Upon entering Breen Space it was not apparent to me at all that I would be leaving overwhelmed by an existential crisis! My first impressions of the space are clean, white, sparse professional gallery. There is little hung in the main space and the room in which the projection is screened is neatly tucked away behind a swish black curtain (the predominance of my gallery experience thus far has been artist run spaces…..although they have an undeniable charm).
The projection room is of good proportion to the screen and the room was private and quiet. This means something to me as I believe when watching a video or projection it is imperative for the viewer to be able to focus without interruption. In particular for a work like the one I was about to experience.
Without having read anything relating to the work previously, after only a few moments I was able to detect the sentiment intended. I’m not sure if this was because of my personal challenges with the topic ( I have lost a friend in the same fashion recently) or if it was the sombre and engaging tone of the piece.
Although having mentioned the qualities of the tone of the work, the presentation of “The Note” was surprisingly effective. A theatre that somewhat resembled a primary school assembly hall and a woman in a puce dress with an almost melodramatic theatrical voice instantly called on memories of uncomfortable and boring ( I might go as far to say cheesy…..sorry Kate) nights spent at suburban school plays. Alas, as soon as I let the words themselves sink in to my mind I was totally and emotionally enveloped. The writer of the note being an individual delivering themes that could extend to almost anyone, the score and song representing a universally embraced vehicle for emotional projection and last but making possibly the most important statement for the artist was the faceless body of the voice and absent audience. Wandering out into the main area of the gallery bleary eyed, the almost vacant walls in the main space, inhabiting only two stills from the video, become ever so apparent.
“The Note” has stayed with me since that day and has reminded me to have patience with what may not seem so appealing on first glance. It has reminded me to look beyond the exterior and aesthetics that I may disapprove of because there could be something far more important hiding behind them.
Woah, heaps emotional hey! But, that’s the reaction I got and I think this would be a success in the eyes of the artist!
Monday, April 12, 2010
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Debra Dawes @ GBK
Although op art can be an intriguing cognitive experience, in general it fails to capture my imaginative and emotional engagement. However, after being invited into the artist residency space within the GBK Gallery in Waterloo, where Debra Dawes has been pottering away in her spare time at large scale geometric abstractionist works, I was struck by the simplistic, repetitive, process that such works allow the artist to engage in.
Being invited to play the voyeuristic witness to the humble tactile meditations of an individual allowed me to empathically engage with these works in a way that I would not have typically conceived.
'As an exercise to get herself into the right head space for working,' the curator explained, 'Dawes takes a tube of white paint to white canvas and squeezes a vertical line of paint in time with the length of her breath. Each new breath is a new line and in this way, the pattern created becomes a record of her body's own subtle rhythms.'
Similarly, another of Dawes colour based works recorded the rhythm of her art practice. For a number of months, Dawes created a series of canvases adding a new segment of colour according its size to the amount of time spent in the studio and its colour to her intuitive response to the work at the time. The resulting work became a visual record of her own lifestyle rhythms.
The main work which Dawes has been working on in this space is, as mentioned before, a large scale geometric abstractionist piece, which works on the principles of colour theory to create the illusion of depth to the canvas. It was interesting to witness the painstaking attention to detail which goes on for a work like this, each tiny section being masking taped off before painted to ensure the kind of clarity in line and form that is necessary for the overall success of Dawes intention.
Another aspect which engaged my curiosities was Dawes invitation to private poetry readings during her art making hours at GBK. In a statement titled Poetry in the Open Studio which the curator promptly dug up for me when I quizzed him a little further about Dawes intention here, she explains "I am interested...to understand the nature of poetry in relation to the creative process and the visual. I am also curious about the effect on ones cognitive pathways and the effect on one's thinking after a lengthy exposure to poetic structures and content." Although their is currently a vagueness about where this side project might lead, my curiosity was aroused by the hint at 'generation of further work,' something definitely worth keeping ears to the ground on.
