14/11 Sadie Coles Gallery
After getting my portfolio I visited the Sadie Coles Gallery. This time I tried to look at the paintings first before reading the description. I always found that thought quite challenging when I know I can just read about it because part of me thinks surely the artist has created this work to make people aware of the issues that they feel strongly about rather than letting their art adapt to the viewers viewpoint and opinions. At the same time I saw some of her work with different materials and it made me realise that not every detail will have a meaning and often it would be the process that has lead to the meaning of the outcome. I liked that colour and composition was something that played a role in her work and this made me think of the way textiles artists approach their work. As textiles is something that I am used to working with in the past it is interesting to see the way it is perceived differently when it is put out of the context of a collage but into the scene of fine art. Personally it becomes a lot more analytical of the images rather than what the colours and textures may be symbolising. At the same time you could see patterns of crocodile skin being overplayed on her work which represented masculinity and wealth in her first collage. I think her use of image, pattern and colour is quite unique as she really cleverly overlays them making the image transition into block colours and creating an illusion of where the layers begin and where they end. Seeing this exhibition has also challenged me idea of what painting can be and made me think about how abstract and realism can harmonise together.
15/11Interrogating the Real
Today we were given an introduction to some key moments in painting history. As my knowledge of art history is extremely minimal this was so enriching and has made me look at painting in a new way. Some of the artists and terminology I had researched the day before also came up and were explained in more depth.
Reference images
CSM Fine Art Open Day
BA COURSE RESEARCH
XD pathway at CSM - this was something that caught my attention because it was about taking art outside into communities and thinking about how can can public corporate with the things that are happening inside the university. For me this was an important factor because especially after being in this course for some time, more and more I question what is the purpose of what I am doing and in what way can it potentially help someone. What I also liked about it that int his pathway you could incorporate any of the characteristics of the 2D, 3D, and 4D pathways which are internal in the fine art course.
2D Pathway at CSM - I also looked into a student interview later who made these beautifully colourful paintings and this is something that I don't see often in fine art so it was quite encouraging that somebody has made a project that talks about colour in a way that's simply due to it's aesthetic reasons. I really liked the work of Ashton Attz because of it's directness of the message that she wanted to put across. "For me, colour is a way to captivate your audience – they will look when the work is bright, vibrant and vivid." What I also found itneresting was that she actually began her course on the XD pathway too! She spoke that the work she produced compared to her 3rd year work is completely different ranging from instillation to painting.
It was interesting to read that students in the XD pathway would so often change their style and places of interest within the course and making it more into a journey fo finding your voice as an artist.
I really liked also that this student talked about making her work more accessible and to be outside of the gallery walls. This is also something that has been on my mind as I don't want to place work that sits only inside as space. This is also why I think fashion is important because it is a way of people choosing your work/ designs to help them express themselves in the outside world, I think there is something special about that.
On the other hand these thoughts are perhaps not relevant at the moment because it all depends on the type of work that I want to create which will affect all of these factors.
19/11
What Methods/ approaches have you used so far and which other interest you?
Some of the ideas that had come up so far had been on accenting on the movement and the texture that is visible in the image.In Hindsight I feel like I should've manipulated the images I was using more as well as manipulating the outcome. The reason I worked on this idea a little bit is because I came across Margiela's 2018 collection where the garment changes by the choice of the audience and it interested me how in a painting the garment could be more three dimensional to perhaps suggest it's more real. Seeing how realism could be viewed differently in different dimensions and which engages the viewer more. I also liked the illustrative nature of movement and perhaps this could be something that could be made into an animation.
Another idea I had was looking at photography close ups by Masie Cousins from her exhibition "Dipping Sauce" where food is portrayed in a disgusting way as well as placing a small plastic mermaid inside which I think brings a sense of narrative to these surreal photographs. I thought it would be interesting to paint something that already has lost a sense of what it is and created more of a sense of place. Painting it created a different dimension to it altogether. What is is interesting about her work is that different people will see different things in it and a different setting.
I think more than thinking about the idea of realism I need to experiment more with the image and chaining it thought perhaps photocopy or collage.
What Materials/ source images do you need for tomorrow?
As I am still trying to come up with a solid idea I will continue to delve deeper into the images that I have at the moment. Some of the ideas that I had since was photographing textiles if I were to focus on fashion illustration. Overall play around with he relationship that 3D has with 2D and how that changes the viewers indulgence in the piece.
