The interview: my proposal for Pietrasanta
It now seems a while ago, but on the 19th October I was invited for an interview at the RBS headquarters on the Old Brompton Road. I had been told that I was to give a 10 – 15 minute presentation on “what I hoped to achieve if I was awarded the residency”, and that I could bring maquettes, drawings and handouts if I wanted to. This would be followed by questions.
Slightly nervous about this, I decided to prepare well and try to sound as confident as I could. I didn’t want to read out a prepared text as I always think that ends up being quite lifeless, but I as I felt it wasn’t actually that long to get across all I wanted to, I decided to have a very clear structure and I mapped out a ‘mind map’ of what I was to say (image attached). I practiced once to check on timing, but again didn’t want to repeat it too much, as I didn’t want to loose the genuine enthusiasm of saying it from the heart.
After a brief intro thanking them for the opportunity and giving a brief background to myself and practice, I did the old essay technique of briefly telling them what I was going to talk to them about: the 2 techniques I wanted to learn, the project I had planned, and my strategies of getting the most out of the opportunity.
2 techniques I want to explore
1. Combining cast bronze and constructed bronze elements
This relates to work I have been doing where I’ve used cast bioresin figures and constructed geometric forms made of copper and brass rods, as well as other works using human figures to represent molecular structures. I showed my man inscribed in a tetrahedron, and my molecules: carbon-carbon – with two men connected together, and carbon dioxide – a man (the carbon) connected/held by two women (the oxygens). They were interested in the materials and techniques I’d used, and I told them of how I would love to create a huge DNA helix made up of people representing the atoms all in their correct geometries.
2. Surface texture and colour – perceptions of form
I showed them an image of a new work – Nature/Network I had recently completed where I’d experimented with texture in the plaster and colouring this using tempera paint. I also showed them a sample work so they could see the colours and textures close up. I think too often with cast materials there is such a temporal separation between the modelling material and the finished form. I wanted to experiment with different textures and how this would effect the patinations possible, and how the patination would change how we perceive the form.
(there is a limit on word count per post – so I will continue this in a new post)
