Category: Research File

This is where all my research goes; artists, gallery visits, books and more.

1,000 word text

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Books used for 1,000 word text

Abstract Expressionism, Creators and Critics, Clifford Ross

1990

Page 138

‘I am particularly impressed with their concept of the source of art being the unconscious.’

Pollock in an interview in Arts and Architecture vol 61 Feb 1944

 

 

Abstract Expressionism, The Triumph of American Painting, Irving Sandler

1970

Chapter 7 The Gesture Painters

Page 93

‘the gesture painters refused to preconceive particular meanings, regarding the process of painting as an intense, unpremeditated search for the images of their creative experiences.’

‘In their desire for total involvement with the act of painting, the gesture painters spurned conceptual designing’

‘The gesture painters also valued directness because it led to a sense of immediacy’

‘Pollock wrote of the importance of directness to him… to ‘feel nearer, more a part of the painting…and literally be in the painting’. He went on to say that he tried to work without preconceptions, to be as free as he could’   Jackson Pollock, ‘My Painting’ ‘Possibilities vol 1

page 97

‘the primary content of gesture painting was thought to be the ‘confession’ of the artist’s particular creative experiences.’

Chapter 8 Jackson Pollock

Page 102

‘He employed this gestural technique to paint as directly as he could, to bring more of himself, his entire body…into contact with the canvas

‘I have no fears about making changes, destroying the image’ Jackson Pollock, ‘My Painting’ ‘Possibilities vol 1’

‘he opened the way to a kind of painting that was more direct, improvisational, abstract and larger in size’

Page 110

Sandler suggests that, having explored American Indian and primitive art, Pollock’s paintings took on a kind of ritual sense to them.

Page 111

He also suggests that the first gestural paintings had a much more violent, barbaric nature to them than his later drip paintings.

Page 113

Pollock’s drip paintings evolved slowly as he realised that he could achieve more direct painting by pouring the paint straight on to the canvas to create continuous lines rather than using a brush or knife to apply the paint.

Page 114

‘Pollock’s fluid line was unconventional…because it did not define images or outline planes – two traditional functions of drawing.’

Page 115

Pollock’s works are not repetitive, there is no sense of design in them, rather the lines he creates are surprisingly unique. In the canvases where the marks do become repetitive the works become boring and unchallenging.

Page 116

Pollock would often pause for long periods of time to examine his work and decide whether to continue, stop or destroy the work

 

 

Abstract Expressionism, Works on Paper, Lisa Mintz Messinger

1992

Page 92

‘meaning is communicated through the forceful shape and lines spontaneously generated by highly energetic calligraphic motions.’

Object Workshop

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Thomas Hirschhorn

‘Best known for his sculptural constructions produced from disposable mass manufactured goods…Hirschhorn uses everyday and found materials such as plastic sheeting, cardboard, aluminium, packing tape and magazine images to create a dystopian reality.’ (Stephen Friedman)

Drift Topography 2003 Thomas Hirschhorn born 1957 Presented by Tate Members 2004 http://www.tate.org.uk/art/work/T11885

I think the way Hirschhorn uses found materials to produce his sculptures creates a really interesting accessibility within his work. The fact that he uses cardboard, aluminium and other everyday objects I think allows the viewer to relate more and to imagine how it may have been made. The fact that the making process is also visible in some work further emphasises the relationship between the viewer and the art.

sources :

https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/thomas-hirschhorn-6254

http://www.contemporaryartdaily.com/2013/05/thomas-hirschhorn-at-alfonso-artiaco/thomas-hirschhorn-galleria-alfonso-artiaco-042013-7/

https://www.stephenfriedman.com/artists/thomas-hirschhorn/

 

Zimoun

‘Zimoun combines ordinary objects (including cardboard boxes, plastic bags, and old furniture) with mechanical components (such as dc-motors, wires, microphones, speakers, and ventilators) to create extraordinary hybrid sculptures that fuse the normative order of generative systems with the disorder of random events.‘ (Anna Albritton for Sculpture Magazine)

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I think that ZImoun’s sculptures are really interesting, the way he combines physical sculpture with sonic sculptures evokes an interesting question about what is sculpture and what qualifies as sculpture, eg is sound sculpture? By combining sound with carboard boxes I think that Zimoun creates sonic sculpture which, alongside the 3D element of his work, is really compelling.

