Return to Uni - New term project = Deconstruction.

Today marks the return to University after the Christmas and New Year break...  Whilst I was away, I used my time productively with regards to research and also practice (three sketches produced, one in Acrylic (my first attempt at using this medium), of an imagined landscape inspired by spending a week in Northumberland just after Christmas this year,

 a pencil landscape sketch (again from imagination, based on last August's holiday in California) and a pencil, charcoal and acrylic still life sketch of a vase of flowers / Lilies, Chrysanthemums and Bear Grass).

My previous reading and introduction to Derrida seems to have been well timed.  This semester's first project is "Deconstructing The Grand Masters"... In essence, our task is to look at any artwork prior to our birth, and establish within it, contemporary view points.  These can be CURRENT cultural, artistic, political, social or other domains, issues or ideas which are specifically contemporary or current.

The process of research remastering and deconstruction needs to be documented through Studio Work, note books, drawing notes etc...

  *** A CHRONOLOGICAL presentation or animation must be produced for the assessment at end of term. ***

This looks like a project that I can get my teeth into! I've been inspired by a number of examples given to us, including;

Jeremy Deller's "Battle of Orgreave" 1999

Myriam Dien's "Newspaper cut like embroidered lace" and other works.

This project should help me to understand the scales of current art works, and visualise both physical sizes of work, but also just as importantly, the value or importance placed on particular issues in contemporary culture.

It may be easy to become too littoral in some sense as a "Grand Master" is not necessarily a Renaissance artist, as it could of course include any artist up to 1963 (My birth year).  So that opened up some possibilities for exploring the likes of Lowery, Aurebach or Stanley, or Siekhert and other 20th century artists.

By considering the political or geo-political space or situation that these artists were placed, there own work has specific resonance.  This can then be explored, played with, and given the Derrida treatment of finding contemporary oppositions to their status and conditions.   Finding those current positions can then be repositioned within a contemporary up to date context.

A key word in Artistic deconstructions seems to be "Appropriation."

To me, and perhaps a naive initial thought would be that appropriation means theft.  However, if I recall some law training from a previous life, the definition of theft is "By dishonestly appropriating property belonging to another with the intent to permanently deprive them of it"...   So in  this case, as there is no intent to permanently deprive the originating artist of his works (we are just using their scene as a framework for deconstruction) then I feel we can all have a clear moral conscience.

The afternoon's lecture gave us an opportunity to visit the local Huddersfield Gallery, and some assisted  critique from our lecturers of the exhibited works.

I chose to work with a painting that was of immediate impact to me, particularly as I had visualised and painted a simple acrylic sketch of something very similar during my Christmas Vacation...  If you look at the bottom right hand corner of Benjamin Williams Leader's painting of "Autumn in Switzerland" (1889) there is similarity to the imaginary aesthetic I created, of a conifer next to a river with two boulders and additional conifers behind it to the right... I know this is a tenuous link, but it made me look further into his works and allowed me to reflect on the aesthetics.

Image in the public domain, - Downloaded from http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/yourpaintings/paintings/autumn-in-switzerland-21838 

The painting is a stunning Oil on canvas, measuring about 125 x 181 cm (estimated) which covers a wall in the Huddersfield Gallery on the upper floor.  The detail in it is superb, which resonates with my inner natural desire to record detail.

Many parts of the painting lend themselves to be brought into the 21st century.  The first obvious one perhaps being the track at the foreground of the works, is likely to be metalised (or Tar-McAdam-ed). There are two children and a dog in the centre left mid-ground.  I would expect these children to have mountain bikes and crash-helmets on these days, perhaps using an Apple iPhone to record the valley's natural beauty.  There would likely be more waste paper / rubbish / old drinks cans etc scattered on the track and in the river areas.  There is a backlog of detritus to the right of the river in the mid-ground, this could have additional rubbish added to it.   I suspect the conifers are likely to have suffered from Acid Rain on the right bank.  Further back in the painting, there is a beautiful classical Alpine Lodge and outbuildings to the right centre;  This could well be a hotel by now and be accompanied by either a replacement parent hotel building or additional dwellings.   The glacier at the far top left is likely to be affected by  global warming which could well have raised the river levels to a greater torrent.  A cable car would also likely feature in the painting, perhaps to the centre far background with a corresponding commercial ski slope.....  There are plenty of opportunities for some mischievous deconstructions to be given to this painting.