[LAUIL603] Studio Brief 2: Artist Research

 

1. Jackson Pollock

Jackson Pollock was a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement and it would be a huge oversight in my work for me not to include him. I went to his exhibition at Tate Liverpool in 2016, originally with the Access to HE course, and I went back on my own with my mum when she was well. They had an audio described tour and I took my time going around the space, learning about his life and how he crafted his practice. He made a huge impression on me back then even though our practices were different and my original desire was to become a children's book illustrator. I related to his personality of being reclusive and wanting to find escapism. He primarily used oils, aluminium and enamel paints on canvas and dripped to create a huge body of work that different in visual quality and texture. He used his whole body to create in a performative and immediate way known as action painting.

I'v chosen to revisit him because the pieces I selected from the two books in the library are very reminiscent on retinal detachment. The frantic black lines reaching across the visual field, embracing your entire world and engulfing it. The shapes shift and change and vary in line quality and he has captured it really well - even though his intention probably was not to portray retinal detachment and the floaters that occur before the flashing lights and black curtain pull across!

One particular piece, The Flame, I selected because it reminds me of my piece, Agony, where I used a palette knife, acrylic paint and structure gel to try and portray the pain of ocular migraines. We have both used a similar colour palette and a way of shaping and positioning the canvas to almost move and engage the audience.

2. Willem de Kooning

Willem de Kooning was another prominent figure in the abstract expressionist movement, or a movement known as "action painting," with his wife Elaine de Kooning. The two pieces I selected from the tome in the library stood out to me because of the harsh brush strokes which make the world look like its bleeding and melting together - not too dissimilar to retinal detachment and a blind lens. There is a sense of immediacy and urgency. The earthy tones are reminiscent of being outside with Tami as I'm travelling around Leeds and Yorkshire, doing my errands and needing assistance from sighted people or Google maps to orientate myself better. 

The second painting has a different visual quality - a sense of fractal and biomorphic shapes. I chose this piece as it was reminiscent of how I view people in my blind lens now. I can no longer see people are faces, just a general shadow or shape or colour, and this gives a perfect snapshot of that jumble of objects and how disorientating it can be to get a handle on a situation.

3. Sam Francis

Sam Francis was an American painter and printmaker who was originally influenced by abstract expressionist painters such as Rothko and Pollock, evident in his loose and gestural style. He became more interested in the expressive use of colour and later became more influenced by Zen Buddhism in particular. I chose Francis' piece Blue Black because it was immediately reminiscent of the overpowering black curtain that pulls across the vision as the retina is peeling away. the mark making and the use of contrasting colour make this piece very compelling and arresting.. The severity of the marks here is almost like a swarm of unbreakable floaters. Highly relevant to the work I am making.

4. Jay DeFeo

Abstract expressionist painting seems to still be largely a celebration of male painters of the time, and given the historical context of the early 20th century, makes sense that women's efforts were ignored or erased. I found a book that elevated the contributions of women which, of course, is relevant to myself and my practice as a practicing female painter. Jay DeFeo's work immediately stood out first as I was flipping through. She was prominent in the 1950's during the Beat movement of San Francisco. Using an experimental approach to visual vocabulary, she experiments with scale, colour, texture, and ambiguity. Untitled (Everest) captured me in the blunt marks and limited colour palette. There is a sense of falling downwards from the top of the canvas. It is very accurate of trying to see through a blind lens and make sense of objects but having the inability to because of damaged colour perception where everything is washed out, and a haze, blurriness and softness to environments. 

5. Judith Goodwin

Judith Goodwin was heavily influenced by Hans Hoffman. She utilises an emphasis on interpretation of experience and emotion through improvisational construction, combining the language of colour and gesture. This way of working heavily aligns with my own which is why I wanted to incorporate her into my artist research. She is of high relevance and important to my own practice. The two pieces I selected, while not directly explicit in their interpretation of the blind lens and the blind experience, have qualities that suggest it.The blocks of black and blue in the first painting are reminiscent of the large floaters and the black curtain that pulls across during the retinal detachment process, becoming a huge barrier in both the vision and eye health, and the faded strokes across the canvas are reminiscent of distortion and damage. How objects are sewn across the lens, in shards, when affected by light and shadow. The same is true of the second canvas painting. There is a huge sense of movement in the way the paint is pulled across in linear motions and has a similar appearance to a blind lens in bright light. The dark strokes are still present, alluding to the floaters and the damage done.

6. Vivian Springford

Vivian Springford was an abstract expressionist painter who became heavily influenced by Chinese Philosophy, calligraphy, Confucianism and Taoism as her practice shaped and developed. Her paintings were predominantly composed of calligraphic brushstrokes and coloured accents of dripping and splattering. I chose her Untitled painting from the book of female abstract expressionist painters as it immediately captivated me and reminded me of the second day I was experiencing retinal detachment, in the way the floaters were larger, softer and gliding across my vision like octopus legs. She has utilised soft and circular motions which contrast greatly against the splattered blue and black. It is gentle, foggy and misty. This painting holds great relevance to my project and my experience.

