Dec 26, 2011
Marion Michell of "five perfect maidens"
seen from China
seen from Italy
seen from China
seen from United States
seen from T1
seen from Singapore
seen from United States
seen from China
seen from Canada
seen from United States
seen from Australia
seen from Brazil
seen from United States
seen from United Kingdom
seen from Kazakhstan
seen from China
seen from T1
seen from Serbia
seen from United States
seen from Egypt
Marion Michell of "five perfect maidens"
Nicholas Serota: So what is the purpose of art? Gerhard Richter: For surviving this world. One of many, many (purposes)… like bread, like love. Art and bread and love for all of us! Happy holidays!
"Found" beauty/poetry quoted exactly
from My Art Grows Around Me, artist Marion Michell
Not filth, not hair
Marion Michell, 2008
Michell's art touches on childhood, on growing up and its anxieties. It is much an exploration of memory as of physical experience. Not necessarily concrete memories, more moods and atmospheres, interwoven with elements form myths and fairly tales. She works in paper, wools and artificial hair, making shoes, figures, dresses from scratch and transforming found objects into something that expresses new sets of emotions and fantasies.
Shown at PSL during the Welcome To The Real World exhibition.
Engine ChatChat 3rd September 2011
Presenters: Glyn Powell, Tat, Leyla Folwell & Susan Eyre
Discussion Group: Gillian Best, Paula Salischiker, Victoria Scott, Marion Michell, Elizabeth Murton,
We ended the session with the starting thought: the value of 'nothing'. Susan Eyre was last to show her piece, a site-specific installation. Her question was about altering it for a new space. It is a series of human size panels containing images of an urban area in Kingston that have been rehashed, worked into and then printed onto fabric. She wanted to project into the central area. We spoke about leaving the internal space, viewable through the cracks in the panels, empty to allow focus on the detail in the images. People felt the images were strong and she did not need to add other elements- the question is still up for debate in Susan's mind.
Nothing was how we began. Glyn Powell has been interested in the use of the word 'nothing' and how it is loaded with context rather than empty 'it felt like nothing' or 'plenty of nothing'. We talked about the problems of illustrating nothing- how do you indicate it without making it 'something'? And we spoke about his use of charcoal on canvas. We then moved onto Tat's paintings. He showed one painting and a sketchbook of drawings. We talked about the relationship between the drawings and how they investigated his interests in the push and pull of the networks, the control, discord, and pressure that surround us. We discussed ideas on how to approach the two different mediums without loosing the freedom of pencil and collage within the potential of paint.
The second half after the essential tea and biscuits started with Leyla Folwell presenting her developments since the last Engine Chat Chat. She has been re-evaluating her practice since having a break from ceramics. Removing colour and simplifying form, she was looking at how to keep developing a new and exciting line of work. It seemed that she was enjoying focusing on subjects related to situation that were solitary and meditative, reflecting her paired down approach to her drawing, weight, material and new forms.
Again Engine ChatChat attendees provided interesting insights and honest, but respectful, criticism that the artist can take away to help nurture and develop their practice. I look forward to seeing how their work develops and to next months session- 29th October.