but there are some elements that I can't control because I'm never sure exactly where the paint is going to go when I open it up. I have been using different colours and layering up the folds to create more interesting shapes.

Acrylic on Un-stretched canvas 140 X 95

I felt that this was working better than just a few of these shapes over the whole area. However I want to keep the uncontrolled element to it so I have been continuing with these shapes. I decided that I didn't want to bring back in the circles because they took the attention away from the shapes and I want the uncontrolled element to be the focus of my work. This is why I have decided to layer the shapes, but it didn't seem to all work together so I thought about introducing line into my work. I decided to do some artist research on Fritz Glarner who is inspired by Mondrian and uses line in a very similar way and to highlight key parts.

Set of three Initial experiments 40 X 30 Cm

It gave me an idea of controlling the areas that I don't like with the line and then linking them all together to create a path over the work. I when I introduced this it pulled all the work together and made it all work together as a hole rather than just the shapes.

Atsushi Tawa and Ancient Egyptian art

Ancient Egyptian Art

an example of an Egyptian mural

I wanted to look at Egyptian art because when I have seen it before I remember the figures that are used in the work to be very flat bold images something that I have in my work. The work is very old; it was thought to start being produced about 1000BC. The work ranges from sculpture, paintings and architecture, all of the work was all in the same style, highly stylised and very symbolic.

This was because all of the work was often to decorate something that was being transported to the afterlife something that was really important to the Egyptian people. The believed that there was a hole other life after death and the change from one to the other had a process this was often symbolised in a lot of work. The work was very respectful to the Egyptian gods they didn't want to offend then before they were taken into the good afterlife.

The size of the figure in the art was due to the importance of them in society the Pharaoh was always the biggest because he was the leader and the most important. He was often drawn bigger than life sized to make out he had superhuman powers. All the art work is placed in places of respect to the gods such as temple and tombs. The method that they used to paint the walls and paper was unknown they, but it is something really strong to have with stood for all this time with almost no signs of aging. I think that this has given me a clear idea of why they produced their work which doesn't have any relation to mine, however I have learnt that the figure that I have been repeatedly drawing has a power stance which is something I find really interesting.

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

Atsushi Tawa

Ramigold 2011 72 X 32 X 25 Cm

I wanted to look at Tawa's work because of his use of figure in her sculpture and it is clear that his work is about identity which my work does so I thought that it would help me develop my work into the final stages. Tawa works in most videos continuing on the same theme of identity and individuality throughout his work. He wants her work to readdress society, but in a way that doesn't use politics.

His figures have a feeling of emptiness within them which is something that Tawa was trying to achieve, he doesn't want to give them an identity he wants them to become anyone they viewer wishes them to be. This is in terms of his sculpture; they have crystal like forms over their faces so you can't see what they look like or make eye contact with them, but the crystals suggest beauty and money.

This is the point that Tawa is trying to get across without taking a political view. I like the work because of the simplistic of it, but I also like the videos and instillations that have been created. I think that I would like to experiment with video in this way with my figures in my own work.

http://www.atsushitawa.org/statement.html

Development For final work

A1 drawings using Pencil and Charcoal

This week I have made larger pieces first on A1 paper then larger, but I have scaled the figure up so it's almost life size. I have followed the rules of drawing on the large pieces once every hour for 24 hours to track feelings and emotions and the A1 pieces I have drawn on them 5 dimes a day.

I really liked these and the larger pieces, they were really interesting, but I'm not sure if I prefer these or the book I did last week.

Life sized drawing with Charcoal and Pencil

I think that the method works well in the respect that you have an interesting outcome, but I now where the feelings have come from where as I think it would work well if I got other people involved in the drawing, if they where to fill in the figures for me it would make it harder for me to understand it and maybe show me where I can create my final outcomes. I think this is something that I need to try out next week for definite.

Lorna Simpson and Ellen Gallagher

Lorna Simpson- Five day Forecast

Five day forecast

I wanted to do more research into identity so I have decided to look at his specific work by Lorna Simpson. It consists of five large images of black women who are wearing white shirts; the days are placed above the images. There is then the following word printed below ‘Misdescription’, ‘Misinformation’, ‘Misidentify’, ‘Misdiagnose’, ‘Misfunction’, ‘Mistranscribe’, ‘Misremember’, ‘Misgauge’, ‘Misconstrue’ and ‘Mistranslate’. All of these words have negative meaning and suggest that there is some sort of personal breakdown from within the person.

The work questions race and identity two very controversial subjects, the women in the photograph has her arms crossed tightly across her chest, this suggests some tension and looks defiant against doing something. Simpson also suggests with the use if "mis" at the beginning of every word that she is looking at identity in particular with women and the stereotypes that people have to live with. This sort of work is very typical of Simpson and she often plays on identity with a lot of her work, its something that she is really interested in.

I think that personally that the work is really interesting and the body language of the person is enough for you to realise that it is about identity and this is something that I really want to become obvious in my work. I think I will introduce the use of body language into my work so it is more obvious what my work is about.

http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/simpson-five-day-forecast-t13335/text-summary

Ellen Gallagher 

a section of DeLux 2004

 Gallagher is an artist that has become very popular in the the last twenty years, as an artist she creates sculpture, photography, painting and drawing. She brings together images from myths, history and present crisis to create her work. Her recent exhibition at the Tate revealed that there was many recurring themes within her work race being one of them. She creates her work as an ongoing response to things that are happening in her life and as a constant documentation that things are changing for the better.