Being invited to play the voyeuristic witness to the humble tactile meditations of an individual allowed me to empathically engage with these works in a way that I would not have typically conceived.
'As an exercise to get herself into the right head space for working,' the curator explained, 'Dawes takes a tube of white paint to white canvas and squeezes a vertical line of paint in time with the length of her breath. Each new breath is a new line and in this way, the pattern created becomes a record of her body's own subtle rhythms.'
Similarly, another of Dawes colour based works recorded the rhythm of her art practice. For a number of months, Dawes created a series of canvases adding a new segment of colour according its size to the amount of time spent in the studio and its colour to her intuitive response to the work at the time. The resulting work became a visual record of her own lifestyle rhythms.
The main work which Dawes has been working on in this space is, as mentioned before, a large scale geometric abstractionist piece, which works on the principles of colour theory to create the illusion of depth to the canvas. It was interesting to witness the painstaking attention to detail which goes on for a work like this, each tiny section being masking taped off before painted to ensure the kind of clarity in line and form that is necessary for the overall success of Dawes intention.
Another aspect which engaged my curiosities was Dawes invitation to private poetry readings during her art making hours at GBK. In a statement titled Poetry in the Open Studio which the curator promptly dug up for me when I quizzed him a little further about Dawes intention here, she explains "I am interested...to understand the nature of poetry in relation to the creative process and the visual. I am also curious about the effect on ones cognitive pathways and the effect on one's thinking after a lengthy exposure to poetic structures and content." Although their is currently a vagueness about where this side project might lead, my curiosity was aroused by the hint at 'generation of further work,' something definitely worth keeping ears to the ground on.
Jonathan Jones at GBK
I really liked the GBK gallery, its atmosphere was much different to any other gallery I had previously visited. All formal etiquette of a normal gallery space was removed. I automatically felt really relaxed and welcome by the curator who personally talked to us about the works. I personally always feel awkward going to those talks with twenty strangers and standing somewhere near the back only hearing every second word.
I have to admit I enjoyed the Debra Dawes Exhibition the most, the whole process of working in the gallery, rather than a studio was really interesting and gave me a much further in-site into the process of art making. It would have been awesome to actually see her in the studio, maybe even read poetry to her. But mostly to ask her about her work in more detail.
I was surprised when I first saw Jones’s works; in the pictures they looked much smaller, in size and space. The way the light reflected onto the gallery floor made the works appear double there size, as double he size of each physical sculpture was needed to display them. The size of the works can be quite overwhelming, and realistically you don’t see that quantity or size of florescent lights very often. The juxtaposition of an everyday object transformed into something not every day and in a weird way very beautiful was really inspiriting and creative.
I felt the drawings around the installation were neglected and that they could have been positioned better. I actually didn’t notice them until the curator pointed them out. Positioning them higher or more centrally may have been more ideal. I don’t think anything would take your attention from the installation. The curator did mention that the work drawings were positioned so the fluorescent lights reflected upon them, although I felt this was insignificant and made the drawings appear less significant to the audience.
The relationship with the landscapes that Jones was inspired by were hard to draw a connection with. I personally struggled to see a connection wit any sort of landscape. I found it hard to visualise a man made consumer product, representing any type of landscape. My overall reaction to the exhibition was a positive one; I think more focus could be placed on the process, and positioning of the installation itself rather than complicated concepts. Regardless the work was beautiful.
I have to admit I enjoyed the Debra Dawes Exhibition the most, the whole process of working in the gallery, rather than a studio was really interesting and gave me a much further in-site into the process of art making. It would have been awesome to actually see her in the studio, maybe even read poetry to her. But mostly to ask her about her work in more detail.
I was surprised when I first saw Jones’s works; in the pictures they looked much smaller, in size and space. The way the light reflected onto the gallery floor made the works appear double there size, as double he size of each physical sculpture was needed to display them. The size of the works can be quite overwhelming, and realistically you don’t see that quantity or size of florescent lights very often. The juxtaposition of an everyday object transformed into something not every day and in a weird way very beautiful was really inspiriting and creative.
