DART1120 - T1 2020

Concept Statement:

The paint sculpture installation of “The Centre of the Grotto” consists of a reductive painting centrepiece attached to the wall and a collection of unique paint marble skins representing the expanded painting suspended from the ceiling.

This work is inspired by the concept of the grotesque, where the complex was considered impure and the simple symbolised purity. The expansive paint skins are intricate and complex with unique patterns. It is highly ornamental, with unregulated and morphing shapes suspended in a chaotic array. The reductive paint skins are uniform, simple, and formed an orderly pattern. It also involved only one hue (blue) in a development of tones and tints.

Both halves of the work are developed from the process of mixing paint.  The reductive paint skins involved specific and accurate colour mixing to change the tone between each circle of paint. However, the expansive paint skins were mixed randomly, with circling the paintbrush through the paint and marbling the pattern.

Assessment 2 Documentation

Image 1: Final composition of “The Centre of the Grotto”

Image 2-5: Final edits of four paint skins (part of Expansive Painting)

Aileen Heal

2020

“The Centre of the Grotto”

Acrylic paint, wire, plastic thread.

Editing Example

I used the vector mask tool in Photoshop to erase the background.

I also used the Adjustments to improve the Brilliance, Contrast, Vibrance, and Saturation.

Experiment 10: Reduced Painting

I thought that perhaps my original paint skins were much more reduced than the complex colour marbles I had been working on, so I considered I could continue with the plan of using circular paint skins for the reduced painting.

While the marbled paint skins were complex and intricate, I decided to experiment with the complete opposite for the reduced painting. I created a series of (mostly) uniform paint skins that developed from unbleached white to the darkest shade of that colour.

I was reminded of the idea of the grotesque from Week 7, where the complex was considered impure and the simple symbolised purity. For these paintings, I would like to explore this concept, where my expanded painting is highly ornamental, amorphous and complex. And my reduced painting is refined, simple, and forms an orderly pattern.

Because of this idea, I would like my reduced painting to be a series of (more perfectly) circular paint skins that explores one colour hue but a variety of tones, set in a perfect graph pattern.

Experiment 9: Assembling and Formation

After peeling off the paint skins of marbled paint I was considering how I can further expand on it’s form. I decided to create frames of wire, as these pieces were unable to stay taught and flat due to their thinness. I created imperfect blob-like shapes, and attached the paint skins taught against them, like a drum.

These pieces also had a very interesting texture, like veins in a leaf, that shows the motion of how they were lifted from the original.

I will be using these as the basis for my final expanded painting. As these pieces show the complexity and details of colour while mixing paint. These unique and intricate patterns were created through a performative interaction with the paint, as the way in which I mix and lift the paint impact the flow of the colours. The process is almost uncontrollable, as it is difficult to determine what the outcome of pattern and colour will be.

I also experimented with forming the shapes, because with the wire they were more solid and could stand almost upright. Below is a photo of an example.

Experiment 8: Paint Marbling 2.0

I continued to experiment with this paint marbling technique with multiple different colour choices and patterns. Above is documentation of the process to creating one of these sets.

Experiment 7: Paint Marbling

I really enjoyed the effect of my previous experiment, where I placed a sheet onto the original mix, and pulled up a new design. I don’t know what this technique is called but as it reminds me of the process of creating marbled nail-polish designs by dipping them into the original design, I shall call it paint marbling.

I decided to repeat this process, but make it more complicated. So I used the same rainbow of colours but formed concentric circles to fill up the unbleached white base. I then painted circles with my paintbrush, from the middle to the circumference, to mix up the paint. I was reminded how I didn’t wash my brush during colour activities earlier in the term, so I didn’t wash my brush here. I allowed all the paints to meld together.

When creating the “print” I decided to use several techniques, such as lifting both edges (which forms a ridge in the middle), lifting one edge (which creates lines of movement in one direction), and lifting all edges at once (which leaves a splotch of paint in the middle, and lines of movement all falling inwards).

I really enjoyed the effect of my previous experiment, where I placed a sheet onto the original mix, and pulled up a new design. I don’t know what this technique is called but as it reminds me of the process of creating marbled nail-polish designs by dipping them into the original design, I shall call it paint marbling.

I decided to repeat this process, but make it more complicated. So I used the same rainbow of colours but formed concentric circles to fill up the unbleached white base. I then painted circles with my paintbrush, from the middle to the circumference, to mix up the paint. I was reminded how I didn’t wash my brush during colour activities earlier in the term, so I didn’t wash my brush here. I allowed all the paints to meld together.

I seemed to be in a mental rut when trying to seperate a concept for my expansive and reductive painting.

When creating a series of uniform paint skins as an experiment for my reductive painting (to be shown later), I was accidentally spraying paint from my paintbrush whenever I tried to open a new paint tube.

This accident inspired me to play with my paint skin creation process in a more performative way.

Firstly, I began by creating a base of a circle of unbleached white paint. I created a circle of blue in the middle, and during the process of mixing, I would hit the paintbrush against my hand to create dynamic sprays of paint (which was previously ruining my other experiment). It was interesting to see the variety of shapes and sizes of paint splatter that could be created, and was rarely controllable.

I also conducted another experiment, where I started with my base of white, and then added a dollop of paint in a rainbow circle. I tried to blend the colours together, like how we did during our colour lesson to create a colour wheel. I then got another sheet of coated paper, and sandwiched it on top. I cannot recall what made me decide to do this. After I pulled the sheet off, there was this interesting streak created based on the direction I pulled. This reminded me of pre-school arts & crafts where we would fold a paper to create a reflected image of paint. I would like to test this technique with different colour combinations, paint patterns, and method of taking the sheet off.

