nicola-emma-blog

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“First and foremost, sunlight can only be used as a complement to artificial lighting and not as a main source of light. It is up to architects to design buildings so as to capture as much sunlight as possible and thus reduce the amount of energy consumption. Depending on the function of the building, the building may or may not be orientated to face the sun. For example, most residential buildings are orientated away from the east-west axis as the rays from the low morning and evening sun can penetrate directly into the building and cause glare discomfort. On the other hand, commercial buildings may be orientated to capture these long sun rays for aesthetical reasons.”

- HEAVENLY MATHEMATICS GEK 1506 - Sun and Architecture

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Oliver Beer @ Ikon Gallery, Birmingham (April 2017)

A wonderful exhibition which I felt could be very relevant to my practice. Beer’s work demonstrates a sensitive handling of materials which come together to create a quiet, thoughtful space. Although sound was a central aspect of the show, his wall sculpture/drawings were what I found myself most interested in. Objects halved, set into the wall, then sanded back appeared to become drawings of themselves; made totally redundant as items that would otherwise have been commonly useful. I enjoyed most the delicacy of these pieces and their “handmade” feel, the extra care and concentration it took to make was evident, just through viewing.

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My work/Minimalism

(Written: Nov 2016)

It would be difficult to critique or evaluate the work I make without referencing its strong ties aesthetically to the Minimalism movement of the 1960s/70s. My reliefs are geometric, clean and slick, using a smaller (yet bold and solid) colour palette. The scale of my upcoming works should be beginning to imitate and reflect that of a lot of the works created during this movement; made simply in relation to the human form. ‘Die’ (1962) by Tony Smith is an important and poignant piece of art made at the very beginning of the drive towards minimalism. A six-foot steel cube with internal bracing, the size of the piece was decided by the proportions of a human body. According to Smith, had the piece been any bigger it would have been noted as a “monument”, any smaller and downgraded to a measly “object”. Pieces like this, as well as my own work, are made to challenge the viewers’ perception of the space. The work acts as an intervention which interrupts movement through a gallery and forces the viewer to confront its volume and placement.

Although my work could be classed as minimalist in a visual sense, it conversely actively rejects the movement’s aspect of materiality, which was an integral quality works being made at the time. Minimalist artists were interested in fabricating works using industrial, factory-grade materials which opposed the traditional “crafted” idea surrounding sculpture. This led to works which expressed no sense of character, nor did they give anything away about the artist. I, however, have persistently been attracted to making work with a handcrafted, tactile nature. I like my work to go both ways- be slick and straight-edged while also speaking of being handmade and susceptible to human error. I gravitate towards materials that require preparation before being used as or in a work of art, rather than anything prefabricated. An important aspect of my work is the viewer’s recognition of the effort put into the making process, however due to the nature of the pieces this is usually shown implicitly through minor details, such as a hand-sanded, hand-painted edge.

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Malevich’s composition White on White signified a turning point in terms of the colour and form of 20th Century painting. Malevich rid his work of traditional structure or figures, creating a piece which instead spoke of “the infinite”, with a white square “floating” on a white ground. He regarded white as a symbol of purity, and this painting was part of one of his steps towards inventing the “Suprematist” movement. 

While not totally linked to my practice, I feel it is very important to be aware of pieces like White on White as it helps to contextualise the work I make and understand why I make it. 

Kazimir Malevich, White on White, 1918, Oil on canvas, 31 ¼ x 31 ¼" (79.4 x 79.4 cm)

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“In 1961, composer John Cage (1912–1992) famously referred to the White Paintings as airports for lights, shadows, and particles, establishing an enduring understanding of the series as receptive surfaces that respond to the world around them. Building on this reading, Rauschenberg once referred to the works as clocks, saying that if one were sensitive enough to the subtle changes on their surfaces one could tell what time it was and what the weather was like outside. Ultimately, the power of the White Paintings lies in the shifts in attention they require from the viewer, asking us to slow down, watch closely over time, and inspect their mute painted surfaces for subtle shifts in color, light, and texture.”-SFMOMA.com

The above extract is what led me to consider Rauschenberg’s works in relation to my own. As well as the obvious links with our shared usage of white emulsion, I was intrigued with his reference to these pieces as “clocks”. I was interested in the idea that, as stated in the passage, the viewer must be “sensitive enough” and attentive in order to understand the work. Ina very similar vein, whilst describing my work, I have previously stated that my paintings “demand careful attention”. Making works so subtle means there is more pressure on the viewer to extract some meaning, which could arguably mean that works like these are understood better than more obvious pieces as the viewer makes a more concerted effort to draw meaning.

robert rauschenberg: white painting

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Art- Yasmina Reza. 

