#lsadyear1

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WIRE SCULPTURE

So the sculpture is coming along quite nice, and I really like what the mask added to it. I really wanted to make copies of the mask using different materials but I’m limited not being able to use the facilities at LSAD so this will do for the time being. 

I’m really enjoying experimenting with light and I’m getting all sorts of ideas for a possible installation. Going to develop it more and get some more concrete ideas now, but I’m liking the idea of studying body language in animatronics and A.I. technology, or what it is to move like a human. 

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Concept art for the animation I'm making about scientists conducting an experiment on an apple that yields strange results

Going with simple shapes and colours to make animation easier.

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WIRE SCULPTURE

Playing with the figure and it’s shadow, experimenting with how movements in the shadow can manipulate the viewer into thinking the figure itself is moving. 

Going to get a video together to better express this idea. 

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PAINTING WITH FOUND MATERIALS: PART 4

Forgot to post a conclusion to the painting with food experiment so here it is. After almost incinerating the piece in the oven, I was able pull it back to life a bit, before completely destroying it again, and then kind of bringing it back, but not really.. 

Here’s how it went...

While cooking it too long in the oven brought out some very interesting textures on the page, the detail and depth of the image in regard to its lines and colours was greatly diminished. I applied a tumeric/toothpaste mixture to try and remedy the situation by lightening the face, however it dried and cracked leaving more of a mess than I started with. 

I was pretty much ready to throw it away until I realised that the toothpaste doesn’t need to be laid on so thick. The bright white effect actually becomes more prominent when the toothpaste dries, regardless to how thick it is on the page. I therefore started applying the toothpaste in little dabs using a chopstick and I managed to bring out the highlights in the face a again, giving the image more depth. 

It was starting to look interesting to me again, especially when I applied wet turmeric to the top of the figures head with thick streaks of toothpaste accompanying it. Once mixed and dried, this created a fantastic, wildfire type effect which gave the image more meaning, as the subject of the painting was after all expressing anger over losing a point in the tennis match he was playing.

It would have been a great idea to stop here for the night after arguably making the image even better after almost destroying it. However I had to push things and tried melting some hair into the piece for reasons that still escape me...

One thing lead to another and I ended up nearly toasting the whole image again. All the lovely, fiery bursts of colour had once again been reduced to tar. It now has an even grungier, darker tone to it which, while I don’t completely dislike it, doesn’t excite me like it had before. I drew out some of the highlights in the face and head again, but I wasn’t really willing or able for round 3. 

I suppose the intention to experiment with new materials was the ultimate goal so in that sense it was a success, however it was also a painful lesson in knowing when to hold back and stop while creating art. 

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PAINTING WITH FOUND MATERIALS: PART 3

I want to do a series of food paintings with the six images of tennis player faces from my previous post so I decided to start with the first one. The expression in this image is of a player losing a point and expressing frustration.

I started by making a layer of the shape of the face in turmeric, which gave a nice, bright yellow tone. I followed this up by adding soy sauce to map out where the facial features would go with darker tones and then used beetroot to bring out the red in the mouth/nose. 

It was coming together pretty well but I was missing white which I love using to bring out highlights to make things pop. White proved difficult to find around the house until I saw another students post in which they used toothpaste so I decided to give that ago. 

This is where things started to get weird…

Toothpaste is is pretty difficult to control on a page. Mixing it too much will give it a soapy/bubbly texture which doesn’t lend itself very well to painting. I initially wasn’t too impressed with how it was settling on the page so I decided to throw the image back into the oven and see what happens. 

Unfortunately the lack of patience I suffer from which led me to putting the painting into the oven in the first place came back to bite me in the ass when I walked away for too long while the oven was on and I burnt the bejeezus out of it. 

This was tragic in one sense because I lost all of the nice bright colours in the portrait, however I kind of liked the result after sitting with it for a while. The way certain ingredients on the page burnt was quite fascinating, particularly the soy sauce and toothpaste. 

