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Music & Lyrics
Much of my work is very multi-disciplinary. I love to experiment with different mediums, but for a long time this felt somewhat disconnected. It’s only relatively recently that I see the profound connections between all of my work - from my love of painting to my obsession with music, poetry and nature.
Franz Kline and the Exploration of Identity through Abstract Expressionism in Mid-20th Century America
The 20th century bore witness to what could arguably be considered a mere fleeting movement of Abstract Expressionism. Nevertheless, key Action Painters of the time introduced the American art world to a reactionary encounter, whereby any traditional tenets of drawing were rejected in favour of systems of monolithic colour (Kozloff, M. 1967:105). This paper delves deeper into the life and influences of Franz Kline and how his work and artistic journey was largely shaped by his personal identity, as well as Kline’s relationship with contemporaries such as Willem de Kooning, Robert Motherwell and Adolph Gottlieb and how their collective identity as Abstract Expressionists shaped both their individual and group identities.
An Interpretation of Franz Kline
This week I found myself thinking more about the work of Franz Kline and whilst simultaneously reading some work by Deleuze and Guattari, it got me thinking about the perspective of artworks - is our interpretation determined by our pre-existing knowledge or experience? educational level? and ultimately our socio-economic environment?
A World Without Colour..
Looking over my research from the last 12 months, the main things that stand out are my curiosity for raw materials, for the monochrome, the bare bones of materials. Having recently read Patrick Grant’s Less, this further cemented my yearning to make a difference, by going back to basics in a sense. From a visual art point of view, my eye is often drawn to black & white. I shoot in B&W, I began my jounrey into portrait realism in B&W, I love the rich, deep tones of charcoal, along with it’s raw, natural aesthetic. Some of the most striking imagery I have ever seen has been purely B&W. Perhaps by avoiding colour, we accentuate a deeper level of substance, that speaks far more nuanced and cuts deeper than anything else.
Back to Black
I have always had a fascination with monochromatic imagery. From visual art to photography and even interior design, black and white seems to have a timeless look, that appeals to me.
When I began painting professionally, I reached for black and white as a way to hone my skills in tone, shade and form. Taking away the colour mixing aspect certainly helped to develop my skills as a painter. As well as this, I thoroughly loved the finished effect over colour. There was an air of sophistication, timelessness and beauty.
You Can’t Handle The Truth.
It has been several years now since I started this journey, and I have encountered more frustration than I could have possibly imagined. Embracing my passion for the arts, simultaneously allowed me to pull down the mask and see the world completely unfiltered, but that also meant bearing my own self to the world, perhaps in a way previously unseen.
- 3D
- activism
- art installations
- artivism
- B&W
- business
- community
- concrete
- construction
- craftivism
- crafts
- creating
- cyanotype
- dialogue
- divisions
- exhibition
- experiment
- explore
- film
- gallery
- handmade
- herdwick wool
- history
- identity
- injustice
- interpretation
- kline
- lego
- local
- man-made
- monochrome
- natural materials
- neurodiversity
- organic
- photography
- process
- punctum
- raw materials
- reflection
- representative
- sculpture
- sewing
- sketchbook
- social class
- social construct
- social justice
- textures
- travel
- visualisation
- wool
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