Innovation Within Contemporary Art

Kacey Butler-

When giving thought to innovative newness in the wide spread of the artistic realm, artist Rebecca Louise Law comes to mind. “The British artist uses flowers as a pivotal material that does not fail to render life to the sprawling immersive works.” [Bhullar, D. 2021] The ambiguous presence of the florals in a traditional practice lends itself to her idiosyncratic and colossal works of temporary life; in this way Law’s floral installations are truly displays sodden with innovative practice and creative thought in a world of fast moving contemporary minds.  When looking to her installation appropriately named “Florilegium” it is evident that the six-time award winning gardener uses her expertise in florals to battle naturality, taking the role of creator into a literal sense. In this same way artist Reza Hasni also utilises nature’s naturality yet alters it boundaries and capabilities to create a new and fresh take on nature itself. However, her work runs along themes of a dark nature, making clear comment on how, “the mortal self is bound to wither against the wind of time, the installations become a living manifestation of this duality. Working closely with nature’s order of emotions running between ecstasy and sorrow” [Bhullar, D. 2021] the artist is able to bridge a connection between the slow decay of her installation and that of her post global pandemic audience. Law has always created her works with the clear intentions of reinstalling a sense of wonder for naturality and her clear disgust for how overlooked nature’s wonders are. Although a body of work being devoted to nature’s beauty isn’t innovative in of itself it is in her unorthodox and fresh take on utilising nature itself as part of installation that offers a breath of newness to an audience.

Law works in a site-specific manner, therefore “inviting its viewers to challenge the opus in front, above and sometimes below them… Awe-inspiring, her sculptures create stillness in their environment”. [ Jakeway, A. 2015] In this way she can demand the attention of the viewer and offer them a new way of viewing nature in a grand and extreme way. Similarly, to the work of Ran Hwang who utilises natural and found objects to create a new way of viewing daily things this is why both of these artists would work so well within the same exhibition.  Law’s installations are blessed with a rich and vast palette of colour, Law also utilises the natural state of each flower making use of many diverse shapes, tones, and texture. In this way it is evident that she uses her innovative technique to allow for a collective of florals in a confined space to flourish and form in a breath-taking manner. “Defying all expectations of what an art exhibition can be, installation artist Rebecca Louise Law has forged a dynamic, multi-sensory practice entirely her own.” [Vogel, M. 2020] The seemingly endless collection of florals lends itself to her wide success in recent years and her dark melancholy laced themes allowed her to bloom in a time of great need of joyous and nature filled wonder. In this way Law was able to use her innovative practice to captivate an audience that needed her work, showing just how her work can stand alone in a world of ever-changing art practice.

Much like that of Law’s work, “The 35-year old artist Christina Quarels known for her jumbled-up portraits of intimacy—arms and legs twisted together, raw canvas commanding viewers to fill in blanks between thick impasto brushstrokes” [Rea, N. 2020] commands the viewing of a post pandemic audience. Quarels has spoken about how her own perceptions inform her art and she mainly tackles her multiracial upbringing and her identity as a queer woman in the male cognoscenti of studio-based painting. Her Piece “I’ll Take the Nite Shift” (a painting from her recent body of work) has been informed by the orange hues of the sky from forest fires rampant throughout the United states. She employs the severity of these matters with her paintings much like the nature obsessed “Mad Botanist” [Jakeway, A. 2015] Rebecca Louise Law. She utilises relevant issues such as race, gender, sexuality, and naturalistic issues to stay relevant in a contemporary field of art. “Every time I think I have a handle on how to deal with the chaos around me, something else comes up, There was the pandemic, George Floyd, and then the fires broke out, and suddenly I literally couldn’t breathe the air outside of my house.” [Rea, N. 2020] In this way her work directly links to that of Nick Cave they both use issues of race in order to communicate the severity and urgency of breaking down racial norms and barriers against the African American communities. Innovation leaks from her work, she uses the media and her world to create art that will speak to the masses and commands attention due to her headline influences. Artist Chloe Wise also uses social issues in her paintings to grasp the attention of a contemporary audience therefore complimenting the work of Quarels. “Though her work certainly has a deconstructive aspect, there is also an investment in the corporeal nature of beauty and enjoyment—something affirmative and earnest rather than critical or ironic.” [W. Simmons 2019].

