I seem to be lost in research, reading and visiting exhibitions. And I’ve finally made a tentative start with drawing towards the next series of experiments. I’m using scanned images of the interior of the Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich to help me explore interior spaces and how my works (just ideas hand drawn at this stage) may look when installed. I intend to explore this work further on chalk ground panels, digitally and as dry point prints…
Since the Saatchi show New Sculpture I’ve visited the RCA Show, were I was taken by the sculpture of Carwyn Evans, Dexter Dymoke, Simon Schafer and Samuel Williams-really liked his yellow wash bowl trundling through woodland- their use of materials and subject matter is intriguing. Also the photography of Annett Reimer and Justyna Kabala (printmaker). I finally managed to get to ‘Falling Up the Gravity of Art’ and was drawn to Cornelia Parker’s ‘Neither From Nor Towards’ an installation of sea worn bricks from collapsed houses on the South Coast and a great photograph ‘Conjurations’ a women suspended in space by Clare Strand
Each time I see an exhibition or visit a website I find more artists to investigate. Just now when I logged on to post a blog I looked at Linda Duffy’s blog which led me to a recent show ‘Women Make Sculpture’ at the Pangolin London, amazed that I could have missed it?! I’ve downloaded the catalogue and I’ll try and get to the current show Terence Coventry ‘New Work’
And I thought I’d also take a look at ‘Space and Place: The Perspective of Experience’, Yi-fu Tuan and at ‘As Eve Said to the Serpent’, Rebecca Solnit, writers I came across in Maya Lin’s ‘Systematic Landscapes’
I’m also contemplating going to the ‘Technologies of Drawing’ conference part of the Sculpture Network at Huddersfield University in late August. So lots to read, think about and see
Still thinking and mapping so no images of new experiments yet, busy winding up to start a new series. There’s such a lot to consider, materials, techniques, process and influences
I went to the ‘The Shape of Things to Come: New Sculpture’ at Saatchi last Friday and found it fascinating, particularly the amalgam of materials used by most artists in the show. I particularly liked Matthew Monagan’s work the mix of drawing and sculpture, often pieces looked like they had been dug up and were ancient artefacts. Also Thomas Houseago for the drawing onto and form of his sculptures
Although I haven’t often worked with ceramic usually preferring the hardness of metal, I explored porcelain paper clay on the AA2A Scheme and I do have an unfired clay vessel in the loft, I was intrigued by Rebecca Warren’s sculptures of the female nude in unfired clay. The scale reminded me of the work of Nikki Saint Phalle and I just had to draw ‘She:Untitled’ 2003 straight into the exhibition guide so that I could capture it’s heaviness
So this show has been very helpful in thinking about contemporary artists and their choice of material and the effect that choice has on the final sculptures or installations. Also my response to those materials will help in deciding what to use in my next experimental series
I’ve begun to read ‘The Philosophy of the Body’ edited by Mike Proudfoot, Blackwell Publishing, 2003, to help gain a better understanding of the body in relation to space. Also I’m looking at Maya Lin: Systematic Landscapes, again I’m fascinated by the simplicity of the materials she uses and yet for me there is often a great strength in her installations. I’m also still searching for an explanation for my motivation to work with suspended pieces…
Well, no new images of work yet, still mulling over feedback from the review. How could my work go from expansive to polite in the blink of an eye? I expect it was making off site, insufficient knowledge of the space and the thought that it was a review…
I’m spending time juggling my teaching prep with thoughts on what next to make and read, definitely need to mind map the feedback, most was positive, to help in this. I’ve been reading Gabriel Orozco, edited by Yve-Alain Bois, October Files 2009, it’s been really useful to see how Orozco approaches his practice and how broad it is.
I’ve got lots of ideas to work with and feel that materials are a problem at the moment. They distract me from the real issues around process, gravity and balancing pieces in space so I’m going along to the Courtauld Gallery’s Gravity show which opens on the 23rd June to see if I can find a thread to follow..
Well I’ve installed my work for review and I can’t help thinking that I should have made it in the space rather than offsite. The space was much smaller than I remembered and drilling the ceiling and ensuring all was properly fixed and unlikely to fall was challenging. Therefore I had to abandon my idea of hanging a thin wire canopy overhead and settle for a much narrower version, lessons learned. However it was and is nevertheless a good opportunity to try out ideas and reflect on my use of material and motivations to hang pieces in space. I really do have to get to grips with my fascination with line especially if it is knotted or interrupted. Also why I am driven to capture ‘beautiful dead things’ in wire…
Following on from yesterday here are some further hanging experiments.
However days don’t always go quite how you plan, having made 21 components today I felt that the first few had the best form, pity too late to unmake them and start again. I’ll have to re think how the pieces work together and if there’s time I’ll have to make new ones.
And I’ve still got to resolve the installation, note to self, next time make the work in the final space rather than off site
So I’ve got a lot of ground to cover tomorrow…