After this dried, I peeled it up and noticed the interesting pattern of the underside. As the bottom of the paint-skin is rarely as well mixed as the top, there was greater diversity in tone and streaks of different hues could be seen.

When considering using dried paint skins as the material for my painting, it allows for more performative processes to be explored. When considering paint as a three-dimensional material that can be squeezed, squished, and formed there is the possibility of forming an assemblage-like painting. The below artists have provided inspiration to experiment with performative processes when interacting with my paint materials.

Niki de Saint Phalle

Shooting Picture (1961)

Niki de Saint Phalle’s work involved attaching bags of paint to a board, and covering it in thick plaster. The bags of paint would be shot, allowing the paint to run down the textured white surface. This artwork was a live performative event with public participation.

Huseyin Sami

Good Times (2017)

Huseyin explores the colour, form, and materiality of paint in his Paint Skins series, shown in the exhibition Good Times below. He emphasises painting as a performative process, and his experimentation with the material can be seen in the surface of scrunched-up paint skin.

Experiment 5: Paint strokes and layers

I decided to experiment with using paint skins in the form of strokes rather than the end-result of colour mixing. I decided to create a variety of tones from black to white to see if I can create a final image that involved a progression of tone.

The paint strokes were significantly more difficult to create than the circular skins, as they were much thinner. However, it was interesting to see the texture of a paint stroke and to use it as a physical material.

I used the dried paint strokes to create a small painting. Doing this assemblage reminded me of digital art more than traditional painting, as I was able to pick-up and move and rearrange the pieces without smudging wet paint.

When considering what techniques to use for the expansive painting, I continued to think about how to physically expand a painting. I was considering expanding a painting physically, to seperate the layers of paint so that the painting could be viewed not only as an end-result, but as the process. This could be done by layering paint between a transparent support, such as glass or resin. It is also possible to achieve this effect through hanging, such as suspending each individual dried paint stroke on a transparent wire and assembling them so that it forms the final “painting”. It could even be done in a spherical pattern, so it seems that the painting has exploded outwards, so the viewer can experience every paint stroke.

This concept reminded me of work I had seen that involved paint being suspended between layers of glass or resin. The following examples have provided inspiration as I continue to explore possibilities for the expanded painting.

Dustin Yellin

Psychogeography 45 (2014)

The three-dimensional collages by Dustin Yellin include detailed imagery of magazine cut-outs and acrylic paint to form a human figure. There seems to be an explosion of detail, with thousands of intricate pieces making up the whole. His works reminds me of how paintings are formed in layers, and a possible way of expanding a painting would be to literally expand it, showcasing all the layers and details that contribute to the whole image.

Xia Xiao Wan

Double Human Figure (2009)

Xia Xiao Wan expanded the traditional two dimensional painting into another dimension. His paintings form unparalleled depth, as the work is dispersed through several layers of glass.

Experiment 4: Physical qualities of the paint skins.

Before concentrating on finalising the concepts and ideas for both the expansive and reductive paintings I wanted to explore the physical qualities of the paint skins. Previously, I have been using them just as static sticker-like pieces rather than exploring how they can be formed after they have dried.

The paint skins are quite pliable and stretch when pulled taught. When pressing on the taught sections, the paint continues to morph around the shape that presses against it. It was difficult to document this as two hands were required to stretch the paint, like a drum skin, but I managed to photograph the visual effect of the stretching.

I continued to stretch the paint to see how it would break. Small holes would appear and lengthen, like how breakage occurs in stockings, rather than it snapping.

The paint skins would also stick to each other easily and, when scrunched up, would maintain their shape for the most part. I have attached an image of a small assemblage of paint skins, to show they can maintain their structure. A possible idea would be to use the colours mixed for the reductive painting to create a sculpture of paint for the expansive painting.

Week 8: Expansive Painting Experiment 3

I decided to replicate the experiment of sticking the paint skins to the window with the collection of smaller paint skins. The pieces that were thinner allowed light to pass through, where the paintbrush pushed hard against the surface, creating paint strokes of light.

During the daytime, the focus was on the light passing through the thin pieces of paint, but the colours were desaturated. At nighttime, the colours were more noticeable but the translucency was gone.

This reminded me of a childhood activity that was common when I was younger, where we would fill stencils of dried paint with more paint, wait for it to dry, then peel it off to stick against slick surfaces (e.g. the window or mirrors). I was unsuccessful in finding an image of this online but it was extremely common when I was younger and did it dozens of times. (Similar to the current trend of creating pancake art, where you draw the outline (in my case, they were pre-drawn acrylic paint outlines for the children) and you fill in the spaces to create a finished image - if anyone knows the name of this please let me know).

Week 8: Expansive Painting Experiment 2

I decided to create a larger dried paint skin to experiment with creating larger sizes and to experiment with using it as a material - such as cutting/ripping it or using it as another surface to paint on (shown in future experiments).

I painted it to resemble the initial painting of the assemblage, with an off-white circle with three smaller circles inside of different colours.

Even though this piece was larger and slightly thicker, it still was pliable and reacted to gravity, similar to a thick silicone sheet. The front of the paint skin still maintained the shape of brushstrokes, and the back had an interesting melting of the colours. I was quite fond of this difference, as although I spent a lot of effort to create a uniform shape, colour and tone on the visible side, after uncovering what was underneath, it was imperfectly blended and the colours seemed to warp into one another.