Component 1: June 2017

Tuesday, 27 June 2017

Reflection after visiting the Art Show

From visiting the Art Show, I have been inspired by the work of Lauren Rumble, who is a 2nd Year student at KEC.

Lauren Rumble

Untitled

2017

When helping to put the show up and when I first walked into the show, I was instantly drawn to look at this piece due to the high contrast between colour and the darkness. This composition to me seems like there is a moving light source, due to the quick brush strokes and the yellow/white which almost encapsulate the viewer into a thinking about the meaning of the composition. Perhaps the red and white over on the left represents a moving car as you expect the lights to be this colour. However as the movement suggests a circling motion, the car could've lost control.

The colour on this is extremely prominent as it is on a black background. There is a lot of layering and depth in the colour which contrasts the eery feeling that the black instils in the piece. There is a reasonable amount of tone in this composition which can be seen in the coloured area as there are many tints on yellow and shades of red. These two colours harmonise against each other and the yellow area is emitting point of interest in the composition.

This theme of light reminded me of the photographs that I took recently of how light is refracted through the window in the front door. The shapes that are made when light reflects through glass interests me because they are different each time, depending on what angle the light source is hitting the glass. This shape also reminded me of Mark Tobey's work, as there is a narrow mark that varies in tone. I could use this to replicate his work, and perhaps digitally represent the photographs that I took in a similar way.
I am going to be aware of how light is refracted around me and continue to take pictures of this so that I can use them in my experiments surrounding the topic of light.

Monday, 26 June 2017

Art Show

During the past week we have all been helping to prepare for the Art Show which was held o Friday 24 June. I helped by painting the room in white, covering any other paint and marks that were on the walls. The floor also needed cleaning which I contributed to too. We cleared out the tables and chairs and hung up artwork from across the years.

The studio part the way through completing the exhibition.

Following being involved in the process of getting the Art Show together, it has shown me how much work goes into presenting your work. After learning how to do this individually, it has shown me how there is another process when it comes to exhibiting everyone's compositions together. This is because you have to think of which compositions you put next to each other in terms of colour, scale, tone - creating a harmony as you look around the exhibition.

My first year final piece in the top centre.

I chose to put my first year final piece into the show as this brings together what my whole focus was about - experiences in the army and the removal of a soldier's identity through the reference of a number. I chose this over my sketchbook as it was a finished composition and my sketchbook would've become lost on a table full of them. In the future I want to work on a larger scale as I felt that my work wasn't eye-catching enough, I think if this was on a larger scale then it would've been, especially because of the vibrant colours.

From visiting the show later in the evening, I was inspired to look into installation as they are more interactive and I find them more interesting to view. For example, Amber Jesson's work was hard to miss as you had to walk through it to view the rest of the show. I think adding this aspect of interactivity would provoke more thought about its meaning as it would almost force you to do so.

Thursday, 15 June 2017

Post Modernism

To understand Post Modernism, I have researched what Modernism means.
Modernism refers to the broad movement in Western arts and literature that gathered pace from around 1850, and is characterised by a deliberate rejection of the styles of the past; emphasising instead innovation and experimentation in forms, materials and techniques in order to create artworks that better reflected modern society
http://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/m/modernism

Post Modernism

In art, postmodernism was specifically a reaction against modernism which had dominated art theory and practice since the beginning of the twentieth century. The term postmodernism is also widely used to describe challenges and changes to established structures and belief systems that took place in Western society and culture from the 1960s onwards.
http://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/p/postmodernism

Post modernism can be said to have begun with Pop Art in the 1960's, and it also includes feminist art, conceptual art and the Young British Artists of the 1990's. It also ran alongside Abstract Expressionism in America.
Modernism was based on idealism and reason, whereas Post Modernism focusses on complex and contradictory layers of meaning through scepticism. Post Modernism collapsed the divide between art and everyday life, thus introducing a new era of freedom. It challenges the boundaries of taste, which often brings some controversial subjects to the surface of the work.

Artists

Roy Lichtenstein

Roy Lichtenstein, ‘Whaam!’ 1963

Whaam!
Acrylic and oil paint on canvas
1727 x 4064 mm
1966

This composition is based on an image from 'All American Men of War' which is published by DC comics. Lichtenstein worked onto comics and advertisements and painted these influences, allowing the viewer to decipher the meaning for themselves. He was involved in Pop Art along with Andy Warhol and Blek le Rat.

