Contextual Studies – Page 2

Dec 18, 2018Dec 29, 2018

Manchester Art Gallery 18.12.18

I recently visited the Manchester art gallery to view exhibitions ‘and breathe’ and ‘Speech Acts: Reflection-Imagination-Repetition’ to further my primary research and aid development.

Speech Acts: Reflection-Imagination-Repetition’

(Friday 25 May 2018–Monday 22 April 2019)

This exhibiton peeked my interest as it explores and considers what is on display in the gallery and how this reflects and shapes our collective view and imagination, I came across photography titled Christmas Day (1979) by artist Rasheed Araeen, I felt captured in the colours and composition before me, conveying speed and light reflections of himself in windows on a circle line train in London on Xmas day. I fell for the rich emotion of the work and became inspired to utilise an exploation of developed photography in relation to identity and memory.

Response works: Rasheed Araeen and Rorschach

I felt inspired by Araeen to explore phptography by tampering and warping my photography, producing inkblots in response to Rorschach by carefully bleaching dark photos – this was completely impulsive, I had no idea what would happen, but i wanted to begin experimenting. I’m very pleased with the results, I was intending on creating some standard inkblots using watered down paint but I feel this material should be applied as a test for my students. I have also decided to pursue this technique for my final outcome, I feel these works echo psychoanalysis while holding ambiguity. I don’t want to use inkblots as a final piece therefore I will begin combining ideas and developing my final concept. ( perhaps idea that solid photo is logical conscious, bleached areas are almost the unsconcious fighting to surface, a war between the two areas of the self)

Manchester Art Gallery – And Breathe

(Friday 16 March 2018–Sunday 27 October 2019)

I visited this exhibition to gain in theme contextual research as the collective exhibiton explores the link between art and wellbeing, it was co-curated with mental health groups ‘Start’ and ‘Mind’ along with pupils from Charlestown Community Primary School to , designed to encourage people to slow down, connect with art – I felt the exploration of the self and art in this exhibition, highly relates to my work on psychoanalysis and theory on arts role in supporting mental health therefore I will draw inspiration from the responding artworks on a visual basis as the process in which the exhibition is designed.

I was pleased to see a range of artists such as Gwen John, Yves Tanguy, Paul Nash, Barbara Hepworth and Marcus Coates.

Image result for and breathe exhibition gwen john — Gwen John

I feel inspired to utilise a simlar approach in my outcome, perhaps a work produced in automatic processes to allow the relationship between the viewer and art form to be the highlight, by producing work in a automtic way I am provided unjudged materials, egoless work that can draw out the ego and unsconcious of the viewer, exercising my theory and playing with our connection to ourselves through art. Therefore my final outcome will play with automatic photography, using old developed photos from my childhood and warping them to explore ideas of surrealism, dreams, memory and identity, ultimately producing an in depth piece that will instigate question and psychoanalysis.

Dec 15, 2018Dec 28, 2018

Artist response work

Yayoi Kusama Response

Acknowledging shapes and stains walls stains and forms imagry

update with scanned in outlined imagery

Inner self-Portrait painting – inspired by Edvard Munch and the Proudfoot brothers.

Here I focused on form and colour drawing through emotional connotations from my colour wheel.

Colour Poetry

Illustrations inspired by O’keefe – harnessing emotions as visuals, a mental depiction of feeling.

edvard munch outsider art focused on form and color of the mind

I created a small booklet to fill with response illustrations in reference to my emotion colour wheel, I focused on moments of varying feeling from my past, such as nostalgia or past views of myself.

Dec 9, 2018Dec 30, 2018

My Automatic Practice and First session of My Art Therapy Workshop

My Automatist Journal

These are some automatic drawings ive selected from my journal – these ones in particular were produced after heavy experiences of which I harnessed my feelings and ego and expressed each onto the page, a state I recall feeling for first-thought poetry was a state of shock with combined relief. This journal responds to Dubuffet, Der Blaue Reiter, Breton, I created the colour wheel while doing the journal and have added to it in reference to the connotations key, this was inspired by Der Blaue Reiter’s exploration of colour symbolism while my automatic doodles, illustrations and writing respond to Andre Breton and Jean Dubuffet.

My colour key

Automatic Drawing Workshop

On the 5th, I conducted the first session of my art therapy course, we stared with the emotion color wheel and automatic drawing task. I provided them with a the wheel worksheet, sharpies and paper – Once the wheel was complete they would carry out automatic drawings referencing the colours to create visual poetry.

