SELF INITIATED PROJECT

 

 

 

Brief:

 

We are now on the Pathway stage.  I am to chose media and materials and choice of subject.  However, as a starting point I needed to choose two words out of a selection of words describing themes.

 

Log Book:

 

Out of the words, I initially chose eight words:

• suspended
• manipulation
• juxtaposition
• layers
• assemblage
• metaphor
• contemporary
• Nature

I reduced this to four:

• manipulation
• juxtaposition
• metaphor
• Nature

The final words are: Nature and manipulation, I have to admit however, that I also intend to use juxtaposition in the processes I intend to use and my project is also based losely on a metaphor.  The title of my piece is Nature's Manipulation.  My idea is based on the fact that shapes of objects in nature can be deceiving and can appear much more than they really are.  To demonstrate this, I have chosen the Green Man.

The Green Man is part of english folklore (see research).  My personal belief is based on an experience I had many years ago when I was sitting in the woods, at the time reading a book.  I saw/perceived a small green creature for which I have no explanations.  I have often wondered if nature manipulates us in seeing things in different ways.  I, therefore, decided to use my experience and translate this into an art piece.

 

IDEAS:

 

1/ Producing a 3D piece, a figure (torso, full body or just a head) made of gnarled of old wood or clay.  Possible materials to use, moss, lichen, fungi, pine needdles, leaves.

Problems: too obvious? not enough time?

2/ Produce a column of branches and materials as above and transfer pictures taken with an instant camera.  Would the pictures react the same as the cards I used to construct the castle in Doctor the Deck (soaked in warm water then split the layers to make card bendable and thinner). Also manipulate pictures with bleach.

Problems:  although I want to use old branches and weathered wood to assemble in a way for me to make it look organic, in my mind, I visualize an architectural piece.  Danger to look like a Totem. 

3/ Make a painting /collage and use the picture I have drawn as a template to produce the image in separate pieces like a puzzle.   I could use foam board and superimpose pieces to make it structural and 3D.  Then paint each piece and also use the photographs manipulated with bleach and inks.  I could make a base board to support a few of the pieces and end up with several larger pieces to hang on a wall.

 

4/ Following a tutorial session, I reviewed my plans in the sense that Justin my tutor wanted to know why I had changed my mind about making a 3D figure.  I explained why (see above).  We also discussed intervention made on site.  I decide to go back to the woods but this time I needed to make sure I could find an older wood.  So I rang the Forestry commission and established that there was an old oak tree trail in the forest of Bere.  So I set off and found it easily enough but I did not find very old trees, maybe the trail is old.  There were a few older oaks but not  for me to play with.  Most of what looked like old branches covered in moss were fallen trees and therefore, impossible to move.  So I was back to square one.

the shadows of leaves and a protuberance gives the idea of a face

 



 



DECISION TIME:

I decided to use the pictures I had taken on a disposable camera as a backdrop.  I superimposed them and then took a transfer of my drawing in order to define which parts of the ‘face’ I would use .  I need to cut 40 pieces I am not sure if I want to mount them on foam board or not I will cut the pieces in paper and places them on the background to establish if I mount them or not.  I tried to thin down a photo to see if they could become more pliable.  This was not conclusive as even after several minutes soak in hot water, the paper did not split or peel off and I had to score the back of the picture.  This did not work as the score marks showed on the front of the picture.  This means that I cannot get the photos sufficiently pliable to cover the edge of the foam board.  So I will need to paint them.

The transfer for the face

the photograph after 5 minutes in warm water

 

 

I tried several options for positioning the background pictures

 

I decided to use views of trunks for the backgrounds so that I could concentrate on mossy greens and paler colours for the different pieces of the face.

When cutting some of the foam board as a trial, I was not happy with the end product as the edges were uneven and as I tried to neaten the end product, it only resulted in a smaller but still messy item.

I decided to work this piece as a collage. 

 

 

COMPLETION:

The whole process was very time consuming. I transferred the relevant parts of my original drawing and numbered them. There were 36 pieces to cut. Once the transfer was made, I reproduced the pieces onto paper as a template then decided which part of each pictures I would use to give the effect I wanted to the green man.

I cut the shapes out of the photographs and had kept the transfer tacked to the side of the canvas to use as a point of reference in order to place them correctly.

It took me several hours to complete this part of the collage.

 

 

OUTCOME AND EVALUATION:

I am pleased with the resulting outcome.  Once again, the journey to my finished piece was a tortuous one.  It was, however, worth the time spent on pondering, and testing different methods.  I did not have the same period of time that I usually get to complete a project.  This proved to be quite a challenge in itself.

I also constantly reflect and revalue my specialism, and this works in tow with my big question ‘Fine Art or Illustration?’

My other question is in relation to the research we have to complete.

I find it not only very difficult to look at other people’s work as I do not want to be influenced.  I understand the knowledge and inspirations that I can get from my research but I resist as best I can not to be influenced by artists when I am creating.  To some extent it ‘spoils the

fun’.  I do, however, thoroughly enjoy learning and researching art history and I have gained a lot of knowledge from the variety of research I have completed for the different project.

I know that, had I research artists for the book art project before I completed my book, the outcome would have been different.

This project, and particularly its outcome is very much reflecting where I am now.  Like the green man in my picture, I am merging and standing out at the same time.  I conclude this project with two questions? Who am I as an artist? And where am I going.

 

 

 

 

Research

 

 

 

 

 

My research for this project has been based on primarily two artists, the green man folklore and its origins.

