aim
Today, many contemporary artists choose to liberate themselves from the four walls and rectangular canvas stretcher, working instead in other sites of production to create site-specific painting, tablet painting, murals, graffiti and other urban interventions, and ‘Land Art’, as well as producing internet specific projects.
method
Using your research from Project 1 create a piece of work that could be considered to be post- studio. You can work alone or collaboratively, perhaps with someone who works in a completely different way. It is an opportunity to try something completely different and to be as explorative and experimental as you like. See how you can expand your painting’s image plane. If possible work outside, be inspired by the world around you, its contexts, politics and shifting realities. Take photographs of your outcomes and make sure you send these photographs to your tutor alongside your other experimental pieces.
Pre-research
As reflected in Part 2: Honing In, I am interested in exploring the figure more. Not only the female figure, but also the male figure. With the rise of feminism in the late 20th century, there have been great strides made in the representation of female artists and woman in art. This has since also expanded our interpretations of the female figure and raised numerous concerns about societies standards of beauty. Questioning the norms of beauty naturally lead to pushing boundaries on gender and considering what we identify as feminine. But off course one cannot question femininity without questioning masculinity and this is where it becomes interesting. Many societies seem to have very typified notions of how men should behave, what jobs men should do and what men should look like and it seems that, especially in the male community, males who do not conform to these norms are often ridiculed and isolated. Any societies opinions on masculinity and femininity are shaped by their culture, traditions and beliefs and these will naturally vary between cultures. I have mostly been raised in a Western society, but I have also lived and traveled in the East for more than 12 years, so my own perceptions of masculine and feminine will have multiple influences. One of the things that I have certainly noticed is how society is very quick to call out any male with feminine attributes as being homosexual and vice versa. It seems that it is quite difficult to explore masculinity and femininity without incorporating sexuality. Though I am not particularly interested in exploring sexuality, I do find it intriguing that our perceptions of masculine and feminine suddenly lead to classifications of homosexuality when not conforming to societal views. In the creative world especially, it seems, we have gone from presumptions of 'artistic/ creative types' being straight to the them being gay, especially among male artistic types.
Through my exploration of gender and identity I hope to question my own beliefs and create self constructed and authentic depictions of my perceptions and understanding.
At this point it would be important for me to look into the work of others that have worked within a similar theme.
As reflected in Part 2: Honing In, I am interested in exploring the figure more. Not only the female figure, but also the male figure. With the rise of feminism in the late 20th century, there have been great strides made in the representation of female artists and woman in art. This has since also expanded our interpretations of the female figure and raised numerous concerns about societies standards of beauty. Questioning the norms of beauty naturally lead to pushing boundaries on gender and considering what we identify as feminine. But off course one cannot question femininity without questioning masculinity and this is where it becomes interesting. Many societies seem to have very typified notions of how men should behave, what jobs men should do and what men should look like and it seems that, especially in the male community, males who do not conform to these norms are often ridiculed and isolated. Any societies opinions on masculinity and femininity are shaped by their culture, traditions and beliefs and these will naturally vary between cultures. I have mostly been raised in a Western society, but I have also lived and traveled in the East for more than 12 years, so my own perceptions of masculine and feminine will have multiple influences. One of the things that I have certainly noticed is how society is very quick to call out any male with feminine attributes as being homosexual and vice versa. It seems that it is quite difficult to explore masculinity and femininity without incorporating sexuality. Though I am not particularly interested in exploring sexuality, I do find it intriguing that our perceptions of masculine and feminine suddenly lead to classifications of homosexuality when not conforming to societal views. In the creative world especially, it seems, we have gone from presumptions of 'artistic/ creative types' being straight to the them being gay, especially among male artistic types.
Through my exploration of gender and identity I hope to question my own beliefs and create self constructed and authentic depictions of my perceptions and understanding.
At this point it would be important for me to look into the work of others that have worked within a similar theme.
