MAJOR STUDIO PROJECT 2
Practice Journal
PRE-TRIMESTER
After a few days break, I started working on my plans for trimester 2. I used Timothy Barrett's European Hand Papermaking's section on moulds and deckles to draft a design for my paper mould. I spoke with Andrew Forsyth, the workshop technician and Greg from AV dispatch about suitable materials and have found those items online. I went to Reverse Garbage to get more buckets for paper pulp, but they were sold out of the ones I was planning to get. I have some buckets but will need to dry out their current contents so I can use them for this project. I may need to do a call out in the print studio for buckets from students who took papermaking but aren't looking to continue. I have found that I can get a lot of fabric cut during movie nights my partner and I regularly enjoy.
WEEK 1
Lecture Notes
My work does what it does and I just follow it - Kiki Smith
Be uniquely yourself- Develop that confidence
Week 6: Check-in on Studio Progress (assessment) 15%
Week 8: Have works to photography for grad show + artist statements (100 words)
Week 9: Natalya Hughs Honours talks
Week 13-14 Grad Show
Last class Thursday 15th
Assessment Presentation during Grad Show
Turn up every week
Book a studio meeting every week
Be in the studio
Ask Questions
Meet deadlines
Be yourself
Be involved in grad show dev
Assessment 2- can be done alone or as an interview by another student
Assessment 4- 15% pass or fail
Week 1 Task: watch 10 artist talks (make notes about context and ideas of work, what makes the talk good or bad)
Do you disagree with what someone’s saying- ask why.
Lindsey White: How Humor threatens us
Personal. Stand up comedy. Working with Ron lynch. Between humor and darkness. Stage magic. Hands. Photography and digital manipulation. Creating an artifact. Reality vs fiction
Issei Suda
Photography, objectivity. Impersonal distance. Sublime, imminent death. Shape and form. Festivals and human joy, culture. Human emotion and body language. Apolitical. Aesthetics above all.
Tracey Moffatt- 2009 Brooklyn Museum
Feminism, female assertiveness, Not waiting for permission. Black women in hollywood. Excelling under the yolk of systemic racism. Personal history
Journal
After reviewing the book European Hand Papermaking and speaking with Andrew, I discovered that the way the moulds were joined was much more complex than the butt-joints we had originally designed for. I took photos of the papermaking moulds in the print studio for reference as well as referring back to the book.
I also found a section in the book that discussed how to calculate the amount of fabric needed to create the amount of paper you want. I have to get a hold of Tim to ask what the beater capacity is and it's likely I will need to pulp multiple loads and don't want to overload the beater.
WEEK 2
This week I pulped my first load of fiber for the trimester. Found out from Tim that the Hollander beater can take up to 900g of fabric. I have to weighing out loads of just over 800g to be careful.
I also tested my pouring technique this week while clamping a sheet between the mould and deckle. I found that the water drains much more slowly through the sheet than through the mesh alone.
I also tested using a pillowcase to transfer the paper from the mould. It didn't go well.
having researched the kind of wood and measurements needed, I have decided to buy my timber from Finlayson's. I will be placing the order tomorrow.
WEEK 3
Lecture
Online Lecture
Agnes Martin- Painter
Video “With your back to the world”
Practice focuses on value of interior world
Artist Statement
Reason behind creating the work and its history
Overall vision of work
Context of work- medium, artistic process, technique, influence. Highlight what materials you work with and your artistic sources
Expectations of your audience and how they perceive your work
Current work’s relation to own previous projects
How work fits with current contemporary practice
Be honest about your work
Avoid repetition of words
Simple languages, short sentences- illustrate your ideas to your audience
Avoid exaggerated statements and pretentiously grand terms
Write in third person
Refer to self by last name
Stay in 3rd person
Use verbs for flourish
Are the verbs doing what they need to do?
Stay in present tense
Active and Passive voice
Active: The subject performs the action (Normally used)
Passive: Take the action away from the subject
Subject and Object
Subject is acting
Object is acted upon
Does the work seem authored or is it impersonal- adhering to conventions?
‘Deadwood’ phrases- Avoid
“There is”, “there are”
Avoid Adverbs
“ly” words
Customised writing for audience
Write to the work
Don’t start every paragraph/sentence with I.
Easier to edit down word count than edit up.
Consider swapping the first and last sentence.
