University Campus Suffolk

The Carving has Begun!

With the dark tones and the highlights painted in, I was ready to reveal the mid-tone. I began by slicing through the cardboard for the finer details and tearing the broader areas.

The torn areas could be seen as a metaphor for damage and resilience, the surface is broken and damaged but not destroyed. The exposed cardboard gave the portrait a physical depth and hopefully a psychological depth.

Having exposed the many tones and textures of the cardboard the painted areas began to look flat in comparison. The white background perhaps now looks too stark, but rather than seeing this as a weakness I see this as an opportunity to explore and experiment.

I have thought about the possibility of adding drips, dust, dirt or tearing more of the background away, however it cannot remain in its present state. Perhaps the flatness can be cured with another tone or wash?

An Experiment with materials.

Since the beginning of this project I had a set vision of painting realist portraits. After a very useful and informative critical review of my work with some fellow peers and tutors, it was suggested that I should consider working with other mediums and not restrict myself to painting.

After giving this some thought I decided to revisit my passion for street art which perhaps offers the most contemporary form of portraiture.

One artist has always interested me with his distinct use of materials and unorthodox methods of creating a portrait.

Vhils – a Portuguese street artist who turns plastered buildings into iconic works of art. He begins by coating brick walls with plaster or white paint and then carves away specific areas revealing a very detailed impression of a face. However, what interested me foremost was his interest in turning ordinary people into icons.

“They are all people I have met briefly in cities where I have created murals. I like the idea of turning ordinary, common people into icons, to contrast this with the need people seem to have to create icons in the first place. Instead of creating icons out of people who have changed history, like what Warhol was doing with Mao and others, I take an ordinary person and try and make people think about the ordinary citizens who struggle every day to eke a living in contemporary society.” (Vhils, n.d. cited in Lazinc, n.d.)

This theory of turning the ignored and everyday person back into someone of value and status is crucial to the concept that underpins my work.

After accepting that I could not throw myself at the nearest brick wall and start painting on it without getting arrested, I thought of a material that I could work onto, something I could paint onto and carve away at. My solution, with its obvious connections and connotations with homelessness – Cardboard.

I had found some corrugated cardboard lying around and of a fairly large scale. After scavenging the cardboard I painted a white ground over it and then painted one of my found images in a stencil style in black paint. My strategy was to paint the image using three tones, the white ground as highlights, the black for the darkest tones and for the middle tone my plan was to tear away the surface of the cardboard to reveal the bare corrugated cardboard underneath.

Embedded is a speeded up video of me blocking in the darkest tones of the face.

Having reflected on my previous portrait work I have felt that my more highly finished realist work may be more appreciated for its technical construction than for its subject matter. I was looking for a way for the subject matter to be more prominent as it holds more importance than my technical abilities to paint. I felt that a whole show of purely realist work would not capture the breadth of the issue I am trying to tackle. It is possible that I may incorporate the two together but I shall be governed by the overall look, design and tone of my degree show.

Ok time it’s to experiment!

Ref: Lazinc, n.d. Vhils. [online] Available at: http://www.lazinc.com/artist/vhils [Accessed 06 March 2014].

Secondary Imagery – Could it be the answer?

To begin with my original idea was to paint from primary sources, mainly photographs taken by myself. I initially wanted to use primary images so I would have full control over composition and choice of participants. However, I have become aware that working with a small group of agencies may only give me a narrow view of the issues surrounding homelessness. Whilst researching into the world of homelessness it is becoming more apparent that the problem and threat of homelessness is beginning to effect a much wider range of people than I first anticipated.

Perhaps the use of secondary images will help to address this issue much more effectively and to connect to a wider audience. If the photographs are not my own, I would not be presenting my own feelings on the subject, therefore allowing the subject matter to speak for itself. However, I do understand that whoever took the secondary images may have loaded these images with their own opinions but my project is also about the existing view, perceptions and preconceptions of homelessness.

I do not wish to work solely from secondary images as I still want to express some of my own views and knowledge of the subject, however, I still want to keep the overall tone of the work subjective.

Christian Boltanski used found images taken from obituary sections in newspapers which were then manipulated, reducing the photographs detail thus making the portraits less recognisable. Thereby making the work subjective.

Boltanski’s work was partly about the loss of identity and restoring individuality to those that had been forgotten. This echoes some of the concerns of my own work. This loss of identity is also a serious consequence of homelessness. When somebody becomes homeless, their identity can be forgotten. Who they once were often holds no significance to most of us. Everyone’s life has an importance and value. Hopefully through this project I will be able to depict the depth and value of the people portrayed.

