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Tetley, Leeds.

This is another location I visited on the 24th of March 2022 called The Tetley in Leeds.  

What I first noticed was the little café on the ground floor and was notified the gallery/exhibition was located on the second floor. This gives you the choice between one of the two and links to the idea of separation between work and play.

When I got onto the second floor, I was instantly drawn to one of the paintings made by Justin Fitzpatrick and this was called ‘Salad leaf attempting to eat a moon beam’. The reason as to why my eyes caught onto this was the way in which it was painted and the attention to detail. Another painting by Fitzpatrick I was drawn to was in gallery 8 called ‘Chef’s Table: France’ which pays close attention to detail. It is safe to say that the paintings made by him were my favourite.

After coming back down from the gallery and waiting in the café to get the train, we were greeted by a dog, and this reminded me of the time I spent down at The Royal Standard in Liverpool.

Justin Fitzpatrick

Salad leaf attempting to eat a moon beam

2021

Oil on canvas

Justin Fitzpatrick

Chef’s Table: France

2020

Oil on canvas

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Contemporary Art: My Understanding.

Before:

I never really understood what contemporary art was. I always assumed it was a fancy type of way to say, ‘I make art’. This was something which was difficult to wrap by head around as it looked quite similar to other art movements and blended in.

Research and Lectures:

After attending lessons in my second semester, my understanding of contemporary art began to develop. How was I able to do this? I would pay as much attention in my lessons as I physically could and go away and research into a couple of the artists mentioned throughout the lecture. Why did I do this? The reason as to why I did this is because I found there were artists covered in the lecture that I found quite interesting and wanted to further my knowledge and be more confident in myself to say ‘I know what contemporary art is’.

Present Day:

Comparing the knowledge I had about contemporary art at the start of the second semester till now, I am able to see that I have gathered an understanding of this style of art. What I am planning on doing is continuing to develop this knowledge further, as even though I have an understanding on the contemporary art aspect I do not feel  fully confident in myself to explain it to someone else. I knew that this was something I wouldn’t be able to pick up overnight and it might take weeks, months or even years to have a full understanding.

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Hallmarks of ‘Contemporary Art’.

This is the pushing of what art is and what it can be understood as. There is no right or wrong answer to what art can be but there is more of a focus on the outcome of the work rather than the process.

A piece of work that I quite like was made by Salvador Dali and it was named ‘Double Image’. What do I like about this painting? The first thing I noticed about the painting was the three central figures and the shadow. After this, I let my eyes wander across the piece and noticed all the different utensils, birds, insects and the smooth transition between the red and blue in the background.

Salvador Dali

Double Image

1965

Ink and watercolour on paper

24 3/4 inched diameter

Hallmark Art Collection

The other thoughts I have on this work is how the shadow stands out against the yellow. When I tried to see who this shadow belonged to, I noticed it was the only figure in the painting that has an indistinguishable face. Another aspect to the painting I like which isn’t visible, is the connection to what this can be understood as.

The way in which I have interpreted this painting is that the women in the painting (who I believe to be maids) are surrounded by a heavy workload and the figure that has no face is the feeling of anxiety/pressure. This link back into what art can be understood as and there are no right or wrong answers to what it is.

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Image one and two:

Guide to the Henry Moore Institute.

Image three:

Elliot Walker.

‘Spillage’.

2019.

Image four:

Mona Hatoum.

‘Cells’.

2014.

Image five:

Petr Stanicky.

‘Mirror-Mondeo Bite’.

2014.

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Henry Moore Institute, Leeds.

On the 24th of March 2022, I travelled up to Leeds to the Henry Moore Institute as well as several other places.

The first place I went to was a guided tour through the Archives in the Institution and the library which they own. When I was taking a look at all the different books in the Archive, I was amazed by the range of books and being able to flick through some of them that were left out for us. We were also given a book which includes what is inside of the Archive and decorated with drawings by Leon Underwood named ‘The seven deadly sins: for sculptors’.

I had a guided tour through the institution. This exhibition was named ‘A State of Matter’, based on glass, which can be viewed from the 18th of February 2022 up to the 5th of June 2022. We started in the room named ‘Solid’ then making our way through to ‘Gas’ and lastly ‘Liquid’. What I liked about this Institution was the usage of natural light so you can see the beauty of the works and their bright colours and being able to have a 360 degree of the sculptures featured.

In the first room, I was drawn to the work made by Elliot Walker in 2019 named ‘Spillage’. This piece consists of a bottle of wine, a glass on its side and there being a spillage of wine (linking into the title of the work). This was created by using three techniques which are casting, moulding and lamp-working. The reason as to why I was drawn to this piece is the illusion of there being a liquid inside of the bottle and cup and if you look closely, you can see little bubbles which makes it look more realistic.

