'The formal elements'

Exploring Light and Shape

Light can determine a mood of a piece and the illusion of a piece. Lots of light and bright colours will insinuate a happy, positive feeling and the use of light can make the illusion of a three dimentional appearence on a two dimentional surface.Light may also be a reflected source from a type of medium used or object e.d a sculpture.I have decided to relate my drawing to both light and shape as i think it has strong connections to both aspects. The illusion of light is created in this piece through the pencil marks of dark, medium, light and leaving some areas un touched, revealing the natural lightest area of the paper surface. The illusion makes the hair appear shiny, reflective and three dimentional. It is difficult to determine any emotion in this piece as it is monochrome and an articulate drawing, however the stroung source of light does give the drawing a refreshing feeling and is pleasent, easy to look at.
Shape refers to any area of a imagined or real object which is defined and rendered by other elements such as texture, line, colour, space or light. Like line, shape is an important element in both the rendering and seeing of art, it is used by the artist for three fundamental purposes.1. To suggest or represent a physical form.
2. To achieve order, variety, and harmony in the composition.
3. To express different qualities of moods and feelings.
I wanted to also use the same drawing to relate to shape as I particularly thought the shape was interesting. The drawing can obviously be seen as hair however the shape of thehair is unusual and can be interpreted as different thing, affecting the emotion and feeling towards the drawing. Personally, it reminds me of a silk coil of thread, a snail shell, a slinky toy and also a rolled up hedge hog. Shape can determin many things and can also lead the viewer to imagine differet things that the piece can become, relate or look like and personally, I found that being able see an obvious drawing as something else through observation and imagination is extremely emotionally effective and can change the meaning of a piece.

'The formal elements'

Exploring Texture


Texture can be both emotional and physical; emotional - creating the illusion of texture, physical - actual texture on surface, rough, smooth etc. Texture gives a piece body, detail, and surface.In two-dimensional artworks, the artist may produce a smooth or a rough surface through the application of the medium. I have chosen these two pieces of artwork by Anselm Kiefer as he uses materials on canvas to create physical texture and also the illusion of texture through the application of paint. I was interested in looking at an artist who uses both techniques to create texture. To create physical texture. Kiefer has used hay, straw and threaded materials. The rough application of paint indicates a rough surface. The texture can completely affect the emotion of a piece; in this case, the rough use of paint and materials keeps to his consistant theme of work, destructive, depressive, disturbing and emotional.

'The formal elements'

Exploring Space

Nothing exists without space. It can be two dimentional or three dimentional. Space can be the placement of objects that can give the illusion of space,and the overlapping of objects on the picture plane can also create space. The illusion of space can be created on a two dimentional surface or it can be physical, actual space. I have selected my painting from the holiday work inspired by Marlene Dumas to link with space as I think that then placing of the figures affects the mood of the piece and are also surrounded by empty space. I have created an illusion of space around the gathered figures by placing the figures close together in the centre and having a slight cast of shadow off the brides in an open space of blue-grey emptiness. The space gives the piece a whole new meaning and difference in emotion; the space around the figures make the brides look isolated, lost, empty and almost ghostly.

'The formal elements'

Exploring Form

Form has multiple meanings, it has volume and mass, it is the literal materials 'the form it is made of' or can be a composition of a form. I decided to relate the seven heavenly palaces by Anselm Kiefer to the element of form as i think it relates both from the composition of the sculpture and also what it is made of. The composition of the sculptures are not in line and slightly tilted, the material (form) they are made out of are corrigated iron, wood and various mediums to bond the materials. Although the title is seven heavenly palaces, the sculptures look disturbing, distructful and depressing, the form of the piece contributes and forms the emotion that is depicted through the sculptures.

'The formal elements'

Exploring Colour
Colour is the most emotional element of art as it directly affects the emotions of the audience; which determins the mood, thought and actions. In previous centuries colour was termed the sensual part of art because it attacked emotions directly and had no boundaries or rules. For most artists, colour is usually the light reflected from a surface however, it may be generated from an electric source, white light (sunlight) or even fire to get a dynamic effect of lights and darks.

