#contextuallinks

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Fred Sandback

Fred Sandback’s work has been hugely influential to my practice since July 2013, in particular my structural works using acrylic wool and cotton thread. However it is his method of thought and use of the space he is working in that fascinates me and directly links to and inspired the aims of my practice. He strives to create structural sculptures, while deliberately omitting as much materiality as possible. Like him, I hope my work creates merely a starting point for multiple visual forms, which begin to exist upon being observed. 

I find this quote relevant in referral to Sandback's work. ''Beauty is no quality in things themselves: It exists merely in the mind which contemplates them; and each mind perceives a different beauty." - David Hume.

Sandback’s sculptures have virtually no independent existence besides from the viewer’s understanding of what it is that they are seeing. He has majorly influenced and inspired my practice; the absence of physical substance becomes a trigger for thought process. Even in my current works in which I have been focusing on painting, the theories learnt through Sandback’s life and practice have taught me so much.

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Artist Influences and Contextual Links

A-Z

Auerbach, Tauba

Guyton, Wade

Hopf, Judith

Irwin, Robert

Kempinas, Zilvinas

LeWitt, Sol

Morris, Simon

Poliness, Kerrie

Prina, Stephen

Sandback, Fred

Sosnowska, Monika

Von Sturmur, Daniel

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Simon Morris - Overview

'Blue Water Colour': The work was done in one stint of about 2 1/2 hours on a gallery wall. It consists of 50 brush strokes of blue pigment. On each stroke the paint was increasingly diluted by water.

Blue Water Colour is the fourth work of its kind Morris has created, where, after taking into consideration the wall and the space he is given, he creates a temporary abstract painting on that wall.

"I made the first three works and I found things not quite working out the way I wanted," he says. "I met a mathematician and was telling him about this project and he was quite interested. He looked through my maths and he has given me a completely different way of diluting it.

"I can just go into any space, sort out how long the wall drawing’s going to be, plot a line and that will tell me the amounts of water that I need to add."

For Blue Water Colour, it went from the first stroke, which was only the paint, then he added one millilitre of water for the second stroke. “It’s a tiny little amount of water and that builds up until the last stroke has 86 litres of water. The whole piece in total has over 500 litres of water.”

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Sol LeWitt - Overview

Famous American sculptor, draughtsman, lithographer and etcher. Studied at Syracuse University, New York, 1945-9. Abandoned painting in 1962 and began experimenting with abstract black and white reliefs, followed in 1963 by relief constructions with nested enclosures projecting into space, and box- and table-like constructions.

First one-man exhibition at the Daniels Gallery, New York, 1965. From 1965-6 worked in series using a simple form such as an open or closed cube as module to create structures in accordance with a pre-determined, logical system. Starting in 1966 with Serial Project No.1 also published a series of books constituting a parallel system. Wrote an influential article ‘Paragraphs on Conceptual Art’ first published 1967.

Began in 1968 to create wall drawings, to be carried out by himself or others in accordance with his specifications, and also produced series of lithographs, etchings and screenprints.

Upon reading his ‘Paragraphs on Conceptual Art’ from 1967, his writing and studies led to my greater understanding and interest in the process of creating artwork. It was LeWitt’s theoretical process that inspired a lot of my previous painting and drawing work in accordance with a pre-determined, logical system. 

He continued to challenge me with new thinking about what art can be. “If the artist carried through his idea and makes it into visible form, then all the steps in the process are of importance. The idea itself, even if not made visual, is as much a work of art as any finished product.” Stated LeWitt in 1971. “All intervening steps, scribbles, sketches, drawings, failed work models, studies thoughts, conversations, are of interest. Those that show the thought process of the artist are sometimes more interesting than the final product.” (LeWitt, ‘Paragraphs on Conceptual Art’, Artforum Vol.5, no. 10, Summer 1967, pp. 79-83)

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"…the thought process of the artist are sometimes more interesting than the final product."

LeWitt, ‘Paragraphs on Conceptual Art’, Artforum Vol.5, no. 10, Summer 1967, pp. 79-83

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Kerrie Poliness - Overview

'whoosh' is a wall drawing inspired by sound, motion, wave dynamics and time. A set of instructions that describes how to construct infinite variations of a geometric free-form wave within a defined framework.

These instructions enable anyone to make a large, mutable, geometric pattern onto any flat wall surface. They ensure that it is unlikely anyone will produce a visually symmetrical version of the pattern; although that may be possible it is not what is intended, required or desired.

In order to make this drawing people must use their own intuitive senses of rhythm, balance and invention to select locations that develop the shape and character of the drawing. By combining a series of straight lines and people’s decisions each drawing becomes a large unique gesture.

I love the way in which there is this organic sense of chance and unplanned outcome in that the people creating the installation use their own intuitions and drives to create the work. This gives a real feeling and instinct to the work which is much more enjoyable than if totally planned.

The process of making these drawings explores the way in which difference arises during the formation of matter, that difference is inherent to all matter and that all things are constantly in a state of flux. There is no correct or planned outcome in terms of the nature of the wave dynamics that are created. ‘Whoosh’ incorporates the possibility to actively steer and play with the geometry, to invent new ways of randomly forming the dynamics and new ways to help the drawing generate itself.

It was especially interesting to watch YouTube clip of ‘Blue wall drawing #1’ being installed by MUMA volunteers from 2012. http://youtu.be/2hidgYnh_1Q

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Film of Kempinas’ Flying tape at Art Forum Berlin.

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Zilvinas Kempinas

I was lucky enough to stumble upon the exhibition ‘Airborne’ in 2010, at the BALTIC centre for contemporary art. I was immediately drawn to Zivinas Kempinas’ work - a fresh and original look at visual illusion and use of space, and captivating to watch. Kempinas is Lithuanian born, and represented Lithuania at the 53rd Venice Bienalle, 2009.

The piece ‘Flying Tape’ immediately captures your attention as you enter the exhibition. Like many of his unique installations, a vast loop of unspooled videotape was suspended in the air, held up by the force of a circle of fans in the centre of the room. It is impossible to recreate the feeling you get upon seeing this work - you are suddenly aware of the room in which you find yourself standing, aware of the anti gravitational forces within the room, yet completely transfixed on the literal ‘flying tape’ in front of you. I think that he intentionally grabs the viewer, controls their attention and controls their train of thought as they enter the room and watch the performance in front of them. It is a very performative work, the movement of the tape itself being beautiful and confusing - contrasting itself against the white walls surrounding it. ‘White Noise’, consisted of a huge kinetic screen of vibrating videotape.

There is showing currently a Kempinas piece at the NGV, ‘Doubles’, two vertically standing loops of videotape between two giant fans, trapped between them, moving erratically and physically unable to move elsewhere. There is a sense of strange claustrophobia on looking at this piece, an onlooker and so far away from the actions taking place in the piece, but an attraction so strong that it draws you into the clutches of the two fans.