Who?

Shown along with these is a piece I have entitled ‘Who?’. Simply a small rectangular piece of mirrored Perspex shown at eye level. 

If you think of it as just a surface it is just a plain rectangle, When approaching you will see the room reflected in it’s surface and when stood in front you will see yourself framed by the edges. By itself in any other environment this would just be a mirror but shown with these other pieces a theme is repeated. Like the drawings it is in it’s simplest form and removes all detail on it’s surface. When you see the emptiness of the room or the presence of other people reflected in it you think of the environment it is being shown in, unlike the poster which takes you into a world, this shows you your own environment and makes you think about the way that space is inhabited. When you see your own reflection you are provided with what is normally enough proof of your own existence, but alongside these other pieces you question what is real and what is fact. There is a well-known saying ‘Seeing is Believing’ however I has shown in my other works up til this point that even though there is an absence of a figure in these images, you can still believe that someone has been then, so can you really rely on a reflection?
On the theme of time, every time you look into a mirror you change, your reflection will never be the same again, when you return to this piece you will see something new, which should make you think of the day to day events that have passed since you last visited and so consider the idea of passing time. 

Additional pieces...

Although I liked the cut outs of the canvases idea I felt I could develop it further to explore more of the everyday and the mundane than to focus on a specific building. Whilst also being influenced by Paul Caulfield I decided to take individual objects, rather than sites and draw them by their selves. My plan was to put these in the glass frames I had got to be lit up fro behind, but after the cutting out of the canvases I thought it could work better to cut into some of the details in picture which would then be placed into the perspex frames in the hope that natural light would cast shadows onto the surrounding area like in Tom Fruin's Glass house. 

I wanted these drawings to be universal, something that everyone could find in their home, the objects I came up with were; an Iron, toothpaste, a mobile phone, shoes, scales, a chair and a teapot. I feel that all of these objects could be placed happily in any one's home and to demonstrate I recorded them in my own home. The  problem with the drawings is that not all of them are to scale as they are all made to fit the same sized frames to help with the transportation of them to new sites, but the benefit of record them through photography meant that I could create an illusion where necessary to make the the objects appear in proportion to their surroundings. Some had to be held by string and brought closer to the camera to make them bigger, when editing I could have removed the string but I liked that you could see the construction of the final image by leaving it there, a bit like how you can imagine the process in my drawings by seeing the markings and wobbly lines that could only made by hand.

I liked how you can see the surrounding environment in the gaps in the pictures, so their shadow becomes a part of the setting as well as the setting becoming a part of the image, they merge into one. I also cut parts away to show how although these objects are visible to us everyday and we'd recognise them anywhere, we also look pass them because of our familiarity with them. After making these I decided to make a clock that would be photographed with a more prominent light to cast a strong shadow of the clock. I made two versions, one an outline and one the same as these drawings, where only parts are cut out. I liked the slightly cut out drawing more one it's own but I found that the outlined cut out gave a better shadow so have chosen that for the final photo. I chose a clock as my final object as I wanted people, whilst looking at these photos as  a collection, to think about the time that passes when using these objects.

Alterations...

After a tutorial it was pointed out to me that due to the digital nature of my edited drawings I had the ability to alter them and then compare to see what one works best and therefore get the best image possible. I would like to produce one of my drawings on a large scale as I think they could make good posters that would fit into anyone's bedroom, living room etc as another mundane object of a mundane scene to demonstrate the gaps in our lives we glaze past. so I have edited for of the drawings by changing, enhancing and altering the colour of the images, here are the results (see previous posts for original edits): 

Favourite = bottom right.

Favourite = top right.

Favourite = bottom left.

Favourite = top right.

