Artist Research / Exhibition insparation / Books
Felix Gonzales-Torres - "Untitled"
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Gonzales-Torres is known to use used objects in these pieces and gives them a deeper beautiful meaning. His piece "Untitled" uses 175-tons of candy, the same size pieces of natural candy. The sweet candy represents love. While the candy is eaten, while the body begins to disappear, the love remains. He invites the audience to take the candy, the pile that slowly because smaller and smaller until it will be completely gone, mirrors the viruses eating Ross’ life away until he died in 1991. Making the audience the factor that equals death as it gives a sense of uncertainty and the inevitable for death to happen.
I admire that a simple concept can have so much meaning and vulnerability. This comes from a lot of thought about which object would be best to translate the message. Which I think Gonzales-Torres does perfectly.
Félix González-Torres, Corrin, L.G. and Serpentine Gallery (2000). Felix Gonzalez-Torres : Serpentine Gallery, 1 June - 16 July 2000. London: Serpentine Gallery.
Felix Gonzalez-Torres has created nineteen candy pieces featured in many museums around the world. Many of his works target HIV, a topic of a serious nature, one that is still unfortunately often taboo in mainstream society. While there has been much development and change since the 1980s and 1990s, there has been no cure and there has remained a stigma attached to the disease.
I want to use the idea of audience participation, which is the main factor of the piece representing uncertainty within the situation that I want to address. I noticed about Gonzales-Torres's work the strong intent and vulnerability in each piece. There's a straightforward story in each of them, told in such a simple way. I think that isn't easy to do as an artist and a technique that I want to learn and use within the artwork—emphasising that things don't have to be complicated to impact an audience.
https://publicdelivery.org/felix-gonzalez-torres-untitled-portrait-of-ross-in-l-a-1991/
Thomas Hirschhorn - “Gramsci Monument”
A jerry-built plywood protrusion was built in the middle of a South Bronx housing project to be used by the surrounding community. A "monument” to Italian Communist philosopher Antonio Gramsci were lectures, poetry readings, performances, radio shows, and art workshops where the structure would host from its opening on July 1 to its closing on September 15.
“I don’t do something for the community. I do something, I hope, for art and the understanding of art – my goal is this.” —Thomas Hirschhorn.
Gramsei Monument was not built for the community despite the monument's location. Hirschhorn built it for the purpose of art. When he came to the community he asked them to build art with him. Making the sections of the monument possible as people volunteered to share their "Art". Such as building the stage, doing a lecture or making hot food for the food bar. Hirschhorn became a team effort from the community, he provided the space and the materials to build a short term monument.
When seeing the pictures, you get a sense of community. A place where people can interact and talk is something most communities are deprived of. What was different is how it became as it was all individual volunteers; there's a sense of pride rather than a space that was just given—built from the ground and up.
https://www.artforum.com/print/201309/monumental-endeavor-thomas-hirschhorn-s-gramsci-monument-43522
http://magazine.art21.org/2015/05/22/perspectives-from-the-gramsci-monument/
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/07/29/house-philosopher
Art Activism
Artistic Activism is a dynamic practice combining the creative power of the arts to move us emotionally with the strategic planning of activism necessary to bring about social change. Activism, as the name implies, is the activity of challenging and changing power relations. On the other hand, art tends not to have such a clear target. It’s hard to say what art is for or against; its value often lies in providing us with perspective and new ways to envision our world.
At first glance, these aims seem at odds with one another. Activism moves the material world, while Art moves the heart, body and soul. However, they are complementary. Social change doesn’t just happen; it happens because people decide to make a change.
My project topic falls into art activism. I want to be able to make a difference by making the situation known. Situations like Blakelaw Park may have happened in the past and were never addressed, such as at Newcastle, West Denton. The intention of making the community better is always there in these projects but ignoring what the community would want to be built or stay in the area is the main issue.
https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/youngsters-left-in-tears-beloved-17057886
Mark Wallinger - Labyrinth
Wallinger has a personal relationship with the Underground as the Central lines run close to his family home in Chigwell, Essex, Which provided him with a connection from the countryside to the possibilities of the metropolis. This informed his interest in public transport and fuelled a fascination with the idea of being ‘transported’ in a spiritual sense. This idea gave rise to the ancient symbol: the labyrinth, which represents this idea of the spiritual journey in many different traditions across the globe.
