Influences and inspiration IV: The Fountain of the Fallen Angel and A Paradise Lost

28/01/2014

Blog Entry 19:

Although I realise that I should be inspired by practitioners, I feel that more outside thinking is essential to being influenced as a practitioner. Not only have I looked at other artists but I have also looked at certain other sources that I find inspiring.


Fountain of the Fallen Angel by Ricardo Bellver (1877) La Plaza del Angel Caido (Fallen Angel Square) Madrid, Spain:

The statue (shown in the images above) is a depiction of Lucifer at the time of what is known as the Devil's Discourse; a the time at which the angel Lucifer was cast out of heaven by God into damnation. This is the only public statue of Lucifer in the world. The artist Ricardo Bellver cerated this instillation piece after being inspired by the epic poetical story A Paradise Lost by John Milton.

Extra reading information of the epic poem A Paradise Lost by John Milton (follow the link below):
http://www.paradiselost.org
(New Arts Library, 1999) bib

The idea of creating a fine art piece in response to a piece of writing to me is very interesting, as I would like to illustrate religious poetry such as A Paradise Lost, not only as illustrations in a book (which I would like to do), but also as a fine art response. I feel that imagery can be created for exhibition or installation purpose but still be an illustration - Illustrating using fine art.

Poetry such as A Paradise Lost, also interests me greatly due to the religious and creative content. My partner also writes poetry similar to this in content and I am interested in a collaboration of our work, as I am not only interested in the subject matter but I feel working closely with someone you are illustrating for is a very good way of fully understanding the ideas and creative flow of one another, for example Rold Dahl and Quentin Blake were very close friends and Dahl only ever used him to illustrate his work as he felt that the style of the writing and style of illustration should be ongoing or memorable. I would like to publish a set of poetical anthologies with this attitude so my partner's writing and my illustrations will be linked.

Illustration for Matilda by Rold Dahl by Quentin Blake

At the moment when considering what I would like to do or what I would have done if I had done my final semester of my Ba (instead of progressing onto my masters). I feel that I would have created a set of illustrations to be placed in a book with epic poetry on which it would be based and use the original large scale paintings as fine art pieces for exhibit. The multi modality of the exhibited work would include phrases or paragraphs from the poetry on which it was based.

As is now apparent I am not only influenced by the statue itself due to it being a beautiful piece of work with religious connotations and dealing with the figure, but I am also interested by what the statue itself is inspired by and how this link has created in my mind a way in which I might like to work.

Visual Culture: Debates Session 2

28/01/2014

Blog Entry 18:

This week in Visual Culture: Debates the session focused on Ideology.

This weeks session began with a small talk about animators who work as critical practitioners by Paul Mcowen who, before we began Mdes did animation at degree level. I found Paul's talk very interesting as I believe that as a fine art illustrator I should not just look at the obvious (being illustrators and painters) to draw inspiration from.

Paul mentioned two animators of particular interest to him:

Don Hertzfeld
Blu


How to Define Ideology:

• Goal is to reassure people of their beliefs or disposition
• Hierarchical, for  minority to control a majority
• Seduction
• Something people can identify with
• Propaganda is a form of use of ideology
• Affect and influence thought or feeling toward a subject (usually specific)
• Social political tool
• Ideas
• Taken for granted/ normal or common sense

Artwork is ideological - conscious or not due to an artist's own ideologies

Meaning is made by audience

Enculturation - How a person is in the world surrounded by everything happens conscious or subconscious

Pierre Bourdieu - "Habitus" (a word he has created) - A collection of traits that are formed with us, for example who one dressed or holds oneself, an accent or ideological position

John Berger - Ways of seeing a book an t.v series - interested in fine art and advertising - aaart work is valuable property or commodity
- fine art portrays what people already have
- advertising is what people don't have but are coerced to want

Bricolage - "Making do" or "piecing together"

I have decided to post my notes from these lectures on here to allow me to come back to them for future reference, and to consider whether the subjects apply to my practice.

