Contemplating

After having a chat with fellow students and Rory Macbeth, there was a new light in my work that i was able to see and some clear steps to attaining a finished project. Having been told before that a lot of my work conducts itself well in books and collected forms, i came to realise this notion.
So i have been sketching. I think the messier the better and the more unfinished works are some of those that i prefer. If they look incomplete, yet remain collated in a book then it gives the illusion that they are valuable and the thinking behind this imaginary sculpture.

In principle i am conning my audience into believing an ideal with me. They may add value to my quick sketches and blueprints, due to the fact that they are in such a precious book. So i may need to put a lot of work into making the holder quite professional-seeming. Indeed think i shall play around with handmade and pristine books to guage audience reactions from my peers.

I will start to look at how other artists' books have been presented and other practitioners who have played on this idea.
It was interesting to notice that when the crit chat was happenning that my less-neat drawings were favoured. The othres were said to be too precious-looking. So there was already a pre-determined sense of what the sketches should be. Which is a public opinion, but one that i already held myself.

Realisations

I came to a point in my work last night that seemed vital. There was the decision of whether to go for a full-fledged sculptural piece or retain the ideas of drawings. After careful consideration
i have decided to continue with the sketches as they are my stronger work and the sculpture feels like something that could come at a point in the future. The point i am at, at the moment seems to be the beginning of a natural progression that could consume so much creativity and time,it would be careless to neglect it. I also began to find that i am enjoying making these drawings more and more as each one evolves. It may be that i transfer them into other media, taking them into the print room and put them on other surfaces. Am very excited to see how things turn out.

Narkissos

Decided that I required a theme for my sculpture last week. So i decided to focus on something that inspires me. Classical lit and ancient myths have always been fond favourites of mine and i cherish each tale for the lessons they teach us and the sometimes wicked and ironic humour that they hold in store for those willing to sift between their dusty pages.

One in particular i remember is the tale of Narcissus and Echo. Concerning the Greek youth(named), he is a boy of great vital youth and good looks. Spurning all admirers and potential lovers, he takes himself away to the woods. When followed by one of his many gazers, Echo, she too, is shunned and left heartbroken to die a lonely death, leaving only her voice.....clever stuff eh?! Then he comes to a still pool of water that shows him his own reflection. Lost in his perfect image he is besotted with his own beauty, although not knowing it is himself, and is drowned when he tries to clasp at the reflection.

I think that as my work goes, i realise that this will only "reach out" to a certain audience or (within that crowd) a specific sort of individual. Since this focuses very much on the past, or the reliance that my audience knows the story well, there may be varied interest. However, as with many artists, this is what i enjoy doing and shouldn't have to make many compromises. Indeed, the more i consider it, this subject, along with other such myths, may not be so obscure or exclusive as i deem it. Man has always been intrigued by the pitfalls and morals learned by his forefathers in myths and legends, and simply taken delight in regarding them as works of fantsy. I suppose the fact that art practitioners have continued to study and reinvent them shows that they do hold popularity.

I have contemplated the option of incuding a book with my own version of the tale, to aid those who don't "get" the artowrk. Alhtough i don't know if this is giving the audience too much information. There is always great work in a little ambiguity, i find. Would be great to know any thoughts on that.

Narrative aside, i think that the story is well known and has a great amount of potential. What is also interesting to discover is that there is only a select amount of pieces that have been conducted on the subject. This means that it is ripe for study. I already have started to draw up blueprints for the final piece and perhaps the steps i make towards that.

Out and About, Round Leeds

Had an eventful weekend in Leeds. Got out and about to nearly every exhibition at the moment and attained some perspective on the different types of audiences out there and what the collective atmosphere is between them. It was strange to see how different it was from say, the Henry Moore Gallery to the Royal Armouries. I found use and inspiration in both of these two exemplary institutes, though one could sense a change in the decorum and general morals imposed silently in both.

You would not get excited kids running irratically around the HM for example, nor would you similarly find many High Art execs roaming the halls of the RA.

