photographic images rescued from a camera; hidden layers of digital data, memory extracted and reclaimed – digitally collaged fragments of erased photographs that were previously recorded (or found) then deleted (lost), now recovered again…
i obviously did not plan to create these actual compositions but i am their originator…
in this first digital composition there are three photographic images, of some naturally occurring lichens and two works in progress…
this composition also combines the surface elements of one of my paintings with yet another found abstract or painting, some rusty traces on a metal tank…
have you read about the minor discovery of the ivy drawings? nature’s means of making a mark on a surface – here montaged with a small glimpse of electricity lines (more drawing, or lines in space) and a snippet of surface rust – the black void of a small rectangle aptly completes the composition…
i am not sure why some of the rescued images were divided vertically, some lichens on stonework and more ivy found drawings…
the middle section is a close up of some paintings, the lower section is as before and the thin upper section is a detail of some wood texture…
these images are exactly as found or retrieved, i had no direct input (other than expressed above) – the compositions seem arbitrary according to the original data and the colours are at times quite skewed. now, there’s an idea; i can’t wait to see what will happen next… (please do not copy, reproduce, modify, distribute or otherwise use or reuse without the owner’s permission)…
these are images not just retrieved from layers of digital memory but are also intriguing montages of my observations, or reflections on the process of painting, my own visual experiences and memories collated & recollected in a new composite format if you will…
to quote proust: ‘ in fashioning a work of art we are by no means free, [...] we do not choose how we shall make it, it pre-exists us and therefore we are obliged, since it is both necessary and hidden, to do what we [must] do as if it were a law of nature, that is to say, to discover it.’
if art, or the work of being an artist, has no other defined purpose then it is first and foremost to bring into being a new discovery. these digital images, discovered by chance and yet actioned, reminded me that what makes the art is what makes us. these remind me that art, life & its experiences are ever-evolving, accumulating in many layers over time, and that art is still very much an essential, sensory need, even in a virtually giving world.
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this week i spent part of an afternoon creating some new postcard-sized artworks especially for the future rca secret 2010 exhibition. the rca secret is an annual exhibition of original art on postcards donated by the great and the good, invited international artists, current students, graduates & alumni of the royal college of art.
of course, i cannot show you any photographs of the postcards i have made as the artworks’ creators must remain a secret during the exhibition and the artist’s name is only revealed after purchase. however, i can show you some of my previous contributions to this annual event.
[rca secret 2004, mixed media collage on postcards]
[rca secret 2005, wax encaustic on postcards]
[rca secret 2006, acrylic & ink on postcards]
you can see last year’s rca secret postcards here, completed during a period of cloud watching and drawing, hence no abstraction…
all of the postcards in the 2010 rca secret exhibition will also be viewable online in the run up to the grand sale day in mid november although you will have to register to buy. the rca secret exhibition is attended by thousands of people hoping to obtain an original work of art for less than £50 with queues going around the block on the final sale day. monies raised go towards the royal college of art’s fine art fund…
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i will have a couple of small works in the cromer & sheringham arts festival (a good excuse to revisit the wonderful north norfolk coastline). the arts festival takes place between 23rd and 31st october 2010 at various art venues and will include music, theatre, dance, poetry, performance & the visual arts – i will plug this event again nearer the time.
i have been asked to put in some small works into a local exhibition, which will very much be filled to the rafters with contemporary art & craft, royal academy style, a month long view & buy event with extra work kept in backstock. also, i received in the mail an invite from a gallery that i have worked with in the past to submit work for an anniversary show in 2011.
i have also been working on an exhibition proposal, or rather the ideas for some new work for it; we’ll see, nothing ventured, nothing gained… other ideas are slowly percolating as usual, but i have become mindful of late that this blog is very much a reflective journal and not just a show & tell. sometimes i know i have said too much and perhaps should keep some of my thinking to myself. other times i see it as one side of a conversation; the artist talking. what do you think? are you appreciative of the insight into my own creative process or are you just looking for some inspiring how-to’s?
in a previous post i mentioned that my creative blocks, or rather the obstacles i create for myself, are the extra finances required to push forward new ideas – perhaps these limitations will be good but i fancifully thought that a little foray into ceramics or glass would be a natural development of my interest in surfaces & materials.
it seems that all of these little happenings will keep art matters ticking along for the foreseeable future, in the present circumstances…
[one thousand and ten words exactly; in honour of today's date...]
