Thought my blog was looking a bit plain so here are some pics of what I am working on at the moment. The mixed-media painting (dimensions 1m x 1m) is basically finished now, although I am planning on giving it a simple frame to make it stand out. The piece was initially inspired by a used paint palette I found in the studio, but also by the patterns on some rocks I found at the top of a mountain in the Lake District.
The other image is of a work still very much in progress. My lecturers thought I should perhaps leave it as it was and just exhibit the found object like Duchamp with his readymades. Although I feel that while readymades can be art works in their own right, there is little artistic passion behind them. I would rather use the found object to create a sculpture that incorporated my own response to the form, so the piece was like an unspoken dialogue between my expressions and the found object. I would hope that a piece like this would be far more available for an audience to connect to as opposed to a readymade.
I am currently trying very hard to summon up both courage and motivation to start on my dissertation. It’s not going brilliantly.
I have decided to write my dissertation on the concept of beauty in relation to art, in particular to consider whether art has to be beautiful to be considered “art”, whether that matters, and also whether in the 21st century it is somewhat superficial to create ‘beautiful’ work given all the horrors that have been seen worldwide in the last few decades.
This theme seems to be ideal for me to pursue as it is very much linked to my own practice and it has meant that I can look into artists that inspire my own thinking and working. Sue Collis and Robert Rauschenberg being particularly influencial both with my practice and my plans for my dissertation but I am also taken quite strongly by the works of Rineke Dijkstra in relation to the concepts behind my proposed dissertation.
Feeling rather under pressure at the moment, but trying to focus on being productive and NOT PANIC!
Plan of action for today…
– Pick up concrete from some lovely builders down the road, which I will use to make some bases for some of my sculptures.
– Make an appointment with the photography chappy at uni who will help me take some swoosh pictures of my work to upload onto website.
– Photocopy a few pages in a fabulous book called “Formless: A User’s Guide” which has proved to be an invaluable source of inspiration in desperate times.
– Do first layer of concrete for the bases for a couple of sculptures.
– Continue with some of my paintings…
But first… TEA.
After a whole summer of designing and a couple of days worth of fighting with my computer, my website ( www.beth-webster.com ) is FINALLY up and running! I was beginning to think all my work designing it from scratch had gone to waste and I was never going to be able to upload it to the internet… but I am relieved to say that with a bit of perseverance I have managed to make it work.
The site itself hasn’t got much on it yet as I need to get some recent pics up, but at least it is now up and running.
I am finding that I am doubting my art more now I am in my final year. Is it valid? Would people like it? Does it really represent what I think it represents? Maybe this is a natural stage to go through, but I certainly wish these questions in the back of my mind weren’t quite so strong as I am finding them quite distracting! Either way, I am doing my best to bury myself in art-making to try to keep my mind on track and be productive.
Here goes… my first EVER attempt at a blog! I have been trailing through the fantastic blogs on here in search of inspiration and ideas for my own posts and in doing so I have stumbled across some seemingly incredibly talented individuals. Whilst this has helped me feel more relaxed about leaving a trail of my meandering thoughts for all to see, I feel a little uneasy in looking at the fabulous works of others on here….
Check out Zanne Andrea’s blog which particularly stood out to me. She is an artist who appears to mainly produce installations which incorporate photography and found objects.
www.a-n.co.uk/p/1221616
Ooooooh! Love the work Karen Howse produces also!!! Check her blog out at:
www.a-n.co.uk/p/520132