 When comparing the works of both Quarels and Law the overlaps in theme and equality in innovative technique are what would make the collaborative efforts of their works in a gallery setting so powerful. It is clear to see that both artists employ a strong sense of natural wonder in their works whether that be with the overwhelming florals or that of deconstructed anatomy. They also cover issues consumed by the media, therefore allowing them to stay relevant in an ever-changing industry of innovative minds and works.  When making critique on how both artists use innovative ideas and practices to appeal to a similar audience it is clear to conclude that both artist’s work would strongly compliment the other and reinforce their combined ideas of naturality and human nature in two diverse yet equally innovative manners.

Hannah Allen- 

Innovation is what keeps the art world afloat, and innovative ideas among contemporary creatives only seems to thrive more and more as we venture into the future, uncovering new opportunities as the world around us changes and we seek answers to new, or pre-existing issues. The wonderful thing about art is how it can be produced by any person, and it can take any form. The existence of art is made valuable by the tremendous impact it has on culture, history, humankind as we know it. Some of the most integral parts about being human is having a self-identity and interacting and connecting with others and working to create a positive impact on the world in as many ways as we can. Art fulfils all these needs for us and expressing creativity has always been a fundamental part of our existence. When we inspire and connect through creative means, we reach out to others and make an impact on their lives. We send messages and open new outlooks and opportunities. This is the process in which innovation is born. It is always fascinating to see how art has developed through certain points in time, especially now as we are in an era of unlimited knowledge and discovery with our continuous advancements in technology. We are more aware of the world around us and creatives are ripe with inspiration, producing some of the most visually interesting and thought-provoking work to date.

Some artists like Reza Hasni for instance take advantage of our evolving technological world to show us how art can be experienced on a more personal level, having the audience be immersed in an experience and making us reconsider the way we view and experience artwork. The Berlin-based illustrator and motion designer, Reza Hasni decided to explore his work through the means of Virtual Reality, which is a ground-breaking piece of technology that has been utilised by a lot of artists as a unique way of showcasing artistic projects. “We are not limited by the constraints of the physical world — such as geography or gravity.” [Hasni, R, 2021] In this way the views of Hasni are in line with that of Rebecca Louise law as they both alter the capabilities of nature and take that into their own hands to create works that exceed natures capabilities.

Hasni has a unique connection to his art, using it as another mode of thought, a way of visualising the stories and imagery conjured in his mind. In this way his work forms a visual representation of an alternate world from his mind, acting as “a form of escapism.” As he puts it himself. Taking heavy inspiration from the visual world of the internet and all sorts of references floating in his conscious such as fantasies, past destinations, cultures and experiences, beautiful, vibrant imaginary worlds are born from inside him onto the page.

In his online interactive exhibition “Centre for Altered Togetherness”, he is able to recreate these lucid dreamscapes in a three-dimensional, virtual environment to share with others and allow them to realise his art in a more immersive and intimate way. Visitors are invited on a free-roaming journey through six illustrated virtual worlds, set in the current time of expanding cyberspace, something that has not been possible in other online exhibitions during this time, much like the installations of Law. Rezna’s innovative approach to a virtual exhibition is tremendously more successful, as the main purpose of exhibition spaces perhaps lost to an audience cannot be physically present.

When an artist integrates their personal experiences and expressions into their work, it always leaves something behind for us to learn from, no matter how long ago it was conceived we can always extract new meaning and value from art many years on. Rezna’s virtual worlds seek to explore the endless possibilities of this new digital era and technological boom. American fabric sculptor and performance artist, Nick Cave Is a standout example of an artist taking an innovative approach to combat problems within society, creating what are known as “Soundsuits”, the artist notes “In this strange space where these creatures exist within their means– there is no gender, no race, no sexuality, and no class in this utopian society. Ultimately, there is no judgement in this space.” [Tyler, K, 2012]. In this way there is a direct link between that of Cave’s collective works and influences with race and identity and that of Christina Quarel’s which is why their works would bounce off one another’s so well.

