IV. 'The Gallery as a Gesture' & ID Magazine

I read 'The Gallery as a Gesture', Inside The White Cube, and found it considered some interesting points relative to my studio work.

It talks about how the gallery space, along with art, has changed dramatically from the 20's, and how context, content and form has completely brought forward a new dynamic.

It talks about a gallery gaining a consciousness, it is no longer just a place to view art, but a place that is art.

"To insert art into a gallery or case puts the art in quotation marks. By making art an artificially within the artificial, it suggests that gallery art is a trinket, a product of the boutique." - Page 90. This quote implies the gallery is a space that gives objects power. The gallery or 'case' makes the objects acceptable to be classed as art.

This can relate back to object and base as learnt in Art Practise 1B, where the base can enhance an object's power. The format in which the object is displayed, changes it's perception.

The gallery gives objects power. I am very interested in how objects achieve value and power, and it would appear that their presentation is everything.

I then came accross an article in ID magazine, titled 'everyone's an artist on instagram', by Tish Weinstock, Monday 27th October 2014.
source http://i-d.vice.com/en_gb/read/think-pieces/5457/everyones-an-artist-on-instagram

It talks about how Duchamp's 'Fountain' sprung total change in the way we view artworks from the 20th century, and then explores if instagram will be the next development for viewing art.

Is social media changing the way we view art? Yes. You could say it was the new art gallery.

ASOS RESEARCH

I received the December 2014 ASOS magazine today, and while reading it I noticed some current style trends that interest my art practise.

Metallics, gold, jewellery, holographic materials. 

White, silver, metallics, brands, pure.

So the general theme I am getting is what I wrote in my initial proposal. This ethereal, extra ordinary theme for materials. I like the idea of using white as well as this is quite a pure hue.

PINS EXPERIMENT

Using a glue gun and pins, stuck together in grid formation.

 I chose to use this material as it is an already shiny material, I spread the pins out and stuck them together to form this grid. I liked the way it turned out, and if I was to do this on a larger scale, it could work as a material for a garment.  It's quite flexible and could mould round objects easily and therefore I will be continuing experimenting with this material. 

MATERIAL EXPERIMENTS

I used screws ( a sort of shiny metal) and a glue gun, and glued them all together as an experiment to see how it would turn out. 

Overall I'm pretty pleased with the way it turned out. I reminds me of a tree a bit, and also a satellite. I like the connection with the artificial satellite in space- untouched, only able to be seen by certain people/ cameras. This kind of relates to the extra ordinary object... it's untouchable. 

Placement. I put this on the wall in my studio space and quite liked the way it just stuck out of the wall- very non traditional for a sculptural piece. The way it links to the space around is quite cool.

I think welding the screws together would be a much better idea, as the glue looks tacky here. 

FINISHED SHOE SAMPLE/ SCULPTURE

Continuing with the Primark shoe...
Adding string, pva glue, silver paint, black ink, white acrylic.

Trying to achieve the silvery shiny affect worked by coating the shoe firstly in acrylic. Adding string and then coating in PVA added a further shiny edge. I glued the laces in a way to blend in with the pattern of the string. This also affected the shine of the piece. I brushed black ink over the top of the silver paint which added a contrasting affect, and finally added some areas of white paint to further enhance the shine affect. 

This experimental sculpture turned out quite well as I have learned how to manipulate the object to achieve a high shine affect. Turning the object of an ordinary/ classic and very inexpensive shoe from Primark, into this extra ordinary sculptural piece worked the way I intended. 

LIVERPOOL BIENNIAL 2014

I took a trip to Liverpool to see the UK Biennial of contemporary art. 'A Needle Walks into a Haystack'.

First we explored the Tate Liverpool.

Claude Parent; Wolfson Gallery.
The gallery had slanted floors and ramps, giving the viewer a whole new way to view the art works in a different space.

Carlos Cruz- Diez, Physichromie No.123, 1964

This work forms part of a series in which the artist demonstrates the way colour changes according to perception. 

I liked the holographic affect, the geometric structure and overall aesthetic quality about this piece. I also think the connection to individual human presence is an intriguing connection with the viewer. 

Roy Lichtenstein, Moonscape, 1965, Screenprint on plastic.

I was also attracted to the holographic affect of this image. The way the image looks like ripples on the background. It could look like a satin fabric. 

TATE COLLECTION DISPLAY - PART OF A NEEDLE WALKS INTO A HAYSTACK- SECOND FLOOR:

Mary Martin, Inversions, 1966, Aluminium, oil paint and wood.