Her work is made up of many different images usually as a collage, these are the particular artworks that i am interested in. All the images when placed together are really interesting, but also the fact that the create a larger image or a complex pattern in the way they are placed is also really interesting. Her one influences are said to be  Agnes Martin because of her use of repetition. Galllagher has exhibited across the world. I personally find that some of her work is quite creepy a lot of the figure have had there eyes cut out this makes them look like they have know soul, this is how Gallagher might have felt at the time in her early work. 

There is a awful lot of work that go into her pieces there can be up to 60 processes in each piece, which suggests that the actual process is quite painful, but also that the art is more about the process than the actual work. This is something in common with mine, I am really focusing on the process before looking at the finished product, to me in my work it is more important collecting the figures that other people have drawn.

https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/ellen-gallagher-9553

Developing my Final work

an example of the drawings in my book

Like I said last week I'm developing my work with my concept and I have realised that the figure that I'm drawing represents a person, but has now identity attached to it or feelings. Because of this I have decided to go back to my sketchbook and fill it with the same figure throughout the book, but then to go back every 3 hours and shade in the figure depending how I am feeling at that time.

an example of the drawings in my book

The finished book is quite effective and almost looks like a flick book when you look through it which I quite like. The drawings look quite dark and I think it's because I used a graphite stick, but I liked using that because it was able to give me quick expressive drawings so I think that I would continue to use it. The book has made me realise how quickly a mood can change and how it reflects my day.

I have also been looking at identity and how that is given to you so have been looking at Manet's Olympia and Titan's Venus of Urbino because they are looked at in different ways even though the paintings are very similar because of the objects that are placed around them. I think that next week I will be looking at how I can manipulate how my work is seen,but also I think that my next step would be to start working bigger and to work on the same figure to not moving onto the next one to see how the layers build up.

First year Digital Portfolio

Untitled-Lino Cut- 2013- 60 X 85 Cm

Untitled-Lino Cut- 2013- 60 X 85 Cm

Untitled- Acrylic on Canvas- 2013 76 X 61 Cm

Untitled- Acrylic on paper- 2013- 150 X 100 Cm

Untitled- Acrylic on Board- 2013- 15 X 30 Cm

Untitled- Biro on tracing paper- 2014- 15 X 10.5 Cm

Untitled- Pencil on paper- 2014- 30 X 21 Cm

Untitled- Mixed media on paper- 2014- 160 X 230 Cm

Untitled- Ink and Biro on paper- 2014- 150 X 105 Cm

Untitled- Ink and Pen on Paper- 2014 - both 150 X 70 Cm

Untitled- close up photograph of Ink and Pen piece- 2014- 21 X 30 Cm

Untitled- Mixed Media on paper- 2014- 150 X 350 Cm

Untitled- Mixed Media on netting- 2014- 51 X 40 Cm

Untitled- Ink and Biro on canvas- 2014- 76 X 61 Cm

Untitled- Paint and Biro on canvas- 2014- 120 X 40 Cm

Untitled- Acrylic on canvas- 2014- 40 X 30 Cm

Untitled- Netting and gloss paint- 2014- 60 X 50 X 20 Cm

Untitled- Acrylic on canvas material- 2014- 100 X 60 X 30 Cm

Untitled- Acrylic on canvas material- 2014- 100 X 150 X 30 Cm

Untitled- Acrylic on canvas- 210 X 120 Cm

Manet's Olympia and Titans Venus of Urbino

Manet's Olympia

Manet's Olympia 1863 oil on canvas

I wanted to look at this painting because I'm starting to look at Identity in my work and I thought that I would look at the past to help me inspire my work, this particular painting is because of the figure involved and the things that are also in the picture that represent things that create the figures identity. When this painting was first shown it caused quite a lot of shock because of the elements in the painting such as the confrontational stare, she is looking right at you in a way that you can't avoid not making eye contact with her.

The objects that surround her where another thing that shocked people, the show of wealth; having a maid, flowers, jewellery and the shawl that she laid on. Also the two people at the time the obvious signs that she was a prostitute because of the flower in her hair, the black ribbon around her neck and the Black cat. I find it really interesting that the only reason that people were offended by the painting was because of these objects, these objects crated an identity for the subject even if it wasn't a true one.

Manet obviously wanted to provoke this reaction by or else he wouldn't have put the objects in the painting and by calling the painting Olympia a name that was commonly used as a prostitutes name in Paris at this time.  People create an identity for someone so easily and I and hoping to be able to reflect this in my work, however in a different way to Manet I'm hoping to do it through shading.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympia_(painting)

Venus of Urbino

Venus of Urbino 1538 oil on canvas Titan

I have decided to look at this painting because it inspired the painting Olympia so I can compare the differences between them. Venus is lying in a very similar position and looking straight at you again, however it doesn't feel controversial it isn't a hard stare she is just looking at you in a very seductive way. The whole feeling in the painting is very seductive, it brings the viewer in. Venus doesn't seem at all bothered about her nudity in the painting; she is lying there in a very erotic pose which makes the whole painting turn into this way.

The maids in the background are searching for Venus' clothes as they don't seem to be found anywhere.  There is also a small dog asleep on the bed which is said to be a sign for fidelity. This painting was commissioned by a Duke for his wedding present to his young wife, Venus us supposed to represent her. I find it really interesting that even though the paintings are of the same subject by changing the objects around them it completely changes the identity of the person.

I think that this is something that I want to reflect in my work, just by changing a few factors I want it to completely change the feel of the drawings.

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