I strongly believe that art is not what you see but what you make others see. This is important to me and I find it interesting when I produce one piece of work but people interpret it in a different way to how I intended. An example of this could be in the studio, I often produce a piece of work with one intention in mind, but my teachers and peers often see it from a different perspective which helps me to develop my ideas and not be so narrow minded. I especially like this quote because I believe that nearly every single person in the world can produce art, regardless of their age, gender, ethnicity, religion or disability. Everybody has an imagination but some may find it hard to express or apply their ideas through art. This could be through paintings, drawings, sculptures, performances or photographs. Personally, I like to produce work that simply ‘looks good’ and is often made up using geometric shapes and is quite linear, clean and sometimes there is no obvious narrative. I could imagine that the artwork of a blind person wouldn’t be as structured as mine but I would appreciate it due to the emotional power it would probably have on the audience. Colour is very important to me and I often associate different colours with different feelings and emotions. In the studio, when I’m struggling to ‘make work’ or come up with ideas I just like experiment with colour and make spontaneous development pieces. Then, I feel more confident and positive about the project or task set. Just ‘doing things’ helps me sometimes, even if it is simple and solid, it’s like a walking stick or a hand rail. Something to hold onto in an ever changing world. I would imagine that a blind person wouldn’t engage with colour in the same way as me, so perhaps the artist’s emotions would become clear through the texture or how the material was applied. Unlike my work, I would expect it to have a texture and be capable of being touched. Throughout the second semester I will experiment with the idea of my work becoming more ‘tangible’ because I think my visual wall structures could become more substantial and striking if they were perceptible by touch.
“Most
ideas that are successful are ludicrously simple. Successful ideas generally
have the appearance of simplicity because they seem inevitable. In terms of
idea the artist is free to even surprise himself”.
I liked this quote because the words
‘successful’ and ‘simple’ stood out to me. Before I started University I never
would have associated these two words because at school we were encouraged to
impress our teachers by researching as many artists as we could, experiment
with as much media as we could and develop as many ideas as we could. My final
pieces appeared to have no real focus and I found that the end result often
looked too hectic and unorganised. I think it’s important to see a thought
process throughout a project, which is why I always try to make sure that my
sketchbooks show a journey or a smooth transition between ideas. Then, I
surprised myself as I have become more selective and have started to narrow my
ideas down more efficiently. I do a lot of work during activities I participate
in throughout the day and then my mind seems to reject / select certain ideas. Some
ideas seem interesting at the time but they end up not being effective. I’ve
learnt that the simplest of ideas produce the most affective outcomes. Some
people like ‘simple art’ whilst others don’t. From discussions in the studio, I
feel like some people really overthink a piece, making it quite hard to understand.
Sometimes, you can’t even pin it down but that’s like love or like magic. It would be unrealistic for people to expect
you to love somebody you didn’t even like. I don’t expect everybody to
understand or like my work but it’s always good when people like it. At
university I have become very interested in looking at abstract and the
geometric form, often influencing other ideas but I didn’t want to get into the
backwaters of philosophy. That wasn’t me and now I mainly like to focus on
conceptualists and minimalism. Minimalist artists often rely on industrial
materials which is why I like to work with paint or tape, directly onto wood or
canvas. Some materials are vulnerable and demonstrate their own vulnerability
to decay or become destroyed, which links in well with my current ‘crash sites’
project in the studio. Like my wall structures using tape, I feel like Sol
Lewitt’s conceptual pieces were seen to be quite ‘basic’ which isn’t a bad
thing because a piece of work no longer requires to have an actual material
presence in order to be considered ‘art.’
“Abstract painting is abstract. It confronts you.
There was a reviewer a while back who wrote that my pictures didn't have any
beginning or any end. He didn't meant it as a compliment, but it was. It was a
fine compliment. Only he didn't know it”.
I like this quote because it states a fact.
“Abstract painting is abstract” almost makes me question myself. Is abstract
painting really abstract? When
somebody mentions ‘abstract art’ I automatically think of a piece of work with
no physical existence or no obvious narrative. It’s art which doesn’t represent
external reality but seeks to achieve the same effect by using different lines,
shapes, colours and sometimes textures. I’ve noticed that often pieces or lines
have been extracted or removed. Jackson Pollock’s work could be a prime example
of this and although I don’t like to separate line from colour, I really like
the idea of detaching the two as it’s a different way of describing pictorial
space. ‘Confronts’ is the main word which stands out to me. I would assume that
‘confronting’ meant a group of people coming face to face with one another with
argumentative intent.I initially thought of other words such as resist, tackle
and challenge. I understand why some may find it hard to understand abstract
art, therefore I have really tried to challenge the view of “My five year old
could do that” because I find it interesting that people express their
creativity by creating visual experiences, which seem to be more ‘free’. I
thought about a group of people facing up to one another to deal with a problem
or difficulty. I thought about my work ‘confronting’ the viewers and I like the
idea or allowing the viewer to decide what the artwork is about. I like the
fact that my work can be interpreted in many different ways – you have to open
up to your intuition. Personally, I think that Jackson Pollock’s work is quite
hard to understand because there’s no obvious beginning or end. Knowing the
artists thought process for creating a certain piece of work often adds a
further layer or meaning and value to each of the viewer’s interpretations. I
feel like Jackson Pollock’s work represents his touch and unsettled life as he
was growing up. My arranged geometric shapes could represent structure and
stability. I wouldn’t like my work to have a negative effect on the viewers,
but I would like to ‘challenge’ their perspective to some extent. I have challenged
myself in the studio by thinking mainly about the design and shapes, as well as
the colour I’ve chosen to use. For my previous project I used black tape on a
white wall but for my current ‘crash sites’ project I decided to go for ‘red’
because I associate this colour with blood, fire, danger and determination. An
artist always has to be determined to produce a high quality piece of work.
“For me, rhythm and
things that repeat are comforting”.
During this interview Martin Creed states
that he tries to live his life in the world that he finds himself in. He says
that “most of the time I don’t feel so good” and I find this very interesting,
especially as repetition is so integral in his work. I decided to pick this
quote because I also find rhythms and repetition comforting and that maybe the
reason why I like to listen to music whilst producing artwork. He compares this
to a fence which runs around the perimeter of a jungle – it helps you to enjoy
looking without getting eaten by the lions inside. This suggests that pattern and reputation
makes him feel safe and secure but without it, he may feel vulnerable and
insecure. You could also compare this to the rails at the side of a baby’s cot.
It refers to a ‘safe place.’ A few months ago I would have just associated with
‘rhythm’ with sound and syllables in music but more recently, I have learnt
that rhythm is also a regular movement of pattern and colour. When I’m
producing work, I like to create patterns, a flow or a tempo within my wall
structures because I enjoy making work which is aesthetically pleasing to the
audience. Occasionally, I achieve this by erasing or stressing certain lines or
shapes but most of the time I like to keep my work simple. I feel comfortable playing
with precision and I often I do this by paying attention to vectors and
co-ordinates - which often end up splintering into new pieces, new paintings,
new compositions, new colours and new places. I feel comfortable producing work
this way. I would say my paintings are slow and precise but at the same time, I
would describe them as ‘open structures’. I think they’re ‘open structures’ in
the sense of the meaning and the colour. I like the audience to interpret my
work in whatever way they want to. There is no obvious narrative within my work
and on the face of it, there’s no relation to reality what so ever.
No comments:
Post a Comment