Research:
For my research I will look at David Hockney's fragmented photography because it is interesting how from reading 'way of seeing' where photography is described as not being timeless, his work almost proves this through it's kinetic nature. He also states ‘Photography will never equal painting!’ which would be interesting to look into to make my decision on which medium to use or whether to leave it as photography.
I also found it quite interesting how a lot of artists had paintings with a relationship to film. It would be interesting to hear more about the meaning of Judith Eisler stopping a film to find the perfect shot that she wants to paint. I also really liked Francis Bacon's use of paint and colour to represent some of the found images he has in his studios and overall do more research through making more of my own photographs. It would also be interesting to take fabric and embroider this , perhaps make small pieces of this as if it was paper. This go the same with the idea of Hockney's photography.
Galleries:
This week I also want to visit 180, The strand where work of about 21 artists is displayed where the idea of dreams is a running theme. The exhibition 'Strange Days : Memories of the Future" begins with mainly image and sound and gradually becomes more about sound. As well as that I want to see and the one about illusion called "The Salamnder Devours its Tail Twice" because the work there is so broad and as we are focusing not realism it would be interesting to see what conversation illusion could have with it.
22/11
Today I carried on with the three paintings that I had started. I began to paint a forth one because I started thinking of potentially making lots of these segmented paintings to place together and experiment with this idea of multiple viewpoints further to almost create this voyoristic sense of being watched. Whilst painting it also made me think about the point of when does a painting become uncomfortable. Just like Luc Tymans piece Bend Over, is uncomfortably interrogating of personal space I found there was something about some of these close ups that could be translated into the uncomfortable.
Every day I feel like it has been a learning curb for me as I am still trying to figure out what my place in fine art is. I need to learn to change the feeling of being overwhelmed and confused to being excited about the work I am making. I think often I let my work lead itself into random themes but what I need to learn to do is take control over what I am making. In the future I need to think more about why I am doing something and whether it is something that I am enjoying or something that I am forcing myself to create which has been the case for a few of these fine art projects. I need to learn to be confident with one idea and carry it through rather than giving up on developed because I don't think it is good enough.
Overall today has gone better because I have been able to stop comparing myself with others as much and experiment a little bit more before settling with one idea. Sometimes it was the case of looking back at my sketchbook and finding elements that could be evolved further. Looking at the work of Daniel Segrove for example I have been able to make my next step. I think this is one of the ways I can also put the digital collage and photography together. I really like the relationship that his work has with abstract and the obvious and I like the way texture plays big part of explaining the emotion of the subject in the painting.
Things I need to do from today and from the talk with the tutor:
Research more into different courses and focus more about what interests you and makes you get up in the morning rather doing everything just because you need to pass the course. Do more research into the things that interest you also rather than spending time in research of the questions that don't have relevance to your project. When visiting galleries talk why you didn't like them as much about the gallery you didn't enjoy. For the painting that I'm doing at the moment use some editing to take elements form it that are abstract and combine them together. Go back to workflow and look at which projects in Part 1 excited you the most and how you can incorporate those ideas in the work that you're doing now.
Lethaby Gallery - New Babylon
Excluding Rachel Mcleans exhibition, this has been one of the most strange exhibitions I have seen and at the same time the most intriguing. I felt like this exhibition really challenged the boarders and the ideas of what art is. Being put into the fine art pathway I've been really challenged by this question of what is good art now that I am in this pathway because every bodies work is so different. How can you compare a painting to a performance or a song to a photograph?
ANYWAY nevertheless my favourite piece from this was where the viewers where encouraged to join in with releasing a sound that felt most natural comfortable to their voice. A singing note. Everybody's pitch is different therefore it sounded like harmonising. We were also told to close our eyes so we only focused on the sound. This was honestly so beautiful
Unfortunately my phone died so I made quick sketches of what was going on to remember.
Almost every idea that I had this week I doubted and didn't stick with properly so I decided to use the images that I had taken and experiment a bit more with referencing patterns from manipulated images. I also kinda just wanted to paint because it's not something I do often and since I'm in the painting pathway I guess I'm not making a mistake by doing so... Working on this was probably one of the most enjoyable parts of this project. I think the mistake I had made is also distributing a lot of my ideas in the sketchbook and not showing my development the best way I can because the small outcomes are often scattered. Overall I liked the outcome and it aligned with my research the most.
