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Andy Goldsworthy’s Wood Line - Environmental Art

Andy Goldsworthy creates elaborate environmental installation sculptures, completely from scratch. He views and researches sites, creating art using natural materials such as icicles, mud, stones, leaves, etc. Environmental art is a movement adopted by artists of different disciplines, they are inspired by nature, enhancing and using its beauty to their advantage. One of Goldsworthy's most famous works is the 'Wood Line' This is a strip of long eucalyptus trunks winding and stretching through a woodland, Presidio Park, a National Park in San Francisco. 

Goldsworthy was inspired by dump trucks, dumping eucalyptus trees when he was working on a project called 'Spire' He not only was thinking of ways to repurpose the chopped-up trees and feed them back to the woodland, but he wanted to create an interactive work of art, allowing the trunks to be kept within nature, their natural habitat. Any Goldsworthy describes his work as “to make connections between what we call nature and what we call man-made.” I really love this quote and his work as he's taking, already chopped trees and installing them back into the forest where they belong. Although you may not be able to fix the broken trees, you are still able to restore them where they should be, allowing life to take its course around the environmental art. 

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Assemblage- Bicycle wheel, Marcel Duchamp

This work is an assemblage crafted by Marcel Duchamp for a 1951 exhibition at the Sidney Janis Gallery in New York. Assemblage is an art that is made by assembling elements, often everyday objects, scavenged by the artist or bought specifically. He was inspired by the way modern art is taken so seriously and wanted to use his work, 'Bicycle Wheel,' as a protest against the excessive importance attached to works of art. Marcel Duchamp stated, “I had the happy idea to fasten a bicycle wheel to a kitchen stool and watch it turn.”

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Frank Lloyd-Wright, Fallingwater - Architecture   Fallingwater is located in the mountains of Southwestern Pennsylvania, about seventy miles southeast of Pittsburgh. This house captivates me due to the concept of people living in harmony with nature however, the house almost seems juxtaposed to its surroundings as the building was man-made, it completely goes against nature and doesn’t sit naturally in its environment. Fallingwater is made out of varied materials, such as concrete, stone, steel, glass, and wood. These materials were all used due to Mr Wright's concept of ‘organic architecture’ and man living in harmony with nature. Frank Llyod-Wright used a cantilever for his building to hang over the waterfall. A cantilever structure allows overhanging structures without any additional support, which would have worked perfectly for Mr. Wright as it allows the building to seem more minimalistic and modern without metal beams or any kind of support. In my opinion, the metal beams and industrial architecture would have ruined the houses’ aesthetic. This private building clearly shows signs of wealth, status, and power, the materials would have been very costly. The building and planning would have been a very long process and the private land tucked away clearly indicates the status and importance of this architecture.  

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No Women, No cry - Chris Ofili, female identity, Multi-culturalism

No Women, No Cry was a painting by Chris Ofili in 1998, using mixed media. The mediums used for this painting are acrylic paint, oil paint, and polyester resin, with the painting depicting the portrait of a black woman weeping. Each tear dropping from the mother's face includes a miniature picture of her son's face. The son, Stevan Lawrence was brutally murdered in 1993, and Steven's mother Doreen, led a campaign for an inquiry into a failed murder investigation.

I believe Chris Ofili was inspired by this story for his painting as an allegory for the suffering that mothers and women go through, specifically black women. The loss of a child or loved one is a devastating experience, and I feel as though Ofili has encapsulated generalized feelings of mothers suffering and mourning loved ones who have passed. I can imagine this painting being very emotional for some, due to it being based on such a depressing however normalized subject, and I believe this painting perfectly encapsulates the strength of mothers and women.