Guerilla Girls

Guerrilla Girls, ‘Do Women Have To Be Naked To Get Into the Met. Museum?’ 1989

Guerrilla Girls, ‘Do Women Have To Be Naked To Get Into the Met. Museum?’ 1989

Do women have to be naked to get into the Met. Museum?
Screen print on paper
280 x 710 mm

This is part of the 'Guerilla girls talk back' collection which is produced by a group of anonymous female artists that expose sexual and racial discrimination, especially in New York. This group portray their messages in a quick, accessible way by using the visual language of advertising. Another artist, Barbara Kruger uses this technique too, both if them producing feminist art.

Visit to Walsall Art Gallery and Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery

On Friday we visited Walsall Art Gallery and Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. First we went to Walsall and I was interested by Rachel Goodyear's,'Blindspots'-watercolour, ink on paper and aluminium. I think the aspect about some installation pieces that I find interesting are the shadows that they cast and how this makes the composition expand across the room.

Whilst outside the gallery I took the opportunity to photograph textures that relate to my current artists that I am studying. For example, this sticker that has been peeled off a wall, leaving a shape that is jagged.

When we progressed to Birmingham, I focussed more on photographing the architecture and the street signs that are in the city. I took a photograph of a stained glass window that was on the museum as it reminded me of Helen Frankenthaler's work in which the colour has a translucency.

Experimenting with texture

After learning about different materials and what effects they give when certain mediums are used on them, I experimented with building texture with them. For my first experiment, I worked onto mountboard which provided a sturdy base for me to work onto. I ripped one of my print outs of a digital manipulation that I had previously done and added these to the background. I added to the background with a thin layer of white emulsion paint, being expressive with my mark making like Tobey does.

I stuck the digital manipulation that I was most happy with in the centre, which added a bright, vivid focal point. I further added black emulsion paint using quick strokes and also corrugated cardboard to almost frame the centre. I then used textured wallpaper to print red ink onto the surface of the cardboard. I decided to add more yellow and red ink and let in drip down the composition as I felt the divide between the monochrome palette and vibrant colours was too prominent and there wasn't a balance.

After this I added more black emulsion as there was too much brown space, and put white onto area around the outside to add highlights to the top of the cardboard. I also stuck on some homemade paper to the board so that there was more texture in the composition.

I like this composition as it combines all of my artists;the expressive marks of Tobey, the colour placement in the digital manipulation and Chila Burman as the photograph was the outcome of a poster. If I was to do this again, I don't think I would place the homemade paper onto the board as I don't think that it is contributing to the outcome as a whole. Moreover, I would cover the background more as a feel that there is still too much brown space.

Monday, 5 June 2017

Digital manipulations

I have experimented with using a software called Gimp to alter my images. I wanted to experiment doing this digitally to expand the amount of ways I have tried in manipulating photographs and to show how I can do this other ways than using mediums such as paint and charcoal. I downloaded this software onto my laptop at home and I have began experimenting with layers, in terms of layering two photographs and then removing sections of the top layer to reveal a texture underneath. I have used photographs that I have taken around Nuneaton and layered a texture and part of a poster.

In this experiment, I like how the block red colour and the tree bark contrast each other in terms of texture. The red is smooth, whereas the tree bark is extremely rough and lumpy. However, this contrast is balanced by the yellow and the red being harmonious colours. This composition has a bright mood as the colours are part of a warm colour palette, this reminds me of summer. The brown bark offers an earth-like colour which provides a natural vibe to the composition. I layered the bark underneath par of a poster with the letter 'F' on it, I did this as this letter has a lot of space inside it and so I would be able to reveal plenty of the bark underneath.

This is a photograph of Evan's jumper which has writing on it that has been layered over a photograph of the railings that surround my old school - Ash Green. As the dark blue surrounding the lettering is fabric, this gives a soft texture to the composition which is further emphasised by the furry growth on the railings. There is harmony throughout this composition due to the large amount of tonal representation in the green and then this balances nicely with the blue colour. There is also a variation in line in this composition as there are straight and curved lines which make the composition more interesting. As the letter 'G' is recognisable, there is a sense of perspective in this composition as the viewer can tell that this letter is directed into the distance. This could represent how a depressed individual would like to sometimes go unnoticed and isolate themselves. As there is nature in the background, this is emphasised by the nature in the background as sometimes a depressed individual uses nature as a form of escapism as they enjoy going on walks or being with pets.

In class feedback I was told that this looks like a photograph taken at an angle and close to a sign. To extend this I could make it so a photograph of a place is seen through the writing of that place that is stated on a sign.