The soy sauce turned into a sticky, tar- like colour and presented an array of new textures that weren’t as apparent before baking the piece. The toothpaste also reacted in a very interesting way, as the brightness of the white was accentuated by the heat upon drying, much like the way it scabs up on your bathroom sink if not rinsed properly. 

I decided to keep going with it and came up with even more interesting results as well as a powerful lesson that I’ll share in my next post. 

Spoiler alert: I ruin the painting…

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Jesse Kanda is a visual artist, animator and musician best known for his collaborations with experimental musical artists like Arca, FKA Twigs and Björk. 

Kanda was born in Japan on June 23 1987 to Canadian and Japanese parents. He was raised in Japan where from a young age his view of the world was deeply shaped by contemporary Japanese culture: 

“The biggest influence was growing up in Japan – in contemporary society it’s manga, anime, and video games – and all of this lies on the shoulders of a hugely rich tradition of ‘bi’ (beauty) and the effort toward it.”

These influences, along with a sense of isolation and not being understood as a child of mixed-race parents, would deeply inform Kanda’s art, which very often revolves around portraying humanoid figures in contorted, deformed shapes:

“I’m more interested in what’s perceived to be repulsive when there really is no reason for it… The inside of our body is much more beautiful than the skin that coats it, yet we’re afraid of it. When you see blood or organs, you sense pain and danger.”

“Part of my goal is to present ‘disgusting’ things as something beautiful… To question what is OK to call disgusting or ugly. It’s confrontation on a personal level.”

Though trained in 3D design and animation, Kanda is mostly a self-taught artist who has helped shape the aesthetic of some of the most forward thinking musicians of today. His work with long-time collaborator, ground-breaking Venezuelan producer/musical artist Arca, is considered his most personal work. He has created the visuals for all of Arca’s album artwork and accompanying music videos including ‘Front Load’ off the album ‘Mutant’, which portrayed extreme close-up’s of Kanda’s own genitals. 

Among Kanda’s most inspiring takes for me was his perspective on creative blocks: 

“A creative block is just fear getting in the way. Identifying it as a block doesn’t help, because then you’re visualising some scary wall and making it worse. I just remind myself that I enjoy creating, and that nothing horrible is going to happen if nothing ‘good’ comes out of the day. The hardest part is the initial jump… the rest is just falling. And that jump seems to stay a bit scary forever.”

You can read the full interview with Jesse Kanda HERE

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Last batch of collage for my biophilia project. 

To sum up, collage was a way for me to use different variables of skin tones, textures, and colours along with facial features of contrasting genders, shapes and sizes to discover alternative ideas of beauty in what society would deem “unnatural”.

While the idea of facial symmetry can be supported by evolutionary science, we must always remember that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Nature is fractal, messy and disorganised. If every tree was the same size and every flower had the same number of petals, we wouldn’t be as interested. 

Differences should be celebrated, always. 

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When asked for our Painting elective to choose artists whose work we may look at in regard to our ‘Movements’ brief, I decided to go with three very different artists as a way to keep things open-minded for the first week back. 

PHIL HALE

Phile Hale is an American figurative painter who lives and works from the U.K.

 Before working as a fine artist, Hale worked as an illustrator. In fact I believe the first time I noticed his work was a cover he did for a comic book when I was younger. Comic book art at the time wasn’t that concerned with realism so seeing art at this level really left a lasting impression on me. 

Hales work depicts figures often performing physical acts of confrontation in somewhat surreal environments. It’s hard to know if you are looking at a moment unfolding in front of you or a glitch in time, whereby different moments are occurring simultaneously in contradiction to each other. The mystery of Hale’s subject matter is pushed further by the use of tenebrism in his paintings, a technique whereby light and dark are highly contrasted to enhance drama and action. 

WK INTERACT

“WK (aka WK Interact) was born in 1969 in Caen, France. He has lived and worked in New York since the early 1990s. WK is interested with the human body in motion, his paintings of figures frozen in a flight of movement reflects this infatuation. The artist’s unique process involves a technique of twisting an original drawing or photograph while it’s being photocopied, resulting in the monochromatic palette and streamlined moment-in-time appearance of his finished work. WK site-determines his placements by finding an appropriate location first, then his imagery is chosen specifically with a concern for encounters in an urban environment or “interactions” (as the artist indicates in his pseudonym). In the late 1990s his images began appearing on building facades in downtown Manhattan, complimenting the constant stir of bodies and the perpetual motion of contemporary urban life in the fast-paced city.”