This work focuses on reflections. The way that each of the planes is angled is created with the human viewer in mind- as the viewer passes by the mirrored panels reflect a fragmented image.

The way the artist combines human presence, reflection, passing of time and perspective is impressive. Also the materials used is aesthetically pleasing- relating to my practise. 

Nigel Henderson, Untitled No.8 (shattered Glass) 1959. Photographs, gelatin silver print on paper and ink paper.

I love the precision in this piece, and the composition and structure. I think i'm quite attracted to aesthetically pleasing imagery with precision and this has the perfect variation in line depth and structure. 

Next place we visited was Fact. Featuring Sharon Lockhart. Podworka, 2009, film. There were some other photographs, sculptural installation text works, and a new film commissioned by the Biennial. I watched the films and thought they were mesmerising and quite hypnotic in a way. 

We also visited the Bluecoat, featuring James McNeill Whistler. I didn't like that at all. It was so boring. 

We finally visited Group Show, in The Old Blind School. The place itself was more interesting than the art. It had a strange nostalgic, spooky aura about it. It was crumbling down, layers of wall exposed, a horrible cold feel and old smell. Left for years. It created a sense of the uncanny. 

A particular piece that really creates this sense of the uncanny for me was Micheal Stevenson- Strategic - level spiritual Warfare 2014. Using Doors, steel frames, pneumatic controls, compressed air, computing hardware, software, display screens, posters, amplified sound. The viewer was encouraged to walk through the doors which set off the whole thing in motion. Although this has nothing to do with what I want to create, it 's just kind of weirdly interesting. 

The building was definitely a strange place. Interesting, but not where I would put an exhibition myself.

Overall, liverpool itself was amazing. The whole feel of the city was a lot more inspiring than the art itself, although I have taken some art inspirations from it.

GAGOSIAN: OCTOBER 2014: JEFF KOONS

Reading the Gagosian paper I picked up while at Frieze fair, I found the article about an inteview extract with Jeff Koons interesting.

Gagosian, October 2014, Jeff Koons, excerpt from an inteview with Jeff Koons conducted by Charlie Rose on July 25 2014. Pages 4-6.

I really liked Jeff Koon's connection to community and his ideas about dealing with human disciplines. Particularly themes of psychology and sociology which I include in my own work.

Here he talks about aiming advertising and I think this is quite interesting and relevant. More abstract advertising aimed towards a higher class- perhaps they are more easily 'seduced' by abstraction.

OXFORD CIRCUS TOPSHOP

The bottom floor of Oxford Circus' Flagship Topshop is home to many inspiring creations, and the layout is also pretty inspiring.

I photographed this detail on a dress. The garment has been given an 'edge' or enhanced value because of this embellishment. Similar with the garments below which have also been enhanced using a diamante embellishment. 

Above, the Kurt Geiger collection in Topshop. These plinths are amazing. They just enhance the shoe, making them sculptures. And plus, they are shiny! SO seductive.

While walking around Topshop I realised, it was actually it's own mini shopping centre/ club with a restaurant, toilets and what sounded like  DJ playing music in club. It's changed the shopping experience so that the consumer is 100% comfortable to spend money. It's amazing how all these little features help to manipulate / persuade the consumer. 

LONDON & FRIEZE ART FAIR 2014

I found Frieze fair last year very inspiring, and therefore I thought I would go again this year. Below are the artworks and artists I found most interesting and relevant to my project.

Jurgen Drescher, Yorgan 2012. Epoxy resin, pigment. (138 x 98 x 5xm)

Jurgen Drescher, Speech Bubble XII, 2014. acrystal, 24 carat, gold-plated. (120x140x60cm)

Of course I was attracted to metallics and extra ordinary objects throughout the fair. The gold plated speech bubble (top right) is obviously a material I could never use in my own practise, however I would like to experiment creating a similar looking material. Yorgan, 2012 looks like a soft quilted material , but by adding this epoxy resin it has lifted it's power. 

Tomas Saraceno. NGC 5892, 2013. Metal, mirror panels polyester rope, fishing like, steel thread, glue. (110 x 140 x 106cm). 

Thomas Demand. Hanami, 2014. UV print on nonwoven wallpaper. 

I loved this sculpture by Tomas Saraceno. The mirror, the composition, the use of 'found' objects. It's just a bit more out there than usual art. The detailing in the fishing like is also pretty spectacular. It works so well in composition with the UV print behind by Thomas Demand. They help lift eachothers appearance. The bright florals work to reflect on the mirror sculpture and can be seen though parts of the sculpture. 