Looking at the images and outcomes that Francis Bacon had I'm not sure where he got his tones of lilac and grey ] from however when I was looking at the reference image on my phone especially when zoomed in there were tones that I naturally didn't notice with my eyes before the image was taken. I guess it is this interesting approach that was talked about in the reading where you can also argue that you are creating a photograph rather than copying it. In my opinion I think the term photograph relates really closely to realism and in painting that is not always the case. It's more you are just making your own image, you interpretation of the photograph. On another hand surely everybody's interpretation should be valid. And if that's how they see they image perhaps that should be called a photograph as what an artist produces from a photograph is how it is processed through their lens.
I guess this also brings up the topic of synesthesia. Vincent Van Gogh experienced something called.. "Chromesthesia or sound-to-color synesthesia is a type of synesthesia in which heard sounds automatically and involuntarily evoke an experience of color. For the purpose of disambiguation, this article will refer to this chromesthesia in inducer-concurrent terms used to describe other forms of synesthesia."
"Vincent Van Gogh explained in his letters that for him, sounds had colors and that certain colors, like yellow and blue, were like fireworks for his senses. His paintings Sunflowers and The Starry Night are still palpitating canvases endowed with life and movement. It’s clear now that the famous post-impressionist genius was synesthetic."
Again these are all different factors that have affected the way he perceives the image and the way he expresses the image.
28/11 Open Day
CHELSEA COLLAGE OF ARTS - TEXTILES BA
I wanted to see this course because I had heard that this is one of the best ones in the country. It was good to see how open it was also and that it varied from instillation and students had the freedom to create work that was based just on creating a piece of textiles as well as combining their work with interior or fashion design. I liked this course because the lecturer spoke a lot about drawing also and how you have to have a love for colour and be interested in composition which were the things that spoke to me. Of course it still didn't feel like this is it. I also have to learn to not think about the fact that I won't get in but start creating a plan of how I can get onto a course I like. It was nice to hear them say that they aren't looking for plainly textiles and understand that people are coming from different practices which helps me in the way to think about portfolio preparation.
I also liked that this course gave an opportunity to have a year out in a university abroad in countries like Berlin, Sweden etc. I think this is really interesting because travelling in general often gives you a more open mind for the projects that you've been working on.
OVERVIEW OF IDEAS 30/11
So far I had three ideas that I wanted to work on. First being working with textiles to imitate some of the paintings made in the painting workshop. Looking at some of the colours and textures of the paintings I had made made me think of potentially progressing them through accenting the textural mature of the way the paint has been applied and creating something more three dimentional that sits outside of the canvas.
After this idea, when I came across the photography for the ... fall/winter 2017 collection it made me want to experiment with oil paints and applying medium over it to create the blurred affect. From this I also gathered that a lot of things that make me inspired are based on imagery. It is often textures, colours, or photography. At the same time I often find inspiration from having interactions with people and any kind of quotidian situations or work created by artists. Going back to the photographs I think I also wanted to start some painting with oil finally as this is my favourite media however as the projects have been so quick and the drying process takes a long time I haven't approached them yet.
The third idea that I had was inspired by Penone's sculptures. As I was walking home one day I came across a branch that was deposed of after a tree had been cut down by the council. There was something about it that excited me about the possible outcomes that could come from using this natural material. I had some ideas about slicing it and making a composition but after looking at the work of ... in the lecture I started thinking about possibly casting it and applying colour. I wasn't sure why yet but I still need to decide which one I will start first or start thinking abut developing further.
Also I think tomorrow I will work more on exploring some of the ways of applying paint as I felt like I came out with only one outcome that I actually liked.
Panel Making and Further Development
Today I came in to make a panel after which I primed it. I felt that I hadn't done much on a bigger scale and more expressive so I simply took some ink and splashed it over paper where some areas where covered. I thought it would be interesting to see how such a sharp edge clashes with a pattern that's as unpredictable as a splash. After it had dried a little I applied a little oil pastel to create more of a sense of composition.
Study Support:
I spoke to Pauline about my struggle of deciding which course to study and that I was mainly torn between Textiles, Illustration and Fine Art. She advised to research more into more course and simply make a mind map of these subjects and place what interests me the most about them. I quickly found that there was some but not much interests placed in Fine Art and the most interests was at Textiles.
