2D practice

Evaluation of current work

| harussell1

After a discussion with my tutor,we tried to look at what direction my work was going in and which direction I wanted to take it in.

Altho aesthetically I liked my collage work I felt like it was too ‘busy’ and did not reflect the core of my subject.I decided that it was time to refocus on ‘the void’.Advised by my tutor I took down all my collage work from my studio wall and moved it to my other wall so that I could still reference it if need be.

Reflecting back on my work I also realised that the more minalmalistic work worked better and the darker tones.Since my usual style is anything but minalmalistic and full of contrasting colours I decided it would be good to challenge myself.

The work I decided to focus on was my mixed media photocopied work.I intend to make a series of developed works focusing on this feeling of ‘void’ but continuing to use emulsion paint and ink aswell as abstract shapes.I want to focus on different tones of dark and light and experiment with the use of it.I like the kind of ‘heavenly’ glow that appears from the darkness in my photocopied piece of the ink with blue triangles.I also aim to work on a variety of different scales.Ideally I would like to work on a very large scale but I don’t think this would be very realistic due to the timescale.And does it really need to be large in order to create a feeling of being in some kind of void?There is also the possibility that I focus all my time souly on that one piece and it doesn’t give me the desired effect in comparison to the variety of works I could produce working on smaller pieces.

A couple of minmalistic works I have looked at for inspiration are:

https://images.app.goo.gl/MrXULEZbJy6JVPCR9

I felt that suprematism fit in perfectly with my work as the abstract shapes used in Malevich’s work often have a feeling that they are floating .

https://images.app.goo.gl/2Q8fFHqTjk1ANmQ4A

Black square also fits in well with the black forboding backgrounds giving the spac elike appeal.I really like the texture that black square has.

Donald Judd Unititled 1972
Altho this is a 3D piece there is still a feeling of ‘void’ about it.A kind of ‘Is it empty is it full?’ question I feel is raised when you see it in a photographic form.I want my piece to be minimal but evoke a feeling of emotion from the audience.
Carl Andre-Magnesium Square. I like the different tones of the squares and the way they reflect in the light.
Dan Flavin ‘Momnument’ This piece reminds me of my ink piece with the light coming through.I also like the use of the oblong shapes creating a feeling of movement within the darkness.

#daytoday 2D

| harussell1

Today I continued with collage.

In the image of the woman and the half human/half dog I wanted to examine how a lot of homeless people aren’t allowed to have accommodation due to having a dog but are offered dogs by adoption charity’s in order to keep them company on the streets.Having a dog is often detrimental to a lot of homeless peoples physical and mental well being.

I also wanted to explore more abstract forms and continue with the void/space like theme mixed in with capitalism.

#daytoday 2D

| harussell1

Some collages I have been working on exploring the theme of ‘eviction’ and the void that comes from that in terms of feelings/emotion and that person having a place in society.

I also explored capitalism and the effect that has on homlessness.

I was lucky enough to discover some old magazines which worked well with my project and contrasted nicely against newer images from newspapers/magazines. I used images I had photocopied from paintings and worked on top of those as it was good to see the transition and development of these particular pieces.

#daytoday 2D

| harussell1

Some experimentation printing and painting onto photocopies then photocopying again to create a series of layers.I really like the way the texture of the cardboard has come through on one of the photocopies and also the unpredictable nature of reversing the colours and you can never quite predict how they will turn out.

#daytoday 2D

| harussell1

Today I experimented with lino printing and mono printing trying

different techniques etc.I tried to not be too precious so that my work could move more freely and therefore produce much more exciting results.

#daytoday 2D

| harussell1

Today was mainly about experimenting with screen printing.After tracing my parcel image a few times I decided to choose one of the images on the acetape which i had overlayed.After attaching that to the screen i used the screen exposure unit for 170 seconds in order for the image on the acetate to develop onto the screen.

When applying the ink to the screen i struggled to get the amount right when creating a background and often ended up with too much for fear of not having enough! My favourite prints were thoose that were just printed straight onto white paper as i felt that they were more crisp and stood out better.

#daytoday 2D

| harussell1

Today I wanted to try and create and explore creating more ‘voids’ and a feeling of empty/loneliness within the painting.It will be interesting once the paint has dried to photocopy it and reverse the colours.I have tried to predict how this will turn out loosley by where I have placed the colours but I’m willing to accept that they may not turn out the way I planned.

#daytoday 2D

| harussell1

Today I photocopied some of my latest works and reversed the colours. Although I was impressed with the outcome of some of the photocopies I started to feel like I had lost my way a little and hit a bit of a wall.After having a discussion with the tutor and artist in residence they talked about how my work had developed a alot since the word ‘eviction’ and that due to the nature of the 2D work taking on almost a look of 3D work in the photocopies due to the dark background beside the swirl of galaxy like colours there was a feeling of a ‘void’ which could link with the emotions brought by homelessness. Tomorrow i hope to create further pieces inspired by this aspect and take it further forward.

Encouraged by my tutor i stripped work off my wall that wasn’t working and kept up those that were which really helped my vision in moving forward.

Mark Rothko-‘Black blue painting’ I Felt like this work related to some of my pieces where I had photocopied the emulsion with ink on it and reversed the colours.Rothko’s abstract work also has a feeling of a kind of ‘void’ about it which is very prominent in his darker painitng’s such as this one.I feel that some of my 2D work such as the tissue paper on ink and the emulsion piece have a feeling of being 3D even tho they are 2D which echoes alot of what Rothko’s pieces do.

#daytoday 2D

| harussell1

Today i experimented further with mixed media,I questioned things such as what is a home?I also thought about the control and power a landlord/council have to be able to make someone leave somewhere they consider home all of a sudden and the feeling that comes with that which i displayed using an array of blues/blacks and browns and seeping black ink into tissue/masking tape to show how mental illness slowly takes over.I aso used the image of a tent wich i first discovered from a newspaper article during the day today project in the first week along with drawing the imageof one if the parcels i made in week two which represents people being sent away.I also think more care is taken of parcels then human beings.

I found my collage to be the most sucessful piece but also the most colourful.I’m not sure if these are the right colours for this theme and may try to create something similar using more muted colours.

I also think the photocopied ‘postive to negative’ prints worked out pretty well but i still need to explore other options on the photocopier.

I also thought about how the homeless are considered as invisable and kind of washed out by society by white washing over tissue etc.