I felt the drawings around the installation were neglected and that they could have been positioned better. I actually didn’t notice them until the curator pointed them out. Positioning them higher or more centrally may have been more ideal. I don’t think anything would take your attention from the installation. The curator did mention that the work drawings were positioned so the fluorescent lights reflected upon them, although I felt this was insignificant and made the drawings appear less significant to the audience.
The relationship with the landscapes that Jones was inspired by were hard to draw a connection with. I personally struggled to see a connection wit any sort of landscape. I found it hard to visualise a man made consumer product, representing any type of landscape. My overall reaction to the exhibition was a positive one; I think more focus could be placed on the process, and positioning of the installation itself rather than complicated concepts. Regardless the work was beautiful.
Breenspace
Kate Murphy
Breenspace,
From the first moment I walked into the space I felt a sense of emptyness and isolation due to the amount of empty space with the exhibition.
Once walking into the large empty space you can feel the isolation due to the white painted dull walls which have nothing on one side except a medium sized photograph which is placed in the middle of one wall. The other side of the wall are enlarged music notes. The painting itself takes a very smal portion of the wall leaving the space around empty. On the other side are notes of the words she had sung and spoken. They are placed along side each other evenly and horizontally.
Once walking into the theatre room the viewer participates into her reaction and feels automatically this depression within this lady who is placed standing in a theatre room by herself reading and singing the suicidal note.
Her face is not revealed to the audience only the back side of her body. The tone of her voice changes within the time she is spending reading and singing. The volume of her voice changes from high to low according to what she is reading from the letter and the mood she has encountered. She engages the viewer to be very depressed and leading herself to suicdal activity due to the apologies she keeps repeating herself to her family members.Kate Murphy has really shown the audience the love she has towards her family members as she keeps asking for forgiveness. The audience is left only with her reading and singing the note in a theatre room by herself with no audience watching over her.
Kate Murphy has really shown the viewer and has made a translation and shown the viewer that her work is personal and has effectively shown the viewer the depression coming across through the words of the note, the isolation and emptyness of the place.
I really enjoyed Kate Murphys exhibition compared to Jonathan Jones. Kate Murphy's exhibition was more personal and I think has more meaning as an individual artist and therefore I was interested into finding and knowing out more about what was going on in the exhibition.
Breenspace,
From the first moment I walked into the space I felt a sense of emptyness and isolation due to the amount of empty space with the exhibition.
Once walking into the large empty space you can feel the isolation due to the white painted dull walls which have nothing on one side except a medium sized photograph which is placed in the middle of one wall. The other side of the wall are enlarged music notes. The painting itself takes a very smal portion of the wall leaving the space around empty. On the other side are notes of the words she had sung and spoken. They are placed along side each other evenly and horizontally.
Once walking into the theatre room the viewer participates into her reaction and feels automatically this depression within this lady who is placed standing in a theatre room by herself reading and singing the suicidal note.
Her face is not revealed to the audience only the back side of her body. The tone of her voice changes within the time she is spending reading and singing. The volume of her voice changes from high to low according to what she is reading from the letter and the mood she has encountered. She engages the viewer to be very depressed and leading herself to suicdal activity due to the apologies she keeps repeating herself to her family members.Kate Murphy has really shown the audience the love she has towards her family members as she keeps asking for forgiveness. The audience is left only with her reading and singing the note in a theatre room by herself with no audience watching over her.
Kate Murphy has really shown the viewer and has made a translation and shown the viewer that her work is personal and has effectively shown the viewer the depression coming across through the words of the note, the isolation and emptyness of the place.
I really enjoyed Kate Murphys exhibition compared to Jonathan Jones. Kate Murphy's exhibition was more personal and I think has more meaning as an individual artist and therefore I was interested into finding and knowing out more about what was going on in the exhibition.
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