Materiality, Surface, Affect, Site.

This week's topic covers the concept around materials, surfaces, affects and the locations; these are the 4 elements that is essential for artists to compose their artworks.

Firstly, Tessa discussed what the word Materiality means. Materiality is materials, she explained it's the 'stuff' that artists acknowledges that they are working with. In art language, it's often refered to as Media. I liked the quote that Tessa gave us of Marshell Mcluhan, 'The medium is the message'.

We viewed through some slides of works that are by artists who explores the idea around the materials they use in their art, here the content becomes irrelavent, and it's the form and what made the art that matters.

Slide no.1 by Rene Magritte 'ceci n'est pas une pipe', is a very classic example of looking seperately at the media and the content. Magritte is playing with the idea round the 'treachery of the images', confronting the viewers the obvious that this is only a picture of a pipe and is not the actual object itself. Therefore the content (which is the pipe) here becomes disregarded and the actual materials that made the painting becomes signified.

I was really interested by the works from Rohan Wealleans, Slide no. 9 and 10.

Wealleans really explores the limit of the media he use to compose his artworks, and his artworks fully emphasis on the power of the art material. He construct forms out of layers of house paint which then he carve into showing the almost organic looking layering of colors. He have been discribed as ' a maximalist with an orgiastic approach to materials, breathing new possibilities into the age-old problem of what to do with paint...' - Emma Bugden from Art & Australia magazine. I was also very excited to have found a critique from Tessa in this article as well, as she states 'The sin of appropriation, as committed by Picasso, Gauguin, et al., is here reappraised and perhaps resuscitated.' -Tessa Laird
http://www.artaustralia.com/article.asp?issue_id=189&article_id=209

A picture that came to my head when looking at the layers of paint being carved into was the paint fragment that was found in Belmont Art Park in Los Angeles. (also known as Graffiti Art Park).

This fragment is 1cm thick and shows the build up of paint over many years. Different to Wealleans's works where he layered the paints himself, this fragment is made up of paint layers from different people accumilated through years and years, almost to say it's a form of community artwork.

I like the way that this artform was made unintentionally and at the same time explores the idea that media itself is the art.

Continuing down the slides, we moved on to looking at the qualities of surface.

The work i liked the most was Marilyn Monroe by Andy Warhol, it's also a very iconic piece. I really like the machine made quality to the work. I liked the way that Tessa explained the artwork is 'moving away from the hand of the individual to reproduction.' This work not only shows the flatness surface quality of the work, it also explores the superficial surface of the rich and famous. I wasn't able to find the quote that Tessa told us in class, but i found another quote that i rather liked, and to me it shows just how shallow the superficial can be.

'If you want to know all about Andy Warhol, just look at the surface of my paintings and films and me, and there I am. There's nothing behind it. ' -Andy Warhol

http://www.oregonlive.com/art/index.ssf/2010/04/scarecrow_exhibit_at_reed_coll.html

One album cover of Madonna shared extreme similarities with the style of the Marilyn Monroe prints, with the usage of flat, bright colors. Which is ironic as this is also a picture of a celebrity.

Tessa then discussed the word 'Affect' as sensory experience. It's the impact upon viewing, that cause senses through out the body. The word is almost always used when talking about art.

I wish i could see the Flower house by Sara Hughes in person. As it's such an amazing scale of work, with warm bright colors, combined with movement. It would be like walking past a wave of flowers. The over whelming swam of colors reminded me of a work i came across in class before by Wolfgang Laib. The bright yellow flower pollen he was carefully laying on the floor, the big square of bright yellow would have been a very amazing sight.

The last topic of the day was Site. Site is where the artist work, could also be where the artist present his/her art. This is very important as to some artists the location is part of their work. My favourite work from the slides is Spiral Jetty by Robert Smithson, 1971. The work is forever changing due to the tide and the salt in the lake, but what is truely remarkable is the artwork is now part of the nature, it has become apart of the scene. I found an analysis on the location and the artwork,

'Smithson built "Spiral Jetty" in the country's saltiest lake. He chose a site called Rozel Point on the northeast shore because he liked the dark pink color of the water, an effect that results primarily from bacteria and algae that grow there. ' - Melissa Stanford.

http://www.robertsmithson.com/essays/sanford.htm

this make me think a street artist Edgar Mullar.

Mullar uses the pavement as his canvas. Seeing his art also linked back to the idea around 'Affect', as his works tricks your eyes and gives the viewer a 'wow' experience.

This week's discussion was really interesting. Im really amazed at what the artists explore with their art, and to think that the material alone can be the art is a fresh concept to me. It also make me more aware of the importance of the choice of material, surface, impact and location when creating an artwork. Which are somethings i need to put in more thought when i make my own pieces.

Note to Tessa: I wish to base my essay on the topic male gaze, i want to discuss how are women portraited visually in men's favor and the impact on women today. So i'd talk alittle on Erving Goffman's study on body language in 'Gender Advertisment'. Im still working on researching on Kristian Burford and Yvonne Todd.