Trying it out in Darwin

I went down to the forshaw at nightcliff and wandered around for a couple of hours trying to get inspiration to make a work. I ended up on just down from the Nightcliff Pool where i found an interesting space to start creating. I wondered around trying to find colourd rocks, berries, leaves, bark or anything really that i could use. I eventually came across some patches of fine black gravel that collected in little rock pools. So i found an old wine cast to transport the graval onto the white canvas. I then started playing and experimenting with using the black graval contrasting against the pure white sandstone. Something really worked and i got into a creative space. It was now getting on sunset and i then set up my camera on a tripod with a panoramic head. I have just purchase a set of Cokin Neutral Density Gradient filters which i wanted to try and i was really happy with the result. This allows me to get the highlights and shadows correctly exposed. As the sun set the light interacting witht he land art was really fascinating.

Project Two

This assignment requires the student to re-interpret a work of art from another artist (still or moving image, either historical or contemporary) into a new work that is representative of another period (distinct movement or style).

You will need to demonstrate an in-depth understanding of the elements that define each of the stylistic movements that each piece represents in order to create an effective re-interpretation.

The original work must still be recognisable in your re-interpretation, but its socio-political and artistic context must be removed and replaced by those from a different period.

Students should aim for a result that is as realistic and convincing as possible.

The re-interpretation should demonstrate both creative and technical flair.

Students should discuss their proposed re-intrepretation with the lecturer as early as possible.

An area that i really want to pursue as an artist is land art, I have spent a lot of time looking at various artist and i want to incorporate this ino this Project.

Short definition of the expression Landart:
Landart describes a way of art, which became popular in the 60s. It`s a part of the social departure of that era, which has changed society, politics and culture radically. Landart, originally called Earth Art or Earth works, uses nature as the immediate canvas for visual art. The intentional integration of landscape into the process of creativity opened new doors of expression. One of the most popular representative of Landart is Andy Goldsworthy, who became famous with his worldwide landscape-installations, photographs and books.

http://www.landart-creations.com/welcome/

 

 

Dietmar Voorwold

 

"Born in 1957 I studied Graphics and Photography in Düsseldorf. In 1998 I completed a further education for Art Therapy at the Institute for Humanistic Psychology (IHP) in Eschweiler, Germany.

For many years I worked with children, handicapped people and adults in educational and therapeutic institutions in Germany, Holland and Great Britain. I always put the main focus on self-expression, joy and inspiration.

In 2002 I founded the Atelier Spurensuche Project in Wipperfuerth (GER) and in 2008 I settled down in Scotland, where I now live for most of the year. Since then I have preferably concentrated on outdoor installations.

“Nature is the perfect stage and canvas for the beauty and lightness, that I like to express.”

 

 

 

 

 “LandArt– art in and with nature – has become an essential part of my work. Nature offers everything necessary for an aesthetic work of art, i.e. materials to create something, colours, light und a vast open canvas. Here I can live out my creative passion without limitation, enabling the movement of freedom and the pleasure of breathing deeply.

I spend a lot of time along the coasts of Morayshire in the North of Scotland, where nature, sometimes during the course of a single day, moves through ever changing qualities in colour, light and weather, thus creating a lively spectacle throughout the sky and the interplay with earth.

I express my love of landscape through the art of Photography. The impermanence of my work, however, is also a very appealing aspect of making Landart creations, as it is simply part of nature

 

"I love art and I love nature. I love beauty. I claim to be a representative of beautiful art; something I expect of myself. It’s purely subjective, without any judgement. I want to feel good with art. It should arouse positive feelings in me and create moods I can cheerfully relate to. Artistically created images I would gladly choose to decorate my home, indulge my eyes and ears and fondle my heart with. Art is an expression of harmony and the right resonance. Art is healing for the soul. Nature is my grandest stage and I`m very pleased when my Creations in Nature speak to you.”

My installations blend seamlessly into the landscape and often it looks as if they had been there forever. The right frequency is important to me. Harmony and authenticity. My artistic work has something to do with stillness. Peace with nature, with the weather, the stones, the light and the ocean. Peace with myself. And if I can smile at the end of the day, I know that I was able to allow for some peace.”












I really love Dietmar Voorwold's land art is really beutiful and inspiring. I love how he uses the environment as his canvas and how he creates his works to compliment it;s environment. I also really love his phylosophy of making art that is peaceful and that creates positive feelings. I also loves that he uses his art as a theraputic context for  working with people with disabilities as i also want to use art as a context to engage troubled youth into a positive future.
"I always put the main focus on self-expression, joy and inspiration."
These are also key elements i want to build into my works.
 