Artist Statement Due week 6- With first assessment
Julie- Biography and Autobiography
Also a performative and longing for authenticity and intimacy
Performative Authenticity
Avoid cliche of the shrouded figure
Journal
We were in lockdown this week. I tried to keep from stressing too much and focus on what I can do, but I can't help but be nervous. There's so much I simply can't do without studio access this trimester and I couldn't handle a continued lockdown.
I worked a bit on theory, researching artists and paper making. I also got a lot of fabric cut up with all the extra spare time I've had.
WEEK 4
Class
Start thinking about grad show
Make it a big deal this year
Can invite public to view critique
Other grad shows- peers and competitors
Review contribution excel sheet - 100 points required
Remember week 6 progress assessment
Final Assessments Mon and Tues, 1st and 2nd November
Keep sales prices low- get it out there
The Questions:
The Rational? (what connects the work of cohort)
Draft 50-100 word abstract?
Look and feel of show? (exhibition design)
Consider viewer experience? (movement through space)
How/who will compile works?
Sculpture group space
Leader- Edwina
Get floorplan of River Studio
River Studio Members:
Alanna: 1.5x2.5 paper scuplutes plus soap hands
Mickayla: Car sized - centre area- full walk around
Mark: 1 work, 2 parts Costumes- textile works installation- 1.5 life size suspended in space
Outside security- one at the front of river studio
Colin: 5 sculptures- broken ceramics reformed- relatively small
3 photos
Anngelique: Installation- two side rooms
Edwina: Wall paintings plus small sculptures
Keyword: Skin
Rational: The works of the sculpture cohort are connected through the idea of skin, surface and materiality. We explore skin through materials including cracked glass, silicone, textiles, paper and paint. Our works range in size from the compact to the expansive. Together these sculptures will intervene into the space of the River Studio and invite the audience to consider different elements of the skin experience. Skin as a barrier, skin as a threshold, skin as a texture,skin as a surface, skin as sensation, the memory stored within skin.
Anngelique Jenkins- skin as a paradox
Edwina McLennon:
Journal
Lockdown lifted and my timber arrived over the mid-trimester break!
I spent the break busily preparing the timber to make the moulds. Andrew spent a lot of time with me sorting out how to cut the long panels of timber on the machines in the workshop space. Turns out how they would normally be cut won't work because the timber will be obstructed by other equipment in the space.
Notice: I have misplaced the photos from this week. But I had shots of the timber as it arrived and of the mock-up of joint Andrew made up.
WEEK 5
Class
*Include location for week 6 presentation sign up
Guest Speaker: Hamish Sawyer
General Manager- Outer Space ARI
20 years gallery experience, commercial, regional and state galleries- APT 8 included.
Large exhibition- curation collaboration
Adaptability important, collaboration
Caloundra Regional Gallery- Many solo exhibitions- suited the space
Consider relationship between works
Consider space between works
Wall colour/pattern?- does it add something?
Themes can be open ended
Consider the demographics of your audience
Consider alternative/dynamic forms of display
Reflect on the successes and failures of each exhibition
Engage audience before and during the exhibition
Exhibitions can be toured- translated to different spaces and contexts
Don’t need to ‘fill’ a space- give works room to breath
Consider architecture of the space
Different spaces will have limitations on intrusions (damage to the building)
Think about sightlines
Subtle suggestions to audience movement around space
Mix of sparse and dense visuals
Sound and scent
Be creative with plinths
Digital works (screens) can be hung in the space
Use of unconventional spaces (historical, industrial, abandoned spaces)
The grid, salon and irregular hang (No flying ducks?)
Installation is an important time- plans can change when the work’s in the space
Compromise individual for better overall show
Meow is the time to experiment and make mistakes
Put care into the presentation
Artwork should engage aesthetically and intellectually
Work consistently
Look at more art
Not every work has to say everything
Talk to other artists about what they’re working on
“Instead of looking at things, look between things.” John Baldessari
Dale Harding “Body of Objects” - silicone models of traditional objects
Journal
This week I got the joints cut and glued together. I have pulped more fiber and should have enough to pour my first sheet as soon as the shade cloth is stretched over the mould.
WEEK 6
MSP 2: Progress Studio Presentation and One-Page Plan- Paper Ghosts
1. What is the project and what is its artistic and social context?
Paper Ghosts is a series of two or more paper sculptures of approximately 1.5 x 2.5m. They will take the appearance of a figure lying beneath a sheet or shroud. Where the paper tears, twine will be sewn across the holes but not to close them. The interior of the work is visible, but not accessible.
