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Assignment: Class Project 03 – Wedding Practice

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Assignment: Class Project 03 – Wedding Practice

Being Creative

Being creative is a fundamental part of being human - something we need to nurture and allow to happen. That doesn’t necessarily mean you must be an artist - creativity can take on endless forms. Music, writing, knitting, gardening, cooking or baking, daydreaming, making or designing pretty much anything uses our creative muscles. Being creative helps us process and work through other challenges we are facing. Taking the time to work on something, especially if we find it relaxing, can be meditative: while our senses are concentrating on the task our brains are working through the problems.

I have found the best part of being a creative in't the final outcome, it's what happens along the way. Setting aside some time for our creative endeavours is so important. When I am with a group of students, we talk, we laugh, and we share stories - plus we do something else - we collaborate. That time together is just as important as what you are making. I believe we, as humans, need to be with each other sometimes, to make those personal connections and combat technology’s continual ways of pushing us apart.

Most importantly: it is necessary to just be accepting of how our creativity comes out. The outcome of what we create isn’t always going to be "perfect.” The ideal perfection that we feel the need to accomplish is an unnecessary imposition that we put upon ourselves. I have seen numerous people be very hard on themselves when painting and doing art. I have seen young teenagers freeze up because they are so afraid of doing something wrong. Creative development is about growing and learning from the things we choose to create. It is an unreasonable expectation to think things are going to be instantly perfect. Making mistakes is part of the learning process. It is the mistakes that help us to improve in the long run. If you’ve ever taken a class with me, you’ll know one of my favourite sayings is “there’s always gesso.” I can honestly say I have repainted and destroyed many, many pictures - sometimes canvases have 2 other paintings buried in the layers underneath. But it’s the surface underneath that gives the work its depth - its soul. I take solace in knowing those layers were part of the process that got me to the final outcome.

I hear all the time "I can't paint" and “I’m not artistic” - but I guess what I’m trying to say is creativity is so much more that just art, and it’s a fundamental part of being human. The ways we can be creative are endless, or you can start on a creative journey by taking a class with me - drop-in on Wednesdays evenings at A Raven's Nest, schedule private lessons, or visit during the open studio time on Monday afternoons.

#robinsart #robinssongartstudio #processofcreativity #createarteveryday

Barry and I revisiting the house mid-February. Only the skate shack remained.

#abandoned

The House in July of 2017 - Photographer Barry Smith taking photos. Including a photo of my painting, the meta madness has begun.

#abandoned

Collaboration - When Nature Takes Over

Communities that are not politically or economically powerful are subject to decay if they are not capable of quick self-rehabilitation. The Niagara Region is one of those such communities. As industries and factories have shut down, we have been left with abandoned properties that are left “in-between acts” in the larger play of ever-changing life. As a property sits on its stage waiting its turn for the “next scene”, we are left to watch nature take over. Nature’s effects can be lovely - sometimes what is left behind to fall to ruin can evoke a sense of nostalgia or be romantic. As artists, we are able to portray these scenes in whatever way we choose. A scene can be depicted as hauntingly beautiful, decomposing and appalling, or just plain factual. No matter the portrayal, it is our chance to make a statement about life as we see it right now.

Working in collaboration with photographer Barry Smith, we have come together to create a unique perspective on some of the decaying and abandoned properties they have come across. Using a pink-curtained window as a starting point, we have chosen to create a painting within a picture and begin an endless loop and an endless set of possibilities. The exhibit will include approximately 15 to 20 photographs and paintings that explore the theme of nature’s effect on abandoned properties and what is happening to those properties before the scene changes for the next “act”. Part of the exhibit will be how photograph and painting answer each other in a sometimes abstracted, sometimes impressionistic way. The pinnacle of the exhibit will be a 10x4 ft diptych that combines both photo and painting to create a panoramic view of a Niagara property that has to be celebrated for what it once was, as well as what it will be when the curtain rises again.

#abandoned

Romanticizing Urban Decay

This week, I have been thinking about my final project and how I intend to photograph and videotape my explorations of some local abandoned places. So, this got me to thinking about how it has been done in the past. It was nice to come across an article on The Guardian’s website about empty US prisons being made-over to become lots of things from marijuana farms to posh hotels, and everything in between. Many different nonprofit groups are taking over old prison sites and repurposing them, so they can perhaps become useful, rather than sitting empty, unused and neglected. This type of initiative needs to happen more with all abandoned properties.

The previously mentioned article happened to be linked to the one I originally found “Ruin Lost: our love affair with decaying buildings” written by Brian Dillon and published by the Guardian. Dillon introduces novelist Rose Macaulay, who wrote Pleasure of Ruins in 1953. This book was inspired by Macaulay’s return home to London in 1941 to find everything she owned destroyed by bombing during the second world war. Though it was ten years later when she wrote the book, she was fascinated with the history of romanticizing ruins that could be seen in European art and literature from the eighteenth century until it dwindled in the first half of the twentieth century. The destruction left after the bombing occurred was too devastating to be considered as interesting or picturesque in any way.

According to Dillon, “This sense of having lived on too late, of having survived the demolition of past dreams of the future, is what gives the ruin its specific frisson, and it still animates art and writing.” So, it seems there has always been a fascination with the symbolism evoked by abandoned buildings and structures; while they are evidence of the past, time is able to outlast them. Dillon speaks of how in the 1700s, it was fashionable to create a mock-dilapidated classical temple as part of a house’s décor. Romantic art was dominated by images of ruins – from vacant medieval abbeys to depictions of England and France in ruins. In the late 1800s, Eugène Atget created photographs of Paris being demolished and rebuilt. Fast-forward to the 1940s to “ruin films” which became a film genre created in Germany (inspired by the devastation of Allied carpet bombing).