Another thing that i love about his work is the photography aspect. He has really captured how his works relate to their context and how the varied weather and light conditions change the the mood of his works. I really want to incorporate this aspect into my works. I would love to develop these ideas within the context of Darwin.  

 Presentation of work

Overall i was happy with the presentation and final work. I felt i had really pushed myself and tried a lot of new techniques and mediums. through out the production of the piece i really struggled with the digital aspect of the work and i felt that the photo shoped digital aspect of the work didn't add any value, especially considering the amount of time i spent on developing that side of the work.
I really enjoyed the simplicity and of the sculpture and the shadows projected on the wall.





 The feedback of the group was fairly positive, the one bit of feed back that i got from Cornelius was that the music didn't fit with the work and it was to much like a TV add. I think this was a fair comment and something to consider for the future in that no element is neutral. every element needs to be considered in how it impact on the overall piece.







PROJECT ONE
This was a nice engagement with the project Joel. I think you could have done with more time but I feel you have brought together some interesting strategies. To me the music was an un-necessary elaboration and the Photoshopped imagery did not quite work. The shadow play of your sculptural pieces for me was the strongest element. Hopefully, from doing this project you will have developed ideas for others. C

YOUR BLOG
Your blog looks quite elegant Joel but as a documentation of 6 weeks work, it seems a little thin. Your comments as you document the construction of your project are not very helpful or insightful. At the end you warm up a bit as you discuss the other artists you have found. As you document your own work try to forge a conversation between your work and the work of the others. I feel you need to do a lot more reading around the theme of contemporary visual art. This will help you put what you are playing with in a more cogent context. P



 



This was my grades and comment from Cornelius, I agreed with his comments on Project One around the the music and the Photoshopped imagery, i will difenetly take this on board. I feel i have learnt a lot during the process of this work in developing more skills in photophop, sculpture and exploring the use of shadows.


The comments  about my blog where a bit surprising, My understanding of a blog was to reflect and document a creative process. But i must be wrong as it is clear that what Cornelius is wanting is something that i am not doing.

 

Butchering photos OR Art?

 

 

 

 

 Up to know i had only used photo shop to stitch panoramic photos and do minimal photo manipulation and prepering images for print. My philosophy was to master photogaphy skills and use this to capture beutiful moments in nature like the above photo. Photoshop was a program that allowed me to do the last 5% of the photo processing. It was really hartd for me to then start to use photoshop in a completely different way, as an art tool.

So i began to play and play and play and wonder when was this bloody thing was going to end?
















When is this thing Finished?????

 I spent hours and hours playing and it seemd never ending of how much i could do.











I enjoyed learning new skills in photoshop but
i had very little enjoyment in doing the work.

 

 

After way to long i started to think how rediculous you can get so i chucked in a squashed cane toad in the mix just becuase it was just a stupid thing to do.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Testing the idea.......

 

I went out bush to a burnt out area to photgraph the sculpure in a beutiful place for it to fit in.

 

 

 

 

When i photographed the sculpture in the landscape, i relised that my idea would not work. Becuse of the colour and fine detail of the fronds, the sculpture got lost in the background.

So i then played with different angles to get the contrast needed to see the detail of the sculpture. I then thought of photographing the sculpture against the blue sky.

This new perspecive worked well

 

I then thought of making a digital work that was from the perspective from lying down and looking up through the cycads, while layering some trees to give a sense of depth.

It was time to go and play in photoshop.

 

 

Making the sculpture....

 

 

So i took home all the materials and played for about 8 hours and came up with the piece.

Using axes, lump hammers, pot rivets and a bit of blood 

 

I came up with a peice that i really liked, i really enjoyed getting into that creative space again. I havn't sculpted metal or wood for many years. 

 Playing in the bush.......

I went to coles and got a huge pile of boxes and went out bush. I tried cutting out the boxes and putting them at the base of the cycads. after playing for a while it became clear that it wasn't working. So i ditched that idea for a walk to see what i could find.

 


I found a burnt out bed with some interesting spings and rusty pieces of metal

A burnt rusty Gutter
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Corrigated Iron

So i thought that i could make a sculpture of a cycad and use photoshop to make a forrest of cycad sculptures.