amandalakinma-blog

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Reflections....

Throughout this module I have regularly entered my thoughts about things that I have seen, read and created. As the middle part of the module coincided with my holidays I took the time to visit exhibitions on my travels, these proved to be a very valuable source of inspiration and information towards my project.

On my arrival in North Norfolk I immediately searched for whatever shows, workshops and exhibitions were on during my stay. Many of them provided great days out for our family, and a superb resource not only for myself but for my son who is due to take GCSE Art during the coming year. I really enjoyed seeing contemporary practitioners within my field exhibiting work in unusual locations such as a historic church and a medieval barn. This provided a refreshing and truly atmospheric viewpoint, instead of the more traditional gallery setting. The Cley 18 exhibition in Salthouse church was a stunning example of this and provided us not only with a cool retreat from a scorching hot day, but a wonderfully contemplative experience. The works by alternative book and map artists were of particular interest to me and a valuable resource for my own project.

A trip to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park provided me with an in-depth look at the archive of work by the Common Ground art and environment organisation. I feel this visit created a turning point in my own work, as I couldn’t wait to return to my studio to execute some ideas that I generated from my trip.

As the nature of my blog has centred around research and case study I feel that I have been able to really put in to practice the tuition that I have received during the module about research and how this forms the backbone of your practical work. I feel that I can progress with an informed and inspired viewpoint gathered from the work of other contemporary practitioners and also those working in associated fields.

I think the experience of creating a blog has been very satisfying, I have been able to express my thoughts and ideas before they fade away, the act of creating the posts have been like keeping a visual diary. I have also enjoyed looking at other MA students different approach to their blogs. I’m keen to see how students from differing disciplines have approached their execution and content.

I’m looking forward to continuing to put my initial responses down in this way, and as I develop my skills to be able to experiment with different visual tools and methods of executing my blog.

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Clifford McLucas, Deep Mapping

I came across some interesting work the other day by the late artist, stenographer and film maker, Clifford McLucas. Originally trained as an architect McLucas worked in many different disciplines, relishing in his large format, site specific live theatre and scenography works. I was particularly drawn to his investigations involving the concept of deep mapping.

His large scale map works were created using a variety of media over a period of time that replicated evolution in landscape. Lucas says of his large scale map of the San Andreas fault, “ Over nine months I sought ways of apprehending the landscape as an alien or outsider in a variety of ways and means. The production-based research resulted in an artist’s’ book, as well as a large scale graphic work - Stalking the San Andreas Fault”, McLucas.

I have taken inspiration from his methods of working for my own project as I am interested to produce an artist’s’ book in a mixed media format. I am very interested in the way McLucas layers his ideas in different media to achieve a complete view of the subject.

Above

The Map, The Mapper and the Mapped (2002)

Primer a, deep mapping (2000)

Landscapetsunami (2012)

The Three Landscapes Project (2001)

Reference. https://cliffordmclucas.info

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Common Ground, an archive exhibition.

During my recent visit to Yorkshire Sculpture Park I was really excited to see the current retrospective display of work by the arts and environmental charity, Common Ground. The organisation’s ethos is by engaging with artists and designers throughout the UK to inspire people to get involved creatively with community projects to help the environment. I found the ideas and visual content of this exhibition really informative and inspirational for my own work, especially the drawings and background research work to large scale sculptural installation projects by Andy Goldsworthy.

Below

Above

Back in my studio I have been creating some studies for an area of my project inspired by the working processes I have seen in this exhibition. Working in pen and ink, charcoal, pencil and print I have been making studies from cut tree trunks and found feathers and leaves that I have collected from tree removal sites.

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Creative Catalyst Brief : Bridging Distance

Most of my blog posts so far have been focused on research, reading and exhibition visits.I have been on holiday and away from my studio for a few weeks now so rather than this having been a problem I have used my time away to explore different paractitioners and creative methods, which I have found invaluable.

For the Bridging Distance mini-brief/creative catalyst project I have used as a starting point some of my Burnham Overy Staithe photographs. I have explored some ideas of how communication can transcend through generations, bringing forward important messages from the past. I have developed my idea by using vintage postcards and digital images.