Postwar to present day, we have continued to romanticize the urban decay as we mix real and imagined photographs, video footage and writing, to create lurid scenes of cities in ruins. Robert Smithson, who created the land-art piece Spiral Jetty in 1970, wrote a series of “essays on the ruinous conditions of the modern American landscape.” Netflix is currently running a show called “The Get Down,” about the origins of hip-hop in the Bronx. The backdrop to this show is the reality of city life. Communities that are not politically or economically powerful are subject to decay – burnt out houses, abandoned fields, collapsed buildings. All of this points to the inequality of capitalism and the ever-growing divide. Large portions of people live in concentrated poverty. There is income inequality, poor school systems, and disregard for the well-being of the people living in these communities. Perhaps the link between abandonment and capitalism is not such a far reach after all. I am looking forward to adding my photos and video to the pile of footage that already exists, as well as my voice to speak against the monster that capitalism has become.

Cuepoint. “Romanticizing the Ruin: “The Get Down” and the Revitalization of Modern Detroit.” Accessed November 6, 2016. https://medium.com/cuepoint/romanticizing-the-ruin-the-get-down-now-f461730a21f3#.8xp36zmb5

Brian Dillon. “Ruin lust: our love affair with decaying buildings.” The Guardian, February 17, 2012. Accessed November 6, 2016. https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2012/feb/17/ruins-love-affair-decayed-buildings

Abstract: This article was written in February 2012 as an aside to a photography show of Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre at the Wilmotte Gallery in London. The show’s theme was of decayed Detroit. The article starts with a description of Rose Macaulay’s Pleasure of Ruins, her reasons for writing the book, and then it goes on to describe our interest in abandoned places from the eighteenth century to present day.

Rose Macaulay. Pleasure of Ruins. New York: Walker and Company, 1953.

Abstract: This book explores the relationships various kinds of people have with ruined buildings. Macaulay traces the origins of the fascination people have with historic places and how these places evoke our emotions. Macaulay describes many different once-upon-a-time grand places that she believes people have come to admire and imagine about.

#abandoned

Consumerism

I was researching consumerism this week, and came across a great video with Annie Leonard, called “The Story of Stuff”. It was produced in 2007 to track the “materials economy”. Leonard spent from 1988 to 2006 travelling to over 35 countries and investigating where our stuff comes from and where it goes. If you look up how the materials economy works, it goes like this: extraction to production to distribution to consumption to disposal. If only it were that simple! According to Leonard, this equation is very incomplete because the interaction with our actual world is not accounted for, neither are the people who live and work along the entire chain. (Which is everyone in the world.) To start with, governments should be looking out for us, since we elect them, and trust/assume that they are. However, the government parties need the big corporations to back them so they can stay in government, and those corporations end up having more influence on government decisions and policies.

The first part of the chain is extraction. We use and exploit our natural resources to create most of our stuff. However, we are running out of those resources. Leonard refers to a book by Paul Hawken et al. titled “Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution” which states “in the past three decades, one-third of the planet’s resources, its ‘natural wealth,’ has been consumed.” We are clearing trees, mining, and generally trashing the world so fast, it is unable to keep up with renewing itself. Our own self-destruction will be inevitable in approximately fifty or sixty more years if we keep proceeding at this rate. Leonard says the U.S. has 5% of the world’s population, but is consuming 30% of the world’s resources. And since they are using more than their share, they are taking resources away from third world countries with little regard to how this affects the people living in those countries. Large corporations have the money and power to take over extracting the resources because the people in these smaller countries don’t have the means to fight back. The people are exploited because they don’t have the money or power that is needed, and end up having to work for, or move or change to accommodate, those corporations.

On top of exploiting people, the corporations are creating toxic products from the natural resources they are extracting. According to Leonard, “there are over 10,000 synthetic chemicals in commerce today.” The natural resources are mixed with toxic chemicals to create plastics and other products. Unfortunately, we also can’t avoid those toxic chemicals from entering our bodies (not to mention the effects they have on the factory workers.) A lot of those products also create pollution as they are being made, releasing more toxins into our atmosphere.

Next in the equation comes distribution. Leonard says “the goal here is to keep the prices down, keep the people buying and keep the inventory moving.” To do this, manufacturers externalize the costs. All along the system, the cost to make cheap merchandise is paid by all of the people who have been effected by the materials economy system. People pay with the loss of their natural resources, loss of clean air, loss of income, and loss of education (they need to work to survive), etc. Those costs are not accounted for when we buy that $2.99 plastic container.

Even more scarier is the fact that consumption is what drives this whole system in the first place. We need to keep consuming, because that is how we have come to be identified as being happy and successful. Our value is created by our ability to contribute to consumption. We shop and replace our stuff for newer and better because manufacturers have us believing it is necessary to be the person with the most value to be happy.

Another number Leonard refers to is that only ONE PERCENT of the stuff created in this system is actually in use six months after we’ve purchased it. That means the other NINETY-NINE PERCENT ends up as trash. After the second world war, the economy was elevated by pushing consumer goods and production. The consumer demand occurs with the use of planned and perceived obsolescence – my biggest pet peeve of abandonment. Planned obsolescence means the manufacturers make stuff that is designed to brake as quickly as possible. I am not joking. (One of the installations I was thinking about was to create something out of all of the headphones my boys have gone through in the past year or so.) Perceived obsolescence is used to convince the consumer to throw away something that is still perfectly useful. For example, they change the look of something so the consumer believes to stay happy, they have to keep up with the newest, latest, greatest. I-phone 7 anyone?

Unfortunately, this all turns into a horrible cycle of work, spend, repeat. During our ever-decreasing leisure time we are in undated with commercials to buy more stuff. Let’s stop the madness!