7. Joan Mitchell

Joan Mitchell was one of the few female abstract expressionist painters who achieved critical acclaim in her lifetime, recognised as a leading figure. Growing up, she was very active and enjoyed diving and skating and this sense of athleticism and high energy is reflected in her paintings. Her paintings are expansive often covering multiple panels. Landscape was the primary influence in her portfolio. She painted on unprimed canvas with gestural, violent brush strokes. The pieces I selected are relevant, again, the blindness and retinal detachment. The first piece is not too dissimilar to the floaters that built up in the final stages of retinal detachment, in a harsh and unmoving barrier, and the second painting is what it's like to view the world through a distorted and blurry lens when retinal detachment has occurred. The first canvas painting is very violent, unapologetic, and authentic and I'd like to be able to move my practice more in that direction when I have the access to larger canvases. She also uses ungrounded canvas which I tried at the beginning of my painting journey and found rather difficult as the paint didn't travel too far with a palette knife. This may be something I try again in lieu of Mitchell. 

[LAUIL603] Studio Brief 2: Blind Artists and Reflection

Blind painters are difficult to come across and contextualise for my project. As with anything, blindness is a spectrum and there are many different eye conditions. People also experience each condition differently. How one person experiences glaucoma, for example, will be different from how another experiences it. It is extremely individual. I wanted to try and find someone who had experienced retinal detachment and understood how frightening it was but i was not success in my search. What I managed to find were visually impaired artists with a lot more sight than I have. 

The language of blindness is often confusing and misused by the media and writers who don't know what the terminology means. Visual impairment/sight impairment, while still part of blindness, is different from being blind and should be encouraged to use more. But it isn't as impactful to say "visually impaired" so people won't used it. We also can't police how people identify themselves. Someone with only one working eye is legally blind and may choose to call themselves as such. You can understand how frustrating this is.

As such, It's difficult to parse who is blind and who is visually impaired. Who is legally blind, with a lot of useful vision, and who is like me and the band of B1 - blind. That's it. The end of the road. The sight isn't coming back. I have around 2% useful vision with a band of light and struggle terribly but want to finish my degree out of stubbornness. I also want a quality of life out of something I enjoy  so have forced myself to find something in the artistic field I enjoy. It takes me a long time to do things like artist research but I am here and I am trying. So...

Two blind painters I know of already are:

 John Bramblitt - the most prominent "blind" artist and braille.blind.artist (Clarke Reynolds) who I follow on instagram. 

I came across this article from Google about 10 "incredible" blind artists. https://www.everydaysight.com/blind-painters/

1. Keith Salmon

Keith studied Fine Art at college and worked as a painter and sculptor after graduation. He is legally blind after diabetic retinopathy. His paintings comprise of abstract landscapes portraying the Scottish highlands that he enjoys exploring. I find his work the most compelling and authentic from the list. His strokes have a sense of movement, a source of light and dark, a softness and abrasiveness, all at the same time. He perfectly captures what it's like to have a blind lens and to struggle to find the detail beyond the darkness. The large dark areas are reminiscent of the dark curtain that pulls across in retinal detachment as the floaters build up.

2. John Bramblitt

The most prominent "blind" artist who I have a huge problem with because of the amount of gallery work he has been offered. His portfolio says nothing of what it is like to be a blind person when he has the platform to do that. He also states he can parse which paint is which because of its thickness, which is damaging to the blind community as we are not superheroes. We absolutely have ways of doing things but thickness of paint is not one of them. Whether this was misquoted in a news article, I do not know. As someone who uses paints, this throws me. What DOES exist is apps that can detect colour with great accuracy as well as the Be My Eyes app where a sighted volunteer is partnered at random to a blind or visually impaired user and can help them with their request. 

I have finally come across an article that refers to him as visually impaired, because I do feel that is what he is. As I was before my retinal detachment. Again, it is finding the importance and differentiating that terminology and using it correctly. His work is perfectly representational, on large scales including murals. He draws perfect people and animals - something I no longer have the ability to do and had to give up my dream of illustrating. I had to literally force myself to do the stamp project, with great difficulty to complete the brief, and I'm glad I never have to do it again. He has great use of colour.

3. Arthur Ellis

Arthur Ellis is the artist who 'lost his sight but not his vision.' He became legally blind after bacterial meningitis. His artwork showcases loose, abstract line work that "focuses on the merging of colours and shapes." This piece in particular has many illustrative qualities and much like blind contour drawing which I did myself in my monoprint series where I traced my face into my monoprint. It has an immediacy, movement and compositional interest.

Not on the list but who I follow on Instagram

@blind.braille.artist:

Clarke Reynolds is registered severely sight-impaired and works with braille to educate others at exhibitions and schools. He paints canvas dots using Valspar paint, purchased at B&Q, and arranges them onto a board that he scores and aligns into a graph formation so they read correctly. He sells his pieces to raise money for sight loss charities. I like Clarke's approach to making work. He doesn't come from any artistic background but enjoys being creative. He uses the resources he has available to him, from hardware stores, to make work in his practice. His conducts his own workshops for companies and schools to engage with Braille and the experience of being a visually impaired person during the pandemic. His colourful pieces are impactful and open a line of communication with the sighted audience. His work is relevant to mine as I utilised braille earlier in my project, in a "letters in braille" monoprint series, to portray the language in a different kind of way. My pieces were lo-fi, grungy and oftentimes looked deconstructed.