Some ideas of 5 courses to apply for-
1.Textiles at CSM 2. Fine Art at CSM 3. Fashion at CSM (take garments + sketchbooks from Sixth Form) 4.Illustration at Anglia Ruskin University 5.Fashion Print at CSM?
2/12 course research
Fashion Print at CSM - I found this to be an exciting course as it involves often collaborating with fashion ideas and using drawing and printmaking to go on the body and to be developed for use outside of it's original purpose. People who leave the course often also go into illustration and working freelance. I think print is also like textiles a course that can be incorporated into any pathway. It has the potential of illustration to carry a strong sense of narrative. I think what I like about fashion and textiles courses is that you already know what you are aiming for so you can put all your time and energy on how to hit the nail on the head and produce the best work you can. With fine art I feel like the efforts often go into discovering what that purpose will be which for me has been a difficult process as it can feel aimless and it is difficult to stay motivated when it has to be good but it can be anything.
Textiles at CSM- The things that I liked about this course were similar to the things in the print. At the same time I wasn't sure what I thought about the decision making form knit wear, print and weave and that the students weren't able to interweave between these practices. However this is why I like the courses at CSM, because even for example the use of the 'street' is for everyone to be involved and to see what other courses are doing. I think it is an exciting environment when you know that there are so many possibilities of what your work can be and it can be on the edges of what for example textiles is. Also watching the interviews by the textiles tutors something that was mentioned that feedback was an important part of their course which I liked because this is something that helps me to develop my work.
I also came across an interview with a student who's work was based around illustration and interior design. She used magnetic wallpaper so people could make up their own story that they saw on the wall which I found really interesting. It is not often that the artist lets the audience alter their work.
THOUGHTS:
One of the main things that I have taken away from this project is that abstraction is actually a lot more difficult than realism. In realism you are already given all the ingredients on the plate in a way, and it is all depended on your awareness of the surrounding Also Looking back on these three weeks I feel like I have really overthought some ideas and tried to take everything away from lectures rather than focusing one thing in more depth. In the future I need to learn when to leave something and move on rather than trying to make the most of something I don't enjoy. Realise that I have hit a brick wall then research is one of the things that is the most useful in finding new ideas.
On the other hand one thing I am happy in with this project is that I have come closer to finding what I like the most. Colour has definitely made me more excited about these projects as well as working with different textures.
On the day I realised that I wouldn't have as much space as I wish so the pieces were very close together and that made it quite crowded. I had to consider which samples also needed a black background so that they wouldn't get lost in the white and the detail had the ability to be noticed.
Notes for future projects
-Explore colour more
-Research into colour theory in other sources than you have previously and how it links to composition
-How does narrative play a role in colour and composition
-Be more ambitious with your ideas -try things out that you haven't done before even if it is completely out of context
-Try and work on two separate things so that you don't get bored with one project and can come back to it with a fresh mind
- Do more research outside of artists but look more into theology, philosophy and notice aspects in the artist's work that influenced them outside of their practice.
PAINTING in DECOY
Today we were also introduced to our Christmas project and I'm not sure if it is something that I am looking forward to yet, however as the lecture was still happening I started to have ideas how this painting could be incorporated on clothes something like a badge or an accessory that could be easily disregarded. Another idea was perhaps making a sculpture that could be placed outside around public areas and to see if it would be noticed or questioned. It would be interesting to do this in my neighbourhood as people aren't so used to seeing sculpture out on the streets. tis thought also made me think of the hand rail that I saw at the 'Spaceshifters' exhibition where this object first is completely normal and unnoticeable but then evolved into this piece of sculptural art that can't go unnoticed. I think this transition between something becoming noticeable when it wasn't before is really interesting. How can people begin to see something they hadn't before without being told its there. Perhaps it could be affected by perspective or where they are standing or how close or far away they are. These are all things I want to think about coming towards this project. Another idea I had was more stirred towards fashion and how certain fabrics are not noticable or perhaps stitching over messages that become invisible in textiles. The first image that came to mind was a Jacket with hidden pockets.
Before I go too far into making things that have only come out of my own brain I also need to do some research.
Drawing Task
Taking from the Realism lecture we started playing around with how we want to portray the image that we had manipulated. I took the image from a festival I went to two years ago and an imposter from NME magazine of a band named 'Wolf Alice' I picked this image because I liked how the designer of the poster took elements from the band members clothing in colour and style of the typography to create an outcome that was well composed. I liked this because the typography had a relationship with the bands interest and successfully displayed the character and personality of the band and I copied the shapes of the bodies as I saw them.