Hawken, Paul, Amory B. Lovins, and L. Hunter Lovins. Natural Capitalism: Creating the next Industrial Revolution. Boston: Little, Brown and, 1999.

This book refers to the need for the creation of another Industrial Revolution. Because of current society’s practices, we are wasting the earth’s precious resources, some of which are irreplaceable. The authors describe Natural Capitalism as a new business model to create the opportunities necessary to revamp current manufacturing processes and business practices. Some of the key principles they outline include increasing the productivity of natural resources, shifting to biologically inspired production models, reinvest in natural capital and moving to a “service-and-flow” business model. In the service-and-flow model, value is provided as a continuous flow of services, rather than as a perceived way to gain happiness.

Pitman, Sheryn D., and Christopher B. Daniels. "Quantifying Ecological Literacy in an Adult Western Community: The Development and Application of a New Assessment Tool and Community Standard." Plos ONE 11, no. 3 (March 3, 2016): 1-18. Food Science Source, EBSCOhost (accessed October 27, 2016). doi:10.1371/journal. pone.0150648.

This paper speaks of the essential need for ecological literacy to create and sustain successful current and future societies. The relationship between human communities and the impact they have on natural ecosystems, which is described as key to sustainability in our current world, is surveyed in this paper. Because knowledge in the natural world has diminished, and less people have ecological literacy, we have to bring back the awareness of the need to understand ecological systems so we can live more sustainably on Earth.

#thestoryofstuff #abandoned

Abandoned: An Artistic Study of the Relationships Between Places, Spaces, Objects and Us - Or How the Whole “abandoned”Thing Came About

Abstract

From a derelict factory to a discarded chair, the theme of abandonment will be explored, and with this research project I will create a body of work that examines the places, spaces and things we’ve left behind. Through my art making, I intend to evoke a dialogue about the current welfare of some of the cities and towns in Niagara, and more broadly, Ontario. When looking at an abandoned property, we are scrutinizing something for which time has stopped. Using painting as my main medium, I wish to capture the stillness of some of these spaces and draw attention to their current conditions. I would also like to continue on the tradition of creating a record of timely urban documentation through painting, as Monet did for Giverny, or Adrien Hébert of the Beaver Hall Group did for Montreal in the 1930s. Abandoned places are referred to as “urban cracks” in a paper by Elly van Eeghem – she describes them as “transitional zones that link to both the future and the past” (van Eeghem 2013, 587). For me, abandoned places represent job loss, poverty and repression in the Niagara Region. Empty stores, factories, homes and farms are memorials to the people who have been affected by today’s economy. In addition to documentation through painting some of these abandoned places, I will also challenge abandonment in other contexts, including on a more personal level. For example, I will be creating art without forethought or with “total abandon,” testing the use of abandoned objects as substrates, and studying, painting or recreating the spaces where these objects have been left behind. I will also devote some attention to singular items that have been “abandoned”. I am interested in the relationships we develop to particular objects. A young child associates happiness and comfort to a favourite teddy bear. A mom holds dear a plastic bracelet. But why does this happen? I will be investigating that human need to cherish an object, and how we, as humans, associate some objects with our happiness. As a society we seem to be obsessed with “stuff”. In today’s world we, especially as North Americans, associate the ability to purchase more things as the road to greater happiness. We continue to collect more and more unnecessary things – like the latest version of a tablet or smart phone. When we are bored with the item, we throw it away. But when does the cycle end? Because of China’s trade agreements with North America (Morrison 2015, 20), we are inundated with so many things at such a cheap cost it’s much easier to throw out what’s broken and buy a new one. Gone are the days of quality craftsmanship that lasts for decades. This rings true for both architecture and objects. Abandonment, to me, is also representative of Western Society’s preoccupation with consumerism and mass-consumption. Because of the devastating impact this trend has on our environment, we’ve abandoned the necessity for quality and replaced it with quantity and I wish to call attention to this in my art.

