Polly Binns
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The last two pieces of work by Polly Binns I feel fall into
the theme of identity and place & personal experience. Before Polly Binns does any work in her
studio, she walks. She repeats the same walk each time. I can relate to this as
many of my works have involved a journey. A walk around my favourite places or
just walking the local streets.
"My intention
is to pare down the image: to reduce the pictorial elements of my memory
landscape:
to focus on my interior vision
to recall and reference the glimpse, the half
caught image,
the layered textures of memory." Polly Binns
Although I prefer the first to
pieces visually, the smocking reminds me of origami. I’m disappointed I couldn’t
find out the story behind them or how she was inspired to create them. They have
inspired to try and include some of these techniques within my work.
Trying to think about the
challenging pieces Polly Bins as created I would have to say her landscape work
with the delicate knots and lose flowing yarns. These are created by her inspiration
and would not perhaps be the same way I would interpreted it. As the theme does
not immediately jump out of me until I began researching her.
Polly Binns work is about observation and about her
memory of a place. A response to the environment and experiences when
she walks, I can imagine all the all the feelings she may feel. It could be the
cold wind hitting her face, the light drizzle of rain or the warm beams of sunshine.
And then thinking about what she hears and see’s immersing herself in the then
and now. Then taking these memories back
to her studio as inspiration, she then translates those feelings and memories
into her work
Tracey Emin
I think Tracey Emins work falls into three categories Identity/labels,
Personal experience and New ways of thinking inspired by writing. Emin's Bed
also falls into new ways of thinking inspired by words. Although not obvious it
has all the names of ex partners on it.
I am not a fan of Emins work visually it’s not until I have
read about her work and felt that I could relate to her themes that I began to
appreciate her work. Her personal, sometimes traumatic experiences displayed in
her own creative way. I can relate to including personal experiences within my
work. I find it brings out my more creative work.
I have always felt the bed piece was a step to far and find
it challenging. Pushing the believes on what is considered art. Maybe if it had
just been the bedsheet with the names on rather than the full bedroom setup.
Although quite simple I find it drawing me in and talking to
me. Glowing lyrical phrases written in her own messy handwriting, with Emins personal
messages which is completely relatable.
“Neon is emotional for everybody,” Tracey Emin
Emin uses her own experiences of her sexual
history, abuse and abortion, gender and relationships to develop her work. She doesn’t work in just one
medium her works include, needlework, sculpture, photography, drawing,
painting, video and installation.
Hew Locke
All
of Hew Lockes work is based on the themes Identity/labels, Personal experience
and Works based upon place. Reading about his work and how he uses
existing material and historic sources with his own political/cultural
concerns, through visual connections or through the re-working a pre-existing
object or photograph.
I’ve never really thought of including these types of resources to inspire my work. Maybe this a route I should look into for future works.
I feel a bit naïve as at first all I saw was the bright, floral,
embellished pieces. Thinking they were just aesthetically pleasing, not
realising that Hew Locke work challenges subjects such as power, how different
nations fashion their identities through visual symbols of authority, and how
these representations change over time.
Lockes explores coats-of-arms, public figures, trophies, weaponry, naval warships and the costumes and ceremonial dress of state appear in Lockes sculptures, wall-hangings, installations, and photographs. For example, his naval warship work ranges from small paintings to installations. Again, I feel naïve as I did not understand the narrative behind the ship but then discovering that the ship is a potent symbolism as an instrument of control in warfare, trade, culture, colonial trade, ownership and power.
https://youtu.be/11d64_f-m6U?si=sun7v14Lmapuy7PC
Matthew Harris and Howard Skempton
https://www.institchestextilecourses.co.uk/matthew-harris---chain-reaction.html
Although this is just Harris's work I chose it as it reminded me somewhat of a patchwork quilt with a mix and match of fabrics.
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Matthew Harris and Howard Skempton’s work uses the theme of
music and place. Collaborating to create Field Notes, Harris as a textile’s
artist and Skempton as a composer using old maps from the English counties as
inspiration. And re-inventing the place based of memory and their personal experiences.
Taking in the marks, colours, shapes on the map.
Harris works with the cloth and
using its imperfections, like tears and frayed edges to inspire his work. I can
relate to the way Harris works translating mark-making onto cloth. Mark-making
has been a key technique through my OCA journey. I enjoy interpreting a surface
into marks with a unusual and obscure tools.
Harris translates his marks with techniques
like painting, cutting, patching and hand stitching. I
would like to explore the use of multiple techniques in my work, as well has his patchworking style with fabrics. Using
the colours, patterns, texture to create a feel of landscape.
https://fieldnotes2014.wordpress.com/
Michael Brennand- Wood
https://images.app.goo.gl/D1Pk4sLKXMCk4bPK8
I was instantly drawn to Michael Brennand’s work this intricate sculpture with what looks like woven flowers, trailing up a piece of Trellis.
https://images.app.goo.gl/mULQRBiA3WqbdxsG6
This flower explosion just screams summer and happiness, I had to pick it.
https://images.app.goo.gl/c5aNu12rnvc1bXGH6
I’m not really sure what this is, it kind of looks like a load of lolly sticks wrapped together. It looks interesting!
https://www.selvedge.org/blogs/selvedge/lines-of-thought-with-michael-brennand-wood
Another piece that makes me feel happy with bright colours and flowers bursting out of the frame.