In the drawing outcome I scrunched the image which created an overarching shape. I started looking at how people's body shapes become distorted as well as which creases reflected the light the most. These areas were presented in while oil pastels.
After 4:30 pm
I wanted to visit the White Cube Gallery in Bermondsey however I made a bad mistake checking to find out it doesn't start until the 28th November so on the way there I came across three galleries. In a way it was good for me to look at art that I otherwise wouldn't visit. Loveday's work was was made up of really cleverly put together brush stroked that when you stand back it makes your imagination see this scenery or a landscape.
Peter Layton
Textiles Museum
20/11
What was the most significant decision you made today and why?
Today I was still finding which images to focus on. I looked at some of the images I took in my own time as well as some of David Hockney's photography. I tried to imitate this style of photography into a collage to further develop my ideas. I liked these photographs because they gave an impression of observing something from different angles. Just like in our class discussion about 'Ways of Seeing' when everybody was sat in different areas but was still involved in the same process of listening in the same room, still everybody had a different perspective of this event. Some people could see or hear what was happening worse than others because of the structure of the room. Furthermore, the whole idea of people seeing the same thing but their lens is altered because their viewpoint is unique to everybody elses. Also different things would interest each person out of that talk, we are all reading the same text but each person has found different things interesting because of their viewpoint. Certain words speak to some more than others. Some found it relatable some, irrelevant.
After speaking to a tutor I came back to some of they drawings I did from the Fashion Photography. I liked these images because it wasn't clear what the clothing really was and the person was almost lost in it. If you took away the edge of the hand for example in the image, it would become completely abstract and unrecognisable as clothing. I really liked Margiela's collection which used clothing to raise some of the issues in social media and how we are portrayed in it. He asks the audience to use the flash which changes the outfit from monochrome to these overwhelming neon colours, raising questions
How is your research informing your work.
At the beginning I really just focused on my collection of images, however as I started working more I would find correlation in my work with other artists and would try and find what was their way of thinking. I also have found that often I fall into the habit of just making more work rather than stopping and researching more into what I am about to do. I think whenever I panic and not sure what I am doing I don't want to waste time so make more work which doesn't necessarily solve the problem. On the other hand the artist that is informing my work the most is Marcel Duchamp because his work is very much centred on photography and creating an outcome based on the key elements of this. I think further into the project I want to start working with multiple images to create one outcome because I like the idea of being able to see multiple perspectives at once.
21/11 Self directed study
Yesterday I left off my work with placing the photocopies of some of my cut outs in different positions and photographing them to see how the image changes. That day I felt like I was still making a decision between multiple different ideas and didn't really feel interested in any of them. Overall yesterday was a bit of a disaster because I spent a lot of time focusing on something where I didn't know where it was going and then leaving it and focusing on a different idea.
Today I took the paintings and photocopies and created new shapes to go on the wall. It wanted to see how much of a different affect it had when it was made 3 dimensional. As these drawings are all based on the fashion photograph I think it also gives it a lot more movement because of the ambiguity of the garment in the original image. In the end I really enjoyed putting it together because I'd never worked with such dark images before and this was something that made it quite immersive. Again this was a process done where I didn't know where it was going. I took images of this composition and started playing around with some editing.
I also wanted to somehow put together the collage I had made inspired by Hockney's photographs because I felt that also had potential to be developed. I find candid photography interesting because it places the person in their vulnerable state. We see what they look like when they are thinking and working rather when they are trying to engage with us. Going back, I really enjoyed this form of collage making so I used this collage also to overlay the photographs from the paintings on the wall. Because of this segmented nature of collage making and the relationship with a person I felt like it also had correlation with thoughts and memory in the form of different segments and shapes.
23/11 180 Strand - Strange Days
Today I visited Strange Days exhibition. Even though it was all moving image the thing that made me interested was that a lot of the artists were interested in our relationship with our memory and the way we perceive the past, present and future. This interested me because especially after reading Ways of Seeing I wanted to see how video makers portray this idea of a memory through moving image rather than a painting.