Introduction and Background During my previous semester at Brock (in the Winter of 2015), I began a series of paintings in VISA 4P04 that I denoted “Abandoned: Welland.” These paintings have reflected my perspective of places and spaces that had once been of importance in Welland. Welland, more so than most other cities and towns in the Niagara Region, has been hit very hard by factory and plant closings. What once was a bustling town on the Welland Canal has dwindled to become a quiet, small town that is struggling to survive. While Welland and other cities have developed Community Improvement Plans (Dillon Consulting et al. 2015), there are dozens of abandoned buildings, homes, factories and things that stand unused or ignored. As these buildings age and weather they become relics that tell stories of our not-so-distant past. Through the works I create for abandoned, I plan to continue documenting and telling the stories of these places, things and spaces that have been discarded not just in Welland, but throughout the Niagara Region. As a society, we have become all too dependent on our “stuff”. Mass production has become the norm. Since China opened its doors to foreign trade and investment in the late seventies it has become one of North America’s largest trading partners; total trade between the United States and China grew from $5 billion in 1980 to $592 billion in 2014 (Morrison 2015, 1). And, with the ability to purchase things more and more cheaply, there comes a far greater price to pay. China’s economic rise should be cause for much concern, not just because it has become a major economic power, or because of its unfair trade practices, but because it has taken local factory jobs and employment away from its trading partners (Morrison 2015, 42). In other words, factories close because they cannot compete with China’s production. On August 5th, in the Niagara Falls Review, the Canadian Press reported the worst monthly job losses since October 2011 (Blatchford, 2016). This leads me to our new legacy… big box stores and “super centres” like Walmart, Canadian Tire, Home Depot and the like. These huge stores are replacing the “mom and pop” shops of the early to mid-twentieth century. Big box stores are aptly named because of their appearance – huge cubes with very little distinction. The small stores I am referring to had character and charm. As you entered the bell jingled, and you were welcomed by the same friendly face. Those little shops supported our downtowns and city centres, built in response to the factories that were opened pre-mass production. With their huge quantity of items, big box stores cannot fit into downtown areas, so they are moved out to more rural locations. As well as causing consumers to travel for the “convenience” of being able to find all the stuff they are looking for in one place, this trend leads consumers even further away from those little stores downtown. Not only do the big box stores take up valuable land, the trend is also having a detrimental effect on the health of North America. People no longer walk downtown to pick up an item or two – they drive to Costco and pick up twenty because “it’s cheaper”. The factories did not just offer decent employment to their workers, the spin-offs from having those factories in our small towns was far reaching. Workers needed their groceries, their clothing, and their hardware stores – and they would generally find those things in the downtowns or city centres. When factories close, the same spin-off effects a city in reverse. The small shops and restaurants that supported those workers no longer have enough business to sustain their livelihood and they eventually have to shut their doors. Downtowns are being forgotten and unused because there isn’t any reason for people to visit them. In my work, I wish to give voice to some of these places, and draw attention to the losses. Another important repercussion of factories closing is in relation to the land it sits on. Factories are built on lands that could have been used for farming and agriculture, mostly away from city centres. Sometimes they are built near water sources or other conveniences. When they close, they leave brownfield land - land that may have been contaminated or have the potential (or perception) to contaminate (RCI Consulting, 2007, 6). So, the factories stay abandoned because companies don’t want to remediate the land due to potential cost. If another factory is built, it will be built on different land, and so forth. Part of the current throw-away economic trend is to also “throw-away” perfectly good buildings and land to build new, rather than retro-fit, re-use or re-work the existing structures. Consumerism has led to this “throw-away” society. When things are produced so cheaply, it is just easier to buy new. Some of those mom and pop shops were repair stores; so, as a price for paying less, we no longer bother to figure out how to repair something, and we just buy another. The ability to problem solve and use our hands will gradually diminish. When you think of something built in the 1940s or 1950s, it is usually solid and there are connotations of “craftsmanship”. When something is imported from China, you are never quite sure of the quality. And North American’s continue to support this trend. According to the Worldwatch Institute, The U.S. and Canada, with 5.2% of the world’s population, are responsible for 31.5% of consumption. South Asia, with 22.4% of the population, is responsible for 2% of consumption. When you explore an old property you come across not just the land and buildings but also the objects and random things that have been left, and “thrown-away.” There could be an old toy, a broken chair or desk - be it inside or out these things tell stories from a more personal perspective; they are able to illuminate a tangible history. I consider these abandoned objects as vestiges between the past and the future. I am also interested in some of the psychological aspects we have for keeping “stuff”. Why do we feel attachment to certain objects? Why is it important in childhood to have a favourite item to turn to for comfort? I will explore the significance of irreplaceable possessions and our inability to abandon them. With the theme of abandonment, I will continue with the momentum I have started in exploring this massive topic. In the future, I may look at abandoning art pieces in random places, or holding events in abandoned spaces. There are so many different aspects to the concept of abandonment, and I am looking forward to tackling many of them.

Project Narrative Through photographs and single channel video recordings, I will explore some abandoned properties and document the states they are in and compare them to big box stores. Then I will create paintings to more permanently document these buildings. I will use some of the objects I find in my explorations to inspire paintings and/or installation pieces. I will document and research objects that have (or did have) a significant place in someone’s life and examine the reasons for attachment to those objects. I will create an installation work that addresses our need to cherish an object by asking viewers to symbolically leave their most favourite possession, and describe what gives the object its importance to them. Most importantly, in exploring and documenting abandonment in several different aspects, I will create a dialogue and call attention to consumerism and the need to re-purpose abandoned places, spaces and things, rather than just casting them aside.

#abandoned

The Research Behind #Abandoned (circa 2016)

1. Context/Background/Introduction

a. Artist Statement: i. There are tableaus that strike me as needing to convey a story, to reveal a commonality of experience. My paintings capture and express the amazing cyclical movement of nature, of life, of urban and rural landscapes. I feel fortunate to live in Canada, a country overflowing with inspirational subject matter. The interplay of texture and light, the line between representational and abstract blur and meld as I learn to see life in a new way and translate that onto the canvas. I want those who see my paintings to glimpse the world from my perspective, while remaining open to their own personal interpretation of my work. To sense the cold of a winter’s day, to see the dramatic dance of light and shadow, to draw awareness to that place I paint from as an artist. Life mirrors Art. If art is the proper task of life, family and maturity paved the way for my true nature to express itself through my work. As a wife, mother and career woman, it would be middle age before I gave myself the permission and time required to obtain a B.A. in Studio Art, and paint full time. The layers of acrylic which bring life to my paintings mirror the layers of life experience which are reflected in my work. I have several goals as an artist. To have my work hang in The National Gallery in my birthplace of Ottawa. To portray my love for this country and the sense we should never take this great land for granted. To leave a mark without unduly influencing your interpretation of that mark. It is my gift to the viewer; a doorway to an expanded experience. How you go through the doorway is up to you.

b. Background: i. Currently, I am in fourth year of the Visual Arts Program, and am at Rodman Hall in the 4F06 class. Previously, I was an Art Director and Graphic Designer at an advertising agency. I worked in the builder-developer industry, meaning I marketed brand new homes being built, as well as condominiums in downtown Toronto and across the GTA. I am currently a part-time instructor at Niagara College. I teach in the Art & Design Foundations, Graphic Design and Journalism programs – things like how to use a Mac, graphic design applications like Photoshop and Indesign, and drawing techniques. I also teach painting in the evenings. I am married and have teenaged sons, ages 17 and 15.

