Now that I've spent some time researching Judy Chicago, the women's movement and its influence on Art, my perspective has changed a little. Not only on feminism, but on Art as well.
Bias is endemic
I see it everywhere - this blindness to women's contribution or even at times to our presence - and that there is a lot of work to be done - and that it is an uphill struggle and would tend to destabilize everything, and that anyone who aligns themselves with this work inevitably becomes part of the blind spot.
It's in me too
I see that those attitudes and blindnesses that Judy Chicago was trying to right in 1960s and 70s America are in my marrow too, much as I'd love to pretend I don't see a hierarchy between fine art and craft. Much as I'd love to pretend that I would never dismiss the 'merely pretty' arts as 'girly'. I have swallowed the 19th century male-dominated rules and taken them as my own, and I don't know if it's possible to do anything about that. Or (my feminist soul forgive me) if I really want to: wouldn't that make me an outsider in my own culture? You can't escape your culture. And my culture is to develop the skills to express myself in my own way, but as a hobby because I also have a 'proper job'.
How do we know when something is good?
And you have to have some criterion of quality that isn't totally individual, don't you? So how can you dismiss the whole edifice of the Art establishment? Er....I see that this paragraph could be a lifetime long. I suspect that 20th Century Art might have been all about this question in some way. I think I should do some more reading and thinking on this subject too. (But not here, because this entry is all about me!)
What am I learning from this?
I begin to think that while feminism is one of the biggest issues for me, it is not the reason I am doing this course. I signed up for this course to learn to open up the visual and tactile world to myself. So that I can enjoy the material world more, and create things of and from myself. Not to close it all down into a single narrow-minded channel of activism.
The thought of activism comes in when I think that there are parts of me that are not acceptable for expression outside myself, and that this shows something fundamentally wrong with the rules. While you could argue that this is just me being a product of my culture, it seems to me that the best way to manage this when it comes up would be to express myself anyway. Like Judy Chicago did.
I am lucky enough to live in London where there are a million subcultures. Perhaps I need to find some people who think of artists as valuable members of society rather than naval-gazing weirdo drop-outs! And start expressing the part of me that may be different, without worrying too much about what might be thrown at me if I do.
Monday 30 June 2014
Sunday 29 June 2014
Chelsea School of Art Degree Show
I like going to degree shows to see what other undergraduates are doing.
It's inspiring, and in some ways reassuring, and fun.
Chelsea clearly has a lively textiles course, and you can see the fine art, graphic and interior & spatial design work at the same time, just over the road from the Tate Britain.
Walking around it this year, I was thinking about what I want to see, as a 'consumer', and what I came up with was either beautiful, or witty, or best of all, innovative pieces. As Martin Newth, BA Fine Art Programme Director says in the introduction to the catalogue: 'Perhaps the most exciting work is that in which the sense of the artist taking a risk is most evident.' There are always a few that stay with you. This time I was also on the look out for feminist art, to work out for myself whether I agree with Judy Chicago that the present generation is not building on previous ones (Explored in my sketchbook rather than here). And noticing how effective or otherwise were some different ways of presenting textile work.
Nianni Huang
The simple and effective use of a 2D fabric to make 3D regular patterns. Loved it, and want to try some myself.
I think the presentation let it down a bit.
I much prefer the way it was presented in the catalogue (see below), which showed the eye for colour and texture, and the three dimensional nature of it, much better.
Olivia Hulme
The beautiful bright colours of the open work and contrast with the flat white of the shirt caught my eye, and reminded me that I have wanted to explore more with the dissoving fabric.
I hadn't thought of trying contrasting colours.
This would be great to wear.
I'm not sure the layers work very well. I didn't really notice the colours underneath. Perhaps it works better on.
Emily Buckman
Fantastic textures, like decaying snake skin.
Mario Chou
Witty ideas (below) made in an interestingly different way.
There was a powerful feeling of discomfort and disgust with the body in Lynne Searl's pieces of clothing, which I could relate to strongly, and made me want to see more.
I thought that this, more than any of the more overtly feminist pieces, expressed the emotional content of the difficulties of having a female identity.
It made me aware of how many cultural assumptions we make about clothing, and what is expected or permissible. And that making clothing that breaks these expectations this out can be very effective.
Ji Chen took the idea of weaving into a third (or is it fourth?) dimension with attractive and interesting results.
Smart ideas for presenting work in a professional way included this book printed by Snapfish, and Chloe Griffin's poster skillfully produced to look like an advertisment for high end casual clothng.
Nic Worsley's samples (below left) were hung to emphasise the appeal to boutique shoppers. And the placement of Chaerin Lee's attractive variations on subtle woven waves (below right) suggested an appeal to industry.
As usual, my attention is most excited by sculptural pieces which explore texture, so I came back to Saaya Kamita's basket and weaving object several times to have another look.
It repaid more looking - there are several layers of detail here. One close-up is shown on the right.
I sometimes wonder whether it's ok to make something just because it is interesting to me, (ie without 'meaning' or purpose) and then I see something like this and know that as long as it's done wholeheartedly, that's more than fine!
One thing that always occurs to me at textile design shows is that it must be quite tricky for tutors, since there is clearly a wide variety of aims in the student body. Unlike, say fine art, or graphic design, where there is a bit more of a direction intrinsic to the subject. Some students clearly hope to design for industry, while others are exploring the nature of existence, and still others the qualities and potentials of the materials and techniques. I suppose that you hope that by the end of the degree each student will have an idea about which strand suits them best. It does seem to be divided by technique, though (weave, print etc), rather than along commercial/ Art/ craft lines. I guess dividing it in this way is just in my head and they're all artists.