The practice has its lineage in female artists including Louise Bourgeois and Janine Antoni, both of whom have been associated with the Feminist Art movement. Paper body casting has been utilised contemporarily by artists including Deborah Baldizar. Large scale paper sheet forming is utilised by pulp painters like Griffith Alumni Karen Stone and Chinese born artist Hong Hong. Karen Stone’s work focuses on the material’s ability to hold memory. Fellow QCA post grad student Ana Estrada has always worked with paper and memory.
Memory and a longing for the unattainable other are key concepts in Paper Ghosts. Our sense of desire for intimate and tangible connection is a universal human desire that has been heightened by the events of recent years. The work also refers to the inframince, the indescribable sensation of an unknown other.
2.What have I done so far? List of steps you have taken to get the project underway.
I have, with the help and guidance of Andrew Forsyth and the book European Hand Paper Making by Timothy Barrett, built a papermaking mould and deckle. I have performed a number of scale tests to practise techniques for use at full scale. I have begun testing the full scale mould and deckle and have been adjusting my technique and materials accordingly.
3. What has been successful and what hasn’t?
I took significant time over the trimester break researching, designing and sourcing materials for the project. I feel that the depth of research has helped me avoid a number of costly pitfalls in the construction of the mould and deckle. However, I have found that I was wildly optimistic in my judgement of the time needed to produce this equipment. With limited access to the workshop and 24 hour curing times, the build has taken weeks longer than I anticipated.
4. What has changed in my plans for completion as you have progressed?
I have had to drastically rework my timeline of production and will likely have fewer completed sculptures for install.
5. What has changed about my thinking around the project?
I am trying to let go of my stress around timelines and giving myself the mental space to feel good about what I have gotten done, not dwelling on what I should have gotten done.
6. Am I satisfied with the amount of progress?
I know I’ve worked hard and will continue to do so. I personally struggle with being satisfied with my work. I will always want to do more.
7. What do I need to do now to make sure the project is finished on time?
I need to keep working hard and dealing with the problems as they arise. I will need to find assistants as moving the frame and the wet paper is at least a two person job. I will need to secure my sheet forming technique before I bring in a live model for the body casting. I will need to process a butt-load more fabric.
Journal
Its been a busy week. I got the screen stretched and made my first sheet with help from Jackson. I rolled up that sheet and attempted to transfer it onto a skeleton model to test the drying time. Unfortunately the paper fell into strips when I tried to peel it from the sheet. I wrapped it back in the base sheet and left it over the weekend.
While it didn't work, I managed to pour another sheet today.
WEEK 7
Gallery Excursion
Which Galleries did you visit? IMA, TW Fine Art and Jan Manton Gallery
What type of gallery is it: Public, Artist-Run, University, Commercial? IMA- Public, TW Fine Art- Private, Jan Manton- Private
Who are the core audience of each space (using whatever information you can gather)? IMA- the art-going public interested in more conceptual works. TW Fine Art- "Well traveled" rich people, Jan Manton- Also rich people
What exhibition was showing when you visited? IMA- Yivonne someone- beautiful and poinient blown glass works. TW- Some guy who paints with a fire extinguisher. Jan Manton- a painting and collage series with a pop culture/architectual spin.
What type of artists show there more broadly? IMA- Mid-career conceptually based fine artists. TW- Usually painters of larger scale works that take the curator's fancy. Jan Manton- Smaller scale works in a range of mediums.
How would you characterise each space? IMA- Multiple large spaces with clear white walls. Formal and institutional. TW- High ceilings in a modern, naturally lit building. Large windows and seating in the centre of a long room. Jan Manton- Irregular space in heritage listed building. Awkward shape creates multiple intimate areas.
What did you notice about how the exhibition was installed? IMA- Yivonne's work was shown to it's full gravitas, reflecting the seriousness of her subject matter. Shelves and low plinths showed most of the work, though some works were displayed directly on the floor. The use of height difference encouraged the audience to move their bodies around the space. TW Fine Art- Large stretched canvases hung evenly around the space. While the work is produced in an interesting way and has nice details I feel it is designed as little more than set dressing for corporate offices as the work is too large for domestic display in anything by the most expansive home. Jan Manton- A collection of small, ugly paintings displayed along a single level around the whole space. I feel the concept must have been beyond me.
Which of the galleries felt most like a place that your work would fit and why? I feel like IMA and in the shorter term, Outer Space would suit the nature of my work best. My work is poorly suited to commercial spaces as its decorative value is limited. My work would be best displayed in galleries where the conceptual scope is prioritized over sales.