c. Project context/background i. This project was conceived during Shawn Serfas’ fourth year painting class. In the winter of 2015, I began a series of paintings that I called “Abandoned: Welland.” As I was searching for subject matter, I came to realize there were a lot of abandoned places in Welland, and it got me thinking about the significance of these places. These empty buildings have come to symbolize (to me) how the current economy has left Welland with little industry to support it. But it’s not just Welland where there are problems – it’s all over the Niagara Region. ii. These abandoned properties have become relics of the past. There are dozens of abandoned buildings, homes, factories and things that stand unused or ignored. Those once thriving factories represented jobs for the workers. Those jobs meant the workers could buy things from local shops and support smaller local businesses, a lot of them in the downtown areas of our cities and towns. iii. But, the major decline of our local downtowns came about when China opened its doors to foreign trade policies in the late 70s and began to ship regularly to North America. This led to products being made more and more cheaply, beating out the more expensive production lines of North America. iv. To sell all of the new mass-produced items, stores like Walmart and Costco are built. Unfortunately, to build these stores, developers look to new, massive plots of undeveloped land. These big box stores have taken over our cities because the mom and pop shops can’t compete in the market. Unfortunately, the big box stores don’t have the same charm of a little hardware store tucked into a downtown street, next to the bakery and butcher shop. The big box stores are also built out further and further from city centres, where the land can be scooped up for better prices, taking up even more agricultural lands. These stores drive people out of the downtowns. They become “convenience centres”- but the only way to get to them is by driving – so people walk less. v. A big problem of factories closing is the properties that are left – called brownfields – because they sit unused. New developers won’t work with existing abandoned factories because of a fear that they are contaminated. The cost to remediate the land is more than the cost to just purchase a new piece of land. Unfortunately, the new land is cutting more and more into our agricultural lands. vi. I also want to look more specifically at individual objects that have been abandoned. Something as simple as a worn-out teddy bear tells an interesting story, and I want to see what happens when I interpret that story through paint on a canvas. I would also like to create an installation piece around those types of objects and mementos from our lives.

2. Synopsis of what research and readings have been about so far: i. Each week I’ve looked to the word abandoned for inspiration, and tried to explore it in as many different contexts as possible. Beginning with my mind map, I realized abandoned to me will be a study of objects, personal or otherwise, and how things have come to be a waste of precious resources. We have come to be known as a “throw-away” society – we need to bring a more conscious awareness to the impact this is causing on our environment. Through the mind map, I thought of these places, spaces and things as carrying unique histories and stories, of the people who’ve left them, and their past lives. I am looking at relaying those bits of stories, and through research trying to give them a “voice.” ii. I came across a paper written by Elly Van Eeghem, who describes abandoned spaces as ‘urban cracks’ – “transitory zones that fall between time: spaces with lively pasts, for which future plans exist, but that remain neglected at present.” How do these spaces change as they age? What types of changes occur as they are left? The decomposition and neglect of these properties can be quite interesting. Once I intervene with the property, am I changing its historic course? Am I able to document it without bias? When I photograph it? Video it? Paint it? These are all research questions I am considering. Would I be able to document a change? I also thought about trying to re-purpose the property. If it is a location, could I use it for something different than originally intended? For example, there is a few groups of artists who use abandoned spaces to create pop-up art galleries. What if you took the abandoned object and made art with it? Used it as a substrate to create on? Also possible is to create something that is abandoned once it has been made – it’s life could be documented. Also created along those lines could be something that will only be available for a limited time (such as sidewalk chalk art) – all interested takes on the word “abandoned.” Regardless, I like the conversations these ideas could evoke. iii. I then explored the concept of painting with total abandon. How does that happen? Is it possible to make art without forethought? I have begun a painting to explore that option, and I spent some time re-visiting my Philosophy of Art class and Heidegger’s notions of the origin of art. iv. A huge part of abandon is evident when I think of capitalism and mass-production. The fact that we have become so dependent to the plastic industry, is really scary to me. When I think of abandoned garbage left by the side of the road, I am left with images of plastic water bottles – the same plastic soup that is taking over the world’s water sources at an alarming rate. We, as a modern society, have done this to ourselves. We have opted for throwing away our Tim’s cups, rather than re-washing our mug at home. v. Another aspect to abandonment is its opposite – attachment. In order to feel the deeper sense of loss associated with abandonment (rather than just being left), we first have to feel an attachment for that object, space or place. In my last research post, I looked a little bit at the psychology of why, we need to attach ourselves to something (or why we feel a particular attachment to somewhere). In researching this, I read Mary Ainsworth’s paper on Object Relations, Dependency and Attachment, and how she differentiates between the three concepts. Object relations are specific to an object, such as attaching to a favourite teddy bear when you are a small child, versus a dependency on something (when you are a small child you cannot survive without your mother’s help).

3. Research questions/discussion i. My research always seems to circle back to the same thing: abandoned places, things and spaces. They have stories to tell of what things were like in the past, their importance, and how we lived, but these spaces and objects are sort of fleeting, because they can be taken away at any moment. I would like to document and research some of these objects and places, and possibly research their significance to a particular person or group of people. What are the reasons they grew attached to those objects and spaces? ii. Consumerism has been in the background of this research, as well. The push to continually buy “stuff”, to throw-away something rather than re-purpose or reuse it. The need to purchase new, because a lack of quality. Comparison of today’s manufacturing standards compared to yesteryear’s craftsmanship of products – things that were made to last. From a manufacturing standpoint: making more money by making things that don’t last or are not built to exacting standards because it causes people to have to keep re-purchasing things (leading to more money in the pockets of the manufacturers). The wasteful way our resources are used and how they are dwindling. I always think about the Chip N Dale cartoon where they are in a logging plant and you see an entire tree cut away on a conveyor belt to become one toothpick. Abandon to me is a summary of that. It is about the mass production and industries that we are perpetuating and the resources we are wasting like lumber and water. It’s about chemical companies and the plastics industry and that they have abandoned the need to care about what is being put into our bodies – we contaminate ourselves more and more because it is what is presented to us, it is what we can afford, and what we are surrounded by. iii. My original thought that abandon is a HUGE topic that needs to be explored extensively has not changed – its only grown in scope.

