EXPANDED PRACTICE 3- JOURNAL
Research, experiments and production details pertaining to the Expanded Practice 3 course.
SESSION NOTES
TASK 1- SOLO
To Hammer, Manic Pixie Dream Profession and Artistic Exercise
Long exposure attempt 1
Long exposure attempt 2
Long exposure attempt 3
Long exposure attempt 4
Long exposure attempt 5
To Hammer- printed and displayed with info tag.
Manic Pixie Dream Proffession attached with pegs to twine. Hair dye on bath towel
Artistic Exercise attached with pegs to twine. Hair dye on bath towel.
PMDP and AE hung with info tags stating their price of "one new bath towel"
Inspiration: Gordon Bennet's body prints
Helen from Expanded Practice 1's blue paint on sheet impressions for the faked artist task.
I wasn't satisfied with the outcome of my long exposure photos exploring action and trace. So I continued with a second exercise with impressions of the artist using the action of dying my hair.
TASK 2- DOUBLING
Artists in Interview- R.R. Johnson
Camera set up
Pre-costume
Getting into character
shortlisted pic
shortlisted pic
shortlisted pic
shortlisted pic
edited pic
edited pic
edited pic
Inspiration: Anthony Lister
The Enigmatic Artist "... my subject chooses to be painted by force of my hand." "I use many mediums in an order which is archival and I fear none." "For as long as I have made work I have attempted to make work like none I have seen before. It is only recently that I have begun conversations in my work with other artists from the past like Pablo Picasso and even Damien Hirst."
Misguided Youth "He just embraces everything his art is. He is his art."
100 Pictures "How would you describe your practice? As being tumultuous and satisfying, difficult and a wonderful holiday." "How did you first start & why? I never started. It was just always there." "The drive to constantly be searching for the aesthetic holy grail." "... originality is quite a difficult concept to grasp, let alone action to manifest." "I have to create.. And then I die. And I have to constantly die…as I create, so I die. A piece of me each time. But in saying that, as I create I also live. Because I’m breathing life into objects and artworks..."
Cindy Sherman
Keywords: enigmatic, pushing boundaries, true self, talented, frank, inspired, effortless, sensual, cerebral, genius, eccentric, tortured
Interview "transcript"
Artists in Interview- R.R. Johnson
I sat down with the enigmatic R.R. Johnson during his latest trip back to Australia after a world tour of artist residencies including London, Milan, Seoul, Brasilia and New York. Johnson has been making waves in the art scene of both the west and east coasts of the USA but is gracing the land down under with his latest show, opening in Melbourne later this month.
What made you become an artist?
I didn’t. I was born an artist. From the moment I came into the world I have been creating. As soon as I could hold a crayon, there was art.
You grew up in Australia, how does that affect your work?
Yes, despite the barren landscape of this country, both environmentally and intellectually, I flourished. Only in escaping the colonies have I been able to reach my full potential in the art world and to find my true self.
Your work has little recognition in Australia, despite your international profile. Why bring your latest series here?
I wanted to give something to the people of Australia. If more boundary pushing artists brought their work here, the viewing public would find heros beyond the sporting field. There is a cerebral longing in this country and my work feeds the hungry mind.
What motivates you as an artist?
Breathing. I am alive, I breathe, my heart beats. I am an artist, so as long as I am alive I am making art. Some of us know our purpose. To me, art is the meaning of life.
You’ve had some very enthusiastic reactions from fans. What’s your approach to your audience?
First of all, it’s very sweet. I love meeting pretty, young things who think they understand my work. It's interesting to hear different interpretations and I usually don’t correct them. Otherwise I prefer to keep at arm’s length from the public.
What about your detractors?
What about them?
What do you think of their critiques?
Fuck ‘em if they can’t take a joke.
TASK 3- DUO
Alanna/h: Two Metres Apart
Text primarily written by Alannah Quinn
The Duo:
Alanna/h: two metres apart
Task: Make a work of sculpture or performance that requires the mutual and interdependent action of you and another artist. This should be more than two people working on the same outcome. You must somehow both be physically in that outcome.
Overview
Covid-19 has greatly changed the global landscape and the way we interact with and support each other. Full societal lockdowns, crashing stock markets and global suffering breeds fear and suspicion in the Other, along with compassion and generosity. two metres apart is a crucible for these feelings. It is about our need for human interaction yet our corresponding dislike for the dependence we have on others.
