In this week I still feel a reasonable amount of existential dread about myself and my role as an artist overall, however I feel a sense of direction forming once again and an excitement about my process. As a quick reflection on my underlying goal this semester I know that I am being much more honest with my work, not hiding the bits I don’t like and not driving myself crazy with self doubt. I believe I am on track to becoming more vulnerable, not just in regards to my art but through my art.
Artist research
Anissa Riviere
Raised In San Diego, Anissa Riviere is a painter and ceramics artist who now has a flourishing yet established career in New York City. I want to digest her work as her painting style is beautiful and I’m interested in her mixed media approach. When I look at her work I think more about who I want to be as an artist, what final outcome do I not only want but need to establish a career beyond education?
Exorcism of the last painting I ever made – Tracey Emin
I have decides to investigate this three week long performance piece by Tracy Emin due to its striking imagery and raw honesty. The Performance included 12 paintings and 79 works on paper, all were fairly simplistic in terms of texture and colours yet this created a consistent imagery that reflected the artists thoughts and feelings.
I can feel a relatability in Emins work, especially in the era of the “clean girl’ aesthetics I find comfort in the gritty workings of a female artist. In regards to my project I’ve been thinking about what it is I want to show the world and how I want to do this. In theory I could have a museum like approach to the project, organising and filtering the work to stand out from the walls and be clear to the viewer. However, there is something satififying and almost coded into me as an artist that I want to tare free from the “white cube” and use more expressive and dimensional way of presenting my work. Such installations relate to my conceptual ideas about embracing the imperfections and baring my work in an honest way.
Workshop
This weeks workshop took me by surprise and I honestly really enjoyed it. The workshop was an adaptation of Rirkrit Tiravanija’s work in-which he explored the boundaries of art by bringing the audience together, to be close with one another and in many ways become the art itself though conversation and food. I understand why such a project may not initially be seen as art however, not only is cooking often dubbed as ” the culinary arts” but the roles, conversations and experiences we had as a group was a unique non-replicable experience. For example once I had finished my tasks in making the curry paste I decided to continue working with the group to decorate, in this learnt the skill of origami swans ( which interestingly could be interrupted as setting the scene for the next segment of the performance) as I went on my swans became more defined as well as my confidence, this is something that is now in my past and unless I forget how to learn this skill I would not be able to replicate the overall performance ever again. Relating back to my own project I wonder if my paintings will have a clear improvement as the semester unfolds, will I have an obvious chronological order to the work? how would this effect my projects final outcome?
Experiments and Reflection
This weeks paintings seem to have a cohesion, especially in regards to the colour pallets I’ve been using, the main reason for this I think would be the fact I have a new beautiful set of gauche paints. In reflection I didn’t expect the new paints to have the affect they had, after-all I already used gauche paints in my previous work, maybe it was further motivation, the fresh colour pallet or most likely a result of my ADHD. My favour painting this week is of the eggs, though im aware having a favourite defeats the point of my concept, I can’t help but full in love with the dramatic vibrancy of the piece.
Furthermore this week has been very beneficial in the sense that I have made choices, or at least that I think I have done so, in how I might display my project (Emin’s influence). Again this week I have also tried to paint on a different material, this time a plastic plant pot which was fighting with my paint. If I wish to paint outside of my books continuing with 3D objects I will not only have to conduct research into artists such as Greyson Perry but I will need to give more thought towards the textures and the materials ability to absorb paints. Its because of these difficulties that im uncertain about the role 3D objects will have in my project and its clear that in the coming week I will need to further explore my options.
i find the fried egg painting really strong Amy, I love it, and the Tango bottle, both such fresh, spontaneous, free paintings, the still life is a little more laboured, I am more aware of its shortcomings in terms of accuracy and life likeness, but the eggs and bottle are free of expectations and judgement, you the artist feel more in control in these two paintings, it feels as though you are deciding how you want to paint an egg for example, with no rules, or your rules, but the still life is less confident, it feels like you are fighting it. Great to see the move to 3D objects, absolutely, why not! yes Tracy Emin’s painting performance is a good one to look at, Abidish should see this..Its interesting to consider your painting as a performance, so the paintings reveal not just the outcome but the process.