#critiquereflection

Inspiration: Henry Moore Tapestries @ Hauser & Wirth, Hong Kong

In reflecting about our critique conversation on Wednesday, I was thinking about how it felt to look at drawings that push the boundaries of authorship like yours did when you explored the process drawing over each others drawings of each other. Phew. It was the strange sensation of looking at the work and trying to identify a subject that lingered with me.

While very different, this is a project that I discovered in my inbox this week involving shared authorship and some hybridity between the world of drawing and the world of textiles, another of my loves.

Here is a link to short video about the art exhibition called Henry Moore Tapestries.

Are these drawings? Are they textiles? Who is the primary author of the work?

From the exhibition press release:

“ Renowned for his sculptures and drawings, Henry Moore was one of the few modern artists to extend his work into the realm of tapestry. The brilliance of the drawings is confirmed in their transition into large tapestries, seven or eight times the size of the original. These lost nothing of their power in the process, retaining all the textural qualities of the drawing, from a smudgy chalk line to a decisive pen stroke.

The presentation has been made possible due to the artist’s daughter, Mary Moore, who introduced her father to West Dean Tapestry Studio in 1976, and later helped to choose and oversee intimate watercolour drawings interpreted into life-size tapestries. The detailed textile works are the result of a true creative collaboration with highly skilled weavers led by Eva-Louise Svensson, dying wool to achieve precise colours and blending threads of a great variety of tones to adapt the artist’s original drawing media.”

Images from top:

3 of the tapestries on view September 23 - November at Hauser & Wirth, Hong Kong

With the completion of the installation we realized that it wasn’t really quite complete. There is a portion of this installation that will only be complete after the interactions have happened with the viewers and the flowers have been inserted into the bud vases. Even then, there is a time element that elongates the “work in progress” stage because it will change as the week progresses and the flowers begin to wilt. That passage of time and the fact that it never really is complete is an aspect I did not realize I so strongly enjoyed. In future works, I will consider that effect more and see if there is a way to develop it further.

In previous conversations about the work for capstone, I delved into the idea of identity. It developed into a comparison between heritage and culture and an understanding that my decisions are all made by the interaction of the two. It did come up though that when I present the work itself, I don’t necessarily address the relationship between heritage and culture in either the artist statement or me talking about it even though it does inform how I make aesthetic decisions. This lead into the topic of having a responsibility to address race in my work.

The question that I’ve been considering over the past two days since the critique is this: Do I need to talk about which part of my identity my decisions come from?

Yes and no.

Yes – I like the conversation it starts about how I am not Indian or American. I am Indian American and my art reflects that. It is influenced by both because I am influenced by both. It follows the fact that art is a reflection of the artist.

No – It starts an entirely different conversation about the work itself. The focus is taken away from the idea of creating a new experience and puts it on race. As an individual in a minority group, I think it’s important to educate and inform others, but there is a line that gets crossed when I begin speaking about those aspects. The focus then becomes more about race than it does the actual intent or reason for creating the work.

For this body of work, I am leaning towards no. Again, it is important to address topics like minority groups and representation, but this body of work is aimed at creating a universal experience. I like that there is potential to talk about aesthetic decisions and more specific driving points, but the work is about remember and experiencing and I want the main focus to be on that.

In my opinion, I will speak about representation and racial influence when the subject of my work is representation and race. Until then, the work is about the topic I choose, and unfortunately, once the topic of race is introduced it is no longer accessible to a portion of my potential audience and that goes against one of the main reasons for creating the body of work.

How would you summarize the conversation we had around the work you presented for your last critique? How did you feel about the conversation? What did you like about what was said in relationship to your work? What didn’t you like? What do you wish was said?

Back in March I wrote out a refleciton on my critique for the BS Group Show: https://laurenleilani.tumblr.com/tagged/critiquereflection

What critique had the biggest impact on you? What critique conversation was most related to your art or art practice? What critique conversation challenged you? What critique conversation surprised you? What critique conversation taught you the most about art? What did you learn?

1 > Steel structure from “Meditation I.” Example for what the structure will look like for “Reflect, Experience”

2 > Example of a traditional sari. Possible clothing option for performance aspect of “Reflect, Experience”

At this stage, most decisions have been made about the content of the project and what needs to be made for the presentation of the work. Now it is just a matter of creating everything and preparing all the parts for the installation.

The major insight I was able to get from this critique was about the layout of the installation for “Reflect, Experience.” My original plan was to have a singular steel structure open on one end to allow access into the space, but it seemed to plain and obvious. I want it to seem more like an environment that exists separately from the gallery it resides in. For this reason, I’ve been considering creating three structures that would be placed in a triangular form with the entrances to each area open to the center. This way there are three separate spaces for individuals to walk into and experience rather than just being open to the entire public. From the feedback of the class, I will be moving forward with this idea.

For the same piece, the question about performance came up again. I will be performing by interacting with people. Openings are something I look forward to because it gives me a chance to interact with other people interested in art and also gives me the chance to see and speak with people I don’t normally get to see. The focus, therefore, will be on those interactions. I will be talking to people that I know and am familiar with as well as those that I have never seen before, having a conversation, and giving them a flower as an invitation to then walk into the space and place a flower in one of the bud vases. This act is meant to be a way to solidify the memory of the opening into the memory of those attending, but is also a comment on the social atmosphere of art openings where artwork is ironically more difficult to look at and experience.

Critique Reflection - B.S. Group Show

Last night critique left me with a few thoughts. Firstly, I think it is necessary that I reflect on my expectations before a critique and make a goal. To expand the goal I want to think of specific questions I would like to ask the group in order to direct the conversation. 

Secondly, I am more aware of a weakness of mine in communicating me thoughts and ideas about my work. I am more effective at communicating through written language, and I would like to grow in communicating about my work and thoughts in general in a more clear, concise, and specific manner. 

Thirdly, this feels like a step in a process rather than an arrival. I am happy that this show and critique is placed in the middle of the semester because have a solid amount of time to keep going and creating within the community and with the resources school provides (classmates, profs, time, space, structure, accountability). 

Finally, in the critiques moving forward I want to strive to offer honest and encouraging feedback for my classmates. For BFA shows I would like to visit the gallery on my own on Monday or Tuesday before the critique in order to offer thoughtful feedback. 

Week 5 Studio Update | 6 Small Works 2.0 (Continued)

For my “next step piece”, I decided to play with installation and video art. My subject matter was quite similar to that of my photographs, however I was interested in exploring the feelings that videos could capture and how it differs from that of a photograph. To emphasize texture and movement, I projected the video on to stacked layers of fabric. In critique, it was said that the stacking wasn’t working well and that I should probably consider a lighter weight, sheerer type of fabric that would allow it to flow more freely. Sheer fabric would also help with the harsh shadows that were covering the pieces towards the back.

Week 5 Studio Update | 6 Small Works 2.0