Exploring other artists
Claude Cahun
Cahun was a French photographer, sculptor, writer and political activist. Her greatest topic of inspiration was herself. Exploring her own nature, integrity, gender and outlook. She purposefully rejected societal views of gender and used her own appearance to advocate gender neutrality. Much of her works are a testament to how we agonize over our identity and gender and how these are dictated by societal views. Her work is ambiguous and dream-like at times, tying it to the feminist and surrealist movements. I think there have been great strides made in since the creation of these works. Androgyny and gender fluidity are terms that are becoming more and more used. A women shaving her head or wearing a man's suit wouldn't nearly draw as much attention today. Her explorations of gender and identity is still very relevant though as I doubt there are any men or women out there who have not questioned their sexuality or looked in a mirror and asked 'Who am I?' |
Allen Jones
Jones is a British based pop artist who works in painting and sculpture. His work is often highly sexualized and plays with ideas of, "traditional male and female power dynamics" (Artnet, 2019). I watched a short interview done for Royal Academy of Arts (2015) where the artist talks about his work with the figure. He notes that he allowed himself to discover what the figure could be outside the confines of accepted teaching and the canvas and developing this into his unique style. Much of his work focuses on the female figure and it tends to be overly idealized. I don't really want to focus on his controversial sculptural works, but rather look at some of his paintings that touch on themes of gender.
Jones is a British based pop artist who works in painting and sculpture. His work is often highly sexualized and plays with ideas of, "traditional male and female power dynamics" (Artnet, 2019). I watched a short interview done for Royal Academy of Arts (2015) where the artist talks about his work with the figure. He notes that he allowed himself to discover what the figure could be outside the confines of accepted teaching and the canvas and developing this into his unique style. Much of his work focuses on the female figure and it tends to be overly idealized. I don't really want to focus on his controversial sculptural works, but rather look at some of his paintings that touch on themes of gender.
Hermaphrodite is a colourful and playful depiction of a man and a woman 'melting' into one. Jones notes that, "there are elements of male and female within everybody’s character" (Jones cited on Tresadern, 2017). Jones took inspiration fro the work of Nietzche, who like Jones, is considered controversial when discussing their views on women. Nietzche implied in his writings that both masculine and feminine attributes should be evident in an artist in order to achieve true creativity (Walker Art Gallery, 2019). Though the term hermaphrodite means an organism with full or partial genitalia from both sexes, it is more likely that Jones took inspiration from the Greek Myth about Hermaphroditus.
Now there is much debate currently happening about gender and how we assign gender biologically according to our genitalia, but that this may not be a true representation of the gender we identify as, however, I am not interested in enter into this debate. I rather chose to take from this painting the idea that masculine and feminine should work together and that these terms should not be assigned to a specific gender. We don't find it strange to describe a person, male or female, as outgoing, brave or having a great sense of humour. In the same way masculine or feminine should just be adjectives that provide perspective. |
ektor garcia
He is a Mexican artist who explore ambiguity and gender representations through sculptural materials. His pieces combine practices and crafting traditions from his culture and home environment, like knitting, weaving and crochet. The work, much like the others featured above tend to be of a sexual nature, "while suggesting movement away from definitive gender and sexual roles" (New Exhibitions Museum, 2017) I found his work interesting as it is often considered as it, "alludes to a struggle with complex identity ... an expression of being disjointed with roots in multiple places" (Van Houten Maldonado, 2016) |
Life Drawing
In my exploration of masculine and feminine I thought it would be useful to attend a life drawing class with a male nude, especially is this provides you with an opportunity to really investigate how the body moves. Many of our perceptions of masculine and feminine are often conceived in how we view the build and shape of a figure. In the media men are often stereotyped as being chiseled and muscular bodies. The session was a series of short 5 min poses with a 10 minute pose at the end. |
I still find it quite challenging to create sketches in 5 minutes, especially as I want to try an focus on getting proportions correct. As such I mostly focused on the bulk of body and in did not delve into too much detail. The sketch on the right was done during the final 10 minute session and as I had a little more time, I chose to focus on upper half of the body to create a portrait. Only drawing a section of the body is more manageable and takes away some of the stress of getting other proportions correct. It also gave me the opportunity to focus on the facial features. The sketch is still rough and unrefined, but I feel like this gives the image youthfulness and highlights the subjects vulnerability. It is this type of energetic sketchy feeling that I want to try and bring into my paintings as well. |
Reflection
It was an interesting practical task as it pointed out some of my own perceptions on masculinity and the male figure. For example, the model was short with a fit build, but despite his fit physique, his small stature made him appear boyish to me which in turn made him less 'manly' in my eyes. Of course, here I am referring to my culturally influenced ideas of 'manly'. Growing up in South Africa in an Afrikaans community there is a great emphasis on raising big strong men.
