Thursday 24 September 2015

Lytham Leaves and charcoal

More wonderful work from Art Circle.  

Using leaves as a starting point we explored how we can manipulate charcoal.  Masking tape and erasers added to the fun...

The £1 coins indicates size.



  






Apologies Tommy, I fixed yours but forgot to take the photo... sorry!


Want to have a go?  follow the links below  

charcoal set     willow charcoal     charcoal paper

An inexpensive alternative to charcoal paper is lining paper, found in your local DIY shop.

Angie's completed tree...

...beautiful!

with £1 coin for scale

the beginning


completed

Friday 18 September 2015

Myra (first shown 18 Sept '97), Hands & Leaves

An iconic image of a notorious woman; childrens' hand-prints and the indelible effect of intense publicity of the image and the artwork in the press all served to continue to make this artwork offensive to many.

During the time the work was first shown, 18th September - 28 December 1997 security had to be increased at the exhibition to protect the work.  Perspex protected it from paint and other missiles being thrown at it and extra security guards were positioned near it.

The general public didn't want it to be there neither did Hindley.  

The exhibition, Sensation was shown at the Royal Academy, London.  Many pieces were by "young British artists".  The owner was Charles Saatchi of Saatchi & Saatchi an advertising company based in London.  

If an art dealer was to advertise their collection before selling it on, this would be an astounding or even sensational way to achieve huge interest and extraordinary, international publicity.  

Many thought the Royal Academy became a temporary, shop window.


Myra, 1995 acrylic on canvas 396 x 320 cm
artist Marcus Harvey; owner 1997 Charles Saachti; exhibition Sensation

Q.  If the hand prints had been used to make a colourful image of Diana, Princess of Wales who was loved by children would the new artwork work have a different meaning?
  
Q.  Replace the image again with a black and white one of Marilyn Monroe and maybe replace children's hand prints to hand prints of men, would the meaning change again?  How?

  


Art Circle discussed the impact the owner, the press and titles can make.
We looked at how process can add meaning to an image.

Our task... to make an image that's informed by its components - a tree made of leaves. 


to be completed - watch this space...










Well done everyone!
Next week we're going BIG with charcoal...

Thursday 10 September 2015

Cave of Lascaux, discovered 8th September 1940


Art Circle responses to the following are above and below.  Well done everyone!

There are 6,000 representations of animals at Lascaux.  

Why?  Documentation?  Ritual?  Successes?  
The process seems to give the best clue…

“Horses were always drawn first, followed by aurochs (oxen) and then stags. Under such conditions, time itself becomes a crucial factor. This sequence, systematically used for every composition in the sanctuary, responds to biological requirements, revealed by the seasonal attributes seen on the animals. This analysis shows that the horses' features correspond to the early spring, the aurochs to the summer and the stags to the autumn. The various phases of these biological cycles indicate, for each species, the beginnings of mating rituals, which bring life. Over and beyond this literal reading, it is the rhythm, and even the regeneration, of time that is symbolised. The phases of Spring, Summer and Autumn are thus reproduced, a metaphoric evocation that, in this setting, links biological and cosmic time.”
“These vast painted and engraved compositions seem like witnesses to a spiritual way of thinking, whose symbolic significance is based on a cosmogonic approach. From the entrance of the cave to its very depths, the great book of the first – the founding – mythologies unfurls before our eyes, with its central theme, the creation of the world.”


horses, aurochs (oxen), stags, ibexes &bison

indication of scale






Hall of the Bulls



layering image gives sense of time




  


Sunday 6 September 2015

Art Circle is back this week...


Lytham Library 9th September
St Annes Library 10th September

11 - 12.30

All welcome

I have plans... but as always these are flexible to suit those who come along whether beginners or experts.