Summative Post: Documentation

Posted: May 14, 2015 | Author: lounomeat | Filed under: Subject | Leave a comment

Artist Statement

Inspired by a passion for animal rights, my mirror paintings intend to portray confusion and isolation felt by the animals used in laboratory testing.

Many people are naïve to the use of animals in this way in modern society. My work tries to keep the issue alive by portraying this problem in a manner which is not too repulsive or offensive, so as not to deter the viewer whilst maintaining an essence of unease.

I hope to encourage the audience to reflect on how they would feel by imagining themselves in this sterile and lonely environment.

–

Since the beginning of the year, my work has developed and evolved quite far from its origins whilst maintaining many techniques.

Having been working on my dissertation, I began the year creating collage pieces with an animal welfare theme; relating to my dissertation. I was researching lots of advertising techniques, and I wanted to employ some of these techniques into my own work. Dissertation research is definitely one of the most influencing factors of my work.
Post #1: https://lounomeat.wordpress.com/2014/10/20/term-1-subject-animal-collage/

Another important aspect of my work was both display and interactivity. I particularly wanted to make my work interactive, as advertising research shows it makes an advert more memorable. As my work is essentially an advert for animal welfare, I thought this would be both appropriate and effective.
Post #2: https://lounomeat.wordpress.com/2014/10/28/term-1-subject-collage-display/

I started working some small ideas alongside the collage; one being the destruction and distortion of soft toys. I used these sculptural pieces to create ‘Warped Scans’ which went on to influence my paintings; following through with the surrounding blackness which reflects isolation.
Post #3: https://lounomeat.wordpress.com/2014/11/14/term-1-subject-warped-scans-with-exploited-soft-toys/

Having decided over the Christmas period that I was fed up of collage and soft toys – these mediums not feeling like ‘me’ – I thought about what I wanted to present in the exhibition, and realised that I wanted to paint.
Post #4: https://lounomeat.wordpress.com/2015/02/17/term-2-subject-mirror-painting/

Finally, I chose to only paint monkeys rather than other animals, as they are more ‘human-like’, and this evolved to become my exhibition piece.
Post #5: https://lounomeat.wordpress.com/2015/03/23/term-2-mirror-monkeys/

---

Term 3: Naming my Exhibition Work

Posted: May 13, 2015 | Author: lounomeat | Filed under: Subject | Leave a comment

James Green had previously asked me if I’d considered naming my work, as it can add to your overall artworks. I have been thinking about names for the collection of mirrors, as well as if I wanted to individually name each piece.

I decided that I would give each monkey a human name, and label the piece as such. Human names create connections and empathy toward an animal, by making them more relate-able and turning them into an individual rather than being objectified. This can be seen in many animal welfare advertisements like the following one by the BUAV:

I want to call the collection “Reflect”, and then label each piece individual human names such as “Dave thinks you should” so the individual piece relates to the collection title, as in; “Dave thinks you should Reflect”. This message has two meanings; one being that you should think about what goes on for laboratory animals and the things you can do to avoid helping the suffering, as well as a literal meaning – actually reflecting one’s own eyes.

UPDATE
Having spoken to tutors and discussed labels and naming for the work, it was suggested that I don’t label each individual piece as it could look messy. Instead, I have labelled my selection of oil paintings simply “Reflect” and hope the double message of both literal reflection as well as mental reflection will come across.

---

Term 3: Sorting My Exhibition Space

Posted: May 11, 2015 | Author: lounomeat | Filed under: Subject | Leave a comment

Having been allocated my space, I set about gum-taping any joins, sanding down the walls, filling any holes, and painting the walls white. After leaving it to dry, I was able to begin putting up my work.

Initially, I had intended to have a diagonal ascending line of my work. However, a straight horizontal line displays more professionally for the exhibition. I also intended to just glue hooks to the backs of my mirrors, and then hang these on nails. However, the heat of a glue gun may crack the delicate mirrors. On speaking with David Fitzjohn, he suggested I could try and make the pieces look as if they were ‘floating’ by mounting the mirrors onto a wood protrusion first. However, this still left the problem of attaching the mirrors to the wood. I spoke to Alan the ‘tech man’ and he suggested using double sided foam pads. I purchased some of these, and used a tester mirror to attach it to the wall. I left this for 24 hours to check the pads would be strong enough to hold the mirrors, as I don’t want them to fall off halfway through the exhibition.

