Studio 2A

Alexandria Frances Clow
12370911

Studio 2A;
This blog contains all work, research, development and documentation including elective involvement. Please scroll all the way to the bottom and click 'older posts' to see the work at the beginning in chronological order.

Also see supporting labelled folders and sketchbooks as part of my submission.

Evaluation

In my initial proposal I was initially inspired by the power materials can hold, and the consumeristic values associated with art.

I think my work as deviated slightly, through this exploration and elective input, to be more influenced by illusion and the power of the object rather than specifically fashion as stated in my initial proposal. My work has developed to consider audience engagement and put the viewer’s reaction at the forefront. The purpose of creating a powerful object was so the viewer could feel an engrossment with it, a desire to look, to own.

My original idea was to create a shop window display featuring non wearable garments, however during my experimental stages I deviated away from the garment side and realized I was more influenced by the materials rather than the form of a garment. In the end I have produced a similar display- influenced by consumer values and advertising.  In the end I really simplified my content with influence from the avant-garde mini course. This power that the objects hold due to their aesthetic appeal, works on the viewers human desire to gaze and be captivated by the object. The object has power over the viewer. I wanted to show the juxtaposition between the raw materials and the influence of commodity and desire to produce an extra ordinary object from something mundane.

Though the content has changed, the context and themes of my work have remained. I have explored power and value associated with the object, its effect on society and the viewer as a consumer.

Overall I think studio 2a has definitely allowed me to explore and investigate concepts of interest, and electives such as the there-ness elective have sparked new ideas which have gone on to shape my studio work. I feel as though studio 2A has allowed me to understand art as a concept, my own practise, and established a signature style. 

Finishing final piece

I painted the cement with a silver paint and then sprayed it with a chrome spray paint to achieve the maximum silver shine that I wanted. 

I positioned the glasses in order of appeal. The most appealing objects were placed in plain sight, with their best angles facing forward. This would intrigue the viewer to look further and notice everything else about the object. This interaction between object and viewer is exactly what I wanted to achieve. The act of looking, the object has power and control of the viewer for that moment. This relates back to consumerism and shop window displays- their purpose is to sell a product by this method - to appeal and attract the viewer. 

Object over viewer. 

Displaying work: Object 1

I photographed my favorite piece of experimentational work on a plinth. This will be added to my online portfolio as I liked it as a self-standing piece of work.

Below are the photographs to a professional quality which will be added to my website www.alexandriafrances.co.uk

This piece is titled 'object 1' and displays a harsh exterior which is juxtaposed with its opposite reflected in the mirror. The mirror reflects another reality where the object looks desirable to the viewer. 

Development: making the base

Mixing the cement, adding layers at a time covering the base. 

Adding pieces of rubble over the top to add verisimilitude. 

The cement will take 48 hours to set completely. I will next paint the entire thing in a silver paint, before spray painting that over the top to achieve maximum metallic shine.  

Final piece development

Making the base for the rock formation.

Rock Sample. I got some cement mix and pasted it over a mesh metal gauze structure. This could work if I were to make individual rocks, however after consulting a technician he advised me that it would be best to make a base frame for the glasses to be mounted on.

This would be made from mdf/ pieces of wood I could find. I wanted the glasses to sit at different heights so I build up a basic frame before filling the gaps with scrunched up paper.I cut 16 circular pieces of wood for the glasses to sit on and will cover these in sand, and the rest of the formation in cement as displayed in the rock sample. 

Thereness elective artist research:

I have become increasingly interested with working with illusion in some way.

Esther Stocker http://www.estherstocker.net/

“Italian installation artist Esther Stocker creates stunning geometric environments that can often be explored by the viewer. The construction of each piece appears to follow some type of strange equation, resulting in unusual linear patterns and planes that completely transform the physical space.”

