Moving forward with my work has proved difficult as I am finding that I am becoming too precious about what I’m producing again. I need to give myself permission to make without getting stuck on its outcome. I have been looking back at my most recent work and picking out what it is that I am focussing on. One of those things has been the combination of text and movement through my kinetic drawings.
Taking this idea I have reverted back to using a photocopier to manipulate existing material. I have used my typed manifestos on the copier to create warped, stretched out shapes. My aim was that a single word or line could be reduced into a number of abstract lines or shapes, but what proved more interesting was the stretched nature of the text, with some immediately readable and other parts becoming warped beyond recognition. I am now developing a number of these images into screen prints. I want to see how these appear on a much larger scale with the hope that I can develop the resulting imagery further.
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Annie Vought’s paper-cuts highlight the intricacies of the written word by making them the sole subject of her pieces. After writing out a passage of text, Vought then cuts away everything but the inked lines on the paper- only the handwritten guidelines remain.
The process of writing daily manifestos has waned a little, but I am still finding that writing these personal statements for my own reference are useful; they track my progress and give me prompts to work with. Recently I have been experimenting with how these manifestos could be presented outside of a notebook. Despite being private there is an interesting interplay of the conventional manifesto being created for a wider audience. Most of my statements are short, and lend themselves well to the size of a post-it note. Much like to-do lists, these pieces of text serve as personal reminders for me, and fit well on the purpose of the note paper. NOTES TO SELF The time consuming nature of typing and the aesthetic of printed text gives value to an otherwise ‘throwaway’ object.
Similarly to Carl Andre, I appreciate the machine-like quality of using a typewriter. The process although time consuming is naturally more considered and means that I have to put more of my time into the format and layout of each piece, once again giving a higher value to the paper.
These statements at present are personal; intended for my own use- yet producing these typed pieces from them is one of the first steps I am taking to make this accessible to another viewer/reader. But in spite of this a sticky note is usually considered a personal item, much like a shopping list or diary entry. Perhaps the notes being a recognisable item help for the viewer to relate to them, rather than just a written/typed piece on ordinary paper. In addition to the writing of text I have been considering how it is presented. In keeping with my concept of text that is identifiable but not necessarily legible I have been looking at how light can affect our perception of visual language and motifs. When looking at the work of Mira Shendel light is frequently used in conjunction with her hanging pieces to shine through and highlight the text that she has trapped between sheets of Perspex. I thought I would attempt a similar approach with my typographic kinetic drawings. Initially I drew several ‘maps’ over the period of a journey with white pen on tracing paper – white on white. I then layered these drawings together and suspended them by trapping them between two sheets of sheet plastic. I am drawing from older ideas of encasing text within an object. The results are interesting; all of the layers are visible at different opacities giving the drawing an appearance of depth. What I also found was although the drawings are white on white, when held against a light source the lines change and appear to be darker – black on white. This has proved difficult to document, I have tried filming the pieced moving into and away from light to capture this phenomena but have yet to find a way of doing this successfully. I am also considering how to present the work – against a wall would be an interesting viewpoint of white on white, and playing with the concept of illegibility, yet the view from behind a light source is interesting. Ideally I would like to find a way of hanging it so that it can be seen from both perspectives, perhaps the piece moving so this can be achieved, or if I can find a way to film the pieces moving and presenting that instead. I have also tried the influence of light on my drawings by punching holes through an existing drawing along the drawn lines and then putting this against a light source to see the results. The effect of the individual holes is similar to a constellation, yet what I didn’t expect was to find such an interest with the texture of the holes. The process of punching holes has served a secondary purpose of creating a tactile version of my drawing – a virtual ‘map’ that can be touched to be experienced. I have already conducted research into Braille and have always found it fascinating, and perhaps there is a way I can incorporate this into my work as another form of translation or coding of data. Embossing has also appeared with my use of a typewriter, as it physically embosses the paper with each letter that is pressed. I have made pieces of blind embossing before using textured fabrics and twines, but I would like to see how I could turn my language investigations into some form of blind embossing, similar to Braille. Perhaps the lettering can remain as it would be written/typed, yet because no ink is used the paper can stand alone and it is up to the viewer to inspect and decipher the writing presented to them.
Creating pieces of writing that serve a purpose as a piece of research is an interesting concept. From one perspective this can prove very easy in the form of a thesis or write-up of a study. But using other writing techniques allows for discoveries to be made that wouldn't otherwise from a standard essay format. I have been looking extensively into the work of the Oulipo, founded in 1960 by Raymond Queneau and François le Lionnais. “Everything done prior to us is worthless” (Matthews, 1998) The aim of the Oulipo is to invent restrictions of a formal nature and propose them to enthusiasts interested in composing literature. From the beginning the group has not been concerned with the literary works themselves, but the procedures and structures capable of producing them. In a broad sense, every Oulipian technique can be thought of as a writing machine. “Every literary work is constructed with as its starting point an inspiration… that must adapt as best it can to a series of instructions or procedures” – Jean Lescure (Matthews, 1998 p.176) Translation is a key principle to Oulipian research, although not in its usual sense between two languages; with one exception Oulipian techniques of translation are used within a single language. Each technique manipulates an element of the text that has been artificially isolated from the whole, whether it be meaning, sound, grammar or vocabulary. In addition to other methods including the use of cut-up machines and translation apps, I have begun to implement some of these rules on my own texts. I have also begun to venture into appropriating other people’s pieces of writing to see how its meaning can be altered. I have used Sherrie Levine’s "Statement" as one of those pieces. What drew me to the work was that it incorporated appropriated phrases from sources such as Roland Barthes’ “Death of the Author” to comment on appropriation. Using the Oulipian N+7 rule I am appropriating an already appropriated text. I have drastically altered the meaning of the text by replacing every noun with another, found seven entries down from the original in a dictionary. The structure and grammar of the piece remain unchanged whilst the meaning is changed. Because only the nouns are altered the actions performed and people present remain the same in any text this is applied to. Appropriating an appropriated text brings into question how far the process of appropriation can be taken before the original object makes no claim to the new work. Writing has become an integral part of my practice. Not just as a problem solving tool but as a way of producing work. But in spite of this, throughout my investigations of using text as a material resource, I have compiled a list to address the concerns that I have identified:
I want to blur the boundaries between reading and seeing; both which are physical activities that adapt to visual obstacles, yet I have discovered that using text as my primary resource to comment on these issues is not enough to make work that fulfils the conceptual ideas that I have generated. So instead I have come to the conclusion that pieces of written research may prove a better resolution for using text as the primary material to work with. My studio practice will need to develop to bring other elements into physical artworks. |
AuthorThird Year BA Hons Fine Art student studying at Falmouth University Archives
April 2017
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