Although Michael Brennand- Wood’s
work had captured my attention, he was not an artist I was familiar with.
Reading the story behind Brennand- Wood’s his work falls into two themes personal experience and new ways of thinking
inspired by writing.
I originally thought Brennand-Woods
flower work would be the most inspiring but after researching his work, Charlemagne
is the most inspiring. The name of the piece is thought provoking. Charlemagne was
a Holy Roman emperor what did Brennand mean with the name, and then there were words
within it if you look closely like ‘super-hero’ with words from a comic book
page. At first glance I thought it was just sticks and thread woven together.
Then looking more into Brennand’s floral work which are inspired
by the traditions of floral imagery. He Builds on techniques of the past
traditional skills such as weaving, knitting, lacemaking and embroidery. Then modernising
the floral imagery with his own take with techniques such as computerised
machine embroidery, acrylic paint, photography and collage.
Brennand’s referred to embroidery as ‘drawing in thread’, using
that embroidery to create Three-dimension texture. Whilst maintaining an
awareness of the unique properties of materials, such as texture, construction,
sound quality and scent. Using the memory of feeling, smelling and even hearing
the rustle or movement of certain materials as well as historical reminiscence
of textiles associated with specific events in life, such as birth, marriage,
death.
Louise Bourgeois
https://images.app.goo.gl/9Mbx2XHYSgafMj6x9
An interesting piece, an extremely large spider. I’m interested in what it is made of and how it was made and why?
https://images.app.goo.gl/3KWJr6q3NtNUvH7U8
It’s the spider again but in a different format. Bold, striking colours, with an abstract feel.
https://images.app.goo.gl/1mudfLcQsephDE559
I was drawn to this piece as a breastfeeding mama it resonated something with me.
https://www.studiointernational.com/louise-bourgeois-turning-inwards-review-london
There is something really feminine about this piece which is why I chose it.
Again I hadn’t heard of Louise Bourgeois, but found the interview with
her from the Tate fascinating. I found it easier to relate to and to understand
the background behind her work. You can tell her work falls between two themes
Identity/labels and Personal experience.
The spider was the first piece to jump out at me when researching Bourgeois, I was interested to learn what the spider represented. The Spider represents- mother, weaver, protector and scary. It all began with two small ink and charcoal drawings of a spider 1947. Then Fifty years later she created a series of steel and bronze spider sculptures.
Not only did her mother heavily influence her work, so did her father. Bourgeois negative relationship with father. Which is why the main force behind her art was to work through her troubled childhood memories, which led to the fear of abandonment another key theme in her work.
Louise Bourgeois explored themes of being trapped, anxiety and fear. I can relate to this suffering with anxiety myself and exploring how that felt within my work. Bourgeois expressed her feelings by making self-enclosed structures known as Cells. Bourgeois described the word ‘cell’ as both an enclosed room, as in a prison, as well as the most basic elements of plant or animal life, as in the cells of the body.
Although I
am not keen on the look of Bourgeois work, I do like the way she deals with her
emotions and traumatic events into her work and interpreting into her own style
of work.
I
began to read a few articles about both and then I realised yes, I like their
work but it didn’t really inspire me. I was then quite conflicted as I was
aware that after researching this artist twice and not necessarily liked all their
work, her story/inspiration was what inspired me. I chose Tracey Emin as my
inspirational artist because I respect her openness to share her life
experiences with us. She doesn’t flinch at approaching difficult and
challenging subjects matters. Her personal story is an important thread which runs
through all her work.
The
first piece that inspired me was Emin’s monoprint ‘Terribly Wrong’ at first, I
thought it was just a scruffy sketch. It was only after reading about the print
that I began to appreciate the piece. Depicted her week from hell which
included major dentistry, split up
with her boyfriend and had an abortion. For her to be so open about
such a taboo subject is so brave and to add a particularly graphic sketch with
it to make the viewer realise the horrors a woman needs to go through when
undergoing this procedure.
And in fact, my husband saw me reading
an article on her work and he said “Tracey Emin, I know her. She did some art
with neon lights that are cool”. I naively thought that she was more for the
feminists of the world, but it looks like her appeal as spread further than
that.
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What I take from Emin, is to be brave,
show your emotions and own those emotions. I have dabbled in this a little with
exploring my depression, which I felt was some of my more successful works. After
learning even more about Emins I am inspired to persevere on including my life
into my art.
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