#abandoned

This is Mrs. Beasley...

Why Do We Attach to a Place?

For this week’s research, I have decided to look a little bit into the psychology of why, as a species, we need to attach ourselves to people, places and things. We do not feel the same way about abandoning something that we have not grown attached to, so I think the psychology of attachment plays a key role in my research.

One of my earliest memories is my second birthday party. A whole bunch of ladies were sitting in a circle in a room and I was given a Mrs. Beasley doll as a present from my aunt. I remember going around the circle showing everyone that doll. This little girl, named Buffy, had the doll on a tv show called “A Family Affair.” (You’d have to have been born in the late 60s/early 70s to know the reference.) That doll was everything to me. She had a pull chord and said such things as “I do think you are the nicest friend I ever had” or “Gracious me, you’re getting to be such a big girl.” She stayed with me, or in her place propped up against my pillows, for my entire childhood. Lost glasses, a flat head of hair, and a new pink body (original blue polka dots replaced due to years of wear) and she is still with me. My husband thinks she looks like “Chucky” from the movie Child’s Play.

My youngest son attached to a teddy bear that I was given (funnily enough by the same aunt) when my first son was born. My son didn’t let that teddy bear go for at least 8 years. In the end he was pretty much hairless and required several surgeries (I nick-named him Owen Wilson bear due to several nose jobs).

I personally have several memories wrapped around both of those objects. How is it our memories attach to things? In Mary Ainsworth’s paper on Object Relations, Dependency, and Attachment, she differentiates between the three concepts (although some people think they are interchangeable). She describes how the origin of object relations (as an infant’s initial relationship with his mother’s breast), is not the same as an early dependency on his mother. This is because an “object relation” is specific to that object, whereas a “dependency” on a mom “connotes a state of helplessness,” or a need for attention or approval. An attachment refers to an affectionate bond a person develops in relation to another person, animal or object. According to Ainsworth, attachments and object relations are the same in that they both imply the “formation of intra-organismic structures, presumably neuro-physiological in nature, which provide the person with a continuing propensity to direct his attachment behaviors towards specific of objects of attachment” (Ainsworth 1969, 2-3). In other words, our brains develop responses to automatically attach to specific things, just like some behaviours we have.

However, also noted in Ainsworth’s paper, according to ego psychologists the origin of object relations could be tied to the need for gratification. When a newborn child is hungry and then satisfied by feeding, the pleasure he gets from being full is connected to the experience of eating and therefore he connects that pleasure back to his mom – this first stage in a baby’s life later transitions as the baby begins to differentiate between himself and his mother. Eventually, the baby creates the object relation – that is after he is capable of understanding that whether or not Mom is present he can still have pleasure or be satisfied.

Since Ainsworth’s early studies, attachment theorists have conceptualized several different styles. The infant’s attachment style later has a direct influence with his adult relationships. Theorists like John Bowlby believe because the attachment bond is a behaviour that has evolved, all humans have attachments during infancy in every culture.

A study conducted by Queens College in 2013 aimed to determine the links between adult attachment and cultural background, which included research into ethnicity and religion as well as how the attachments later influenced social functioning. (Agishtein and Brumbaugh 2013, 386), Psychological well-being is related to those early attachments. This is especially important because in today’s world, cultures are integrating and merging far more than ever before. Those initial attachments form the basis from which adults are able to function and relate to others in society. We form attachments to people and objects because they give us pleasure and satisfaction, which are basic human needs. Those synapses in our brains are created long before we are ever aware they exist, so we must remember to be a little easier on ourselves when we find it difficult to give something up or let go something (or someone) that we have become attached to.

Agishtein, Peryl, and Claudia Brumbaugh. 2013. "Cultural variation in adult attachment: The impact of ethnicity, collectivism, and country of origin." Journal of Social, Evolutionary, And Cultural Psychology 7, no. 4: 384-405. http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/ebs/7/4/384.pdf

Abstract: Attachment theory is studied, with a look at the impact of ethnicity and other factors such as religion, region of origin, and acculturation. John Bowlby first developed the idea of attachment theory to explain the individual differences in behaviours and social functioning. Cultural differences have an impact on social behaviours and attachment styles. The study looked at 475 subjects with an emphasis on cross-cultural differences.

Ainsworth, Mary D. Salter. 1969. “Object Relations, Dependency, And Attachment: A Theoretical Review of the Infant-Mother Relationship.” Johns Hopkins University: 1-49. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.580.66&rep=rep1&type=pdf

Abstract: Ainsworth differentiates between object relations, dependency and attachments. She describes how the origin of object relations to an infant is instinctually his mother (or her substitute). Social learning theorists recognize there is a paradox between mother and child’s struggles with independence and dependence, but have come to realize that attachments in relationships endure beyond temporary situational factors. Ainsworth goes onto describe Freud’s recognition in a child’s development through attachment to his mother, while ego psychologists agree there are three stages in a child’s development: an undifferentiated or objectless stage, a transitional stage, and a stage of object relations.

Payne, Elyssa, Jodi DeAraugo, Pauleen Bennett, and Paul McGreevy. 2016. "Exploring the Existence and Potential Underpinnings of dog–human and horse–human Attachment Bonds." Behavioural Processes 125 (Complete): 114-121. doi:10.1016/j.beproc.2015.10.004.

