Degree Contextual Research

This page is for the documentation of contextual research - artists, theory, writings etc. which inspire and inform my studio practice. The information on this page coincided with my final year of my degree documentation.

I will also use this page to upload images that I find particularly interesting and, again, informative to my practice. The use of artist's images is purely for research.

John Stezaker

I have admired Stezaker's collage work for a long time. To quote Michael Bracewell, Stezaker's work

 

"...is filled with mystery, vertigo, surprise, romance, disorientation, absurdist strangeness and glamour; it is at once visually seductive and physically confrontational." (Whitechapel Gallery Exhibition Catalogue 2011)


 

Fumetti (Film Portrait Collage) IV, 2008, John Stezaker

 





Love XI, 2007, John Stezaker

I am also drawn to the glamorous imagery of movie star photography. It is presented to us as a distorted form of fact/reality. To manipulate images such as these may seem bizarre, or appear as an attack, but what Stezaker does is bring more intrigue to the image. The strangeness and beauty is enhanced through the 'new' format, bringing in a new narrative or representation of the individual/couple. I love them.

Photography - Celebrity/Glamour Portraits



 

'Glamour of the Gods' National Portrait Gallery Exhibition 2011.

 



Marlon Brando for 'A Streetcar Named Desire'. Photographer - John Engstead, 1950.

Really lovely exhibition - the astounding collection of Hollywood portraiture was focused upon the 1920s-1960s Golden Era.

 



Myrna Loy, MGM, 1935. Photographer - Ruth Harriet Louise.

The importance of 'beauty' within art and society is both interesting and evident throughout history. The mass production of glamourous images through photography and film naturally pushed that importance further... heightening our expectations and perceptions of what is 'beautiful'. You could say Hollywood photography is just a wonderful example of this explosion of promoting forms of desired perfection.

 

Pop Culture;Fashion - film - music etc.

 

Twiggy, 1967. Photographer - Ronald Traeger.

 

Drowning Girl - Roy Lichtenstein, 1963.

 

 

Vogue Cover April 2013 - Model - Edie Campbell

 



Beatles for Sale (album cover art) - 1964

 

'This Is England' Poster Art - Director: Shane Meadows, 2006.

It's interesting how we celebrate and revert back to particular fashion trends from the 20th century - we live in a time where popular culture is recycling ideas, looks, music etc., tagging on new meanings, subcultures and whatever else as we go along. I love pop culture, yet I also feel slightly lost amongst the decades of influence which have shaped the mashed up identity we have today.

Hannah Hoch: I simply adore Hoch's collages.I guess my work reflects my interest in the Dada and Surrealist movements - my work is perhaps not as politically directed.
  


The Eternal Folk Dancers - Hannah Hoch, 1933.

Smashing Painters.

Portraiture painting has always been of particular interest to me.   

Old favourites such as Francis Bacon litter my contextual journal -  his paintings appear as violent distortions of the sitters - not only does it reflect human pain, it more suitably represents the whole complexity of being. I find both artist and works strange and fascinating to view.



Seated Figure - Francis Bacon, 1961.

Self-Portrait with Arms Drawn Back - Egon Schiele, 1915.

David Hockney, Powis Terrace Bedroom - Elizabeth Peyton, 1998.

 



'Girl in a Striped Nightshirt' - Lucian Freud, 1985.

 

Particular artists researched 2012/2013:

 

Douglas Gordon - in relation to portraying the double and for my dissertation, I found Gordon's photograph 'Monster' utterly captivating.

 

'Monster' Douglas Gordon - 1996/7.

Cindy Sherman - Drawing inspiration from film and art etc., Sherman's work is a curious play on disguise, photography, glamour and narratives. Sherman as the 'star' creates interesting work around multiple identities of herself/whoever - how many people could one play/be?

 

 

Untitled Film Still #53 - Cindy Sherman, 1980.

 

 Tim Walker - Walker produces fantastical and imaginative works of art through fashion photography. Working for clients such as Vogue - British and Italian mostly - 

 

 

Camilla Rutherford - Tim Walker, 1999.




I saw Walker's exhibition 'Story Teller' at Somerset House, London back in late 2012 and was absolutely astounded at how gorgeous and bizarre his work is - so good.

Dexter Dalwood - Interesting painter who creates collages and paints them - his usual works are depictions of rooms which act as celebrity portraits.



Kurt Cobain - Dexter Dalwood, 2000.

Martin Kippenberger - a suggestion of research for creating paintings that become/morph into 3D works. Really interesting artist of all sorts of talent including painting, sculpture, installation etc. - I was more intrigued by the countless self promotional posters Kippenberger created and the way he'd play with display etc. It was like he was a business man and embraced what would become a 'constant exposure leads to...' society we are in. Am sad to admit my knowledge on Kippenberger is still rather limited for the time being.

Candidate for a Retrospective - Martin Kippenberger, 1993.

Tim Noble + Sue Webster - Amazing intricate assemblages of discarded materials feature within the duo's work - built to perfection so as when light is projected upon the pieces, the shadow cast becomes whatever they intend e.g. shadow portraits which are just phenomenal.

Wild Mood Swings - Tim Noble + Sue Webster, 2009-10.

Kurt Schwitters - I saw the 'Schwitters in Britain' exhibition at Tate Britain, London in Feb 2013. Some really beautiful collages exhibited.

Untitled (With an Early Portrait of Kurt Schwitters) - Kurt Schwitters, 1937-8.

Thomas Allen - Just brilliant and intriguing pop-up art work which I am sad I have only just found towards the end of my studies.

'Chemistry' - Thomas Allen (year unknown).

David Hockney - I was introduced to Hockney's particular work with printing and photocopying. To poorly sum it up, during the late 1980s he was finding a way of creating unique and original pieces of work straight from an office type photocopier. He later used fax machines to send and have his images assembled across the world.

Layered Photocopied pieces - 1986(?)

Poster Art of Cardiff - interesting layered posters I've seen around town.

April/May 2013

April/May 2013

April/May 2013

April/May 2013

Growing/Morphing/Mutations - just a simple idea I've been looking into with the collage work contagiously multiplying into other images. An obvious similarity to this is growing and multiplying cells.

Google searched cell image - 2013.