In all of the edits I tried to play around with the idea of possibly making the colours more saturated, more obscure, more diluted, or duller. The ones that I have highlighted as being my favourite have been chosen do to there subtle colours, soft yet realistic to the original environment they came from. They are vaguely brighter than the originals which I feels removes a significance of mood as if they were too dark they might be perceived as depressing or negative which would perhaps have more connotations with being alone than I'm looking for. Although some of the obscurer edits created some interesting colours I didn't feel they were appropriate for what I am trying to achieve with the idea of the mundane and every day. During my tutorial it was also brought to my attention that in some of the previous edits the water from the canal looked like a tarmacked road, I have taken this into consideration with the edits of the water in some of the shots.

Whilst planning how to print these for final edits I placed them all onto one formatted page to printed with gaps in between each to allow me to cut them in four and split them apart. However, when I placed them all together I found the effect very pleasing as all of the colours compliment one another. Earlier when deciding which drawing to choose as a final it was hard to think which of these was the most successful as they all show different angles, tempos and directions, but seeing them side by side they seem to fit. Like a story board they have enough detail in them to show perhaps the journey of someone walking along this canal, taking a break on the seat and then continuing. I like how this could be seen as quite a boring and normal activity, how it can be universal as the detail I have left out doesn't necessarily make it specific to Birmingham and how easily someone could imagine themselves taking part in this event. Considering the idea of existence I think this on an A1 poster could be very successful in demonstrating how someone might live out their everyday.

Canvas cut outs...

So, continuing with my idea of the importance a stain glass window represents by using simple outlines in my work I have thought about how to develop the use of shadow and play on light in my drawings. When testing light coming from behind canvases there would have been a problem with light it up consistently enough to get a clear image. The collograph print made me think about how you can cut away at the card to create level which produce different amounts of light. whilst considering these ideas I wanted to look into more of the detail of the old office building in one of my previous drawings, thinking of the missing windows and combining this with the idea of cutting away I thought of cutting away whole peices of canvas to reveal the wall when hung up instead of a light. I would only cut away the window to give the illusion of 3D but also represent the gaps in the building due to it having been damaged. 

Using the idea of stain glass and the use of acetate I filled in accurately the panes of glass that actually still remain in the building with the parts that are damaged as well so that it can be a record of how the building looks before it is repaired and remind the audience of the imperfections at present. The gaps in the canvas produce shadows on the wall behind which, like the stain glass window in my living room, with move dependant on the time of day.

I developed this even further by drawing onto the canvas one of my previous ideas only thins time cutting everything away but the line, then I painted the whole canvas black to look like the black seal you get on satin glass windows. Because of the amount of material that was cut away the canvas sagged so I put some perspex behind it to hold up the lines but still allow the silhouette to cast a shadow on the wall.

I'm not sure about this one, I like the lines and how it relates to the black tape on my window, even the perspex makes it better as it seems more like glass and adds an interesting surface, but I'm not sure what it says by showing this image in this way, unlike the white line canvas previous to this.

Damien Hirst exhibition...

On 5th April 2012 I went to visit the Damien Hirst exhibition at the Tate Modern, here are my notes from the day.

(The glass boxes that a lot of the pieces can be seen being shown in the exhibition allow the view to see the object inside from all angles, you see people moving around and getting a really close look so even though it is sectioned off from you, you can still interact with it. The formaldehyde distorts the boxes when looking through the glass.)

Boxes gloss house paint makes it more industrial.

What goes up must come down the ball actually dropped whilst watching it but people walked on by as if it was meant to happen, shows peoples belief in art even when the art isn't working.

Isolated Element Swimming in the Same Direction for the Purpose of Understanding glass eyes and sad faces. Each box was sized differently to fit the proportions of the fish inside it

Stimulants Tiny bubbles form on the sheeps head, reminds me of things that have been left in water for too long.

A Thousand Years I felt like the flies could fly out at you, it's almost like you're immersed along side them. There were more files dead on the floor of the piece than I had expected. When watching them fly around near the fly killer I wanted to see them fly into it and die, almost like a child instinct of wanting a little bit of brutality. The piece also reminded me of my dad as he used to be a butcher and he would tell me horrible stories of the bottom of the fly killer falling of and all of the dead flies landing on his bosses head.

