Contextual
Study
PART 1：Reading Group
Reading group with Anna - Experiment in art writing
In the painting you're behind the dog
an accoutrement like the fermenting grapes and rotten peaches in the basket that you hold
You look at her in her lace trim dress,
Not as a childhood friend, but like a deity you worship.
But there's something in your acting that speaks of pain,
Perhaps because you and the dog have the same collar.
Perhaps, not for the first time, you know you are less important than the dog.
Even the painter cannot ignore the wet sadness of your eyes,
He tries to tone it down by lighting the girl and the dog brightly.
But all that does is make you a darkness in the background,
A dark and ghostly presence, staring through history.
But I cannot leave you as a ghost, so I’ll name you Kwaman, from the Akans,
And put you in fine blue linens, place her unlit behind the dog, an animal collar around her alabaster neck.
You're in a fine hat with a peacock feather
And I’ll have her look at you in awe.
- Roger Robinson
This reading group is based on the series 'Experiments in Art Writing', in which writer roger Robinson is commissioned to write a poem for a portrait, and in an interview with anna talks about the interplay of poetry with painting and portraiture. roger's poems relate to race and black history. Roger's way of working is based on a 'critical fabrication', as in stepping away from the narrative of painting to create an entirely new narrative through something like the resurrection of forgotten histories, lost lives, the stories of hundreds of kings lost in the middle passage. Roger's research is not limited to black history, such as the mixed blood unions that occurred in 18th century colonial Mexico, where newborns of African ancestry were given random names, or the boakye's unconventional portrayal of quiet blackness, including family, personal history and public history. The intersection of personal history and public history. He says that all of his poetry is motivated by a concern for these elements, and a concern for 'who I am'. Although my cultural background is vastly different from roger's, I personally agree with roger's approach to his work, which encompasses personal and collective history, contemporary art, and family archives, piecing together the different pieces and giving life to an old painting through poetry in a new and critical form.
Reading group with Geraint - Contemporary still life
This reading group focuses on the ways in which contemporary painters and other artists engage with the still life tradition, which is a central part of art history as East and West. Objects can carry powerful meanings, and still life painting and objects are often associated with issues of life, death, memory and the body. Primarily based around the work of Glenn Brown Sam taylor- Johnson and Helen Chadwick the many elements of traditional still life are re-examined. Through different media such as painting, film and photography, different aspects of these themes and metaphors are modified to suit their own purposes. Brown is most identifiable by his swirling brushwork, the breath of his images is personally uncomfortable for me, but undeniably bursting with life on top of the decaying breath. The red and white cabbages, snails, butterflies, bees, wood louse, all living things in this landscape are shown to be proud (especially the decaying cabbages), even immortal. Brown does not make a clear distinction between the snail and the cabbage, which are interdependent, creating a juxtaposition of vitality and decay.
In Sam's video work (2001) we see a cinematic treatment of this theme. He opens with a towering pile of fruit, sweet and perfectly ripe, almost luminous, as they are balanced on a plate. As the film slowly begins, unsettling shadows gradually spread, the fruit unknowingly shrugging and pulling down as if the whole were sighing, and as the first visible signs of decay appear, everything gradually falls apart into a mass of mould. Through the immobile pen on the side, impassive in the face of the urgency of death, it contrasts with the constant movement of life that death feeds on. I made a similar work at undergraduate level, where I made a mountain range in the shape of raw meat and served it in a beautiful glass dish to record its journey from freshness to decay.
Workshop with Anna - Development critical reflection
Anna's lecture was very meaningful to me and focused on how to construct your own critical reflection and what it means to you. In the second unit of the test, 'Beyond the Subject', we have been thinking about how we can extend our research methods by responding to research, collaborating and engaging in conversations that transcend disciplines. Critical reflection can be a testing ground in this regard.
Making this map was an interesting process, it started with identity, to the technical aspects, trees, mountains, roads, sky, clouds, rain, which represent different elements. For me, the philosophical and theoretical references represented by the mountains are the part that I hesitate about because I haven't found a theory that really suits me and this is something that I need to keep pushing in the future.
PART 2: Related artist and exhibition
Sickert, who had a background as an actor, carried his fascination with theater and the stage into his career as a painter and sketcher. Unlike the impressionists who focused on capturing moments of light and shadow, Sickert sought a more consistent composition and color, driven by his childhood desire. His depictions of stage scenes stand apart from the bright and elegant portrayals of his close friend Degas. I find Sickert's images to possess an indescribable London essence—somber and dark, yet dramatic and visually intriguing.
Drawing inspiration from contemporary stage photographs, Sickert also draws upon his own experiences as a former actor. In one painting, he assumes the role of Jesus, enveloping a dummy statue of George in a shroud and lifting it with the assistance of his close friend Cicely Hey for a photograph. This particular work is compelling, showcasing a striking contrast of light and dark, as well as vivid red and green tones. I appreciate Sickert's skillful handling of color—direct and restrained—and his ability to evoke different moods within his images. He excels in selecting unique perspectives to work from, yet he does not overly emphasize intricate details in shaping his subjects.
Doig's new works from the last two years are a complete departure from the previous piled-up, full-bodied images, which are generally very relaxed and painted directly on dry linen. He often looks to music album covers, photography and postcards for inspiration. For example, the painting 'dat scoa boat' is based on the image of a fisherman turned into a musician. After seeing the exhibition, I also tried painting on unpainted linen, and although I think that painting is a failure, I am happy with the sheep on the left and may be able to extend this approach in the future.
"making being here Enough" was the title of the work by the American artist Roni horn, which was chosen as the starting point and title of the exhibition by the Kolumba Museum. The curatorial team uses the artworks to discuss the relationship between place and self. How do we connect with ourselves consciously or subconsciously in particular places and what effect do these places have on us? How do we deal with those places we arrive at? Do such places enter our imagination? Aren't they already lost the moment we leave the place? What happens when the extinction has passed and is covered by a new story? The Fine Arts Museum itself is the starting point for these questions, giving a glimpse into its 2,000-year history, with its many transformations from church and cemetery to museum. Today, many different cultural orientations and cultural heritages overlap and intertwine in one place - culture is not uniform, but polyphonic. Having grown up in such a complex environment myself, I couldn't help but think through this exhibition as well, what does this mean for us and our place? What are the narratives and concepts that link these disparate cultures together?
Phil sims' giant red painting(image 1), which I really like, was inspired by Titian's painting of the Virgin Mary at the Academy in Venice. The red oscillates between purple blood, triumph, disaster, glamour and gloom. But with the wooden sculptures on either side, including the whole grey box space, a sense of the sublime instantly collapses.