I like making images that from a distance seem kind of seductive, colorful, luscious and engaging, and then you realise what you're looking at is something totally opposite. It seems boring to me to pursue the typical idea of beauty, because that is the easiest and the most obvious way to see the world. It's more challenging to look at the other side.
Cindy Sherman
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CAVA201: Photography
Journal Update: Looking Forward Looking Back
During the past few months Iâve been working with the general concept of conceptual alchemy related to identity - more specifically exploring female empowerment and the internal struggle between femininity and strength where it seems that the only way for a girl to get attention is with her body and not her mind.
Recently, Iâve been expressing this concept through a Marilyn Munroe-inspired theme of glamour and hidden misery by re-staging classic 1950s and 1960s films such as Sabrina (top photo) and original compositions like the bottom photo (for a bit more freedom than merely replicating existing works).
Lately, Iâve been in a bit of a rut for ideas moving forward and Iâve felt like Iâd lost sight of what I wanted to achieve when I started this project. Iâve got a lot of thoughts whirring around and vague ideas that are hard to grasp and then turn into a work of some kind, so Iâm taking this as a moment to word vomit and see where it takes me...
Iâd like to explore further different ways of working with light sources - and how the photo may change in quality between daytime, dusk and nighttime, and perhaps make a makeshift outdoor studio to really take advantage of natural light. So far, Iâve been relying on a strong desk lamp for light when taking photos at night. Years ago, I used to use streetlights when shooting outside at night, and I feel like itâs time to revisit that method - especially since Iâm very interested in unsettling effects caused by interesting ways of using light.
I know that this darkened kind of photo is effective in expressing a sense of loneliness and vulnerability and perhaps a hint of voyeurism... Bill Henson might be proud. In the future, Iâm planning on exploring scenes of a girl after a night out and the sudden awareness of being alone and the longing to find a sense of belonging again after spending so much time looking for a sense of self amongst strangers. Perhaps Iâll extend this to daily mundane activities for an added sense of the relationship between the physical self and the intangible emotional and intellectual self.
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CAVA202: Painting
The development of Marcel Duchampâs painting style has been useful inspiration for my work. âNude Descending a Staircase No. 2â shows a study of movement that featured in his work for some time. It also shows cubist features but also ignores the rules of orthodox cubism. It also ignores the then art conventions related to the nude - the male nude would pose heroically and the female nude would recline to display a sense of sensuality - walking down the stairs seemed a mundane act to paint.Â
The study itself of movement is inspiring in its rejection of traditional constructions of painting and the sense of freedom it gives when working with paint. It has spurred my curiosity towards cubism and abstraction and their usefulness in ignoring rules like anatomy and ideals in aesthetics drawn from realism.
Duchamp, M (1912), Nude Descending a Staircase No. 2, image, viewed 19 May 2020, <https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/duchamp-man-ray-picabia/explore-exhibition/room-3-movement>.
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Thoughts and Confusion
CAVA202: Painting
Ok Iâm just gonna word vomit all the thoughts whirring about my head about this project. What I know for sure is that it is called âDreams & Doubtsâ. The concept is an exploration of my personal fears and doubts of being enough for my aspirations in life and as a functioning human in general. This absolutely stems from being an introvert in a world where it feels like extroversion is a more highly valued trait. The process, so far, has been about coming to terms with these feelings I have about myself and slowly slowly disregarding my worries about how everyone else may see me and kinda taking back the power from those parts with my head that like to mess with me.Â
Being relatively new to (acrylic) painting as a medium (Iâm more naturally into photography), Iâve been struggling consolidating all the ideas and images and motifs in my head into idk like a clear image of what I want to put onto the page? Iâm not sure what kind of process everyone else goes through but I utterly hate planning what Iâm gonna do when Iâm making art.
Iâve been moving away from realism, literal concepts and even surrealist approaches (even though I love surrealism - gotta move away from being literal atm) in my experiments and have found some inspiration in artists working with abstraction... Iâve figured how underrated just working with colour is without the tediousness of working with forms and figures. Itâs been therapeutic...
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CAVA201: Photography
In the process of researching artists for my current photography project focusing on turning back the male gaze... Iâve hit a bit of a rut lately but Iâve found these works from Laurie Simmonsâ âFake Fashionâ series very inspiring in terms of setting up scenes for staged photography. Iâve always been more of a found scene photography kinda gal so this process is new to me.
The strong spot lighting and high contrast in these works strike a chord with me so Iâm thinking about how I can use lamps and flashlights to replicate this kind of lighting for my experiments re-staging scenes from classic 1950â˛s and 1960â˛s Hollywood movies... Watch this space.
Simmons, L 1984, Country Road, Kentucky, image, Laurie Simmons, viewed 8 May 2020, <http://www.lauriesimmons.net/photographs/fake-fashion?view=slider#6>.