IAN WOODS

I don’t actually know a whole lot about Ian Woods except that he has a decent enough instagram following and he has influenced my recent infatuation with collage. 

He often makes portraits of an artist or public figure (he tends to lean towards hip-hop culture) by cutting interesting shapes out of magazine editorials of the subject and merging them together. The effect often translates into the subject appearing to be animated on the page, whether through body language or facial expressions. 

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ꜱᴛᴏʀʏ ᴘʀᴏᴊᴇᴄᴛ:  ɴɪɴᴇ ɪɴᴄʜ ɴᴀɪʟꜱ  ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴏᴡɴᴡᴀʀᴅ ꜱᴘɪʀᴀʟ (1994)

ꜰᴏʀ ᴍʏ “ꜱᴛᴏʀʏ” ᴘʀᴏᴊᴇᴄᴛ, ɪ ᴡɪʟʟ ʙᴇ ᴅᴏɪɴɢ ᴀ ɢʀᴀᴘʜɪᴄ ꜱᴛᴜᴅʏ ᴀɴᴅ ɪɴᴛᴇʀᴘʀᴇᴛᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ 1994 ɴɪɴᴇ ɪɴᴄʜ ɴᴀɪʟꜱ ᴀʟʙᴜᴍ, “ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴏᴡɴᴡᴀʀᴅ ꜱᴘɪʀᴀʟ”.

ᴛʜᴇ ʀᴇᴀꜱᴏɴꜱ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ɪ ᴘɪᴄᴋᴇᴅ ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴀʀᴇ ᴍᴀɴʏ, ʙᴜᴛ ᴍᴀɪɴʟʏ: 

1) ᴛʜᴇʏ (”ᴛʜᴇʏ” ᴍᴇᴀɴɪɴɢ ᴛʀᴇɴᴛ ʀᴇᴢɴᴏʀ) ᴡᴇʀᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴀʟᴡᴀʏꜱ ᴡɪʟʟ ʙᴇ ᴍʏ ꜰᴀᴠᴏᴜʀɪᴛᴇ ʙᴀɴᴅ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜɪꜱ ɪꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ᴡɪʟʟ ᴀʟᴡᴀʏꜱ ʙᴇ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ᴍᴏꜱᴛ ᴄᴇʟᴇʙʀᴀᴛᴇᴅ ᴀɴᴅ ꜱɪɢɴɪꜰɪᴄᴀɴᴛ ᴀʟʙᴜᴍ, ᴀꜱ ᴡᴇʟʟ ᴀꜱ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ᴍᴏꜱᴛ ᴄᴏᴍᴘʟᴇᴛᴇ ᴀʀᴛɪꜱᴛɪᴄ ꜱᴛᴀᴛᴇᴍᴇɴᴛ. ɪ ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅ ᴡʀɪᴛᴇ ᴀɴ ᴇꜱꜱᴀʏ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ᴡʜʏ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ɪꜱ, ʙᴜᴛ ɪɴ ꜱᴜᴍᴍᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴡᴀꜱ, ᴛᴏ ᴍᴇ, ᴀ ᴘᴇʀꜰᴇᴄᴛ ʜᴀʀᴍᴏɴʏ ᴏꜰ ᴠɪꜱᴜᴀʟ ᴀɴᴅ ᴀᴜᴅɪᴏ ᴇxᴘʀᴇꜱꜱɪᴏɴ. ɪᴛ ᴄʀᴇᴀᴛᴇᴅ ᴀɴ ᴀᴛᴍᴏꜱᴘʜᴇʀᴇ, ᴍᴏᴏᴅ ᴀɴᴅ ᴀᴇꜱᴛʜᴇᴛɪᴄ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴡʜɪʟᴇ ʙᴏʀʀᴏᴡɪɴɢ ꜰʀᴏᴍ ɪᴛꜱ ᴏᴡɴ ᴄᴏʟʟᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ ᴏꜰ ᴠᴀʀɪᴇᴅ ʀᴇꜰᴇʀᴇɴᴄᴇꜱ, ʙᴇᴄᴀᴍᴇ ꜱᴏᴍᴇᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴄᴏᴍᴘʟᴇᴛᴇʟʏ ᴜɴɪQᴜᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ɪɴꜰʟᴜᴇɴᴛɪᴀʟ ᴏɴ ᴛᴏ ɪᴛꜱᴇʟꜰ. ɪ’ᴅ ʀᴀᴛᴇ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ꜱɪɢɴɪꜰɪᴄᴀɴᴄᴇ ᴏɴ ᴘᴀʀ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴏꜰ ʀᴀᴅɪᴏʜᴇᴀᴅ ᴏʀ ᴇᴠᴇɴ ɴɪʀᴠᴀɴᴀ ɪɴ ᴛᴇʀᴍꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ɪɴꜰʟᴜᴇɴᴄᴇ ᴏɴ ᴄᴏɴᴛᴇᴍᴘᴏʀᴀʀʏ ᴍᴜꜱɪᴄ. 

