ADAD@UNSWAD

Hannah White

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We ended up slightly changing our original manifesto, but nonetheless it pretty much stayed the same.

 NOW MANIFESTO

Collaboration Guidelines

  1. With the exception of technology, I will only use materials that cost under $10.

2. I must work organically, on paper, apart from communicating ideas digitally between group members in developing the manifesto.

3. When working, I can only work for 2 hours maximum per day.

4. I must document my distractions that I have whilst working.

5. I must document in only black and white.

6. I must only document/produce my distractions in my personal distraction book that will be collated in the final week.

7. I will present my distractions to the public eye to shed a new perspective.

8. From this, I will prove that procrastination and distractions can be harnessed to produce art.

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Previews of our publication.

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Some initial experiments and progress in my distraction book.

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Artwork made by our group in response to the Public Body exhibition at Artspace yesterday. We drew upon the idea of the absence of the body to create this work.

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Booklets I’ve made for the “distractions” publication for the assessment, most of which I’ve handed out to now.

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MANIFESTO

Collaboration Guidelines

1. With the exception of technology, I will only use materials that cost under $10.

2. I must work organically, on paper, apart from communicating ideas digitally between group members in developing the manifesto.

3. When working, I can only work for 2 hours maximum per day. 

4. I must document my distractions that I have whilst working. 

5. I can only use blue, black, and red pens whilst working and documenting ideas. 

6. I must only document/produce my distractions in my personal distraction book that will be collated in the final week.

7. I can’t let anyone else see the result of my distractions. 

8. From this, I will prove that procrastination and distractions can be harnessed to produce art. 

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Studio Exercise - collaboration. We made a plant hybrid.

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STUDIO EXERCISE - COLLABORATION

- 2 or more people working together towards a common goal. Artists and artists, or artists and scientists, or artists and audiences. Large companies divided into groups (eg. project management + administration etc.). 

Examples: From the MCA Telling Tales exhibition - the letter writing project, the immigrant mapping work, artists coming together to write down the names of all the artists they can think of, audience hooked up to electrical pulses which makes them ring a bell (creates a soundscape through collaboration), audiences come into a room and are all measured against the wall (creates a mass of lines across the middle of the room). 

Advantages and Disadvantages: different skill sets, communication, dominance of individuals, work load, work ethic, contribution, lack of or great control over the product being worked on, hierarchy etc. 

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FINAL WORK

Swatch (2016)

Concept Statement

It is ultimately through the process of defining what is old and what is new that the potential for what the new may produce can be realised. Contemporary artists and designers explore universal themes through new forms and mediums as a result of the progression of technology. In response to the question: “Contemporary art and design often looks at the idea of constructed binaries… Considering the history of these ‘pairs’, how can art and design interrogate these binaries and offer new insights?”, my artwork, Swatch, is an exploration of how the binary of old/new react, interact, informs, and influences the other.

I believe that the new is informed by the old, for the most part. Through art and design practices, individuals such as artists can meaningfully align the influence of the old and the potential of the new. Swatch is my attempt at pinpointing the large impact that old art has had on the new. Through the composition of an archival-like display of colours from famous noted influential artworks, Swatch presents itself as a database of the old to be picked at, manipulated, and used to create new art.

Post exploring the ever-changing worlds of the old and new in assessment one, the evolution of ideas through the influence of the old and new and how the new is more personal than the old, is presented in a final form in Swatch. Not only does this work illuminate the constant changing boundaries of the old and new, through the merging border lines of the abstract representations of the famous works of art, but, like the first assessment work, displays the nature of new art to be more personal.

The form of the work as paint swatches I believe echoes the more personal nature of new art as choosing paint colours for walls inside and outside the home ultimately takes place in a private landscape. Similarly, I think every viewer of this artwork will have their own personal memories of paint swatches and choosing colours throughout their life in their own homes. Furthermore, and individual’s preference of colour and expression of self through colour is a very telling choice that can often reveal aspects of their personality.

