#cubsim

Find one of my painting at the 13 Art Fair this week-end. On the Hellion Gallery booth.

New press shot collage I made for Sydney band Winston Surfshirt 🤘🏻💥

Picasso is one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. He is mostly known for co-founding the cubist movement. He was introduced to many new experiments to broaden his creativity during his rise to fame in the epicentre of the golden age, one of these experiments to explore his creative processes was opium.

When discussing his rose period (1904-1906), the artist used to refer to his times in the studio with his friends, passing around the bamboo opium filled pipe. He discusses using opium to get out of his creative blocks. The acid aroma that filled the room was once referred by Picasso as “the most intelligent of all odors”. (Blum and Blum, 2007)

This opium circle led to Picasso’s interest in African sculpture which was the inspiration for his traditional African masks, a frequent theme that the Spanish artist famously included in his work.

Picasso quickly became an aficionado during this time, he began smoking opium several times a week between 1904 and 1908, using it as a creative tool. It could be argued that the influence of the opium narcotic is noticeable within paintings during Picasso’s Rose Period.

During this period, his vision most likely would have been affected by the use of these drugs (opium and hash) which altered his mindset and moods. Therefore, this most likely had affected things like his artistic perception and thought process, as well as things such as mood swings and his overall mindset.

We can see the influence of opium in The Family of Saltimbanques in the figures' weary faces that have little to no expressions, the faces and body language of the figures can be seen as dreary and almost hypnotic.

The artist's drug induced perception of his artworks can also be seen in Acrobat and Young Harlequin with the blank faces and blue and rose colour palette. A palette most used during this artistic period which shows Picasso’s opi-narcotic artistic view on his paintings. Picasso painted The Family of the Saltimbanques in a poorly lit room with his often drug induced friends viewing it from the side of the stage. With his intoxicated friends watching him create his work through nothing but a candlelight, this arguably could be the “creation of voyeurism – exhibitionism of a primal scene.” (Blum and Blum, 2007)

Due to the drug's side effect of feeling like time is slipping away while under the influence, the artist discovered he wanted to create a new style. One that “add the dimension of time to the spatial dimensions of painting, and to depict figures in motion from many angles simultaneously”.(Blum and Blum, 2007) With this new style and the artists narcotic epiphanies, art critics named this new geometric abstraction style, cubism. We can clearly see the combination of the artist's new unique style and the inspiration from his opium induced brain in Les demoiselles d'avignon, with the blank faces and slouch like body language of the figures.

Portrait. September 2017., Mathew Tudor

Part of a series of portraits executed in Pastel and Acrylic of strangers and friends.

As part of my course, we went to Tate liverpool to see and write a quick museum review of the Fernand Leger exhibition. I decided that as part of my blog I would try and perfect this, including some references for my research at the end, and using Harvard referencing when needed.

Fernand Leger: His life through art

The exhibition at Tate Liverpool, running 23 NOV 2018 - 17 MAR 2019 was a dedicated exhibition taking time to reflect Leger’s art, including his transformative style and the careful detailing regarding the context of his work- post WW2.  It was curated by “Darren Pih, Exhibitions and Displays Curator and Laura Bruni, Assistant Curator, Tate Liverpool. The Exhibition was initially developed by Lauren Barnes, formerly Assistant Curator, Tate Liverpool” [Tate, 2018].  

Fernand Leger, FEB 1881 - AUG 1955, grew up in Argentan, France. He began his artistic practices in the early 20th century. Initially “attending the Paris School of Decorative Arts, whilst being unofficially mentored by two École des Beaux-Arts professors, a prestigious school which he was rejected from” [Biography, 2019]. Prior to building experience, Leger adopted a blended style of Impressionism and Fauvism. Before seeking influence by Paul Cézanne, and taking up the beginning technique of his developing style, creating his own interpretation of cubism. He was always inspired by modern art, expressing his own work through the mechanical age, as a vibrant and fresh take on the world post war.  

Throughout the exhibition, I felt it was with great clarity that Tate have portrayed both realities of life in the era, and how Leger wanted to represent it. Along with Leger’s paintings was also a display of video footage scattered alongside the work, along with Leger’s photography including his work surrounding the inauguration of the german and Russian pavilion paris world fair. The historical importance this carries is well represented within the exhibition, however, I do feel that more attention with description could be placed on the photography section- as it only extends along a small corner of walls. From a curatorial perspective, I thought that involving the photography work that Leger has done was a crucial factor in making the exhibition successful. By using mixed media, it engages both an old and young generation. Allowing a somewhat nostalgic bond with older people, whilst engaging young children with moving images, such as the 21st century tool of TV; an advanced mechanism for him to have included in the early 20th century. When I was engaging with the exhibition myself, I witnessed what I assumed to be a grandmother with her two young grandchildren, approx 4-6 years old. Both generations absorbed by the films. I found it was important that Tate made sure to include black cube rooms to separately show these films, allowing a special untethered engagement to occur away from the larger rooms of the exhibition, also successfully representing Legers intentions with his work.   

The use of control seen within the order of the exhibition carried a somewhat confused tone. Though each section displays his development in style, through the eras, It still does not follow a strict chronological order.  I would have valued the use of this order as I feel that it would be a great asset in making the exhibition more beginner friendly, and help those who aren’t as familiar to his work, to fully grasp his own transition through time.

To challenge the concept of ‘The White Wall’ The exhibition involves the block colour of Red carefully chosen in certain sections to enhance some of his work, whilst also successfully breaking up the studio space.  This technique extends to the opposite rooms, including a block blue colour to a temporary ‘cube-like’ space. The curators have specifically and successfully broken up the standard, arguably boring concept of having all the walls white in an exhibition. The bold choice to include these block colours works not only to subconsciously engage with the viewer, but also tie in with Leger, and his work. Also bold, and different, it compliments the pieces of art hanging on top, and therefore being a great asset to the exhibition.

When first analysing the content of the exhibition, it is a shame that a vast amount of work is missing from the collection. Simply as this would enhance the exhibition, allowing it to hold greater value as a collective. Though I feel the exhibition worked well in including a large variety of Leger’s art, and would be expected when curating such a large exhibition, under such a famous artist. Overall, Tate Liverpool has been successful in translating Fernand Leger’s legacy, being successful in allowing for engagement with the public in cleaver curatorial choices, and the careful placement and descriptions of the artwork themselves. I would recommend everyone reading this to visit the exhibition before it closes, so that you can too enrich yourself with the versatile, breakthrough styles of Fernand Leger.