I found it really interesting creating different effects using filters and layering of images in an attempt to create the feel of old photography.I think my outcomes on the whole were succesful with some results better than others. I always enjoy the experimental phase of idea generation.

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Mr Finch, The Wish Post, Yorkshire Sculpture Park.

Enter the wonderful world of Mr Finch......

This truly eccentric exhibition was a wonderful way to forget reality for a while !

Finch has created a gothic fantasy land inhabited by woodland creatures that spend their time collecting and sorting the others wishes. For one night only they get the chance to have their own dreams come true in the Wish Post festival. They are depicted here gathered together to prepare the wishes for the wind.

The amazing attention to detail and clever use of upcycled and found objects combined with an immense amount of patience has created a magical experience for young and old to enjoy.

Finch has self-published a book to accompany the exhibition that follows his journey in photographs from idea to completion.

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Ordinary World, an exhibition hosted by Norfolk by Design in the main barn at Creake Abbey.

In her blog Diana for Creake Abbey states,“Artists have been making sense of our world for as long as mankind has made representational images. They take on how we assess the possibilities for our environment and how we perceive it.”

I enjoyed an hour meandering around this vast exhibition space that was once an agricultural barn, a wonderful setting to display works by a small group of women artists exploring our sense of place in the world and our environment.

I was struck by how different each artist’s interpretation of landscape differed, rather than reflecting purely on a visual likeness or land. By employing technology in addition to more traditional painterly methods these artists are exploring imaginative and powerful representations of pictorial landscape.

The large scale worlds and planets of Pandora Mond invite us to ask questions about what we cannot see, the worlds that are too far away. Her spherical, five feet wide textural canvases are painted using oil and mineral powders. Her paintings evolved from her current time spent on a residency in the Astrophysics Department at Exeter University, working alongside researchers investigating Exoplanets, the distant planets that will revolutionise the way we see the universe. The canvases appear almost to float in the vast cruck barn setting, evoking a sense of time and space.

I was excited to see the subtle and intricate map art of Joni Smith. The artist creates fictitious worlds using everyday objects, working mostly with maps, which is an area that I have been exploring for my project, she deconstructs them, then reorders them in to new worlds. Her working method is labour intensive and mechanical yet gives the impression of a natural development similar to rock and soil erosion, with areas forming as others break down. Her cut paper works assembled in traditional, small embroidery hoops provide a stark contrast to the soaring spheres of Pandora Mond, the depth and intricacy is exceptional, inviting the the viewer to look deep inside the piece to discover a hidden world.

The glorious paintings of Linda Jamison are a stark contrast to the technical produced work of Joni Smith. I love her use of bold colours and subtly formed geometric shapes that define the landscape creating a tapestry of fields and rivers. I feel her time spent in the world of textiles is evident throughout these pieces and I can see an influence by early twentieth century artists such as Ben Nicholson.

I shall take away some inspiring ideas from today’s visit, and I look forward to exploring the work of this group of artists further.

Reference

Creake Abbey, Diana’s blog. Available at: https://www.creakeabbey.co.uk/norfolk-by-design-exhibition-ordinary-world-10th-23rd-august

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Burnham Overy Staithe, 16th August 2018.

I took a wonderfully energising walk along the tidal creeks that meander through the salt marshes taking photographs along the way. As the light fades the landscape becomes other worldly, the ground creating sculptural forms where the land has been reclaimed from fresh water meadows. The footpath leads you past the small harbour boats along the embankment that protects the water meadows from the creek to the sand dunes, beach and the sea. The only sounds are from the gulls, geese and migratory birds swooping and diving above our heads.

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Liz McGowan ‘Forces of Nature’ exhibition, Norwich Cathederal.

Working with natural, found materials Liz explores her relationship with the North Norfolk landscape through this stunningly selection of sculptural installations. I thought this was a really powerful body of work displayed in a wonderful setting that added to the sense of calm reflection.

Wrap - four cloaks made from elements of particular places in Norfolk, beach, wetland and field, linking the cloak with the human experience and with the landscape.