I have chosen this particular image 'Jule die Vrou' by Marlene Dumas which i used earlier in my work that also related to my holiday homework. i think that this particular painting uses an intetresting form of colour as it definately shows that the colour has either been egsaggerated of the reflective colours of the face or the red has simply been used in the way to create a moof and emotion of the painting. i personally think that the use of rich red gives the portraid a seductive, feminine, provocative, and a sinful feel. the eyes and lips being the main feature also exentuates these aspects and moods of the painting.

'The formal elements'

Exploring Line

Line is much more than what it simply is. It is also a vision and a feeling. Line consists of marks that can be drawn, or it can be the external edge of a form or shape. Lines occur in many places whether they are intended or not.In paintings, lines appear through contrast of lights and darks or through colours and shapes. Lines are one of the artist's most articulate tools as it allows the artist to liberate or enclose space, conveys movement, expresses feeling and emotion, suggests mass or volume and creates an image.
I have decided to use one of my artists that I attended an exhibition at; Frontal. I chose Frontal as he particularly explores lines in his works through the brush strokes that he creates on paper and all of his works are based around lines. The abstract pieces made of lines each create individual moods and emotiond through the different use of composition within the lines.

Exhibition Review, Frintal Landscapes

Frontal Landscapes
“Frontal paints the cinematic dreamworld, where images float by one on top of another, somewhere we all escape to.”
On Sunday 8th November 2009, I attended an exhibition called Frontal Landscapes in Brick Lane. There are many galleries and exhibitions in Bethnal Green and brick Lane and so I did not know what to particularly expect.
I decided to go to this exhibition after viewing some of the artist’s work. I thought it related well to hair as the artist used a lot of lines and streaky patterns in his works. Another reason to selecting the exhibition was because I liked the fact that his works did not relate to hair in a literal sense but more from my perspective and interpretation. The abstract and vigorous style of his work was also relevant to my project and theme as I have been taking inspiration from Anselm Kiefer so far, who is an artist expressing distress and horrors of past history through a rough, abstract and expressive way. The exhibition only featured the one artist; Frontal, and the theme of his works were abstract landscapes that were reflective of his emotions and experiences.
My initial reaction to the exhibition was bizarre, somewhat confusing and stunned. The ‘Motors Gallery’ was actually the artist’s flat above a garage. Frontal was hosting his own exhibition of three pieces of work in his small kitchen. The paintings were put up on the walls by sticky tape and the whole experience was incredibly surreal and awkward.
Although the experience was strange and slightly awkward, I had an extremely intimate showing and close connection to the works and felt very near to the heart of the work and also being able to hear the artist’s point of view in person made the exhibition incredibly raw and intimate. It definitely left a lasting impression on me and was an experience made memorable by the surreal feel of the surroundings and minimal work placed on the wall by the artist himself.
The piece that I chose to base my gallery sheet on is produced using acrylic on paper and is called Frontal Model. The main reason I chose this piece is because the composition of the stokes and lines looked the most appealing to me compared to the rest of his works. I also thought the colour scheme was well executed as they all complement each other and are also similar to the colours used to my other chosen artist image by Kiefer. I was almost instantly drawn to the piece as from the beginning it stood out the most. It was the largest out of all the pieces put up (60x84cm) and also the composition was incredibly pleasing to look at, almost harmonious yet the piece is incredibly destructive and has aggressive styled markings. I interpret the piece as having a strong connection to hair, however when I look at certain areas, it appears as many different things; the bottom right corner reminds me of a sea storm and the entire left section makes me think of the artist’s emotions and thoughts at the time he was producing the work. I knew that this piece was the right selection for my gallery sheet as all the qualities of it contributes and relates to my work and I am particularly drawn to the rough style against the soft colours.
The piece and the exhibition itself has given me inspiration and has also made an impression on me and as from now, I am considering more abstract forms of work which may be additionally focused on emotions. I am also considering the setting of how I will present my work and that perhaps I will construct my work in a small, awkward space making the viewers feel more intimate towards the work but also made to focus and think in a different perspective that may be affected by the surreal surrounding.

Drawings and essays

Here is my second pencil drawing of hair.

