Installation for Year 2 Assessment

Above are photos of my installation for year 2 assessment.  Rather than a minimal look I have decided to try something new and have gone for an engulfment of colour.  I want the viewer to feel immersed in the vibrancy of the colour and overwhelmed, before taking the time to take in the works surrounding them.  There are works on the walls, floor, in varying sizes from large, medium to small.  In doing this I want to create a space in which the boundary between image and object becomes blurred and where material itself becomes painting.

Let's talk about abstraction

There was an interesting article in the Winter 2012 issue of Artnew New Zealand written by Sue Gardiner.  Gardiner looks at young New Zealand artists and how they see the field of abstraction as ripe for reinvention and compares their journey with that of pioneers like Gordon Walters.  This article also mentions our very own Simon McIntyre, Monique Jansen and Amber Wilson.

The article talks about 'materiality', 'thingness' and 'the process of making'.  There are artists such as Charlotte Watson who I responded to in her thinking as it appears similar to my practice work.  Watson says that abstraction gives her a sense of freedom and she seeks ways to remove herself from abstraction's history of symbolism and contextual meaning, or ideas of slickness and perfection.  She states: 'I remind myself always that I need to loosen up some more'.

Through the process of making I am forever reminding myself to loosen up.  I treat my practice as an experimentation, having to just keep making for work to evolve.  Which I know sounds simple enough, but so often we get caught up in the idea of worrying about what we are making, whether it will be right, what to make, that it can hinder the creation of new projects.  It also doesn't allow us to take chances, which is where the interesting developments can occur. Through the rethinking of the formal I am critiquing the history of art (which seems too large to get away from) and like Watson, the slickness and perfection that was prevalent.  Through the use of vibrant colour my aim is to add playfulness and a sense of humour in an attempt to keep the mood light.

Contextual Statement

I have had a go at writing my contextual statement.  This will be something I will keep updating on a regular basis as my work develops and for the practice of writing!!

Imagine the slippage between painting and object, an image that appears as a floating object, or an object that could read as an image.  Where material becomes painting, altering perspectives and blurring the boundaries between the real and the imaginary.  The object becomes a site in which the nature of materiality is tested through visual and conceptual means.  Can an accumulation of images or objects hold their own or overwhelm as a whole, creating formal lines within the threshold between object and space.  What defines painting?

These are the major concerns in my practice.  Rethinking the formal qualities of painting through provisionality and playfulness.  Taking common materials and utilising these in an unfamiliar way allowing the potential for new readings, both visually and materially to be created.

Aesthetics plays a significant role in my thinking, particularly in the realm of sensation.  Vibrant colour adds a touch of whimsy and the sensation of playfulness and humour.  Through interaction with the work the viewer is made aware of small idiosyncrasies, disrupting the flow of information and knowledge of where and how an image and/or object might normally exist.

Provisionality is explored through the use of found wood off-cuts, producing the sensation of abandonment.  Pieces can be picked up and replaced anywhere and in any configuration.  Components can stand on their own, form a relationship with each other creating more than one part, or be re-used over and over again.  This allows for a relaxed experimental approach, an attempt to remove the burden of perfection.  

Object and Image

Untitled, 2012, Tape on Wood

165 x 120 mm

Untitled, 2012, Tape on Wood

165 x 115 mm

Untitled, 2012, Acrylic & Tape on Wood

250 x 195 mm

 Untitled, 2012, Acrylic on Wood

 Untitled, Acrylic & Tape on Wood
250 x 195 mm

Untitled, 2012, Acrylic & Tape on Wood

Untitled, 2012, Acrylic on Wood
120 x 75 mm

Untitled, 2012, Acrylic & Wool on Wood

Untitled, 2012, Acrylic & Tape on Wood

Untitled, 2012, Acrylic & Tape on Wood
105 x 590 mm 

Untitled, Acrylic & Tape on Wood
250 x 195 mm 

 Untitled, 2012, Acrylic on Wood
250 x 195 mm

Untitled, 2012, Acrylic & Tape on Wood
240 x 400 mm 

Untitled, 2012, Acrylic on Wood
135 x 325 mm 

Untitled, 2012, Acrylic & Tape on Wood
400 x 240 mm

Untitled, 2012, Acrylic on Wood
400 x 40 mm

 Untitled, 2012, Acrylic on Wood
1200 x 1220 mm

As above (side profile)

Above are works I have been making aiming towards end of year assessment.  The focus has been on varying sizes and materials in the works.  I have worked with larger pieces of plywood, allowing the natural grain of the material to show, along with the vibrant addition of colour.  I have used paint or tape on the side of most of the paintings to blur the boundaries between the real and the imaginary and between object and image.

Through the process of the making new ideas arise and fresh works are created.  There is a response to the layers and shapes placed to create images.  Colour relationships are important, whether these be to sit tonally together, or to rest uncomfortably side-by-side - jostling for attention.  Some shapes appear to float on the surface, whilst others seem to recede.

Larger pieces of plywood

The above is me arranging large and small pieces of plywood in my studio space.  Testing out installation possibilities utilising both the floor and wall.  This is in the early stage and plywood pieces are still awaiting colour.

Betty Parsons

Sea Rock, 1979

Summer Snow, 1978

32 x 24 inches

Ladder, 1968

27 x 9.7/8 inches

Untitled

17 x 17 inches

Anna Miles suggested I take a look at Betty Parsons.  

Parsons was both an artist and dealer.  She had established her own gallery in New York and by the time Peggy Guggenheim closed her 'Art of this Century' gallery to return to Europe in 1947, her artists (which included Pollock and Rothko) were keen to be part of the Betty Parsons Gallery.  Parsons represented artists who were to become 'celebrities' in the art world.  But first and foremost her interest was in the new, the creative and the unknown.  (The New York Times)

The above assemblages are made from either driftwood or scraps of carpenter's fragments and remind me of my practice in my utilisation of cut-offs of wood from the 3d Lab.  Even though in the photos above they appear small and delicate, the measurements indicate otherwise.  They interest me for their playfulness and for their seemingly casual arrangement.  This creates a provisionality where they appear as puzzle pieces, ones that could be arranged in any order, still forming intriguing works with a raw energy.

More repositioning and placement...

Plywood now painted up and variously repositioned. Leaving the material of the ply and gesso, showing the layering process and creating rigid lines within these provisional forms.