Task 2 MA1, Form, Fracture ,Frame

Group Critique on Form Fracture Frame

This was a 12 hour project and experimentation was encouraged by our tutors.I wanted to use the human figure as the form for this task because figures mirror and record the human experience.I used a transparent plastic jar since it depicts the human body as a vessel.I worked with the theme of metamorphosis .I feel that the animal, bird or other creatures hidden inside the human form suggests the person's internal state or character.I made a human figure in clay,fractured it by cutting it into three parts-had,body,legs and reframed it by removing the clay body and replacing it with a plastic bottle containing a papercut forest.This project had infinite possibilities and was interesting because I was curious to know where it would lead to.

The feedback I received-:

Jilliene thought it is reminiscent of Louis Bourgeoise's stacking portrait pieces titled "femme volage"

Joseph Cornell's Shadow Boxes could be explored.Joseph Cornell's shadow boxes were ahead of its times,very surreal and full of surprises.Loved them!!Thankyou Jennifer Boldt for suggesting it to me.

 josephcornellbox.com

I could explore an interactive installation of heads,bodies and legs and the audience can  mix and match them by stacking up these parts to create different figures.I like that idea and would attempt it in future. Thankyou Judith Farr!!

Angela Rogers pointed out that the lighting in the photography of sculptures could play a important role in creating the mood of the work.In some of the pictures the sculpture is suggests darkness and has a brooding quality and in some it is pleasant and happy depending on the lighting.

Making Day 2013

Making day will be a recurring feature in the MA course.A section of the class got together online and spent 8 hours working on our individual projects in our respective studios.We shared our learnings in the end of the stipulated time.I explored assemblage with clay ,papercut and found objects using a handbuilt clay torso and a bird cage.I first built a clay torso using pinch and slab techniques.Then I lined the readymade metal birdcage  with a layer of papiermache using tissue paper and PVA glue and  placed found natural materials  inside it.I lit candles inside the cage which cast mysterious flickering shadows on the paper walls. I fused the clay torso and the cage to create a figure.

It was a very productive day since so much was achieved.I was tied down to my studio for many hours , making work and sharing work.It showed me the possibility of making interesting figures using a combination of materials.Introducing light in the piece gave it a ethereal yet eerie appearance.This idea can be explored and developed further.

Visiting Lecture by Artist Les Bicknell

Les Bicknell's lecture was the first in the lecture series by a visiting practicing artist.Les is a very successful artist who coined the term "BOOKNESS" and is constantly reinventing it by thinking of infinite different ways of interpreting a book structure.He draws inspiration from ploughed fields,smocked shirts,natural history,architecture,Renaissance Art and many other disciplines.I was fascinated by his curious mind and his constant appetite for learning,researching,inventing new approaches to his practice.

He gave us the following advice to take our art practice further,deeper-:

• Make connections with people other than artists writers, musicians,dancers,historians, scientists, archaeologists,geologists,athletes in order to imbibe ideas from their work.

• Place your art in a contextual framework

    social,political,geographical,cultural,personal,institutional

• Get it out of your head-sketch,make a model

• Constantly ask yourself these questions-:

    what happened? 
    why did it happen? 

    what is my response to this?

    what should I do as a result of this? 

    how can I make this happen again?

Les prepared a list of questions for the class for reflection which I answered

What do you like doing? making with my hands, drawing,doodling,cutting,tearing, carving,pasting,knitting ,weaving,stitching,inking,modeling,playing with materials. I have always had interest in the hand made and valued this means of production.I think the invisible presence of the makers hand intrigues me.The detail,the imperfections, the skill and the durational element.

Why do you make work?to leave a trace, a mark .to see what is going on inside my head by expressing it in a physical form

What is your work for?for giving vent to my thoughts .I am not possessive about my work and like to sell them.

What do you want from your work? to create something very intricate,fragile and beautiful ,yet thought provoking.the viewer should be constantly drawn to it and yet repelled by it

What do you get from your work?making art is a cerebral and emotional activity.since much of my work is drawn from my subconscious mind , am constantly surprised by what lies within.making art gives me a great sense of fulfillment

What's your work about?my work is personal and is stories about me,in the social milieu that I inhabit .I like to record abstract things like change,impermanence,relationships,memory... in my work

Who is your audience? could be anyone.my stories are open to interpretation by the viewer.

Where does your art go to?art exhibitions,art fairs,collectors warehouses or just sit at my studio and wait to go somewhere at some future date.

Task 1 MA1 :Take Two Influences

 Take 2 Influences
"Metamorphosis" Franz Kafka's seminal work in German deals with alienation and isolation.William Kentridge uses the concept of transformation to touch upon social an political issues like apartheid.The cat that starts as a cat  changes into a typewriter or a telephone.He believes that there is a need him not to be satisfied with a coffeepot staying a coffeepot or a cat staying a cat.
I chose these two influences because I aspire my works to explore impossible things,to transform,to evolve and to record change while appearing to be playful on the surface. 

This task was about selecting 2 artistic influences from any field and making a piece in 6 hours with inspiration from the works of these two influences.The two influences I choose were Franz Kafka's  book "Metamorphosis "and William Kentridge's automatic drawings made into stop motion animation films.Why I selected these influences...

In the task I worked from my subconscience,not really knowing where my work would take me.The work started with drawings from a set of photographs and morphed into a complex collage.