It's inspiring, and in some ways reassuring, and fun.
Chelsea clearly has a lively textiles course, and you can see the fine art, graphic and interior & spatial design work at the same time, just over the road from the Tate Britain.
Walking around it this year, I was thinking about what I want to see, as a 'consumer', and what I came up with was either beautiful, or witty, or best of all, innovative pieces. As Martin Newth, BA Fine Art Programme Director says in the introduction to the catalogue: 'Perhaps the most exciting work is that in which the sense of the artist taking a risk is most evident.' There are always a few that stay with you. This time I was also on the look out for feminist art, to work out for myself whether I agree with Judy Chicago that the present generation is not building on previous ones (Explored in my sketchbook rather than here). And noticing how effective or otherwise were some different ways of presenting textile work.
Nianni Huang
The simple and effective use of a 2D fabric to make 3D regular patterns. Loved it, and want to try some myself.
I think the presentation let it down a bit.
I much prefer the way it was presented in the catalogue (see below), which showed the eye for colour and texture, and the three dimensional nature of it, much better.
Olivia Hulme
The beautiful bright colours of the open work and contrast with the flat white of the shirt caught my eye, and reminded me that I have wanted to explore more with the dissoving fabric.
I hadn't thought of trying contrasting colours.
This would be great to wear.
I'm not sure the layers work very well. I didn't really notice the colours underneath. Perhaps it works better on.
Emily Buckman
Fantastic textures, like decaying snake skin.
Mario Chou
Witty ideas (below) made in an interestingly different way.
I thought that this, more than any of the more overtly feminist pieces, expressed the emotional content of the difficulties of having a female identity.It made me aware of how many cultural assumptions we make about clothing, and what is expected or permissible. And that making clothing that breaks these expectations this out can be very effective.
Ji Chen took the idea of weaving into a third (or is it fourth?) dimension with attractive and interesting results.Smart ideas for presenting work in a professional way included this book printed by Snapfish, and Chloe Griffin's poster skillfully produced to look like an advertisment for high end casual clothng.
Nic Worsley's samples (below left) were hung to emphasise the appeal to boutique shoppers. And the placement of Chaerin Lee's attractive variations on subtle woven waves (below right) suggested an appeal to industry.
 |
| Natasha Gervais' collars were unique and intriguing. I was only sorry that she hadn't made a whole costume with this technique. |
 |
| Eve Kennedy's beautiful translucent fabrics captured the regular reflectiveness of skyscrapers in a way I could only dream of. |
It repaid more looking - there are several layers of detail here. One close-up is shown on the right.I sometimes wonder whether it's ok to make something just because it is interesting to me, (ie without 'meaning' or purpose) and then I see something like this and know that as long as it's done wholeheartedly, that's more than fine!
One thing that always occurs to me at textile design shows is that it must be quite tricky for tutors, since there is clearly a wide variety of aims in the student body. Unlike, say fine art, or graphic design, where there is a bit more of a direction intrinsic to the subject. Some students clearly hope to design for industry, while others are exploring the nature of existence, and still others the qualities and potentials of the materials and techniques. I suppose that you hope that by the end of the degree each student will have an idea about which strand suits them best. It does seem to be divided by technique, though (weave, print etc), rather than along commercial/ Art/ craft lines. I guess dividing it in this way is just in my head and they're all artists.
 |
| Strangely considering the subject matter, because of the layout of the work in this room it was difficult to be sure which project this one belonged to. But the catalogue confirms it is The Seed designed by Yuki Teroka. It reminds me that the most important aspect of roots after their textural qualities is what the roots appear to be nourished by. In this case, the decay of business? My 'home is where the roots are' has to be feeding on something more wholesome and nourishing - love...family...deep brown earth. |
Saturday 14 June 2014
Finding out about Judy Chicago could change my life
Of course I started with an internet search, and came up with the Judy Chicago website, lots of links to the Brooklyn Museum which is the home for 'The Dinner Party' and the Elizabeth Sackler feminist art archive. There is a lot there to explore.
I'm just going to write down some of the reactions I have had to looking through what is there on the internet about her and her work, starting with 'The Dinner Party' which is clearly her biggest and best-known work.
To start with, having read 'The Obstacle Race' by Germaine Greer some years ago, I had no trouble understanding (in my head at least) that there is an imbalance in the perception of and judgements about women's work in the fine art world. And, for that matter about women's achievements and contribution in English-speaking culture as a whole (which are the cultures I know). And that this is compounded by a minimising or ignoring of the talent and achievements of so many women who came before us, even, I'm sorry to say, by educated aware women like me. So trying to address this imbalance by going to the very core of the difficulty - making a huge celebration of genius influential women from the past - seems like an excellent idea. I am trying to get my head round to how I would celebrate this myself.
Illustrating each of these great women with a colourful painting of a vulva in a relevant style I see as odd. It has the advantage of pointing out that this is what all these women had in common. (Possibly the only thing other than that we still know their names). Is it gratuitous, just to market the idea as widely as possible? Get it talked about in US Congress? It seems not. There is a rationale, about celebrating the fundamental quality of womanhood, instead of denigrating or ignoring it. This makes sense in my head, but there's something that just doesn't ring true for me.