How would you go about attempting to show in that space? I would (and will) apply to show in ARIs to show my projects and develop a network in the local scene. I will also apply for prizes and grants to develop my portfolio. If the stars are right, IMA will approach me for a show as they to not accept requests.
What are five things about exhibition, installation and/or professional practices you learned from the professionals you heard from or spoke to? Commercial art galleries cater largely to rich people, antithetical to my desires.
Journal
I had to leave the excursion early as I had to get back to campus for an assessment. It was such a warm, bright day and I was quite exhausted by the end.
To speed up the drying process of the paper, I pressed the sheet I made last week using the felts from the papermaking studio to absorb the moisture. After laying them all down, you stomp on them light grapes, making sure all of the felts are saturated with water. The sheet can then be rolled up again and can stay at that dampness for another couple of days.
WEEK 8
This has been another busy week. I installed my solo show in the Webb Gallery, Hand Washing Techniques, participated in the second half of a short-term internship at Artisan and had my first session with moulding paper over a life model.
To say the experiment with the life model was a failure would be an understatement. But I know now that I will need to make a mould of a model over which to dry the paper as it dries far too slowly to have a person underneath. Additionally, the paper still falls apart when removing it from the backing sheet. I will have to keep it on the sheet while it dries.
I think the pictures from this experiment are rather nice though.
WEEK 9
After a bunch of research, I found that plaster casting would be the fastest and most cost effective way to create the full body cast. I spoke with Virginnie and emailed a number of QCA staff for tips on body casting too. I knew I'd need a lot of petroleum jelly as a release agent but had no idea how much 'a lot' was. Turns out I only needed half a jar... I bought 7.
Using plaster bandages I'd pre-cut my partner and I covered the model with a single layer of plaster. Once it set she wriggled out. To strengthen the cast I used scrap fabric dipped in plaster to create a second layer. The form is much more solid and stable now.
WEEK 10
Class Notes
MSP 2 Week 10 Lecture
400 character hard limit
Clarity most important
Grad Show Contributions- check your 100 points
Develop Artist Talk- on second and third of November
5-10 minute
No powerpoint- standing in front of work at grad show
Complete didactic label sheet
Send to team leaders
Return Studios to original condition
Studio Clear out Friday 22 October
Talk to Justene about storing artwork
Grad Show Contributions
Team Managers- finalise and organise exhibition plan for next week, make sure everyone has completed technical requirements, maintain regular meeting schedule, tag and test equipment for install, make sure sales team organised
Pack down crew *check on spreadsheet
Sales and roomsheet people- Miki- develop says system, train second year sales team
Openings- get ‘em while they’re hot
Don’t take deposits
How much? Talk to your lecturer.
Looking for your collector base
Organise Gallery Minding- 10am to 4pm 27/10 to 3/11, 2 people per area
Organise Second Years for opening night 3-10 Thursday 28/10, 2 per area
Everyone Jobs
Photos and edited artist statement submitted-
At least 2 shifts of gallery minding
EVERYONE Tuesday 26/10 ALL HANDS ON DECK install finalisation
De-install 4/11 after 4pm
Invite people to the show!
In the event of lockdown… show will be delayed, NOT CANCELLED
Final Assessment 9:30 Tuesday 2nd
Journal
It works! I unrolled a paper sheet over the plaster cast form and left it in the sun to dry. It took a couple of days but it came off from the form fairly easily and kept it's shape. I made another sheet of paper while it dried, the 5th so far. Unfortunately, the deckle came apart as we walked it back into the studio. Andrew gave me an epoxy glue to put it back together.
The weather changed and I had to dry the second paper sheet on the form inside with a large fan. It worked much better than I thought and the paper was bone dry by the next morning. Picture day tomorrow, just have to sew the gaps with twine.
WEEK 11
MSP 2 Week 11
No room sheets, general map of show.
Areas- All agree to have work on sight on 24th of October.
Work on Artist Talk
50x 50 plinths need work as gallery ‘beacons’
Journals due at time of presentation (2nd november)
Magic Living Soft Touch Disc Nightlight - Bunnings Australia <- lighting for project
“Artist talk friday” to occur after the opening
Check required length of artist talk
Your verbal presentation should take the form of an 5-10 min artist talk in front of your work in the grad show (no pptx). It is intended that this talk should be developed using the infomation you gathered in your VIVA presentations in MSP 1. You may read from a script if you need to or ask another class member to ask you questions. These types of artist talks are standard for anyone exhibiting art outside the University context and a necessary skill for anyone working in the arts.