Influences and inspiration III: Renaissance and Religious art

28/01/2014

Blog entry 17:

As aforementioned in blog entry 5, I believe that as a painter I cannot fully be immersed in this field without researching deeper into painting of the Renaissance period.

Personally I am very interested in work with religious purpose of connotation, and would like to potentially illustrate written material such as poetry, for example Paradise Lost by John Milton.

Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio):

The Nymph Galatea by Raphael, Fresco 295 x 225cm Villa Farnesina, Rome

Madonna dell Granduca
(1505), Oil on wood, 84 x 55 cm,  Palazzo Pitti, Florence

 

School of Athens by Raphael (1509)

For more information on this particular painting and the cited characters of Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael's own self portrait follow the link below:
http://brisoilpaintings.com/tag/michelangelo/
(Pearch, 2014)

I find information like the above link provides about Raphael including other artists he respected such as da Vinci and Michelangelo in this painting along with himself very interesting: the representation of artists in this painting inspires me hugely to consider how I could add my respected influences into a piece of work or create layers of meaning which cannot be recognised straight away. When this image was created Raphael did not have resources such as the internet, where he could possibly trend the connotations on the image via pages of inters or social media in the image as we can now, if I found that my own work had so many layers of meaning or hidden meaning, I might consider using the internet to gain interest.

The work of Raphael is highly influential to me due to not only the beauty of his work which has earned him the name Master (which as a master of design student I should definitely be concerned with), but his use of content: The characters in his work and the religious connotations (mostly commissioned by the church) are right up my street as a practitioner. I particularly enjoy the use of mixing human and mythical forms in The Nymph Galatea compared to the clear human forms made rather divine though the lack of background and use of aureola (halo which surrounds the whole head often found in religious art in churches to depict saints and divine beings) in Madonna del Granduca.

Another point of interest in the School of Plato, other than the interesting layers of meaning, is the juxtaposition of the characters or subjects and the compositional elements. The use of bright coloured clothing and vibrant skin tones contrasting with the more subtle background. The background in particular is interesting especially the statue figures and the shades of cream which makes them up. I researched the grouping of the characters in da Vinci's The Last Supper, and how the subjects interacted, so I would definitely like to look into the groupings in Raphael's painting.

For More information on the groupings in da Vinci's The Last Supper follow the link below:
http://www.jaydax.co.uk/lastsupper/lastsupper.htm
(Chapman, 2005) REFERENCE

For more information on a selection of Raphael's paintings please follow the link below:
 http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/raphael/
(Pioch, 2006)



Leonardo da Vinci:

Annunciazione by Leonardo da Vinci (1472 - 75) oil on panel, 98 x 127cm

Madonna of the Rocks by Leonardo da Vinci

Virgin of the Rocks by Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci's work as aforementioned in blog entry 5 is highly influential to me due to the androgynous male forms in some of his work such as John the Baptist which make me consider the idea of the full human (considered more in blog entry 5). I also find the above selection interesting for a number of reasons: Again the depiction of divine forms, rather similar to those created by Raphael through the used of the angelic form and aureola to portray divinity. I have also looked at Madonna of the Rocks and Virgin of the Rocks and I have noticed that compositionally they are very similar. Virgin of the Rocks was created after the Catholic Church disregarded Madonna of the Rocks for being too controversial such as the hand gesture by the far right adult character (angelic with wings) looking to cut something across the top of baby Jesus' head. Due to the church commissioning both of the Rocks paintings (originally Madonna) da Vinci had to reign in his own intentions and ensure the commission would be paid for, as a practitioner I need to understand how to compromise when my work is being paid for without loosing my style and ensuring I am staying true to myself which I feel is very important. If da Vinici can do it I can endeavour to do so too.



Michelangelo:

 Pieta by Michelangelo St Peter's Basilica

Michelangelo Sistine Chapel, Vatican

Layout of each area of Michelangelo's painting of the sistine chapel by Britannia Pearch (Pearch 2014)

The paintings in the Sistine Chapel is a particular point of interest for me when considering his work. Although it is thought that Michelangelo's preferred medium was sculpture, there is no doubt in my mind that as a painter, I should look at the painted work he has created to be inspired and to learn; I always find that when I consider the painted work of those who are known as Masters and other well renowned practitioners, I learn more and more, whether it is the mixing of paint or the use of detail or expression, there is always something to gain and apply to my practice to develop it. 