The lack of this personal association with old art, such as the Mona Lisa, for the contemporary audience should allow them to connect better with the ideas of the new. The fluidity of the definition of the new throughout history allows art and design in the contemporary world clearly interrogate the boundaries of the old and new through practices such as appropriation and adaption. Swatch is a clear illustration of the interrogation of the history of the old and new binary by being able to reference old art to create new, meaningful and personal art.

The significance of these influences furthermore demonstrates the necessity to reflect and draw upon the old whilst exploring the new, as well as pursuing originality. Inspired by works by the likes of Leonardo da Vinci, Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso and many more extremely recognisable identities in the art world, Swatch is a depiction of how popular culture and icons can be interrogated and manipulated to create new things without being completely recognisable.

Organised by artwork and the placement of colour in the artwork itself, the ten artworks referenced in Swatch are blurred together to create one work, referencing how we can choose aspects of the old and bring them into the new to assist us in the production of our own work, based on what is relevant and what we like. Furthermore, being in the form of paint swatches, Swatch echoes the build up of old art to act as a backdrop for the creation of the new, as paint on walls in our houses are the backdrop to our private everyday lives.

References

Spiegelman, W. (2014, Apr 03). Art: A bridge between old and new. Wall Street Journal Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1512146551?accountid=12763

Dobrzynski, J. H. (2016, Aug 11). Arts in review -- art: Between old and new. Wall Street Journal Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1810507320?accountid=12763

Leonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisa (1503-04)

Andy Warhol, Campbell’s Soup Cans (1962)

Vincent van Gogh, Sunflowers (1888)

Johannes Vermeer, Girl with a Pearl Earring (1665)

Frida Kahlo, Self Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird (1940)

Pablo Picasso, Guernica (1937)

Edvard Munch, The Scream (1893)

Claude Monet, Water Lilies (1916)

Salvador Dali, The Persistence of Memory (1931)

Katsushika Hokusai, The Great Wave off Kanagawa (1830-1833)

Madiha Siraj, Paint Swatch Installations (2011)

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Inspiration - Paint Swatch Installations, Madiha Siraj, 2011

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My collection of paint swatches, organised in artworks.

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From my previous observation of colour samples, I Googled the most influential artworks of all time (of course debatable). From a number of lists presented, I chose a selection of 10 to use in my final work. This idea of colour sampling and colour swatches is completely different from the idea that I though I would pursue through to my final project, however, I think my experimentations have led me through a good development of ideas. 

The artworks:

Leonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisa (1503-04)

Andy Warhol, Campbell’s Soup Cans (1962)

Vincent van Gogh, Sunflowers (1888)

Johannes Vermeer, Girl with a Pearl Earring (1665)

Frida Kahlo, Self Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird (1940)

Pablo Picasso, Guernica (1937)

Edvard Munch, The Scream (1893)

Claude Monet, Water Lilies (1916)

Salvador Dali, The Persistence of Memory (1931)

Katsushika Hokusai, The Great Wave off Kanagawa (1830-1833)

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The idea of colour sampling famous artworks reminded me of how, when on Google images, when the pictures that haven’t loaded yet aren't just grey boxes, but rather coloured according to the most dominant colour in the image. Just an interesting observation. 

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Using the idea of the old influencing new, I proceeded to draw up images of what the look of interiors would be if the colour palette was based on that of famous artworks. For example, I have drawn up a kitchen labelled with a colour scheme in reference to Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Can work. Similarly, I have drawn up a basic living room labelled with colours based on that of Van Gogh’s Sunflowers. 

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After my experimentation of putting private scenes in public galleries, I wasn’t convinced on how the idea disrupted the binary of old/new. Thinking more heavily about the differences between old and new art and design led me to experiment more with the potential of using some of the most famous and influential artworks as a backdrop for the development of the new art. Furthermore, this idea led me to the potential for exploration of how the old influences the new.

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As another experiment, to the previous collages, I then added famous artworks such as Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Can and Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus. I used this process in the attempt to bring more reference towards the contrast between the basis of old and new art based on popularity and how the very well known and public artworks are placed in the private environment.

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After doing some initial experiments exploring the process and result of bringing  the private realm into a public space, namely a gallery, I decided to keep exploring, doing more rough digital collages of bedrooms, bathrooms, and kitchens.