Emotion Wheel – Student A

Results: Automatic drawing – Referencing the emotion wheel

Emotional Wheel – Student B

Results: automatic drawings exploring and referencing their colour connotation wheel

Colour poetry

I produced this drawing after our session, this now represents a variety of meanings as the colours possess different connotations to the individuals, a visual poem exploring, presence, strength, relief, support and pride. what I find interesting here is how we can play with connotations in a way we can learn about ourselves and we are provided a simple automatic outcome that can be interpreted in diverse ways; almost as material for psychoanalysis.

Dec 5, 2018Dec 15, 2018

Artist Research

I have decided to explore established artists with mental health issues to further trigger ideas for development.

Kim Noble

Kim Noble was identified with Dissociative Identity Disorder and holds within her, 20 differing personalities, 14 of these are known for their artwork. I feel intrigued by her collection of works as they explore an interesting perspective and lens for the mind, I feel this research will provide my work with raw outsider expressive inspiration.

Georgia O’Keefe

I feel inspired by O’Keefe’s work as expresses herself through a range of painting processes, I feel we can almost analyse her sense of place as she varies her forms though remains close to nature. O’Keefe has suffered a mental breakdown and experienced depression and anxiety, I feel close to the nature of these works as I have dealt with similar mental health issues, I feel utilising these feelings as abstract visuals could stimulate in depth artist response work.

Proudfoot Brothers

I feel drawn to the Proudfoot brothers as I feel their work carries heavy emotion through obscure colourful outsider form, I feel they are able to speak from a deeper, darker state as they have experienced time in foster care, prison and psychiatric care, I feel this source for inspiration will provide a darker take on the romanticised outlook on art and mental health.

Yayoi Kusama

Yayoi Kusama explores a unique perspective within the arts, harnessing herself and psychological issues as subjects for visual inhalation. I am interested in Kasuama hallucinations as she is able to call the forms into light through her artwork. I am fascinated by her ability to translate mental processes authentically as an artistic medium, I intend on responding to this by exploring patterns and textures, allowing my mind and hand to outline images and locate form.

Edvard Munch

I am looking at Edvard’s work as I feel his paintings mirror mindful states of expressive reflections, I feel his experience with mental conditions such as agoraphobia, depression and audio/visual hallucinations read into his works through colour and imaginative expressionism. I feel it is important to replicate this natural approach through focusing on producing outsider art through form and colour of the mind.

Secondary Artist Research

Dec 5, 2018Dec 5, 2018

Writing down the bones: freeing the writer within

Poem 1 – Fragile Meaning

Words use meaning. but we know none of that
lighting adds form, sound rippling from my washing machine
and rain outside reminding me that I have a roof over my head.
Thankyou lamp for your warm light without your glow, darkness would fall and it would be alight but your sunny air gives my sight purpose
something to enjoy, occupy and amuse me.
I can see my hand writing lines without knowledge of what will be written but
my light is so strong so certain and in that everything that surrounds my being with fragile meaning.

This poem was written within around two minutes, I focused on my senses for this one avoiding true thought to what I wanted to express and I just allowed my hand to go without thinking or looking back over what I had written, I did this for all of these poems to involve pure automatist expression, I didn’t pay attention to the construction of my sentences, spelling or grammar involved therefore it may be hard to understand but I feel this adds to the authenticity of my exploration.

Poem 2 – Abstract Abyss

Abstract abyss, future, past, now then when?
You are you so don’t go into wreckage
bins stink with lack of moral thought
drives a stench through the canals from Manchester to Dam
we live freely of pain and in that only experience wet aches that cease to cease

Poem 3 – midwife and tutor

You are why I’m here, writing this, you don’t know me anymore
stranger who gave me my life and way –
A beloved character that seems so far. You’re always here through my creative condition. All of it has your name impressed. You don’t care anymore.
You don’t know who I am but thank you for the way.
It is my best friend and lifelong companion.
So it is okay you can’t recite my name, I can recite yours and will all my life

Poem 4 – Cream

Cream, you surround my walls, my doors, my ceiling
lift my emotion. You’re so heavy in your words. Refresh your brick
plastered exterior your age is hidden within the cream
cream, indigo.
Contrasting similarities echoed through vision, you’re so flat, you lack!
Yet you sooth my mind. Give me interior peace. Symbols of the sky’s limitless end edge closer than the horizon. Return to cream, always it is the colour of modesty, allowing every colour to sing compared, scream cream! You are important to my walls my life my foundation
creams queen of balance harmonised colonies, unites life through mindful play