Secret Garden -->
"free standing work created between the mid 1970’s and 1987. Here, recycled nurses’ uniforms from the Hôpital Cantonal in Lausanne, Switzerland in varying hues of yellow, pink, purple, and beige have been torn into strips, knotted, meshed, and sewn together into an installation that takes on any configuration and adapts to any space. First shown in 1977 at the Lausanne Tapestry Biennale (where it created much controversy), it is regarded as a major turning point in the evolution of the tapestry medium. The third work of art on view comes from American conceptual artist Jim Hodges. Every Touch, created in 1995 in collaboration with Philadelphia's Fabric Workshop and Museum, is a 192 x 168 inch curtain constructed from thousands of fabric flowers. They have been disassembled and then reassembled into a veil of cascading petals and leaves, suspended in open space, evoking a poignant reflection on the fragility of life and its regeneration."
Starting Point
By using a park where I will hopefully be able to display my work I want to think about an outcome where it is also reflective of its environment and use this as a platform where the public experiencing the work is where the work truly comes together. I have started my project by looking at every day objects in relation to composition and one of the things that has caught my attention is the composition in the urban environment where we are able to see the human signature. This is important to me because it highlights the connection we have with objects in our day to day lives. These themes and thoughts made me look into the natural environment and also to learn how to adapt work successfully to a place by considering its history. The research done so far I think is influencing and stirring away from the main idea of everyday objects. I think I need to recenter my research to what it is that I really value in my early ideas and also be confident to let artists influence me which expand my understanding of this subject.
Dada - Merz
https://www.moma.org/explore/inside_out/2012/07/09/in-search-of-lost-art-kurt-schwitterss-merzbau/
Schwitters’ art was more than just the collage object itself. It was a whole process, philosophy, and lifestyle, which he called merz—a nonsense word that became his kind of personal brand. He was a merz-artist who made merz-paintings and merz-drawings, and naturally, the place where he merzed—his studio and family home—was his merz-building, or Merzbau. Over the years, this Merzbau developed into a kind of abstract walk-in collage composed of grottoes and columns and found objects, ever-shifting and ever-expanding. It was more than just a studio; it was itself a work of art.
I think this idea of the Merz also suggest almost a new narrative that he writes through creating new works, that people are able to delve into physically as well as emotionally depending on the nature of the piece. I really liked this every day immersive nature of his work and that life and art was something that can co exist.
"The Merzbau was not just a static painting or a sculpture, but a whole environment, and one that was in constant flux. One day the Merzbaucould have a new column of debris stacked in the corner, the next day a new grotto dedicated to an artist friend. Photographs can’t quite capture the Merzbau‘s expanding and shifting nature."
It's interesting that the environment that this work is in is also considered as it is an environment in itself. After finding out more about his work I wanted to experiment with placing some of my work in an environment that isn't necessarily built for it. Perhaps developing it by taking aspects of a specific space and exaggerating it though placing sculptural aspects of it which would derive from this environment.
I really loved the architecture of this place especially because of the way that these modern shapes were being overgrown with natural forms and something that inspired me a lot from the talk was Mark Wallinger's Y tree and how it was a modernised reflection of the surrounding and at the same time held a simple message and structure as it's foundation. From having done casting at the wood workshop it would be interesting something similar that could be placed on the tree to reflect the restoration of Lauderdale house in 2005. The Lauderdale house still holds all of it's history however is renewed. I think this similarly reflected how through the process of casting and vacuum forming an object is taken that has characteristics which show its owner, its history on its surface and design however the process of casting takes that characteristic away and creates a replica. Furthermore it still has the ability to carry its history and purpose.
I think this realises an interesting idea that perhaps objects can reach a certain point where their main purpose or story can overpower any changes it may face. If someone is emotionally connected to an object, if it is passed on to somebody else who is aware of its importance to that person, their perception of this object will be defined by this first emotional connection.
This work is inspired by compositions I've encountered in the urban environment. The worn surfaces and colours of these compositions give evidence of the human signature and just like the objects we own they reflect parts of our identity. To respond to this I used the natural and organic form of the tree to display a traditionally hand-made technique to present a contrast that at the same time is able to adapt around this new form.
Guiseppe Penone
Drawings and attention to the form of trees. Linking The form to the body and its movement. His work has a symbiotic nature which I wanted to explore. I thought that linking nature to the human form is also a way of breaking a barrier between the objects that come along into our lives. The form of objects that we encounter especially in the urban environment can be celebrated using the natural form. I want to take focus on composition and design and outcome that also represents how the form of every day objects can be displayed on something as natural as a tree. Knitting has connotations which evoke feelings of protection and peace and I thought that alone this gives this outcome a voice to speak to the public that passes by.
http://www.magd.ox.ac.uk/wallinger/further.html
"The bifurcating forks or tines," the artist explains, "are like the branches of the College’s ancestral tree or the antlers of the College deer. The repeated figure references divining rods, typically cut from the trees found in Bat Willow Meadow, and the structure echoes the Gothic tracery, which is present within the architecture of the College. The forks represent the life force - the encoded mathematics of creation, the order of things - pushing out to the future, while the divining fork takes us back to our source, the earth. This reaching out and drawing back is implied in the map of a family tree, when we place ourselves as the trunk, when we surely know we are the furthest tiniest branch. In the sculpture each branch of the tree represents a progenitor going back seventeen generations to the year 1458, when the College was established."
What walling does is really cleverly combine the history of the location with his won interests and almost uses it to speak out about an important topic and as he has mentioned in his lecture about the question why in itself. I think this has been one of my favourite things said in his lecture because the park is the sort of place where people ponder our things and think about the environment they're in which is often a place of reflection soI find this work really affective. To think deeper in this safe environment with no pressure for answers but just the simple mind opening idea of 'Y'.
Today I took photographs from every angle of the tree that I want to work with to make this model so that I have an idea of a more realistic approach of placing the sculpture on top by trying it out at home. I chose this tree because I liked the movement it had and would contrast with the angled structures. It didn't have too many branches so the work wouldn't get lost in it.
Introducing new idea
Handing in the visualisation of my idea so far and after speaking to my tutor about the practicalities of this work some issues were raised about some of the hazards that may occur. I had to consider placing my work where it would be difficult to reach ideally behind a fence and where it can't get in the way of flowers growing when taking the structure off etc. Having now most likely need to change location I think this will also shape my idea because the tree was key to supporting the idea. I also need to consider using a material that won't damage the bark of the tree and that is less technical.
Looking back at the beginning of this project the idea that I initially wanted to carry out that had been more influneced by Dada and objects that are beginning to look futuristic I started gravitating towards the natural and actually when we are able to see a human element in the passing of time. Especially when this is placed under the title of 'Art' it makes the audience appreciate it more as if it is hightened and more vivid of its characteristics.
The way I wanted to delve into this based on the objects I am making is that the natural form of the tree has a natural quality which the objects don't have. The objects are shaped by the human hand however to place composition of the urban environment (something that is unconsciously man made) and place it in juxtaposition with this natural form, its to present the contrast of a ready made object coming together with the subject to create an outcome which would present the voice of the object where its characteristics are visible in the image. The composition of the urban environment is suddenly lead by this natural form creating something that now has a new voice by gaining new connotations. Especially being placed in a public space the work absorbs the observations and becomes the idea that the viewer though of when looking at this outcome.