Week 7

Workshops

During this week we made a presentation to propose our idea for a group workshop. We were supposed to do the presentation on the Pecha Kucha website and I didn’t like it. It was only images and no text, the slide was moving by every 20 seconds and it was not very helpful. I found it difficult and confusing. It’s way better structured if we do it as usual on PowerPoint. So here is a link to my prevention but there are only some images in there because that’s the point of this website I guess.

https://www.pechakucha.com/presentations/weronikas-presentation-159

So to summarise my idea for the workshop was mainly based on still life and going back to the roots and basics of artists.

So here is a summary of the structure of my workshop:

Bring one object, one fruit and one flower/plant
Come to workshop
All together we make a composition from our objects- in the middle of the room
We go back to basics – back to the beginning of our art journey, to simple objects and simple compositions but we can do whatever we want with them
Have fun with the composition- draw, paint photograph- be as realistic or as abstract as you want
Give another chance to still live and have fun with it

My project wasn’t chosen, which is fair enough. There were a lot of great ideas and the one that was chosen was Mikes. I also voted for it mostly because he wants us all together to create a “working” big clock which I think would be a nice addition to the takeover exhibition and it would be nice to have something there that is created by all of us.

Project

I’m still not finished with shooting so I will give it another week. I will have to finish it before easter break. I’m kind of scared about how it will all turn out because I had to switch batteries in the camera and I tried to put it in the same position but I can see the difference- the angle is a little bit different. It will be probably visible in a film but I can only do something about it when I finish shooting. In the meantime, I started to think and design how I want my installation to look. Here is one of my ideas. I want to have a plinth in the middle of the room (with the vase, plate etc.) and surround it with 4 pieces of fabric (I would like to use something light like tulle) On that fabric I want to project my film. So possibly I will need all 4 projectors or maybe fewer. It’s all of the stages of planning and I can plan a lot of stuff but the only way to find out is by trying it out. I will have to try it out after easter break because I still have to order the fabric for the installation.

Artist research

Sam Taylor-Johnson, “A Little Death”, 2002

In this film, the viewer is introduced to two still-life objects- the hare, pinned to the wall; it moults, decays, and is eaten and carried away by insects while the second object- the fruit stays exactly the same throughout. After a short break, the entire process happens again. And again. And again…

The artist again updates traditional still-life imagery. Rather than attempting to capture a moment in time, the viewer is put face to face with a speeded-up decomposition of the subject matter. Taylor-Johnson brings to the table the topic of the transience of biological life and the viewer’s mortality. This work explores the issue of temporality, an idea that permeates the artist’s oeuvre, where a course of action can change radically even within the space of a few seconds.

“…The deathly heavy scenario came to life again, and then it evolved into a sort of slasher horror film version of Still Life. A Little Death was more violent. Still Lifeconveyed a grace in the decay but with A Little Death it was not only violent, but shockingly violent. The feeling of the transformation of life into death repeating itself over and over is so frightful, and after those two works, I sort of left the topic alone. I felt like I had achieved what I set out to convey.” -Sam Taylor-Johnson

Kathleen Ryan “Bad Fruit”, sculptures

Artist Kathleen Ryan creates a conversation between the beautiful and the grotesque in her oversized sculptures of mould-covered fruit. Currently situated in New York City, Kathleen Ryan specializes in creating intricate sculptures, with her current focus being on large-scale sculptures resembling decaying fruit. The sculptures are crafted from polystyrene foam, shaped to mimic various fruit forms, and adorned with individual gemstones held in place by stainless steel pins, creating a lifelike portrayal of rotting fruit. Ryan intends to evoke a sense of unease in the viewer upon observing her work, expecting them to experience some level of discomfort or displeasure when engaging with it.

“The sculptures are beautiful and pleasurable, but there’s an ugliness and unease that comes with them,”

“They’re not just opulent, there’s an inherent sense of decline built into them…which is also something that’s happening in the world: The economy is inflating, but so is wealth inequality, all at the expense of the environment.”

“Though the mould is the decay…it’s the most alive part”