UNIT 2 — CONTEXT
As presented in the relevant Critical Reflection section, several concepts, methodologies and theories have influenced my practice for Unit 2. Some of the fundamental ideas that overall bring this work into existence emerge directly from the practices of several accomplished artists.
These include:
DIRECTOR-YIMOU ZHANG
Zhang Yimou is a representative figure in China's director circle. His works are of great reference significance in terms of ideology, culture, narrative art and aesthetic value, and have brought a strong spiritual shock to The Chinese audience and even the global audience.
《RED SORGHUM》
1987 year
《LIFETIMES》
1994 year
《JU DOU》
1990 year
《THE STORY OF QIU JU》
1992 year
Zhang Yimou once said: "I want to be thoroughly bright, all the colors should be shocking, even if it is a little vulgar."
The above pictures are the posters of his early directed films such as Red Sorghum, Raise the Red Lantern, To Live, Ju Dou and Qiu Ju Lawsuit. From the posters, we can see his use of color, which has a unique charm. In the process of promoting Chinese films to the world, Also with very rich tension color aesthetics to the world to show the unique charm of color in film and television art.
From his film language, we can see that he often uses the contrast and contrast of warm and cold colors to reflect the changes in the fate of characters.
This made me realize that the transformation of warm and cold colors is one of the important hints to promote the development of the story, and this must not be limited to photography art, but in the field of sculpture, color shaping can also affect the ups and downs of the audience's emotions. In addition, it also includes image color, which is a way to empathize with the audience outside the dialogue. After watching the works directed by Zhang Yimou for dozens of times, I clearly know that it is very clever to use color to create more artistic conception and implication beyond the screen, which can set off the theme to a certain extent, render the emotions of the characters, and achieve the purpose of audience empathy.
In the end, the famous cinematographer Stolaro once said, "Color is part of the language of film. We use color to express different emotions and feelings, just as light and shadow symbolize the conflict between life and death." Therefore, in my works, I hope that no matter hot and bold red, Chinese tone of "vulgar", or realistic tone of "true", I want to use the extreme. Under the strong contrast and transformation of colors, I hope the audience can follow my thoughts and feel the feelings in their hearts that are hard to tell, and bring the audience more spiritual shock.
'Gonzalez-torres's basic aesthetic unit is twofold. The feeling of loneliness is never expressed by the presence of '1', but by the absence of '2'. This is why his work marks an important moment in the pairing of the reproduction of this classic image of art history: it no longer involves the addition of two fatally heterogeneous realities, as if they were integrated into a subtle game of opposition and imbalance, played out in the contradiction between the movements of attraction and repulsion.'
-- Nicolas Bourriaud, Relational Aesthetics
I often ask myself, how can I convey emotion from the finished product in a minimalist and direct way, and how can I, as an artist, participate in the story of the work?
In recent years, I have been experiencing the expansion of my use of natural organics to use more ready-made products to express more complex emotions and connections with life and the senses. Through a more intuitive visual composition, I move my artistic narrative beyond the purely visual elements of images hanging on the wall. The combination of traditional sculptural materials with other media became central to my interest.
In this effort, I was heavily influenced by the work of Felix Gonzalez-Torres. In 2020, I learned from a printmaking artist friend living in Spain that his works were exhibited in Guggenheim Museumzhan, which also made me full of expectations for this trip to Spain after I got the EU Schengen visa. There is a close bond between his works and the audience. Getting the chance to see her work up close is a spiritual conversation.
Gonzalez - torres most works are about homosexuality and AIDS issues, especially for his gay lover Ross lai corker thoughts (on January 24, 1991 died of AIDS complications), gonzalez - fernando torres after almost all work is to love memorial, is full of love and death poetry... Since I don't know enough about queer art, when I first came into contact with his works, I was moved by the emotional expression and outstanding yearning beyond time and space in each work. His work has to do with the idea of intimacy of the body and sexual experience, and I can see his work changing and being recorded as time passes by. Inspired by his method, THE red cover I covered on the surface of the picture was intended to be the key to the connection between the work and the audience, as well as a part of the performance of the whole work. Through this experiment, I hope to test the limits of empathy between myself and the audience, and allow ready-made products to participate in different ways.
Felix Gonzalez-Torres, untitled (Beau), 1989. Blue fabric and suspension. Variable size
Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Untitled, 1991
The candy weighs exactly 175 pounds, which is what Ross weighed when he was alive. Every time the audience took away one of the candies, they took away Ross's energy, like the life he lost to AIDS.
'Untitled' (Portrait of Ross in Los Angeles), 1991, sugar, stained glass wrapping paper, unlimited quantity, total size variable
"Untitled" (Perfect Love), 1987-1990, 13 1/2 x 27 x 1 1/4 inches Overall. Two parts: 13 1/2 inches diameter each, Wall clocks
LOUISE BOURGEOIS
In April 2022 I visited luis Bourgeois's exhibition at London's Hayward Gallery
A soft sculpture by Louise Bourgeois
Bourgeois is a cross-generational artist who has never accepted the label of 'feminism' but is inseparable from women's issues. His work explores concepts of gender, sexuality, identity and the body through sculpture, painting, video and installation. Bourgeois sews together pieces of torn clothing to make soft sculptures that mix and fill. Through these soft sculptures, she explores her personal relationship with these memory bearers.
These stitched pieces enable me to think, imagine, and place my own "body", both conceptually and physically. In general, I'm very interested in the work of artists who appeal to emotional memory. Similarly, I have developed art to explore and transform my memories, my experiences and my senses. My practice is motivated by the need for more people in their lives who lack emotional outlets to open up conversations about memory and emotion.
The original motivation behind most of Bourgeois's work is directly related to my emotional purpose. She has said that she is so eager for a peaceful domestic life that she willingly "gives up" her art. In a word, family comes first and art comes second. Maybe she thought that running a perfect family could help her escape from the pain of the past completely. For me, I think I've got the perfect family, and I look forward to continuing that perfection to fill my sense of security, and my art keeps emphasizing that.
I was also inspired by Bourgeois's sculptural language, such as her memory of her mother's giant spider, and the use of a lot of 'spiral' elements. (Bourgeois said it was the spiral that brought order to her chaos; The spiral can reflect the continuity and infinity of her memory. In terms of subject matter, Bourgeois appeals to the heart of man as well as to the relationship between man and man. "Lovers" is also a recurring theme in her work.
It's between representativeness and abstraction, between explosion and convergence. I can feel more repressed power in this state, which is also the way OF expression I constantly pursue in the use of traditional sculpture materials. I expect this sense of contrast between inside and outside to fully present the dangerous and fragile state.
'Spiral' first appears in Bourgeois's 1951-52 work 'Spiral Woman'. Even after the 21st century, 'spiral' still appeared in her long artistic career.
KAZUHITO TAKADOI
'Garden Sculpture'
Kazuhito Takadoi
He is one of the young artists I know and like recently. His work influenced my practice and concept of using the concept of nature. I was privileged to see some of his work in person at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London (2022). His practice focuses on natural organic sculpture. All natural materials are made without any added color, everything is simply dried and then woven, stitched or knotted. Combine them into a creative conversation.
This was also my initial inspiration in materials, which led me to try different techniques applied to these natural materials.
Nature has always been his overarching theme. Kazuhito Takadoi's practice in particular draws attention to light and shadow. Light and shadow are an important dimension of his work, creating shadows that give the viewer a new perspective as the light changes or the perspective shifts.
Inspired by his "Garden sculpture", I have planned to intervene in the medium of light and shadow in my future works, using the external space of Wilson Road on the new campus to break the original spatial rules.