 

The artists:

 Andy Goldsworthy

 “My art is an attempt to reach beyond the surface appearance. I want to see growth in wood, time in stone, nature in a city, and I do not mean its parks but a deeper understanding that a city is nature too-the ground upon which it is built, the stone with which it is made.” (Quote-Andy Goldsworthy)

Andy Goldsworthy is a 3D artist and a photographer as well as an environmentalist..

He is a favourite artist of mine as not only do I enjoy his work greatly, but his philosophy also.  The quote above is relevant to me in the sense that although I do not care much about cities, my aim is to reach beyond the surface of Nature’s appearance. 

He was born in 1956 in Cheshire and lives on the edge of a green belt, spending time as a farm labourer as a teenager, his affinity with nature starts from a young age.  He obtains a Fine Art degree from Preston Polytechnic and soon after moves to Yorkshire, Cumbria and Lancashire.  Eventually he moves on to Scotland where he eventually settles in Penpont.

He is married and has four children.

Andy Goldsworthy is a very reflective artist who communicates with nature and his surrounding on a daily basis. It is his communion and deep understanding of his surrounding and the elements which makes him such a special artist.  His creations are extremely aesthetic and striking and sometimes like nature they can be disturbing.

 

 

 

 

 

Guiseppe Arcimboldo

 

Born in Milan in 1527, Giuseppe Arcimboldo is a painter whose fame is based on the fact that he painted portraits of people made of objects such as fruits, vegetables, animals etc…

Arcimboldo begins his career working with his father designing stained glass windows.  In his early 30’s, he becomes portraitist to Ferdinand I at the Habsburg court in Vienna.  He also becomes Court decorator and designs costumes also.

Arcimboldo was a mannerist due to the fact that he used flora and fauna as part of his creations and therefore worked closely with nature. 

 

 

Arcimboldo’s art are a strong resurgence in the 20^th century when painters from the surrealist movement rediscover his work

 

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István Orosz – a Hungarian a painter, illustrator, printmaker and a film director.

 

 

Image courtesy of Istvan Orosz

 

Another surrealist painter influenced by Arcimboldo is Octavio Ocampo a mexican painter born in 1943.

 

 

 

 

 

Salvator Dali was also influenced by Giuseppe Arcimboldo.

 

The great paranoia 1936 Boymans Van museum

The Green Man:

 

 

 

 

 

The Green Man in Ludlow church

From the green wood.com

 

 

‘He is made one with Nature: there is heard
His voice in all her music, from the moan.
Of thunder, to the song of night's sweet bird;
He is a presence to be felt and known.
In darkness and in light, from herb and stone,
Spreading itself where'er that Power may move
Which has withdrawn his being to its own;
Which wields the world with never-wearied love,
Sustains it from beneath, and kindles it above’

 

Poem by Shelly inspired by the annual death and rebirth of Adonis who is meant to have been born from a tree.

 

 Although the Green Man images do not appear in England until the 12^th century, he can be found in carvings as far as roman times.   He also appears in India as early as the 8^th century.  Mike Harding (folk singer and stand up comedian) is a specialist in this subject  and has followed traces of the green man for the last 20 years.  He has found the Green Man in almost a 1000 different places in Great Britain.  Although the majority of them is to be found in Devon, Somerset and the edge of the biggest forests in Yorkshire and the Midlands.

He states that images/carvings of the green man have been found in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Hungary, Holland and Poland as well as Malaysia.

 

 

                                                    

                                                16th century german stoneware

 

 

                                           May king Notre Dame Paris

 

 

 

The Green Man has been linked to the corn king, John Barleycorn, the May queen, the God of the woods, life, death and resurrection spirit.

It is thought that he originates from Pagan religions, it is therefore, a mystery as to why he only appears in churches in England from 12^th century onwards.

 

 

Many churches were built originally in sacred sites to encourage pagan communities to attend Christian churches and many traces of Pagan religion are to be found nowadays in churches.  Candles, yew trees, holy water, female deity (the Virgin Mary) are all dating back from the time Christianity established itself in England.  Hence my curiosity about the fact of his appearance in churches dating back only in 12^th century.

 

The Green Man is represented in different ways.

As the god of the woods :

 

Sutton Benger church

 

 

As a demon:

 

                                                             Rochester church

 

 As a trickster:

 

                                                 Tewkesbury Abbey

 

 As a suffering soul:

 

                                                             Ottery St. Mary Church

 

As a beast:

                                           

                                          Adderbury church, Oxfordshire, England

 

The Green Man representation alters through the ages and in the 16^th century, during the Renaissance, his appearance and meaning to some extent changes again. He begins to appear on grave stones as a reminder of our own mortality, a return to earth.

 

 

                                                Tewkwsbury abbey (gates)

 

 

 

 

It is interesting to note, that in medieval times, there appeared to have been a creature named the Green Man who lived in the woods all dressed in leaves.  He still appears as part of folkloric traditions in Switzerland and Germany as the ‘Wilde Mann’ dressed in green clothes and carrying a tree. This green man is not to be thought as the same as the one appearing in churches.

 

                                                       Wilde Mann Salzburg

 

 

However, in the 14^th century, the poem ‘Sir Gawain and the GreenKnight’ refers to a green all over giant figure.

Finally another version emerges in the early 18^th century: ‘Jack in the Green’.

He is linked to chimney sweepers and May day and is still part of the May dance celebrations together with Morris dancers.

 

 

                                       The company of green men- wordpress Bristol

Nowadays, the Green Man is very much part of the English culture, from pubs names to the resurgence of pagan celebrations countrywide.  Although the Green Man remains a mystery, he has been adopted in modern culture as a ritual figure in re-enactment of pagan celebrations and also as a symbolic representation of the link to nature and a more modern pagan religion.