 I also discovered some great instances of sculpture and public works to draw insight from for my own practice. For instance (pictured) the statue outside the Central Gallery of the Angel, adorned with roses, shows that classical sculpture is welcomed into Leeds still and that it is in a position where it holds power. Although i did like some of the pieces within the leeds gallery i felt that they were all too safe...if you know what i mean?!? They had no vitality.....I believe that classical figurative works, if they are truly great, will stand the test of time and never fail to impress from their own position. However, i was not receiving this emotion from a lot of the pieces ,and, so began to consider how i might re-invent a very tried and tested and tired look into something novel and full of youth. Marc quinn took a very traditional aspect of sculpture and almost drove it to the extremity of purity, where all his pieces gain a flawless white glaze. So, must i "modernize" my own subject matter.

PICTURES COMING SOON

Blog Prog

My carving work seemed to have turned out a lot better than expected. Once the suspect plaster had set, i hatched it out of he cast to actual yield quite a solid and pure plaster replica. The resulting plaster was slightly wet, although i used this somewhat to my advantage, as i found it more maleable.


I liked the result of the embedded clay, meaning that the figure was an emerging form within the material. This relates to philosophies that i have discovered, made difinitive in a lot of sculptors' work. For instance, Noguchi and Michelangelo both believed that the sculpture was to be found within the clay or plaster, marble or bronze.



There is room for me to develop this notion into reality in the next few stages as i find the very idea of it fascinating.

Work Update & Thoughts upon

Just Thought i'd go into a little detail over what i have been doing and some pensive moments i've had with the work so far. After having made some sculptor planning sketches for a piece i started to make a clay moquette and develop the basic structure of it to be ready for casting in vinomould and eventually plaster.

 The sculpting turned out really well and the complications started when i wanted to transfer it to the next media, via casting. There was a stretch of several hours involving a large amount of clay bedding and preparing the Vinomould, in order to get ready for this stage.

 I now have the mould, although after having to make an equally humongous amount of plaster to cover it, the setting started sooner than anticipated, so i can only assume that there will be a very lumpy  cast with all the properties of a tin of rice pudding. Fingers crossed.

 I now have the sort of drive and inspiration needed to carry out my ideas. Have been researching artists such as Rodin and Noguchi who have similar attributes in some ways. Have started to adopt the idea of finding something within the material. Very excited about the next stages.

On another note. I looked at a large book on Anthony Gormley, as i remember him producing a lot of replicas. It is intriguing and slightly frustrating to look at his work, the iron-cast replicas of himself. What i find hard to believe is how much shelf life he has got out of one design....that gets to me somewhat, but fair-play if he can o that. Although, the crux of this point is that he had a most notable exhibit(pictured) entitled, "Learning to Think" which had these figures within it. As with a great deal of his work, he transmitted this same artwork across many varying environments, galleries and positions. It makes me think about how applicable my own work will be in display. Wondering how I can move my own work about or test it in altering scenarios to acquire knowledge of the audience or how the overall work is affected by these movements. The display is the crucial thing. Still uncertain whether i will be putting forward the actual sculpture or drawings.... probably the latter which means that i must consider this.

PSL visit

Last Saturday was the closing date of the "195 Miles" exhibit at the Project Space Leeds in the city centre.
I couldn't help feeling on my way to the show, with my other students and colleagues that whilst it wasn't too much of a marathon to get to the space, it is slightly out of the way of the average man or woman in Leeds. There is little chance in my mind that it would e as easily accessible or popular as say, The Henry Moore Institute or the Central Gallery. This seems to me that it would attract a more specific audience of real artists and only those with a very persistent tolerance for this kind of work. Only after arriving was this affirmed, as the core basis of spectators revolved around creative students and tutoring art practitioners.
However, i am here to look more closely at the presentation and exhibition methods in PSL and how they can help me.
What i liked about the show was that there was a large range of different work ethics inside the one space, making for a plethora of varying outcomes. Much of the work was 3-D and used ready made materials. It would have been a welcome change, in my opinion, to see some examples of traditional pieces or sculpture/drawing, although the atmosphere of the place seemed to be on the opposing side.
There was plenty of room to hang the sculptures and display whatever the practitioners wanted to show for themselves. It almost felt as if there could have been 3 or so more artists exhibiting in the space and it would not have been crowded.
Indeed, having viewed the exhibit i came to the conclusion that i would be more suited to a different environment for my work. Since most of my own work is based on illustrations and sculpture it would seem sensible to seek out individuals and a space that suit my own needs and productions. This may need careful consideration.