sources :

https://www.zimoun.net/

https://www.sculpture.org/documents/scmag13/apr_13/fullfeature.shtml

John Gibbons

I think the way Gibbons creates sculpture out of metal is really interesting. He uses stainless steel and copper to create pieces of work that seem delicate yet robust at the same time – the thin, detailed works still have a sense of weight to them due to his use of metal which I think is compelling. Gibbons said of his work ‘the inside for me…is the important part…how the inside and the outside interact with each other’. I think that this is clear from the work, in particular those pieces that have a lot of negative space where the negative and positive seem to react to each other.

sources :

https://www.johngibbons.org.uk/?page=sculpture&album=5

https://www.johngibbons.org.uk/?page=interview

 

 

Copy Workshop

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Michael Craig-Martin

I really like the way Craig-Martin overlaps lines and letters to create interesting new shapes within the words. I think his use of colour is also very effective, in particular I think the pieces were he uses colour over black is very dynamic and vibrant. I think that I want to try and incorporate this sense of overlaying and colour in my own work.

Envy 2008 Michael Craig-Martin born 1941 Presented by the artist and Alan Cristea Gallery 2009 http://www.tate.org.uk/art/work/P79756
Greed 2008 Michael Craig-Martin born 1941 Presented by the artist and Alan Cristea Gallery 2009 http://www.tate.org.uk/art/work/P79757
Sloth 2008 Michael Craig-Martin born 1941 Presented by the artist and Alan Cristea Gallery 2009 http://www.tate.org.uk/art/work/P79758
Pride 2008 Michael Craig-Martin born 1941 Presented by the artist and Alan Cristea Gallery 2009 http://www.tate.org.uk/art/work/P79760

sources :

https://www.tate.org.uk/search?aid=955&type=artwork

Felix Gonzalez-Torres

‘One of a number of works comprising stacks of paper that Gonzalez-Torres produced beginning in 1989, “Untitled” (Death by Gun) was conceived as a nine-inch stack presented directly on the floor and endlessly replenished, thus ensuring that it can be distributed indefinitely. Visitors are encouraged to read the sheets and take them away to keep, display, or give to others.’

 

103_1991_CR-Full_JPEG.jpgI think the art of distribution as a focus of this piece of work by Gonzalez-Torres. One of the reasons for creating prints is they are easy to replicate and produce in large quantities meaning they can be distributed widely and cheaply. With this piece of work Gonzalez-Torres explores the idea of making distribution art, which I think is really interesting.

sources :

https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/4971

Alphabets and fonts

I really like the way these letters read – I think there is something interesting about the geometric shapes that are created within the letters by adding extra lines and I want to try and incorporate this within my work

Tomas Saraceno

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Tomas Saraceno

Mentioned in lecture Craft and Concept

Show at Palais de Tokyo, Paris

Tomas Saraceno displays these cubic frames featuring spiders webs in his exhibition in the Palais de Tokyo. His work is focused on concept; he himself hasn’t done any craft to produce this work, rather it has all been done for him. You could say that his concept is someone else’s craft.

I think that the delicate weaving done by the spiders is beautiful and intricate yet ambiguous. As Krystoff mentioned in the lecture at first you don’t realise what it is – it is not clear that the threads are spider’s silk and I think there is something intriguing in this sense of mystery – not knowing what the material is.

sources :

https://www.palaisdetokyo.com/en/event/carte-blanche-tomas-saraceno

https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/d74ykv/enter-the-cosmic-spiderweb-sculptures-of-tomas-saraceno

Artist Talk : Ann-marie James

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‘And in Spoils of Captive Beasts’
‘And in Spoils of Captive Beasts’ detail
‘And in Spoils of Captive Beasts’ detail
‘Untitled (A dragging languor spread) I’
‘Untitled (A dragging languor spread) II’

sources :

https://www.annmariejames.co.uk/fullscreen-page/comp-jlypz6na/e2c6a092-41d4-4e1b-a350-0f734d5da0bd/126/%3Fi%3D126%26p%3Dc21al%26s%3Dstyle-jlypz6oh

http://www.drawingcenter.org/viewingprogram/portfolioc5f5.html?pf=5641

 

Image Workshop

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Image Workshop

Luc Tuymans

The brushstrokes in the black and white paintings are loose and fluid. Tuymans has likely used a large brush and minimal strokes to achieve this look that brings energy and texture to the paintings. I think that his use of gestural marks bring interest to otherwise ordinary paintings. A regular still life and portrait (especially in black and white) can be rather boring but I think Tuymans style alleviates the paintings to something more than ordinary.