“And yet it’s a trick to lure us in, to make us forget what we were thinking about a minute ago, to come closer and take a second look: manipulating the relationship between the painting and ourselves” http://lodownmagazine.com/features/esther-stocker

Untitled, 2009, foam core, tape and pins on wall, 2,92 x 6,85 x 5 m
exhibition view Beyond These Walls, South London Gallery, London

What kind of objects are those that we presuppose? (Quine) 
Was sind das für Dinge, die wir voraussetzen? (Quine)
Quali sono gli oggetti che presupponiamo? (Quine) 
2005, wood construction, 8,5 x 4 x 3,2 m ca., Galerie Krobath Wimmer, Photo: W. Woessner

I really love the concept that this is a 'trick to lure us in'. Luring the viewer in is one of my own themes I am interested in and currently working with in my own studio work.

Further presentation ideas for final piece

A peer sent me this picture of a bar display, knowing my piece was about glasses. In the picture the drinks and  I instantly thought about the connection with rocks and power.

This also works on the consumerism aspect, as the photograph is a bar display, much like a shop display to advertise produce. It is a method of advertising to seduce the consumer into spending money.

Rocks contain power, gold and silver are mined from rocks. I could place the glasses on top of rocks rather than a plinth. I could spray or paint the rocks silver, and have the 16 glasses placed at different heights on rocks. They will work together as a collection.

The rocks as a base for the object help to lift the glasses power itself. The fact I am taking an everyday, mundane form of a rock and turning it into something beautiful and powerful is my biggest running theme- turning the ordinary into the extra ordinary.

To make the rocks, I could use clay- clay could be too heavy.

Paper Mache- this could work however I don't want it to look tacky or unconvincing.

Plaster coated paper mache, then painted/ sprayed silver.

Concrete to make rocks, over modelling gauze.

In Frieze Far 2013 I came accross Zhan Wang, a sculptor who cast rocks, and this is where my initial love for metallic objects came from.

I could smash the bottoms of the glasses and stick them directly to the rocks as if they are emerging out of them. To reflect this transformation of silver ore into silver. Reflecting this consumerist process and society. We mine rocks for their precious metals. I found in my research people want to own precious metals bebecauset reflects wealth and therefore power.

Silver is only made because the consumer desires it.

This has also made me think about the glasses themselves- they are made from rocks (sand). This links so well to show this juxtaposition.

BEFORE AND AFTER DESIRE. The affect human desire has on the earths forms.

FURTHER WORK ON FINAL PIECE

Continuing with the glasses, adding a higher amount of silver pigment to the next 4.

Peer feedback: They look dreamy, like galaxies in a glass. 

This is exactly the reaction I wanted. The viewer is engaged with the object, the object has power over the viewer. The fact they connote with dreams is perfect- they are representing another world, another reality. This links with my thereness elective. It is another dimension, I have disrupted the space that is there, allowing the viewer to see it differently. 

Finishing glasses

16 glasses complete, filled with resin and silver pigment,

Overall I am pleased with the way the glasses look. Visually they are pleasing the the eye and grasp the viewers attention. 

I have received feedback from peers such as 'I just can't stop staring', 'they look so amazing' and 'they look like galaxies or space'. 

This was the reaction that I had hoped to create and therefore I feel I am successful.

This glass in particular is the most unique. Once this had set, the resin came away from the glass and detached itself. This was not what i wanted so I poured clear resin down the tiny gap in the sides of the glass to reattach them. This created an incredible pattern (visible on the right hand side) when the glass hit the  light. This will be placed highest, above the other glasses to show significance and power. 

Final piece development

Next 4 glasses. I increased the amount of silver pigment to make the pigment more vibrant and intense in the glasses. 

This increase in pigment will work well in comparison with the lesser pigmented glasses to show a transition. The further along the display, the more pigmented the glasses will become. This will intrigue the viewer further through pattern finding and visually engage them further. 

Final Piece

I continued with the idea of the wine glasses.

They will all be the same pigment because I need this to be a constant and therefore the viewer is more intrigued by what is going on inside the glass rather than the differences between them.

The purpose of the piece is to allow the viewer to ignore the constant elements - being an everyday object and to see the space for what it really is. Another world, another dimension and reality that exists in the most common of objects. To allow a different perspective and disrupt the space.

I bought 16 wine glasses and I thought I would have 2 rows of 8. I used clear resin to fill the first 4, with a diluted amount of pigment. This was to show a progression as the glasses went on.