This week I have been working with a large quantity of cardboard tubes obtained from carpet retailers. The plan is to make some objects that will resemble manufactured items, or items which have some familiarity. The work has gone slowly because I have had to have help in the workshops to slice the sections at predetermined angles. I am combining the tubes variously with bolts or with galvanised steel. Some of the tubes have colour printed lines and shreds of paper stuck on them, which I like and will preserve.
My studio space is now filled with constructions so I have had to make some drawings at home. These have followed two directions of interest. First, some three dimensional paper structures combined with graphite coated elements and rivets. Second, using spray paint through grid structures onto paper which are then superimposed by drawn objects. I have also made some drawings that explore layers of different materials over illusory spheres.
Do the sculptures and drawings relate to each other? The approach to using material is similar in each case. There is a crossover use of metal fastenings and also a contrast of two materials that suggest opposites. Both are involved in the unintended invention of nearly familiar objects.
I spent some time drawing axe heads in the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford and then found an interesting essay by Herbert Read in The Origins of Form in Art. He talks about early human artefacts such as these passing through three stages of evolution towards the creation of art. First, the conception of the object as a tool. Second, the making and refinement of the tool to a point of maximum efficiency. Third, the refinement of the tool beyond the point of maximum efficiency towards a conception of form-in-itself, i.e. aesthetic form. Axe heads started to respond to a spiritual need.
This interests me because I am still thinking about the development of form. I like the idea that form hits peaks or troughs of efficiency during the course of its evolution and how much chance plays its part. I also like the idea that objects exist as a variation on a theme and that they have lineage. I’m thinking of natural or utilitarian objects such as boats, hammers, snail shells, etc. where there are many variations in design. The results are modified by material and structure.
I try to think about this system of selection and development in order to make the ultimate refinement to whatever I am working on. Thinking in this way helped me to rationalise my latest studio work proposal and form the basis for the objects that I intend to make in the next few weeks.
