Sun 03.03.13

Initial Research

Today I did some initial research prior to beginning my Part 3 Project. I wanted to find inspiration and clarify my ideas both for myself and ready for my tutorial on Tuesday so that I could run them past Claire. I know that I want to play to my strengths with my final project and that I want to continue to include colour and pattern in my work but I am not entirely sure about the subject matter which I will use. Ideally I would like to create a theme which has an interesting concept behind it so that my research will be enjoyable and I will not become ‘bored’ with my theme over time. I thought that looking at other artists/designers and different fields of art and design would help me to clarify my ideas and settle on something more specific. 

Georges Illanga Di Nyma

I am interested in looking at painting for a starting point with my work (possibly as a final outcome) because I feel that it gives me lots of control over design, detail and colour. I began researching into artist who use paint but I wanted to still look for pattern and decorative qualities in their work. In the other cultures section of the library I found some interesting books about African Artists. I found an artist called Georges Illanga Di Nyma who creates large paintings, depicting people from his culture in a very stylised way. There are several things which I liked within these paintings. Firstly was the stylising of the figures which gives the work a decorative feel and also makes it interesting because you are lead to wonder why these characters appear the way they do (some are quite distorted and there is a range of facial expressions from friendly to sinister. There is a density to the work and the whole canvas is covered with imagery which enhances the decorative feel and also made me think about the busy imagery and layering which I explored during Part 2. I was also caught by how this distortion (particularly elongated curving arms and legs) also allows the artist to create a beautiful sense of flow and interaction within the piece. There is a very earthy colour palate overall and each painting has its own colour scheme. Another factor which drew me to these paintings was the cultural reference which they included. They are telling a story about African culture and the artist’s view of himself and his community. I am planning to do some more research into African Art and would like to take these aspects such as flow, density of imagery and stylised figures as inspiration for my work.

Bernhard Cohen

I also looked at the artist Bernhard Cohen because I was interested in his use of layering and how there is a sense of pattern to be found in his work as well. I also liked his use of bright eye-catching colours and how he put them together in a considered way, often using complementary colours from other ends of the colour wheel. Some particular pieces create the illusion of collage and this made me thing about how I could use collage within my own work to create depth and layers.

Chris Ofili

I did some other research into Chris Ofili whos work definitely has pattern within it, but is built around a strong concept and is sending a message about his culture and a fusion of others. The work is very ornamental and beautiful but also has a deeper meaning which is a concept that I would like to think about achieving.