2) ᴛʜᴇ ᴠɪꜱᴜᴀʟ ᴇʟᴇᴍᴇɴᴛ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀᴋ ᴏʙᴠɪᴏᴜꜱʟʏ ʙᴇɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇ ꜰᴏᴄᴜꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘʀᴏᴊᴇᴄᴛ, ɪ ᴄᴀɴ ꜱᴛʀᴏɴɢʟʏ ᴄᴏɴɴᴇᴄᴛ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀʟʙᴜᴍꜱ ᴀʀᴛᴡᴏʀᴋ, ᴄʀᴇᴀᴛᴇᴅ ʙʏ ʙʀɪᴛɪꜱʜ ᴄᴏʟʟᴀɢɪꜱᴛ ʀᴜꜱꜱᴇʟʟ ᴍɪʟʟꜱ. ᴍʏ ɪɴᴛᴇʀᴇꜱᴛꜱ ꜰᴏʀ ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴘʀᴏᴊᴇᴄᴛ ᴀʀᴇ ᴡʜᴇʀᴇ “ꜰɪɴᴇ ᴀʀᴛ” ᴀɴᴅ “ᴅᴇꜱɪɢɴ” ɪɴᴛᴇʀꜱᴇᴄᴛ ᴀɴᴅ ɪ ᴛʜɪɴᴋ ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴡᴏʀᴋ, ᴀʟᴏɴɢ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀᴄᴄᴏᴍᴘᴀɴʏɪɴɢ ᴡᴏʀᴋꜱ ɪɴᴄʟᴜᴅᴇᴅ ᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜᴏᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀʟʙᴜᴍ ᴘᴀᴄᴋᴀɢɪɴɢ ᴅᴇꜱɪɢɴ / ʟᴀʏᴏᴜᴛ, ᴘʀᴏᴍᴏᴛɪᴏɴᴀʟ ᴘᴏꜱᴛᴇʀꜱ, ᴍᴜꜱɪᴄ ᴠɪᴅᴇᴏꜱ ᴇᴛᴄ. ʀᴇᴘʀᴇꜱᴇɴᴛ ᴀɴ ꜰʟᴀᴡʟᴇꜱꜱ ᴇxᴀᴍᴘʟᴇ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜɪꜱ ɪᴅᴇᴀ. 

3) ɪᴛ ʜᴀꜱ ʙᴇᴇɴ ᴇxᴘʀᴇꜱꜱᴇᴅ ᴍᴀɴʏ ᴛɪᴍᴇꜱ ʙʏ ᴛʀᴇɴᴛ ʀᴇᴢɴᴏʀ ʜɪᴍꜱᴇʟꜰ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴛʜɪꜱ ɪꜱ ᴀ “ᴄᴏɴᴄᴇᴘᴛ ᴀʟʙᴜᴍ”. 