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Yayoi Kasuma, Accumulation - Sculpture

Yayoi Kasuma is a contemporary Japanese artist who primarily specializes in installation and sculpture. Her work also demonstrates performance in painting, video art, fashion, poetry, and fiction. Kasuma is known for her extensive use of polka dots and infinity installations, holding the record for the most expensive artwork sold at auction by a female living artist. I have decided to do an artist research on the sculpture, Yayoi Kasuma because I am really fascinated by the way she implements identifiable repeated patterns and prints into her work, allowing people to immediately recognize the artist. I would like to create a piece of artwork, preferably a pumpkin, inspired by Yayoi Kasuma in the future as I love the way the colours and the patterns come together and make it much more interesting. I am really inspired by her style of work, I feel as though it has a certain flare that stands out from the rest of the crowd. I find that many sculpture artists tend to have the same bland colours with the same bland shapes, whereas Kasuma's work is extremely unique and eye-catching.

Yayoi Kasumas’ first sculpture, Accumulation, was crafted by covering an armchair with stuffed, sewn protrusions. Kasuma named the sculpture ‘Accumulation’ referring to the proliferation of pillowy, soft forms which cover the chair underneath. However, critics in the 1960s were shocked by how a female could sexualize a regular old armchair and something known as an ordinary domestic house item. I personally think the armchair is very interesting and creative, I haven’t seen anything quite like it before. 

https://www.moma.org/collection/works/163826https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/yayoi-kusama

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Ai Weiwei, Sunflower Seeds - Art History, Installation.

Sunflower Seeds is an installation implemented by Ai Weiwei in 2010. This installation encourages the idea of growing up in China, where sharing sunflower seeds was common and a nostalgic memory shared between Ai Weiwei and his childhood friends. Despite rough times in China, children would share their sunflower seeds, supplying a sense of optimism during these difficult times. 

Although these seeds look like regular sunflower seeds, they have been made individually by hand in porcelain and then painted in specialist workshops, making each one individually unique. Ai Weiwei wanted each seed to be individual and different, representing the population of China. This shows the population as a collective and community, whereas admiring the seeds up close, you get a feel of how differently painted each one is, providing a sense of individuality. The specialist workshops would have spent hours on end, painting each miniature sunflower seed by hand. I believe this is Ai Weiwei's way of sending a message that traditional handcrafts in China are being lost.  

Ai Weiwei was inspired by the idea of traditional craft in China. When people think about China and their role in creating, they would most likely think about mass production and fast fashion brands, as opposed to the lost traditional crafts of China. Some examples of these cheaply manufactured items and brands are Temu and Shein. Temu has only recently become popular, however is known for its poor quality, cheap items. Both Shein and Temu offer games and discounts that lure you into a fast fashion spending spree. For this reason, the perception of China has changed and you may hear some unflattering comments about the manufacturing industry in China. However, Weiwei may have produced this work as a message to us consumers, sending a message about how we are encouraging the loss of traditional crafts in China by engaging with these unethical brands. 

information from college notes

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Warrior, Basquiat - Art History work, A painting.

Jean-Michal Basquiat was an American artist most commonly known for his combination of street art and fine art, merging aspects of abstract expressionism, neo-expressionism, and graffiti.  Basquiat's work used a dramatic, colourful and eye-catching painting style, allowing the viewer to feel fully the emotions displayed behind the painting. The figure in “Warrior“ represents not just a symbolic warrior but a literal one and the Warrior in the painting can be interpreted as a self-portrait. It could be depicted that Basquiat is trying to portray a message about artistic battles within a predominantly white artist community.

Basquiat mainly explored themes of power, struggle, and race in his work, and his painting, Warrior’ can be a representation of these three subjects encapsulated in an artwork. Acrylic and Oil-slick were used for the mediums of this painting. Acrylic would have been used due to its versatility, waterproofing, ease of management, and fluidity. Oil-slick adds raw and undefined quality to the painting, which contrasts with the more fluid brushstrokes of the acrylic. This raw expressionist painting style is a powerful example of Basquiat's mastery of both texture and colour and his brushwork is aggressive, meaningful, and significant.