It has undoubted shock value. Which is surprising considering how many thousands of female nudes I have seen in my life. But never one with a visible vulva, I think, except in images created solely for sexual purposes. Even the famous Courbet painting of 'The origin of the world' hides away the actual organ of creation. Which could easily be interpreted as proof that our bodies in some way belong to the sexual observer rather than to women.
There is a video of a performance artist pointing this discrepancy out 'in the flesh' in front of the Courbet painting here (considered suitable for adults only) http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/06/11/vaginas-art-deborah-de-robertis-nsfw-video_n_5483497.html
Seeing this had a dislocating effect on me, because of the great chasm between what I know from my experiences and understanding of my own body as a woman, and what is allowed or expected in my culture. This perspective change, brought on by looking at 'The Dinner Party' have made me notice all the moments in my day when blanket assumptions about people are made on the basis of gender. My consciousness is well and truly raised.
I have gone on to start reading a marvellous book called 'Old Mistresses: Women, Art and Ideology' by Rozsika Parker and Griselda Pollock (1981 Pandora Press) which puts into words those things I understood only at a pre-verbal level about institutional sexism, the heirarchy of arts and crafts, and some of the reasons women are stuffed before we start when it comes to being recognised as artists. I have these prejudices engraved into my self as well. I know it, I see it in myself, and I have some work to do to sort out what I really think. This is not about blaming men for it. We're in this mess together.
All this reminded me of a long series of moments in my past life when this discrimination was evident and material to decisions I made and judgements other people seemed to be making. For example, the discrepancy between what I knew of myself and the judgements other people made of me because of my gender was directly responsible for me deciding not to become a surgeon. Because my work life would be a constant struggle against cultural expectation, and I knew I did not have the confidence to take that challenge at that time.
I suspect that later generations than mine have less of this difficulty - I hope so. I am very happy to think that it would be difficult for my daughters to relate to the experience of popular culture being made as if there were no women in the audience (The example that comes to mind is Benny Hill).
I had a pushme-pullyou feeling about looking at all those brightly coloured images of vulvas. (vulvae? I don't even know the proper plural word, whereas I know for sure how to say two penises). I couldn't actually look at them at first - my eyes kept slipping off, embarrassed. And then seeing them in terms of their decorative style rather than what they represent. I have no problem looking at Judy Chicago's cartoon-like painting of an erect penis in her 'Bigamy' car hood. Found it quite friendly, even. Why is it that a psychedelic cartoon of a penis suggests a friendly tease about potency, while the same treatment of a vulva suggests something two-dimensional and pretty. There - that is the problem in a nutshell - my brain is prejudging before I have a chance to have a say.
Artistically, this simplified brightly coloured style doesn't really add to the viewers experience or understanding, and only really works for me when she has something to say. And some of her work doesn't affect me in the way it was apparently intended. The impact of her 'Menstruation' for example (mild disgust) compares poorly with the resonance of 'linen cupboard' - an image of a woman literally caged by the shelves of a domestic cupboard - by a student of hers at a Womenspace exhibition. Perhaps it would have been more effective at the time, when presumably the idea of menstrual blood was more taboo, and may have alerted some of the audience to the discrepancy between real women and the cultural image of 'woman'.
I'm just going to write down some of the reactions I have had to looking through what is there on the internet about her and her work, starting with 'The Dinner Party' which is clearly her biggest and best-known work.
To start with, having read 'The Obstacle Race' by Germaine Greer some years ago, I had no trouble understanding (in my head at least) that there is an imbalance in the perception of and judgements about women's work in the fine art world. And, for that matter about women's achievements and contribution in English-speaking culture as a whole (which are the cultures I know). And that this is compounded by a minimising or ignoring of the talent and achievements of so many women who came before us, even, I'm sorry to say, by educated aware women like me. So trying to address this imbalance by going to the very core of the difficulty - making a huge celebration of genius influential women from the past - seems like an excellent idea. I am trying to get my head round to how I would celebrate this myself.
Illustrating each of these great women with a colourful painting of a vulva in a relevant style I see as odd. It has the advantage of pointing out that this is what all these women had in common. (Possibly the only thing other than that we still know their names). Is it gratuitous, just to market the idea as widely as possible? Get it talked about in US Congress? It seems not. There is a rationale, about celebrating the fundamental quality of womanhood, instead of denigrating or ignoring it. This makes sense in my head, but there's something that just doesn't ring true for me.
It has undoubted shock value. Which is surprising considering how many thousands of female nudes I have seen in my life. But never one with a visible vulva, I think, except in images created solely for sexual purposes. Even the famous Courbet painting of 'The origin of the world' hides away the actual organ of creation. Which could easily be interpreted as proof that our bodies in some way belong to the sexual observer rather than to women.
There is a video of a performance artist pointing this discrepancy out 'in the flesh' in front of the Courbet painting here (considered suitable for adults only) http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/06/11/vaginas-art-deborah-de-robertis-nsfw-video_n_5483497.html
Seeing this had a dislocating effect on me, because of the great chasm between what I know from my experiences and understanding of my own body as a woman, and what is allowed or expected in my culture. This perspective change, brought on by looking at 'The Dinner Party' have made me notice all the moments in my day when blanket assumptions about people are made on the basis of gender. My consciousness is well and truly raised.
I have gone on to start reading a marvellous book called 'Old Mistresses: Women, Art and Ideology' by Rozsika Parker and Griselda Pollock (1981 Pandora Press) which puts into words those things I understood only at a pre-verbal level about institutional sexism, the heirarchy of arts and crafts, and some of the reasons women are stuffed before we start when it comes to being recognised as artists. I have these prejudices engraved into my self as well. I know it, I see it in myself, and I have some work to do to sort out what I really think. This is not about blaming men for it. We're in this mess together.