In the ‘Gas’ room, I was astonished by the largest work inside of the room. This was created by Mona Hatoum in 2014 which they have named ‘Cells’. The work consists of multiple glass blown works that have been locked away inside of a cage which represents the cell. The glass itself is to evoke blood cells or organs inside of the body. The way in which I interpret this work is the mind is like a cell where you can only escape with the help of another.

The last work that I was intrigued by was another large work and this was inside of the last room (Liquid). This work is named ‘Mirror-Mondeo Bite’ and was made in 2014 by Petr Stanicky. The work is made up of a car window and a piece of glass flowing over the top. When I first saw the work, it reminded me of Prince Rupert’s drop. These drops are indestructible but with the slightest hit on their tail, they will shatter immediately. This is what I believe would happen to the work produced by Stanicky, so it would be best to keep your hands to yourself to risk damage.

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Images one to three:

These are photographs inside of the Convenience Gallery, Birkenhead.

Images four and five:

This is a piece of work which I made in the Gallery, and it consists of five seashells surrounded by a broken bracelet.

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Convenience Gallery, Birkenhead.

This is the second external visit I went to in Birkenhead on the 10th of March 2022.  

When I first walked into the building, I noticed how colourful the place was and how it was decorated. It was not what I was expecting when walking in. I was expecting this place to be a historical building and there being paintings on the walls, not brightly coloured.  

During my time there, I was able to create a little patch that was going to be on a jacket. This is something I really enjoyed as I created a patchwork jacket in college for one of my projects and connected me to when I specialised in fashion and textiles. Another positive that comes from this, is it allows you to contribute to the gallery in your own way. There were no restrictions to what you were allowed to put on the patch, and this let your imagination run wild.

The feelings I had whilst being in the Gallery is that it was a very positive environment and the people that run the place wanted to make everyone feel involved. Either this being the patches that we made or the little group activity we did. This is something I wished more museums and galleries would allow their visitors to do. Workshops that you can make pieces of work, this being either what I made today or drawings, I think, is a good idea. This can be more interactive for their younger audiences or people that want to make art in general.

There was also an installation type piece in the gallery and what I liked about this was all the intricate designs and the variety of colours used. It essentially blended into the environment as it gave off the same feelings as the building and how it was decorated (warm and welcoming).

When comparing the two external visits that I went on today, I would say this was my favourite place as I was able to be creative, express myself in the art I made, and contribute to the gallery in my own way.

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Photographs taken inside of Existential House.

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Existential House, Birkenhead.

Today (10th March 2022), I went on an external visit to Existential House in Birkenhead as part of my History of Art and Museum Studies degree.

This installation was made by James Schofield (one of my university tutors) and is being held from the 4th of March 2022 up to the 25th March 2022. The name of this installation is ‘Terracotta Dreams’ and is essentially a juxtaposition of what is in the installation.

When first walking into the building, I was initially confused as to what was happening, as there were only pieces of paper that have painted squares on them and aerated concrete blocks with a cardboard box with a small piece of carrara marble on top (there was a little piece of paper with what materials have been used). Along with this piece of paper, there is a printed-out conversation between James Schofield and Matthew Merrick which references to trauma, prolonged periods of depression and the effects this has on personal relationships. There was also nothing on the walls and this confused me more until I could see other people looking up to the ceiling, this is when I realised that the art was on the ceiling. This is something I have never seen before and find it to be an interesting way to present pieces of art.

Throughout the talk about the art, I was able to find out why it has been presented the way it has, and a secret hidden in the room. The reason as to why the work was put on the ceiling was initially a suggestion and then found that the works were better up above. By having these works taped to the ceiling, it allows you to have a 360-degree angle on each individual piece of paper better than it being on the wall or floor. What is the little secret inside of the installation? Hidden in the contents of the cardboard box, was the red tape used to put the paper on the ceiling. What I like about this, is that you wouldn’t have known about this unless you asked, ‘What is in the box?’ or if you opened it yourself. During this discussion, we talked about the light fixture. When the light was turned off, I discovered I preferred the light being off as it was less distracting and allowed me to focus more on the works.

The place was easy to access from the station and the place was a lot smaller than I thought it was going to be. If I had the opportunity to present this work, I would have put the works on the ceiling in a similar way but have used a larger space. There is always the cost that runs with this. Considering this being only a small installation, it would have been best to use a smaller space as it would have cost much less money and you are able to get your money's worth.

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Short Supply.

A couple of weeks ago on the 24th of February 2022 I had another guest speaker in my lecture. This time it was by Mollie Balshaw, one of the directors from Short Supply.