I have emphasised the moss growing on this school railing by adding Evan's jumper over the top. This is drawing attention to the shape of the moss and almost makes it look camouflaged. Along with the composition above, this would also contribute to the idea of a depressed individual trying to isolate themselves. However, due to the camouflaged look, I think this takes more of a hidden approach revolved around disguising the fact that this person has depression. This therefore suggest how they carry o with their daily routine as normal and don't let anyone else see what they are struggling with. However, as the railing is not central to the photograph, this composition seems off balance. Although this could represent an imbalance in a person's life, I think that the railing is too lopsided and so it not emphasising this idea, but is distorting it. therefore, I am not going to be continuing with using this photograph due to its unbalanced nature.

I have removed the sign from the photograph, I think this would be more effective if the background was darker so that there was more contrast.

Sunday, 4 June 2017

Photographing Nuneaton to gain media that is similar to my artists' work.

This is a photograph of a wall inside McDonald's. This reminds me of Helen Frankenthaler's work, due to solid colours being placed on top of one another.

I focussed on taking close-ups of signs to produce similar shapes to Helen Frankenthaler. In this photograph I like how the white and the red shapes are geometric.

This is a close-up of a road sign, again I think this creates interesting shapes, especially with the diagonal lines. As this sign was quite high, I didn't manage to get a face-on photograph but as a result of this, a different perspective is seen.

This photograph of a tree's trunk inspires me as the vibrant yellow is arranged in random circular shapes on the trunk, contrasting the dull brown. I could use this photograph as reference to Helen Frankenthaler or Chila Burman as she uses a different textures.

This photograph of the graffiti offers another mark that I could use when studying Mark Tobey. The top part of the mark reminds me of the calligraphy-like marks that Tobey does make, but the bottom more curved section is another way I could make marks.

The way that the paint has fell off this sign has created shapes similar to what is found in Helen Frankenthaler's work. I was looking at this based on the shape that the rust has created in the framework of the sign.

Satruday 22 April- Tenbury Wells photographs

Here there is a path that a person is walking along that is quite narrow and this contrasts how depression is overcome as it is not a straight and narrow journey, it is long and fluctuating. As the light is coming from behind the person inset, only a black silhouette can be seen and so this reflects how this person is in a depressed state. However, they are making their way towards the light which represents hope and so they are determined to reach their end goal. This is emphasised by the person's posture as they are leaning forward and so this shows how they are driven. The fence along the left side of the path provides many vertical lines which join and curve together at the top. This represents how there will be many obstacles that a person will try to stunt their progress. The colour of the path also varies and there are areas of dark tone on the slabs and so there is a rougher texture which provides a mood of uncertainty. As the path is covered overhead by trees, it is shown that people often hide their depression. There a breaks in the canopy above which is allowing small pieces of light to seep through onto the path which portrays how going on a journey to recovery is the right thing to do instead of doing nothing about it.

This is a little side street that has independent businesses along it. As this is taken from an eye-level perspective, I think that the narrowness of the street can be seen easily. This enclosed environment reflects a closed mind set that a person in a Kafkaesque state has. As you can see an opening at the end of the street that is flooded with light, this shows what this person is missing by remaining in a Kafkaesque state. For example, a person can become too immersed in their occupation to the point where they don't enjoy their leisure time and the world that they have round them. The brightly coloured chairs and gingham table cloths are aesthetically pleasing and so the person may think that they are doing the right thing but may come to regret not enjoying life at a later date. The varying hues of red throughout the street in the bricks and furniture creates a harmony in this Kafkaesque world that many people live in nowadays. The light at the end of the street suggests how there is more to explore than just the working world but many people do not.

This is the street sign of the one main street in the market-town. How the sign is attached to would and a peeling fence displays how the town still has older, less modern features. This represents how a person's emotions can be depressed and aged as many people live with depression for years without seeking help. As this is a small market-town, many things have stayed the same for decades as they don't see the progression that cities do and so this isolation of the town can reflect the isolation of an individual. The colours of this photograph are quite earth-like and so this reflects the theme of nature that this town is surrounded by as it is a rural area. The lines created by the poles of the fence all go in the same direction which portray how the life of a depressed individual can be uniform and has strict routine. However, along the fence there is a pole missing which means that there is an area of green that is double the size of the rest. Therefore, this suggests how there is hope into breaking free from a rigid structure and how a person is able to take control of their mind set.

