Sunday, 25 September 2011
Saturday, 10 September 2011
Sunday, 28 August 2011
Monday, 15 August 2011
Wednesday, 27 July 2011
Thursday, 21 July 2011
Wednesday, 13 July 2011
Tuesday, 12 July 2011
Sunday, 10 July 2011
Saturday, 9 July 2011
Friday, 8 July 2011
Sunday, 3 July 2011
Saturday, 2 July 2011
Friday, 1 July 2011
Saturday, 25 June 2011
Sunday, 19 June 2011
Thursday, 16 June 2011
Tuesday, 14 June 2011
Tuesday, 7 June 2011
Monday, 6 June 2011
Friday, 20 May 2011
Thursday, 19 May 2011
Monday, 9 May 2011
Friday, 22 April 2011
Thursday, 7 April 2011
TODOR & PETRU by CRCR
Wednesday, 6 April 2011
BEDAZZLEEE
In the penultimate month of last summer I, in the vegetative state that one adopts at the end of long periods of inactive behavior brought on by sweltering hot So-Cal afternoons, I viewed a television program[1] (that shall only be named in the footnotes because of the shame and embarrassment of this writer) that (to my dismay) actually triggered a new interest within my practice. Peregrine Honig’s wax installation opened my eyes to a medium that I had never thought of working with previously. Her collection of pieces aptly named “Beautiful Boys” [2] were fairly amusing, more so then her wax horses. Fast-forward to a few weeks ago when an idea emerged from the realm of wax sculpture but was speedily shot down by several tutors. Multiple use of the word “mask” appears to instill fear and loathing in the hearts of Chelsea Fine Arts tutors. I myself am now unable to view M-A-S-K-S (i.e. that which must not be named), in the same way. But then I was shown the likes of Evan Holloway and Franz West and almost immediately the idea evolved. Evan Holloway[3] created various installations using bodies and body parts made from various materials. He entwined the humanoid forms into each of his sculptures creating a delicately macabre appearance; this in turn jump-started my idea of creating life-size human limbs made out of wax. Franz West’s performance pieces using his “Adaptive” sculptures[4], made from what seemed to be plaster and metal into metamorphic shapes that were worn on the body often in such a way that they appeared to be obscure instruments or for domestic use. The idea of making the sculptures into wearable art; to be worn on the body during a performance seemed to be the next logical evolution of my piece. Seeing the Trisha Brown, Gordon Matta-Clark and Laurie Anderson exhibition at the Barbican reinforced this belief in me (especially Trisha Brown’s “Dance with the Ducks” Head costume[5]). Unfortunately this idea is inconceivable at the moment as I would need a limb-less individual, the likes of which would most likely be unwilling participate in my perfomace anyway. So I reworked the concept to simply creating the prosthetic.
The process of assembling a plaster mold for the wax to be poured into is not as easy a task as I initially thought, and plastering one’s own entire leg with mod rock (plaster bandage) is not something for the faint of heart. The process itself is not difficult, if you’re a contortionist that is. Staying in a stable enough position while also trying to stretch to reach your feet isn’t particularly easy for a girl who gave up on exercise several years ago. Once the moulds were finished I explored several websites[6] to find the easiest release agent so the beeswax would not adhere to the plaster permanently. I discovered that liquid soap was most effective and then managed to purchase the one with the most repulsive scent of course! Having successfully created beeswax representations of my legs I moved on to casting and creating a relative’s feet and arms. The arms proved to be a veritable challenge as they broke twice at the wrist in wax form, but were repaired by making the arms significantly denser. Originally I had wanted the suspenders to be made out of leather and coloured elastic but creating them entirely out of white elastic and a flesh pink stocking gave a medical/sterile appearance. If I had more time I would have liked to create several other sculptures of limbs, casing many different shaped people and displaying them in a scientific-esque display case would be ideal, but alas, the pristine white floor will have to do.
[1] Bravo’s “The Next Great Artist”
[2] Peregrine Honig, 2010. Peregrine Honig. (2010) [online] Available at: http://www.peregrinehonig.com/ [Wednesday March 30, 2011].