What I learned though this lesson was this artist-led organisation was created in their last year of university which is also run by two other people. These are Rebekah Beasley (the other director) and Grace Collins (the creative consultant). They talked about what it is like to work in the art industry as well as how to improve your work.

Throughout the lesson, I could tell that Mollie really enjoyed what they were talking about and wanted us to grab a full understanding on what they do and why they do this. I was deeply engaged into the lesson as well as being able to get my head around what they do at the artist-led organisation. On each of the slides, there were little drawings that went along with the information. What I liked about this, as some might find it harder to take the time to read the information, the drawings are able to do this and keep you engaged.

At the end of the lesson, we were shown some of the work that Mollie had produced in their last year of university as well as work done more recently. One of the works they have done which I really liked was ‘portrait of a friend’ made in 2020 in their back garden. What I like most about this work is the creativity of it. Taking everyday objects in the garden and then turning them into a human like figure. It shows that art has no limit, and you don’t need to buy expensive art supplies to create works.

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Art History in the Art World.

On the 17th of February 2022, I had my first guest speaker in my lecture, and this was by Sufea Mohamad Noor.

During this lecture she talked about many things including her inspirations and influences, the link to art history canon, works that she has produced over the years, the translating practice into institutional change and the examples of implementing change in 2019 and 2020. There was also an activity where we talked about art history movements that inspire us and the values we want to practice.

The art movement I am most interested in is illusion art. This is because I am fascinated by the intricate designs and the amount of time it would have taken to produce one work of art. Mental health is one of my top priorities and I value this. An artist I am inspired by is Toby Allen who created work about mental health. The works consist of information about the mental illness as well as a little creature to go along with this.

Sufea was talking about her influences, these were in the Tate Gallery, Liverpool and this is where she works. One of these works was made by Glenn Ligon and it is called ‘Condition Report’ made in 2000. When she first mentioned this piece, I instantly recognised it as it is one of my favourite pieces inside of the gallery. I could tell she had a passion for this work just by the way she would speak and the enthusiasm in her voice.

Later on in the lecture, she showed us some of the works she has produced over the years (from 2017 up to 2021). One of the works she made in 2021 is titled ‘Stop Asian Hate’ which has phrases and feelings about this situation. This is another topic I could tell that she was passionate about and determined for this hate to stop. By her including these thoughts and feelings, it will help others understand how their actions can affect someone.

One of the works I felt a connection to was ‘Started From The Bottom And I’m Still Here’. This is a print with black ink onto pink paper and was something one of her friends had said. I understood this quote as I have had this feeling many times throughout my life, but more recently I have started to come out of this mental state.

Being surrounded by these inspirational pieces can influence her work further and help her produce works that are influential to herself as well as others that view them.

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These are photographs of works that I took inside of the PINK installation in Manchester.

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PINK, Manchester.

This is the second external visit I went to on the 10th of February in Manchester (and the third one being Manchester Art Gallery where I purchased a book called “The Collection”). Even though this was an installation compared to the gallery and exhibition I visited, I still liked the experience.  

The installation was located on 86 Princess Street and the name of this installation was ‘GREY AREA’. You are able to view this from the 29th of January up until the 27th of February 2022. Upon walking into the room where the work is held, there were two little boxes on the wall with pieces of paper with descriptions of the work included in the installation as well as ones that are on the outside of the installation. It also has information on who created the work/s, what they were made with and when they were made. There was also information included on another piece of paper that had history of what the street used to be.

When first walking into the building, I was welcomed by the little café which had a calm and relaxing feeling to it which was very comforting. Whilst I was walking around this installation, this was only held in one side of the room. I found this quite surprising as I am used to an installation/s being the whole room. This began to make me think, why was this only one side of the room? Why didn’t they use the whole room? Another thing I noticed when walking around were the windows that had the view of a car park, other buildings around the area and the train track that we took to get into Manchester Oxford Road. There was some slight noise from this train, but this could be because the window was open but when it is closed, I can assume that this noise will be a lot quieter.

I really like this way of how work is presented as I explained in my previous post about the HOME gallery as it made me focus more on the work rather than who had made it. What I found interesting was that this was in an industrial type building where you can see all the bricks and pipes of the infrastructure and there was an art installation in one half of the room. These types of buildings are a personal favourite of mine and it reminded me of when I went to see studios down at the Baltic Triangle in Liverpool a couple of weeks ago.

With each external visit I have been to, my understanding of contemporary art has started to develop compared to when I first started learning about this art technique/style. I am beginning to get my head around what these types of works are and to see how different organisations and practitioners decide to present these works. What I am hoping to achieve by the end of my second semester is to have developed an understanding of what contemporary art is and confident enough in myself to explain what it is and how I see it as.

