The large tarp I've been prepping and working on just is not going how I would like it to. I know I need to keep working so I decided to see if working small would get me going. It seems to be working. At the residency mylar was suggested as surface to work on. I thought I would use the mylar for larger work but it works well for small to. By cutting out several 6x6 pieces of mylar I am able to physically experiment with layering. By Combining images from my imagination, drawn on the spot or from my sketch books as well as "background" images from children's books.
My first research paper is on the grotesque, and I have found that in order to be considered grotesque, as opposed to pure fantasy there must be an element of the normal, or real in the work. This was lacking in the work I brought to the last residency, and is something I am currently considering.
Frances, The drawings on mylar are exciting because of the possibilities in layering your drawings and creating imaginative places with hints of normal or real. I think the definition for grotesque adds a great deal of insight to your work. Which book did you get the quote from, I would like to read it?
ReplyDeleteAlso wanted to comment about your concern about why you make art and what it is about. It seems to be you have many many potential answers to those questions. There is no right or wrong answer, only an honest one.
I create art because I want to learn more about existence. I see myself as a visual poet, looking for metaphors that forge a connection between myself and the world around me. I keep trying to find the purest form of expression, honest, pure and from the heart. Its like trying to scratch and itch that exists right below the surface you know it is there but just out of reach.
Thanks Nancy! I feel like mylar may be the answer to my background/foreground issues, and most of all I am just happy to be creating again.
ReplyDeleteI actually got the information on the grotesque from two articles they are well written, comprehensive and informative.
Harpham, Geoffrey. "The Grotesque: First Principles." .
Steig, Michael. "Defining the Grotesque: An Attempt at Synthesis.".
You make a very good point that there are no right answers when describing why you personally make art. And thank you for sharing why you create art. Scratching an itch that is just out of reach, really resonates with me. I feel like I am constantly grasping for ideas that are still in the ephemera of my mind and cannot yet be fully held.
I still have not been able to describe my reason for making art as eloquently as you and the rest of the group have but I feel I am making progress.
Thanks!