ᴍᴜꜱɪᴄ ᴊᴏᴜʀɴᴀʟɪꜱᴛ ᴛᴇʀʀʏ ʙᴇᴇᴢᴇʀ ᴡʀɪᴛᴇꜱ: 

“ᴀᴛ ɪᴛꜱ ᴄᴏʀᴇ, ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴏᴡɴᴡᴀʀᴅ ꜱᴘɪʀᴀʟ ɪꜱ ᴀɴ ᴜɴꜰʟɪɴᴄʜɪɴɢ ᴄᴏɴᴄᴇᴘᴛ ᴀʟʙᴜᴍ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴅᴇᴛᴀɪʟꜱ ꜰᴀʟʟɪɴɢ ᴅᴏᴡɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʀᴀʙʙɪᴛ ʜᴏʟᴇ ᴏꜰ ᴅᴇꜱᴘᴀɪʀ – ᴀ ɴᴀʀʀᴀᴛɪᴠᴇ ᴀꜱ ɪᴍᴘʀᴇꜱꜱɪᴠᴇ ᴀꜱ ɪᴛꜱ ɢᴇɴʀᴇ-ᴅᴇꜰʏɪɴɢ, ᴇʀᴀ-ᴅᴇꜰɪɴɪɴɢ ᴍᴜꜱɪᴄ. ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴀ ᴡɪʟʟɪɴɢɴᴇꜱꜱ ᴛᴏ ᴇᴍʙʀᴀᴄᴇ ᴍᴀɴ’ꜱ ɪɴᴛᴇʀɴᴀʟ ᴄᴏɴꜰʟɪᴄᴛ ʙᴇᴛᴡᴇᴇɴ ꜱᴘɪᴛᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴠᴜʟɴᴇʀᴀʙɪʟɪᴛʏ; ᴄʀɪᴘᴘʟɪɴɢ ꜰᴇᴇʟɪɴɢꜱ ᴏꜰ ɪꜱᴏʟᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴇʟᴘʟᴇꜱꜱɴᴇꜱꜱ; ᴛʜᴇ ꜰᴜᴛɪʟɪᴛʏ ᴏꜰ ꜰɪɢʜᴛɪɴɢ ᴀɴʏᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴡʜᴇɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ ɪꜱ ᴀɴ ᴜɴᴍᴏᴠᴀʙʟᴇ ʜᴇᴀᴘ ᴏꜰ ᴄʀᴀᴘ ᴠᴇʀꜱᴜꜱ ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴇꜰɪᴀɴᴄᴇ ᴏꜰ ᴅᴇꜰᴇᴀᴛ (ᴛʜᴇ ʀᴇᴘᴇᴛɪᴛɪᴏɴ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪɴᴇ “ɴᴏᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴄᴀɴ ꜱᴛᴏᴘ ᴍᴇ ɴᴏᴡ” ᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜᴏᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀʟʙᴜᴍ ᴘᴜꜱʜᴇꜱ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ꜰʀᴏɴᴛ ᴀɴᴅ ᴄᴇɴᴛᴇʀ), ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴏᴡɴᴡᴀʀᴅ ꜱᴘɪʀᴀʟ ᴄᴏɴꜰʀᴏɴᴛꜱ ᴛʜᴏꜱᴇ ꜰᴇᴇʟɪɴɢꜱ ᴡᴇ ʙᴏᴛᴛʟᴇ ᴜᴘ ɪɴꜱɪᴅᴇ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴀʟʟ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴜʙᴛʟᴇᴛʏ ᴏꜰ ᴀ ʀᴏᴜɴᴅʜᴏᴜꜱᴇ ᴋɪᴄᴋ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ʜᴇᴀᴅ.”

