New Experiment for Task Three: Distancing myself from the work for Reflection; View New Possibilties and The Risk Factor...

 

This is an interesting idea that I have discussed with Caroline which had been on my mind for sometime (from the book which I had recently read  "Air Made Visible" by Bruno Munari).

HOW ABOUT HANGING THE CANVASES FOR TASK THREE  IN A HAPHAZARD WAY INSTEAD OF ORDERLY/ORDINARY WALL HANGING?

I have started reflecting on my work recently as I stepped back from it. I wanted to take time for decisions and applying some of the "transgressive ideas" which I had been reading from the book "Air Made Visible". As discussed, Caroline suggested to try it out on a small canvas first as a little experiment so as to have a better idea at what can happen. Painting at the back of the canvas was interesting as I was viewing the canvas as an object instead of a surface. I had some apprehensions about the hanging process, however upon trial I liked the way it swayed.I liked the idea of mobile as the painting transforms itself to a kinetic sculpture.
There had been a moment where I had been concerned about the frames of the canvas, judging them to be "rigid". At this point, my mind was overwhelmed with ideas as turning the series of paintings into the pages of a book-like sculpture  where the viewer can interact with it. Another farfetched idea was to consider constructing cuboids with the canvases so as to be viewed totally as sculptures. I think this thinking process is essential; some of this fleeting personal conversations with myself can even lead to something of massive importance. However, talking about these ideas to an audience at this stage can consequently ruin the viewer's expectation of the work. At this time of decision-making, my most important decision was finally to order my thoughts and look out for my priorities. At the end, it was simply to do with reconsidering my aims and objectives. 

What came out-Some important ideas:
1. The idea of "play" has been becoming more and more recurring in my works, so much so that I am deviating from my primary objective which is to create a whole series of paintings which will be experienced as a whole while viewed affixed on a wall surface.
2. I am fascinated by the idea of "the finished" turning out to be other possibilities;hence another deviation from the aim.
3. The idea, the creation of the idea/process, the created object which in turn reprocesses new sets of ideas. How far can new ideas be applied? Are they not unnecessary risks at times? 
  

The artist Shiloh Sophia..

 

 The idea about Spiritual Transformation is new to me; however I like the way how everything gets to be interconnected and is linked to The Self. Different cultures have portrayed these concepts yet the Indian Philosophy theories have been in depth in their search for identity. Here is yet another artist who uses these ideas in her works. I have started on meditative classes and yoga recently and when painting, I can understand the impact of these vibrant colours communicating to me.

The step by step meditating on a painting as a process as discussed here: http://www.swamij.com/canvas.htm was tried out and what I discovered essentially was that I have been developing on this process on an intuitive level in a different way through the different lapses of time spent on contemplating/concentrating on the instant work done to generate ideas . I feel close to the Indian Philosophy theories and concepts as I am of Hindu origin. And I think this process of rediscovering the canvas(Yoga Meditation/Meditation in Action) is self-exploratory and refreshing when looking for ideas and/or inspiration. The way the painting is being used as a metaphor (it is described as a map where one can look into and find the way to ultimately return to experiencing the True Self) is interesting. 

Captivating images where I can refer from when painting..

These are all paintings taken from the Facebook account Girish https://www.facebook.com/GirishMusicTour?fref=nf. This account highlights on spiritual rise and benefits of meditation effects on lifestyle of individuals. Here is a glimpse of the kind of statements that are usually posted:

“The multiplicity of forms! The hummingbird, the fox, the raven, the sparrow hawk, the otter, the dragonfly, the water lily! And on and on. It must be a great disappointment to God if we are not dazzled at least ten times a day.” ~ Mary Oliver

Jui Ishida

I was astounded by the richness of the colours in the paintings which seemed to stand out and for me these were the references I could need. I also liked the soothing, gentle and welcoming approach that seemed to emanate from these paintings: "the positive energy" which I remarked was represented by the swirl or the circular gesture. Could the flowing lines be linked with positive energy and freedom while the squarish to represent the stagnant and the unimaginative/negative? Here is all the panoply about colour therapy and its effects and benefits and about the colourful "inner self" backed with a distinct vocabulary of auras and chakras. Enjoyment- the aim of every artist (according to me), in its purest form.

  Debra Wenlock

 Erik DuPree

Susan Farrell

 
 Susan Farrell

 Gabriel Sampad

 Amy Chen


 
Jo Thilwind


Karmym


Dominque Hurley

 
Jacqueline Dodd

Visiting artist Donal Moloney.

Visiting artist Donal Moloney presented his stunning works yesterday (30th March 2015) during our group hangout with Caroline. A rich source of information that I needed to be stored. It was a real feast to the eye and vaguely I was reminded of artist HEW LOCKE. His ideas were most intriguing in the sense that there were elements of mystery prevailing. 