Cave’s Soundsuits series, African inspired costumes that completely cover the wearers body, camouflaging their shape and any defining physical traits, acting as a second skin that hides gender, race, and class, thus compelling the audience to watch without judgment. As the artist describes it, “I was inside a suit. You couldn’t tell if I was a woman or man; if I was black, red, green or orange; from Haiti or South Africa. I was no longer Nick. I was a shaman of sorts.” [Cave, N, 1992]

The first Soundsuit was created in 1992 as a “demonstration” against the racist attack of activist Rodney King who was beaten by LAPD officers. As a black man, this incident left a profound impact on him, making him reflect on how he was discarded and devalued for his ethnicity. “I do like that there is this broad dialogue in the art community. We can all fit together. I really avoid associations and keep going. I’ve reached a point where I make what I make. To work in the way I work I have to be fearless.” [Cave, N, 2011] This is what inspired him to produce the suit sculptures with found materials such as sisal, dyed human hair, beads, plastic buttons, wire, feathers, and sequins. The objects that make up the suits emit different sounds as they move around with the wearer as they dance. The Soundsuits provoke a message that few other artists have ever touched on, confronting discrimination of all kinds, including the discrimination against the preconceived notions that art should not be interactive.

Jodie Byers-

Innovation is to go beyond what has gone before, however it is important to respect the past and build upon it, to find the strengths develop them and create something that may have not been seen before . “Ran Hwang, a graduated artist from the school of Visual Arts in New York City” [Kim. E 2009] has achieved just this.

While most people would use ordinary everyday pins and buttons to stitch up clothing, the artist has gone beyond the conventional construct, creating stunning, unmistakably poetic art installations using the very same household items. This is similar to the way that artist Rebecca Louise Law utilises daily objects such as florals to create an installation that defies the boundaries of nature itself.

Ran Hwang uses these humble materials to create amazing installations of birds and blossom trees. The buttons and pins are hammered directly onto the wall with each button used in the same manner as pixels on screens with many small elements creating one massive body of work.

An installation of work she created in 2008 by the name of “Dreaming of Joy” captures the innovative work she has produced. It captures the true essence of innovation going above and beyond the ordinary and pushing the boundaries within the accepted world of art. In this same way I could Imagine the works of Hwang and Rezna working together to create a sense of otherworldly innovative technique.

The installation piece is of that of a large red bird, the vivid intense red colour set against the contrasting white backdrop creates a dramatic statement producing a shape so sharp and intriguing.

Ran Hwang creates something beautiful and breath-taking with simple everyday tools owned by a majority, using materials we all can purchase and use in an everyday context she has taken her own narrative to go beyond the norm, creating something new and exciting.

Creating her art is in some way a therapeutic process for Ran and producing her unique artwork is also a meditative practice that helps her find her inner peace. ”Hammering thousands of pounds onto your wall I discover the significance of existence, like the monks practising in Vegas in the war, I work as a form of performance that leads to finding oneself” [Kim. E 2009]

Creating something so time consuming with such resilience has got to be a fulfilling experience. When the viewer looks at her work up close the emotive individual element of the buttons is in a way overwhelming but from an overall perspective, the artwork transforms into a mesmerising form. Ran produces her large creations as it gives her a sense of freedom giving her more opportunity to express herself through the creative process, pushing boundaries and exceeding limits.

Chloe Wise, a new upcoming artist, has taken the breath away from viewers who experience her work, including Ran Hwang, due to her innovative style and approach.

The 28-year-old Canadian artist also based in New York City, is known for her innovative expressive style incorporating food as a theme in her oil paintings. Chloe

uses her art to touch on social issues with a twisting, self-deprecating humour. She is able to utilise the “classical training she received whilst studying at Montréal Corn Cardia University from which she graduated with a distinction in 2013”.  [Shazam. R 2021]

Her paintings have received a considerable amount of attention due to the obscurity of the concept. A renowned large-scale oil painting of hers entitled “Lack Toast Intolerant” created in 2017, shows a woman by the name of Lily Mccanna. Her “works reflect the contradictions of health advertising and, in many of the pieces, she references non-dairy alternatives to milk.” [Almine Rech Gallery 2021] The subject is dressed in a full flowing voluptuous white shirt with a can of Nestle condensed milk taking centre stage in the painting. The combination of fine delicate oil painting mixed with an Avant- guard object to the context of the composition takes on a social issue. In this way I could see her works being displayed alongside that of Christina Quarels due to the focus on social matters.