ᴍʏ ᴀɪᴍ ɪꜱ ᴛᴏ ᴠɪꜱᴜᴀʟʟʏ ᴇxᴘʀᴇꜱꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ʀᴇ-ɪɴᴛᴇʀᴘʀᴇᴛ ᴛʜᴇᴍᴇꜱ ꜰʀᴏᴍ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴛᴏʀʏ ᴛᴏʟᴅ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴏᴡɴᴡᴀʀᴅ ꜱᴘɪʀᴀʟ, ᴡʜɪʟᴇ ɪɴᴄᴏʀᴘᴏʀᴀᴛɪɴɢ ʟᴇᴀʀɴᴇᴅ ᴛᴇᴄʜɴɪQᴜᴇꜱ ᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜ ᴍʏ ɪɴᴛᴇʀᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴ ᴀɴᴅ ᴇɴɢᴀɢᴇᴍᴇɴᴛ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴡᴏʀᴋꜱʜᴏᴘꜱ, ᴛᴜᴛᴏʀꜱ, ᴀɴᴅ ɪɴᴅᴇᴘᴇɴᴅᴇɴᴛ ʀᴇꜱᴇᴀʀᴄʜ ʀᴇꜱᴇᴀʀᴄʜ. ɪ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴍʏ ᴘʀᴏᴊᴇᴄᴛꜱ ɪɴᴛᴇʀᴘʀᴇᴛᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴛᴏʀʏ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇꜰʟᴇᴄᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ ᴡᴇ ʟɪᴠᴇ ɪɴ ɴᴏᴡ. ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍɪᴅꜱᴛ ᴏꜰ ᴀ ᴘᴏꜱᴛ-ᴛʀᴜᴍᴘ / ᴘᴏꜱᴛ-ᴄᴏᴠɪᴅ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ, ᴛʜᴇ ᴀɴɢᴇʀ, ᴇꜱᴄᴀᴘᴇ, ɪꜱᴏʟᴀᴛɪᴏɴ, ᴀʙᴜꜱᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴇᴘʀᴇꜱꜱɪᴏɴ ᴇxᴘʀᴇꜱꜱᴇᴅ ɪɴ ‘ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴏᴡɴᴡᴀʀᴅ ꜱᴘɪʀᴀʟ’ ᴀʀᴇ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ʀᴇʟᴇᴠᴀɴᴛ ᴛʜᴀɴ ᴇᴠᴇʀ ʙᴇꜰᴏʀᴇ. ɪ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴇxᴀᴍɪɴᴇ ᴄᴜʀʀᴇɴᴛ ᴇᴠᴇɴᴛꜱ ᴀꜱ ᴡᴇʟʟ ᴀꜱ ᴍʏ ᴏᴡɴ ᴘᴇʀꜱᴏɴᴀʟ ꜱᴛᴀᴛᴇ ᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜ-ᴏᴜᴛ ᴛʜɪꜱ ʜɪꜱᴛᴏʀɪᴄ ʟᴏᴡ-ᴘᴏɪɴᴛ ɪɴ ʜᴜᴍᴀɴ ʜɪꜱᴛᴏʀʏ ᴀɴᴅ ᴘʀᴏᴅᴜᴄᴇ ᴀ ʙᴏᴅʏ ᴏꜰ ᴡᴏʀᴋ ᴀɴᴅ ʀᴇꜱᴇᴀʀᴄʜ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴜɴɪᴄᴀᴛᴇꜱ ᴛʜᴇꜱᴇ ᴛʜᴇᴍᴇꜱ ᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜ ᴀ ᴍᴏᴅᴇʀɴ ʟᴇɴꜱ. 

ɪ ᴡɪʟʟ ʙᴇ ᴇɴɢᴀɢɪɴɢ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴀᴛᴇʀɪᴀʟ ᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜ ᴍʏ ᴄʜᴏꜱᴇɴ ᴅɪꜱᴄɪᴘʟɪɴᴇ ᴏꜰ ɢʀᴀᴘʜɪᴄ ᴅᴇꜱɪɢɴ ᴡʜɪʟᴇ ɪɴᴄᴏʀᴘᴏʀᴀᴛɪɴɢ ꜰɪɴᴇ ᴀʀᴛ ᴇʟᴇᴍᴇɴᴛꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴘᴀɪɴᴛɪɴɢ, ꜱᴄᴜʟᴘᴛᴜʀᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴘʜᴏᴛᴏɢʀᴀᴘʜʏ.

