one year at art college.

Tuesday, 21 February 2012

"Left unfinished after he died in early January 1948, Kurt Schwitters’ final Merzbau (the Elterwater Merz Barn) in Cumbria was neglected for many years until the artistRichard Hamilton arranged for the surviving art work to be removed for safe keeping to the Hatton Gallery in 1965."

Thursday, 2 February 2012

On Kawara

Simple, yet very effective. I feel that the Date Prints and postcards by On Kawara have some significance to the latest project as working with the idea of my Grandfather's alzheimers seems to make dates quite important. Days that once held significance in his life may longer do so as his memory deteriorates, unless he has some sort of visual reminder of the date in question and the reason why it's important then it would probably just pass him by. I also like how the letters are all the same size and font etc, I like the uniformity of the whole thing as it makes me think of routine and structure which is becoming more and more important in my Grandfather's every day life.

Reactive Reaction.

Our latest project, titled 'Reactive Reaction' is about observing an area/place, time or subject that has created a reaction. It could be how I, or someone else, reacts with or within a space or environment that surrounds me or someone else at any chosen time.

It would have been all too easy to pick something from the past which has created a reaction, such as the World Wars and the Holocaust. I could probably have produced some nice work from these themes but I didn't feel I knew enough about them, and I haven't lived through these events to react to them- all I'd be reacting to would be someone else's memories or opinions. Nor did I particularly want to go with the obvious -the recent rise in tuition fees at universities or the recession, even though these have affected me it isn't something I've actively protested against or know an awful lot about. I wanted to pick something that has an affect on my day to day life, something closer to home.

For a while I've felt I needed to address my feelings about my Grandfather's alzheimers, not just talking about it but expressing my feelings through drawing or painting. This seems like the perfect opportunity. Not only is his condition is something that my whole family is having to react to day in day out, but it's also something my Grandfather has to react to. It's had a huge impact on my life- seeing a man who I've looked up to from a very early age suffer from his memory deteriorating- and it hasn't been easy.

Sunday, 29 January 2012

I got roses.

Friday, 20 January 2012

The Northern Art Prize- Leeds City Gallery

We were lucky enough to see the shortlisted artists for The Northern Art Prize on the same day that the winner was announced at Leeds City Gallery. Although, after seeing the work first hand I think it'd be fair to say that none of the work really captured my imagination, I didn't have an immediate connection to any of the pieces the first time round. I did however warm to the work of James Hugonin, probably just because of how labor-intensive each piece is and the amount of time and dedication he must have put into the collection. I think I'd have liked him to win the prize. Unfortunately he didn't and Leo Fitzmaurice did. My least favourite out of all the shortlisted artists.