Ramsey, N.F., J. M. Jansma, G. Jager, T. Van Raalten, R. S. Kahn. 2003. “Neurophysiological factors in human information processing capacity” Brain 127 (3) 517-525. doi: 10.1093/brain/awh060

#abandoned

Capitalism. Is. Huge.

Capitalism. Huge word, huge meaning, huge topic. Private owners of companies figuring out how to create more profit for themselves. Huge corporations exploiting resources, natural or otherwise, to help with their own gain. How does this term of “capitalism” relate to “abandonment”? Oh, where do I begin?

Tim Hortons. Coffee – we love our double doubles. When I think of Tim’s coffee, I think of being 15 and working there. The restaurant had mugs, we washed them in a dishwasher then we reused them. Sometime between when I left the job and became a bonafide adult, Tims the corporation figured out it was better to just hand out paper cups, regardless of whether or not the patrons were staying in the restaurants. Then, when I was dragging my boys to their ball hockey games on Saturday mornings, I realized the amount of garbage being created by the Tim’s coffee obsession was becoming outrageous. I started to notice it more and more. Piles of cups left by the side of the road, garbage containers over-flowing with Tim Horton logos.

…Abandoned garbage left by the side of the road. Yes, Tim Hortons and other companies make a small effort for us to not perpetuate the need for using a paper cup. You can bring your re-usable thermos-style mug and pay slightly less for your coffee. But isn’t that just a bandaid solution to a much larger problem? Speaking of larger problems, I just heard on the news this week that Lake Ontario has its own plastic soup boiling away – never mind the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, located in the North Pacific Gyre off the coast of California. The website EcoWatch.com states as one of many facts, “This floating mass of plastic is twice the size of Texas, with plastic pieces outnumbering sea life six to one.” Here’s another horrible thought: they state, “Virtually every piece of plastic that was ever made still exists in some shape or form (with the exception of the small amount that has been incinerated).”

So, we choose to carry fabric shopping bags, use thermoses, try to recycle and do our small part. But, plastic NEVER breaks down. Plastic ends up in our bloodstream. According to EcoWatch, “93 percent of Americans age six or older test positive for Bisphenol A (BPA) (a chemical used to produce several plastic products).” According to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, BPA is a known endocrine disruptor (it binds to estrogen receptors and can affect the endocrine, nervous, and immune systems as well as block thyroid action.) We are altering our physiology by using the stuff.

But, let’s go back further to why. Why have we become so dependent on it? Polystyrene came first in 1839. This led to vulcanization of rubber (adding sulfur to make it more durable, less sticky, and easier to work with – think tires, shoe soles, hoses, etc.). Celluloid, PVC, Caesin, shellac, polyethylene, bakelite, neoprene, polystyrene, vinyl, nylon, polyester, Kevlar and more were all developed in the twentieth century.

In the 1930s, synthetic plastics came into fashion because of their colours and textures. But it was the war that drove the plastic industry’s growth because manufacturers realized all of its many uses. After the war, a new market emerged for mass-produced consumer goods. Colourful Tupperware in all its rainbow glory became the new in-vogue fashion statement for modern housewives. Versatile, cheap, and able to change with a simple tweak to a molecule; you have an endless array of plastic products to choose from. Hurray. Drop a cup and it bounces as it hits the ground, rather than smashing to bits and pieces. How convenient is that? Capitalist plastic manufacturers from the war would never let their production facilities and all this great new chemical-reliant technology go to waste. They have mesmerized consumers with all its colourful convenience. Maybe at first there was a sincere belief that plastic was one of the greatest modern inventions, but I personally think we should abandon that notion all together.

D’Alessandro, Nicole. “22 Facts About Plastic Pollution (And 10 Things We Can Do About It).” EcoWatch (April 7, 2009): Accessed September 21, 2016. http://www.ecowatch.com/22-facts-about-plastic-pollution-and-10-things-we-can-do-about-it-1881885971.html

Knight, Lawrence. “A brief history of plastics, natural and synthetic.” BBC News Magazine (May 17, 2014): Accessed September 16, 2016. http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-27442625

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. “Endocrine Disruptors.” Accessed September 21, 2016. http://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/endocrine/

Wikipedia. “Timeline of plastic development.” Accessed September 21, 2016. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_plastic_development

#abandoned

Definition of a Word

For this week’s research I chose to look up the word abandonment in an online dictionary. Definitions ranged from: to leave completely or forsake, to withdraw, discontinue, give up or relinquish. I hadn’t really thought of this one from Dictionary.com though: “to yield (oneself) without restraint or moderation; give (oneself) over to natural impulses, usually without self-control; (for example) to abandon oneself to grief.

The idea of creating something with total abandon leads to a whole new heap of possibilities. Purposeful abandonment asks of one’s self what are you needing to let go of? When you find yourself in the midst of an art project, you usually have intent, therefore, you generally have an idea of what you want the outcome of that work to be.

But, what if you create with no particular intent? You create with total abandonment. Is this even possible? Just let the work happen. Let go of the need to control the outcome. This is easier said than done, especially for me, personally. I think abstract artists are better at it – they play with mediums and substrates until they get an outcome they like. Sure, they could have a general idea on what it is they want to “it” to be, but, because of the shifting nature of the chosen mediums, that outcome may not turn out as expected.

This has me reflecting on a philosophy of art class I previously took at Brock. I was introduced to “The Origin of the Work of Art” by Martin Heidegger. Heidegger begins by questioning art’s source. In essence, to Heidegger, the artwork exists independently of the artist, but you can’t have one without the other. This is a bit like the question of which came first, the chicken or the egg, a causality dilemma. (Aristotle concluded each must have always existed together, and people have continued to ponder this ever since.) Heidegger speaks of how art is a creative force that is expressed via the artist. He also believes that each piece of art needs to be examined in the space and time in which it is found, as well as in relation to its entire surroundings. (He goes on to interpret his idea of how artworks are things and what things mean, which is where I start to get lost.)

