Ramble. Rumble. Roar.

cavetocanvas:

Lynda Benglis, Quartered Meteor, 1969, cast 1975

From the Tate Gallery:

Quartered Meteor is a lead sculpture to be displayed in the corner of a gallery space. The work is a cast of a form originally made from piled layers of polyurethane foam. Benglis first made foam sculptures as works in themselves; these were by necessity temporary and ephemeral. Casting the foam works in bronze not only ensured their longevity as artworks; it was a deliberate attempt to subvert and make uncanny the material presence of the objects. In this work the static, heavy nature of the lead is at odds with the foam’s amorphous shape, recalling the appearance of cooled lava.

Benglis is one of the key figures of American Post-Minimal art of the 1960s and 1970s. She is arguably best known for brightly coloured poured latex works. However the metal sculptures of which Quartered Meteor is a seminal example represent an important part of her early practice. Like many other artists of her generation, Benglis often worked from the principle that form should be derived from the inherent qualities of her chosen materials. Transformed from foamy globs into solid masses of metal, these works signal the artist’s sophisticated understanding of the differing nature of materials.

I normally don’t reblog, but i saw this piece at the Tate a while ago and it was really cool. Was desperate to touch it, feel the texture and whether it was cold as from looking at it i presume it would be cold to touch. Although not overly attractive its still an interesting piece and catches your eye which is partly what art is about i think. 

Here are some more examples of my most recent life drawing. I still suck at it but prefer it when we can created more abstract pieces, i don’t think i’ll ever be overly amazing at the more precise drawings. The top two images were drawn wither alternative materials. The portrait was created by getting hair and dipping it in paint, then using it to draw. Whereas the more abstract image was created with food & toothpaste spread using my fingers, creating tone. The other images are trying to capture movement quickly so mine ended up as stick men!! 

Been working on a college project called ‘Museum of the ordinary’  for the last couple of weeks ( Its my excuse for not posting in a while) The link takes you to last years foundation work for the project. Here are some photographs of my outcome a series of three Magic Tree air fresheners, with alternative smells and locations. The actual project was based around being given a location near the college to go and observe, to act as the starting point for this project. After wasting many weeks on what turned out to be a doomed task on an activity book for my area i decided to make the air fresheners as lots of cars in the area had the air fresheners in. These were then placed in the original location given to me and then just random locations, it soon became less about the smell on the trees but more about the funny placements. This was due to the fact that i couldn’t get a good image of the area with the tree without the text being unclear. So the smells became kind of unnecessary. Luckily because i am such a shortie Reese in my class came out to help me place the trees for which i am grateful for. The Magic Tree is probably the most recognisable air freshener and it was a simple idea that was fun. I still have to decide on my favourite pictures and how they will be displayed, but i thought i’d share some pictures with you. 

This is a really late post from when i went to the rain room by Radom international on the 1st Nov. It was a 3hr queue to get into the rain room, once inside the room was blacked out with one really bright light at the end of the room. This highlighted the rain falling, the rain worked by stepping onto a gridded surface, that had directly above it a platform that the rain fell from. This had attached to the sides 3D cameras that picked up the persons shape and turned off the rain around them. So you never got wet, you had to move around slowly otherwise the cameras didn’t pick you up quick enough to turn off the rain. The sound of the rain was really nice and the room was visually stunning. Although a simple concept it was different to normal rain due to the controlling element. 

showslow:

RainRoom by rAndom International

RainRoom offers an environment of perpetual rainfall that responds to the presence of its visitors. As soon as you approach the installation, a cocoon of dryness is created around you. This leaves you able to wander freely through different areas of the space, surrounded by falling water, and yet to remain completely dry. RainRoom allows the freedom to experience this unique environment; to be untouched by the rain falling all around you.

I went and did this with my friend a couple of days ago, it was awesome. Will post about it at a later date. 

(via sosuperawesome)

Art of Change, new directions from China 

(This my second attempt at this post, i did one on the day that i went and it was awesome. When tumblr was trying to load it however it got rid of all my writing!! So this may be briefer and will only discuss my favourite pieces) 

I was advised to go and visit this exhibition by my tutor at college, and since it has been half term i thought that i might as well. Its a really good exhibition filled with a variety of work, its fun.

I went with my dad and upon entering the exhibit we were faced by two people dressed in blue and white striped pjs, standing still and silent. We thought little of it, only to realise after that one of the people in striped pjs was following my dad. For the whole exhibit this lady in pjs acted like my dads shadow to the point where he would run round me and she would follow. Never being fully in his eye line, always to the side copying him step for step. She never spoke to us although we did try to tempt her she was just there, at first it was slightly off putting as i couldn’t concentrate on the art but it was funny in the end. We were never given a reason for her presence, when we exited the exhibit she returned to the front of it. I called her his shadow as thats how i saw her, although thinking about it i think it could of been a statement about living in a communist society. Always being watched like a shadow, being controlled etc. Of course i could be talking out my arse but thats my thought on it. 

Something i didn’t get a picture of and i dont know who the artist was but in one room were shelves. Just ordinary shelves but one of them had a man’s head poking through, you could see his body underneath. He was wearing a suit and was yawning at the time and on the back shelf was a lady in a sleeping bag having a nap. Bonkers totally bonkers but thats why i liked it, completely random and visually amazing. I should of photographed it. 

Liang Shaoji created the silkworm art, i really liked how delicate the pieces were. Some were so fine i was so tempted to reach out and touch them! (Don’t worry i didn’t) These are just a few of the silkworm pieces, they are my favourite. I like the mix of the industrial chains with the delicateness of the silk, it was a good contrast. It would of been interesting to see the worms on the chains, to see how it was done. The silk was almost completely transparent in places, i would of liked to shine some lights through maybe. Although that could look too harsh and take away the delicate nature of the piece. The silkworm symbolises generosity and its thread is a symbol of human life and history. I think i can see the connection with this and the piece. The little silkworm beds are very cute though, and slightly comical to me. They made me laugh and i once again just liked how they formed a structure while looking so delicate that they may break. 

Gu Dexin created the room filled with pictures of squished meat, i loved that these images filled a room. Just being in there i was certain that i could smell raw meat, visually it was really impressive. The images are of him squeezing the meat between his thumb and finger until every drop of moisture was expelled leaving the remains dry. The images were put in gold frames as if they were really important which i found really funny. These remains were then put in boxes like archaeological treasures, i like that this was a physical act and without meaning. Gu believes that the audience should bring their own meaning to the work, i dont believe the work has a particular meaning. It could be a representation of how as humans we bleed dry all living things for our own pleasure. Or it could just be the fact that he liked the physical act of doing this every day, either of these are good enough reasons for me. 

You can by the book on the exhibit which i may do for future artists reference, i recommend you go and get yourself a shadow and smell the meaty room!!