This is one of my drawings from the extension exercise. the point was to take photocopies of our drawings and artist images, compose them together, then to finnally add on some loose pencil marks in relation to the image.


we then had to study John Berger's 'Ways of seeing' which we then wrote an essay on.




We then did an exercise of showing and describing an artist image that we did research on to the class. we then collected 5 words from each pupil in the class of the response to to the image. we repeated to exercise but the second time was from memory and illustrations were included.

After collecting the responses on small pieces of paper, we then wrote our own formal response to the exercise.

Exhibition

I will be attending an exhibition in the motor gallery called Frontal Landscapes. I decided to go to this particular exhibition as the style of the artist, Frontal Model is rough and uses a lot of thin, streaky paint strokes which i believe relates to hair and also my previous chosen artist, Anselm Kiefer.
Frontal paints the cinematic dreamworld, where images float by one on top of another,
somewhere we all escape to.

Artist research

i have decided to take artist inspiration from Anselm Kiefer after finding this particular piece created by him named Rapunzel which i though related well to hair.



In “Rapunzel,” Anselm Keifer uses very specific details in each part of his painting. Although the main focus is the building, there are also intricate features that show his efforts into painting on top of the photograph. Rapunzel was originally a photograph of Kiefer’s sculptures or buildings, the Seven Heavenly Palaces. The Seven Heavenly Palaces are seven towers built by Kiefer to represent a sense of chaos that had occurred. According to Kiefer, “What interests me is the transformation, not the monument. I don’t construct ruins, but I feel ruins are monuments when things show themselves. A ruin is not a catastrophe. It is the moment when things starts again,” (Kiefer: An artist with monumental force.” International Herald Tribune.). Kiefer constructed the Seven Heavenly Palaces to look the way they do, because they represent a sense of chaos and are not ruins.

Seven Heavenly Palaces





i also like the fact that he is an artist who explores different fields rather than sticking to one frame. he uses materials on canvas to create texture such as straw.


he also produces abstract sculptures created from inspiration of his past.


I then went into detail of artist research using the internet as my primary source to find out where his works are produced, what the inspiration is and a bit about the artist himself.
Anselm Kiefer was born on March 8, 1945, in Donaueschingen. He is a German painter and sculptor. He studied with Joseph Beuys during the 1970s. His works incorporate materials such as straw, ash, clay, lead, and shellac. The poems of Paul Celan have played a role in developing Kiefer's themes of German history and the horror of the Holocaust, as have the theological concepts of Kabbalah.
In his entire body of work, Kiefer argues with the past and addresses taboo and controversial issues from recent history. Themes from Nazi rule are particularly reflected in his work; for instance, the painting "Margarethe" (oil and straw on canvas) was inspired by Paul Celan's well-known poem "Todesfuge" ("Death Fugue").
His works are characterised by a dull/musty, nearly depressive, destructive style and are often done in large scale formats. In most of his works, the use of photography as an output surface is prevalent and earth and other raw materials of nature are often incorporated. It is also characteristic of his work to find signatures and/or names of people of historical importance, legendary figures or places particularly pregnant with history. All of these are encoded sigils through which Kiefer seeks to process the past; this has resulted in his work being linked with a style called "New Symbolism."

A new start...

As part of holiday homework, we were told to do a small study on a chosen artist which would then be the starting point of our project. i chose to do Marlene Dumas as i like her use of delicate colours combined with her vigorous brush strokes. this was the original image that i based my work on as i particularly liked this painting.the painting is called Rymans Brides and what i like best is the style of work but i also find it interesting that every bride has a blurred face wich is mysterious and gives them no identity. the viewer of the piece will not know who these people are, what expressions are on their face?, it is clearly a wedding but why are there so many brides? are they happy? i like the fact that the audience is exposed to a work of art that is mysterious and leaves us wondering, questioning.
Here is my painting (holiday work) based on Marlene Dumas, Rymans Brides

we then went on to making a still life combined with loose drawings contributed from everyone which was then made into a hanging still life. we took photo's of the still life and focused on a theme. my theme was hair and i took photos of entangled areas, areas with string and anything which i thought related to hair.


i then went around taking my own photo's of people's hair which we have now started doing drawings from.