Haegue Yang. Sonic Rotating Geometry Type G- Brass and Nickel Plated #34, 2014. Steel sheet, powder coating, ball bearings, metal grid, brass plated bells, nickel plated bells and metal rings. (91 x 95 x 8cm)

So I instantly thought about how Yang used found objects that were perhaps already shiny, and thought back to what Medina said about trying to find objects that were already shiny and using them in some way. I think things like bells, ball bearings etc would be a good approach to start experimenting with. 

Damien Hirst. Berlin. 2014. Scalpel blades, skin graft blades, zips, stitching needles, aluminum filings, stainless steel studs and gloss paint on canvas. 182.9 x 274.3cm.

The precision is aesthetically immaculate and of course the materials used relate perfectly to my own project. I will try and work with some of the materials used here in my own project. 

Kibong Rhee. About all of the places passing by, 2014. Plexiglas, acrylic and mixed media on canvas. 120.5 x 120.5 cm.

This is the first painting in a very very long time that I have been truly inspired by. The ethereal aura of it just takes you away. It really is a remarkable piece and restored my love for painting. For my painting elective, I want to do a painting in this style - it's just so detailed, but not too detailed. It doesn't give away too much- it leaves so much to the mind to interpret. 

Mark Hagen. A parliament of some things. Almine Rech Gallery, London.

I really liked the detailing around the edges of the canvas- this sort of squeegee effect in colour works so well against the holographic greys of the paintings. 

Edith Dekyndt, Untitled, Gold Blanket L, 2012, gold leaf on blanket, 268 × 62 cm

Perfect. Material. Gold. Need. Want. Desire. Must re-create. I could make a garment from this, and it would be pretty cool. 

Jesse Wine. Boyfriend's classics I 2014. Glazed ceramic. 13 x 35 x 30 cm.

Ceramic shoes! Yes, this is what I wanted to see. But I would have personally cast them in some sort of silver or gold material... Still pretty good attempt at recreating a garment for aesthetics.

Fiona Rae. Figure 1b. 2014. Oil and Acrylic on canvas. 

I really liked the mixture of forms in this painting. The way they background is precise, the brush strokes are fluid and the colour works great together. It is a really great piece.

A.K. Burns.

"A.K. Burns ladles molten aluminium into sand moulds of castoff button down work shirts and t-shirts to produce a series of mono-print reliefs. The results are silvery indexes of the blue collar uniform worn by labours and artists alike. The shirts mark an economic shift from the industrial labour of the body to immaterial and affective labour of advanced capitalism."- Callicoon Fine Arts, Frieze London Booth J 11. 

DID I REALLY JUST SEE THIS. Literally the epitome of my art practise. Probably the most inspirational collection I will see all year. This ticks all the boxes. It is precise, original, and has economical/ consumeristic themes. At first I thought they were just clothes themselves spray painted, but they are infact casts. 

While walking around Frieze I found myself asking 'what does that mean' about the pieces that depict things- or paintings that I didn't like. I think that's because if something is not aesthetically pleasing to me, it needs to have some other sort of value or meaning behind it to give it that value. Whereas the seductive sculptures and paintings I was attracted to didn't need an explanation- just their beauty was enough. 

MATERIAL INSPIRATION; VAGABOND & ZARA

Shoe Inspiration for material.

Vagabond, Dioon.

This is a shoe I recently purchased due to it's unique look. It's shiny, but with an element of mystery. The way the silver underneath is dampened by the brushed black over the top adds texture and definition. I love this affect it has on the leather material. 

I noticed how in Studio 1A my choice of clothing was influenced by art works, and my art works were influenced by my clothing, for example a I spray painted a jacket silver and also did a collection of silver works around this. I think this is quite an interesting connection as I am highly interested in why we wear what we wear, and choice of dress. 

I intend to use a similar style of material on the shoe sample I am doing currently to try an achieve a similar look. 

ZARA,
Silver pointed shoes I also bought due to this desire to own this sort of material.

SAMPLES 1

Wanting to start with the idea of a 'humble' object I went into primark and bought a pair of plain white canvas pumps for £3. As inexpensive as you can get for a pair of shoes.

Adding white acrylic, then PVA glue, then string and beads. I intend to paint it silver and black after. 

TUTORIAL; MEDINA

Following another tutorial I was advised to look at Nina Saunders work.

Leaking Piano 2011

Her work consists of luxury household items that have been rendered unusable in some way. 'Leaking Piano' above has been manipulated to become a piece to observe rather than use. The way she has kept the seductive shine and appeal about the object, although jarring it is very intriguing, Her work uses juxtaposition, much like my own themes. It is a seductive, unusable object, which is what I want to create through garments. 