640-1300 words
Journal
Picture day was on Friday and I looked darn cute! But more importantly, the work photographed well. I've sewn the large tears in the first work and think I will leave the second one as its more more whole.
I've cleaned, sanded and undercoat painted two of the three tables I'll be using to display the sculptures on.
I've also been busy helping organise for the show in both Sculpture and JSO. Edwina and Lorissa have respectively taken charge of those areas so I consider myself assistant manager to both, helping wherever I can.
WEEK 12
MSP 2 Week 12
Journal and Artist talk due same day November 2nd.
Artist Talk- 5-10 minutes
Start with an antidote- personal trajectory through to conception of the work.
Tomorrow- Clear out studios!
Check student team on-site
Saturday 23rd- Deliver work to studio space 3-5pm
Sunday 24th October- All hands on deck install
25th Monday- Upload website info plus headshot
26th Tuesday 9am- All hands on deck install plus clean up
27th Wednesday- VIP Tours
28th Thursday- Opening Night from 3pm
29th Friday- Artist Talk
3rd Wedneday- Deinstall 4-6pm - complete comment section of contributions sheet
4th and 5th Thurs, Fri- On site clean up
Emergency Storage room webb centre 6.34 accessible 3-5 Friday 15th October
Required- Hard copy masterlist plus live document
Consider contacting performance artists for QCA Festival- Ivy?
Journal
Been feeling pretty rough this week. Haven't had the energy or head space to do much on MSP this week. Lots of meetings and computer work.
I did manage to get my last table sanded, but forgot to photograph it.
SHOW PREP AND INSTALL
I was still been feeling a bit under the weather. I got the tables painted with a couple of coats of top coat and they're ready for install.
We had our big install day on the 26th. I was expecting it to be relatively quick, but Justene was working with us in the space to play with placement. I was stressed about deadlines, unwell and in pain. I was not my best self that day but Justene made the space really pop.
Just so tired.
We had some trouble with the lights as the bulbs kept blowing. There must be something wrong in the wiring for bulbs to be blowing repeatedly like that.
Unfortunately my work was only partially lit for the opening night but I think the space looked good overall.
I have received generally positive feedback on my work but no sales.
RESEARCH
'ONE CENTRE-ZIP WHITE': SHROUD AS CONCEPTUAL TEXTILE ART
This article discusses the artists' use of bodybags as a base material for works around the enormous deathtoll of the migrant crisis of the mid 2000s.
Monique Van Nieuwland
LORENZO LOTTO'S SHROUDS AND VEILS
Paul Hills
This reading was very dense. I spent a lot of time flipping back and forth between the text and the reference images to understand what they were saying. There is a lot more to drapery and veils than I had anticipated.
RELATIONAL AESTHETICS
Nicolas Bourriaud
While a bit meandering, this text opened up my ideas about how art can be interreacted with and how it can facilitate the interactions of others.
I am yet to be convinced of micro-utopias.
ANTAGONISM AND RELATIONAL AESTHETICS
This critique of Relational Aesthetics argues that the utopian ideals of RA make little impact outside of their tiny spheres of influence. She argues for the inclusion of 'antagonistic' works in the RA arena to enact greater social change.
Claire Bishop
CRITIQUE OF RELATIONAL AESTHETICS
Martin takes RA to tasked over its failures to live up to its own Marxist ideals. Proposes that contrary to its aims, RA as it stands is not a de-commodification of art but more of a direct confrontation with that commodification.
Stewart Martin
EUROPEAN HAND PAPERMAKING
Timothy Barrett
This book has been an invaluable resource regarding the technical aspects of the production of my work. From it's guides I was able to construct a mould and deckle as well as calculate the fabric weight required for the finished works. It also has chapters on the cultural importance of paper on European culture.
This was an excellent guide to creating a body cast of a model in repose.
Serene Ceramics
This video focused more on the face but gave good details on how to protect the model from losing skin or hair.
Fatema's Art Show
This video covered a lot of previously covered info but showed a contrast betwen plaster moulds and other materials.
Buddy Cosplay
HOW TO GIVE AN ARTIST TALK
Megan Coyle
Even after watching artist talks throughout the trimester, I felt I needed some guidance to structure my talk.
this article gave a great outline of where to start and what to cover.