Simmons, L 1984, Pink Bathroom, image, Laurie Simmons, viewed 8 May 2020, <http://www.lauriesimmons.net/photographs/fake-fashion?view=slider#7>.Â
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Idk why it took me this long to realise that i can just look up poses for drawing anatomy... MIND BLOWN
So long, agonising over the insecurity that I should probably learn some damn anatomy before drawing a person
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References
Barker, C 2012, âCultural Studies: Theory and Practiceâ, 4th ed., Sage, London.
Whiteley, B 1976 Self Portrait in the Studio, image, Art Gallery NSW, viewed, 21 March 2019, <https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/collection/works/1.1977/>.
Art Gallery NSW n.d., âSelf Portrait in the Studioâ, Art Gallery of NSW, weblog post, n.d., viewed 21 March 2019, <https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/collection/works/1.1977/>.
Kafouros, E 2011, How Did I Get Here, image, Elias Kafouros, viewed 21 March 2019, <http://epitome.xyz/meet/elias-kafouros-painting-the-unmeasurable/>.
Kandinsky, W 1910â1, Cossacks, image, Tate, viewed 22 March 2019, <https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/kandinsky-cossacks-n04948>.
Kandinsky, W 1912, âConcerning the Spiritual in Artâ, Morgan Press Inc., Hastings-on-Hudson, NY.
Mansfield, N 2000, âSubjectivity: Theories of the Self from Freud to Harawayâ, Allen & Unwin, St. Leonards, NSW.
Olley, M 2007, The Yellow Room Triptych, image, S H Ervin Gallery, viewed 23 March 2019, <https://www.shervingallery.com.au/event/margaret-olley-painter-peer-mentor-muse/>.
Howes, D 2005, âSkinscapes: Embodiment, Culture and Environmentâ, in Classen, Constance The Book of Touch, Berg, Oxford.
Boyd, D 2014, Untitled, image, Art Gallery NSW, viewed 25 March 2019, <https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/collection/works/92.2014/>.
Harrison, C, Wood, P 2003, âArt in theory 1900-2000: an anthology of changing ideasâ, Blackwell Publishing, Malden.
Monet, C 1872, Impression, Sunrise, image, National Gallery of Australia, viewed 26 March, Â <https://nga.gov.au/impressionsunrise/>.
Isaacson, J 1978, âClaude Monet: Observation and Reflectionâ, Phaidon Press Limited, Oxford.
Bennet, A, Royle, N 2016, âAn introduction to literature, criticism and theoryâ, 5th edn, Routeldge, New York.
Quilty, B 2012, Self Portrait After Afghanistan 3, image, Jan Murphy Gallery, <http://www.janmurphygallery.com.au/artist/ben-quilty/selected-works/#s5970>.
McGregor, L 2008, Iâm Not Here, image, NGV, viewed 26 March 2019, <https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/explore/collection/work/90362/>.
Art Gallery of NSW n.d., âThe Art that made Laith McGregorâ, Art Gallery NSW, weblog post, viewed 26 March 2019, <https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/artsets/tjm3be>.
Austin, A n.d., âLaith McGregor: Through Blue Biro Eyesâ, Iris Magazine, weblog post, viewed 26 March 2019, <https://www.irismagazine.com/issue-one/laith-mcgregor>.
Henson, B 1980â2, Untitled 1980/82, image, NGV, viewed 27 March 2019, Â <https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/explore/collection/work/13163/>.
McDonald, M 2011, âItâs Rude to Stare: Bill Henson Revisitedâ, Artlink, weblog post, viewed 27 March 2019, <https://www.artlink.com.au/articles/3651/its-rude-to-stare-bill-henson-revisited/>.
Hall, S, Held, D, Hubert, D, Thompson, K 1996, âModernity: an introduction to modern societiesâ, Blackwell Publishers, Oxford.
Celmins, V 1975, Ocean, image, Tate, viewed 27 March 2019, <https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/celmins-ocean-p78336>.
Manchester, E 2005, âVija Celmins: Oceanâ, Tate, weblog post, viewed 27 March 2019, <https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/celmins-ocean-p78336>.
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âIdentity is about sameness and difference, about the personal and the social, âabout what you have in common with some people and what differentiates you from othersââ (Barker 2012 quoting Weeks 1990, p. 223).
Social Identity can be identified as spinning a narrative about oneself based upon a comparison with others to discover what determines the nature of oneâs identity.
Vija Celmins has developed her own meticulous drawing technique depicting the surface texture of areas of sea such as in the work âOceanâ (1975) to create an impression of space and depth (Manchester 2005). The technique characterises her work as her unique rendition of a classic seascape. Â
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âThe subject previously experienced as having a unified and stable identity, is becoming fragmented; composed, not of a single, but of several, sometimes contradictory or unresolved, identitiesâ (Hall 1996, p. 598).
Fractured Identity stems from the conceptualisation of identity (Barker 2012, p. 223). Therefore, the shifting of these identities between circumstances depends on the dominance of each identity of the subject.
Bill Hensonâs photographic series âUntitled 1980/82Ⲡ(1980-82) builds upon this concept by forcing the audience to become a voyeur of strangers unaware of our gaze. The identity of these strangers can only be based upon their appearance to be âfleetingly attractive, menacing or innocentâ (McDonald 2011).