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46. Jasmir Creed, Other Home.

66. Michelle Topping, Evade.

87. David Hoyle, Funnily Enough!!

97. Ailsa Johnson, Mystical Black Cat.

120. Janet Brady, Surfacing.

201. John Cooper, 1. Distance - A comic strip daily about life during Covid.

202. John Cooper, 2. Distance - A comic strip daily about life during Covid.

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HOME Gallery, Manchester.

This is one of three external galleries and exhibitions I visited in Manchester on the 10th February 2022. Even though this was a small exhibition, it was jam packed with lots of different pieces and I couldn’t help but stand in awe by the sheer talent of the artists included. Even though this was a long journey from Liverpool, it was totally worth it and I 100% recommend you take a visit to this exhibition space.

Whilst walking into the exhibition, I was handed a little booklet that had information on a couple of the artists included in the exhibition as well as in this booklet, there was a catalogue. In this catalogue, it included all the artists featured, the name of their work as well as how much it will cost and the code number. This is because throughout the exhibition, there weren’t any plaques to say who the piece was done by, what it was created with and when it was created. I haven’t seen many exhibitions or galleries use this method to present the works and feel like this is a new way to let people focus on the art itself rather than who it was made by.  

This is one thing that I think some exhibitions should try out. Holding exhibitions with numbers, rather than saying who they are made by. I believe this will encourage the viewer to focus on the work rather than who produced it. By doing this, it will help artists who don’t have as much popularity to be placed next to someone that does and let the viewer decide which one they like best. Not based on who it was created by.

With some of the pieces, it was clear to know what was used to make it, for example: ‘Alexa’ made by Annabelle Richmond-Wright. We can see she has used the exterior and interior of a desk chair to create a figure like statue as well as including heels for the ‘person’s’ feet. Another example of being able to see what has been used is the piece called ‘Surfacing’ by Janet Brady. From far away I initially thought that this was a lino print, but on closer inspection, I was able to see that it was an ink drawing. These types of works are my favourite and I was happy to see there was a handful induced in the exhibition.

Two other pieces that stood out to me were numbers 46 (‘Other Home’ created by Jasmir Creed who was a guest speaker in one of my lectures in my first semester) and number 97 (‘Mystical Black Cat’ by Ailsa Johnson). I was amazed to see there was a piece of work by an artist that I met in my first year of university as well as there being a very realistic piece of a black cat which I personally symbolise as a good luck charm rather than something negative.

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These are photographs I took whilst at The Royal Standard on the 27th of January 2022.

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The Royal Standard, Liverpool.

Yesterday (27th January 2022), I went on my first trip of the year with my piers to The Royal Standard.

With a little help from google maps and being spotted by one of my tutors, I was able to find the place. It is an industrial-type building hidden away in the Baltic Triangle, but with the aspects of modern architecture on the outside as well as the inside of the building. From the outside you would not necessarily think this was a place where art studios are, and this is an aspect that I found quite interesting. It is as though you would only know it is there if you were looking for it. There was also very little noise in the area, and this is another aspect I enjoyed as it was a calming environment with very little distractions.

Upon entering the building, I was instantly amazed by the architecture of the place. My eyes were drawn to the industrial type of architecture and the modern interior design. This was something I wasn’t expecting when I walked into the building, and I was not disappointed. Whilst we were being shown around the place, all that was going through my head was ‘this is where is my working environment’ and ‘I feel at home’. I was also thinking about whilst looking around the place, ‘what was this building before?’. It is as though the people who were modifying the place wanted to keep the original architecture of the building and the history.

As we were being told about the place, I found that it was very affordable to rent a studio for yourself and this was under £100 for a month! This is something that shocked me the most as I am used to studio places charging over £100 for a week.

Another area inside The Royal Standard I enjoyed was the chill area outside some of the studios. What I like about this area is it gives the people working in the studios the chance to have breaks from their work as well as talk to other artists and share their ideas. When walking into this area, I felt welcomed by the way it was decorated and reminded me of when I was in college. There were a fair number of ducks and it brought back the fond memories I made in college with my friends that associated with the ducks. This is another working environment that I enjoy, and I feel as though I work better around others as this gives me the opportunity to talk and discuss ideas.  

Whilst we were in this chill area, one of the artists that has a studio came in with her bike and didn’t lock it up like you usually would. From her doing this, I understand she has trust in the people around her and doesn’t feel as though someone will steal her bike. Another thing to mention is whilst we were being shown around, the woman also brought her dog with her, this shows she wants her dog as a part of her lifestyle in the studio and the place is open to her bringing her dog.

In my opinion, this place is more for experimentation rather than the production of art and I would recommend you have a look around. Even if it is for a coffee and chat, you won't regret it.