Art Studio IIIA - Week One

Week One

First day of welcome, introductions to the paper, introduction to our Ropu (Group) and setting up our studio space.

As part of the third-year programme the brief for the studio paper is open. Project outline - "In this studio practice course students will expand content, context, methodology and the role of critical dialogue in the production of contemporary art".

Where to start?

During my Figurative painting and Sculpture classes of last year, there were some themes I am looking to explore further. The key thing will be finding a focus. As am overview - I am keen to focus on more sculptural work, bringing in materials I started working with last year, such as clay. Although my first instinct is taking a photographic approach, the idea of this year was to experiment and play.

Themes to explore - Brainstorm.

Concept 1 - Intersection of manmade and nature

Archaeology has always been an interest of mine - I am fascinated by imagining what the lives of those in past were like from what snippets we find. What will future generations make of our way of life? How well we use/abuse the resources we have? What will our legacy be? What will my personal impact be on my own local environment? What will be left? What will nature reclaim? I often imagine if a slice of the earth was dug up in 500, 1000 years' time, what will be found? The materials we use take longer to break down, leaving more of a story behind than ever before. What will future generations think of us and the way we lived within the natural environment?

Initial thoughts on references -

Raewyn Atkinson
Jamie North
Corniela Parker (for methods - use of found objects destroyed, re-made ect)

Initial thoughts on Materials

Clay/earth/plant material - the earth reclaiming
Found objects/personal items - an imprint of existence. Maybe the items are broken down/compacted/heated and changed in form?
can the materials be local and personal to reflect our own personal impact on the environment - what am I responsible for?

Concept 2 - Realities of Motherhood/confronting false memories.

Before becoming a parent, without a doubt I was wearing rose-tinted glasses. My own childhood experiences shaped what sort of parent I thought I would be. In my head, I would be the same sort of mum that I remember my own mum being - I remember the baking, the bike rides in the toddler seat in the back, cuddles, drawing, painting, being creative, swimming, holidays at the beach with my cousins, trips to theme parks. I am sure it wasn't all roses, and when I talk to my mum, the reality was different and wasn't a constant stream of the above. It's funny what sticks in your mind, what you forget. What may have only happened a couple of times leaves such a strong impact that it becomes all-encompassing.

Initial thoughts on materials/processes

Installation
Sculptural - objects from babyhood crafted/remade. Clay?
Grey/dull objects, pink lighting
Sounds/home video projection
smells - sour milk, nappies

Exploration of local history/sites of historical significance

Photographs of sites of local historical significance. Our local historical sites that I know of, have very few physical indications to show the importance of the site. A couple of examples are the Featherston peace garden, the Remutaka incline track, and an observatory. The infrastructure is long gone, with just a few clues left. With the peace garden a cherry tree garden was planted in remembrance, and the tunnels remain from the incline track, but little else all the houses and tracks were dismantled and removed. I have heard of a couple of sites where significant events happened such as battles between Maori and settlers. There is no doubt, many sites of importance in our local history that are not widely known about. It seems that in Aotearoa we are not great at recognizing and honouring our history. Is it because as Pakeha settlers it was felt that the country is young, and the history and the events weren't significant enough to preserve? What other significant sites can I find through research?

Initial thoughts on materials and process.
Using historical photographic processes in the images -
Cyanotype/blueprints overlays of maps/writings/ drawings
Anthrotypes - using plant material from the sites
Printing onto artifacts/objects from the era? Clothing/wooden structures/ceramics
Old paper (photographic or not) from the era.

lumen exploration

Capturing the movement of the sun over time on photographic paper. Using expired photographic paper of different stocks for different colours. Fixed or unfixed?

Lumens will deteriorate over time if exposed to light - they have to be preserved away from the light if not fixed.

Friday 3rd March

Started with discussion around crit week - doesn't have to be a finished piece, can work in progress, drawings ect.

Dissued my ideas for the project around human impact on nature, change and reclamation of nature - how materials change over time through processes (core samples etc), and what we leave behind to tell the story of our presence. I talked about nature reclaiming manmade structures, over time (Chernobyl, ancient structures, abandoned cities etc) , The geologic process were also talked about - Simon mentioned the book Greywacke Love Poems (PHD student Raewyn Martin) which I will read through and have a look at the work.

The ideas at this stage (just the one I talked about) are quite big to tackle - Simon suggested that looking at a specific site would be helpful to try and narrow down, and focus the work, with a decision around the concept to be made by the end of the day.

City Gallery - Antireality Perversion Void

The city gallery visit was to view the contemporary ceramics on display as part of the Antireality Perversion Void exhibition.

The thing that struck me most about this exhibition was the perfume that was developed to go along with the works. The works themselves were unsettling, with a mix of mythology, magic, macabre, and grotesque but also beautiful and fascinating. Quite overpowering, and along with the smell of the mixed smell of sickly sweet/exotic but a repugnant undertone. The whole set-up, with the paintings on the wall and the smell, really gave a sense of wanting to look, but not wanting to look, quite an uncomfortable experience, but one that is hard to escape from.

The ceramics themselves were interesting in the way they were highly detailed vessels with figurative decoration, with muted but glossy colours. Some almost looked like organs and body parts emerging from the vessels.

Decsisions around concept and site

The concept I am focusing on at this stage is the idea of nature reclaiming the manmade, and what is left as evidence of the people that were there. I have decided to look at my back garden as a site to focus on.

Over the last year of so, we have had a bramble patch in our back garden that has got wildly out of control - to the extent that it had begun to cover our whole back shed, even growing inside and taken over an area of around 10m2 up to around chest height. I was even having trouble getting to the washing line! I should have taken photographs before I started work on it, but unfortunately, I didn't. It took my days to clear it, bit by bit, going through several pairs of leather gloves and wearing thick heavy clothes in the middle of summer (sweating!) and still getting prickles stuck in my hands, arms and legs. We even found our wheelbarrow underneath it all. I guess for me it was a real visual as to how quickly and drastically nature will reclaim the manmade. At the moment, I am still battling the brambles spraying them as they come up.

From here I am looking at incorporating matter from the area into clay form, found objects from the site, and plant growth to tell a bit of a story behind the area, what its past has been and who has used it and maybe some clues as to the purpose.

Initial experiments with incorporating other matter such as soil and pigment into the clay.