When visiting London during the Easter holidays, I stumbled along with two of his Labyrinths when travelling on the tube. One as Leicester Square and Mansion House.
It was exciting to find these Labyrinths, even more as I saw them without looking for them. The action of the idea that there is a Labyrinth in each Tube location is similar to an Easter egg hunt. Where in finding one, I feel that I have achieved finding them. I like finding and following something that will lead to a collection.
Mark Wallinger is one of the UK’s leading contemporary artists. He created a major new artwork for London Underground to celebrate its 150th anniversary. The result, commissioned by Art on the Underground, is a multi-part work on a vast scale installed in every one of the Tube’s 270 stations.
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Leicester Square Mansion House
Yoko Ono - my mommy is beautiful
“My Mommy is Beautiful”—is a conceptual art installation by Yoko Ono. Ono’s handwriting invites visitors to “Write your memory of your mother and/or paste a photograph of her on the canvas.” Those who participate experience the power of the piece. Two months on display at the Hirshhorn, where the piece opened June 17, visitors already have taped up more than 20,000 messages and memories of their mothers. “My Mommy is Beautiful” offers visitors an opportunity to bridge the gap between the soul-bearing chatter of social media and the more traditional process of putting a pencil to paper. Ono is known for conceptual art that provides visitors with artistic tools so they can be part of the creation of the artwork itself.
The majority of Ono's work involves the participation of people. "My mommy is beautiful" was the most participatory piece that drew me in. As I felt, it was the most straightforward concept with the most outcome. The way that the audience responded to it was overwhelming, and most of the work is due to the audience in what they choose to add that is personal to them about their mother—a wealth of stories on one wall that acts like a shrine which is to admire their mothers.
I chose these pieces, especially as the start of this wall was just a sentence and a few short instructions. I want to create a writing wall where people can reflect on the construction of Blakelae Park. People can respond even if they can't relate to the Park but can still answer the question anyway. I know from experience the enjoyment of reading someone else's responses. I feel that I'll be a great addition to the exhibition.
Tate Modern - Gallery Visit
I went on holiday to London during the Easter holidays. I visited Tate Modern.
Bob and Roberta Smith - Thamesmead Codex
Thamesmead Codex celebrates the voices and local community of Thamesmead London. In 2019-to 20, artist Bob and Roberta Smith (whose real name is Patrick Brill) interviewed people who lived in Thamesmead, southeast London. Thamesmead was one of many modernist large=scale housing projects constructed across Europe after the Second World War. He turned their conversation into 24 painted placards. Reflecting on the work, Smith said, 'I thought I was making a painting about a housing estate, but actually I've been painting about the desire to be heard.'
When seeing this piece I was drawn in to read it. The artist used different colours to highlight pieces of the text. the scale of each board and how they were laid out. I took my time to understand statements where I started to understand that these were concerns and complaints. Similar to my project I wanted to highlight a local community to let their voice be known. Using their comments in my art to try and elevate their voice.
https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/bob-and-roberta-smith-thamesmead-codex
Uniqlo Tate Play - Lubaina Himid - Dream Buildings
Tate Modern exhibition, artist Lubaina Himid explores dreams, beauty, risk-taking and imagined spaces. Using vast quantities of wood and simple tools, the area will be transformed into an adventure playground. It’s all about making and shaping using hammers, saws and drills. Once the building is done, the whole family can join in the fun together, so get ready to experience the world of play, where anything is possible.
When entering the space at the entrance, there's a shed will building tools which the children's names and who participated in the building of the structure. At the back of the space, I saw bags of wood that would be used to hammer into the primary structures that the artist built beforehand.
I walked around the whole space, and I felt like I had stepped into every child's dream tree house village. I enjoyed looking at what all the children made. There were banners with powerful quotes such as "power to children", and I felt it was a safe place just to let go and dream big.