I used a piece of string and a spirit level to keep all the squares in line and level. However, due to the fact the walls themselves are hollow internally, the screws keeping the wood in place don’t have much to hold onto. This resulted in the wooden blocks ‘spinning’ on the axis of one screw. I intended to nail or tack the bottoms of the wooden pieces, but this didn’t work successfully as the heads weren’t flush with the wood. Instead, I used a sticky foam pad to keep them in place. I stuck five of these pads to each wooden block, and set about mounting my paintings.

---

Term 3 Final Group Tutorial

Posted: May 4, 2015 | Author: lounomeat | Filed under: Subject | Leave a comment

The final tutorial with the group related to exhibition layout; how we intend to display our work. I showed James my previous post about possible layouts. Whilst he and the group agreed that the square grid layout was more aesthetically pleasing, it wasn’t the most practical for the exhibition as only one or two people would be able to view the work at once. It was also discussed that the diagonal line may be difficult to get evenly spaced, and that one straight horizontal line would look more professional.

---

Term 3: Mirror Layout

Posted: April 27, 2015 | Author: lounomeat | Filed under: Subject | Leave a comment

I have been thinking about how I want to lay out my pieces. I plan to glue-gun hooks to the back, and then use nails to hang them on the wall. I want to try and provide a range of heights for the pieces, as this will allow both the tall and the short access to line up their eyes with the eyes of the monkeys.

I have just used empty circles and squares as representations of the pieces.

Layouts 1 and 2 show sloping ascending and descending alternating shapes. This would provide an eye-level for a variety of heights, whilst also encouraging people to stretch a bit higher or bend down lower in order to see the pieces not at their exact height.

Layout 3 also provides for a number of heights – this time in a straight vertical line and alternating between round and square mirrors.

On making these layouts, I realised that one of my square mirrors doesn’t have rounded corners, whereas all the others do. Unfortunately, it is one of my favourite pieces and so I definitely want to choose it as one of my displayed pieces. This has made me consider a different layout which will incorporate the ‘odd’ mirror.

This square grid layout provides some height difference over three rows, but it allows me to place the ‘pointy corner’ mirror in the middle as the focus piece, and work the other matching mirrors around it.

David Fitzjohn suggested I speak to Alan the ‘tech guy’ as he has a method of hanging pieces which would allow my mirrors to stand just proud of the wall – sort of floating – as well as being more securely attached so they aren’t able to be lifted off.

---

Term 3: More Mirror Monkeys

Posted: April 20, 2015 | Author: lounomeat | Filed under: Subject | Leave a comment

Over Easter, I have been continuing to produce paintings of monkeys on mirrors. I have tried to portray a selection of monkeys with various metal instruments and bars penetrating their faces or confining them. I started by trying to portray realistic devices used to keep the animals in place. However, I decided that a realistic portrayal wasn’t necessary; these tests are pointless and immoral, therefore the portrayal of such implements might as well also be pointless and unnecessary.

I intended the mirrors to be uniform in shape and size. However, availability of mirrors was a problem and I now have two different style; square and round. I shall experiment with different layout patterns.

---

Term 2: Mirror Monkeys

Posted: March 23, 2015 | Author: lounomeat | Filed under: Subject | Leave a comment

Having experimented with different species of frequently used lab animal, I decided to only paint monkeys. I chose monkeys over other animals, as they are the most relatable animal; sharing many human characteristics. I felt this would be the best option in order to try and draw comparisons between human and animal.

I think my painting is improving as I get used to applying paint to mirror, and simply just getting back into practise with painting.

These mirrors are all different sizes and shapes. I shall try and get the same size and shaped mirrors so they are uniform.

