My concept of re-creating nature from man-made material came from the notion of weeds growing through cracks in concrete within the city. So i originally wanted to create the weed with cement, which is impossible so i tried using clay as it would give a similar look. But that too proved too difficult, as it is such a heavy material and would never hold the delicate structure of the weed and roots. So i used wire as it has the strength to support its self and the flexibility to be shaped in that way. But i did come up with a way to produce a concrete weed, with its dusty flaky fragile unnatural look. I covered one of the weed i studied in cement. This was the out come:
It wasn't fully dry yet.
Exhibition piece
The roots creeping down the side.
This topography view of my piece, i think looks like the city, the main built up area and the roads out of it.
Its a family run business, that make these bonsai trees. The ends of the branches are hammered to give the effect of leaves.
Thursday, 29 November 2012
David Musgrave
Dirty leaf 2004
This extremely detailed drawing captures the fragile and delicate qualities of a leaf in this state. I have been drawing leaves like this in my note book and have been struggling to capture the 3D effect. By looking at this image you can almost imagine the crunch it would make, it is that life-like.
These are the leaves i drew in my notebook.
Tuesday, 27 November 2012
Micheal Landy
I have watched a DVD on Micheal Landy form collage, and it has a lot of information about his older work eg. Closing down sale,Scrapheap services and Breakdown, but hes latest work Nourishment relates very well to my work. His show Nourishment was a solo show in late 2002, the exhibition consisted of a series of detailed etchings of weeds, rendered in the traditional style of botanical draftsmanship. Here are a few examples.
Creeping Buttercup
Many people might call them hideous eye soars or evidence of an unkempt garden, but these creeping weeds can survive the harshest of conditions and can be impossible to get rid of, and people put so much time and money destroying them. Landys analytical studies and intricate renderings of these weeds become so much more than ugly weeds, they are truly beautiful and capture a delicate side to these tough and relentless weeds.
These drawings of mine are inspired by Micheal Landy.
Born in 1956 in Cheshire, England
Raised in Yorkshire, England
Bradford Art College 1974–1975
Lancaster Art College 1975–1978
Andy Goldsworthy is an extraordinary, innovative British artist whose collaborations with nature produce uniquely personal and intense artworks. Using a seemingly endless range of natural materials—snow, ice, leaves, bark, rock, clay, stones, feathers petals, twigs—he creates outdoor sculpture that manifests, however fleeting, a sympathetic contact with the natural world. Before they disappear, or as they disappear, Goldsworthy, records his work in suburb color photographs.
Goldsworthy deliberately explores the tension of working in the area where he finds his materials, and is undeterred by changes by changes in the weather which may melt a spectacular ice arch or wash away a delicate structure of grasses. The intention is not to “make his mark” on the landscape, but rather to work with it instinctively, so that a delicate scene of bamboo or massive snow rings or a circle of leaves floating in a pool create a new perception and an ever growing understanding of the land.
youtube "Land Art Movie Creations in nature"
"The energy and space around a material are as important as the energy and space within."
Goldsworthy
"Movement, change, light, growth and decay are the lifeblood of nature, the energies that i try to tap through my work."
"When i work with a leaf, rock or stick, it is not just that material itself, it is an opening into the proesse of life within and around it."
Goldsworthy's work with leaves relates very well to my project. The images i have taken of Galway, feature alot of leaves. Maybe its the time of year and the abundance of them or the beauty and sometimes vibrant colour of them that caught my attention.
But to take the notion of time, the time of year, the autumn season this relates back to Goldsworthy as he works with time and nature. He creates from nature in nature and because of this most of his work is created for moments and then either decay, fall, melt or blow away, they are not permanent works. His images become more important than his creations because he has captured the moment/creation and the piece has disintegrated.
So timing is very important for his work not only to capture it before its gone but in every aspect, time of year and even time of day.
Books and catalog number:
Time : 730.92 GOL
Andy Goldsworthy : 730.92
Hand to earth, Andy Goldsworthy sculpture 1976 - 1990 : 730.92