A 1996 play which explores domestic relationships, the premise being ‘Serge’, one of the three main characters, spending £200,000 on a large white painting with white detail. 

“there are degrees of white! There’s more than one kind of white!”

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Sara Barker- Ikon Gallery, Nov 2016

Sara’s exhibition explored materials, form and colour through sculptures and paintings. Her works intend to talk about language and making, describing their relationship within a gallery space. Built from aluminium, glass and steel, the pieces seem fragile yet still manage to hold a presence in the space.

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"There was a frosted-glass ceiling fixture, too,with two bulbs, and of course most of the front wall of the office featured a large window. The motel faced south-southwest, so at this time of day the sun's declining honey-coloured beams angled through the enormous pane, giving an amber tint to the white wall behind the sofa, fracturing into hundreds of bright erratic lines in the crackled glaze of the ginger-jar lamps, and  leaving blazing reflections in the brass medallions that ornamented the tables.

Strangers excerpt, Dean Koontz.

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Zilvinas Kempinas- Ikon Gallery, Nov 2016

Using chiefly everyday objects, Kempinas creates installations which explore movement, environments and materials. His recent exhibition, spanning the whole of the first at the Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, featured installations White Noise, Illuminator and a forest of steel rods on a high-gloss floor, onto which natural images were projected.

Videotape seems to be Kempinas’ material of choice, being used in three out of the four pieces. White Noise is an installation of strips of the tape which span one of the walls. A fan blows the tapes from behind, forcing them to move despite being pulled taught. Naturally, the air moving through the material creates a relentless sound resembling static.

The space in which Illuminator was installed was a vaulted, unlit room. Strips of tape hung from the ceiling, each just about brushing the floor. The sheer amount of tapes around the room made it fairly difficult to navigate; there seemed to be a tension between them and the viewers, who were clearly unable to decide whether is would be okay to touch the artwork even though it was so obviously blocking their view of other pieces. This aspect opens up a conversation I have also had with my own work: How do social expectations affect how we view art, and where is the line deciding which pieces we can and can’t interact with?

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LANTERN GALLERY

Light photographs as visual research.

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BERLIN- GALERIENHAUS

Light photographs as visual research.

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Dan Flavin

Ikon (Birmingham): It is what it is and it ain’t nothing else

Hamburger Bahnhof (Berlin): Permanent Installation

Dan Flavin has been a favourite artist of mine for the past couple of years. Flavin reinvented how artwork was seen in a gallery space: his fluorescent light installations focussed on changing perceptions of the space around the artwork, highlighting the importance of site. 

Although obviously an artist who works with light, I consider his practice to be very different to mine. For the past two years at university I have been adamant that I don’t want or need to be fabricating my own light sources or manipulating light in order to communicate my interests. I feel that, as I want to create works that capture “moments”, if I begin to manipulate my sources the work will become false. 

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Richard Wright

Richard Wright uses the short life-span of his wall paintings to “heighten the senses of the viewer, in the knowledge that the work may not be viewable again, in any other place, at any other time”. What somehow increases the urgency of this is the fact that his paintings image are made using silver or gold leaf, which is then decisively painted over, presumably with an all-eradicating white emulsion, when the show finishes. The awareness of a beautiful piece of work made with such a luxurious material being obliterated and not preserved seems almost immoral. On the other hand, perhaps Wright is aware of the Wabi-Sabi philosophy; he could arguably be attempting to encapsulate the idea of accepting the beauty in transience. Wright’s paintings and installations aim to alter and confuse the viewer’s perception of the space. He creates, in a similar way to my work, an impression of a temporary space which is parallel or on a different plane to the gallery. He states “The fragility of the experience is the hinge for me”, again highlighting the significance of the viewer’s awareness of the transience of the work.

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Fiona Grady

Tunsgate (2015), Shifting Light (2011), Field of Light (2011), A Light Shuffle, Berlin (2015).