All this reminded me of a long series of moments in my past life when this discrimination was evident and material to decisions I made and judgements other people seemed to be making. For example, the discrepancy between what I knew of myself and the judgements other people made of me because of my gender was directly responsible for me deciding not to become a surgeon. Because my work life would be a constant struggle against cultural expectation, and I knew I did not have the confidence to take that challenge at that time.
I suspect that later generations than mine have less of this difficulty - I hope so. I am very happy to think that it would be difficult for my daughters to relate to the experience of popular culture being made as if there were no women in the audience (The example that comes to mind is Benny Hill).
I had a pushme-pullyou feeling about looking at all those brightly coloured images of vulvas. (vulvae? I don't even know the proper plural word, whereas I know for sure how to say two penises). I couldn't actually look at them at first - my eyes kept slipping off, embarrassed. And then seeing them in terms of their decorative style rather than what they represent. I have no problem looking at Judy Chicago's cartoon-like painting of an erect penis in her 'Bigamy' car hood. Found it quite friendly, even. Why is it that a psychedelic cartoon of a penis suggests a friendly tease about potency, while the same treatment of a vulva suggests something two-dimensional and pretty. There - that is the problem in a nutshell - my brain is prejudging before I have a chance to have a say.
Artistically, this simplified brightly coloured style doesn't really add to the viewers experience or understanding, and only really works for me when she has something to say. And some of her work doesn't affect me in the way it was apparently intended. The impact of her 'Menstruation' for example (mild disgust) compares poorly with the resonance of 'linen cupboard' - an image of a woman literally caged by the shelves of a domestic cupboard - by a student of hers at a Womenspace exhibition. Perhaps it would have been more effective at the time, when presumably the idea of menstrual blood was more taboo, and may have alerted some of the audience to the discrepancy between real women and the cultural image of 'woman'.
Sunday 8 June 2014
Choosing one artist out of ten
For Stage Two I have to choose one of the ten artists. I've been finding this rather difficult. I was hoping and expecting that as I went through them there would be one who stayed with me, and the choice would be easy. But it is not - they all have something unique and powerful about them.
Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh - pretty surface patterns and reliefs, and I could certainly relate to the celtic imagery and attractive variety of materials.
Impressive that she influenced Klimt.
Reading about her work led me to drawing these in my sketchbook - a lady and the beginning of a design for a blind.
I want to see her work in person. However, I didn't feel it related to me very closely. And I wonder if I would end up studying how women artists have been ignored rather than her work.
Leon Bakst - I loved the creativity, the colours, and the sensuality of his costumes and sketches. I could enjoy doing something with this.
I hadn't heard of him before, even though I trained at the Ballet Rambert school and we revered Diaghilev and Nijinski. I wanted to find out more about what came before so that I could judge what a difference he made. It was an exciting time of change in Europe.
He clearly had a huge influence on 20th century fashion and decor, and I would like to have more depth of knowledge about that.
Ethel Mairet - I don't know what to think about her.
I couldn't find many photos of her actual weaving on the internet, and the ones I saw were brown and appeared simple and not very beautiful or interesting to me. She was a pioneer of hand weaving and vegetable dye crafts, both of which I find interesting and wonderful, but perhaps not the extent that I want to do a lot of it myself. Studying her would give me more insight into crafts in this country.
Anni Albers - Bauhaus is one of those names that people speak with respect, and obviously continues to influence many designers and architects. The political influences on it would be good to go into more, and the work of Joseph Albers on colour. Again I ended up getting wound up in the feminist angle - she was excluded from fine art training because she was female. And where did appreciation for her work go?
Lucienne Day - I can see that she has influenced everything that came after her. But these prints leave me a bit cold. I could work on this, and on the Festival of Britain, but I don't think I could get into it very easily.
Magdalena Abakanowicz - This artist's work was the first on the list to really resonate with me. I can feel what she is expressing, and when I looked into the neo-expressionist movement she appears to be part of, the other names were often artists who I had admired already - Gerard Richter, Frank Auerbach. The tactile visceral nature of what she makes, and the repetitive references to humanity en masse appeals directly to my sensations.
I didn't do anything directly in my daily sketchbook while looking at her work, and thought that she had not really inspired me, until I realised that I had in fact created a whole new 'theme book' exploring the use of rough natural materials to express a strong feeling of belonging!
Zandra Rhodes - I did not find her prints or clothes very inspiring. Not sure why, because they are exciting, colourful, and original, and clearly very successful commercially. When I looked closer I could see that she pays great attention to detail, and that she appears to have a great deal of fun. Which isn't me at all! I like a bit more meaningfulness. And the detail stuff doesn't come naturally to me. I was not sure what movement she was part of, and then thought it must be about the sixties and the changes they brought. But then there were other people who were earlier in that change weren't there - Mary Quant?
Judy Chicago - This is a drawing I made BEFORE I researched her work. And another afterwards.
Judy Chicago's most famous work of art 'The Dinner Party', is a monument to the awesomeness of women through the ages. Not the 'contribution' or 'strengths' or whatever, but genuinely overwhelming with the sheer number of amazing woman in history who have changed our world.
