This quarter, I have tightly focused on rendering a concept of life and death through a narrative form of figurative work. My intent for each work is to carry portions of story that can be understood collectively and open to many interpretations. One artist that influences my choice in subject matter is William Blake.In Blake’s painting “The Ancient of Days,” (1794) the composition has a direct focal point in which the pose, the anatomy, and the symbolic meaning of the sun speak out its various meanings. In a way the content is direct with vague details viewers are open translate. However, I find that the full meaning of a 2-D work is self-contained in it frame. For 3-D work, my goal is to divide the meaning into collection of subtopics that are presented as “Search Phases.”
In regards to life and death, I see both as one in the same category. From looking at Kate MacDowell’s work, she seems to envision beauty as a theme that revolves around the issue destructive practices that victimizes life and the environment that surrounds us. In her work “Crave,” (2008) the surreal nature that grows from arm decaying arm shows that the beauty humans are accustomed to visioning is hardly attainable, the real beauty is either ignored or not easily understood. Knowing so, I thought I would render my first “Search Phase” as birth. MacDowell’s idea of true beauty can’t always be a certain ideal. Although finding the beauty and understanding how to accept it is the real challenge. My idea of “Crave” is translated onto a phase of birth. Birth, supposedly is the moment when humans would like to know where to go, but uncertain of where, and fearful of accepting the possible failures. MacDowell’s “Buzz” is also another work that suggests certain phases in which we question our value.
In creating an image that would both represent fear and uncertainty to define life, I chose of few of Tom Bartel’s work. His work mainly revolves around a concept of fertility. A much detailed sup-topic compared to my general ideas of life phases. From taking a glimpse at his work, a silly thought had come across my mind. It went something like, “No one is really born a virgin because life screws you already.” I found this saying very relevant and close to both in Bartel’s work and mine. To me, the nature of Bartel’s work highlighted harsher aspects of life. For example, in “Clown Bust,” (2010) the face of figure carries the same blank expression as the rest of his fertility themed work does. What really stood out to me was that the figure is given features that identify it as being a clown. However, the blank expression gives a sad quality to the piece. The way I see this work in relation to my conceptual direction of life is that clown has no try identity. Perhaps an overwhelming misdirection in life, the clown is a representation of thoughts and choices leading to the flaws of finding yourself. Or another way to question identity is to ask, are we supposed to find ourselves or create ourselves? 
To move further and find an answer about identity, “Red Headed Step Child” (2010) is another one of Bartel’s work that speaks about making big choices that help us create our identity and discover our value. Although the title doesn’t help me find a meaning, the image of an armless child already suggests a concept of blind survival. Having no arms to reach for help, a child will sooner understand that at times few will be around to guide him. In that though I see the introduction of fearing what could happen, what might happen, or might not happen. In relation to how some define youth, there a phases in which we must prepare for fear and failure. Bartel’s work uses an armless child to suggest that upcoming fear. I instead present the fear of un-wanting outcomes with blindness. Where blindness carries all state of human emotion, creating identity by understanding fear is where I see the ideal purpose of living life to the fullest. Overall, life and death coexists as one word – fear. By knowing that we all reach death, death introduces the search for value in life in which life introduces the fear of failure. Another way I’ve tried to render my influences onto my conceptual direction is pointing out inescapability of death as teaching tool to make big choices in life.
Apart from inspirational direction in concept and direction, I’ve looked further onto the technical aspects of surface applications. I didn’t want to focus on using glazes as finishing medium, instead I wanted to incorporate glaze as a mixed media element to my pieces. As a consideration that glaze application may be impossible to complete a reconstructed piece, I’ve looked into Jack Earl’s work. Jack Earl is a good example when it comes to creating the 2-D illusion out of 3-work with the use of oil paints. The piece, “THE MOONING MILKMAID’S LAMENT OR LEFT AT THE STILE OR GRAND DADDY LONG LEGS, GRAND DADDY LONG LEGS, WHERE ARE THE COWS TODAY OR SOMETHING ELSE, JUST AS DUMB” (2007) is finished with oil points to such a point where the piece itself appears to be both flat and coming to life. Despite the lack of meaning, the detail speaks beauty on surface as being flat. I believe this was accomplished by a wise choice of oil paint application.
In “Sometimes when two things happen at once….” (1989) Earl treats the work as a two dimensional piece, for the most part relying on space. However, the title of the piece reflects on what the composition of the image is trying to say. As vague as the composition explains the title, I believe this piece was somewhat personal. There’s a fine balance of both 2-D and 3-D in the work containing the image of a child. Perhaps the title refers to a memory of moment encapsulated in both a photograph and the experience of taking the photograph. Simply the two things that may have happened at once were living the moment and photographing the moment. What I love best about the work is how vagueness is not ignored; I’ve always seen vagueness as negative in maintaining the viewers in conceptual interest. This piece however hints the vagueness of memory as being incomparable to clarity of living the moment.
Lastly, an artist I’ve stepped away from in relation t
o creating surreal forms is Sergei Isupov. Isupov adds a layer of surrealism to straightforward figurative work, but apart from the figurative aspect, his surface application carries symbolic references that relate to his choice of forms. In his work “Horsepower” (2009) there are figures of a man and woman, each below an eye. From a distance the face looks almost sympathetic or empathetic. The addition of these surface details helps bring out the character and meaning to the whole piece. The meaning is what I see as a question of equality between genders; which are more pitiful, men or women? The figures underneath the eyes are truly questionable. As for my work, this piece has helped me consider how I want to keep surface quality intentionally questionable and relative to it whole piece.
Works Cited
accessCeramics (2008) - Kate MacDowell
http://accessceramics.org/results/artist/116/
accessCeramics (2010) - Thomas Bartel
http://accessceramics.org/results/artist/265/
http://www.artspacelima.com/Spring%20Show%202007.htm
Smithsonian American Art Museum (2007) - Jack Earl
http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artwork/?id=76592
artnetGalleries (2009) - Sergei Isupov
http://www.artnet.com/Galleries/Artwork_Detail.asp?G=&gid=425350970&which=&ViewArtistBy=online&aid=425934087&wid=426089134&source=artist&sortby=imgorder&rta=http://www.artnet.com
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