Viva and Tutorial - BIG Canvas.

It was brilliant to receive feed back on the work I had been creating and I came to a few realisations on what work actually was successful and which pieces I juts thought were successful.
After creating a variety of work using text, computer imagery and different techniques in painting, my masking tape drawings had shown to have become the most successful. What I found strange about this is how I had discontinued using masking tape as a way of working very early on in the course and moved away from it, only to now find it is the main thing I am concentrating on. What stood out to the tutors was how the indecision in mark making and what colours I had chosen gave the piece energy and movement. Another aspect of the work was how when the colours were placed next to the purity of the white the became much more vivid and noticeable. This had quite an interesting effect because due to the amount of white in the work it was surprising to see how the white didn't overwhelm and consume the work.

 I had created one piece on three canvases that didn't represent any of the good points about the masking tape paintings. I had tried to stick and create a formula to create work and this had an incredibly negative effect when it came to the end product of the work. The piece lacked any kind of movement and it looked too forced. What makes my other pieces work was the look of a preconceived idea mixed with chance and spontaneity.
After the Viva my idea's progressed further in the way that I wanted to have an intentional meaning as well as holding a high importance in the process of creating the work. I felt with previous pieces that had been unsuccessful I had made them too even, too polite. So this is the area I had to change. I began trying to make the pieces deliberately problematic to the eye by creating a sense of unease and off balance. After experimenting more with this idea I felt increasing the scale would increase the direct interaction with the viewer. This would make it unavoidable to become baffled on whether the piece worked or not.
I began making a 5ft by 7ft canvas. Making the canvas bigger than a person was intentional to again try and carry off the overwhelming feel of unease.
Building the stretcher and stretching the canvas was fairly straight forward, however it was time consuming and when it came to priming the canvas it took 4 layers of primer and sanding to get the intended effect. I had to make sure the canvas was as white and smooth as possible so the white could highlight the surrounding colours as much as possible.

 
 I began to question if it was worth it. Because preparing the canvas ready to paint on was taking 3 times longer than it was going to take me to tape it up and paint it. I spoke to my tutor about this who made me understand the preparation for the work is a vital part of the process and part of the work itself. For example the majority of the time Damien Hirst's work relies on the preparation and planning before putting the work together.

 
Masking the piece was relatively simple. It was just a challenge to envision what the end piece was going to look like because of the scale of the canvas. It was also very difficult when choosing how thick to have the masking tape lines. Too thin and the piece would become too intricate and complicated. Too thick and the piece would become too disjointed which is an effect I have yet to decide if I like or not.

When it came to painting the canvas the scale became problematic again. This was because on the smaller scales it was quite easy to keep up the energy and aggression while painting. This took a lot more effort to put forward to same movement throughout the piece. It was also challenging when applying the paint, as on a small scale several blobs of paint would suffice to fill the whole page, whereas on the large scale it took much more thought when placing the paint down onto the canvas. (Mainly to try to prevent much wastage.)
 Once I'd finished the piece it was clear the scale had helped the effect the work had dramatically. Because of the scale the painting became much more a statement, something that could not be ignored. It became apparent as well at this point how effective the hand made canvas was. The choice to prime it as many layers as I did created a much more clean cut finish than if I'd just gone a bought one. It was also good to see how my choice not to prime the edges of the canvas became part of the work too. I did this as I knew when painting the shapes I would not paint up to the edge of the canvas anyway. Therefore when looking at the side of the canvas you can see a decent into purity. This also clearly shows another process within the piece. Overall I thought the piece had worked well, however in future I need to try and be less vigorous when applying the paint. This was because I did rip some of the masking tape off which meant paint bleed into the white space. This did add a feeling of imperfection to the work. It is up for the viewer to decide whether that is a positive outcome or not.