Liz expresses her thoughts about containment and expansion, cycles of growth, change and decay in the environment, and also about processes of weather, water and time that shape and transform our landscape. She seeks to illustrate her own relationship with our natural environment, I found the photographs placed alongside the works of her within the read beds or entering the sea whilst wearing the elaborate reed woven capes hauntingly beautiful

Phoebus and Shield - razor shells on board

Meander - an installation of reeds

Thoughtstone - Norfolk flints, an invitation to look through rather than at the landscape

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‘Ground Work’ by Tim Dee

I have started to read this fascinating book by author and radio producer Tim Dee, a collection of writing about cultural landscapes and their local distinctiveness in Britain.

Tim Dee writes,”We are living in the Anthropocene- an epoch where our planet’s current matter and life, as well as the shape of things to come is being determined above all by the ruinous activities of just one soft-skinned, warm-blooded, short-lived, pedestrian species. How then to best live in the ruins that we have made ?”

The main focus of this book is Genius loci. I began my project Research by investigating thoughts about spirit of place, this collection of ideas is providing me with a variety of different perspectives from 31 poets, naturalists, historians and anthropologists. Tim Dee seeks to take away our fears of over urbanisation and development by man, initially inspired by the work of Common Ground, a charity founded in 1983 that aims to celebrate the different ways in which we can engage with our local environments.

Dee,T. (2018) ‘Ground Work’. Penguin Books.

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A Day in the Life of Lucy Sparrow, Sunday Times, 5th August 2018

After reading this article about Brighton based textile artist, Lucy Sparrow I was intrigued to find out more about her work.

Inspired by her life she creates funny but thought provoking work that can’t fail to provoke reaction and comment.

‘Shoplifting’ is a a series of work that focuses on the everyday act that surrounds us all even though we may not realise it. Based on her experience working in a supermarket Lucy has recreated the items most stolen in felt, making a comment about 97% of theft being committed by non-professional thieves.

Amongst the other works Lucy has created are a sex shop, and corner shop and a protest against oil pollution.

The fabric oil spill she created outside Canada House was intended to raise awareness of pollution caused by the dumping of waste from large oil companies.

Working with UK Tar Sands Network Lucy created an installation outside the Canadian Embassy at the time of the Europe Energy Summit featuring a stitched oil refinery with a fabric oil spill spewing out toxic waste and dead animals. The piece featured an hour long performance aimed at the public and ministers attending the summit. The work covered the entrance to the building creating an obstacle for all those attempting to enter.

Lucy’s latest work opening this week in LA is a life size recreation of a supermarket, I do hope the American audience appreciates her subtle wit, irony and humour !

Lastly I was drawn to some of her early work Where she has recreated the London tube map in felt and stitch. I particularly like how her lettering is very like a loose hand written script, the piece has a very naive, hand crafted, slightly wonky look that makes something many people see and use every day appear charming and whimsical.

Scott, C. (2018)’A Life in the Day of Lucy Sparrow, Sunday Times Magazine.

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CLEY 18: The Greater the Distance the Clearer the View

I spend a lot of time in East Anglia and I am always amazed at the variety of wonderful creative art there is to explore. This exhibition in Cley next the Sea was a fantastic way for my family and I to spend a few hours meandering through the ancient streets from the different exhibition points, ending with a bracing pebble beach walk to view the stunning ‘Book of Waves’ by Lizzie Sainsbury.

We began at St.Margaret’s church, filled with a wealth of thought provoking work curated by Dr Caroline Fisher. Each artist that was selected to make work specifically for the show has a personal link to East Anglia. The theme sets out to explore the notion that something seen from far away can be clearer than something seen close up, or that a long journey can provide us with a greater perspective on a subject, implying distance or time between the object and the viewer.

I was particularly interested in the inclusion of several fascinating artist’s’ book projects, and I was happy to see that several had sold. I loved the large scale mixed media outdoor books by Lizzie Sainsbury, and in contrast ‘Tracing Lives’ by Jen Fox featuring collections of found objects. Annette Kraiser’s ‘Lost Between Shores’ is a superbly intricate fold out paper hanging book construction imprinted with pieces of aluminium aviation parts found on beaches, bringing the aircraft and its stories back to life. The focus of my project is the creation of an artist book, I also intend to be using elements of mapping, so I was also very interested in the fantastic piece by Mary Crofts, ‘A drop in the ocean’. Mary has taken vintage admiralty charts and using plastic headed mapping pins to visualise plastic pollution statistics. She has also provided a pile of old charts to explore.