While I was reading about her and her work, I was thinking that I could really enjoy exploring my angry woman side by choosing Judy Chicago. The politics of this movement and the protest movement are areas I would like to go into more deeply because they have formed me, but I never have. My fundamental theme of the masks we make to hide our inner selves has a lot to do with the bits of me that are surprising or not welcome because I am a woman.
I like the way bright tapestries make the work imposing and important. Like a poster but less ephemeral.
I'm not so sure about getting other people to do the craft of it. And the aesthetics of her work are much less what generally appeals to me. I prefer more texture and 3 dimensions. Her work looks very flat and unnatural.
Issay Miyake - All about innovative use of materials, 'one piece of cloth' exciting, interesting, not just pleats but all sorts of new things to do with one piece of cloth, and collaboration with industry, very much in the mode of Thomas Heatherington. Lots to discover. I loved the manipulating fabric section of the last OCA Textiles course I did, and wanted more time to do more. Perhaps I should. But the industrial and commercial aspects put me off a bit. But I don't have to go that way.
Tracey Emin - I have done some exploring before about Tracey Emin (not as part of the course), and her work appeals to me a lot because of the quality of realness about what she's expressing. And the wonderful looseness of her drawing.
Tracey Emin Exorcism of tte Last Painting I Ever Made (detail) 1996
She's in the papers at the moment because of Saatchi putting the unmade bed up for sale.
I was interested to read about how she locked herself in a studio for 24 hours with hundreds of canvasses to discover her personal painting style. Perhaps I should give that a go. I've been thinking a little about which course I would do after this. I had been thinking printing, because I have a lot to learn about that, but in fact, painting appeals more. Seems freer and more expressive to me. More direct on the paper.
Who I chose:
I wrote that title without actually having chosen yet!
What I'm thinking is that I want the surface shimmer of Mackintosh, the physicality and colours of Bakst, the texture and visceralness (viscerality?) of Abakanowicz, the feminism of Chicago and the freeness of line and honesty of Emin. OK?!
I'm saying I don't want to exclude some of them by choosing one. But I can go back to the others later if I want.
The inner me is giving me lots of feminist images this week, and awareness of how negative my personal feelings are about being a woman, so I'm going to choose Judy Chicago and associated politics for stage 2.
Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh - pretty surface patterns and reliefs, and I could certainly relate to the celtic imagery and attractive variety of materials.Impressive that she influenced Klimt.
Reading about her work led me to drawing these in my sketchbook - a lady and the beginning of a design for a blind.
I want to see her work in person. However, I didn't feel it related to me very closely. And I wonder if I would end up studying how women artists have been ignored rather than her work.
 |
| My imagination going overtime on Bakst |
Leon Bakst - I loved the creativity, the colours, and the sensuality of his costumes and sketches. I could enjoy doing something with this.
I hadn't heard of him before, even though I trained at the Ballet Rambert school and we revered Diaghilev and Nijinski. I wanted to find out more about what came before so that I could judge what a difference he made. It was an exciting time of change in Europe.
He clearly had a huge influence on 20th century fashion and decor, and I would like to have more depth of knowledge about that.
Ethel Mairet - I don't know what to think about her.
I couldn't find many photos of her actual weaving on the internet, and the ones I saw were brown and appeared simple and not very beautiful or interesting to me. She was a pioneer of hand weaving and vegetable dye crafts, both of which I find interesting and wonderful, but perhaps not the extent that I want to do a lot of it myself. Studying her would give me more insight into crafts in this country.
Anni Albers - Bauhaus is one of those names that people speak with respect, and obviously continues to influence many designers and architects. The political influences on it would be good to go into more, and the work of Joseph Albers on colour. Again I ended up getting wound up in the feminist angle - she was excluded from fine art training because she was female. And where did appreciation for her work go?
Lucienne Day - I can see that she has influenced everything that came after her. But these prints leave me a bit cold. I could work on this, and on the Festival of Britain, but I don't think I could get into it very easily.
Magdalena Abakanowicz - This artist's work was the first on the list to really resonate with me. I can feel what she is expressing, and when I looked into the neo-expressionist movement she appears to be part of, the other names were often artists who I had admired already - Gerard Richter, Frank Auerbach. The tactile visceral nature of what she makes, and the repetitive references to humanity en masse appeals directly to my sensations.
 |
| Sketchbook work in my 'roots' theme book, using sisal and burlap |
Zandra Rhodes - I did not find her prints or clothes very inspiring. Not sure why, because they are exciting, colourful, and original, and clearly very successful commercially. When I looked closer I could see that she pays great attention to detail, and that she appears to have a great deal of fun. Which isn't me at all! I like a bit more meaningfulness. And the detail stuff doesn't come naturally to me. I was not sure what movement she was part of, and then thought it must be about the sixties and the changes they brought. But then there were other people who were earlier in that change weren't there - Mary Quant?
Judy Chicago - This is a drawing I made BEFORE I researched her work. And another afterwards.
 |
| Feminist themes are part of what makes me me This one came from exploring Fortuny and Paul Poiret shapes, leading to a further elaboration of an idea I have about our attitude to excess fat. |
 |
| Sketchbook work after reading about Judy Chicago Bright artificial colour and less attempt at realism |
Judy Chicago's most famous work of art 'The Dinner Party', is a monument to the awesomeness of women through the ages. Not the 'contribution' or 'strengths' or whatever, but genuinely overwhelming with the sheer number of amazing woman in history who have changed our world.
