These maps by Paula Scher were brought to my attention by @stevewilde on Twitter last night. The detail is lost somewhat in images of this scale but the maps are more or less solely constructed from words. I’m particularly interested in them from the point of view of the map drawings I’ve been working on recently (examples here & here).
Like Scher I’ve been using words to create my map drawings. However, I’ve used words to create an additional responsive layer to the maps rather than to construct the map. My very first attempt at my map drawings was undertaken with a much thicker pen which obscured a lot more of the map beneath. I’m interested to have seen how Scher has created her works as I’m starting to consider ways in which I might develop my own body of work.
I spent last week in Edinburgh exploring just a few of the thousands of arts events taking place as part of the Edinburgh Festivals. As well as taking in a number of performances as part of the Fringe Festival I also took in some of the exhibitions that comprise the Edinburgh Art Festival including the current exhibition by Ingrid Calame at The Fruitmarket Gallery.
Calame creates works from a very meticulous and obsessive process through which she traces the marks on the floors and walls available at numerous urban locations. The traces of the stains, scratches, cracks and other marks are taken back to the studio where they are compiled and arranged into the finished works.
...puEEp... (2001)
The exhibition consists of a number of paintings and drawings by the artist with newer works being displayed in the first floor galleries along with a site specific wall drawing created especially for the show. Upon entering the gallery I was greeted with a large work, sspspss…UM biddle BOP, created from mint green enamel paint on trace Mylar. Unlike the other paintings on show this work felt a lot more lively and fluid. I can only assume that the work was created through the same meticulous process that Calame applies to the rest of the work yet this piece appeared like it was constructed from large splashes and splatters of paint.
Of all the paintings on show this was certainly the most interesting. I found it difficult to find any real depth in the other smaller paintings on display, such as …puEEp… (pictured above). These smaller works just didn’t seem to convey the energy that was visible within the large opening piece nor the references to sense of place that was apparent within the drawings that I came to later. These painting are created by taking traces back to the studio and combining them, retracing and layering them. Each step in the process takes the work one step further away from the original source and I felt that this was apparent within the final images.
Although these paintings were very aesthetically pleasing it was the drawings on display that really grabbed my attention. The traces collected on location are taken back to the studio and layered into what Calame calls a Constellation from which she traces parts of the originals layered together into new drawings.
Working Drawing #46 (1999)
Many of the drawings on display in this exhibition are drawn in brightly coloured pencil, sometimes layered on top of one another and occasionally providing a graduated swathe of colour across the works’ surface. The drawings appear like alien maps that are impossible to read but that I still wanted to dive into an explore. Both sides of the trace Mylar are used which gives many of the works a slightly strange sense of depth whilst following the lines around the surface of the work.
Some of the drawings contain recognisable elements such as the numbers apparent in the traces obtained from the floors of the ArcelorMittal steel factory. These works might have had less of an alien appearance to those more abstract drawings but the sense of place and time was intense. Of course I have not visited the said factory and have no knowledge of it beyond these works but the works conveyed the history of the place as if Calame had perfectly captured that moment that she was there.
The use of both sides of the Mylar was most apparent in a number of more recent drawings hung in the first floor gallery. These large works, created in monochrome grey pencil, are densley packed with marks which all appear to be on the same plane rather than the result of layering a number of original traces. Parts of the drawings have only been completed on the reverse leaving muted opaque areas which caused a strange discomfort when viewed from a distance.
In addition to the new works on the first floor there is a large site specific wall drawing. Unlike the other works this is created from bags of pigment which have been pounded at the wall through very finely punched Mylar. Although the materials are different the artist’s meticulous approach is apparent. The energy which must have been expended in creating this work is visible through the radial bursts of pigment on the wall. Like the other drawings on display it is easy to get lost in the work following a line, exploring hundreds of different explosions of pigments or wandering through the inbetween the spaces.
Ingrid Calame’s exhibition at The Fruitmarket Gallery continues until 9 October 2011. I’d highly recommend dropping in to see it if you find yourself in Edinburgh.
Well this epic piece of work has been nearly a year in the making but I’m at a point where the end is in sight, It’s comprised of approximately 100 like objects as you can see pictured. These are all constructed from traditional art materials including oil paint on canvas and clay. The tallest of these ‘phalluses’ stands at about 2.5m tall.
I do love these pieces by Gabriel Dubois. He is a Canadian painter who references some of he traditions of painting whilst taking on board influences from contemporary urban art. For the most part Dubois appears to work on a traditional two dimensional whether that’s on a mounted piece of board or a more interventional ‘graffiti’-esque work.
It was the three dimensionality of these works that grabbed my attention. I’m slowly approaching the completion of my latest large scale installation (you can see one of the initial maquettes here) and so my mind is already starting to wander to pastures new as I seek out ideas for new work. I hadn’t really considered using board, or woos, for that matter, to create surfaces to work with, and this work by Dubois sparked something in the back of my mind.
You can fine out a little more about Dubois and his work on the Stolen Space Gallery website: www.stolenspace.com
This was my contribution to the exhibition that is being held as a part of the Birmingham Zine Festival in September 2010. Not a great photo but you get the idea.
Depiste initially ‘training’ as a painter it’s not that often these days I come across paintings that really tickle my fancy. These works by Yago Hortal however really caught my eye. He’s a Spanish painter currently working out of Berlin. I suppose it’s the strong colours combined with the fluidity and viscosity of the paint that attracted me.
The artist doesn’t give much away on his website regarding the context, inspiration, etc. that forms the basis for these works which is a shame because I’d really like to know that there is something deeper to them than a search for a particular aesthetic goal.
You can view more of his work and find out about forthcoming exhibitions on his website: www.yagohortal.com
This new painting is something I’ve been working on that takes some ideas I was working with a couple of years ago and updates them somewhat. I originally ran out of steam when working on such works before but new themes and concepts that I have been working with have enabled me to breathe new life in to these works and carry them forward.
I’ve just discovered that Brendan Burns is exhibiting at the Oriel Myrddin in Carmarthen next month. I haven’t been so excited about an exhibition here in South Wales for some time. I love Brendan’s work. It’s not often that paintings move me any more, and especially not those paintings of contemporary artists. Brendan’s work however, hits the spot every time. The combinations of colours, mark making and understanding of the pictorial space are always combined to unbelievable affect. The paintings to be displayed next month are the result of the artists residency at Oriel Y Parc last year and there certainly looks like there has been a change to his work. The works appears to be parred down somewhat but from the look of the images (above) provided in the press realease they have not lost a ounce of their impact.
I highly recommend you all go see the exhibition at Oriel Myrddin next month. It opens on the 2 July 2010.
