Fine Art: Experimental Drawing: Artist Research

Recently in the Fine Art block we've been experimenting with different and unusual ways of drawing/mark making. We've been trying out everything from ink and stick, card and wash, to thread and sponging shoe polish! In conjunction with this we've been researching artists who also choose to use experimental methods to create their work.

The first artist I looked at was Gavin Turk. I was surprised by the fairly large range of work his has. Turk uses all sorts of different materials to create his work. From polystyrene, tea staining, footprints, neon lights and newspaper cutouts, egg shells and more! I just really enjoyed looking through this work and exploring the different techniques he's included.

The next artist I looked at was Jane Grisewood. My favourite work was the performance pieces she does, exploring time and memory with continuous line drawing and repetition. I have never heard of something like this being done, where the artist creates the work there and then as a piece, so for me this was new and a very interesting take on drawing.

Fine Art: Brief Part 4: 2 Items.

As part of the brief we were challenged to find 2 items we could then create multiple things out of. I chose to use string and straws. I felt these items had a lot of potential in terms of shaping and structures. I started out trying out different lengths of the straws and just threading them onto the string to create lines. I thought it was interesting that because of the nature of the objects you could then bend and move these straight lines.

After this, I tried out creating a more structural/3D piece using the same methods.

This worked quite well, and you could change the shape as you wanted, it was a very flexible structure.

After this I wanted to focus more on the string, and decided to loop the string around a number of straws continuously. This would create a larger and much stronger structure. It worked well, and the straws were much harder to bend after being bound together. I liked how the combination can not only change the look of an object but the durability too.

Then I had an idea to cut holes in the sides of the straws, this would provide an alternative way of connecting the straws to the string, but also connecting/crossing straws together. I tried to combine all previous ideas into one here, threading them and creating a structure too, with the added new connections. I think this worked well, and overall as a task I found this quite challenging. Coming up with different ways of utilising everyday objects that are quite limited was hard, but it was great to focus on the different elements and characteristics of materials, and see how you can combine these to create something new.

Fine Art: Brief part 3: Artist Research.

As the last part of our brief we were told to find artists that use walking as part of their practice. After going on my walk as part of the task I understand how inspiring they can be when you set yourself various tasks, there is a lot you can work around.

The first artist I looked at was Francis Alys. The majority of his works incorporate/are based around walking. However, my favourite was 'The Collector'. In this piece he has taken a magnetic 'dog' object for a walk round the city, and on the way it picks up stray bits of metal/rubbish.



The next artist I came across was Tom Stone, who uses walking as a creative process in many of his works. For example, in this piece 'Anyone for a walk?' he left his house and wandered around carrying a sign that said 'Anyone for a walk?', I like this as it's really inclusive and not something he can entirely control. By inviting people in, he gives people the opportunity to change/shape the outcome of the walk/piece. He took one polaroid on the walk.

The last artist I looked at was Tim Edgar, who uses photography to document small walks. In particular I looked at a series of photos titled 'Nature Trail". I love that there is nothing that massively sets these photos apart, they are literally a visual documentation of a journey. While it may not seem there is much going on, each photo has a little quirk to it, something unusual or interesting. I enjoyed looking through this set, because as there is no narrative, you are left to piece the journey together yourself -to try and fit together these quirks and finds and create your own image of the walk.