In the course of some administrative duties, I recently came across these five words on a single sheet of paper...
After drawing a momentary blank as to the page's unspecified use or intention (a page for me to doodle on, make notes perhaps, or just discard?), the page is, of course, anything but blank... I will have to overlook the fact that this page occurs three times in just one document, and having been reproduced many times, equates to hundreds of intentionally blank pages...I wanted to view this non-blank page as a very small piece of unintentional 'found' conceptual art - as it brought into question the small matter of objectivity. It was a sheet of paper (but defined as a page) that served no purpose other than to demonstrate that it was a blank page inserted between other pages. By signifying its non-function it became oddly functional - causing a moment of conjecture, a period of contemplation, a brief pause for idle thoughts.
Jenny Holzer, television texts, 1990I recalled art where text or language is central to the work - Jenny Holzer, Bruce Nauman, Ed Ruscha, Barbara Kruger... then my thoughts shifted somewhat Duchamp-ianly, firstly to the famous Magritte painting, The Treachery of Images with the words 'Ceci n'est pas une pipe' underneath the painting of a pipe, then Michael Craig-Martin's glass of water on a shelf as An Oak Tree, and then onto some of Gavin Turk's work (as briefly discussed here).All of these artists bring into question what art is, what art does, says or represents, what purpose art serves. In conceptual terms, it is the artist, not the artwork, that determines whether it is a work of genius or just one of duplicity (or both). Art is art when the artist says it is art, as art created in this context does not always 'speak' for itself...The un-blank blank page was not a work of art, but an art created by association; with just five words it unintentionally gave reference to other works of art...Harold Rosenberg (the American art critic who first coined the phrase 'action painting'), in a short essay in his book 'The Anxious Object' (which is a curious turn of phrase when deciphered two ways), wrote that within the modern discourse on art that 'the current vogue of art books arises from an appetite for knowledge which the book is better suited to satisfy than are the artworks themselves'.An appreciation of art may arise out of prior ignorance and subsequent enlightenment when viewing the artwork, but deeper knowledge or understanding often comes from the supporting commentary or textual analysis and not the actual artwork. This is also due in part, as Rosenberg then highlighted, that the experience of 'real art' is a rare event when compared to our exposure to reproductions of art in books - this secondary source of art is easier to access and therefore more widely appreciated as art. Rosenberg called such art books a substitute for the gallery experience - an imaginary museum.
Matthew Higgs, Minimal Art, 2008When art needs words to explain it, save time (and paper) and use them as the artwork. Higgs' work above is an appropriated page from an old art book, and it touches upon the same issues that Rosenberg raised. Rosenberg declares that '[art] has become nothing else than what is said about it [...] in which the artist and the historian-critic compete for the last word'. The work of art serves to illustrate or confirm the (original) concept, but the concept becomes even more tangible with the addition of words. Art also needs documentation in the form of books or catalogues to acknowledge the emphemeral nature of some works of art - books help preserve its status as art long after the event. Rosenberg also suggests that the longevity of the book elevates art by proxy; the reproduction is even more valued when the original is lost or hidden from public view, gathering dust in a dark vault.However, there still seems to be (in simplistic terms) opposing viewpoints when discussing what art is: 1) that art should speak for itself, it needs no words to justify it and it is open to the viewer's interpretation or, 2) that art requires or benefits from the 'voice' of the artist or the critical commentary of others. The use of words or language helps make the art more art, the artist's intention is a part of the work and that requires some words too...Even the unintentional is made into art if you take the time to fill in the blanks...
it's a green thing
I've completed my second day at the East Anglian Artists' group Artworks spring exhibition (the final day) - this time as the artist demonstrator. The first part of the morning was very quiet (only the very keen visit a gallery at eleven o'clock on a sunday), so I took this moment of calm to record my modest set-up in the corner of the gallery...
A non-portrait of the artist at work...I was doing a little monoprinting (aka monotyping, both terms seemingly interchangeable these days), which is as much painting as it is printmaking. I decided to downsize my art materials for this event and only took the paint colours that I have in small tubes, the ones that I find deep within the bargain buckets of art stores - hence a very limited palette - two browns, a green, blue, yellow ochre and a greeny-browny-grey...
Below are some of the monoprints at various stages of printing... the process is very simple and very adaptable - roll, paint, wipe, smear, scratch, scrape, inscribe... and then press the paper onto the inked surface (in this case, glass); you can also use surface pressure (a pencil for example) on the back of the paper to create interesting lines, marks and textures... repeat the process as necessary...here, I have used acrylic paints because of the reduced scale set-up, but oil-based inks are extensively used...
some monoprints pegged up to dry...
The afternoon was much busier and more engaging. I met and chatted to quite a lot of people, including someone who plans to bid on my work in the Art Auction next week... When I arrived back, I pinned up twenty beginnings of something new, and perhaps unsurprisingly a green theme emerged... not sure whether to tear these down into smaller works, before progressing further with the variations on green...
Here are some close-ups, showing some surface textures...
Somebody asked me how many layers I might add before they are deemed to be finished - it's usually more than ten but probably less than thirty - but I am not counting... and inbetween there will be some surface erasures...
Should I speculate publicly at this stage what I might do next with these works on paper? I contemplate (or rather procrastinate upon) doing certain things, but then don't pursue them, then later I will discover (through another) that another artist has done something similar... meaning it's time to think again...
This time, it's a Jazz Green thing...
small country living
I cycled ten miles yesterday... passed these farm buildings on my return (first noted on the outward journey)... not particularly thrilled with these sketches as they were quite rushed; about fifteen minutes or so for the first two, less for the last one...
[barn and sheds, seen from the roadside]
[barn buildings, near a bend]
[farm buildings, viewed across corner of a field]These sketches are about 8" x 11". For anyone interested in my sketching methods, I used watercolour pencils on lightly dampened paper (I carry a tiny jam jar of water). These sketches, although appearing representational, are not what I am striving for - the regional art scene is saturated with representational landscapes. It is more to do with working quickly 'on location' which I think re-awakens a different part of my creative brain, quite separate from an isolated studio practice largely driven by concepts and processes. I am interested too in the prevailing art aesthetic-sisation of mundane, rural scenes. I am pondering whether to use my amazon voucher to purchase a book on Andrew Wyeth's landscapes...
Andrew Wyeth, House near Chadd's Ford...Today, after visiting the Harleston Gallery, I stopped by the local allotments - there will be an art & allotments themed exhibition in the future... I captured a couple of quick abstracts, looking for bold interactions of colour, both of which (here) contained the complementary colours blue and orange...
and here, I just thought the arrangement of the three different water butts placed next to the potting shed made a pleasing composition, a still life of sorts...
...The HWAT Mini Artworks & Showcase exhibition is now open...
I am not sure that my painting Fenn (pictured left) looks quite right hung so close to a small etching and a life drawing, but it is currently in a fine gallery and not on my own wall (which is nice)... the wall of mini-artworks looks really appealing - many art bargains to be had at only £25 each...
Click here to read about HWAT's Mini-Works and Showcase Exhibition...It's also the last weekend of the Artworks exhibition at Wingfield Barns Arts Centre