Performance
Each performer wears a portable camera. The performance is live-streamed both in single feeds and spliced together. It takes place in an abandoned, isolated space such as a warehouse or car park. Two artists dressed all in black stand on either side of a two-metre rigid pipe with the pipe attached to their waists using wire - ensuring they cannot touch each other and remain two metres apart in line with Corona health and safety requirements.
Both artists have a huge pile of random objects next to them that includes a banana (representing food), a book (representing mental stimulation), tissues/hand sanitiser (representing resources that others are hoarding), and a ball (representing exercise and physical movement). The objects are divided between them so neither artist has the same objects as the Other.
Throughout the performance the artists will develop, tear apart and mend, tear apart again and potentially mend the relationship they develop with each other. Fear, suspicion of the Other, compassion and generosity will be deeply explored. The piece will last for 4 hours. The artists organically interact with each other trying to navigate the space, protect their objects and understand the Other.
The following Acts are sprinkled throughout the performance and offer some structure. They can be completed in any order, by either artist depending on the objects they have.
Act 1. After sneaking looks at each other for a while one artist uses the pole to push the Other out of the way. They fight. The artist succeeds in stealing the tissues and hand sanitiser from the Other artist’s pile and puts it in their own pile.
Act 2. A while later the artist who was stolen from sits down, forcing the other artist to sit, and begins silently reading a book. After a while the artist begins reading the book aloud.
Act 3. The artist with the banana eats it while the other eats nothing.
Act 4. The artist with the ball stands up, dragging the other artist with them, as they play with the ball. After playing with it alone, they play with it together.
Artist Inspiration
Tehching Hsieh
Art/Life One Year Performance 1983-1984 (Rope Piece)
From his website: “In this performance, Tehching Hsieh and Linda Montano spent one year between 4 July 1983 and 4 July 1984 tied to each other with an 8-foot-long (2.4 m) rope. They had to stay in the same room and were not allowed to touch each other until the end of the one-year period. Both of them shaved their hair in the beginning of the year, and the performance was witnessed by Pauline Oliveros and Paul Grassfield.”
Hsieh’s performance piece was a large influence on the two metres apart. The no touching limit he placed on himself and Montano greatly influenced our idea along with the 2 metre rope connecting them. We chose to use rigid pipe rather than rope because the 2m distancing rule is a legal requirement and we wanted the piece to specifically reflect the current Corona pandemic.
Insert picture of Teching Hsieh’s work
https://www.tehchinghsieh.com/artlife-oneyearperformance1983-1984
TASK 4- COLLECTIVE
Notes
To develop the portfolio of our artist we each started a work and finished someone else's. I experimented with burning simple, vaguely occult symbols into paper. To finish Abbey's stunning photos printed them on my struggling old printer on cheap paper, the streaks and bleed gave the image a distorted, aged look. I then burnt through the paper over the hands in the pictures, the only skin showing.
TASK 5- OUT SOURCING
Paint By Numbers
The original paint by numbers design
My homage to Abstract No. One by Dan Robbins
My painting, processed through PBNify.com
The colour palette made through PBNify.com
The outlines of my painting through PBNify.com
The only paint by numbers set I could find in the week
Only use with adult supervition
Paint By Numbers- Dinos
Notes
For this task, I wanted to explore outsourcing the creative element of artmaking and stretch my own limitations on authorship and originality.
To do so I tried to acquire a paint by numbers set but as the lockdown had come into effect, these hobby kits were in short supply. I ended up finding the unfortunate kit shown above on the day before class. As I committed to referring all executive decisions to the instructions, I had to wait for my partner to get home from work as the box stated that adult supervision was required. My very tolerant partner watched to ensure I didn't eat paint or shove the brush up my nose. I have titled the work Paint By Numbers- Dinos and consider it an official Kitten Xaos original work.
Anticipating that I wouldn't find an PBN set in time, I endeavored to develop my own. After research, I decided to base my design upon the first paint by numbers. I involved the key features of the work's composition but painted it in a fashion I am more familiar with. Despite not being an abstract painting, I have given the work the same name as the original PBN to indicate its lineage. I then used the website PBNify.com which very conveniently converted the work into a PBN automatically.
References:
TASK 6- ARTIST AS ENTITY
Xaos Industries Mission and Vision Statements
Mission Statement
Xaos Industries was created to comprehensively document the creative actions of founder Mew (Kitten) Xaos. Further, we will be offering work for sale, taking commissions and engaging with galleries and arts organisations for the purpose of furthering the creation and display of this work.
