Saturday, 23 April 2011

Urs Fischer- What if the Phone Rings?

Wax was not an easy material to research into, but one artist who I found to use wax is Swiss artist Urs Fischer.
His ‘What if the Phone Rings ‘ Exhibition in 2003 (London) displayed 3 life size wax figures melting throughout the show.
 
 












  
‘’ My work never ends up looking the way I intended... all that matters is if the artwork takes on a life of its own’’ Urs Fischer

Forwarding to my desire of using wax – what if wax had a life of its own? What if it was an ever changing scene?

In Frieze magazine archive, Editor Tom Morton quoted this piece of Fischers work to be
‘’The piece, as the inertia of its title ironically suggests, is about losing control and then gaining it again, about being OK with things going wrong because you’re confident that you can fix them, or that they’ll work themselves out over time’’

Finding this reference has strongly made me realise that ‘control’ is possibly not the way forward, but something that is restricting me. Maybe letting something runs its course will create new idea and concepts.

Tom Morton also quoted
‘’ While in one sense the melting sculpture is a clock, and in another a meditation on the impossibility of ever experiencing a work of art in a meaningfully ‘final’ way (how can we, if its form changes the moment we turn our backs?)’’
Tom Morton, Frieze, Roll with it, Issue 86, Oct 2004


Final, Finish, End… these are words which I don’t believe exists in designers life – there can always be so much more you can do to it to improve no matter how ‘finished’ you think your product is. I really like the concept of this ‘never ending’ change. Although there may not be eternity, there is change and ‘reincarnation’ of a piece of work – what if I was to transform ‘one’ life into another state?

Wednesday, 20 April 2011

Melting and Natural Causes

Below is a slightly different ‘sculpture’ with melting candles – with this piece, it has demonstrated the idea of ‘disappearance’ to me. Can there be demolition in the piece I am going to create?

Spencer Finch; 366, Emily Dickinson- Miraculous Year installation

After further reading into this installation – I truly understand the purpose of it. Each candle is arranged in a way to show time and life. Spencer Finch research is based on writer Emily Dickinson’s 366 poems written in 1862, with writer describing her poems to be a ‘candle sculpture’. Finch represented this year through the use of a 24hr burning candles. Each candle has a specific colour based on its corresponding poem- each only burning for 1 day.
One editor on B Net Art Forum even described this installation to be scientific (Emily Hall (Spencer Finch: Postmasters). In a way I agree with this thought- behind all the emotions I have evoked on this piece, I’m sure a lot of preparation and practice was investigated to achieve the right content.













Natural Disasters

Looking at the idea of melting, I have come across a very inspiring piece of installation with the use of Ice and global warming theories. Below are images of Nele Azevedo's Berlin Climate Change Artistic Campaigne- Melting Men













A very strong statement was shown to me, and I’m sure it was a very powerful scene to witness. Thousands of little ice men were made and placed in areas to show it short lived life due to the causes of nature. The melting men suggest the damage to life and existence to me, and based on the fact that it is part of Berlins Climate change campaign- I think it has achieved its mission.
This piece also leaves a very sad depressing feeling- communicatng that life is both fragile and weak. Human affects the deterioration to nature and i think bringing in more awareness to this is vital.
It is such a shame to see such work of art dissolve in an instance- but the impact it has given me (even though it’s only seeing the pictures) is priceless.

Global warming and natural disasters has been an increasingly concerned issue over the pass few years. Witnessing other people using art to campaign these issues leaves me a very strong and positive impression- could I produce something of a similar meaning? What does a current fashion follower want? What is fashion now? What will it be next?
What can wax represent in this context?

‘’Something that no longer exists makes us appreciate its beauty when it once lived’’
This is what I thought straight after seeing Nele Azevedo ‘Melting Men’, and I aim to carry this thought forward to my final piece.

Ephemeral - A markedly short-lived thing