Term 1 Subject: Display/Collections Artists

Posted: October 29, 2014 | Author: lounomeat | Filed under: Contextualisation | Leave a comment

Whilst creating the means of opening my collage envelopes, I was approached by Susan Adams who was interested in my work and asked me about what I was forming. After explaining my ideas and work so far, she suggested a number of artists that prioritize the display of their work, and also artists who display collections. She suggested it would be a good idea to research into different methods of displaying collections.

I mentioned the methods of display and storage used by museums, and was curious about the difference in the displays of items for the public in comparison to storage of these items ‘behind the scenes’. Susan reflected that she had requested access to these storage rooms for artistic purposes and had it had been granted. I am going to try and attain access to these sorts of storage facilities in Cardiff museum.

Christian Boltanski‘s … “installations are made up of collections of everyday objects such as clothing or shoes; and photographs – such as passport photographs, school portraits and family albums. They memorialize ordinary people – the unknown children killed in the Holocaust … or the employees of a Halifax carpet factory.” (‘Christian Boltanski, pub. by Phaidon)

Simply displaying found objects is a simple but powerful means of memorializing. This could be a fantastic way to show the numbers of animals exploited in labs, on farms, etc, without offending people with ‘gore’. Collage artists I have looked at previously have also shown that ‘volume’ can have great impact. I shall definitely think about using the simplicity of volume to represent animal suffering.

Annette Messager, partner of Boltanski, bases a lot of her work on toys and childhood. She says that children’s stories are monstrous, and her work is both ‘secretive and strange’. Despite using children’s toys, her work is anything but innocent.

I too have been using soft toys in my work in a manner not befitting their purpose – to expose the world of animal cruelty in a less graphic and horrifying way yet still shocking or surprising enough to force people to think about the issue. In Messager’s pieces displayed here, she cruelly crams soft toys tightly between books and uses others to comment on ‘mad cow disease’. Taking an innocent object and using it for a more taboo topic can be very compelling. Messager also displays her work in particular ways; some things being strung high up on swing-like shelves, making it difficult to view and thus increasing the interest and curiosity of the piece. I am trying to increase interaction and curiosity with my work. Perhaps a tricky or unconventional method of display will be more effective for my work than simply hanging it on a wall.

Bill Burns is a Canadian artist, and created a collection of ‘safety gear for small animals’. Burns has crafted miniature safety clothing and equipment to ‘fit’ small animals. A gallery of these items can be found here: http://www.safetygearforsmallanimals.com/SGSA.html
These pieces make a comment on the lack of care or thought for safety of small animals. We see lots of small animals killed on the roads or hear of small woodland critters losing their habitats, but it isn’t in the forefront of our minds. Burns has made us think of the hardships and danger small animals must go through by creating these ‘safety gear’ items, as well as readdressing the small and fragile nature of life. I think this is a very clever piece of work, as it makes you address issues from an entirely different angle. It will certainly make me think about my own project, and how subtleties can make more of a lasting impression and be more compelling.

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Term 1: Patricia Piccinini

Posted: October 24, 2014 | Author: lounomeat | Filed under: Contextualisation | Leave a comment

Patricia Piccinini creates science-fiction hyper-realistic sculptures of disturbingly strange figures. A lot of these figures are a combination of characteristics from both human and animal.

The ‘fleshy’ quality of her work gives the sculptures real life and presence. They aren’t aggressive or confrontational, yet they are disturbing. Maybe a reminder that we too are animals, or perhaps also a comment on genetic modification and gene splicing. (The famous ear grown on a mouse’s back, for example, reminds me very much of these artworks).

Piccinini’s pieces force you to contemplate them further. They are intriguing yet also disturbing. These are elements that could be very effective in animal rights art. It isn’t about telling the viewer what to think, it is about making them reconsider their previous opinions and view animals from an alternate perspective. These pieces are very powerful in that sense; drawing comparisons and similarities between human and animal.