I like how the shadow of the bridge provides a crisp line between the shadow and the water. This is also because it spans the diagonal width of the photograph, making the viewer follow the divide up the shot. This portrays a divide between man-made structures and nature. We know that we build a Kafkaesque mind set from trying to earn enough money to buy materialistic things which are man-made, however sometimes it is easy to forget the beauty of the natural things that surround us. For example, people become so focussed in earning money for materialistic items so that they don't actually experience the money they have earned. This can be done by enriching yourself by travelling the world and experiencing places you never have and so it broadens the mind. Travelling or experiencing nature is known to overcome illnesses such as depression as it provides a break from routine. The shadow also suggests how we allow our man-made objectives to cover things that have sentimental value like spending time with family. Although there is a sense of harmony throughout the photograph, the bridge is a focal point as it is white and all of the other colours in the photograph are hues of brown or green.

Friday 14th April - Hebden Bridge photographs

This photograph is quite grey due to the day being overcast, therefore the soft pastel green shop is now the focal point. This gives a dull mood over the photograph which links to the depressed theme that I am exploring in my personal investigation. The weather creates a certain mood, which is often a technique used in films called pathetic fallacy. If I was going to take this idea pf using media further to moving image then I could use the weather to promote a desired mood. However, this would be difficult to carry out as the English weather is incredibly unpredictable. The white line in the centre of the road carries the viewer's eye across the photograph nearer the bottom. As this is at a slight angle, the eye is taken from the closer objects to the far ones. The road takes up half of the photograph which I think provides a dark mood effectively due to its large size. The single white line proves how much one mark can affect the way that a composition is perceived. Its rigid nature reflects how a depressed mood isn't easily shaken. Furthermore, the light brown buildings enforce a theme of nature into the photograph as this is an earthy colour. This could represent how some individual's use nature to escape their mental illness by going on long walks or bike rides through the countryside. It has been proven that exercising helps with dealing with illnesses such as depression and so the light brown colour offers a sense of hope.

I have taken this from a low angle so that the height of the chimney is then emphasised, making it seem larger than it actually is. I wanted to represent how one issue for one person may be even worse for another as it is all about different perspectives. I think that this photograph accentuates how people perceive and react to situations differently and so it is important to be mindful when forming an opinion of another. For example, leaving the house for many is not a worry or a struggle, but for someone who is depressed it can be. As the sky in the background is nearly all one colour, it contrasts this idea of us all being the same. There is a lot of tone in this photograph, which gets heavier the further you look downwards. This reflects how the deeper you get to know someone, the more depressed truths that you come to see and understand. Therefore, this photograph portrays how depression is often hidden by the individual. I have made sure that the building to the right is also in focus as there is a varying amount of tone in it. I did this so that it is noticeable that a person's character is built from many different experiences that they have had, spanning from grievance to marriage. These experiences affect our day-to-day lives and so I wanted to emphasise the importance of being mindful of each other's differences when we interact with one another.

In this photograph I like the how the light has hit the road and draws the viewer's attention to the curvature of it. This curved line is interesting and I will look at using curved line in my experiments. This curved line emphasises depression as being a journey, this is because a person; becomes depressed, is depressed and then overcomes depression. It is one that is unknown as you can't predict recovery as each case is individual to that person. The white lines emphasise the direction of this journey and reflect that the individual will always reach some sort of obstacle due to their disjointed nature. The road surface looks very smooth, almost slippery as it had previously rained which contrasts that the progress in recovery will fluctuate. There is an overall dull mood to this photograph too as the day itself was grey and heavy. As the road narrows the further away that it gets, this represents how the journey to recovery is unknown and can therefore be somewhat scary. The hills in the very background are covered in trees which appear fuzzy in texture in the photograph, this further accentuates the idea of the unknown. The curved shape of the road and the straight buildings contrast each other which could reflect conflicting emotions towards recovery. There is a large sense of space at the bottom of the photograph which shows how there is plenty of room for many emotions to be occurring in a depressed mind set.

The blue umbrella contrasts the grey slabs as it is so vibrant. These two colours provide a contrast between a depressed mind set and a sign of hope due to the blue being so bright. As there are people in this photograph, it is clearer that my theme revolves around individuals and their situations. Furthermore, the cobbled bridge is smooth but also disjointed and so this portrays how recovery is the right thing to do but it will be a rocky ride to get to the end goal of not being depressed anymore. As the bridge is cobbled, this provides many different lines and shapes within the photograph which contribute to how depression is caused by many different factors that we experience in our lives. The sides of the bridge almost reflect how an individual can have support through this and how professionals can give them guidance in how to maintain a positive structure to achieve being depression-free. The light is hitting the area where the lady with the blue umbrella has previously walked and so this reflects how she is on the right path to recovery as the light provides a theme of hope. As there are two more people in front of her, this shows that many people have overcome depression before and that the individual can do it themselves too. Therefore, overall this photograph suggests how depression isn't an illness that should isolate you, you should be able to seek help from others for advice and guidance to recover.