Another thing that was interesting was observing the body and the shapes it created during certain poses. It was notable how the male figure has soft features and curves at parts that one could easily define as feminine and sensual. I think that it is still notable that our biology makes definite distinctions to the outward appearance of our bodies which for practical reasons makes it easier to define males and females, however, this should not have to be what defines our behaviors or traits. As an artist, I personally just want to be able to find the beauty and interest in my subjects. In general, I would also push myself to not only appreciate the figure, but the soul carried inside it which makes it unique, whether male or female, large or small, short or tall.
It was an interesting practical task as it pointed out some of my own perceptions on masculinity and the male figure. For example, the model was short with a fit build, but despite his fit physique, his small stature made him appear boyish to me which in turn made him less 'manly' in my eyes. Of course, here I am referring to my culturally influenced ideas of 'manly'. Growing up in South Africa in an Afrikaans community there is a great emphasis on raising big strong men.
Another thing that was interesting was observing the body and the shapes it created during certain poses. It was notable how the male figure has soft features and curves at parts that one could easily define as feminine and sensual. I think that it is still notable that our biology makes definite distinctions to the outward appearance of our bodies which for practical reasons makes it easier to define males and females, however, this should not have to be what defines our behaviors or traits. As an artist, I personally just want to be able to find the beauty and interest in my subjects. In general, I would also push myself to not only appreciate the figure, but the soul carried inside it which makes it unique, whether male or female, large or small, short or tall.
Instillation experiments
While doing my practical research for Part 3, I was particularly drawn to artists who created instillation pieces and so I knew this was something I wanted to experiment with. I discovered the work of Greyson Perry. A British artist who explores themes of "prejudices, fashions and foibles" (Tate, 2019). His work often includes images of his childhood and his alter ego, Claire. He has often speaks about the fluidity of gender ans specifically comments on how our current social practices are damaging the male identity. In his book, The Decent of Man he interestingly observes how, the problem is not specifically our gender, but rather the societal dictations of our gender roles. What I like about his writing is that he is essentially challenging both genders on their outlook of what is masculine and feminine. Both genders need to realize how their actions, words or perceptions can perpetuate societal stereotypes which can damage relationships.
He mostly works in ceramics, but has also created some sculptural pieces. The images below show some of his work. The imagery on the vase show his fascination with fashion and women. The sculptural piece, Our Mother, is impeccably detailed. What I like about both pieces is the sense of clutter he creates. You are bombarded with shapes and images which means as the viewer you really need to take time to investigate every corner of the work.
He mostly works in ceramics, but has also created some sculptural pieces. The images below show some of his work. The imagery on the vase show his fascination with fashion and women. The sculptural piece, Our Mother, is impeccably detailed. What I like about both pieces is the sense of clutter he creates. You are bombarded with shapes and images which means as the viewer you really need to take time to investigate every corner of the work.
In keeping with the theme of exploring masculinity and femininity I thought about how our views on this are often shaped by our surroundings and impressions, especially from a young age. Lately my social media feeds have been lined with gender reveal parties that new parents through to find out the sex of their baby. It usually involves some sort of activity where an object reveals a specific colour that represents a gender. Pink for girls and blue for boys. Up until the the mid twentieth century, it was widely accepted that blue was for girls and pink was for boys as, "pink, being a more decided and stronger color, is more suitable for the boy, while blue, which is more delicate and dainty, is prettier for the girl" (Maglaty, 2011). Not surprisingly the shift came when American retailers pushed the idea of blue being for boys and pink being for girls, once again reinforcing how much of our perceptions are dictated by the media and pervasive advertising. Add campaigns not only targeted colour, but started pushing stereotyped activities that suit particular genders with boys being targeted as strong and active with connotations towards sport, while girls were subservient home makers.