Away from the Flock A child looking at this piece really seemed to enjoy getting this close to a sheep and was fascinated by the fluffiness of the fur whilst being in liquid.

11 Sausages A lot of people walked by this piece without a second glass, perhaps they thought the sausages weren't real or didn't find them shocking enough next to the whole animals. I think this comments a lot on how society distances itself from the connection of cute animals and the meat we eat as no one seemed to piece these two together event though they were being shown in the same room.

Spot Paintings A large series, from canvas, board and even painted directly onto the wall (made espically for the gallery and won't be able to be shown anywhere else!). I liked them most when the dots were small but on a very large canvas, I felt like I could get lost in them like that.

Off to one side of one of the rooms in a smaller room overlooking the turbine hall, some of Hirst films were being shown on a small television, one after the other. People seemed to get distracted a lot by the window over looking the people queueing for For the Love of God and many people weren't that interested.

A Couple of Cannibals Eating a Clown (I Should Coco) casual conversation in a pub but between two clowns.
After having watched all of the films you see a common theme of the use of comedy, the grotesque, cultural and an animation of his own work. All could comment on society as they involve laughter, obscurity, death and the manufactured.
People didn't seem to expect films at this exhibition, even though they had paid to see all of the works in the show most chose not to stand and watch the films, perhaps it didn't have the immediacy of his other well known shocking works.

Dead Ends Died Out, Examined even before seeing the title I felt like these cigarette remains represent the end of a conversation or a social gather or perhaps even someone's train of thought. 

The Acquired Inability to Escape Although keeping the uniform of a sealed off box around this work there is a bizarre second box, like an extension to the original, at the front. This feels like a walk way as though it's where you are meant to stand. I also want to approach the desk which reminds me of my own work of the projection onto the studio wall with a studio space and welcoming chair. 

Lullaby, the Seasons There is a mirrored background behind the rows of pills, is it there to question the viewer on their own drug use? Seeing as each pill is different it highlighted tome just how large the variety of pills there is.The colours, sequencing and spacing of the pills reminds me of the spot paintings. 

The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living Although this is one of Hirst's most famous pieces it is very different seeing it in real life to seeing it on-line or in a book. It's the little details that surprised me most, like the holes in the shark's side which were evidence of the it having been caught in the wild. The idea of this piece is to make you almost feel scared, having it at eye level and in a box that made it seem as though you could almost be in there with it, but also see the irrationality of your fear by having the ability to examine it. Seeing this large creature not only captured in a moment after it was harmed and killed, but also held in an environment out of it's normal habitat made the shark seem vulnerable to me, which takes away all of the fear and almost makes you feel powerful to be literally face on to a beast that would be able to kill you in a normal situation.

All of the cases of medical products look the same but have different titles. This makes you question why? what has changed? (the type of medicine in each cabinet?) or is it just another comment on medicine and how we believe there is a pill to fix everything. Looking at the packaging there is a nostalgia to the ones you recognise (Calpol), which is an odd thing to feel about something so clinical. Some of the titles I took note of were Pretty Vacant as I feel like this means how you feel after having taken the medication, and New York as when I think of this I think fashionable, stress of a built up city, normality, which could all comment on our  relationship with medication.

The Pharmacy room just 'happened' to be in the room which has a window facing St Pauls (not sure if this was intentional or not but most likely was). I know that this work is meant to suggest that medicine and science is the new faith/religion, but the location of this room just makes this clearer. In an age where evolution is taught as fact and creationism is seen as a belief it becomes clear why we have so much more faith now in something that is visible and factual and can be proved unlike religion.

Whilst queueing for In and Out of Love I had to stand by A Thousand Years Again. Behind me I had a child with their dad, whilst he explained the work to his son I realised how good this exhibition was to explain the brutality and truth of death in a really simple way. Something that when written down might sound horrible but in fact the children seemed to appreciate, death is fascinating, there are illustrations to explain it in the bluntest way and kids want to be told the cold hard truth at least the slightly older ones do, and all little boys like something a bit gruesome to tell their friends about. Whilst waiting and watching this peice for a while a few things came to mind, this box is air tight... do flies need oxygen? will they all just die eventually? Also I get how this could have been set up, but when they dismantle the piece will all the flies escape? urgh. 