[3] The approach gallery, 2010. Evan Holloway. [online] (2010) Available at: http://www.theapproach.co.uk/artists/holloway/ [Wednesday March 30, 2011]
[4]Peter Schjeldahl, 2007. The Art World. [online] Available at: http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/artworld/2007/03/19/070319craw_artworld_schjeldahl [Wednesday March 30, 2011].
[5] Trisha Brown Dance company, 2008. Repertoire. [online] (2009) Available at: http://www.trishabrowncompany.org/index.php?page=view&nr=472 [Wednesday March 30, 2011].
[6] Jas Davidson, 2009. Releasing wax from plaster. [online] (2009) Available at http://www.sculpture.net/community/showthread.php?t=8818 [Wednesday March 30, 2011].
Monday, 21 March 2011
Monday, 14 March 2011
Saturday, 5 March 2011
Sunday, 27 February 2011
that's the seat massager at work. (MOVIE REVIEW, crossroads, etc.)
As ‘Sherlock Jr.’-the infamous Buster Keaton film- came to a close, my mind drifted to more instinctive thoughts, such as the pressing need to fill my stomach and my impending visit to the toilet (as I had made the mistake of drinking tea throughout the film in an attempt to stave of early morning drowsiness), but the lights did not brighten nor did the curtains draw. Instead a flashy organ (from c. 1937) rose out of the pit accompanied by an enthusiastic organist, whose passion for his art was clearly evident. With my bladder swelling to an unnatural size and my stomach aggressively growling, the second film began. ‘Man with a Movie Camera’ is a 1929 film not often seen by an English/Southern Californian girl like myself-even though I believe myself to be privy with the Movie industry and its history. Like any avant-garde 20s European film, one often finds one’s eyes glazing over after about 45 minutes of haphazard flailing around on screen. But like much of surrealist-esque cinema, the parts that you have managed to retain in your memory are stupendous.
As I came away from watching the movie (having had a small breakfast and used the cinema toilets-to the dismay of those kicking us out who were preparing for the afternoon matinee of ‘The Kings Speech’), my thoughts turned to the contemporaries of Dziga Vertov, like Salvador Dali and Louis Bunuel. Their deliberately perverse 16 minute film “Un Chien Andalou” 1928[1] (“An Andalusian Dog), contains the iconic “severing of Simone Mareuil’s eyeball” (a cow eye was used, but it was still very convincing). It also was accompanied by a medley of jubilant tunes (like those that our organist dutifully played for us, during the entire duration of the 60 minute ‘Man/Camera’), adding to the already peculiar experience. Although the subject matter bore little or no resemblance to a ‘Man with a Movie Camera’, the cinematography (the rickety movements of the actors and sandwiching/manipulating negatives included) in both films is reflective of the time, when much of cinema was still experimental.
Another film from that era that is more closely related to ‘Man with a Movie Camera’ in zeal and appeal was Man Rays ‘Emak Bakia’ 1926[2]- comprised of abstract imagery and what appears to be some of his “rayographs” [3](photograms). An agilmente guitar solo strummed throughout (something redolent of Django Reinheart) as the film flashes back and forth between abstraction and reality. I should say first that ‘Emak Bakia’ is not my favorite film, the cinematography is lame at times (although the stop motion animation was quite interesting, it only makes up a small percentage of the film), and the subject matter did not hold my interest. It has the appearance of a child’s first super 8, home/vacation movie experiment (shaky “out of the car window” shots and all), but like ‘Man/Camera’ it is not about the story (of which there is none) but about creating a piece of art, however subtle.
[1] Michael Koller, 2001. Un Chien Andalou [online]Available at: <http://archive.sensesofcinema.com/contents/cteq/01/12/chien.html> [Accessed 27 Febuary 2011].
[2]ubuweb. Emak Bakia) [online]Available at: < http://www.ubu.com/film/ray.html> [Accessed 27 Febuary 2011].
[3] Artchive Man Ray [online]Available at: <http://www.artchive.com/artchive/M/man_ray.html> [Accessed 27 Febuary 2011].
Friday, 18 February 2011
Wednesday, 16 February 2011
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