Monday, 11 May 2009
Images
Audience interaction with the event, and the event interacting with its environment.
Random passers by on their way into town
A record of the effect of art being exposed to the elements
Random passers by on their way into town
People exiting leeds art gallery
Office workers on a break
A record of the effect of art being exposed to the elements'A chance gust of wind'
Live Art / Performance
Reflecting upon my previous thoughts about youtube as a method for showing video, i have decided to take my drawing machine artworks out into the real world and give live performances and demonstrations. This gives the audience a first hand experience, actually seeing and feeling the work take place. i feel the direct link will allow the viewer to interact with the work on a deeper level of thought and interaction. I will asses different locations for their art displaying properties. some locations may lend themselves better to being a stage than others. also different locations may attract different people and therefore a different audience to the work.
I think that my work will work better in a live situation because some of the marks the drawing machines make are very individual but also subtle. the work has to be seen by the viewer in person so that there is no barrier between them and the work. Shooting a video of a drawing machine and putting it onto youtube forces the viewer to see the work from a particular angle and donst allow for individuals who may wish to view the work from various perspectives. also the video quality on youtube is no crisp enough to show the detailed marks of the drawings. The sound is also distorted and seemingly un-realistic. with a live performance the audience get so much more from my artwork in terms of an experience.
I think that my work will work better in a live situation because some of the marks the drawing machines make are very individual but also subtle. the work has to be seen by the viewer in person so that there is no barrier between them and the work. Shooting a video of a drawing machine and putting it onto youtube forces the viewer to see the work from a particular angle and donst allow for individuals who may wish to view the work from various perspectives. also the video quality on youtube is no crisp enough to show the detailed marks of the drawings. The sound is also distorted and seemingly un-realistic. with a live performance the audience get so much more from my artwork in terms of an experience.
The Machine Vs The Event Vs The Drawing
The machine is a direct output from the artist and it is something which the artist has full ownership over. The event is the section of time when the drawing is being produced by the machine under partial control by the artist (sometimes no control). The Drawing is the record of the event remaining after the event has taken place.
A decision has to be made about which of these should be shown to the audience. in previous projects i have shown all three components of my work to the audience. However i found this approach didnt really work as it was giving too much information to the viewer. it was clear what was happening how it happened and what made the work when and how. this leaves the audience with very little to consider and i feel this limits the possible engagement levels a person could have with the work.
If i only show the machine then there is a sense of anticipation and wondering of what the machine may do if it were to be turned on. although i like this feeling of wondering what may happen and this uncertainty, the machine is directly created by the artist. Being directly created by the artist the machine has no real connection with my ideas about chance within everyday life.
If i do a performance piece and only show the event a similar issue occurs to showing all three components (Machine, Event and Drawing) as for the event to happen all three ingrdients need to be present. The viewer can see all the parts and so are not left thinking. However saying this they do get to see first hand the effect chance has on the drawings with machines breaking down, bumping into surrounding objects etc. Performance also calls into question documentation, would i document this by taking photographs ? a camera under my definition would be a very complex drawing machine which records and event with an image. Or would i allow the event to happen with no documentation other than in the minds, memories and imagination of those present at the time?
If i only show the drawing it is unclear to the viewer what has influenced the drawing to be the way that it is, in the same way it is virtually impossible to work out the impact chance has on our lives, which is what i aim to show on some level in my work. The difficult part for me of displaying only the drawings is that the machines are nice things to look at and they seem to have taken on personalities of their own which i find hard to ignor. Hiding them away and taking credit for their drawings almost seems rude.
A decision has to be made about which of these should be shown to the audience. in previous projects i have shown all three components of my work to the audience. However i found this approach didnt really work as it was giving too much information to the viewer. it was clear what was happening how it happened and what made the work when and how. this leaves the audience with very little to consider and i feel this limits the possible engagement levels a person could have with the work.
If i only show the machine then there is a sense of anticipation and wondering of what the machine may do if it were to be turned on. although i like this feeling of wondering what may happen and this uncertainty, the machine is directly created by the artist. Being directly created by the artist the machine has no real connection with my ideas about chance within everyday life.
If i do a performance piece and only show the event a similar issue occurs to showing all three components (Machine, Event and Drawing) as for the event to happen all three ingrdients need to be present. The viewer can see all the parts and so are not left thinking. However saying this they do get to see first hand the effect chance has on the drawings with machines breaking down, bumping into surrounding objects etc. Performance also calls into question documentation, would i document this by taking photographs ? a camera under my definition would be a very complex drawing machine which records and event with an image. Or would i allow the event to happen with no documentation other than in the minds, memories and imagination of those present at the time?