Initially, I wasn't going to go into this area of the Tate, and it was on the bottom floor while all the other exhibitions were on the first floor. From looking down on the top floor, I got curious. It looked like it was an exhibition that still needed to be constructed, but I realised that it was a participatory piece from closer inspection.
I thought this was amazing, and to consider what the children who participated added to this space. I can see the hard work and imagination that went into every structure, and little drawings made each structure have its personality. It was impressive to see a participatory piece on such a large scale, and an activity that isn't common to do with children has nails and wood can be dangerous.
I take inspiration from this artist as a great example of leaving a simple structure and an instructed activity where the audience can do whatever they want, making the most exciting outcomes.
https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/uniqlo-tate-play/uniqlo-tate-play-dream-buildings
Baltic - Gallery Visit
At the beginning of the project, I visited the Baltic, Gateshead. This participatory exhibition was on the ground floor.
Albert Potrony - Equal Play
It is such a simple concept of leaving creating an activity for the audience and giving them creative freedom to create from their imagination. I like the simplicity of the design and the limited colour palette. Adults can also enjoy this with their children, which gets the whole family involved even if they're of different ages.
Equal play explores the principles of non-hierarchical play environments. Artist and educator Albert Potrony commissioned it. The project explores themes of the non-gendered and non-prescriptive play. It is taking inspiration from Dutch architect Aldo van Eyck. Van Eyck designed hundreds of playgrounds and consciously designed the equipment in a decidedly minimalist way to stimulate the imagination, leading to the appropriation of space through its openness and multitudinous creative interpretations.
All the tools, such as foam circles, rope, and wooden planks, are hung up on the wall. Throughout the day, it is used to create with the already provided structure. Making swings, a stack of foam or just playing with the individual pieces. After the end of the day, it is cleaned up and hung on the wall. Restarting the participatory piece.
Cover Versions - Gallery Visit
Recommended going on one of the Shaun Project Space critiques.
Graham Dolphin - Torn
Cover Versions is a group show curated by the brothers Anthony and Graham Dolphin, exploring notions of the original and its copies, echoes and mutations in art, film and music and shown in the Abject Gallery, Sunderland.
One piece that caught my eye is Graham Dolphin's Torn series. It is an ongoing series of historical newspapers torn into small squares and reassembled. There are news clippings on some of the most memorable events in history, such as the assassinations of John Lennon and John F Kennedy. Which are preserved and displayed on the gallery walls.
Before seeing this exhibition, it never occurred to me to use a written article or a newspaper in my work. The Blakelaw Park sports hub has many new articles informing what will be happening in part. This exhibition inspired me to find a news article and display it as one of the pieces in my work. My exhibition Stolen informs the opinions of those in the local community. The article can contradict the rest of the work, showing what Blakelaw will gain instead of focusing on what will be lost. In any problem, there are always two sides to one story.
http://www.cover-versions.co.uk/
https://artuk.org/discover/stories/cover-versions-bending-mashing-and-squeezing-new-from-old
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Practicable: from participation to interaction in contemporary art - Book
Practicable returns to the mainstays of contemporary art from the 1950s to the present, examining artistic practices that integrate the most forward-looking technologies, disregarding the false division between technologically mediated artworks and those that are not. Practicable proposes a historical framework to examine art movements and tendencies that incorporate participatory strategies, drawing on the perspectives of the humanities and sciences.
Yes Yoko Ono - Book
"Yes Yoko Ono" accompanies the first major museum retrospective of the work of this pioneering avant-garde artist. In her prolific 40-year career, Ono has embraced a wide range of mediums, defying traditional boundaries and creating new forms of artistic expression. This volume is the first comprehensive art book devoted to her challenging and influential work. Yoko Ono had made extreme forms of music, film, and the visual arts since the 1960s, when she emerged as an avant-garde force in New York, Tokyo, and London.
Felix Gonzalez-Torres - Book
A comprehensive overview of influential artist Felix Gonzalez-Torres. In the spirit of Gonzalez-Torres's method, Ault rethinks the very idea of what a monograph should be. The book contains texts by Robert Storr and Miwon Kwon, among other notables, and significant critical essays, exhibition statements, transcripts from lectures, personal correspondence and writings that influenced the artist's work.