Ideas/Brainstorming...

In my notebook I briefly made ideas of the ways in which I could narrow my down my theme with topics I could look at:

( click to enlarge)

Walsall Art Gallery...

On Tuesday 4th October I visited the Walsall Art Gallery. The two exhibitions that I saw were 'This is not a house' by Edgar Martins, and 'Structure and Material' featuring Claire Barclay, Becky Beasley and Karla Black. My favourite was the first be Edgar Martins.

This is not a house:
When first entering the room we were handed leaflets on the exhibition which explained in the words of Edgar Martins himself, how he had 'produced a series of photographs that explored the collapse of the US housing market' in 2008 as part of an assignment for The New York Times. Below are photographs I have taken from the exhibition which include photography of 'abandoned homes, golf courses, ski resorts, hotels and other building projects in sixteen locations across six different states.'

It was interesting talking about the exhibition after walking around for a while. My first impression after having read the description was what I had been told. These images were depictions of a lonely, abandoned setting. Places that could have once been lived in or been created with the intention to be habited are left lifeless. After speaking with the rest of the class and my tutor we quizzed on what our first impression would have been without knowing the context of the exhibition, the main point being 'would we have known it was about the housing market or would we have thought differently'? A common idea was that it might have had something to do with a natural disaster; the debris left outside some of the houses look like it was brought there during destruction. Amongst trying to decode what the photos could be about you can't help but notice how strange they seem, is it coincidence or have they been altered before and after being taken to emphasise the image?

My tutor pointed out some of the things that seemed strange within the pictures that once noticed couldn't be ignored. For example the insulation in the photo above is pinker than normal, is it meant to be more satisfying to the eye and visually appealing? This would be an example of a photo that has been adapted to after it was taken.

Another point my tutor made was how some of the pictures seemed too perfectly placed, like this sign in the picture above, like someone had been there and moved it to make the photo look better. Even though the image is about the absence of people it has the vibe that someone was once there. 

Three photos that stood out from the others in the show were these below; unlike the other photos of houses they showed what looked like a bare concrete construction site. These pictures stuck out from the rest as they were so different but they were easy to walk past with their dull colour and lack of detail, but with a close look they seemed even more odd. Each was meant to be found but like the above they seem too unlikely to have happened or have been discovered in that state. Some of the locations might have been genuinely found but because of the occasional one that looks too much like an edit you can't help but question all of them. This takes away from the belief of the exhibition, which could be unfortunate or might be the point he is trying to raise. The power that photo journalists have in the media when on a small scale in a trusted newspaper means that you might not question the truth behind a photograph, but then they might just be bending the truth to make more of a point.

When you're actually told the intentional meaning behind the photographs you can't help but notice the strangely appropriate placement of the gallery. There are windows around the gallery space which are always open to the outside world during each exhibition, but for this show the view contrasts with the what's inside. We are being shown housing that has been left as empty shells by its owners and outside there are numerous amounts of new apartment blocks and housing advertised to be moved into, waiting to be homes. 

The placement of these windows invites people to look outside and question its relation to the exhibition itself. Even their positioning on the wall makes it look like they have been hung like another piece of art. This makes is a good example of how the venue art work is placed in can affect the meaning, something to consider when hanging my own work and when viewing other work.

As a whole I liked this particular exhibition initially because I felt it was visually appealing which is interesting considering what we questioned later on. I thought the use of houses was appropriate to my theme as it looks at houses and homes that have been a part of some ones life and the context is about the decline of the housing market which is a major topic during my life time. I have previously used Photoshop in an obvious way to make a point in some of my own work, so I could take inspiration from Edgar Martins and use it subtly to make an image more persuasive. However if I chose to do this I would have to ask myself if this would question the integrity of my work or would I want to declare that I had edited it even though that might make it less believable?

Statement of Intent...

Start of second year statement of intent form:
in bold are the sections I had to fill out

Individual Practice: Statement of Intent 2

Birmingham Institute of Art and Design

Level 4

School of ArtBA(Hons) Fine Art

Module:

Individual Practice 2: Review and Orientation

Module learning outcomes (on successful completion you will be able to do the following):

• Demonstrate an extension to knowledge and understanding through imaginative and technical experimentation with processes, methods, materials and contextual research.
• Apply analytical, critical and reflective skills and investigations
• Demonstrate a further range of technical and practical skills and investigations
• Demonstrate creative, practical and organisational skills in broadening and managing a strategy for practice

Summative review of key issues raised in feedback and your previous module self appraisal:

• Use more photoshop techniques
• Consider working on a larger scale
• Focus more on my literal/narrative style (where my stronger work comes form)
• Consider combines processes

Content of Investigation (including an explanation and rationale for the identified area/subject)

I intend on investigating the topic of existentialism, the study of human existence. Whilst reading the 20^th anniversary of Frieze magazine and how art has changed in the last two decades, I decided to look back on my life before I myself turn twenty. Rather than the studying the objective like language, knowledge and science, existentialists look at the subjective like human emotions. Existentialism is believed to be a ‘lived’ philosophy and can also use art to express its beliefs, so seems appropriate for questioning my human existence over my life.

I want to explore what has made me who I am today at this point as I have changed in my lifetime already, it would be interesting to see how I will have changed in another 20 years. But more than that, what makes me change and in turn perhaps others. Through art I can use self-expression to create images that depict my own human existence.

I don’t want it to be a literal self-portrait project, more an exploration of my life in the hope it will make my future artwork richer and more honest.

Processes/Materials/Workshops (describe in relation to the above. How does your choice relate to meaning?)

• Painting = through style of painting I can express my own emotions (look into new ways/techniques of painting including different mediums.)
• Ink = sketch/paint with it for quick notes almost on my life or ideas
• Printing = represent repetition or structured elements in my life? (I want to learn other ways you can print, perhaps screen printing for example)
• Photoshop = edit photos from my past/image trickery to clarify my point.
• installation/sculpture = new medium to explore, perhaps take images I created could be transformed into 3D sculptures.

Rather than focusing on these processes and materials separately I’d like to combine them this year to see what I can further create. Painting is the process I am most used to and printing and photoshop were the two most successful materials from last year so it seems appropriate using them on a personal project this year. However I’d like to try new materials to extend my practice and experiment this year.

Contextual Research (identified expansion of prior or new research)

• Visit Walsall Art Gallery
• Visit Frieze Art Fair
• Artists related to existentialist/ focus on human existence
• Frieze magazine 

Start of a new year, a new project... and a new blogg

Normally for my practical work I would use a log book/sketch book to collect all of my research in a scrapbook-type form. However, in my last project I used an online blogg for the first time. I found it so useful to be able to link websites I had found directly to the page without having to rely on printing, cutting out and sticking into my book that I've decided to use it again this year for research purposes. I still have a notebook to jot down ideas and clarify my own thoughts, but any artist research, inspirational images or photos of work I have done can be uploaded onto this blogg to be analysed and critiqued in the hope of improving my practice.

So for this year...