ideas ideas experimentation

I am really interested in exploring further and developing this idea of drawing movement. My experiment so far has prompted me to look at ways in which I could improve the means by which I carry out these drawings e.g. look into designing and making a "drawing board", experiment with paper types and sizes, look at the type of ink/watercolours to use, and perhaps even look at what might happen if more than one person is involved in the drawing process.

I came across a contemporary artist, Tim Knowles, whose practice centres around drawing and in particular this idea of drawing and recording motion and time. 

In his work Windwalks - Seven Walks from Seven Dials (2009), the artist goes on seven walks departing from Seven Dials, Covent Garden wearing a specialised helmet adapted with a pivoting wind vane and a bullet camera recording the walks.  With each walk lasting an hour, Knowles is guided by the wind and how it moves through the structure of the city's architecture. The presentation of this work takes the form of a seven channel video projection, each showing footage of his walk, an ink jet print of the drawing mapping his walks and the helmet with wind vane attached, suspended at head height. 

I find the random meandering lines of the drawing fascinating as they allude to the structure of the city, but I also like the idea of how doing something that seems so random and pointless can yield interesting and beautiful results! 

Of all the the different ideas I have been exploring so far for this project, I think the idea of drawing motion appeals to me the greatest as it is part performance, part drawing and part

sculpture and in many ways a development from my interest in the pavement drawings I  made last term.  

All images from Tim Knowles' website.

drawing movement

Whilst reflecting on Alys' work, I've discovered that many of his works are either inspired from his walking, or center around the act of walking...

Walking is not a medium, it's an attitude. To walk is a very immediate and handy way of interacting and eventually interfering within a given context - Francis Alys

This has given me food for thought, and got me thinking about how the creation of a path of movement does not mean that it is the actual course taken. There are many forces at play that would alter the path leading to entirely new and unforeseen circumstances.

Droplet of red and blue watercolour before walk

I asked a passing pedestrian to take a photo of me. He was a man in his fifties who kindly suggested that I be vigilant as to who I gave my iphone to in this area...advice worth heeding. 

I am interested in the organic forms that are appearing on the paper as a result of the movement of my walk. They are an interesting contrast to harsh lines that are omnipresent in our environment.

ideas for things to do when out walking

Francis Alys, A Personal Repertoire of Possible Behaviour While Walking the Streets in London Town 2005

francis alys

Sometimes doing something poetic can become political, and sometimes doing something political can become poetic - Francis Alys

I am compelled to learn more about this man's work...

ArtNews article on Alys

helen shaddock

I went to the preview of Helen Shaddock's solo exhibition at a new gallery venue, 1 Royal Terrace last night. I had come across some of Helen's work before and was immediately drawn to her colourful, painterly installations that dealt with the subject matter of colour, form and texture. Interestingly, Helen is a former sculpture and environmental art student at GSA,  graduating in 2008, so it made it all the more relevant to see what SEA alumni get up to after they graduate.

Gestalt (detail)

Gathering

Gathering (detail)

Brimming (detail)

Brimming

What I find interesting about her work is how her she embraces both order and chaos in the process of her work, resulting in formal and organic structures juxtaposed with painterly, random drips and splashes. In some ways it makes be think about the forms, structures and textures that I have come across in my current project. 

1 Royal Terrace
Helen Shaddock's website

more thoughts (on rainbows)

Yesterday on my explorations into another area of Maryhill, I became aware that the littered streets seem to improve as I headed out Westward. With my mind set on seeking out "materials" for the project, my immediate feeling was that of frustration, followed swiftly by a feeling of discomfort. It was not until I had time to digest my thoughts that I could articulate the cause of my discomfort. 

Although I am not exactly sure where I am headed with this project, what I do feel quite clearly about is that I do not want to create work that is activistic or overtly political. Clearly there are social issues that exist within the area of Queen's Cross Housing (as in any urban environment), and perhaps the litter is symptomatic of that, but for those that live in these areas it is part of their daily life and perhaps something that they have grown despondent or accustomed to. It just does not feel right for me to launch myself in and suggest some art project that proposes change when I have little knowledge or experience of the real problems that exist and how people really feel about things, and even if I was to pursue this line of enquiry, is it even realistic to be tackling these major questions in a 4 week project. Equally, I don't feel comfortable with the idea of taking the litter and detritus of people's lives and turning it into "art", it somehow feels exploitative if made in the context of the environment. 

....okay with my spiel over, back on the streets, something that did catch my eye was a number of these little blue pens scattered on the street. Going to the bookies is not something I can say I have any experience of, so it took me a wee while to work out why they were even there. It then struck me that where I might want to go with this project is to focus on the universal, like the desire for improvement and transformation, regardless of our background, race, age, gender etc. A cheap, disposable blue pen could mean the ticket for a better life? Is it the rainbow or the pot of gold that we are chasing? Maybe it is an idea worth exploring... 

chasing rainbows

   


Perhaps a little side tracked today but couldn't help noticing these beautiful arcs of light over Glasgow...

...thoughts on rainbows might have something to do with this. 

materials, form and random junk

Yesterdays haul. Washed and ready...

site place context

New 4 week brief. Explore ideas around site and audience within the boundary of Queen's Cross Housing Association culminating in the development of a piece of work reflecting site and context. Day one recce...  

Apart from noticing a lot of litter strewn about which could be useful for some collage/sketch ideas...a few other things caught my attention.

      Man made materials and forms. Grids, meshing and corrugated metal.

     Blue.

...and an interesting weathered form. 

collages

Nancy Grossman

Tough Life Diary, 1967-73

Val Britton

Val Britton posted in inthemake.com

Burst Apart (detail) 2011, image from Val Britton's website