The Sistine Chapel painting as a whole can be broken down into individual areas or even individual paintings which as a set create a whole (as shown above). This breaking down of a huge scale fresco is in a way massively systematic, as a practitioner I am privy to using systems and lists to ensure I am  on track with my work as is probably apparent with how I utilise my blog entries, so finding this trend in the work of a master who's work I am particularly influenced by is very reassuring for me with regards to my methodology.



(Ale)Sandro Botticelli:

Primavera by Boticelli (1482) oil on panel 203 x 314cm

Birth of Venus by Boticelli (1445 - 1510) tempera on panel 175.5 x 278.5cm

I find the work of Boticelli depicts divinity with a rather more romanticised view. The difference between the human, heavenly and the hell like in Primavera is recognisable but without adhering too much to stereotypes other than the trend of the cherub which was a popular depiction of the divine for the time. The devil like creature is seen as different through flesh colour which is cool and closer to tonal and facial expression. I can see that the use of colour to suggest the humans and the cherub are somewhat more linked than the hell or devil like creature: using colour to create links similarly to the Alfa Romeo Gulietta advert the group looked at in Visual Culture: Debates in the text by Goldman, where colour creates visual links that people use as association. The focal point of Primavera is interesting to me due to how the trees in the background surround the central character's head rather like a aureola, at the top of which is the cherub, is this a different take on depicting divinity.

Another interesting aspect I have noticed by looking at the two of Boticelli's paintings is the woman in the floral dress who looks to be pregnant (suggestively), she appears in both images (or at least a similar character is in both) Wearing a similar dress with long flowing hair, I have never noticed this before but am very in awe of the similarity. I have noticed before that some practitioners use a similar aspect or image in a number if not all of their work as a theme or trademark of their work, I am personally very fond of this idea and may look to include my own, probably more subtle similarity in my work. 

Another point I would like to make about these two pieces in comparison to most other pieces I have looked at in this blog entry is the representation of women. The female form seems to be somewhat more celebrated or at least more prominent, this work swell focusses not only on Christian symbols of divinity, but more feminine divine beings such as Venus the Ancient Roman Goddess on Love. I may look into the representation of women in religious art further, as it too links to the lack of mentioned women in The Library of Babel by Jorge Luis Borges, which is the main basis for my project in Personal Practice and Methodologies. 

Influences and inspiration II: Sam Webber

27/01/2014

Blog entry 16:

Today in Personal Practice & Methodologies, the class have been asked to consider practitioners deeply as to what is specifically influential about them and what has influenced them to work in this way. As I have already made a start with looking at practitioners' work that is influential to myself (see blog entry 5) I feel I need to look more deeply into how these artists work and why this influences me. Over the next few blog entries I will consider a number of artistic influences in depth and why these are essential to consider for my personal development as a fine art illustrator. 

As I have already created some imagery focussing predominantly on the figure and experimented partially with a 'tea stain' colour palette, I feel it is necessary to look at another practitioner that deals with these elements, namely Sam Webber.

I first caught a glimpse of Webber's work when submitting my own illustrations for the Folio Society and House of Illustration 2014 competition to create a set of 3 illustrations and a front cover for the dark novel Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. The image was used as an example in the "How to submit" instructions for the competition.

For more information of the 2014 competition for the Folio Society and House of Illustration, please follow the link below:
http://competitions.houseofillustration.org.uk/book-illustration-competition-2014/ 
(House of Illustration and Folio Society annual book competition, 2014)

Extra reading: The synopsis for Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (follow the link below):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_of_Darkness
(Wikipedia, 2014)

Work by Sam Webber:

Illustration for the Folio Society version of the novel Lord of the flies by  William Golding
2009

The aspect of this image that most interests me is colour palette: Webber has created a feel for flesh tone, the blonde hair of the character and background by using very similar gold/ yellow/ brown shades, which are complimented by the pink and red darker areas of the lips and shadow on the facial and neck area. The eyes are the darkest area of the image and draw attention acting as the focal area of the portrait illustration. Colour palette is very much the main point of attraction for me, and I intend to look into using similar background and skin tone colour in my own work during this time when I am able to experiment with my media.

