The Image as an Object

Andy Warhol, Chain Link Fence, c. 1980

Gelatin Silver Prints, stitched

Several things about this work really resonated with me:

1. The physicality of the stitches; sewing the photos together merges image and object
2. The act of sewing and connections it could draw between me and my mother
3. The practice of quilting and connections it could draw between me and my grandmother
4. The potential for pattern-making and abstraction

From the moment I saw this work I wanted to experiment with sewing photographs. In August, I posted about the narrative qualities of detail shots. I think abstracting these detail photographs by cutting them apart, reassembling them and sewing them back together is an interesting way to expand this line of thinking.

I will look to several artists to inform this particular series of work:

1. El Anatsui
2. Gee's Bend Quilters
3. Faith Ringgold
4. Romare Bearden
5. Aaron Siskind

There are 3 short-term goals for this work:

1. Abstracting individual images
2. Combining individual images with archival images from the same location
3. Combining multiple images from the same location

I'm super excited to begin this series. I've been working on editing the photos to print this week. In the meantime, my new sewing machine just arrived so while I wait for the prints, I will experiment with sewing paper using whatever I find lying around the studio.

Reflections - Sculpture & Installation

Hannah Wilke, Fork and Spoon, 1974, kneaded erasers and metal utensils
Image source

The following reflections originated with my Residency Summary from July. In italics, I have included my thoughts about how the ideas have developed over the last couple of months and how I plan to proceed now that I'm back in the studio.

Shells
- Really consider how the shell work functions beyond the memorialization of a gesture. In thinking about how I can incorporate some of the photographs I used over the summer and cross reference work across different media. I will translate my mother and grandmother's gesture photographs into shell forms.

- Revisit Hannah Wilke. I'm very interested in her gestural forms, especially when she combines abstracted gestures with representational imagery/objects. The interior space in my shells also resemble yonic forms, as well as mouth and ear cavities, creating possibilities to reference narration (what is heard and spoken)

- Consider other material for this work (etc. silicon, resin, clay) In response to my desire to create work that encourages and rewards interaction, I want to use a material that is pleasing to touch, while maintaining the sense of immediacy and level of detail that plaster lends to the work.

- Should these be multiples? Or unique? I think with the way that the idea is developing definitely unique is the way to go. I am capturing specific moments and referencing different people.

- Think about how to arrange or display work to encourage viewer interaction. Packaging? This is still under consideration.

Papier-mache
Ontologically, sculpture on the floor is confrontational to the viewer. The forms that I use are also much more aggressive (almost grotesque) than the narration that accompanies them.
Find a way to resolve this disconnect through ontological shift, use platform and/or Plexi cover, or make experience more immersive. Intentional or not, this work has Pop/Surrealist references. Consider a shift in scale.
The tactile relationship that the viewer has with the work is very important to me, which leads me to believe that limiting the work to a handheld scale should be my goal. These objects can then be displayed as collections on a shelf or in a vitrine.

Work on consolidating tone with other works
Certain motifs are more eloquent in the pictorial than in objects. In this work the motifs are too obscure, becoming illustrative of ideas rather than interactive.
How can I increase the complexity of this work? I believe the scale shift and clarifying my conceptual intentions will help answer these questions. This work displayed in context with the other work (quilts, images, audio, and reliefs, etc.) will also help build a narrative. The tone in this work should help lend meaning to the other objects rather than detract from it. I will also reintroduce papier-mache reliefs to my practice, but rather than depicting archetypes of land forms as they did before, they will map specific places and memories. This will help bridge the gap between object and pictorial.

Are these works necessary? I can't really determine this right now. I need to continue making them following the guidelines I set above and see where that takes me. Keep making and experimenting, maybe they will be absorbed into the other work. Maybe not.

If so, how can I improve their construction? Work on armatures, surface, and color.

Make sure that materiality and form connect. Why am I using paper to create this work? Is there a way to use paper in a more intentional way with this work? These questions need to be clarified for me personally and it the work itself.

Ode to My Younger Self

Drawings

This piece started as a loose set of contour sketches before moving to charcoal. I'm excited to start working on the color studies along with the ones for Charity Ann's form this week.

Landscape Form

As Charity Ann's form began to take shape, I noticed that certain aspects the abstracted landscape became anthropomorphized. This reminded me of the first meeting with my mentor earlier this semester. A question she raised was "where in my body do I find the landscape?" This question and my realization concerning the first form led me to push merging body and landscape even farther in this piece. 

Another step has been added to the process; building an oil clay maquette before starting the armature. It helped me better understand the form, making it easier to build in components. I've been struggling a bit with the armature. Although this form is much more sturdy, efficient with material, and accurate to my drawing than Charity Ann's, the trade off is that it takes much longer to build. The construction method has evolved from loosely formed wire mesh stuffed with newspaper to an aluminum wire contour with the mesh sewn on to create the form. I am also combining this method with  sewn and stuffed burlap components. 

Plaster Relics

The original firefly casts work perfectly with this narrative. I've made several new ones. Three are variation of the original form. A fourth incorporates a mason jar, drawing connections between this series and the firefly jars. I finished off the jars by tea staining their muslin covers. I'm not super enthusiastic about the outcome of the jars, I think the idea needs to be developed further. The new cast objects are made as a single casting and carved instead of combining two separate castings together. My mentor suggested tinting or painting the plaster. My plan for this week is to add color to the existing objects and hopefully to cast a few new ones.

Narrative

I have not written the narrative yet for this body of work. I'll post updates as this develops.

Joyce Robins and Visual Memories

Joyce Robins - Pale Color Circle, 2011

Last week I met with my mentor. We visited MoMA PS1 for its current Greater New York show. One artist from that exhibition was Joyce Robins. She makes graceful undulating ceramic forms that I really connected with. I was fascinated by the visual effects she achieved by combining embossed dots with holes and glazed with painted surfaces. Upon further investigation, I learned that her practice is based on visual memories. I also found that her use of color and pattern evolved in part from a series of paintings aiming to capture light flickering through trees.

Joyce Robins - Pale Color Circle (detail), 2011

Joyce Robins - Dark Cloud, 2001