Vision Statement
We endeavour to provide a growing audience with examples and information about the artist’s past work as well as expanding their portfolio. By 2030 Xaos Industries will be the foundational platform for content by Kitten Xaos who will be working as a financially stable, established artist with a solid rotating inventory of works for sale and a clear outline for commissions.
SELF DIRECTED PROJECT
Hand Washing Techniques Series
Soap; both ancient and modern. This substance has evolved over millennia in functionality and aesthetics. Its once revered and prized properties faded into the mundane. But then the calendar turned to 2020 and a mysterious illness spread to all corners of the world and soap became our most powerful weapon of protection. Hygiene is now the order of the day with every public space providing hand sanitiser and bathrooms providing illustrated hand washing guides. It was comical to see instructional guides on an activity we (should) all partake in multiple times a day. Apparently we’ve all been washing wrong our whole lives. I took our newly venerated ritual and depicted it in the very material that ensures its effectiveness. Hand washing techniques with and by soap.
The Making Of- Behind the scenes dvd extras!
Pose and number reference.
Single layer of pinkysil on hand.
Failed first attempt to mix plaster.
Hand resting in second lot of plaster.
First test- failure.
First attempt at oddbod- failure.
Second attempt at oddbod- multiple small batches.
Result of second attempt- fixable.
Clay built up on sides of bucket in shape of hand pose to minimuse aliginate use. Lined with plastic.
Long set alginate was a mistake. Sitting in this pose for the setting duration was very painful every time.
Set alginate life cast.
Plaster poured into alginate mould. Extra plaster in other moulds as I vastly over estimated the plaster required.
Set plaster in alginate mould removed from bin/clay/plastic lining.
Plaster cast of technique 5 out of alginate. Some fingers did not complete this journey.
plaster Cast of technique 6 out of alginate.
plaster cast of technique 7 out of alginate.
Modeled clay finger for 5.
6 refined with gabs filled with clay.
6 refined with gaps filled with clay.
Pinkysil painted onto plaster casts in small batches.
Pinkysil during on plaster casts.
Less expensive general purpose silicone used to build up silicone skin depth.
First half of casting the plaster shell mould. Previously set excess plaster used to bulk out plaster.
The second part of the shell mould broke open and plaster spilled everywhere, including through the boards onto my neighbour's veranda and clean washing.
The pinkysil peeled away from the general purpose silicone and stained the plaster cast. The shell mould still works, held together with an old belt and string.
Test cast from the silicone mould using melt and pour soup.
Making lye for the cold process soap casting.
Cold process soap batter ready for the mould.
Small mount of soap leakage from cut mould.
It worked! But they're very rough and will take some refining when they've firmed up.
Switched to the bandage wrap technique to save on plaster. Everything is sticky from vaceline and smells like sex shop (silicone and lube).
Taping the slices in the mould to minimise leakage.
Soup in silicone in bandage in plaster in carboard.
Composing the placement of the soap on the mirrors.
Makeshift plinth: Three buckets and a milk crate wrapped in a towel and a couple of bed sheets.
Research Notes
Artists/Artworks
Janine Antoni's website profile on Life and Lather
Video about the preservation of Lick and Lather
Lick and Lather- National Gallery of Art
Art21 Interview with Janine Antoni about Lick and Lather
Tate profile on Louise Bourgeois's Give or Take
Tate profile on Louise Bourgeois
Techniques
Caulking and dish soap mould video
Plaster bandage mother mould video
Plastic mirror cutting service- for future
Reflection
While I'm content with what I've been able to achieve with my resources and the time perpetrates, I think this project has a lot of growing to do before it's reached its full potential. I have numbers the sculptures I have made in relation to the hand washing technique guide shown in the gallery above. I want to create a sculpture representing every step.
I am currently satisfied with the perspex mirror mounts positioned on like-sized plinths for this iteration. However my ultimate goal for presenting this work is to have the soap affixed to the mirrors and hung on the walls at the typical height of a bathroom mirror.
I regret getting so caught up in the practical side of making this work and with the readings for other subjects that I wasn't able to look very deeply into the history of soap as a medium and am very interested in reading on how the current conditions have changed the conceptual framework of the medium.
I am also unsatisfied with my photography skills. While my home set up is less than ideal for taking quality "produce shots", I believe that with applied effort to learning the specifics of my new DSLR (thank you government stimulus) I can increase the quality of the photos I produce of my work.
Stats:
Plaster 23.5kg
Silicone 4kg<
Soap 5kg<
Caustic Soda 500g<
Petroleum Jelly 1/2 jar<
Back pain
Dry hands
Cold feet
Annoyed neighbor
Concerned cat