I like the rather complexed/detailed and brightly coloured paintings which were abstract yet on a closer look figurative as well. There was a refined touch to his works which also showed elaboration/intricateness and a clever grouping of different narratives. I enjoyed the playful attitude that prevails where he sometimes introduces elements of humour to shift the viewer's attention. He says "even if the painting is small you can hide little things inside that would shift your reading of the painting".

His strange compositions "where the eye can't simply rest" stores crammed information that can only invite the viewer to look again and again for a long time where each discovery is relished one after the other. His experiments of layering of images on top of images is most fascinating as he himself claims "almost like images are cancelling each other out". And he keeps adding more and more "until like the painting will collapse"

He play around a lot with scale from rather large canvases to postcard size miniatures. Also, I find a pattern in his research and making where he started with very large canvases and has evolved towards minute detailed very small works. His process is very important too where he uses abundant materials like pigment, charcoal, acrylic paint,pastels, watercolours, resins, oil-pastels,gesso and his experiments are quite broad as oxidising surfaces, diluting acrylics, obtaining stains from different sources as even dipping canvas into water, using tools like squeegees, etching and scratching the surfaces to obtain layers, marbling which is later scanned and painted on,etc.

He asserts that he has no real plan at the start of the work and he cannot say when it can also round up and say that the work is finished. He relies a lot on "his eyes" to "be his own critic". I also like the remark he made on working on individual figures and then grouping them together and make them look like "stickers".

 http://365artists365days.com/2014/10/04/donal-moloney-london-england/

                  Donal Moloney, Shrines.

Pondering on...

LUCY DAY.

Interesting presentation last Monday by curator Lucy Day. Rather lengthy but also much much educational to me. Wow, this is a whole new world to learn about. Important Fact and Information: I haven't sold much of my artworks in my whole "artistic career"..

 

1.Question to myself: Have I met a curator in all my life?

Answer: No, I don't think there even is one in Mauritius.(I mean a qualified one with a background like her) I have met press critics, people who have galleries, however, here in Mauritius "the domestic market" prevails and some people are not even clear about the endorsement process. Interesting words here also as "Instrumentalism" on which I had to do some research.

 

2.Question to myself: As an artist, Where do I stand? What are my expectations?

• Is my work commercial?

• Who is my market?

• Where is my market?

• Who do I need to know?

• Do I need additional skills? 

But I think the most important question to myself is:To what extent should I be concerned about selling my works?

I think I have cornered around this question a long time ago as I had started my BFA course. I knew right then that I was in to something that had completely to do with passion and not at all with money. And I knew right then also that I would NOT be embracing a career as an artist too as opportunities are scarce here. Rather, I wanted to become an art educator to serve people and educate them about art. I am too much of an artist to be a businesswoman (thinking over the "tangible tools"-business cards, postcards, leaflets,etc-these are really nice stuffs,however I do not see myself in them). I also tend to be too engrossed in my art to spend time looking out for and creating apt opportunities to sell my work. To add on, I think my personality has some serious fine-tuning to be done as I am an introvert and I struggle a lot on Making my work visible and to exercise rigour in "documentation" issues.

However, I feel that I have been quite successful in the local context. Whenever there are group meetings between artists, I always get invitation cards and it is always a pleasure to be acknowledged. I also get to participate in one of the major art exhibition which is held here, the "Salon De Mai". I feel fully satisfied to be in the picture. Should I aspire for more?/try to be more ambitious?

My aim for enrolling with the MA course was to be able to understand and tackle contemporary issues. Here also, I am fully satisfied. So I think some of the "Intangible Tools" are here too: confidence in my practice, clarity in direction, Knowledge of my "sector", reputation, networking. However, I really have to work for my "Artist's Statement". The small exercise we conducted made me realise how just some words can have a powerful impact on someone's way of seeing me and sizing me up/assessing me as a professional.

So to end up with, I think as Mark so beautifully said, I will continue on my venture with "making", "better making" and just purely "enjoying my making". 

Milly Martionou..

 www.millymartionou.com

  www.facebook.com/artmillymartionou

https://globalartagency.wordpress.com/2014/11/27/milly-martionou-flirting-with-the-abstract-expressionism-exhibiting-at-the-barcelona-international-art-fair-casa-batllo/ 

Interesting ideas which matches some of my own..
I also like the fact how she mixes realism and makes creative wholes.
And the technique behind the acrylic paint..

Selected images of Australian Aboriginal Artist Lena Nyadbi.

 

http://2014.australiacouncil.gov.au/news/items/news-features/leading-australian-artist-unveils-large-scale-rooftop-installation-for-major-museum-in-paris