By implementing a can of condensed milk to the painting, in a way that similar to dairy related imagery throughout history such as the mirror milkmaid, she is taking what has been explored before, adding her own playful twist and elevating it to another level, again pushing boundaries and creating thoughtful and at times challenging work.

The point she makes through her painting is that although dairy can be harmful to the environment, alternatives such as soy and almond milk are in fact worse for the environment. She challenges global issues, expressing her theories in quirky paintings while only using a single piece of food to relate to the topic.

The Nestle can is challenging her viewers, the use of dairy is to bring awareness to contemporary debates around the idea of wellness, reflecting on the contradictions of health advertising.

Large-scale work is liberating for the artist who admits she would work on a larger scale if she could as it can enable using brushstrokes as a check adjuster of quality, removing the need to toil over detail. Chloe Wise has a unparalleled way with her use of colour and style, the portraits are realistic with an underlining drama.

Chloe and Ran both produce work on large scales, with both artists finding this process to be more liberating for them.

With Ran creating in 3D and Wise working within 2D, they still have a similar feeling of freedom through producing large-scale work allowing both artists to explore their subjects and push boundaries to go beyond the accepted principles of art and challenge the next artist.

Both young New York based artists have very much taken ownership of their art. Innovators is the term I would use to describe both women, they embraced ideas and created environments to challenge the status quo, pushing limits to achieve growth. With final thoughts to all six of these artists working in unison it can be observed that innovative technique within their contemporary practice allows all of their works to stay relevant in the ever-changing world of art. It is clear that their focuses align in many areas such as naturality, social issues and racial matters however the main bridge between the works in the exhibition is the oozing feeling of innovation that flows from their works as a collective.

                                                                                                                                 3096 words

              References:

• Adobo Magazine, August 4 2020, “Art and Culture: Artist Reza Hasni presents six interactive virtual worlds in ‘Centre for Altered Togetherness’”, Adobo Magazine, Phillipines

• Alfred Mac Adam, Chloe Wise: Thank You For The Nice Fire, April 7, 2021

• Bhullar, D. (2021) Rebecca Louise Law lends a novel touch to the display of floral beauty, Stir World, Mondo Arc India

• Burisch, N,  February 23 2018, “Voice and resistance in Nick Cave’s Soundsuits”, National Gallery of Canada, Canada

• Eugene Kim, Mymodernmet, buttons-and-pins, December 1, 2009

• Jakeway, A. (2015) The Mad Botanist, We Heart, London

• Liam Freeman, 21st October 2019, How Chloe Wise Became fashions Favourite Contemporary Artist

• Luke, B (2020) “A brush with Christina Quarles, Bloomberg Connects, New York

• MOMA, 2019, “Nick Cave Artist Profile”, MOMA (Mueseum of Modern Arts), New York

•   Ong, J, 11 January 2021, “Reza Hasni’s illustrations are not limited by the constraints of the physical world”, It’s Nice That, London

• Public Delivery, January 29 2021, “Nick Cave’s Soundsuit sculptures – Everything you need to know”, Public Delivery, South Korea

• Ran hwang,2005, operagaller

•  Rea, N. (2020) ‘I Felt Like I Was Trapped in Amber’: Painter Christina Quarles on How the Hazy Confusions of Lockdown Inspired Her Latest Show, People, Los Angeles
•    Richie Shazam, 2019 ,Chloe wise is making art for the “new normal”

• Vogel, M. (2020) “I have always been in awe of nature”: artist Rebecca louise law on the preciousness and power of flowers, Artnet News, New York

• William, J. (2019) “Christina Quarels Upends History with the Brush”, Cultured, Florida

