ARTWORK(Drawing) Utopia/Dystopia

 This artwork was apart of the 'Reflection' exhibition held at C3 Kingscliff. 

Project outline

Project 1

project 1 will consist of the completion of 3 sustained drawings with support material

Whether by immersing ourselves in the virtual worlds or those of our daydreams and nightmares, we encounter realms of fantasy regularly in our daily lives. This drawing task you will explore making ordinary objects extraordinary, by defying logic and the rules of nature, and explore BOTH utopian and dystopian worlds using an object of choice. This could be an object or fragment of a theme from which you have used previously in another art discipline. Aesthetically your line quality should appear embodied with energy and evidence of intent in applied mark making.

Your choice of one drawing medium which can be traditional or non-traditional should demonstrate a tool of experimentation exploring its boundaries creating works that are imbued with intense energy and record the physical labour required to execute the drawing.

my concept

Utopia/dystopia

chalk pastel on mdf

The world around us can be changed dramatically by our attitude and by the way we perceive it. We are imperfect beings, but it is our choice to live out of fear, anger, hurt, betrayal, bitterness and regret. Or out of love, kindness, humility, patients, compassion, tolerance and forgiveness. Which ever we chose to live out of not only effects us, but those around us.

What is the artwork about: perception , one mans utopia is anothers dystopia

Encounter: entering a church for the first time

revelation; over a period of 2 years I gain an awareness of my own perception of situations

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” Romans 12.2

Most of us are not what we think we are. Our thinking is marred and needs to be changed. How do I know this to be true ? Not only by the many people with whom I have contact through the years, but also from God's Word. The bible calls us to a “renewal” of our minds. That means change.That means trading in our old perceptions, old opinions, old ideas, old beliefs and old self-centered attitudes on a new set of perceptions, opinions, ideas, beliefs and attitudes that god develops in us.

Many people around the world attend church on a regular basis, but there are also many people who have never been to one before. It can be very scary for a new person to venture into an unfamiliar church. People don't want to feel like they are the odd one out. They want to feel like they belong and that they are welcomed.

The first time I went to church I felt that I was being judged , that I wasnt worthy of entering into the house of god , guilt of my sins made me paranoid. Now tho when I walk into the house of god I feel welcome and loved ,serve cheerfully as a decon , it is my utopia.

I have chosen the traditional medium of pastels and through a series of 3 drawings , he intends to test its boundaries .

my execution

double sided silouette form, with a secondary form on the ground which is to represent the shadow

material/media: chalk pastel on mdf

techniques: powder, stick and liquid pastel

scale: life size human silhouette

installation: free standing

1. What research did you engage with ? Artist contemporary or traditional

what did I look at when brainstorming

research into:

• definition into what utopia and dystopia were, result was that they are perceptions
• uses of chalk pastels , ie mixing with metholated spirits to turn it into a paint
• Carl Jung in discusing the shadow self
• bible verses in regards to our perception and our state of mind
• technical research into uses of dry mediums and liquid mediums

image

• the human figure as a landscape
• surrealistic landscapes using the human figure
• techniques for representing human anatomy

artist

• Michael Zaveros – in his video 'the good son' he is seen mixing charcoal with metho to use as a paint for his works, this was inspiration for initial exploration
• Carl Warner - makes landscapes out of the human figure
• David Noonan – artist that works with life size cutouts of the human form, printed on board
• Rob mulholland – silhouette mirrored human forms, I did find his artworks AFTER I had started the project, tho his method for displaying his human silhouettes informed my technique

3. Discuss the planning of your project , including experimentation , technique selection, overcoming technical problems and determining limitations and constraints ( Refer to your journal)

experimentation ,technique selection , why ?

experimented with the boundaries of the black chalk pastel medium.

• Mixing with metho
• mixing with paint
• dry application
• application with glue
• burning of the metho to create different textures
• experimentation with application of liquid and paint mixed pastels ie stippling, scumbling, scraffito, scrubbing, sponging etc. SEE experimentation
• pastel(liquid,dry etc) tests on primed and unprimed MDF panels

marquette small

• small paper cutout with wire armature, one side white, one side covered in pastels

marquette large

• hanging of large paper onto wall
• projecting a lifesize image of myself onto the paper then cutting out the silhouette
• attaching the paper silhouette onto a steel freestanding armature

timber cutout

• use large paper marquette as the template for the timber cutout
• cut out form with jigsaw
• attached hands with bolts ( timber was not large enough to cut out form in one go)
• cut out base, shamphered the base so it blended into the ground as best as possible
• attached base to upright figure using a corner clamp
• primed base and upright with acrylic wall paint

texturing of utopian side

• pastel and acrylic paint
• pastel and oil paint
• pastel and gel medium
• dry pastel

texturing of distopian side

• etching and pastel liquid
• pastel liquid ignited
• modeling compound and liquid pastel
• liquid pastel , modeling compound ignited

texturing of ground figure

• bondcrete and pastel powder

technical problems,limitations and constraints

this artwork in the end I feel was not successful due to what was going on around its creation, I had limited studio space and was in the process of hosting my first solo exhibition, as a result the surfacing was rush and visual was not as resolved in all elements as much as I would like it to have been. The hard edge line of the utopian side was not overly successful and due to the acrylic paint drying much darker than anticipated ( pastel and acrylic dries MUCH darker than if I had used a regluar black paint) , I wish that I had used oil paint mixed with the pastels for more control and to not to have to worry about the darkening. The ground figure I believe needed to be much darker, and would have worked visually, even tho it would not have adhered as well to the concept I was exploring of the individual projecting good and bad elements on their surroundings. Pastel powder on the ground when displayed would have strengthened the concept.

4. What aesthetic decisions did you make? Eg working with particular equipment to achieve particular effects, establishing a key , determining a palette and deciding upon a format and a scale

texturing of utopian side

Portraying the bursting of energy from within an individual once they are released from the burden of their perception.

Visually strong line work pushing out from the center of the chest with whites will the furtherest lines are quite dark. This was done by applying dry pastel onto the surface in strong sharp marks, then with a large brush applying white paint to the center and pushing the paint out to the edge of the form.

The face is depicted on this form to show that you are an individual. This is in contrast to the dystopian's erased face

texturing of distopian side

Portraying the corruption and poisoning of negativity

The face of the figure has been erased to reflect a dystopian societies approach to dehumanisation , this was done by pushing modeling compound off the face and pouring liquid pastel ( the pastel was too dark on the face)

The legs are being consumed by a cancerous form, this is modelling compound again applied with a palette knife and burning liquid pastel was applied.

The focal point again for this side is the chest, from it is the 'heart of darkness' slowly spreading and consuming the form. Eyes were carved into the surface before liquid pastel was applied and lit.

texturing of ground figure

The idea for the ground texturing was that you can either spread positivity or negativity onto those that pass your shadow. This was attempted by priming the surface with 1/20 water/bondcrete and pastel powder sprinkled onto the surface with a strainer.

display

this work was freestanding and exhibited with a strong floodlight shining on the utopian side.

6. How could you further develop your techniques in relation to you professional practice ? How might you build upon your ideas towards future work ?

I have used silhouettes again in the final project (faith tree) learning how to use the positioning of the human body for its dialogue to support a concept will assist further bodies of work.

I do intend on using pastels and oil paint in future works as well as using pastel liquid to assist in priming of drawings ( which I have already done for my Noel Chettle entry)