Mark Tobey analysis

Mark Tobey was an American painter, poet and composer who was born in Centerville, Wisconsin in 1890. He was the youngest of four children and his parents were called George Tobey and Emma Cleveland Tobey. His father was a carpenter and house builder and would give Tobey drawings to cut out, whilst he worked carving animals into stone. In 1893, the family settled in Chicago and Tobey attended the Art Institute of Chicago from 1906 to 1908, studying watercolour and oil paint. After this, Tobey became a model drawer in Chicago and did the same later in 1911 in New York. In 1918 Tobey converted to Bahaism, * His faith impacted his life and his art and so his beliefs can be seen in his work. From 1922 to 1925, Tobey became an art teacher and taught at the Cornish School, Seattle.

Tobey did a lot of travelling, including visiting Europe in 1925, including places such as Barcelona, Paris, Athens, Beirut and Istanbul. He additionally visited Akka to learn more about Arabian and Persian calligraphy, along with going on a pilgrimage to the holy site of Bahai in Haifa. Although I am not religious, it is clear that Tobey followed his interests which I will be able to do also. Tobey was furthermore interested in European cubism, East Asian painting and calligraphy. Tobey then relocated again and moved to teach at Dartington Hall School in Devonshire, England, recommended by Beatrice Straight, the daughter of Leonard and Dorothy Elmhirst. Later on, the Elmhirst’s sent himself and a potter named Bernard Leach to Japan for a year, where Tobey was able to benefit from being immersed in Asian culture and introduced to oriental calligraphy. He also had dealings with teachings and paintings of Zen and Haiku poetry. I have studied Haiku poetry before in secondary school, these are short, concise poems that are limited to 4 lines, including a certain number of syllables on each line. This helps suggest a sustained rhythm which Tobey possibly could’ve liked due to being a composer too – making his first compositions in 1938. In 1937, he returned to the United States of America and lived in Seattle until 1960.

The Willard Gallery in New York showed his first exhibition in 1944 and marked his artist breakthrough, including “White Writings”. Tobey covers the background of his composition in several layers of white paint (or a colour near this). This was the beginning of ‘all over’ painting, which was also used by artists like Jackson Pollock. Tobey’s work was involved in Abstract Expressionism, along with Pollock. This was a development Post-War in the 1940s and 1950s that originated in New York and expresses subjective emotions through abstract art. His work was additionally shown in Kassel in 1959 and 1964. He has been the subject of retrospective exhibitions at the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, the Smithsonian Museum and Foundation Beyeler in Basel. In 1960, Tobey moved to Basel, Switzerland and passed away there in 1976.

Untitled -1970

8.5 x 5.5 inches

Painting

This composition by Tobey is untitled like many of his other artworks, which suggests that Tobey was producing these in a quick, responsive fashion. The colours in this piece are relatively bright. He has used primary colours red and blue, and the secondary colour, orange. Although I have not stated the type of paint that had been used, I can presume that it is oil or watercolour as many of his other pieces are painted in these mediums. Due to the translucency of the strokes, I believe it to be watercolour paint. The composition is mainly dark blue which has calm connotations which could like to his involvement with studying Zen on his travels to the Eastern part of the world. These strokes of blue and red are loose and expressive which look like writing, more specifically, Chinese calligraphy. These lines would have been influenced by his trip to China. The red paint is used in the same way as the blue, these layers of colour overlapping but not mixing, therefore the paint has been allowed to dry before the next layer of paint is applied. Beneath these calligraphic marks, there are loosely winding shapes that have been created using a single thin line, which are curved and overlap each other. These lines are blue and orange which complement each other, along with the orange being harmonious to the red marks. The red marks could represent his passion for the East, following his visit to Asia with a friend. However, the red and blue could portray some sort of conflict in Tobey’s life due to the juxtaposing moods that is suggested by the cool blue and fiery red. The red and blue calligraphy-like marks vary in thickness therefore creating different movements around the composition. Furthermore, red and orange are both associated with Chinese culture and dress so this could have been what his colour palette has been inspired by. I have been trying to look at taking photographs differently, addressing aspects such as colour to influence my ideas as well as the subject of the picture. Tobey’s use of colour is interesting as, although the colour palette is limited, the colours complement and are harmonious to each other, thus creating an aesthetically pleasing amount of contrast. The background of the composition is mottled with tints of red and shades of blue in triangular shapes which face the focal point, this creates fury, fizzy texture. The focal point of the composition in restricted to an oblong in the centre, perhaps suggesting a feeling of loneliness or insecurity. As there is no title, this composition can be interpreted in many ways based on the individual who is viewing it. However, the fact that it is untitled could lead the viewer to believe that Tobey did have a time where he felt out of touch with the outside world, or perhaps he is allowing the viewer to see what they draw out of the composition, therefore noticing what kind of person they are, for example, positive or negative. Despite the message of this piece of art not being quite as clear as others, it is evident that Tobey was inspired immensely by his visit to Asia, with the composition being filled with cultural links to China. I have been influenced by Tobey to take a further look into the places I have visited, and draw my inspirations from my personal experience.