• Yang Shuen, K, August 9, 2020 ,“5 Things To Check Out This Week: A Surreal Interactive Exhibition, Climate Crisis Festival & More”, Female Magazine, Singapore

florilegium- Rebecca Louise Law

Ill take the nite shift- Christina Quarels

Centre for Altered Togetherness- Reza Hansi

Soundsuits- Nick Cave

Dreaming of Joy- Ran Hwang

Lack Toast Intolerant- Chloe Wise

Artist Research-

Sari Shryack

Shryack is an Austin-based painter focused on colour and light in the ever-changing neighborhoods of her community. The city is constantly evolving into new shapes and colors, and Sari seeks to capture this process in her work. She works primarily in acrylic paint and her colour palette is extensive in bright and vibrant tones. Her bright tones and unique style of capturing tone and light is something that drew me to her work, I really enjoy how brush strokes are visible in her work and she uses the shape of her brush to create something visually dynamic and appealing. I would also love to manipulate the colours of real objects to create something that would be more interesting and bright, I love working with a bright colour palette as i often draw portraits and use a more muted palette so the opportunity to use a bright colour palette is quite exciting for me so this is why her work stands out for me. She describes her processes as “acrylic landscape paintings to challenge the viewer to consider the elements of color and light both individually and as part of a compositional whole. With this process, my intent is to encourage a recalibration of the intrinsic value of place— how light and color everywhere ignites our ability to consume the world, and how that changes all the time… I choose colorful landscapes with familiar details as my settings, but crucially I also pick specific light and color interactions that serve to highlight transition…This work draws primarily from my personal experiences and my surroundings— this gallery is a representation of my emotional response to scenes that beg to be consumed, to be seen and heard. Color abstraction is my method of placing myself in the work, an allusion to my past that aligns with the work.”

Audrey Flack

Audrey Flack is an internationally acclaimed painter and sculptor and a pioneer of photorealism. Flack enjoys the distinction of being the first Photorealist painter whose work was purchased by the Museum of Modern Art for its permanent collection. Among many major museums around the world. Flack merges the excess of consumer culture with a skull similar to those found in 17th-century Flemish still-life paintings. “I always wanted to draw realistically,” she has explained. “For me art is a continuous discovery into reality, an exploration of visual data which has been going on for centuries, each artist contributing to the next generation’s advancement.” During the early part of her career Flack’s works were abstractions of color and line. It was not until the 1970s that the artist began to produce paintings based on images. I find her work to be very fascinating in both its rich colour and how many elements there are to look at. I really like environments that are packed with diverse colours and shapes and hers capture this which is why I am drawn to her work.

Zoey Frank

Zoey Frank is a distinguished young representational oil painter whose work includes perceptual painting, narrative and formal investigations. Frank’s paintings are modern in aesthetic but steeped in the academic understanding. The combination of a classical training and a more progressive contemporary theory has allowed Frank to use multiple techniques and approaches in one cohesive style. In her most recent paintings Frank has been painting mundane objects she encounters on a daily basis She states, “Painting these objects again and again in series mirrors how we engage with them: repetitively and towards a purpose.” Because the objects painted are unremarkable, Frank focuses on the shapes of the objects themselves and the patterns created in their surroundings. There is no grand narrative to distract from the designs. Frank explains, “Their very banality helps me to turn my focus away from the objects themselves and towards the image as a whole: the flat shapes, the balance of light and dark, and the interaction of color.” The result is paintings that are remarkably approachable and modern. Abstraction has entered Frank’s paintings in her attempt to focus on time and space. She says, “As compositional problems come up, I’ve started using arbitrary planes of color rather than objects to resolve them. This has freed me up to make intuitive changes while I’m painting. As I make changes to balance out the composition, the space of the painting becomes fragmented in a way that interests me.” That fragmentation helps make the most ordinary objects seem different and interesting. I find as mentioned to be wholly fascinating and I enjoy her approach to painting the thigs that she comes across in her daily life, it is something that has been an inspiration to me when thinking about collections of objects that I come across daily or hold some sort of strange significance.

Charcoal and wet studies-

I began fleshing out my ideas with some charcoal studies, this would help me reimagine the images in terms of light and dark and texture, in time this would help me with the creation of paintings. I found that I was able to make images that I was happy with and took some artistic license in terms of how I could see myself translating the images into paintings. I thought that referring to the reference images too closely would make the translations look too stiff and unoriginal. I was really excited after this to create some wet studies to bridge the gap between charcoal studies and painting. I used water soluble markers and Indian ink to start my wet studies, these are my favorite things to work with when making wet studies as I like how they bleed different colours when water is applied, it helped me figure out how I could translate light and dark with a wetter and less controlled media. I also used some black and white acrylic paint before painting my final pieces and I think this really helped me make some decisions on how I would display my paintings in terms of implying details without having to look too closely at the details presented in the image.