Tuymans also uses cropping and editing to transform ordinary items into something ambiguous and, in some cases, mysterious. For example, the painting to the bottom left is a buttonhole however, in cropping the image so closely around said buttonhole changes a mundane object into something that resembles a vagina, whilst the blood stains bottom right become abstract shapes. We used this method of cropping in the workshop and it produced some very interesting results. Cropping can bring a new sense of meaning to an image, either by abstracting it or bringing something into more detail. As Sanford Shwartz puts it ‘[Tuymans] has an odd gift for showing the world in disembodied, not always decipherable, and almost always ominous ways’

sources :

https://www.davidzwirner.com/exhibitions/heritage/press-release     

https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2010/02/11/gray-magic/

https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/luc-tuymans/luc-tuymans-room-2

 

 

David Salle

David Salle uses black and white in combination with colour in his collage like paintings. I think his use of both creates a sense of separation on his works that emphasises the collage like style in an effective way. On the other hand, I think the way the greyscale breaks up the colour also makes the paintings more seamless. His paintings are very busy and I think the greyscale is a welcome break from the intense colour. Without the black and white his work may be too confusing for the viewer but with it the pieces become easier too look at and the eye is drawn around the piece.

Mingus in Mexico, 1990 oil and acrylic on canvas 84 x 114 inches

sources :

https://www.lehmannmaupin.com/artists/david-salle

http://www.davidsallestudio.net/plateC12.085.html

http://www.davidsallestudio.net/plateD12.065.html

http://www.baldwingallery.com/archive/exhibitions/2007/0307_dsdw/dsdw1.htm

 

 

Thomas Scheibitz

Much as with Salle’s work I think that Scheibitz’s use of greyscale in combination with colour creates some very interesting work. I think that in combination with the geometric shapes he uses, the greyscale brings relief to the organised chaos of his work. Although not as crazy as Salle’s work, due to the sharp angles and lines of the shapes he uses, Scheibitz’s work does have a hectic energy and I think the black and white breaks this up and allows the colours to remain individual from each other rather than blending together and creating a messy painting, which I feel would happen otherwise.

 

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sources :

https://www.saatchigallery.com/artists/thomas_scheibitz.htm

https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/thomas-scheibitz-10538