      

No Furniture - Private View

No Furniture was a exhibition put on by some 2nd and 3rd year student from the University and was held in King Street Cambridge. It was advised that I went down to see the exhibition space as that was where the first years exhibition that I was a part of was taking place. The space itself is very spacious and with the front side of the area just being windows throughout the day the source of natural light would be amazing. It was also interesting to see what work was being created by students who were further along in the course. I found some pieces incredibly interesting like the bricks made from food, several small geometric prints and a large canvas that was overwhelmed with colour and energy. These pieces may have interested me simply because these pieces (other than the food bricks) highlight the direction my work is taking at the moment. However I felt the large portrait/self portrait and charcoal/ pencil sketches were amateurish and something you would be more likely to see at an A-level exhibition. I did find it strange that these pieces were on display, however I did not ask or speak to the artists who made the work so I didn't quite grasp the intent of the pieces in question.  
It was rewarding going to the private view as I gained inspiration on how to present my work in the exhibition.

Bernard Frize

Bernard Frize is an artist who's working process is not dissimilar to my own. Frize's work focuses on the use of pattern and colour. However chance plays a big dynamic influence in his work. Frize uses a a brush with four colours next to one another or in other cases for separate brushes tied together making sure either the brush contains a lot of moisture or the surface he paints on is wet. This is so the colours can bleed and blend together to create a new aspect in the piece. Frize also held high importance in finishing a piece in one go. This is so the movement and energy in the piece is kept. In and interview with David Ryan, Frize said: 'To me, a painting has to be done quickly to be able to show it's process, to be clear, without tricks. I don't like the mess of painting; it has to be done most of the time in one go - otherwise I get bored. Ironically, working out the process and figuring out all the preparations for a painting take longer than the actual act itself.'
Recently it has become more clear to me that the processes involved in creating a piece of work can hold more importance than the finished piece itself. Also when creating a series of pieces maintaining the same process is important to get a reliable and consistent result.

  Frize gained inspiration from Morris Louis, however Frize felt Louis' work fitted in too much with Clement Greenberg's ideology. Both artists work hold similarities in the way that a predetermined outcome has been perceived crossed with the working process of automatism and spontaneity.  

Morris Louis

Bristol Museum and Art Gallery: No Borders.

I recently spent some time in Bristol, and while there I went in search of some exhibitions. This proved to be quite a struggle as most Art Spaces and Museums such as the Arnolfini and Spike Island were between exhibitions. So I ended up walking up to the Bristol Museum where the 'No Borders' exhibition was taking place.

'No Borders considers how we are all linked internationally and politically, through our histories and the economic system that increasingly dominates the world. Using the traditional damask walls of the art galleries as a backdrop, the exhibition is an intervention in the museum building. No Borders reflects on global stories from local perspectives.' - Taken from the No Border exhibition programme.

The No Borders exhbition mainly consisted of artists from Asia and Africa. This was incredibly interesting to see as I had never seen Art before from places like Pakistan and Iran. A quote from Imran Qureshi (one of the artists exhibiting) summed up this strange realisation: 'I think that in the West you have a false idea about [Pakistan]. It's believed and wrongly so, that we are gagged and limited in our artistic production.'
This may be true, however it raises the argument of how many people in Pakistan actually have the liberty to practice art or express themselves at all. Due to what we could see as a cultural moral oppression where there is still a very strict line of what can and cannot be said. Something that in Western Society has been almost completely eliminated.
I cannot say for sure either way because I neither know many Pakistani people and I have never been to Pakistan.

Imran Qureshi's pieces were the most powerful there in my opinion. Qureshi had meticulously painted floral patterns and presented them amongst a splatter effect. This and the incredibly vivid red that he used portrayed the innocent blood of two boys who were murdered in Pakistan and the corruption of the Pakistani police which was to blame. When looking at Qureshi's work you can become bewildered with the beauty and intricacy of the work but then when it becomes apparent the meaning and gesture behind the work it creates an even more powerful effect.

The main themes which became apparent to me throughout the exhibition were the references to civil wars, political corruption, work force oppression and poverty. This added meaning to the idea that an artist can only respond this his or her personal landscape. Although it was interesting to see that each artist in the exhibition shared similarities in the meaning and intentions of their work. This also lead me on to thinking how my work would change and develop if I changed my surroundings.