*“a monotheistic religion founded in the 19th century as a development of Babism, emphasizing the essential oneness of humankind and of all religions and seeking world peace. The Baha'i faith was founded by the Persian Baha'ullah (1817–92) and his son Abdul Baha (1844–1921).”

https://www.bing.com/search?q=abstract+expressionism+definition&qs=n&form=QBRE&sp=-1&ghc=1&pq=abstract+expressionism+definition&sc=2-33&sk=&cvid=2669C1EC7CF54AA993AA34B429FFCDBF

http://www.mark-tobey.com/

https://www.dartington.org/about/our-history/dartington-whos-who/mark-tobey/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Tobey#Early_years

https://www.bing.com/search?q=bahaism&form=EDGEAR&qs=DA&cvid=133e9e6979da4539b35fdaf2192bb3d4&pq=bahaism&cc=GB&setlang=en-GB&PC=ACTS

Helen Frankenthaler analysis

Helen Frankenthaler was one of the major painters of Post-war American Abstract Expressionism. Frankenthaler recently passed away in 2011 at the age of 83 in her home in Connecticut. She was raised in a wealthy, Jewish family along with her two elder sisters in Manhattan. Her parents recognised her talent for art and sent her to progressive, experimental schools when she was a child. As a family, the Frankenthaler’s took many trips in the summer where Frankenthaler developed her love for landscape, nature and the sky. Her father was a judge at New York State Supreme Court and he sadly died of cancer when Frankenthaler was just 11 years old. This traumatic event sent her into a four-year period of unhappiness in which she suffered intense migraines. I think that Frankenthaler’s progression into art can be seen as a homage to her father as he is one of the people who supported her in pursuing her talents when she was young. Perhaps, Frankenthaler used this as a coping mechanism of her loss by painting the places she visited with her father and places she visited day-to-day.

Frankenthaler studied art at Dalton School in New York and Bennington College in Vermont. She was inspired by Jackson Pollock in the mid 1950’s and worked as a set and costume designer in the 1980’s for productions by England’s Royal Ballet. She has taught at top universities including; Harvard, New York University, Princeton and Yale. Her work is held at The Whitney Museum of American Art and The Museum of Modern Art in New York. The Jewish Museum in New York hosted her first retrospective exhibition in 1960. Frankenthaler worked with many painters throughout her lifetime such as Lee Krasner, Jackson Pollock, Robert Motherwell and Franz Kline. She was married to Motherwell until 1971.

Mountains and Sea – 1952

oil paint and charcoal on untreated canvas 219.4 x 297.8cm

Frankenthaler’s work is based on real and imaginary landscapes. As I have visited a few places in the past couple of weeks, for example, Shrewsbury and Hebden Bridge, I think I can use these places as inspiration to my work like Frankenthaler did. As well as her 2D paintings, Frankenthaler additionally has worked with ceramics, prints, welded steel sculpture and illustrated books. She is most well-known for her paintings in which she invented the ‘soak-stain’ technique. This is where you pour turpentine-thinned oil paint/watered-down acrylic paint onto untreated canvas producing luminous colours on a canvas that is lay on the floor. As I do not use oil paint at home, I will be able to begin experimenting with this technique using acrylic paint. Frankenthaler also help launch the second generation of Colour Field painting (which originally sprung in the 1940’s) with Morris Louis and Kenneth Noland, which is characterised by large fields of colour and the absence of figurative motifs, often suggesting a yearning for the infinite. Colour Field painting produces airy compositions which celebrate the joys of pure colour and a need for transcendence. Colour Field art is recognised as an important precursor of the 1960’s movement of Minimalism due to its spare, meditative nature. The ideas of this soon lost its popularity to new, stronger forces such as Pop Art and Minimalism.