While I was reading about her and her work, I was thinking that I could really enjoy exploring my angry woman side by choosing Judy Chicago. The politics of this movement and the protest movement are areas I would like to go into more deeply because they have formed me, but I never have. My fundamental theme of the masks we make to hide our inner selves has a lot to do with the bits of me that are surprising or not welcome because I am a woman.
I like the way bright tapestries make the work imposing and important. Like a poster but less ephemeral.
I'm not so sure about getting other people to do the craft of it. And the aesthetics of her work are much less what generally appeals to me. I prefer more texture and 3 dimensions. Her work looks very flat and unnatural.
Issay Miyake - All about innovative use of materials, 'one piece of cloth' exciting, interesting, not just pleats but all sorts of new things to do with one piece of cloth, and collaboration with industry, very much in the mode of Thomas Heatherington. Lots to discover. I loved the manipulating fabric section of the last OCA Textiles course I did, and wanted more time to do more. Perhaps I should. But the industrial and commercial aspects put me off a bit. But I don't have to go that way.
Tracey Emin - I have done some exploring before about Tracey Emin (not as part of the course), and her work appeals to me a lot because of the quality of realness about what she's expressing. And the wonderful looseness of her drawing.
Tracey Emin Exorcism of tte Last Painting I Ever Made (detail) 1996
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| Sketchbook work after reading about Tracey Emin |
She's in the papers at the moment because of Saatchi putting the unmade bed up for sale.
I was interested to read about how she locked herself in a studio for 24 hours with hundreds of canvasses to discover her personal painting style. Perhaps I should give that a go. I've been thinking a little about which course I would do after this. I had been thinking printing, because I have a lot to learn about that, but in fact, painting appeals more. Seems freer and more expressive to me. More direct on the paper.
Who I chose:
I wrote that title without actually having chosen yet!
What I'm thinking is that I want the surface shimmer of Mackintosh, the physicality and colours of Bakst, the texture and visceralness (viscerality?) of Abakanowicz, the feminism of Chicago and the freeness of line and honesty of Emin. OK?!
I'm saying I don't want to exclude some of them by choosing one. But I can go back to the others later if I want.
The inner me is giving me lots of feminist images this week, and awareness of how negative my personal feelings are about being a woman, so I'm going to choose Judy Chicago and associated politics for stage 2.
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| Sketchbook work inspired by Judy Chicago and Tracey Emin |
Friday 6 June 2014
Assignment Three Tutor Feedback
Open College of the Arts
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Tutor report
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Student name
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Christina Rogers
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Student number
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510830
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Course/Module
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Textiles 1: Exploring Ideas
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Assignment number
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Three
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Overall Comments
Christina this assignment has been a pleasure to explore, you have presented the work with care and thought. The sample pieces are experimental and reflect your exploration of the materials and your visual research. You have included some nice sketching along with collage and photography to investigate your subject matter. The online log is interesting and easy to navigate.
Feedback on assignment
You appear to have followed the course material in a thoughtful and active manner. Using it to encourage your ideas and develop new skills. Through recording your thoughts and ideas online and in your small sketchbook you have developed, sifted and sorted ideas. This has led to some experimental and in some cases rather beautiful samples. There is thought to placement, colour and texture. Yet you are comfortable with risk taking and the possibility of failure. I do like your note in the small sketchbook which says “You don’t have to do what other people think looks good!” This attitude releases you from self-consciousness and allows you freedom to explore all possibilities.
I would suggest you continue to use photography as your main source of primary research, possibly building up a library of images you can access and work from. I really like how you projected the tunnel image on to your own belly but this piece would have been much stronger if the photograph had been your own. Keep looking for new angles and ways of capturing what you see.
Sketchbooks
The drawings you have sent me consist of both pencil work and collage. Your visual skills are very competent, working both creatively and imaginatively. There is evidence that you use drawing to explore ideas developed from visual research and your own primary research.
I would suggest you continue to draw regularly, using your research to inspire new ways of looking and recording what you see. Don’t forget to use other mediums including stitch and paper folding to trigger ideas.
Learning Logs or Blogs
Your Blog is well laid out with a balance of your work and research along with annotation and reflection. The written work where you are exploring how the assignment is going is very informative and will assist you in working through your ideas. Well done for being brave and including images of yourself. This and your honest annotation indicate to me that you as a person are at the heart of your creativity. Therefore you will create work that is personal, dynamic and interesting.
I suggest you continue to discuss your work in an open manner, exploring both feelings and ideas. I would suggest you elaborate more on your thoughts of the work designed by other people. Try and pin point what it is that interests you. This can be a positive or negative feeling. It can be about shape, texture, scale, colour, placement, environment, light, etc. Your thoughts may be about vibrancy, drabness, discomfort, shock, warmth, calmness, etc. This will encourage you to develop a language in which to discuss the visual world and therefore inform your work.
Pointers for the next assignment
- Continue to work with care and imagination when creating samples.
- Maintain an interest in other designers and makers.
- Build on your skills in drawing and sketching.
- Use photography to capture what you see and inspire your work.
- Develop your language when discussing yours and other peoples work in you Blog.
Well done Christina, I look forward to your next assignment.
Tutor name:
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Rebecca Fairley
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Date
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5th June 2014
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Next assignment due
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4th August
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Monday 2 June 2014
Stage 1: Research into 10 artists
The task for this stage is to look into 10 artists to allow me to choose one of them to research in greater detail. I am about half way through in my notebook, and this seems to be a good moment to jot down some of the things that have occurred to me so far.