https://www.thomasscheibitz.de/index.php?cat_id=3

Edit Workshop

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Erwin Wurm
Erwin Wurm creates One Minute Sculptures in which he interacts with random everyday objects in unusual ways.  ‘In his book The Artist Who Swallowed the World (Hatje Cantz) Wurm said: I am interested in the everyday life. All the materials that surrounded me could be useful, as well as the objects, topics involved in contemporary society. My work speaks about the whole entity of a human being: the physical, the spiritual, the psychological and the political’ (www.publicdelivery.org)
       These ‘sculptures’ create interesting shapes and alterations both to the body and to the object. In some ways I do not like this work as it can be viewed simply as people being silly. On the other hand, I think the way people interact with the objects questions its purpose. We are brought up being told the right and wrong way to use something and we never question it. What I think is interesting about Wurm’s work is that in posing with everyday items, he changes the perception and the use of the item. He takes the mundane and makes it art by breaking the traditional use of it, as is shown in these images.
sources :
https://www.erwinwurm.at/artworks/one-minute-sculptures.html
https://publicdelivery.org/erwin-wurm-one-minute-sculptures
Robert Morris
I really like the simplicity of Morris’ work. I think the way the shapes interact with the spaces is really interesting. The intersection of the horizontals and verticals of the room with the diagonal lines of the shapes Morris builds, creates non-existent shapes which I think are really interesting.
       The lines of the room would also alter as you move around the space, creating new shapes as you change perspective which I think is really interesting. I think that artworks which interact with the space they are displayed in both become more interesting in themselves and make the space they inhabit more interesting. I definitely think this is the case with Morris’ work. The block shapes he inserts into the space make ordinary rooms much more dynamic and unique.
I think his use of mirrors also brings interesting alterations to the spaces, making them appear larger.
‘Now through January 14, Sprüth Magers in Berlin is hosting a historical exhibition of works by Robert Morris, exploring a series of six works developed over the course of the artist’s career, and often drawing on the use of mirrors and reflective surfaces to expand the viewer’s perception of space.  Pulling from some of the earliest works in Morris’s conceptual practice up to a work completed in 2014, Refractions traces Morris’s engagement with movement, space and the body, often in relation to the gallery space itself.’ (Anna Corrigan for Art Observed, 2017)
sources :
http://www.mu-um.com/?mid=02&act=dtl&idx=24283
http://artobserved.com/2017/01/berlin-robert-morris-refractions-at-spruth-magers-through-january-14th-2017/
https://ocula.com/art-galleries/spruth-magers/exhibitions/hanging-soft-and-standing-hard/
Red Hot Chilli Peppers ‘Can’t Stop’ music video
The music video for the Red Hot Chilli Peppers song ‘Can’t stop’ was heavily influenced by Edward Wurm’s ‘One Minute Sculptures’. it was useful to watch a video version of this idea before approaching this myself as it helped gave me more of an idea of how I could edit together clips that may look better as photographs.
‘Mr. Wurm is known for creating temporary sculptures in which he places himself or a model with everyday objects. The music video tries to mimic this concept by having the Peppers engage in random activities with everyday, household objects like buckets or trashcans.  Though the music video is not supposed to represent anything more than the band doing these random actions, it does bring up the question (just like Mr. Wurm does with sculpture) of what makes a music video entertaining or enjoyable? Obviously some bands have different approaches to this, from OK Go’s homemade music videos, to Kanye West’s extremely elaborate “Stronger” video.
The Chili’s go for a bit of a mixture with this video. To some degree, it looks like something a YouTuber could make at home, yet contains serious professional elements to it. This video succeeds from the beginning because of this, with the clever intro, where the viewer enters the video from a yellow tube, sort of like entering the gateway into the wacky, alternate world of the Chili Peppers. From there, we’re greeted by everything, from the band carrying lights on their backs to playing in front of a giant orange wall. Then there’s John Frusciante (guitar) wearing a purple hippo head and of course,  Anthony Kiedis in the end fixated into a brick wall.’ (Alex Young for Consequences of Sound, 2008)
sources :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfOdWSiyWoc
http://www.mtv.com/news/1470205/lens-recap-the-story-behind-red-hot-chili-peppers-cant-stop/
  https://consequenceofsound.net/2008/08/ridiculously-awesome-music-videos-chili-peppers-cant-stop/

Drawing Machine

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Tim Knowles
Tim Knowles uses the natural elements to create his drawings by attaching drawing implements to tree branches and letting the effect of the wind on the branches do the drawing for him. I think this presents an interesting way to record the process of wind and its effect on the movement of foliage.  The variety of marks and shapes produced through this process are so much more diverse than those produced by holding a pen.I think that the lack of human intervention allows the pen to produce marks in a way that would not be possible if a person were controlling it.    This is something that I want to try and replicate in my drawing machine however, I don’t think that I can feasibly do this in the time I have as I would like to experiment win, media and it relies on wind which is very unpredictable.
I do want to try and recreate the lack of human control in some way though, so I am going to do some more research to see how I might be able to do this.
Source :
http://www.timknowles.co.uk/Work/TreeDrawings/tabid/265/Default.aspx
Rebecca Horn
Rebecca Horn’s pencil mask really interests me. I think the way that she can control the movement of the pencils but not the marks made as she is not holding the pencil creates a compelling piece of work. I want to try and find a way to incorporate the lack of direct control this piece has into my drawing machine, in combination with the inspiration I have taken from Tim Knowles.
sources :
http://www.artperformance.org/article-27716374.html
https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/horn-pencil-mask-t07847
Karina Smigla-Bobinski
‘Ada’ is a big balloon filled with helium that floats around a white room.
The balloon has pieces of charcoal attached all over the surface that make marks on the walls, floor and ceiling as it moves around the room.
   The balloon floats around the room on its own or gets moved by people; the movement of the balloon is through human intervention but the marks made aren’t directly leading to really interesting mark making; ‘though people try and control where it touches and how it spins, its lines are often independent and unpredictable’ (Rion Nakaya, 2015)
   The lack of direct human intervention creates an interesting dynamic between the artist and the art – is the person creating the piece or is it the balloon that is?
Does the person become the artist because they are controlling/ made the tool? Is the balloon an extension of the arm or hand?
sources :
https://thekidshouldseethis.com/post/the-jazz-of-a-helium-ball-charcoal-karina-smigla-bobinskis-ada
https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/wonderspaces-san-diego?select=w70N6NRzvo0TJgguNeRfDQ