Sol Le Witt

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Richard Wright Turner Prize Winner 2009

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Michael Craig-Martin

An Oak Tree 1973

The series on questions and answers which is attached to the wall below the shelf with the glass placed upon it, is central to this piece of work. The questions probe into the impossibility of the artists assertion, made obvious it the title of the piece. The piece is based on the concept of transubstantiation, which is a central notion in Catholic faith – during Mass at communion, bread and wine are transformed into the body and blood of Jesus Christ, while retaining their appearance of bread and wine.

The ability to believe that something is something other than it’s physical appearance requires a transformative vision.  This is at the heart of the conceptual thinking process; intellectual and emotional values are conferred on images and objects.

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Manuel Canu

Architectural Interventions

Ceramic Review 253 Jan/Feb 2012

Manuel Canu’s impromptu installations where he enhances architectural objects with raw clay, are a direct comment on his own attempts to integrate into new surroundings. Using these objects as a foundation Canu uses his skill as if he was decorating a surface of one of his vases. The clay is simply pressed onto the furniture, composing of pattens from radiators and window frames, and repeated organic shapes. The clay remains on the objects until it dries and begins to crack and fall off, “a reminder that no place or space lasts forever”

http://www.manuelcanu.com/#/article/4560982389

The idea that these installations last until the clay dries and falls off, is really interesting and relates directly to my present work, in the idea that as the ceramics  casts dry they break and reveal the sculpture/structure within.

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Tony Swain – The Fruitmarket

Jesus Helped Me Find My Property 2007

Tony Swain’s exhibition at the Fruitmarket was my first chance to see this artists work in person. A minimal space, the Fruitmarket showed the work as Swain had intended the pieces to be seen – separately. Swains work is never a series, the pieces are to stand alone, the viewer is to be encapsulated by each piece individually. Although Swain does not make work site specific work, on show at the Fruitmarket is new work, as the artist never shows work which has been shown before. This is a direct relationship to the material Swain choses to work with. Viewing his work you will assume the newspaper to be the canvas of this work, but it is far from just a material to work upon for Swain, it almost acts to predict how Swain will work. Trawling, everyday through the ‘Guardian’ newspaper, unknowing of what he is looking for, Swain only asks for something to jump out at him, something he can start from. His initial starting point is taken out of his hands and put in the hands of the papers pictoral editor. The lack of framing of the pieces presented in the exhibition highlights the papers importance,as not only as a canvas, but that it essentially determine what the final image will be. the lack of bordering and framing also allows the viewer to see that the image is taken straight out of a newspaper with the colour boxes, frayed edging, and in paces the texted printed on the other side of the page still translucent through the paint.

Swain does not see his painting as collages, which they could quite easily be described as, he describes the parts that he adds to the found newspaper images as extensions to what is already there. The covering and taking away, with either paint or other found newspaper images, is a process to unearth and bring other aspects into focus. This could be seen as a response to the way we look through life, covering the things we do not like and only showing the things we do.

Using images which often depict landscapes, cityscapes, and seascapes, Swain disrupts and transforms the images following the logic of a painter, building a composition with paint and other found images, producing an outcome which is different to the one he is presented with. Surrealist collage has clearly influenced how Swain has chosen to work, with the shifting of the initial art image away from the author.

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Mark Purves – Static State

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II Watermelons. Dimensions variable 2012

This ephemeral piece of work relates directly to sexual connotations of the male genital. When the watermelons are first threaded onto the pole, there is a clear visual relation to an erection. Over days as the fruit begins to rot they fall slip further and further down the pole, while the top one remains as it is only half threaded, and is constantly replaced as to guarantee its state. The degrading of the watermelons relates to the softening of the penis after ejaculation. the liquid which is a result of the rotting process is left to spread across the floor.

This piece of work was redone several times over the course of the exhibition. After seeing the piece over the course of the whole exhibition and not as many visitors did as a one day tour of Summerhall, it was apparent that it had taken much experimenting for this piece to become as effective as it was. The fruit had to be threaded exactly in the middle and even then it was still a hope that the fruit would all rot at the same rate that they would stink into themselves at the same time.

I found this piece very interesting and related to my own practice not only with the ephemeral properties but alway the notion of experimentation, and leaving an element of trust in the material. This piece brings into question, when does a piece of art become a piece of art? with its changing state and its existence lasting only during exhibition. Also does the changing state of the work over a period, change the audiences perception of the work dependent on the stage they work is seen?

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Matt Barnes – Static State

Pedestrian. C-type Print, dibond, mild steel & paint. 82.5 x 100 x 63cm each (3). 2012

Alex Allen explores ways of display in relation to the subject matter. Here the images depict steel railway bridges and under passes. The Frames are very structural pieces, however in choosing to keep them dark has allowed them to still be seen as a frame for the images.

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Alex Allan

Soft Play, Ball-Pit Balls, Plater Stand & Resin 140 x 60 x 60cm. 2012

Alex Allen, similar to many of the artist exhibiting in the group show Static State, explores the use of materials, especially mass produced materials. Here, Allen Juxtaposes mass produced objects against a traditional structure.

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