Female Influence...

After talking about feminism and feminist art I have just relised that not one of my posts has listed any of my female influences. Got caught up in the hype of new research. So this post is dedicated to the amazing women who have influenced my practice...

Yayoi Kusama has created some absolutely amazing and obsessive immersive environments and was probably the first to influence the mulitple/repetitive nature of my work.

The example here, My Flower Bed (1965-66) is made of painted, covered mattress springs and stuffed gloves. This piece shows her frequent use of repetition and every day objects. The work suggests, as do the sculptures pictured in the background, a fragmented biomorphism and a lush and out of control bloom.

What I enjoy about this work is the use of every day objects to create a visually illusive and seductive installation, with rich colours that screams feminism. Many of her works utilise the dot along with other repetitive patterns to suggest a multiplying disease, which is obviously a daily consideration for Kusama.

Yayoi, Kusama, 'Dots Obsession', 2004.

This has been prevelant in my recent work from end of 2006 and is suggestive of this same concept as well as 'chaos'. Amongst this repetitive choas is always a small 'clearing', a patch of quiet and for me this is my piece of serenity, the peace and quiet I crave for in a chaotic world. In considering this concept it also relates back to my child hood and the confusion that I felt living with a parent with mental health issues. There were times when you just wanted to 'escape' and other times when you wanted to become the parent to comfort and console the distress, to try and make things right again.

Omnipotent By Nature, 2006. Mixed Media on Paper, 83 x 110cm

There is also often this ordering system for the 'choas', an ordering of both the past and an ordering or mapping system for the present and future. A motivator for my work comes from the past 30 years of living with an illness that requires daily rituals to control. I have heard from the medical profession so many statistics, about life expectancy, related complications, percentages, images, test results etc etc, which from the age of five has deep rooted the predictions for my future. So to clarify the concept of mapping system, it is mapping my eternity, my past, my present and future. Each dot, each repetitive pattern, each collage of the smaller works is a map of my time here so far and my time to come. Each pattern is sometimes representative of a cell, multiplying, expanding and continuing on forever. With this in mind, it is the crux of the concept behind the immersive environments. What I want from these installations is the viewer to be completely immersed in my world and though no other person can experience my experiences, it is an emotion or feeling that I am trying to create. Sometimes completely absorb and other times very sterile and empty.

But back to my influences.... next is Eva Hesse and her sculptural forms, with there organic sometimes phallic structure, her sense of materiality, as well as the diversity of her materials.

Untitled. 1970. Figerglass ovver polyethylene over aluminium wire. 7 units each 78 in. x 40 in. each. Berkeley: University Art Museum

I find this particular work of Hesse's very phallic and organic and I believe I read somewhere that this work was in reaction to Pollocks 'Blue Poles'.

Because this post could turn into something huge I will leave it at two per post. So stay tuned for the next addition of amazing female artists and the continuing story of my influences...

The Gender Divide Continues!

I have just been reading Militant Art Bitch's blog, which is headed: Anonymous Female Artist (a.k.a. Militant Art Bitch)
Greetings. I'm Edna, the Anonymous Female Artist. I'm opinionated and angry at the current state of the male-dominated art world. I'm here to bring attention to the evil-doings of artists, critics, gallerists, and anyone else who's making it hard for us. I'm a MILITANT ART BITCH who is dedicated to JUSTICE for all!
What a refreshing and honest take on feminist art, theory and the still existing patriarchal art industry. I recently had this conversation regarding the attitute towards 'female', not only in the art scene but also socially. Society has such deep rooted attitudes that have been passed down from our predecessors since, well the time when Eve apparently led Adam into the garden and convinced him to eat the apple. We've been seen as the spawn of saturn, forced to cover ourselves from head to toe so as not to make the opposite sex desire us (not like the opposite sex has a choice or self control, is it?), forced to be imprisioned if we become widowed, and expected to follow our mans dreams, goals and choices in life like a good little girl, and in relation to art, never be taken seriously only if a man has chosen to give you the opportunity (so on and so on). And though I would like to think that times have changed many of these oppressive situations still occur today. Feminism in the 60's to womens liberation have incurred many changes, for example we now have the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art. Though I see this as a good thing for post, present and future female artists, it still doesn't mean that we are seen as equal or as valued in the art scene as the monumental work of male artists. After discussing feminism, with two colleagues, in context to my work, I mentioned that regardless whether my work is trying to express a feminist statement or not, because I am female there will always be some form of critical analysis of the feminist content in my work. Edna (a.k.a Militant Art Bitch) wrote in her post Not A Fucking Thing Has Changed that "anytime a woman picks up a paintbrush, it is indeed a feminist act, and by this fact alone, every piece of art made by a woman is revolutionary." This statement confirms that many female artists struggle with this concept. I used to sign my work with just my initials and last name for that exact reason, so I wouldn't be recognised as a female artist and therefore may be taken more seriously but in time (and with research in to feminism) I considered this as a step back in time, not unlike being inprisoned or made to wear a veil.
I think change will only start to occur if our attitudes stop dividing genders and we start seeing everyone as a human being and therefore every person requiring the same respect, value and consideration regardless of their gender. I know, very utopian and generalising but great concept in theory!