Final Paintings-

When beginning the painting process I found myself slowly loosen to the media as I used it more and I began to take more creative liberty with it as time went on. I really enjoy the outcomes of the paintings and how loose they look, I really like the large and obvious brush strokes that I used I think it makes them look more painterly and less stiff. I also took some liberty with the colour palette. With the images I wanted to show a range of simple household objects but paint them in such a way that makes them look unique and diverse, I think that I was able to show this pretty well with my paintings in the end. I completed 4 A2 paintings in total all of which have a slightly different colour palette and in my opinion I think that this diverse colour palette makes each painting look unique and stand out from one another. I’m really happy with how each painting turned out, I took a lot of inspiration from my chalk studies and wet studies which I think helped me make the paintings look the way in which i had envisioned.

Sustainability (Task 1)

David Maisel- Photographs of Open Pit Mines (2013)

Maisel’s aerial photography at first glace draw interest from the idea of another worldly beauty although, the rich blue swirls of colour and contours of red have a sinister and hidden beauty. The images reveal the surreal and hidden truth behind the contentious territories of once stunning nature that have been impacted by water logging, reclamation, military tests and chemical “disposal”. His works have been instrumental in redefining the terms of landscape imagery and brining awareness to the lack of sustainable means taken by some of the most powerful and influential figures in the American west. One of the biggest issues of our times is that we are built upon a history and hierarchy of lies, we have been fed them for so long, they have worn us down and convinced us that they are doing their best for the longevity of our planet yet it is the photographic horrors of Maisel and many others that bring the ignorance of the blind to a higher consciousness regarding sustainable issues. When the system is too rigid, too impenetrable and narcissistic to instigate the immediate action we need to survive as a species; we turn to real people to make a force and voice for the most concerning challenges that we face at present. It can be commended that artistic vision in many realms of creation and the collaborative efforts of contemporary artists bring the issues of sustainability into the forefront of modern day awareness through creative outlets of tragic expression.

Identity (task2)

Samuel Fosso- (African Photographer)

Fosso’s work includes using self portraiture and adopting a diverse range of personas and identities to comment on his life and experiences growing up in Africa. He is particularly fascinated by the history of his country and expressing himself in a versatile manner to convey a strong and spiritual meaning. He is recognized as one of Central-Africa’s leading contemporary artists. In 1975, at the age of thirteen, Samuel Fosso opened his own photography studio in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic. During the day, he made pictures for paying clients, but at night, to use up unfinished rolls of film, he turned the camera on himself and began creating expressive self-portraits. Fosso’s work from the 1970s, in which he references popular West African musicians and the latest youth fashions, addressing variations in African identity is still among some of his most prominent and notable work. He made a large effort to create images opposed to the ethnographic visions of Africa and also to the commercial imperatives of studio portraiture, thus challenging the identities of himself, African culture and portraiture in general. With his “African Spirits” project he focused on honoring the most influential figures in the black civil rights movement, often with an uncanny resemblance, he recreated images of Martin Luther King Jr and Muhammad Ali, once again challenging his own identity and that of black civil rights as a whole Fosso in reference to his “African spirits” project states that it is a “homage to the leaders who have tried to liberate us, to give us back our identity as Africans and as blacks.”

Task 3- Innovation

“Before I Die”- Candy Chang (2011)

Before I Die reimagines how the walls of our cities can help us grapple with mortality and the significance of life before so. After the death of a loved one, Chang painted an abandoned house in her New Orleans neighborhood with chalkboard paint and stenciled the prompt, “Before I die I want to ___,” to restore perspective and find consolation with her neighbors. Anyone walking by could pick up a piece of chalk, reflect on death and life, and share their personal aspirations before such times. After receiving requests from people around the world who wanted to make a wall with their community, Chang made over 5000 Before I Die walls have now been created by communities in over 75 countries. The installation reimagines our relationship with death and with one another in the public realm. Perhaps its success was due to this anonymous prompt offering a rare space to share honestly and vulnerably in public without fear of judgment. and allowing the most private and contemplated feeling of your inner psyche reflected  and that of other can be incredibly reassuring on an individual level… it is also an amazing way to connect with the vulnerabilities of others on a mutual level. Anxiety is on the rise and distractions are bombarding us; Society feels increasingly polarized. These are alarming trends, but I believe our shared spaces can play a vital role in our emotional health. Perhaps seeing the inner workings of others in public installations such as this could be an aid to trying to decipher our own inner demons and the things that we truly wish to get out of the short time that we have on Earth.