If i only show the drawing it is unclear to the viewer what has influenced the drawing to be the way that it is, in the same way it is virtually impossible to work out the impact chance has on our lives, which is what i aim to show on some level in my work. The difficult part for me of displaying only the drawings is that the machines are nice things to look at and they seem to have taken on personalities of their own which i find hard to ignor. Hiding them away and taking credit for their drawings almost seems rude.
My current work
At present i have been working on drawing machines. The aim was to create works which were not totally directed and controlled by the artist. the drawings are drawn by machines which are made by and switched on by the artist so the work is only indirectly created by a person. the actual decision making involved during the drawing process is left down to the machines, by chance and by the environment the drawing is drawn in. the drawing therefore is a record of an event, if you consider an event to be a happening or occurance of some kind or another be it large or small.
This idea of recording an event but leaving much of it up to chance is mirrored by 'Gwillam the Movie' and is something which i am very interested in. Chance is very important to me, i feel that each persons life is directed indirectly by the individual themselves but controlled predominantly by chance. this notion of each drawing being a record of an event enduces several questions. one of the questions that i have been considering is the difference between focusing on the event or focusing on the documentation of the event ie. the drawing.
This idea of recording an event but leaving much of it up to chance is mirrored by 'Gwillam the Movie' and is something which i am very interested in. Chance is very important to me, i feel that each persons life is directed indirectly by the individual themselves but controlled predominantly by chance. this notion of each drawing being a record of an event enduces several questions. one of the questions that i have been considering is the difference between focusing on the event or focusing on the documentation of the event ie. the drawing.
Sunday, 1 March 2009
The Internet/Youtube
I've just put up my first blog post, i think i did it right its a bit tricky with these big fingerless feet of mine. and ive been browsing the internet and considering the way in which art on the internet can be easily interacted with. As an artist and film maker i really appreciate what youtube has done to the world of film. now anyone can make a film and post it online and reach a massively diverse audience. Be sure to check out the film 'Gwillam' (parts one and two) and leave a comment, get involved be critical its easier than ever before.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9gqYsi2tbo
i am undecided as to whether this ease of communication with the artist helps or hinders the construction of an appropriate and thought provoking dialogue about a piece. so i challenge you to prove that the system works, get people talking.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9gqYsi2tbo
i am undecided as to whether this ease of communication with the artist helps or hinders the construction of an appropriate and thought provoking dialogue about a piece. so i challenge you to prove that the system works, get people talking.
Begginings
Hi there everyone!! yes its me Gwillam. firstly let me tell you about my journey on that fateful day down by the river...
It was all going so nicely Rob and I were going for a little trip to the river when my foot slipped off the railing it wasnt Rob's fault he definately didnt push me! I thought it was the end my whole life flashed before my eyes as I hit the cold water. I really thought i was a gonner. The current was so fast it dragged me down stream for hours, i was very cold and damp but i managed to grab on to a log.
I was washed up on the bank of the river Arie in a little place called Ferrybridge some twenty miles from Leeds. This was mid October so as you can imagine it was very cold. As i'm sure you are aware Giraffesauruses are made of very strong stuff, and i ray mears-ed it for the next four months traveling by foot and living off vegetation and discarded food items and fashioning places to sleep from whatever i could find. I made it back to Leeds about two weeks ago. My ordeal has taught me that i need to absorb myself into each day and do as many new things as i can, and see all the sights i am able to. I'm so busy these days i doubt you will even see me i dont stay in one place for long as there is so much to see!!
It was all going so nicely Rob and I were going for a little trip to the river when my foot slipped off the railing it wasnt Rob's fault he definately didnt push me! I thought it was the end my whole life flashed before my eyes as I hit the cold water. I really thought i was a gonner. The current was so fast it dragged me down stream for hours, i was very cold and damp but i managed to grab on to a log.
I was washed up on the bank of the river Arie in a little place called Ferrybridge some twenty miles from Leeds. This was mid October so as you can imagine it was very cold. As i'm sure you are aware Giraffesauruses are made of very strong stuff, and i ray mears-ed it for the next four months traveling by foot and living off vegetation and discarded food items and fashioning places to sleep from whatever i could find. I made it back to Leeds about two weeks ago. My ordeal has taught me that i need to absorb myself into each day and do as many new things as i can, and see all the sights i am able to. I'm so busy these days i doubt you will even see me i dont stay in one place for long as there is so much to see!!
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