Assignment 1 Report

TUTOR: Overall Comments

 Many thanks for sending me your 1^st Assignment. I have been unable to open up your Blog with the link supplied so I ‘ll write the tutor report  based on your sketchbook and work sent and save my comments on the blog until next time .

My comments: I was really disappointed to hear the link I sent you for my blog did not work, but delighted to know you have it now. I am sure having access to the blog would have added to your understanding and given you an insight into my thought processes in creating and evolving each piece of work. I appreciate that you still gave me feedback on the physical work I submitted. Thank you.

Its traditional in most courses for first assignment to be about Mark Making in order that the student investigates the qualities of the different media used in drawing or painting. The 20^th century saw the rise of Abstract Expressionism and artists such as Jackson Pollock, William de Kooning and  Mark Rothko used mark making to extend their range of expression.

Project two introduces the still life and in this, composition and objects are very important. Trying out variations is certainly the way to go  and drawing individual objects can only improve the end result. I like your graphic skills used in the hatched version of the still life  with nice drawing in the tricky forshortening of the chopping implement (cant think of its proper name).

 The experiments with the Jug are impressive  as is the use of subtle collage to create interesting tonal areas.

Your large drawing Collection of Objects, which uses tone again extends and makes use of  your graphic skills in a realistic way. My favourite objects are  the jar – good vague drawing of the contents  and reflections that you would expect under glass and the soft packet of butter, the form of which again is very realistic.

There is always a problem with packaging about just how much detail to put in and here when researching other artists  its best to look at either the photorealists and/or expressionist artists  and then make up your mind. Here is one by Ralph Goings and one by  John Bratby  for comparison . If you take on hyper -realism you have to take it to the extreme.

My comments:

Your suggestions of artists that relate to the tasks is really helpful, and thank you for taking the trouble to include this. Whilst I am familiar with the more ‘classic’ artwork by Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko and I think I would be able to identify their later recognisable styles if I saw them in a gallery, I would not have recognised a de Kooning. Although I have heard of de Kooning, I don’t know very much about his art or what his motivation or rationale was. Coincidentally, however, I had just seen an artwork of his, ‘Dish with pitcher and Jug’ (1921) that I thought was an incredible drawing with charcoal on grey paper. It is so sensitive and he has such amazing control of the medium. More incredibly is was done when he was just 18 years old.

This features in the book, ‘Experimental Drawing’, by Robert Kaupelis. What confounded me was then how the writer prefers the ‘energy and sheer originality’ of a totally freer style of blind drawing of a crucifixion that appears later in the book. I am not sure I agree with him at this stage, but perhaps as my understandings broaden I might appreciate his argument more.

I also followed links to these two artists who I had never heard of (Goings and Bratby). I was surprised how Goings often used the same objects over again. He certainly built on the pop-art culture idea of ‘anything and everything can be art’. Ironically I read that his art was a backlash to much of the pop-art work that he thought was not always well executed! As yet, I am not sure I understand why you would invest so much time and mental and physical energy to produce something, that although beautiful and demonstrating amazing artistic skills, ultimately just looks like a photograph. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Goings )

We went to a Gerhard Richter exhibition a few years ago at the Fondation Beyler in Basel, and some of his photo-realism work was mesmorizing. Whilst it had a photographic quality it had much more. We have three notable postcard images of his work on our fridge door. They have a particular gentle, haunting, ethereal atmosphere to them. They are: Kerze (1982), Betty (1988), Lesende, (1994).

I was interested to read of the term ‘kitchen sink realism’ in relation to Bratby’s work. I have never heard the term before but I can see how it fits this image. It is also linked to the Pop-Art movement with everyday objects being the focus, and like much like Going’s work reflects the culture and life styles of a section of working class population. It is a very busy artwork with a teeming foreground and a story that continues into the background with the curled up dog. Some of the glassware is treated quite crudely, and rendered just with white outlines.

Tutor:

Assignment 1 Assessment potential

You may want to get credit for your hard work and achievements with the OCA by formally submitting your work for assessment at the end of the module. More and more people are taking the idea of lifelong learning seriously by submitting their work for assessment but it is entirely up to you. We are just as keen to support you whether you study for pleasure or to gain qualifications. Please consider whether you want to put your work forward for assessment and let me know your decision when you submit Assignment 2. I can then give you feedback on how well your work meets the assessment requirements.

Feedback on assignment

Demonstration of technical and Visual Skills, Quality of Outcome, Demonstration of Creativity

 The drawing for assignment 1 is very nicely done. First of all you experimented with different compositions which is what is expected of you, then you developed your ideas before bringing it all to getter with this tour de force of collaged drawing.

The experimentation in textured support is particularly good with objects like the walking  boots which you would expect to have a worn bashed about quality. Then we have  the open sketchbook with pen on top of an art book which works really well. The doll with articulated legs stands out well against the newsprint The box perhaps could have been better done emphasising the wood grain and be slightly darker.The paint tubes are good but the above it and to the right is the weakest part. Here perhaps you could have reverted to the grey tone which would have helped to consolidate the whole composition.

Overall however, a great piece of work. 

Me: Thank you, I appreciate your suggestions and comments. I hope when you are able to access the blog and see photographs of this final set up, the drawing will be easier to relate to, and help to suggest why I did eventually chose the brown paper for the top left hand corner of my drawing. Perhaps though it is equally valuable to have seen the drawing without this in the first instance, as you did. I agree a grey tone of paper would have worked well in that area, and it is worth considering it as at least part of my base in subsequent tasks, but in this instance I was conscious that I wanted a little suggestion of colour so that it could be seen to vaguely relate to the course Learning Outcomes about ‘colour’, even if it doesn’t strictly represent a 3D object itself.

Sketchbooks

Demonstration of technical and Visual Skills, Demonstration of Creativity

 The  approach in the sketchbook is  enthusiastic  and  full of experiments and thoughts on progress.

Research

Context, reflective thinking, critical thinking, analysis  

 Reflective and critical thinking are to be seen in the comments in the sketchbook and using the book as an aid memoire is part of its function.

Me: Again, there are more reflections about the value of the exercise for me and the learnings I took away from each, written at the end of each posting on my blog.

Learning Logs or Blogs/Critical essays

Context, reflective thinking, critical thinking, analysis  

 Without access to the logbook I can’t at the moment comment on this part of the course.

Suggested reading/viewing

Context

 I normally suggest student attend exhibitions in their area and certainly promote the exhibitions in London of which at the moment we have  Edvard Munch Prints at the British Museum. My favourite Munch is no, not the scream, but  instead the lithograph of his sister which he produced in a number of different colour combinations.

The internet is a great resource for artists and students and I normally promote this one on drawing portraits which you might like to look at which might prove useful to watch before you are asked to draw portraits.

Me: These links and suggested artists are really helpful. I have a thirst for learning and often have to remind myself to balance my enthusiasm to ‘find out more’ with the need to be physically creating my own art. However, I am looking forward to watching this video. On my blog I am recording videos I watch and writing a short comment about each.

I am really enjoying reading Experimental Drawing by Robert Kaupelis too.

Just a week or so ago we had the good fortune to visit Art Basel. It is a highlight of each year. There is so much to see that it is impossible to see it all. You have to be quite selective and decisive about where you will go. Next week I intend to visit the exhibition on Cubism at the Kunstmuseum in Basel. It focuses on Picasso and Leger. I will post reviews of these experiences on my blog.

Thank you once again for your prompt and very encouraging feedback.