Fiona Grady creates large site-responsive drawings on walls, windows and floors using sequences of dispersing geometric shapes. The drawings are spatial systems composed from repeating intervals that expand in proportion or direction. The use of repetition is a means to set in place an unconscious balance or understanding, that can be interrupted by the introduction of a changeable factor. This challenges the viewers reading of the drawing asking them to consider its internal logic. Her practice recognizes the relationship between architecture, installation art and decoration; often using traditional mediums in a modern context. She plays with light, surface and scale; each piece changes with the light of day emphasizing the passing of time and the ephemeral nature of the work. She works with handmade materials including egg-tempera paint and Japanese paper; using the gestural brush strokes, embossed edges of the masked lines and faded pencil grid as tactile traces of the artists touch. Her palette alternates between muted subtle tones and bright contrasting colours, dependent on the loudness of their environment. The artworks are imaginings of how light moves throughout a space, stretching and rotating with the throughout the day. However she does not seek to literally map light but instead create rhythms; the blocks of colour act as a vessel that pinpoints the viewers’ presence within their setting and allows them to contemplate their surroundings. To compliment her site-specific drawings, she creates works on paper that explore the artistic process further. These artworks are a means to test out ideas, finding new drawing techniques, spatial possibilities and are preparations for her temporary artworks. In her prints, method takes control of the image, as each printed layer allows traces of previous marks to be transplanted within the image as dictated by the numbering system. This shifting of imagery indicates the struggle between the artists’ touch and the mechanical printing method.

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Des Hughes at Eastside Projects, Digbeth (Birmingham)

Part of “Production Show: Prototyping / Discovering / Analysing”

This exhibition was the first time I have encountered Des Hughes’ work. The pictures above are detail shots of the piece he exhibited as part of the show at Eastside Projects. Although there were seven artists showing, Hughes’ work stood out to me and I found it easy to relate aspects of his work to my own. 

The piece produced for the show was actually the result of investigations and workshops on encaustic tile making- a process where clay patterns are inlaid into the tile (instead of being applied only to the front face). The patterns are then revealed in the tile by rubbing back the surface. The pieces that Des made in these workshops were exhibited in the show on wooden boxes. I enjoyed noting the obvious links between the processes of making the work and the display methods: the box plinths were sanded back and were covered in holes that had been filled in with filler then also visibly sanded back. This made the whole piece seem very raw and honest: something which I aim to reflect in my own work. The handmade aspects of Hughes’ artwork made the piece seem more personal and human.

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In May 2016, myself and four other students were chosen to curate an exhibition of paintings at the Garage Studios. Under the guidance of PHD student Katrina Blannin, we were responsible for the complete organisation of the exhibition, from choosing the artwork to hosting the private view. Featuring works from Caterina Lewis, Julian Wakelin, Peter Abrahams, Anna Lytridou, Amy Albright and Wendy McLean, ‘Pipe Dream” showed paintings which presented ideas about space, whether with regard to the picture plane or the employment of architectural space within a 'reduced' or ephemeral aesthetic.

The first (and arguably most difficult) task was to decide on an overarching theme and find artists whose work would comply with this theme. Our main problem was deciding which should come first: an agreement on a theme to base works around or a selection of works we could pull a theme out of. Eventually, after finding works we all agreed on according to terms we had laid out (a muted colour palette, works that implied some sort of space or structure), we chose ‘Pipe Dream’ as a title. 

Once we had contacted the artists and confirmed the availability of their works, we were then responsible for the curation of the space we had been allocated for the exhibition (the Lantern Gallery). As well as choosing where each piece will hang, this meant preparing the space in terms of cleaning and repainting.

The private view was a success, and, as per Katrina’s request, we took part in a public conversation with the artists. It was particularly interesting to hear what they thought of the exhibition and was exciting to find out more about their works after having spent so much time with them. 

pipedreamexhibition -instagram 

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TIDE was an exhibition organised and curated by myself and one other third year student in January 2017. The show took place in an empty retail unit and featured work from second and third year Fine Art and Art and Design students from the University of Worcester. The work exhibited was curated around themes of time and movement, hand-picked from around the studios by us. 

As curators, we were responsible for finding and preparing a space, liaising with students and technicians, invigilation and general organisation.

Overall, the exhibition, which was open for a week, was a great success with plenty of people turning up to the private view and throughout the weekdays. A comments book we left was full of visitors talking about how nice it was to see contemporary art in the city. 

Despite the project going so well, there are still things that, in reflection, could have been changed for the better. The main aspect that had an impact on the exhibition was the space we used. Although it was a big space (and fortunately we were able to use it free of charge), it was very clearly a shop unit and, despite our best efforts, it was very difficult to escape that even once the work had been installed. The geography of the site in relation to the shopping areas of the city also likely had a negative impact, as there was less footfall which meant fewer people were exposed to the exhibition.

Overall, although challenging, putting on this exhibition has been fun and I have improved many skills, particularly in organisation, communication and installation.

here is a link to a newspaper article about TIDE