---

Term 2 Formative Assessment Statement

Posted: March 1, 2015 | Author: lounomeat | Filed under: Subject | Leave a comment

Taking knowledge of successful advertising techniques gained by writing my dissertation, I have been trying to create disturbing paintings which make the viewer re-think their perception of the objectification and exploitation of animals without containing graphic or gory imagery of animal abuse which is likely to deter and put off the audience.

I have been trying to create work which integrates the viewer and forces them to become a part of the artwork. Interactivity is a proven method of capturing attention and increasing advertising recall. Using these methods may increase interest and gain integrity for my work.

The concept of my paintings is “putting yourself in the shoes of another”. By painting animal faces onto mirrors and leaving the eyes blank, the dead-eyed “thousand yard stare” suddenly springs to life when the viewer is positioned correctly and forced to see their own eyes staring back at them; bringing individuality to the work for each person who views it. Hopefully, the resulting effect will be at least a passing thought of empathy for the animals objectified and used as commodities, as comparisons are drawn between animal painting and human self.

---

Term 2 Subject: Mirror Painting and Distortion

Posted: February 23, 2015 | Author: lounomeat | Filed under: Subject | Leave a comment

I continued painting animals on mirrors. I have been experimenting with different kinds of animal; cat, dog, mouse etc. in order to explore the most effective faces for these pieces. I also began using oil paints rather than acrylic, to see how it responded to the mirror in comparison.

Oils stay wet for much longer; especially on mirror, and demands a different method of painting again; working different tones and colours together when none of the initial paint has dried. I think I prefer oils, and so will continue with them. However, the cat painting here seems far too ‘cartoon-ish’ and child-like. Whilst I like the aspect of being surrounded only by black, I think something more is needed here to progress away from colourful cartoon painting. Nevertheless, I continued to paint on smaller mirrors for painting practise.

I liked the pig face, and I quite enjoyed painting the pig. I decided to try and distort the face as well as leaving the eyes reflective.

I painted a pig face again, using oils. I smeared the paint around after painting using my fingers. However, the resulting effect was just a mess of paint; ruining my initial painting. I wiped it off and painted the pig face again. This time, I decided to use the side of my hands for one distorting smear downwards. This time, I was pleased with the outcome; the pig face remained an obvious pig, yet the bottom of its face is pulled downwards and mixed with the black background. I feel this works well, and will experiment with more smearing distortions.

---

Term 2 Subject: Mirror Painting

Posted: February 17, 2015 | Author: lounomeat | Filed under: Subject | Leave a comment

Having found and purchased mirrors, I began trying to paint laboratory animals on them, leaving the eyes blank to reflect one’s own eyes. I began with a small mirror, using acrylic.

Painting on mirror was different to how I imagined, and more difficult; the paint has nothing to absorb into, and therefore with each brush stroke, you are essentially just smearing the paint around rather than painting. This meant adapting my painting style to a ‘blobbier’ approach, allowing the paint to stay in thicker clumps and cover the mirror. Acrylic dried quite quickly on the mirror, but this was also a hindrance as it didn’t allow for much blending over colour. Also, applying paint over dried paint took the first layer of paint off the mirror.

I experimented more with this new approach of painting on mirror remnants.

The rabbit painting was too small to reflect the eyes, however it did allow me to re-establish some painting skills as I am very out of practise. The cat piece didnt go as planned, as it looks far too happy, and the painting skills were quite shoddy. I chose not to portray any kind of background, and simply fill the background with a swathe of black; intended to reflect the isolation, loneliness and void of terror these animals must feel.

I had gotten very annoyed with these paintings; wiping off the paint and starting afresh numerous times. I got some board and started painting on a more familiar surface, intending to place mirrors behind the cut-out eye sections to retain the reflection element of this idea.

I presented my paintings at the following tutorial, saying to James that I didn’t think I would continue with mirror painting as they weren’t going how I had imagined and were making me so angry when not going right. However, James commented that he found them quite disturbing, and thought the blank eyes were very effective; having a ‘thousand yard stare’ until positioned correctly for your own eyes to look back. He suggested I continue painting on mirrors, as it was more interesting to be forced out of your comfort zone and obligated to try new methods of painting. I felt motivated by these comments, and decided to continue on with mirror painting.

---