The Possibilities of Social Realism?

I have been giving some thought as to the possibilities of perhaps utilising iconic compositions to explore issues of status and equality for this project. I have looked at the work of other artists who have used this approach to good effect.

Contemporary portraitist Jonathan Yeo borrows heavily from Gainsborough’s Mr and Mrs Andrews. In the Park Bench 2012 Yeo has subverted Gainsboroughs portrait of Mr and Mrs Andrews by replacing them in his own painting with Sharon Stacey and Ben Scallon, two homeless people who the charity crisis work with. The Andrews country estate in Suffolk is replaced with Victoria park in east London. Yeo takes a risk in tackling such an iconic composition, shadowing the work of Gainsborough could invite many negative comparisons, but for me it works well.

The irony when comparing the sitters and their surroundings in the respective paintings is unavoidable, but Yeo still manages to make an interesting and fresh painting in its own right. Perhaps the work is helped by the fact that his usual portrait practice consists mainly of depicting the rich, the famous and the powerful, therefore the irony is not just in comparing his work with Gainsborough’s, but in comparing it with his own back catalogue. By inviting these comparisons himself Yeo has made a bold move.

Questioning and challenging your own artistic practice in this way can help to push your work in new directions and hopefully to new heights. It would be fairly safe to do this in the comfort of your own studio space, but to test it in such a public way as Yeo has could be considered a brave effort.

Although the method of mixing contemporary figures with well-known and classic compositions is nothing new, it can still be very effective when executed well. It is a ploy used often by another contemporary portrait artist Kahinde Wiley.

Wiley’s canvases predominately feature various young black men in classic portrait compositions exploring themes such as prestige, status, opportunity and equality. It is an approach that could be explored in my own work as I hope to address similar issues.

For more on Jonathan Yeo: http://www.jonathanyeo.com/

For more on Kahinde Wiley: http://www.kehindewiley.com/

I had arranged to meet Demelza at the Community Resource Centre for 10:00am Tuesday Morning to discuss the project. Upon my arrival I was greeted by a young man, tall, perhaps in his late twenties. “Hi there can I help you?” he politely asked. I replied “Oh, yes I have a meeting with Demelza Penberth at 10:00am”. He replied “Oh yes she is expecting you, come right this way” He began walking towards the canteen door, I wasn’t far behind when suddenly he paused. He turned around with the biggest grin, burst out into fits of laughter and shouted “HA! I DON’T REALLY BLOODY WORK HERE!”

I was completely fooled. I could not stop laughing! I had no idea that he was a client, which in part is what the point of my project is about. Why would I have expected him to be a client? He did not fit the stereotype. Figures released by the Citizens Advice Bureau today showed that Homelessness among the 17 – 24 age group is on the increase. The problem is spreading with more and more young people struggling to make ends meet and those that seek help do not always meet our expectations. During 2012-2013, 4,529 people in this age group who were about to become homeless got in touch with the C.A.B asking for help, an increase of 57% from 2007-08 when the service received 2,890 calls. (BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat, 2014)

For more Information: http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/25930493

Shortly after my encounter, I was greeted by Demelza and finally taken to the correct office. During our meeting the following points were discussed:

Voluntary Work – I will take part to begin with as an ordinary volunteer to gain a better understanding of how the centre works and also to engage with the centres clientele. This voluntary work will either take the form of:

– Working on the streets to find anyone who is rough sleeping.

– Assisting in the kitchen serving hot food and drinks.

– Serving tea and coffee during lunch and breakfast hours.

My voluntary work begins on the 7^th February.

Meaningful activities –The idea of running a weekly workshop was put forward. Every day the centre holds a meaningful activities slot between 2-3pm, open to all where people can come and participate in creative classes.

The idea was based on myself running a class over the 6 week period. The idea of the program would be to use art as another way for the participants to find a voice, to express and articulate themselves and hopefully learn some new skills along the way. This would then set the appropriate grounds for my project to take its form, giving me the opportunity to propose my project.

Exhibitions – Another possible outcome from the workshops and project would be an exhibition of their work to run alongside mine, both at the degree show and then at the Community Resource Centre. This would then provide the participants with an incentive to create work that would be admired, noticed and respected.

Let the Project Begin!

BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat, 2014. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/25930493 [Accessed 30 January 2014]