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âI see my work as a long, drawn-out continuous narrative, slowly unravelling and revealing aspects of myself, my immediate surroundings and thoughtsâ (Art Gallery of NSW quoting Laith McGregor n.d.)
Creative Identity is the intersection between self-identity and creative influence where the creative self âunravelsâ through oneâs practice. Therefore, the artistâs creative identity only becomes clear -both to the artist and the audience- through the creative process and the body of work, itself.
Laith McGregorâs âIâm not hereâ (2008) is an example of how he instils a little bit of himself in each work, causing it to convey an unsettling amount of emotional value (Austin n.d.).
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'There are two meanings of the word âsubjectâ: subject to to someone else by control and dependence; and tied to oneâs own identity by a conscience or a self-knowledgeâ (Bennet & Royle 2016 quoting Foucault 1983, p. 151).
Authenticity occurs when self-identity aligns with self-awareness. It may be argued that the two concepts are in fact one and the same but the reasoning for this would be the occurrence of authenticity, so all that can be proven is that the three concepts are inevitably interconnected.
Ben Quiltyâs âSelf Portrait after Afghanistan 3Ⲡ(2012) turns a critical eye to the self and how it has changed so intensely without giving the conscious mind time to adjust to the new self.
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âTo âmake oneâs nameâ means making oneâs mark, achieving recognition... of oneâs difference from others, especially the most consecrated of themâ (Bourdieu in Harrison & Wood 2003, p. 1021).
Creative Influence is the reason we, as artists, strive to improve the resolution of our work to connect with our audience and, hopefully, prove to ourselves that our creative self matches our creative idols.
Hence, appropriation is extremely effective in the creative world as it reinvents old ideas in the pursuit of âmaking oneâs markâ. Else, like Claude Monet with âImpression, Sunriseâ (1873) after being rejected by the prestigious Salon exhibition, we create an entirely new perspective towards the creative world (Isaacson 1978, p. 8).Â
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âWhen my feet felt the path which my eyes could not see... I have thought that perhaps my body would find its way home if its master should forsake it...â (Howes 2005 quoting Thoreau 1968, p. 27)Â
Sensory Knowledge is the name given to the contemplation of the existence of a tactile knowledge of oneâs surroundings - a knowledge of the senses beyond what the conscious mind can comprehend.Â
Daniel Boydâs âUntitledâ (2014) presents this concept as culturally entrenched by using a found photograph of Pentecost Island in Vanuatu to address the connection between the land and its inhabitants as well as their respective histories (Art Gallery of NSW n.d.).
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Overdetermination can be described as the âexpression of the most plural and deep psychological complexityâ found in seemingly trivial behaviours such as the tendency to click a pen or bite oneâs nails . This derives from the energy of the unconscious âspillingâ into the conscious mind as âtrivialâ impulses which actually are the expression of our âdeepest experiences and investmentsâ (Mansfield 2000, p. 29).
Margaret Olleyâs triptych âThe Yellow Roomâ (2007) is an emotionally charged painting of the artistâs living room. The bright colours and expressive brushstrokes imply her love for the space as it served as her studio, entertaining space and storage for memorabilia of her travels.
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The unconscious is the key concept at the core of Sigmund Freudâs work on psychoanalysis due to its allure as a solution for the unexplained gaps in the conscious mind but also its ability to evade total comprehension itself. It is best explained through the following quote on its expression in dreams:
âFreud saw in dreams the existence not only of a part of the mind in shadow of conscious awareness, but one that was so radically different... to consciousnessâ (Mansfield 2000, p. 28).
Wassily Kandinskyâs obsessive work with colour in âCossacksâ (1910-1) relates to the unconscious in that Kandinsky refers to the effect of colour as âto a more sensitive soul... is deeper and intensely movingâ (Kandinsky 1912, p. 44).
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Essentialism is the theory that a personâs identity comes from an âessence of selfâ that is fixed in nature. The theory is in opposition to anti-essentialism which argues that identity is malleable by cultural factors rather than something to be âfoundâ, as explained in (Barker 2012, p. 221).
These ideas relate to the mesmerising symbols found in Elias Kafourasâ âHow Did I Get Here?â (2011) due to their mandala-like overlapping, creating a flowing narrative of images. In this way, it could be argued that the work demonstrates both opposing theories as it is difficult to differentiate between what is discovered and what has been created, particularly when it comes to the self.
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Subjectivity may be explored as a concept through the relationship of the human condition and the cultural constructions that we, the subjects, exist within, as described in (Barker 2012, p. 220). It cannot be defined as identity itself but rather how we experience identity as well as the process of becoming aware of the nature of our identity.
Brett Whiteleyâs âSelf Portrait in the Studioâ hints at this idea through his mirror self-portrait that individuals are subject to and are one with a larger cultural landscape. The artistâs intention, however, warns against âhimself and other people watching... [the dangers of] possible escape into paradise: the escape from oneâs psycheâ (Art Gallery of NSW, n.d.).
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