the market

drag

the four month holiday i was anticipating pretty much the whole of  last year has turned into nothing more than a never-ending drag... the days just linger, and as night arrives i wonder where time has taken me. it's all moving so fast yet so slowly, is that weird?

flinders at night

lazy days

subodh gupta

cow

ok mili

spill

line of control

i sat my art exam this morning (my last vce exam XD) and one of the questions was an analysis on subodh gupta's work 'Line of Control' using the contemporary analytical framework. we were given no background information on the artist except a few sentences on the background of the work. i spoke about the content within the work, the use of found objects as a contemporary technique and how the artwork requires audience interaction as they would walk around the sculpture rather than view it on a wall as you would traditionally with paintings or classical sculptures. i addressed the issue of poverty in india, and how that may have had an influence on this work - the work as a whole representing destruction and each utensil symbolising each lost soul. but that's just my interpretation as a viewer, and this mushroom tree shaped sculpture that depicts a sort of explosion is subject to many different opinions. once i got home, i immediately researched the artist and the story behind this sculpture.

I learnt that gupta draws upon everyday products and materials of indian village life, such as the utensils used in 'Line of Control 2008'. This work is an enormous mushroom cloud formed from brass utensils, shifting an image of destruction into one of explosive abundance. Through his seductive use of materials and interest in spectacle and excess, his work reveals the contradictions and tensions that exist in india today as it fluctuates between tradition and modernity, rural and urban life, and poverty and wealth.

source

this illustrates how any viewer would interpret a conceptual artwork with no background information such as i did, but when presented with the cultural and personal background of the artist an entirely different interpretation is created. art is interpreted by the viewer depending not only on the subject matter but the context of the artwork, the personal history of the artist and the viewer themselves. if the 'Line of Control' was situated on the street in a public venue rather than a large open gallery space with white wash walls, i would've looked at it in a different way entirely. the title of the work influences this notion as well, most works that are untitled allow the viewer to interpret its meaning by questioning their own beliefs and morals or depending on their experiences rather than what the title may suggest its meaning is.

after much research and finding out more about subodh gupta and this brilliant artwork, i look at this sculpture the way the artist would've wanted his viewer to. however, i chose to stick with my initial interpretation that i made with nothing but a few descriptive lines, because we're all different and open to different opinions. maybe that's what makes it so difficult to determine the artistic merit of an artwork....no one's the same when it comes to an opinion. 

1, 2, 3, 4

apricot

"memories are often all we have of past times and past loves, but what if we lost these memories, how would not remembering the there and then, affect us in the here and now. do you remember your first love? your first kiss? do you remember anything?"
a truly remarkable film directed by ben briand, it is a film for dreamers.

thanks for introducing me to this ry :)

joy hester

i hate spending time alone, it makes me think. i think way too much and it scares me. the paranoia consumes me, and i always wonder what if? sometimes i just need to escape. can you fool yourself into loving somebody? everything is a blur, and you just don't know who to trust. i'm too weak, i could never stand up for what i believe in. i express it internally, i think about it and i picture myself standing up to that somebody, speaking my heart out, telling them how i really feel. but no, i could never. have you ever felt that way? i live in a bubble.
joy hester suffered immensely, her struggles with albert tucker, sweeney, her illness and finally her love for gray smith challenged her in many ways. she however, expressed herself through her art and this can be seen in her 'Love' series. these paintings portray the love joy felt in what she thought were the final years of her life with smith. the merging of the figures, rough brush strokes, fine thick lines and dark colours resonate the pain and love these two souls shared. her work has been a huge (personal) influence on me, her ability to depict emotion truly is remarkable. i hope you too will be inspired.

via

inspiration: lauren berkowitz

Lauren Berkowitz is an Australian installation artist, working mostly with ephemeral and site-specific works that evoke the passage of time and our place within it. Berkowitz’s art is one of retrieval, of natural and found materials, of modernist art from the 60’s and 70’s as well as connections to her Jewish heritage. Often inspired by the landscape but troubled by its degradation, she recycles materials and themes into environmental narratives as an act of regeneration.
http://www.laurenberkowitz.com.au/

world beyond the classroom window, promotional movie poster

Visual Communication and Design, Unit 4
Presentation 2 | 2010

the beach

cameron | final presentation

final presentation of the character sculpture cameron :)

photos by asha

procrastination

5 weeks till exams, and i really should be studying! it's like when you've got to do something but you know you've got a lot of time all you do is procrastinate ! it's either "oh i'll get started once i finish baking this cake" or "i rather paint my desk a different colour today than study" ! i wish i wasn't so easily distracted -_-

smoker's lung | final presentation

final presentation of the smoker's lung series.
sorry about the bad quality, it's a scan of a print out :(

photos by asha