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PAINTING WITH FOUND MATERIALS

So full discretion: I’ve done this before and actually love it. I was inspired by one of my favourite artists, David Choe, who used to paint with soy sauce and ketchup while he was in prison in Japan. The being said, this will be the first time I have painted with ENTIRELY found materials, including brushes, so I’m pretty excited to see who it turns out. 

I didn’t really wander far to find materials, most of what I needed was in my kitchen. I would, however, like to have a go at painting with rust this semester because it’s probably one of my favourite colours. 

The colours I was able to extract from mixing hot water with these different condiments and spices definitely play to my sensibilities, as I’m drawn to autumnal colour palettes. I had to involve beetroot because I love that hot pink, and while the green pesto showed promise, the colour eventually faded as the oil reacted to the paper. 

Anyway, lets see how this goes...

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WIRE SCULPTURE

I wanted to get started on a body to accompany the face I had made from wire, so I purchased more from the hardware store and got started. The wire was a bit sturdier as it was a higher mm diameter, which was a relief as I wanted the figure to be able to hold shape as well as move. 

I started with the hand, which after a few minutes of trying different things, I realised the best way to execute the idea was coiling the wire around each of my fingers and then pulling the end through the coil. this will not only get and accurate shape and size of the appendages, but it will make it easy to move each finger will also hold it in place, kind of like what a bone does for muscles, skin etc. 

Once I was happy enough with the hand, I continued the wire across the wingspan of my body and created the other hand and arm and pulled the rest of the wire into the figures chest. 

I’m wasn’t completely focused on the detail, but more so making it look like a “loose sketch” of a figure, while I work out proportions. I would like to achieve an aesthetic style similar to that of Derek Hess for these figures, but we’ll see how the rest of it goes. 

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Want to thank everybody for all the love on the last collage post. Was really encouraging and much appreciated. Here are some other ones, I think a lot of them were from the same session. There’s plenty more but I’m just gonna be peppering them in as I go. 

Again, basically just exploring alternative ideas of beauty using the variations in textures, colours and shapes like we see in nature. 

I’d really encourage everyone to give collage a go. A scalpel and a few magazines are all you need. 99% of these were happy accidents that came about by cutting out unusual shapes from peoples faces and just moving things around until I saw something that interested me. 

More madness than method. 

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HERBERT MATTER, MOBILE IN MOTION, 1936

A series of stills depicting the work of Alexander Calder by friend and fellow artist Herbert Matter. These images have given me a fresh perspective on Calder's work and the infinite possibilities of mobile art in regards to the ways  it is able convey movement. Each movement becomes its own unique design expressing its own distinct energy. Moments in time that can never be reproduced. 

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IDEAS SKETCHBOOK PART 1

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IDEAS SKETCHBOOK PART 2

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More collage. 

Don’t really know what else to say about it except again, thanks for the interest. 

Like I said in a previous post, there are so many different concepts and ideas to explore with collage. I’m focusing mainly on portraits because people, faces and expressions have always been what interests me. That being said my friend who got me into the medium plays a lot with landscapes and environments and gets amazing results from that. 

By the way, most or these aren’t even glued together. You’ll notice that some of these images and pieces of images are used multiple times. A lot of them are shots taken from my phone but another great way of approaching collage if your like me and get anxiety from being spoilt for choice is to:

1) Get some blue tac and stick them together that way.

2) Head over to your nearest scanner and and get a high-resolution scan of the image

3) Take it apart again and try something different. 

4) Repeat

You might not have a tangible original, but you can make as many high-resolution copies of the image as you want. 

Easy! 

In regards to my biophilia project, the initial idea of playing with shapes, textures and colours to explore alternative ideas of beauty has evolved from facial deformities to mixed-race and concepts of gender fluidity and body modification. Any one of these ideas are loaded with inspiring ideas and collage makes it easy to bring them all together, even in the same picture.