Further examples of deconstructing paper.

I felt as though some of the marks that I had been using were lacking texture and depth. This encouraged me to search for a different technique of creating marks on the page. I wanted to retain the broken line and so I decided to use a tracing wheel on my paper as opposed to actually drawing a broken line.

I decided that it was a more successful technique and allowed a more textural feel to my rather flat drawings.

I wanted to explore this in conjunction with my previous idea of breaking the page into 13 pieces and so I divided the page in to 13 blocks that were then all tracing wheeled to perferate the edges(see below).

 

Deconstruction- paper.

I decided to initially look at deconstructing my page, starting off as simply as possible by slicing the page.

I wanted to first do this by drawing but thought that a target of 175 pieces was unrealistic at best and impossible at worse so I re-thought and came up with using the number 13 (see left)
I took the individual numbers, 1, 7 and 5 and added them together to reach 13 and decided to work with this smaller number instead.

I quite like the style of my drawings in these images on this post. I have been very reserved in terms of colour as a pallette is still questionable within the group, therefore I felt it best to stick to using the stark white pages with fine liner and pencil and introduce colour at a later stage.

I like my use of mark making and I have been quite controlled and considered, sticking to dotted and quite linear marks, however I feel as though it is quite limited- but only a small starter point.

In the image (right) I started to look at shredding and the different widths that the paper can be cut at and cross shredding. I wanted to represent this visually rather than actually cutting the paper- thus sticking to dotted and broken lines.

Yayoi Kusama

 The Obliteration Room by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama started out as a stark, all white room. Everything was white. From the walls and ceiling to the furniture and fixtures. The gallery space was then visited by children who were given stickers and told to stick them anywhere they like.

This then resulted in the room being absolutely covered in stickers, all in a range of colours.

I like the interactive nature of the installation as well as the whole room becoming quite an optical spectacle. I quite like the repetition and continuity of quite a repetitive process- and as mentioned before, the amount of time put into the installation is a reflection of the visual impact it has on the audience.

I feel as though something similar to this could be carried out by our group, but perhaps in relation to the number 175.

I feel as though deconstruction could play a key part in this too. The material that has been deconstructed could be displayed in a similar way to this particular piece.

Susie MacMurray

Christopher, a member of our group attended a lecture by Susie MacMurray on behalf of the group. As he spoke fondly of her work and the entire group liked the images that we were presented with, I decided to look a little further into her work.

The piece above, entitled "The Promenade" shows people wrapping gold thread continuously around pillars of what appears to be a historical building.

The idea of an installation had already come up in conversations with the group and I think this idea is amazing. It also relates well to the idea of "Yarn Bombing" as discussed in my previous post.

I love the visual aspect of this particular piece. The thread has been wrapped so many times that it gives the appearance of motion blurring.

I also like her considered use of just one block colour. I think the gold is extremely effective and if any other colours had been used it may have caused the colours of the building to clash.

I think the idea of using a single colour is a challenging one but one that is becoming more and more appealing as the body of our work progresses.

I also like the sheer effort put into this piece. It is obviously a time consuming task but that is something that tends to appeal to my particular way of working and I'm not afraid to take part in a task that I know will take days or weeks to complete- usually because I know that the end result will justify the amount of time spent on it.

Yarn Bombing- Knitta, Please

Interactive public art group Knitta, Please are well known for the act of "Yarn Bombing" which involves attaching knitting to objects in the street such as trees, lamp posts, post boxes etc.

 We all found this process to be quite interesting and thought that it might be a way of reconstruction- by wrapping thread or yarn around a broken object to hold it all together.

As a group, we also liked the interactive nature of the process- perhaps we should all learn to knit?

I also find the bright and punchy colours to be quite fun and playful. I also like the idea that it challenges the traditional misconception that knitting is a dated and "old" process and can now in fact be likened to removable graffiti. I also like the secret nature of the art in the street.

I also like the idea of using knitting on a larger scale, using broom handles as needles, lengths of fabric tied together to act as yarn- creating an unusual cloth that could be used as part of our concept.

I do love the bright use of colour, however I feel that it might be too early for us to decide on a colour palette without everyone else's input.

A change of plan...

After returning from the Easter Break, I was informed that the way that I was working was incorrect and that it was essential that we worked as a group.

So back to the drawing board it was...

We all decided to brainstorm ideas again surrounding 175 and one of my fellow group members had started working on breaking objects into 175 pieces. The majority of the group liked the ideas and so it was decided that this would be a central theme that would bind the whole project together.

We then refined the idea and decided to look at deconstruction of materials and then look into reconstruction.

We have all agreed to work on this theme individually for a week and then meet and share our initial drawings/practical work. I think that I want to look at deconstructing paper by cutting and manipulating- of course relating to the number 175.

We also decided that in time for our next meeting, we should look at installation artists that we find interesting. This is important as we feel that an installation piece as a final outcome would be the most appropriate way to work in conjunction with our theme.

Sophie Calle

I decided to look at the artist and photographer Sophie Calle in relation to my own work.

I was aware that her life and working practice run alongside almost seamlessly and that her work became her life in some instances. I was also aware that she used "stalking" as a way of creating a body of work.

I wanted to look at some specific bodies of Calle's work to perhaps influence and inspire me. I then came across the body of work entitled "the address book".

As part of this work, Calle by chance found an address book dropped by a

man in the street. She then photocopied it's contents and returned it to the owner of the book.

She then wanted to "get to know the man without knowing him" by calling and meeting up with people that were in the address book.

I found this fascinating. I was so intrigued by it in fact that I had to purchase the publication of it and recently read it cover to cover.

Her sheer dedication to the project allowed me to understand that it is possible for your working practice and work to become one and that it can be an all consuming thing- if you choose something that really interests you.

The book describes all of her meetings with the people from the address book and documents the conversations through photography. On further investigation, the owner of the book, "Pierre D" discovered what she was doing and threatened her with legal action. In retaliation, he unearthed a topless photograph of Calle and published it in a french newspaper.

But I would definitely recommend the book to any art practitioner.

Initial idea

I decided to use the number 175 as a very basic starting point in my project. I wanted to look at the 175th person in the local phonebook.

I then wondered how much information I could collect about this one person and how much investigation it would take to build up a profile. I performed a quick google search and was amazed that I then knew how many children they had, the name of the woman's husband, where she worked and (quite disturbingly) the amount of money she earned.

I felt as though this could be quite exciting and I was beginning to enjoy looking into the life of the woman. 

This lead me to look at artists that use "stalking" so to speak as an art form and I then began to look at fine artist and photographer Sophie Calle.

Unit X

After the introduction to Unit X, I felt quite confused and did not really understand the brief.

I had some ideas surrounding the central theme of 175 but nothing was really inspiring me or exciting me, which was a worry so early on in the unit.

I met my group at Hilton House and we all felt the same way, however we decided to muddle through.

Over the Easter break, I decided to start my own project and began brainstorming ideas surrounding the number 175. I came up with looking for the number 175 in various places i.e on barcodes, within texts and books but I questioned the longevity of the project.