Depicting The Library of obscurity

27/01/2014

Blog Entry 15:

In this entry I will explore and portray how I perceive “the Library” in the short story The Library of Babel by Jorge Luis Borges, including notation and visual elements (mainly in sketch form).

Extra reading The Library of Babel by Jorge Luis Borges follow the link below:
 http://www.thecriticalpoint.net/index_files/libraryofbabel.pdf
(Borges, 1944)

Initial Notation on aspects of “the Library”:

Hexagonal galleries with floors that can be seen through - like black pool tower - or repetitive imagery getting smaller and smaller

Each gallery has a ventilation shaft bounded by a low railing

A 3d hexagon
Repetitive pattern?
Perspective drawings

Five book shelves to each side does not equal 20 - does each side mean that the room is used as a square room despite its hexagonal shape
4x5=20 so 2 sets of shelves are along a flat wall and 2 sets are adjacent to corners?
But the book shelves line 4 of the hexagonal sides - the arrangement of each gallery is the same so would they always be the same?

Initial imagery:

initial library ideas page

 The above image is a set of simple idea images in response to what I imagine a room in The Liobrary to look like along with other rough ideas.

Library mood board

A mood board with sections of ideas of aspects or objects that may exist within the library, this mood board deals with:

• Book shelves - I imagine them to be old and worn in some hexagons and updated in others
• Books - I imagine all books in the library to be old and possibly ornate due to their being ther since the dawn of time
• Objects - I have looked at objects in the library which may also be hexagonal like the rooms
• Bird's eye view - all floors can be seen though into an everlasing number of rooms above and below, so I have looked at imagery that may depict this idea, this also gives me ideas about privacy and that people in the rooms above and below will be able to see what others are doing
• Fashion - I have looked at hexagonal items of jewellery and clothing that follow the hexagonal theme 
• Nature - I have looked at areas of nature where the hexagon occurs 

Hexagon repeat pattern 1 (with crimson hexagon) Adobe Photoshop

Hexagon repreat pattern 2 Adobe Photoshop                                      

I have created an obvious simple repeat pattern on Adobe Photoshop of the hexagon shape - Could this be used as a map for each room? I have added a crimson hexagon in the top image to potentially portray a map to the crimson hexagon.

The Library steps mood board

Sketch of a natural hexagon spiral staircase

After looking into areas of my mood board that most interested me I thought of the hexagonal rocks which are fromed naturally in places in the world. I created a second mood board around this idea looking at spiral stair cases, natural steps and the natural hexagon rock formations. I then created the above sketch from combining ideas from my mood board.

The beehive sketch

This sketch is also based on natural forms that occur in hexagonal froms from my original mood board. Due to the library being inhabited by so few people I have left most hexagons empty to depict this.

The Natural Library room sketch

This sketch depicts my idea of what a room in the library might have looked at the dawn of time. My idea is linked to carbon emissions and global warming, which nature is suffering from - before humans destroyed nature, the library could have had grass floors and hexagonal flowers but now it is desolate. I have suggested that the book shelves are trees that have been a natural part of the library since the beginning.


Primary photographs taken by myself of Britannia Mill Library:

Being as one of the main aspects of the story is the library atmosphere, I decided to get some primary/ first hand research of a library. The photographs I took (with permission from Britannia Mill library staff) helped me to get a feel for the library environment and consider aspects such as how books are kept and cataloged.

I often find that when illustrating books or stories, I want to consider absolutely every aspect of said story, I also enjoy using artistic licence to eventuate areas of a story which have not been fully detailed - to do this I feel that I need to gather as much research as possible on general and more specific areas I wish to depict.