In and Out of Love (Butterfly paintings and ashtrays) Even though it's sad that these beautiful insects are dead you can appreciate their patterns, detail and colour when they are stuck in the paint.

In and Out of Love (White Paintings and Live Butterflies) After seeing the big block coloured canvases and walking into this room with big white canvases, it seems as though all of the colour before has come alive and flown off the surface turning into the live butterflies before you. This also made me feel very child-like and I got very excited watching a butterfly hatch from it's cocoon. Watching this even with me were some of the audience, this point of conversation brought together a very small community of people in support for this small insect in anticipation or it's arrival.

The spinning paintings along side each other, some still rotating and shown with Loving in a World of Desire (Which reminded me of a large version of What Goes Up Must Come Down) gave off a lot of energy. The spinning paintings that were still rotating were hypnotising but I think I preferred the still version as it was more interesting considering the way the paint had splashed and landed. The title's of the spin paintings perfectly described how Hirst felt about them Beautiful, Cataclysmic pink minty shifting horizon exploding star with ghostly presence, wide, broad painting. One in perticular caught my eye because of it's humour and tongue-in-cheek value Beautiful, childish, expressive, tasteless, not art, over simplistic, throw away, kids' stuff, lacking in integrity, rotating, nothing but visual candy, celebrating, sensational, inarguably beautiful painting  (for over the sofa) Hirst appears to be writing his own review as though it's what he expects the critics to say, also the end part reminds me of the saying 'Good art doesn't match the sofa', as though it is a final mock of his own work to finish off the title.

Mother and Child Divided I found it weird how the insides of the animal appear to be held in by the glass (reminds me a little of the detail in stain glass windows... only real.) I liked the detail of the stamp on the bum of the cow, showed the reality of the animal, what they're for and also the strangeness of it's final outcome which was to become a piece of art when normally it would become meat.

Crematorium Disgusting to look at if you hate smoking, plus there's a vague smell. I can imagine this making you crave a cigarette if you do smoke however.

Still and Doubt I liked the handles on the cabinets, reminded me of school and education. There were big grids painted onto the walls in this room, perhaps a reference to maths and science, as well as completing the feeling of order from the organised cabinets. Again a reference to school as science is taught as a faith the same that religion would be in a church. The tools/apparatus found in the room would be scary individually as they are sharp and metallic but as a group they are kind of beautiful and shine like precious metals.

Doorways to the Kingdom of Heaven absolutely loved this, might have been it's aesthetic appeal and the beauty of the colour and pattern, which is shallow but there's something about it you can;t help but instantly love. Also very appropriate for the theme of stain glass windows I am looking at in my own work. I like how Hirst describe art as being his religion, it gives him hope and faith. Recently I've heard a lot of people say how when they leave a church they feel at peace, which is how I feel when I leave a gallery, this piece reminded me of this and knowing how Hirst feels about art explained a lot to me about my own confidence and belief in art. 

Anatomy of an Angel again relates to the idea of art being a religion, but also brings in the science as a faith by showing the factual insides of a religious symbol.

Black Sun Beautiful from a distance, glistens in the light and ironically makes you want to touch it until you realise it is dead flies, which is disgusting and morbid. 

In the gold room you can see how hirst has started to explore luxury at this point (getting closer to the diamond skull). There is a repetition of previous ideas, spot paintings, pill cabinets, butterflies, cigarettes. When you were in the butterfly stain glass window room the pattern was repeated as a wallpaper in the next room, now diamonds wallpaper this room, making patterns and repetition all the more prominent and obsessive.
The Incomplete truth This nicely finishes off the exhibition as an idea of hope, for more work, more art and just in general hope. Alongside is an explanation of his titles in which he says 'in an artwork I always try to say something and deny it at the same time'. This shown with The Incomplete Truth hints that not all is what it seems at you might leave thinking you get it or that it's obvious, but perhaps it's not. You just have to keep thinking about it.