Frankenthaler’s work identifies the natural landscape, whether that be the arid terrain of Southwest America, a mulberry tree in New York or the Long Island Sound which could be viewed from her home in Darien, Connecticut. Long Island Sound is the tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean and lies between the Northern shore of Long Island, the Eastern shore of Bronx County, the Southern shores of Westchester county and Connecticut, stretching a vast 110 miles from the East River in New York City.

Frankenthaler in her New York Studio

Picture taken from : https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/80/59/d3/8059d38f98d904bba3790e7d29ea1a5e.jpg

Upon returning home from Nova Scotia, Frankenthaler created ‘Mountains and Sea’ using the ‘soak-stain’ technique. I am keen to try out using this technique as it is new to me, so I will be able to expand the range of ways that I use different mediums. Frankenthaler has manipulated the oil paint in this composition using window wipers, sponges and charcoal outlines. In this composition, Frankenthaler uses oil paint that has been thinned with turpentine, therefore producing muted washes of colour. The background has a slight wash of yellow and pink which suggests an expansive space, possibly the sky. Also, I think these colours could be representing the calming mood at dusk. The other colours included are primary colours such as blue, red and yellow and one secondary colour, green. The washes of red appear more towards the colour pink as the paint has been thinned. In the areas of colour, some tone is present as collections of pigment have created tone within the section. The red in the centre creates a focal point - relating to the title I cannot think of anything typically figurative that this could be representing so I think it is providing an emotion, for example her passion and love of nature which many of her artworks are based upon. The colour is almost encapsulated by the charcoal lines; however, the colour has bled slightly over them because of its thin consistency.

The blue in the composition could be representing the sea or icy mountain peaks. The tints of blue could represent the vast sky as the thin paint suggests how this area is extremely large. Furthermore, coming down the piece, the lighter sections of blue could portray the sun reflecting of the sea’s water. Whereas, the shades of blue could connote the depths of the Atlantic Ocean which surrounds Nova Scotia. In the centre of the piece there are sail-like shapes created by the charcoal outlines. The charcoal outlines are one single line, displaying how a quick fluid movement has been used to make them. To replicate this I could use continuous line to ensure that only a single line is used as I wouldn’t want too much control over the shape. In some parts of the composition there are circular dabs of paint which creates a stippling collection of tone which fade out towards the end of the line – this could have been achieved using a dry sponge. There isn’t a lot of texture in this composition because the ‘soak-stain’ technique means that the paint isn’t being layered or built up, it is rather becoming part of the canvas.

By studying Frankenthaler’s work, I have been inspired to look at the places I visit and my experiences as more significant rather than not including it in my work. I think I need to look at my day-to-day life more closely as this would be beneficial because it would help me to delve into my personal investigation more, rather than choosing a broader topic from the beginning.

http://www.artnet.com/artists/helen-frankenthaler/biography

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Island_Sound

http://www.theartstory.org/artist-frankenthaler-helen.htm

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2011/dec/28/helen-frankenthaler

Chila Burman analysis

Chila Burman was born into a Hindhu-Punjabi family living in Bootle, Liverpool. She is also named Kumari which is Punjabi for princess. Her father – Bachan Singh – arrived as an immigrant from India in the 1950’s. By trade he was a tailor but was unable to find work in this specialism and so bought an ice cream van which he made a business from for over 30 years – it is this that Burman focusses on in some of her work based on her childhood. She would help with selling the ice cream with her father and this experience immersed her in colour and flavour. Burma studied at Southport College of Art and completed a Batchelor of Fine Art printmaking at Leeds Polytechnic (now Leeds Metropolitan University) along with extending her studies at Slade School of Art in London.

From visiting the ‘Beyond Pop’ exhibition at Wolverhampton Art Gallery, I learnt that her work explores politics, whilst involving her immediate experiences and family stories. Furthermore, she investigates issues based on gender, race and the aesthetics of Asian femininity. Her prints made in the 1980’s uncover racial tensions in the Black uprising in 1981.

These are my own photographs taken at Wolverhampton Art Gallery at Chila Burman's "Beyond Pop" exhibition.