I also thought about exploring the materials themselves rather than form, and therefore will experiment and create samples using pins, needles, metallic objects in a way that will ameliorate the object. I will create samples and explore materials qualities.

Nuts, bolts, screws, pins...

JEAN BAUDRILLARD & LYOTARD SCAPELAND

Sources: Baudrillard, Jean. Mark Poster. Selected Writings. 2001. Cambridge, Polity.
Lyotard, Jean-François. The Inhuman: Reflections on Time. Scapeland.1991.
Baudrillard's writings are interesting and relevant to my project. He talks about the consumer society in which we live in today and how everywhere we go we are surrounded by this relation to 'affluence' and 'material goods'.

"men of wealth are no longer surrounded by other human beings... but by objects". I think this quote is massively important in relation to todays society. It just shows how humans are adapting and responding to consumerism and how it has changed human beings. This value, this importance is given to objects above others. But, in order for that value to be appreciated or worth anything, it needs the adoration of another human being. This is sort of paradoxical in itself - the fact one needs admiration in order to have worth, yet value other people below objects.

"Large department stores with their luxuriant abundance of goods"- talking about the use of display and how this works as magical way to engage with the consumer. 

Page 37; "the beauty of the surroundings is the precondition for a happy life". Talking about the importance of beauty to be happy. Do people need to be surrounded by beauty to achieve this happiness? Beauty is what SELLS. For example Jeff Koons and his seductively shiney sculptures. 

In the same chapter he explores how this notion of shopping combines aesthetics, efficiency and ease, making the consumer comfortable... it is a leisure activity. The shopping mall is a 'futuristic city'.

Lyotard's 'Scapeland' talks about 'estrangement' and how being outside the usual comfort of surroundings allows for a different perception, a different view of a landscape. "Landscape as a place without destiny...when they are hung in a museum, works of art are stripped of their destination". This made me think of how we interpret art or objects based on their surroundings. If we see them in a gallery, we see them in a way which is estranged from their intension. They are stripped of their destiny. If they are removed from their context, we become more observant of them. I also thought how this was similar to John Berger's 'ways of seeing' who explains how the context in which we see a work of art is different to how we perceive it. 

The passage on the 'Uninhabitable' is also relevant. "A palace is not worth living in it if you know it's every room". This could be applied to the shopping mall- it is constantly changing. It is constantly being re-invented to feed the consumers needs, they want to see something new every time they go there, and this is what attracts them. This works on the heightened sense of 'being' in a place. If you loose the sense of the familiar you feel more open to explore the new and notice different things. 

My idea of juxtaposing the ordinary with the extra ordinary is relevant here - I am removing something from it's original context and therefore making the object seem estranged... stripped of it's familiarity. This could work to lead the viewer to have a heightened sense of engagement- it's unfamiliar to them, it's new. 

INSPIRATION Iris Van Herpen SS15

Iris Van Herpen SS15

Source: Tumblr

Not quite the brilliance in materials that I'm going for, but themes are the same.Exaggerating the shoe using unordinary materials.

I also had an idea to crystalize shoes....

TUTORIAL: MEDINA

After going through my initial proposal we talked about some ideas;

The overall theme for my project is that I want to turn something ordinary into something extraordinary.

An idea was to use a 'humble' garment, like a falling apart or overused garment of some kind, with no particular aesthetic value as long as it kept this association with common place or necessity. A workers boot could be a good starting point. I would develop this and transform it into it's opposite - giving high aesthetical value. It is important for the original identity to remain in order for this to work for the viewer. 

Damien Hirst, For the Love of God, 2007 (Platinum, diamonds and human teeth)

This sort of works using the same themes as my own. The form of the human skull, is probably the most 'humble' forms you can use. It doesn't say anything - it exists exactly in that form and cannot be judged. Everyone has one. The diamonds and platinum take this 'ordinary' object and transform it into something to be judged. It has gained aesthetical value. It has gained a sort of power it didn't have before. 

It is now in a context to be looked at in a way it has never been viewed before. 

Other ideas mentioned; 

- using mock gold leaf. I could experiment with different materials such as this to try and achieve that aesthetical value I am after. 

- Creating sculpture digitally. I think this could be interesting! Materials I am after are expensive and difficult to get hold of in quantity. Perhaps transforming sculpture into digital could be the way forward... hologram of a sculpture? Projection of a sculpture? This would definitely be a form of paradox art and a whole new juxtaposition. 

