The Nature Of Things: An exploration of beauty, utopia and decadence. Yvonne Hindle & Henry Rogers.
Here is another book I have been reading which I found some interesting quotes I feel are relevant to my work.
“metaphors of natural growth, of roots, burrowing deep and burgeoning shoots reaching for the sun made us think not only of representations (of the natural world) but also of the processed of artistic production, of how art “becomes”, of how art takes its place…deliberate acts and random movements towards the blossoms and blooms of summer, moments of intoxication and pleasure, realisation and embodiment“. (pge 5-6).
This quote encouraged me to think of my practice and the process I follow. I questioned how my work is influence by the natural weather, I realised I only create outdoor installations when the weather is sunny. The sun naturally increases the beauty of nature, making colours, forms and materials much more pleasing to the eye. Perhaps this is what I am drawn to, the beauty is my escape. I also thought about my creative process and the way I move, are my behaviours a natural response to the setting or do I pre plan? I tend to go to a setting with materials I have already chosen, however my response to that setting is not deliberate, I respond to the elements of nature naturally.
(pge 16): European philosophical aesthetics, dating back to Hegel, represented nature in virtue of its mindlessness, as boringly prosaic and unworthy of aesthetic consideration. Hegel: “the beauty of nature reveals itself as but a reflection of the beauty which belongs to the mind, as an imperfect, incomplete mode of being, as a mode whose really substantial element is contained in the mind itself”.
(page 17): the kernel idea in creativity is that of a making of something that was not there before. nature’s “works” (hives, nests, webs) have always been distinguished by those of art by reason of the absence on the part of their makers of any conscious intention to produce them. This quote encouraged me to think about the reason for my creations, the pattern making I do appears to be trying to fill a void, a void which I feel is being created as we slowly lose the natural word to urbanisation. The void of relationships. The void of understanding.
“Man is a singular creature. He has a set of gifts which make him unique among the animals: so that, unlike them, he is not a figure in the land-scape- he is a shaper of the landscape. In body and in mind he is the explorer of nature, the ubiquitous animal who did not find but has made his home in every continent.”
Jacob Bronowski, The Ascent of Man, 1973.
Here is a quote from a book I am currently reading. The book is written by the scientist Jacob Bronowski. He explores the origin of man, when and where we evolved. This is making an interesting read for me and demonstrates the original links to nature man had, and where we evolved from. It take’s me back to the root of our species and shows the significance of nature to our being. This quote from the book, in particular, as it shows how man influences nature and has always been an explorer of nature. Something I feel my life lack’s nowadays, and is why it appears in my practice.
I am making a start on the aspects of society that I try and escape from. Some idea’s I will be looking at are gender discrimination, CCTV, our existence: to work and be part of the corporate world.
Work, Buy, Consume, Die.
On this first piece I am creating prints of the female genitalia, using lino cut from recycled lino tiles. The prints from these tiles have turned out fine, with my drawings being visible. I printed onto a recycled bed sheet from work, using the same lino cut. The prints I’m really happy with because they’re quite subtle, the viewer needs to look closely to realise what they are prints of. I am then using the prints to cover an arm chair (also recycled from freecycle). The message I am portraying with this piece is the idea of the female gender being an object, merely used as a tool, and disregarded when no needed. This is a feeling I constantly battle with, feeling like some of my being is irrelevant because I am female, only good enough for one thing. My escaping to deserted landscapes, I escape this feeling and prejudice.
I have been accepted to submit this piece into the upcoming “Youre’s, Comes, Comitis” exhibition at Firstsite gallery in Colchester.
Here are some experimental pieces I have been working on using photo’s of landscapes I have taken myself and cut outs from magazines/newspapers of buildings and people. I wanted to convey the idea of the busy urbanised world which is rapidly growing in size, increasingly taking over the natural world. The beautiful landscapes which are being lost to society for more roads and housing. The landscapes I photographs are areas in Wales and Ipswich I escape to away from the hustle and bustle of the town life. However the town’s are increasing in size and spreading into these tranquil areas. I want the viewer’s to think about this and what will happen when we lose these spaces.
The last few images are some pieces by the artist Rimantas Plunge, who is currently showing some work in the Waterfront Gallery at UCS. The work focuses on the themes of time, space and identity. It particularly interests me how elements of the human body are combined with images of landscapes and doodling. I feel my work is similar to this, it adds a personal narrative to the work. For this reason I really like his work. I feel inspired by his images to try playing with the colour’s of the images I take, try using negative effects etc.
http://www.boredpanda.com/forest-land-art-nature-spencer-byles/?source=fb&subsource=20150130Generalfb01&utm_source=gpeace&utm_medium=fb&utm_campaign=20150130Generalfb01
Here is a link for an artist residency I think is relevant to my work. The artist, Spencer Byles spent a year in a French forest (near his hometown) creating sculptures using natural and found materials. He used elements of the surroundings to create temporary pieces of work that would blend with the environment and could be reclaimed by nature.
The work is secretive and can only be found by visiting the woods in person and discovering the work.
I find this idea of only using organic materials that won’t harm the natural environment an interesting idea, nature is a powerful force, and should be able to reclaim what it originally owned.
This work reminds me of my own forest installation pieces, perhaps next time I will use natural materials that can be left in the forest. I am interested in the idea of doing my own mini residency in the local forest.