For example, the triptych ‘Bloody Cages’ (1982) was part of the Black British Art Movement. Burman has used etching, aquatint, lithography, screen print on Somerset velvet to create this 3-part composition which is arranged horizontally. In the far-left piece, there is red in the background which adds colour to the piece as the rest is in black and white. There is a black screen print of cages over the top of this which has plenty of tonal representation. In the foreground, there are three thick, black lines which run vertically down the centre, with another line crossing them beginning at the bottom left of the composition and finishing just below the middle of the right-hand side. The other two compositions are variations of this initial piece that I have just described. The centre piece has a completely white background. Over the top of this, the culmination of the cages, that has been screenprinted on the first piece. In the third piece the background contains more of the colour red and nearly covers the entire span of the composition. The red looks like it has been applied with a dry brush as you can see the space between the hairs of the brush, which also suggests that there isn’t a great quantity of paint on the brush. Over the top of this there is a black screenprint of the cages, but it has been rotated by 180 degrees and used in this arrangement for the third composition only. In the foreground the same black thick lines are arranged like in the first composition.

Looking at Burman’s most recent work, I have noticed that it is more vibrant than the previous compositions that she produced in the 1980’s. Moving onto her current work, Burman challenges the stereotypical assumptions of Asian women using mediums such as print, collage, paint, sculpture, photography and mixed media. She does this by collecting everyday materials, for example, dress accessories, lingerie, bras, bhindis, flowers, hair pieces, jewellery and makeup. These materials all feature in her work, juxtaposing the sexual and the everyday and identifying the theme of the culture and lifestyle surrounding Asian women. Her most recent studies are the ones that I am going to begin focussing on as the vivid cultural appearance of them appeal to me to because of the vibrant colours that feature in them.

Sugar Love, 2013, oil paint and bhindis on canvas, 400 x 400cm

In this composition, there is a figure of a lady with her legs spread that covers the entire right side of the canvas, with her right leg opening up to the left, reaching over to the left side of the canvas. However, her body is not painted in a realistic way in terms of colour. Her torso is nude and her legs are orange, these are solid, block colours and so there isn’t any tone on the body. The nude colour is quite noticeable as it is the only colour that is more muted, as opposed to the vivid flashes of red, yellow, blue and green. It is Burman’s use of colour that first caught my eye when seeing her work, the vibrant colours are loud and bold which is something that appeals to me. The blue circles that are on her leg contrast the orange, whereas the red bhindis are harmonious to the orange. The bhindis are arranged in a way that gives a sense of dimension, for example, the black underneath the leg suggests that the left leg is closest to us. The bhindis are arranged in curves and so the viewers eye is moved around the composition, this creates a movement around piece. Furthermore, the thickness of the oil paint of the lady adds texture to the skin, it adds another layer to the canvas as well as the bhindis and the black text. The text on the composition isn’t arranged in the usual, horizontal, left-to-right way. The artist’s name runs up the right bottom half of the lady’s leg, with the rest of her initials on the inner thigh. This could be suggesting that the lady is representing the artist herself, or this could be another way of marking and signing her work. The word ‘dominatrix’ spans from the bottom of her body to the top, slightly covering the head. By definition, this word means – a dominating woman who controls and hurts her partner during sex to give pleasure. As Burman focusses on Asian femininity, she could be trying to expose how Eastern and Western women are the same in terms of sexual experience. Western women are often sexualised by the media and thought to be strong independent women, whereas this is not the case for Eastern women. I believe that Burman is trying to emphasise the difference in how women are portrayed across the globe, and that Asian women can still be in control and are desirable, opposing the reserved, enclosed stereotype that the Western world have of them. In my opinion, this raises an important issue as it explains how there is such a divide in the opinions of women today. Although it is essential that all women are individuals there is still a stereotypical difference between the roles of women in Western and Eastern parts of the world. For example, Western women are believed to be independent, whereas Eastern women are seen as having a more domestic role in their families. This composition highlights that all women are passionate and desirable regarding of their culture.

However, it is clear that women are often taken advantage of, especially looking at rape and sexual assault which has been a common theme recently in the news, regarding Jimmy Saville and also the false accusations against Cliff Richard. This composition could also be seen as oversexualising women as that is not a woman’s soul purpose in life. Rape is a common problem in today’s society and there are many debates around who’s ‘fault’ rape is. Furthermore, one case that I have been looking at (Jaycee Dugard’s kidnapping) shows that it still happens, even within the last twenty years, having had two children with her captor due to being raped. In my personal investigation I want to study the life revolving around abductions that have occurred within the past thirty years or so.