Fashion on Display: How Clothes Became a Top Draw at Museums [NYMAG research]

I was online browsing New York Magazine (NYMAG)'s posts and I came across an article titled 'Fashion on Display: How Clothes Became a Top Draw at Museums'. Instantly intrigued - an article talking about fashion as art. 

See the whole article here http://nymag.com/thecut/2014/10/high-fashion-museum-exhibitions.html  

The article talks about Diana Vreeland exhibiting fashion/ costume at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the ’70s and how the crowds were expected because "The public wants what it can’t get”. This quote stands out as in my initial proposal I talked about how I wanted to create 'unwearable' garments to feed this human desire to 'want what you can't have'. High fashion in general creates this desire, not only due to price and the fact not many can own such exclusive items, but they way in which they are presented and advertised to the consumer. e.g. rich and famous icons wearing their pieces, or advertisements in well endowed magazines.

"Fashion exhibitions have become fine-art institutions" - again another quote which I fully agree with. Fashion has stepped off the runway and into the exhibition - or the runway has become the exhibition. Either way I think the merge is getting greater. 

And finally "Fashion attracts crowds because it is that magical combination of beautiful objects with social history." Of course everyone wants to see aesthetically pleasing objects. The combination with the social history gives the work context. And later on the article even compares fashion-watching to football, saying people enjoy/ admire  it as a sport. 

Taking in Jeff Koons, Creator and Destroyer of Worlds. VULTURE

Article from Vulture website, by Jerry Saltz 25/06/14.

Full article: http://www.vulture.com/2014/06/jeff-koons-creator-and-destroyer-of-worlds.html?mid=facebook_nymag

An interesting read about Koons and his career.

The below passage highlights about our culture, and this 'luxury economy'. Links into power/ greed/ wealth aspects i was previously exploring...

"Which is what? The very environment he did so much to reengineer, followed by the mad amplification of the luxury economy, has meant that Koons’s art now seems to celebrate the ugliest parts of culture. The rich and greedy buy it because it lauds them for their greediness, their wealth, power, terrible taste, and bad values. Just as Koons was a positive emblem of an era when art was reengaging with the world beyond itself, he is now emblematic of one where only masters of the universe can play."

CERITH WYN EVANS

Following a recent tutorial, I was advised to look at Cerith Wyn Evan's work. I was instantly intrigued by his sculptural work. Evans started out as a filmmaker but later began creating sculpture. His work focuses on language and perception, and conceptual insight into the exhibitions site and history.

Untitled (Flute Piece Incarnation White Cube Bermondsey) 2011

Column (Assemblages) VI 2010

I am inspired by this connection with the highly refined aesthetic - the opulent power these sculptures seem to exude. They create a sense of the ethereal and that is also what I want to provoke in my own work. Their fluidity and light creates a sense of another world, a greater dimension. These sculptures are not only highly captivating for the senses but also have great conceptual value about the space they are presented.

S=U=P=E=R=S=T=R=U=C=T=U=R=E ('Trace me back to some loud, shallow, chill, underlying motives overspill') 2010

These forms resemble trees, and the light which reflects off the floor exudes a sense of infinity. The photograph looks almost painterly due to the positioning and ambiance of the sculpture within the room.

Locus Solus 2010

Finally, a reflective plinth. This mirrored plinth is the only thing I am fully interested with in this sculpture, and I regard the base to have just as much value of whatever is on top of it. It's not an ordinary plinth- the structure and design of it let alone the reflectiveness. This is what really inspires me - the unordinary.

Sources: http://www.serpentinegalleries.org/exhibitions-events/cerith-wyn-evans ; http://whitecube.com/artists/cerith_wyn_evans/

LERNERT & SANDER ‘LAST SEASON’

Does the brand name overpower the materials used? Artists Lernert and Sander’s sculptural installation ‘Last Season’ features a collection of re-raveled balls of wool originally from designer sweaters such as Prada and Celine, that didn’t sell that season. Although the end result could still be considered beautiful aesthetically, the process and context implies a downgrade in their value. The artists are demoting the brand name by pulling apart the materials of these esteemed items until they are their raw form. As if to make a statement about the underlying simplicity of the composition which would appear doesn’t justify the overpriced garment on its own. It is the brand name that gives the piece value.

This installation applies a context representing the fragile nature of the fashion brand and the ease in which it can be taken apart to its raw material. The fact the sweaters used in Lernert and Sander’s installation are ones that didn’t sell in a particular season may also be a metaphor for the harsh and constantly changing fashion industry – if you don’t keep up, you’re out.