This was a wonderful exhibition hosted in a stunning venue that interacted with the work in a magical all way, light flooding through stained glass windows reflecting on surfaces with colours and textures complementing one another. A really inspiring visit and one that has inspired me for my own work.

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THIS CLASS WORKS, AN EXHIBITION BY PETE MCKEE A visit to the Pete McKee This Class Works exhibition this weekend. I never expected these images of working class life in Sheffield to arouse such emotion in me. I grew up in Sheffield during the 1970’s, the home and inspiration behind Pete McKee’s work, so I remember vividly images such as these women with curlers in their hair in preparation for Saturday night shopping, in the local fish market. The venue for the exhibition is a former spring factory in the once industrial heartland near the city centre, Kelham Island, now home to a regeneration of live/work destinations being developed from the old factories, a perfect location. Pete has drawn on his own upbringing in a large family living in a council house to convey the pride, emotions, struggles and strifes of working class life in a Northern town. The captions accompanying the paintings are bitter sweet tear jerkers. ‘look back on those times fondly and remember how our persistence and unfailing hope that something better was around the corner helped us to survive. This exhibition aims to highlight the strength, dignity and humility of the community in which I grew up.’(McKee, 2018). Alongside this new work are pieces from several other artists, writers, film makers and photographers all exploring their own experiences of growing up in a working class environment. To accompany the exhibition is an evening of conversation with the Lord Mayor of Sheffield and a walking tour of Kelham Island, ending at the exhibition. The atmosphere is one of laughter and tears, although Pete’s work is now becoming very collectible globally he is still definitely a Sheffield treasure. I love his bold graphic style derived from strip cartoons and comic books. His pictures tell wonderful stories of lives lived, yet always with very little words, the images speak volumes.A true narrative of a Northern town.

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Grayson Perry - Comfort Blanket

I couldn’t think of a better place to be on a stifling July afternoon than a cool art gallery, so I headed to the Graves in Sheffield to look up close at “Comfort Blanket” by Grayson Perry, in Sheffield until the Autumn thanks to Arts Council England and the V and A.

The sheer scale of the stunning 8ft wide tapestry takes your breath away as you enter the gallery space. The piece explores concepts of British identity and class in a depiction of a £10 British banknote, the enormous Queen’s head is particularly striking. The vibrant, acid colours and rhythmical patterns really draw the viewer in to the complex details and texts.

Perry says of this definition of Britishness, “you could lay it out for a national picnic”, my particular ironic quote is from The Archers.

I have to say that I am quite a fan of Perry after seeing his one man show last year, and this piece does not disappoint, well worth a visit.

‘A portrait of Britain to wrap yourself up in, a giant banknote; things we love, and love to hate. A friend whose family had walked out of Hungary fleeing the Soviet invasion in 1956 said her mother referred to Britain as her ‘security blanket’. As their plane came in to land in the UK, the tannoy relayed a message from the Queen saying ‘Welcome to Britain, you are now in a safe country’. People still come to our country for its stability, safety and rule of law. We should be proud of that.’, (Perry, G 2014)

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Thoughts on critical thinking

Research and Practice

I see critical thinking as a necessary extension of my research process. I have a curious mind and I want to question, analyse and compare the information that I gather in order together the best out of my ideas. I also want my concepts and their resultant outcomes to be fresh and new, not just a regurgitation of the thoughts of others.

Critical thinking therefore is essential in allowing me to challenge my own assumptions, and those of others. I believe that playing ‘devil’s advocate’ with established facts can lead to truly challenging and inspirational work, having the ability to evaluate and digest information enables me to think independently and develop my own voice and opinions.

I aim to keep an open mind throughout my research journey as I feel that revisiting ideas that I may have discarded through critical thinking may still have some value if looked at in a different light, I feel my research should contain constant reflection and revision.