After the main exhibition I went to see For The Love of God in real life it's seems smaller than what you would imagine, probably because of the space around it in the large vault which it is contained in. The overwhelming blackness in the vault makes you tread very carefully as you can;t see where you are going and the mass amount of security to see this one piece reminds you just how much this diamond encrusted skull is worth! However it would also be hard to forget that under the bright spotlight seeing all of the precious stones glistening in such detail. 

Outside was Hymm which is on such a large scale it almost seems like a God. If you take the title as it would be said out loud (Him) you would think it was about God himself. Again this reminds me of Hirst idea of art being a religion as the building behind (the Tate) seems to guarded by this giant as though it is a holy place. It's Hymm's house or contemporary art's church.

 

Lighting up my work...

During the Easter holidays I was thinking of Tom Fruin and his lit up glass house. I have tested with some different materials and works from the past to see how they change when being lit up from behind with a lamp. The first was a small canvas with a rough drawing from years ago I had probably planned to paint. The canvas lit up well but I would have to consider a the spread of light as you can see where the lamp is placed behind.

On a larger canvas the light doesn't reach the edges and the wood in the middle which supports the size of the canvas can been seen in a shadow on the canvas.

Next was a canvas with ink and acrylic paint that had been mixed with liquid gloss, the image is lit up quite nicely with the line still  being clear and I found it interesting that you could see the layers of drawing underneath the final image, but the watered down colour was made even weaker when diluted by the light.

 When doing the same again to an acrylic painting on canvas the light doesn't come through as clearly but some does break through the paint. Like the ink drawing you can see the actually construction of the painting   as the layers of paint allow different amounts of light through.

 

With the paintings that had been applied more thickly (with a palette knife) hardly any light is shown through, only the parts that had been scratched away, this could good if I want to paint on with one colour and then scratch away the paint to make my drawing.

 

Moving on from canvases I looked at a collograph print I made last year, because of the different layers that had been cut into the surface different amounts of light can be let through. Due to the French polish used to seal the card for printing the colour of the light that comes through had a warm orange glow to it, also were this particular plate had been used for a print there is plate ink on the top surface which doesn't allow any light through, so the clear black lines are made even more prominent with the light behind.

 

Relating more to Tom Fruins perspex, coloured house on to putting a lamp behind a glass frame. This glass frame is made from two thick pieces of glass that have magnets in each corner so they stay together without a  frame, the good thing about this is that I can place things where I want them in the frame and they will stay in the same place when the frame is stood up or moved around. The first thing I tried was a piece of acetate with no marking, it can hardly be seen but it is visible which could be nice for some subtle effects.

Next I put some painted fabric between the glass, it flattens and straightens it out, letting a lot of light through but still showing some colour from the fabric. When an object was placed in the middle behind the fabric you could make it out quite clearly, so perhaps a stencil could be place in the middle.

I have a glass palette with lots of dried on acrylic paint. When this is lit up from behind, like in the paintings, the layers of paint are made more visible from the amount of light it lets through. I think that the colour and style of the left over paint is similar to Dale Chihuly's drawings but when thinking about the flatness of colour and avoiding distraction that Paul Caulfield chooses in his work I think this kind of detail could be a bit much in my current work. What I did take from this was the shadows that the pain splatters created, making silhouettes onto glass could be my answer to making portable stain glass drawings.

Thinking in turns of projection I took the acetate drawing that was used for my actual life sized projection of a study space in the studios at uni and place it between the glass frames. When projected the most successful drawing was the simple outline as the colour didn't transfer well, but when lit up I liked how bright the paint became. Thinking again in terms of flatness I think the best one was the solid filling of colour, however even though I like that you can see the brush strokes I think it would be best to keep things flatter at this point.