First, I am interested in the things that connect these artists. Only the last four are what I would call household names (Zandra Rhodes, Judy Chicago, Issy Miyake, and Tracey Emin). There are many more women then you would normally expect in a list of historically important artists. And all but three worked mainly in textiles. Most were early on in particular artistic or fashion movements, (Art Deco, orientalism, British Crafts movement, Bauhaus, ) and have all influenced subsequent designers and artists. Three are rarely mentioned on the internet without referring to their husbands as well (Mackintosh, Albers, Day).
The first four had careers as artist before the second world war, and there are linked themes within all their philosophical backgrounds of reclaiming crafts or applied arts as worthy of the same respect as fine art.
This has aroused some questions for me. Is this still an issue in the contemporary world? Yes, I think so to an extent. And for me personally I wonder if there is a link between Anni Albers (ie a woman) being allowed to study weaving at the Bauhaus School, and the less important cultural value placed on it than the Fine Art she was not allowed to study. Am I studying textile art because I am a woman and therefore not capable of studying fine art? Or because that is serious and professional and this is only a 'hobby' for me (according to some of my friends and family). I suspect that people in my position who do fine art degrees get less of that dismissive attitude. But perhaps not.
I grew up with much of the Arts and Crafts movement philosophy as the air I breathed. I believe in taking pleasure in the using, and in the making. (Just like William Morris said). I like to see the joins in objects and furniture, and have a certain amount of disrespect for the emptiness of factory-made identikit objects, created by people in a culture very different from the one they are sold in. I prefer slow creation, sewing by hand, and useful objects that have cultural resonance and are made to last and to be repaired.
At the same time, I grew up with sliced white and polyester, takeaways and disposable tissues. I often use the convenience and cheapness of these things rather than standing up for what I think is better. I don't quite know how to explain why these things are bad for us as human beings, it just seems self-evident that drowning in cheap mass-produced stuff that is sold to be thrown away dilutes something rich and deep about being human. Not to mention the future of the Earth. I should think about how my life would be different if I followed this philosophy through properly...
Since these artists changed the style, it seems important that I should know a bit better what the style was before they came along. This is especially relevant for people whose style has influenced other people so much since, that they look very familiar, because that makes it difficult to appreciate how original they were.
First, I am interested in the things that connect these artists. Only the last four are what I would call household names (Zandra Rhodes, Judy Chicago, Issy Miyake, and Tracey Emin). There are many more women then you would normally expect in a list of historically important artists. And all but three worked mainly in textiles. Most were early on in particular artistic or fashion movements, (Art Deco, orientalism, British Crafts movement, Bauhaus, ) and have all influenced subsequent designers and artists. Three are rarely mentioned on the internet without referring to their husbands as well (Mackintosh, Albers, Day).
The first four had careers as artist before the second world war, and there are linked themes within all their philosophical backgrounds of reclaiming crafts or applied arts as worthy of the same respect as fine art.
This has aroused some questions for me. Is this still an issue in the contemporary world? Yes, I think so to an extent. And for me personally I wonder if there is a link between Anni Albers (ie a woman) being allowed to study weaving at the Bauhaus School, and the less important cultural value placed on it than the Fine Art she was not allowed to study. Am I studying textile art because I am a woman and therefore not capable of studying fine art? Or because that is serious and professional and this is only a 'hobby' for me (according to some of my friends and family). I suspect that people in my position who do fine art degrees get less of that dismissive attitude. But perhaps not.
I grew up with much of the Arts and Crafts movement philosophy as the air I breathed. I believe in taking pleasure in the using, and in the making. (Just like William Morris said). I like to see the joins in objects and furniture, and have a certain amount of disrespect for the emptiness of factory-made identikit objects, created by people in a culture very different from the one they are sold in. I prefer slow creation, sewing by hand, and useful objects that have cultural resonance and are made to last and to be repaired.
At the same time, I grew up with sliced white and polyester, takeaways and disposable tissues. I often use the convenience and cheapness of these things rather than standing up for what I think is better. I don't quite know how to explain why these things are bad for us as human beings, it just seems self-evident that drowning in cheap mass-produced stuff that is sold to be thrown away dilutes something rich and deep about being human. Not to mention the future of the Earth. I should think about how my life would be different if I followed this philosophy through properly...
Since these artists changed the style, it seems important that I should know a bit better what the style was before they came along. This is especially relevant for people whose style has influenced other people so much since, that they look very familiar, because that makes it difficult to appreciate how original they were.
Assignment Three: Reflection
Do you feel that your finished samples fulfilled your expectations and fully explored the topic of reveal and conceal, light and transparency?
My hope and expectation was that doing this assignment and making these samples would open my eyes to the effect of light and shadow in the world, and allow me to explore ways of expressing this and creating it myself through textile work.
The immediate effect was that I started looking and seeing these effects in the everyday, in a way that I had not seen them before. (See blog entries showing the range of photos taken early on in this module). I tried to write a list to encapsulate all the ways that light and shadow, reveal and conceal, can be used in art, but it was quickly obvious that this is too broad a subject to summarise easily.
My research into textile artists who predominantly use this aspect of materials in their work was a great pleasure for me. I wanted to use the experimental workshops to try out new techniques as much as possible, rather than sticking to ways of making things that I am already familiar with. The result was sometimes surprisingly uninteresting (eg knitting with different sized needles in Workshop 2) but mostly interesting and inspiring - giving me lots of new ideas to follow up. So many in fact that I can confidently say that no, I have not fully explored this topic. In fact, there is a life-time's intrigue ideas and challenge right here.