I really just wanted to exaggerate this idea by using gender specific toys and representing them in a type of structural piece, but in their opposite colours.
Design ideas
Initially I wanted the toys to in a large pile, almost as how you would see a pile of toys lay on the ground in a kids room (design 4), and bringing it back to the clutter-feel I get from Grayson Perry's work. I then thought about how many of the gender reveal parties are cakes that the parents cut into to reveal the colour inside and started working on an idea of creating an elaborate cake. I did want it to be a large tear cake at first (design 1-3), but realized I would need a lot of toys to make that work. I also considered how a tiered cake feels more like a wedding cake and then it loosed a connection to the theme. I finally chose to create a simple round cake, which actually is well suited to the idea of being a birthday cake and becomes symbolic of how we are conditioned from a young age (design 5).
The toys were purchased from the Chinese Markets. While looking out for toys and comparing the two piles above, there are a couple of observations to be made. The toys for boys tend to be darker in colour, with blue and red being favored colours while the girls toys consist of more vibrant colours, especially pink, yellow and white. The boys toys tend to perpetuate ideas of war and violence, with male figures appearing brave and strong. The girls toys perpetuate the idea of the female as homemaker with additional notions of being pretty, petite and decorative.
creation process
I created a round cake base using cardboard and masking tape which I mounted on a wooden canvas. I then used enamel paint to paint each individual toy in their "opposite" gender colours. Once dry I glued the pieces together in a decorative way around the cake base, with a few final paint touch-ups.
Final piece
Reflection
I really enjoyed creating these pieces, it is very different from painting as it feels like there is more action that goes into the creation. Every step is also very different which makes the work engaging. I feel like these pieces are quite unique and that they do effectively make a statement about gender and how we are influenced from a young age. I believe the use of the cake and happy birthday candles has made this symbolism clear. I also love the cluster effect created, as mentioned with Grayson Perry's Our Mother piece, you want to investigate it from all angles and take in all the objects, hopefully a viewer would feel the same when looking at these two pieces. The only thing I would have done differently is connecting the cakes with masking tape, as this does not look as smooth and neat when painted. It would have been better to glue them together. I do really like the look of the enamel paint though, the glossy feel it creates really makes the toys glow and the solid depiction of the colours reminds me of Mary Heilmann's furniture pieces. By using well-known toys it also gives the pieces a feel reminiscent of Duchamp’s Readymades.
I really enjoyed creating these pieces, it is very different from painting as it feels like there is more action that goes into the creation. Every step is also very different which makes the work engaging. I feel like these pieces are quite unique and that they do effectively make a statement about gender and how we are influenced from a young age. I believe the use of the cake and happy birthday candles has made this symbolism clear. I also love the cluster effect created, as mentioned with Grayson Perry's Our Mother piece, you want to investigate it from all angles and take in all the objects, hopefully a viewer would feel the same when looking at these two pieces. The only thing I would have done differently is connecting the cakes with masking tape, as this does not look as smooth and neat when painted. It would have been better to glue them together. I do really like the look of the enamel paint though, the glossy feel it creates really makes the toys glow and the solid depiction of the colours reminds me of Mary Heilmann's furniture pieces. By using well-known toys it also gives the pieces a feel reminiscent of Duchamp’s Readymades.
expanding the canvas
I also wanted to experiment with the idea of expanding the canvas. I have seen many great pieces where the canvas almost only serves as a foundation that an artwork is built onto, for example, you may recall the Ian Fabro's piece that I mentioned during my Art Basel visit. Still enjoying this idea of clutter, I hope to create a simple painting that appears to be expanding past the canvas. In keeping with my theme, I will depict a male in a formal suit, but instead of a face there will be wires expanding outwards with trinkets attached at the end. The trinkets will have feminine connotations, implying that men can (and should) also be thinking of 'feminine' things.
sketch ideas
I wanted the painting of the suit to be stark and simple, so I collected different images of suits and used photoshop to apply a cartoon-like effect to them which will helped to create the simplified contrast I was looking for and which will guide my painting style. Of the tree examples posted below I decide to use the on the 1st one on the left.
