Week 17

21/03/2016-27/03/2016
Easter break week 1
Summary:

This is the first of a two week Easter break. I have focused my attention on finishing the 10 painting rules the remaining being rule being rule 2 an ephemeral painting. For the remainder of the week I focussed on completing or the majority of my written assessment. The painting I made created an interesting idea, what is the artwork? The board with the seed? The process of making the work? The documentation of the work? Or the final result? Personally I'm undecided however I think it’s either the finished result or the process as the process was were the ephemeral theme was activated, however the finished piece is a physical representation of the aftermath. I based my text on the theme of "The Beasts in Men" as this related to my own practice, to explore this theme I selected four piece of art to research and examine: 1. William Blake's Nebuchadnezzar colour Monotype print 1795. 2. Pablo Picasso's Vollard Suite, series of 100 etchings 1930-37. 3. Charles Avery's The Islanders 2004-present day. 4. Jane Alexander's the Butcher Boys, Sculpture, 1986.

This week I have focused my attention on finishing the 10 painting rules the only rule remaining being rule being rule 2 an ephemeral painting. For the remainder of the week I focussed on completing or at least finishing the bulk of my 2000 word written assessment. Below I have documented my ephemeral painting. To do this I used a plain white sheet of mount board which I wrote the phrase, using black acrylic paint, "How long will this seed last, how long will the bird last", I then screwed the board to a wooden palate before covering the text in bird seed. The concept being I was considering the passage of time. As the seed would be consumed quickly (ephemeral) and it would be used to fuel the birds that feed upon it, but how long will it fuel the birds, furthermore how long will the birds survive?  

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Above is the finished piece, once the seed was fully gone after a week the board had been exposed to the wind and rain warping it. Furthermore bird crap was left around the board. This creates an interesting idea, what is the artwork? the board with the seed? the process of making the work? The documentation of the work? or the final result? Personally I'm undecided however I think its either the finished result or the process as the process was were the ephemeral theme was activated, however the finished piece is a physical representation of the aftermath.

As I said for the remainder of the week I worked on my written assessment. I based my txt on the theme of "The Beasts in Men" as this related to my own practice, the theme of the human capacity for violence, the exploration of hybrid forms and internal demons. To explore this theme I selected four piece of art to research and examine, the brief for the text restricted me to using four pieces of art at maximum two of which had to be created before 1980. The work I selected was as follows:

 

1. William Blake's Nebuchadnezzar colour Monotype print 1795.

Literal interpretation of the Nebuchadnezzar is that Blake is simply depicting a biblical scene as many have done before him. My interpretation, Blake is a known questioner of many tenants of Christianity, especially the all-powerful divinity of god. Therefore I refuse to believe Blake would simply translate a biblical tale into an image without at least subtly hinting at a second interpretation. I think Blake has subtly argued against Christianity’s message that Humans are above animals which is suggested by the fact the King had to be lowered to the level of an animal. However Blake chooses to depict the beast King with a clearly human form, making it transparent that this used to be human implying that not much has been changed thus the margin between man and beast is very narrow.

2. Pablo Picasso's Vollard Suite, series of 100 etchings 1930-37.

Throughout the Vollard Suite Picasso explores the darker areas of his psyche. It is a Phantasmagoria of sex and violence. Throughout the series a depiction of a minotaur from the depths of mythology often portrayed as a savage beast. Which Picasso seems to use as an alter-ego; an alter-ego who is portrayed in scenes of tenderness and violence, carousing and humiliation, reflecting aspects of Picasso’s own personality. Furthermore the minotaur seems to progress through a character arch from tender lover, to violent devourer of women and finally to become a pathetic blind animal lead through the night by a girl with the features of Picasso’s mistress and model Marie-Therese Walter. Seemingly a parallel arch to Picasso himself during this time beginning with the increased estrangement from his wife Olga to the point when she left him after Marie-Therese Walter’s pregnancy could no longer be kept secret, which left Picasso lost and artistically blind. The Minotaur can therefore be seen as a reflection of Picasso’s internal Omen or rather beast. Furthermore the Vollard Suite could also, to an extent, be seen as a visual representation of the beast in men.

 

3. Charles Avery's The Islanders 2004-present day.

What concerns me about the Islanders project is the focus on the hunt. The island was made from a man’s imagination intended to be the embodiment of mystery, the pinnacle of this being the elusive Noumenon an animal which has never been seen, and therefore is hunted relentlessly. Even the imagined indigenous population of this imaginary island are as eager to hunt and therefore kill for fun, Revealing that even in a fantasy a beast lurks within men.

 

4. Jane Alexander's The Butcher Boys, Sculpture, 1986.

By creating these grotesque hybrid forms each with a clearly human form all three equally grotesque yet all three equally human, Alexander seems to have tried to protest against the Apartheid by visually representing that we are all grotesque in our own way yet we are all  human, we are all equal. I find this a curious concept we all are beastly in our own way but this beast it proves we are no better than the other yet we have it in us to be civilized, to be human therefore no matter how we are on the inside or out we are all human all equal.