The simplicity of taking something that we all know, a blackboard and making something so powerful from it really just shows the true innovation of art as a whole and how it can be made so readily available and useable by others amazes me. It is the work of Cheng that shows the sheer strength of art and how she took an ordinary and overlooked object and turned it into an innovative tool for public piece of mind and self expression.

Task 4- Communication

Hot Topic is a retail chain specializing in counterculture-related clothing and accessories as well as licensed music. The stores are aimed towards an audience interested in rock music and video gaming, and most of their audience ranges from teens to young adults. The first Hot Topic store was opened in November 1989 by Orv Madden, who specialized in the retail of children and teen goods. I really enjoy the metal band style font that they used in the logo, I think that it makes for an instant insight as to what kind of products that they sell and draws in the target demographic. I think that the red on black is also a competent choice for the target  audience as it looks strikingly similar to band logos such as slipknot which would have been a popular band at the times of it rising success as a part of the “mall goth” style.

For my own logo I wanted to create something that would be an alternative clothing brand much like that of Hot Topic, However I wanted to take a lot of inspiration from that of death metal bands logos in order to create both a recognizable name and an image that would be striking and very unique. I chose the image of the cross and the skulls along with the stylized lettering to tie together the whole alternative theme. I decided to use pink and black tones as a contrast to the traditional white and black logos that most high street brands use, in this way it would show the diversity of the clothing in the shop just from the logo. I wanted the logo to provoke in a way, much like that of the fashion movements in the alternative sub cultures in the UK. I am really pleased with the way that this logo turned out I think that it achieved the look that I intended. The name Coven of Strangers has a witchy and inviting tone and makes for a safe family of unknown people who are all connected by a love of alternative fashion, I think that this is something that our high streets need, to meet the increase in demand for alternative fashion.

Task 5- Gender

Elly Smallwood- 2020-2016

Smallwood draws the viewer into a world where the human body and uninhibited sexuality are only the entryway. Her large-scale oil paintings capture the human body, oftentimes aggressively: some of the figures have no face, and bodies appear slashed through with deep wounds and their skeletal features show through. Her gestural style accompanied by a drippy, lively composition gives each piece an ecstatic energy. She is often seen to be provoking the long soiled  image of female anatomy in art and reimagining it in a way that strips it of all lust and appeal, perhaps in a stance of disgust over the hypertextualization of women in art on a large scale. Smallwood can acknowledge that her decision to paint the bodies of women isn’t revolutionary in of itself. Instead, it’s her chosen perspective that sets her apart from the predominantly male art cognoscenti that have fetishized it for centuries. The female form has been a battlefield in art history. Male painters painted it for their own pleasure; female painters painted it to reclaim its autonomy and give it agency. It is this that makes Feminist and female artists so paramount in the world of contemporary painting, the negative ties that the female body has to art is being challenged by the anti-misogyny standpoint of women who want to bask in the beauty of naturality and female sexuality as a whole.

Task 6- Place

Sir Anish Kapoor- Cloud Gate (Chicago 2006)