Vena Cava - 'Gone To Earth' by Mary Webb

I have recently joined Vena Cava productions at QUT Kelvin Grove, as their Production Designer for 'Gone to Earth', by Mary Webb. Margi Brown-Ash is directing the play, which will open on the 7th August 2007 at the Woodward Theatre at QUT. I have included this in my journal of expanded field painting and installation, because in discussing the concept, Margi was very interested in creating an installation/immersive environment for the stage and set design. Projections and light have become important idea's and the work of Christian Boltanski has been considered.

Christian Boltanski, Monument:

The Children of Dijon, installation, Paris, Salpetriere Chapel, 1986

Christian Boltanski. Les Ombres (Shadows), 1986. Installation view. Electric fan, light bulb, mixed media

Margi has also considered my practice and the concept of 'mapping systems' which could be utilised as a way of 'mapping' some of the characters journeys throughout the play. For example, using paint or pigment for them to walk through and track their events on canvas on the floor or painting text (emotions/parts of the script) with brush and paint on to backdrop. It will be a very experiential production and many of the stage and set elements will be utilised by the characters/actors.

I will add more info and images as the time goes on and idea's further develop.

New Work In Progress

Recently I have developed the idea of expanding visual field painting into installation by creating immersive environments. The original idea started with producing multiple smaller works on different paper and textile surfaces, then collaging them together. These original works were collaged directly to the gallery wall using pins. For this new work instead of pinning them on the wall I have pinned them to canvas. The 'pinning' has always been a deliberate act since creating "Mapping Eternity 2006". For me the pinning exists not only as a joining device but to give the illusion that the work is capable of changing as well as continuing to expand. The pins are also in consideration of the 'feminine' or 'female' in relation to sewing, craft (womens work) which exposes the work as a form of 'low' art. To juxtaposed this concept, the repeated pattern has been painfully hand painted on paper then assembled/collaged onto a canvas stretched with linen.
Once the collage has covered the canvas surface I plan to extend the pattern on to the walls, or use other smaller canvas's, or projections, or maybe a combination of these ideas. In a previous post I have suggested that I had been developing this concept for some time and have also recently been influenced by Ryan McGinness and Michel Majerus, who both create immersive or expanded field environments.

Work in early progress (31/05/07)

Installationview: Ryan McGinness

In my last post I mentioned the idea of my work moving towards 'expanded field installation' and so when I happened to literally stumble upon the book: Installationview Ryan McGinness it confirmed my concepts and theories I was considering in my own work. McGinness is an American artist who has joined his two passions of graphic design, utilising digital technology with semiotics (signs/logos/symbols etc) with painting to create visual worlds that are completely immersive with work from wall to canvas, to floor, and to skate board, which brings the element of skate and underground culture to his work.

"MULTIVERSE,” 2004-2005, INSTALLATION VIEW, MIXED MEDIA, DIMENSIONS VARIABLE,GALERIE DU JOUR, PARIS

“WORLDS WITHIN WORLDS,” 2003, MIRROR MAZE INSTALLATION, DIMENSIONS VARIABLE, DEITCH PROJECTS, NEW YORK

A quote from Installationview by Jeffrey Deitch, "Worlds within Worlds featured a walk-in, mirrored image. These reproductions of reproductions reflected the concept of McGiness' infinitely reproducible digitally based visual information. Like his maze, McGinness' confounding universe seems infinitely expandable." (2005, p. 015)

Mark Pennings also discussed another artist in his lecture in Contemporary Art Issues on Rebirth of Painting (03/05/07) who was creating 'expanded field paintings' in an installation/sculptural environment or as Mark put it an "expanded field visual environment". The artist was Michel Majerus (1967-2002) who died at the early age of 35. The e-flux article below is a précis description of his influences, concepts and image from the exhibition at Kunsthaus Graz am Landesmuseum Joanneum in 2005.

http://www.e-flux.com/displayshow.php?file=message_1108158401.txt

(viewed 05/05/07)