Workshop 3: Stitched nets, grids and structures: This worked well and produced a light lacy sample with a delicate feel to it. Workshop 4: Woven structures allowed me to explore the use of holes, and the effects of using translucent yarns and reflective materials in contrast to matt or light-dense ones. Workshop 6 illuminated the challenges and pleasures of layering fabrics and yarns to explore shadow and colour effects. Bonding techniques led me to a further exploration of the relative light-blocking qualities of various materials, with sometimes surprising results. Workshop 7 Deconstructing and disintegration: I started trying out thread-pulling and heat-distressing, with some interesting outcomes. I immediately had lots of ideas to develop this further. Workshop 8: Working with inkjet printers: I only just hit the tip of this particular iceberg - there is so much potential for using this fantastic technique.
Reviewing these materials and processes made me look again at what I had done, and combine techniques to produce new effects. I felt particularly inspired by the effects from sewing onto soluble fabric, and using bonding fabric. I combined these to explore shadows and coloured layers further.
My work on these, and on the multiple uses of these ideas in fashion this season, produced conceptual ideas of masks and concealment which led to my making a woven/ shadow mask sampler.
Issues that I would like to have had time to explore further include:
More thread-pulling samples using different fabrics, and to include adding threads of different qualities by weaving them into the fabric.
How shadows change with the qualities of the light making them, and the texture and shape of what they fall on;
How colours are changed by light going through them;
Changes of pattern, or of texture, with changed direction, or intensity, or colour of light;
The size and relationships of holes as the important quality of textiles (the negative spaces);
Conceptual aspects of masking/ revealing in human beings; skin as exposure and as mask.
Since these are not things that I was consciously thinking about before, I would say that yes, making these samples has more than fulfilled my expectations of this part of the course.
How important was the choice of material in terms of determining the qualities that you achieved and how much did your choice of technique contribute to the overall results.
If someone had asked me this at the beginning of this assignment I would have expected that materials would make by far the greatest contribution. That was why I made a page comparing the translucency of a variety of materials.
My hope and expectation was that doing this assignment and making these samples would open my eyes to the effect of light and shadow in the world, and allow me to explore ways of expressing this and creating it myself through textile work.
The immediate effect was that I started looking and seeing these effects in the everyday, in a way that I had not seen them before. (See blog entries showing the range of photos taken early on in this module). I tried to write a list to encapsulate all the ways that light and shadow, reveal and conceal, can be used in art, but it was quickly obvious that this is too broad a subject to summarise easily.
My research into textile artists who predominantly use this aspect of materials in their work was a great pleasure for me. I wanted to use the experimental workshops to try out new techniques as much as possible, rather than sticking to ways of making things that I am already familiar with. The result was sometimes surprisingly uninteresting (eg knitting with different sized needles in Workshop 2) but mostly interesting and inspiring - giving me lots of new ideas to follow up. So many in fact that I can confidently say that no, I have not fully explored this topic. In fact, there is a life-time's intrigue ideas and challenge right here.
Workshop 3: Stitched nets, grids and structures: This worked well and produced a light lacy sample with a delicate feel to it. Workshop 4: Woven structures allowed me to explore the use of holes, and the effects of using translucent yarns and reflective materials in contrast to matt or light-dense ones. Workshop 6 illuminated the challenges and pleasures of layering fabrics and yarns to explore shadow and colour effects. Bonding techniques led me to a further exploration of the relative light-blocking qualities of various materials, with sometimes surprising results. Workshop 7 Deconstructing and disintegration: I started trying out thread-pulling and heat-distressing, with some interesting outcomes. I immediately had lots of ideas to develop this further. Workshop 8: Working with inkjet printers: I only just hit the tip of this particular iceberg - there is so much potential for using this fantastic technique.
Reviewing these materials and processes made me look again at what I had done, and combine techniques to produce new effects. I felt particularly inspired by the effects from sewing onto soluble fabric, and using bonding fabric. I combined these to explore shadows and coloured layers further.
My work on these, and on the multiple uses of these ideas in fashion this season, produced conceptual ideas of masks and concealment which led to my making a woven/ shadow mask sampler.
Issues that I would like to have had time to explore further include:
More thread-pulling samples using different fabrics, and to include adding threads of different qualities by weaving them into the fabric.
How shadows change with the qualities of the light making them, and the texture and shape of what they fall on;
How colours are changed by light going through them;
Changes of pattern, or of texture, with changed direction, or intensity, or colour of light;
The size and relationships of holes as the important quality of textiles (the negative spaces);
Conceptual aspects of masking/ revealing in human beings; skin as exposure and as mask.
Since these are not things that I was consciously thinking about before, I would say that yes, making these samples has more than fulfilled my expectations of this part of the course.
How important was the choice of material in terms of determining the qualities that you achieved and how much did your choice of technique contribute to the overall results.
If someone had asked me this at the beginning of this assignment I would have expected that materials would make by far the greatest contribution. That was why I made a page comparing the translucency of a variety of materials.
This is true for some if the techniques - for example, the effect of bonding fabrics of different colours together depends very much on the qualities and colours of the fabric. And the effect of deformation of material by heat is different for each material.
Having tried out some of the techniques, though, I can now see that different materials can produce different and sonetimes unexpected effects depending of which technique you use, and how you use the more translucent holes within and between materials. For example, results from soluble fabric techniques and from weaving loosely in the way described here, do not rely on the materials sewn to it so much as the holes left after it is finished.
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