Cloud Gate is British artist Anish Kapoor’s first public outdoor work installed in the United States. The 110-ton elliptical sculpture is forged of a seamless series of highly polished stainless steel plates, which reflect Chicago’s famous skyline and the clouds above. The “bean” shaped sculpture also serves as an entrance to Millennium Park in the Loop community area of Chicago, hence the name ‘Cloud Gate’. The city of Chicago is the right place for Cloud Gate, with a very simple surrounding geography. On one side is the Midwest, the flat American plain over seemingly infinite distances, you can drive for hours and nothing will change. On the other side of Cloud Gate is Lake Michigan, Water goes to the horizon on one side and endless cornfields are on the other. This is a juxtaposition of location reflections in of itself which makes this placement perfect to accomplish a brief insight to the diversity of this city, however the natural elements of the water and cornfields are also opposed by the industrialization of modern times with the lengthy skyscraper buildings that adorn a prominent portion of the sculpture. Cloud Gate truly shows the viewer all that there is to see of this city from floor to sky in a matter of seconds which makes this sculpture not only the perfect shape to accomplish this but also the perfect location. Chicago, with its elementary geography of an immense plain, lake and magnificent man-made landscape, is made for Cloud Gate. The sculpture in direct communication with the skyscrapers that create verticality in this otherwise flat landscape, is an instrument that allows everyone to play with light and distortions, in this flat plain. It is a fresh perspective , which, by distortion and dilatation, changes how we see us in the world. This sculpture alters the elements of its surroundings around the viewer, and changes their very perception. This is why this sculpture in my opinion is in the perfect place it is a true representation of how place is an overwhelmingly paramount idea in any type of artistic process or outcome.

Aesthetics-

William de Kooning

De Kooning made a seamless bridge between abstraction and figuration through painting, also working with drawing, print media, and sculpture. One portion of his work often informed the next, and he was widely known for his keen sense of exploration and experimentation within painting. Within the 1940s, de Kooning often made use of the female form as his common subject,  However, within the next decade he focused on a hypersexualized presentation of women in his works for example he experimented on deliberate and harsh brushwork, and focused on greater emphasizing large breasts, dramatically unrealistic extremities and played into the predominantly male art cognoscenti of male sexual inhibitions. These paintings had broader brushstrokes and sexual appeal that gave his works a more intense appeal. Within this period, the practice and expressive style of Van Gogh is clear to see which explains the appearance of his work as part of the abstract style of the 40’s and 50’s. As for the style of his works during his later years, he was able to display a diverse  body of work which shows the influence of time with his style and how the period itself sculpted his body of works greatly.

Author- Amy Schichtel                                                                                                          Title- Willem de Kooning and his paintings                                                                                  Year- 2014                                                                                                                              City- New York                                                                                                                      Publisher- Artists Rights Society (ARS)

Collaboration-

Marcel Duchamp and Man Ray:

Rrose Selavy was a dada pin-up icon and a so called “lucky charm” for many artists, shockingly though she was a He! However not just any man she just so happened to be the alter ego or one of many of famous visual artist Marcel Duchamp’s “pseudonyms”. His distaste for conventional aesthetic standards led him to devise his famous ready-mades, self-described as disrupting centuries of thinking about the artist’s role as a skilled creator of original handmade objects. Instead, Duchamp argued, “An ordinary object elevated to the dignity of a work of art by the mere choice of an artist.” Photographer Man Ray had a large part in capturing Rrose Selavy and was made responsible for the documentation of this alter ego, perhaps due to his background in rhetorical illusions. After the series of collaborative work with this character they established a strong collaborative friendship that would spread across many other art mediums and they together would make a collaborative impact on the limitations of studio based photography as a whole.

References:                                                                                                                        Marcel Duchamp and Man Ray: 50 Years of Collaboration                                                                              Nadja Bozovic                                                                                                                                                      Agora Gallery                                                                                                                                                  27^th April 2017                                                                                                                                                    New York

Audience-

Les Voyageurs: The Travellers

Les Voyageurs is a series of symbolic surreal sculptures erected by Bruno Catalino. The bronze sculptures depict everyday people often with a strong van Gogh influence displayed around Marseille. The obvious and gravity defying gaps in the body may seem like an impressive aesthetic composition at first glance however with further thought the sculptures are directly appealing to travellers. The suitcases that are displayed in the sculptures clearly depict a traveller slowly leaving parts of themselves behind with their travels. This is a noticeably clear example of targeting a specific audience and allowing a deep connection between the viewer and the sculpt. It is evident that this connection through empathy and a shared feeling of leaving important parts of yourself behind was choreographed by Catalino. Some of the sculptures have an “ethereal” appearance due to the little support, in this way it makes them much more impressive and achieve the desired surreal appearance. Bruno has erected 10 of these sculptures since 2013. These sculptures are a clear example of how paramount thought into your audience is in the creation of public art.

Beautifully Imperfect Sculptures Showing Travelers what they Leave Behind                                         Aleksandar Mishkov                                                                                                                                       2018                                                                                                                                                              Poker news