So, even though I found Heidegger’s ideas of art incredibly difficult to understand, I’ve often gone back to thinking about art’s essence. Is Heidegger right? Was the art already there and just waiting to be created? Does that mean that we can not, in fact, create something with total abandonment?

I often discuss with my own students that a painting or artwork they have created at one particular moment can never be truly recreated. This concept was probably one of the most significant ones I learnt in post secondary education. The experience of each moment of our lives helps to inform the art we create. Every second of time is new, and every person’s experience is different – which will lead to unique artwork each and every time something is created. This idea leads me to the next concept of abandonment I want to explore…. What happens when we change something that has been abandoned?

abandonment. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. http://www.dictionary.com/browse/abandonment (accessed: September 15, 2016).

Heidegger, Martin. “The Origin of the Work of Art”. Martin Heiddeger: The Basic Writings. Translated by David Farrell Krell. New York: HarperCollins, 2008.

#abandoned

Post #2

Interview with GLENN LIGON

Jason Moran. “Art - Glenn Ligon.” Interview Magazine (2009). Accessed September 8, 2016.

Glenn Ligon creates text based works. Often crisp, clear text turns itself into an abstraction as he repeats sentences over a canvas until it becomes illegible using oil sticks and stencils as his mediums. Sometimes he uses just one word to illustrate his interests in African-American culture, and the timeliness of art. Using words from texts and quotes, Ligon is able to create bold statements while still also honouring his love of abstraction and has found a way to marry the two. In this interview, Ligon is questioned by musician, Jason Moran, whom Ligon asked to create a music score for his film project “The Death of Tom”. Throughout the interview the artist and musician discuss the juxtaposition between black America/white America and how America is both admired and feared, often simultaneously.

This interview is interesting because it delves into the background of what Ligon is trying to say as a contemporary artist. He also discusses how artists of today need to be smarter about their ideas and the ways in which they are presented. Originally, an abstract artist, Ligon felt his work didn’t have any content, but as he progressed, he realized text gave him the content he was searching for, and a painting became the act of writing on the canvas. There is also a connection between his words and the language of his art. Through Moran’s interview, one sees the perspective of Ligon’s work, and how the process of improvisation is shared by both.

I share in Ligon’s need to question history and the past and to understand what has lead to a specific moment. Ligon is also interested in letting an audience in on the process of art making. I want to hear what people think and say about the stories I create on my canvases.

http://www.interviewmagazine.com/galleries/

Huey Copeland. “Glenn Ligon and Other Runaway Subjects.” Representations Vol. 113, No. 1 (2011): 73-110. Accessed September 8, 2016. doi: 10.1525/rep.2011.113.1.73

Glenn Ligon and Other Runaway Subjects

This essay, while discussing the history behind some of Glenn Ligon’s imagery focuses mostly on his installation To Disembark. This installation consists of nine etchings, ten lithographs, three wall drawings, and nine wood crates with sound. Combined, the dimensions can be variable, and all of the elements together illuminate parts of both the present and past of black history in America, especially in relation to slavery. This work is not site-specific and has taken on several different iterations when installed. Ligon illustrates, through text-laden work, a history of black America that challenges the viewer to understand the meanings he is asking for. The Runaway text is part of the ten lithographs that have been created to look like printed handbills. Each text, created by different writers describe the artist and are sometimes accompanied by a drawing. Each of the nine wood crates have a low song or sound emanating from them. The crate is in reference to Henry “Box” Brown, who mailed himself from Richmond, Virginia to Philadelphia. Each piece of the exhibit combine to draw attention to the social issues he wishes to highlight.

Ligon’s work is based on text and yet it speaks of history. He has found a way to express his creativity and question the history that he is most aware of, with the use of metaphors and symbolism, that allude to his ideas but don’t glaringly state the obvious. I like this intelligent way to make a powerful statement that asks for deeper thoughts and ideas from the viewer.

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Post #1

First stages of research for ‘Abandoned’ project. Looks like there is a lot of avenues I can explore...

The reason why my mind map is called Abandoned is because of some work I started in Shawn Serfas’ 4th year painting course. During the first term, we were given the task of finding a toaster and creating a 5 ft or so painting of it. I wanted to find something old and antique, so I scoured many antique stores and came across the one I eventually used. For the painting, I placed the toaster near some railroad tracks that were just in front of the abandoned Hayes-Dayna factory in Welland, and unbeknownst to me, the first Abandoned painting was born.

The following semester, through painting I started to explore some quiet, empty places in Welland and realized I had begun the ‘Abandoned’ theme. The places I found really interested me, in so much as they seemed like they had some stories and histories that needed to be captured. I am very interested in the idea of documenting some of these places. Welland, a once thriving industrial city, has been hit hard by companies packing up and leaving. There are lots of factories and buildings that were once active businesses but now are neglected and over-run with weeds and surrounded by “no trespassing” signs and fences.

I came to realize that some of these fabulous old places are disappearing rather quickly. I photographed a barn in a field just around the corner from my house and it burnt down. I’ve made two paintings of that barn - I am glad I have documented it, but this just reinforces the limited and fleeting time things are available.

The state of today’s smaller cities is rather bleak. With the current trends in Chinese mass production and the moving away from urban centres there is more and more abandoning happening. In exploring the word, there are so many different ways I could interpret it. From a small toy that has been misplaced, to an old canal that is no longer in use, or to a person whom society has left behind, the possibilities are endless and need further exploration.

#abandoned

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