I liked the way the article by Adrian Searle described this exhibition in a few words- "This exhilarating buffet of video art offers stories of metamorphosis and plant sex, Harlem life and queer fratboys. It’s overwhelming – but at least there’s somewhere to lie"
24/11
'm still learning to refine my research. I often find there is little time and I just want to try and absorb as much information as possible in the hope that something may be relevant which isn't always the best practice. As I really don't know much about the subject of realism I try and seek ways of the ways I can identify with it as well as how different artists use different methodologies because I think that is the part where you are able to open your mind to new possibilities when you realise how differently someone thinks compared to you.
Charles-Michel de l'Épée Educator
I think the way we see things can also relate to how we interpret things. Today is the birthday of the man who first taught French sign language and it is interesting to find out how having a lack in some senses makes you alter somebodies viewpoint. Or where perhaps somebodies vision causes them to view things differently. My father is colour blind and often doesn't see bright colours at all or friends that are dyslexic and are unable to express something they have seen on paper. It would be interesting to perhaps have an image and ask people to draw this how they see it. Perhaps not telling them how much time they have but this could be 20 seconds. In this time it would be obvious what habits they have when they draw, where they begin if its a portrait, or which is the first thing that they had noticed and spent the most of their time drawing. It is also this idea os thinking through drawing. I feel like you can tell a lot by what a person finds interesting through their gestures in drawing.
26/11
What has happened today?
Today I began with asking some people to draw the image that I showed them to see how different people view this photograph. I wanted to see which things they would focus the most and which parts were dismissed. The first person I said that they would be given a couple of seconds however that made them rush which I guess didn't make it as accurate. Instead I gave them a short time and told them when to stop. It was interesting to see how some rushed to cover the whole image, others focused on one person in depth and it was interesting that I think the person that the light fell on the most was what directed the eye the most too.
Today I also spoke to my tutor about some of the questions I had about being in fine art and the thoughts of not being sure whether what I am making is right or successful as well as not having an exact end goal in mind to work towards. This has been something that made me feel less motivated on these projects. Taking back from the conversation I need to learn to centre my research on the things that I genuinely enjoy rather than researching into questions that have been asked and are still being figured out. I realise often trying to find answers doesn't equal to actually trying to answer them myself.
What has changed from previous days?
Also today we looked through each other's personal statements and something I have to work on is developing some of the ideas that I have and what work I have created as well as elaborating a bit more on some of the things that that I say I do out of school.
What will you research further?
I think it would be interesting to look into how different people perceive images and whether we all actually see the same thing. It would interesting to perhaps create an illustration or a storyboard of this thought. I like the detail and narrative quality that illustration holds that is able to 'illustrate' an idea in this visual way.
27/11
Today I finished the painting which was inspired by the pixelated quality of zooming in in on the image. At the beginning I wasn't really sure where it was going. The green was also completely accidental however I quite liked that quality that it had with the surface Black would've been too harsh. I began to like the painting more as I added outlines to the edges making it more illustrative. I think it gave the painting more character the more I edged I added and lifted it from its surface. In everything I am making I'm trying to find that moment which makes me more interested in what I have created to develop it into something new. After doing this I though more about the patterns that are in the painting and this extremely zoomed in photograph that creates a completely different setting due it focusing less and less on what is surrounding that person.
Today I also spoke to my tutor and it was encouraging to hear that she liked what I produced. I think that is one of the things I have struggled with is not having direct criticism from tutors for a long period of time which has lead me feel disorientated. Knowing this reassured me that I m doing something right.
Women see colours in more depth than men...
Painting workshop
Today we played with different methodologies in abstract art which I really enjoyed because it helped me to value this a lot more and realise that it is not as easy as it looks! It was so easy to overwork something or choose an inappropriate colour which would make it too chaotic. I enjoyed this because it made me think in a similar way that I used to think about textiles and through painting I was able to be even more expressive and experimental as I had to be quick in my decision making. I was surprised that the one that received the most attention was the first. I think it was because I was less precious about the outcome where as in the rest I was delving too much into it being the right process.
After today I also joined in listening what one of the tutors was saying to a student who had no idea what they will apply to as I am in the same situation. The focus of the conversation was that we need to centre the personal statement on ourselves and not the course. We need to find the thing that interests us the most and the thing that we want to do for 3 years and potentially for the rest of our lives. Not just to waste money on a course thinking this will give me the best job.
In fine art for some reason I have felt that I have to produce something in a particular way so that I can get a good grade, pass the course etc. however it's not been a lot of looking really deeply into what I enjoy and searching into that more and more. I feel like I am still at surface level in delving into doing what I enjoy. I need to do more doing and less asking.