I first painted the canvas in a soft pink colour.
Then I painted the suit in ivory black in order to make it really dark.
The highlights and tie were created with rose pink.
I used the addition of the pink colours in order to keep with the symbolism of colours being stereotyped to gender.
I stabbed wire through the canvas, keeping the front piece shorter and the back longer, this way I can make use of both ends to make the cluster fuller.
The trinkets, which were purchased from a collection of haberdashery stores, were attached with glue.
Reflection
The final product continues to enhance my chosen theme. The trinkets chosen have feminine connotations and the use of pink is once again evident. There were a couple of additional items which were to heavy to apply, like the perfume, lipstick and rubber boob. I really wanted to use the boob, in order to make a symbolic connection to every human (male or female) has to the breast, i.e. their mother. But these items were too heavy for the wire to hold up. The project has a slight school project feel to it, but that provides it with a certain innocent charm, showing that explorations of gender don't need to be sexualized.
Then I painted the suit in ivory black in order to make it really dark.
The highlights and tie were created with rose pink.
I used the addition of the pink colours in order to keep with the symbolism of colours being stereotyped to gender.
I stabbed wire through the canvas, keeping the front piece shorter and the back longer, this way I can make use of both ends to make the cluster fuller.
The trinkets, which were purchased from a collection of haberdashery stores, were attached with glue.
Reflection
The final product continues to enhance my chosen theme. The trinkets chosen have feminine connotations and the use of pink is once again evident. There were a couple of additional items which were to heavy to apply, like the perfume, lipstick and rubber boob. I really wanted to use the boob, in order to make a symbolic connection to every human (male or female) has to the breast, i.e. their mother. But these items were too heavy for the wire to hold up. The project has a slight school project feel to it, but that provides it with a certain innocent charm, showing that explorations of gender don't need to be sexualized.
works cited
Artnet (2019) Allen Jones. [online] At: http://www.artnet.com/artists/allen-jones/ (Accessed on 4 March 2019)
Malgaty J. (2011) When did girls start wearing pink? [online] At: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/when-did-girls-start-wearing-pink-1370097/ (Accessed on 11 April 2019)
New Exhibitions Museum (2017) Trigger: Gender as a Tool and a Weapon. [online] At: https://www.newmuseum.org/exhibitions/view/trigger-gender-as-a-tool-and-as-a-weapon (Accessed on 15 March 2019)
Royal Academy of Arts (2015) Allen Jones RA. [online] At: https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/allen-jones-ra (Accessed on 4 March 2019)
Tate (2019) Grayson Perry. [online] At: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/grayson-perry-4657 (Accessed on 11 April 2019)
Van Houten Maldonado, D. (2016) Hybrid Objects for a Binary World. [online] At: https://hyperallergic.com/341137/hybrid-objects-for-a-binary-world/ (Accessed on 15 March 2019)
Walker Art Gallery (2019) Hermaphrodite. [online] At: http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/walker/collections/paintings/20c/item-242135.aspx (Accessed on 4 March 2019)
Malgaty J. (2011) When did girls start wearing pink? [online] At: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/when-did-girls-start-wearing-pink-1370097/ (Accessed on 11 April 2019)
New Exhibitions Museum (2017) Trigger: Gender as a Tool and a Weapon. [online] At: https://www.newmuseum.org/exhibitions/view/trigger-gender-as-a-tool-and-as-a-weapon (Accessed on 15 March 2019)
Royal Academy of Arts (2015) Allen Jones RA. [online] At: https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/allen-jones-ra (Accessed on 4 March 2019)
Tate (2019) Grayson Perry. [online] At: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/grayson-perry-4657 (Accessed on 11 April 2019)
Van Houten Maldonado, D. (2016) Hybrid Objects for a Binary World. [online] At: https://hyperallergic.com/341137/hybrid-objects-for-a-binary-world/ (Accessed on 15 March 2019)
Walker Art Gallery (2019) Hermaphrodite. [online] At: http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/walker/collections/paintings/20c/item-242135.aspx (Accessed on 4 March 2019)