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Term 1: Collage Artists

Posted: October 10, 2014 | Author: lounomeat | Filed under: Contextualisation | Leave a comment

James Green asked us to research different artists who create work relevant to our own.
I have five different artists I would quite like to look at further; Hannah Hoch, Terry Gilliam, Robert Rauschenberg, Peter Blake, and Richard Hamilton.

Hannah Hoch was a German collage artist of the Dada movement in the 1920s. She was a pioneer of photomontage. Faces, and particularly women, appear as main subjects in her work; addressing many topics such as women in the beauty culture, racial discrimination and even hypocrisy within her own Dada group.

“Whenever we want to force this ‘photo-matter’ to yield new forms, we must be prepared for a journey of discovery, we must start without any preconceptions; most of all, we must be open to these beauties of fortuity. Here more than anywhere else, these beauties, wandering and extravagant, obligingly enrich our fantasy.” – Hannah Hoch, ‘On Today’s Photomontage’.

This quote from Hoch makes me remember discovering the freedom of using collage in David Ferry’s module last year, ‘Gorilla in the Roses’. As there was no brief as such, we were encouraged to explore and experiment by simply combining images without pre-thinking a narrative. This led me to create some of the best collages I have created, and therefore I can relate to this idea of discovery and journeying without preconceptions, as I have found, from experience, that this is sometimes where the best outcomes lie.

Terry Gilliam is most widely known for his animation work with ‘Monty Python’. He uses a mixture of found collage as well as his own illustrations which he then animates.

I particularly like the use of both drawn and found materials. This allows for flexibility – as you can draw or create whatever images you like – whilst also keeping the scenarios grounded in reality with actual photographs. This gives the pieces a sense of authenticity, and allows us to relate to the strange worlds and scenes Gilliam creates by retaining this realistic element to his works. This could be an effective technique for my project, as I want to ground my ideas enough to be considered a realistic portrayal whilst using art to ‘open people’s eyes’ without being too shocking or offensive.

Robert Rauschenberg was an American painter and graphic designer. He acted as a bridge between Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art. Rauschenberg’s work appears to me to be very chaotic; a mish-mash of images and abstract painting.

Again, this idea could relate effectively to my own work. Chaos and confusion are definitely two elements that I need to portray in my animal welfare based work. Capturing these are difficult, as art is easily ordered without even trying. Letting go of that element of control and allowing processes to just ‘happen’ may be relevant. Dada artists often used autonomous (not subject to control) methods of producing art, such as dropping paint onto paper or writing and reciting poetry without thinking about what the words will be. This leads to a chaotic and nonsensical result. Perhaps I should explore this idea within my work to try and generate a feeling of chaos to reflect the confused mindset and chaotic experience of exploited animals.

Peter Blake was an English Pop Artist, best known for his co-creation of The Beatles’ ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ vinyl sleeve.
Blake’s collage work often depicts a mass of subjects; be it faces of people, a collection of horses or butterflies for example.

I particularly love the detail and reality in these collage works. The subjects are placed so they appear to belong in the scene, not as if they have just been pasted on top. This approach keeps the work grounded in some sense of reality, as did Gilliam’s work. The sheer volume of subjects and elements to Blake’s collages interest me. Volume of exploited animals is a primary factor in my work. Displaying the sheer amount of animals abused in this manner could be very effective – filling a wall with pictures of animals representing the amount of animals used and abused by humans every year, for example, could be very eye catching. It would also draw people in to look more closely if it were very detailed, as Blake’s are, or rather small. This would also touch on elements of interaction with the audience; another angle I am intending to use in order to improve ‘recall of the message’ and increase interest.

Richard Hamilton was an English painter and collage artist, nominated for the Turner Prize. Hamilton, too, uses real photographic images to create his collages, and uses digital printing methods. He also manages to create realistic 3D spaces for these collages.

The key element to most of the artists I have chosen in relation to my own work seems to be exaggerated realism in some form or another. Hamilton is retaining integrity and realism in his images by combining subjects and images that may not normally be seen together, but doing this in a very realistic and plausible way; none of the elements of the image are over sized or exaggerated, and fit into the scene perfectly. However, a female body-builder lollipop lady is not a normal thing to see in a room. These oddities draw attention and capture the viewer.

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