Research fine art and textiles combinations
1/12
Today I worked further into developing ideas of the paintings I had made. The colours and shapes that I saw in these paintings urged me to create something more 3 dimensional work and use a bigger variety of materials. I also made some fashion designs based off these paintings to give me some ideas of how textiles could be incorporated into it.
3/12
Thoughts from today: I still wanted to try out the blurring technique using the liquin medium. At the start of this project I think I naturally gravitated towards making textiles after the painting workshop based on the colours and the shapes that appeared in them. It was interesting to see what a materialised version of these paintings would look like. It was almost a process of picking out the most significant characteristics of the painting and then improvising composition based on this. Going back to the blurring technique this is how I was able to incorporate it in this development; this time I based paintings off the textile samples. Another reason I wanted to try out the blurring technique was that I really liked the photography that I came across in the LIFUL collection and it made me think back to the theme from he start of the painting project about the different viewpoints and the way we are seen by others because of the blurred effect and the face was more visible in the areas where it was closer to the camera. I wanted to incorporate painting in this and also start to use oil paints however I started making paintings based off of the textiles samples instead because I felt it would be too abrupt to the development to start painting something irrelevant. I also did this to make some more work based off the methodologies that we were given.
After doing this and finishing another sample I started playing around with cardboard. Initially I wanted to paint a stylised version of the last sample however I ended up making it completely abstract which lead me to pick out areas which I liked the most and making a small composition of those cardboard pieces.
Overall I feel like some of my work has been a little aimless because in my research I find so many artists that are interesting however their methodologies are so different. I think I need to start picking out the common factors to home in on one theme which will help me to make my work more consistent and create a clearer plan towards a final outcome.
Also in terms of course application I want to talk some textiles tutors about the textiles work I have produced so far and what I need to do to have the ability to get into a textiles course.
4/11
Today felt quite unproductive because most time was spent at workshops. Also I realised I had left my fabrics at home so I wasn't able to create more textiles samples
Textiles Workshop
Photoshop Workshop
5/12 Self Directed Study
Today I worked more on the decision making of what I am going to display in my crit. I wanted to finish making sample work based on my paintings. This was a process of beginning with trying to copy it accurately and getting to a point where I would look at the reference image less and less so then the outcome would be improvised. I would get to this point at random stages of creating these samples and it would often depend on whether the shapes that have been imitated by materials would be suggesting new composition possibilities. From Talking about this weeks reading as well it made me think about how do things work together on the wall or are they more sculptural. I started to think that I wanted the pieces of wood that I had painted on to be placed slightly away from the wall so it gives it space to breathe. I think it gives it a different effect when the painting isn't part of the wall completely but is also standing on its own.
I also worked a little more
6/12
Discussion with Tutor:
Based on the work that I had recently created I was advised to look at the work by Andrew Pick, Jerwood and Mark Corfield. In terms of my personal statement I need to keep up the way I did in the first two paragraphs and elaborate and take away parts that reveal too much different information.
Crit:
I wasn't sure whether to place my textiles work as well as my painting because I wanted to hear about which one was seen as more successful especially as they are so different. The main thing that was advised was placing them apart from each other in a line so that they could be looked at individually because otherwise it was too much. I was also asked whether they stand on their own of whether it is a composition together and I thought that was a good question because actually I felt that it was a bit of both. They are placed individually however the composition is what makes them bounce of each other. I wasn't sure how much space I would have on the day and considering this was something that made me think of how I can place them closely together so that they would work. I like the comment that somebody made saying 'I feel like I should know what it is but I don't' it reminded me in a way the way Adrian Searle spoke about Tomma Abts work where he tried to compare materials things in this world to her paintings but they still didn't come close. I think it is interesting that when we look at a piece of work our minds naturally gravitate to try and find factors of figuration and what the abstraction is of.
Visiting CSM's Textile Exhibition:
It was quite encouraging seeing people's work and I also managed to speak to a student as she was packing away her work and ask for advice in applying to CSM. It was a coincidence that she was also doing a lot of painting during her foundation and when she came to the textiles interview, she had no textiles work at all but she showed that she was good with working with colour and composition through her painting. It was a relief to hear that the tutors are really open minded and consider work outside of the textiles practice as at the moment I have been making work completely differently to textiles students.