Tuesday 10 December 2013

Colour Theory in Practice

I have been basing a lot of my new work and ideas on colour theory compositions that appear as diagrams in text books. Often very formal, these diagrams are heavily based on simple shapes and configurations such as Goethe's colour triangle or the circular spectrum.

I have been using materials already to hand in my studio, such as florescent markers, sharpie pens and my bulbs to mimic such arrangements and test ideas for future work.


I am enjoying taking my practice 'back to basics' in terms of amounts of materials and colours used. I think that possibly I have over-complicated things in past works; using too many elements that confuse and conflict against each other - as in my Chamber series. As beautiful as I think they were and happy to have produced them, I think there were too many concepts within them. 
1. the formal arrangements of objects. 
2. the saturation of objects. 
3. the use of found, 'recyclable' materials. 
4. the structure the mirrors used to encase the objects in..... 
... I could go on.

I am much happier with my most recent work (shown in exhibitions On Brown & Violet Grounds and Synthesis). I feel like my making process is more organic than it used to be. I have the chance to play and trial arrangements through drawing and psychically before taking installations into spaces rather than just taking the work directly into spaces. This middle-ground allows the work to be more rigorous in its approach and gives me time to adapt in my own time scale with no rush for a finished exhibition.


I am looking forward to working in new lighting mediums in the new year, potentially in neon and possibly using LEDs within my work for the first time. Watch this space...

Tuesday 3 December 2013

Proposals, Submissions & Commissions....

I have spent the last fortnight sat looking at photographs of buildings, making site visits and whizzing off emails for quotes. Its sad to say that the life of an artist isn't just about pottering in the studio (a fantasy view). At the very least I have a pleasant dining room/office where I can flick on the kettle and grab a cookie any time I like, listen to my favourite music as well as being able to lay out all my preparatory material, sketches, printed out inspiration grabbed from the internet and my books; this allows me to see everything in one go and therefore make informed descisions about the make I might propose.


It seems at the moment I am not having much luck with opportunity submissions I send off (having been rejected from the last five or six - that rant is for another post), but better luck with being invited to propose new work and being offered exhibitions on the strength of recent work documented through my website and blog; I just don't get it!

Anyhow, about a fortnight ago I was longlisted and invited to draw up a proposal for a new light work to be shown outdoors. This worried me at first for a few reasons;
1. I have never made work for the outdoors,
2. I have never made work in the medium required (neon),
3. Finally, I have never responded directly to a buildings historical, geographical and structural form all in one go before. 

So, when in doubt turn to colour theorist and artist Josef Albers...


 

Out came the colour-obsessed-artists' obligatory copy of 'Interaction of Colour'; a book I take all my titles from as well as using it as a research tool which I dip in and out of when needed. This was a time when I really NEEDED it!

As I flicked through the diagrams at the back of the book I came across Goethe's colour triangle; a theory for mixing primary, secondary and tertiary colours that I am well familiar with. Bingo! Its so nice to have that 'light bulb' moment. So, instead of trying to squeeze my ideas into a 'design' that didn't represent my practice, I remembered now crucial it is to stay true to yourself and the concepts that drive your practice. If the commissioners don't go with my idea it is not because its not a good idea, its because it not what they were looking for on that particular occassion.

As I write this post the commission deadline has passed, my proposal is typed up and sent. All I can do now is cross my fingers...

Thursday 21 November 2013

Schauen: the work of Liz West by Jack Welsh

Colour, as Josef Albers astutely observed, ‘deceives continually.’[i] As I write this text on a laborious train journey, the seat before me, I would argue, is a faded medium vermillion red, in line with the train operator’s corporate identity. However the man adjacent to me, who appears lost in a daydream, may insist that the seat is in fact, cadmium orange. Who is right? Clearly, this anecdote is rooted in Albers assertion that colour evokes innumerable readings. This complex process is defined by a myriad of factors – too numerous to fully explore here. Ultimately, our interaction with colour is a subjective experience, one that is both perceptive and cognitive.[ii]

For thousands of years, creatives have embraced the allure of light – and colour – as an artistic preoccupation. From early Islamic architecture that saw nur (light) embraced as a symbol of ‘divine unity’ to J.W.M Turner’s masterful depiction of natural light through pigment to contemporary interior design techniques, light has been a hugely significant influence on artistic thought. Crucially, light and colour have proved to be complex and challenging mediums in their own right. As the recent blockbuster Hayward exhibition Light Show demonstrated, there is an insatiable appetite for artworks that create, arguably, the most evocative and accessible sensory experiences.

The work of Liz West frequently operates in a dialectical relationship between site-specify and spatial/sensory experience. By manipulating artificial light, colour and sculptural form, her work directly transforms its environment by creating experiential encounters. Viewers will often encounter installations emitting exuberant colours that bathe the gallery walls in an iridescent light. Driven by a cerebral engagement with colour theory, West understands that the ambience, hue and saturation of artificial light can dramatically influence the mood and behaviour of viewers. Every burst of colour, hue and shadow is a calculated decision.

Responding to the raw, spatial idiosyncrasies of Piccadilly Place, an empty commercial unit in central Manchester, West has presented new installations and drawings. Freed from the neutrality of the white cube gallery – and it’s complex diktats – West’s installations absorb and react to the context of this non-traditional venue.[iii] Open until 9pm each night of West’s residency, the large window panels of Piccadilly Place represent an interesting juxtaposition between the installations and its immediate environment. As the light ebbs away towards the dark autumn evenings, the weakened evening light will strengthen the visual resonance of West’s artificial light; greatly impacting each viewer’s experience of the work. Colour deceives continually, I believe. This relationship between the materiality, environment and sensory experience of her work forges an interesting context.

West’s recent installation Consumed (2013) is a collection of found and recycled objects, gathered and stripped of any identifiable labelling. These consumerist objects are displayed within three large perspex cases. Underneath each of the vitrines, powerful light boxes emit primary colours, soaking the plastics and radiating vibrant hues that bleed together on nearby walls. Lowering our gaze inside the light boxes, the ethereal reflections further distorts our perception of the objects. In elevating these mundane objects by directly appropriating museological display methods, such as the vitrine and systems of ordering/classifying objects, West asks us to consider the inherent beauty that emerges in these gatherings.

Vanishing Boundaries (2013) signifies a connection between her long-standing artistic interests (including methodically gathering objects) and new sculptural experiments. Comprising of an array of reflective discs protruding above floor level, the installation emits intense bursts of light from underneath the discs; the concrete floor is transformed into a field of colour, connected by the trailing electrical wires. The reflections of the discs also distort ceiling are multiplied when the viewer explores the work. The hues of each light gently diminish creating, as the title of the work hints, soft colour mixes. Notably, the reflective discs also deny us full exposure to the source of light: a method that West has employed in previous installations.


For West’s next installation, a sizeable sheet of perspex has been laid over an assortment of fluorescent sticklights. Your eyes begin to assess the situation. Unsurprisingly, the vivacious sheet of perspex transfixes them; cerise, lavender, green, blue and yellow and orange mix fluidly and without any clear demarcation. The robust form of the sticklights project out from underneath, like a glimpse at the inner workings of a complex industrial machine. You notice that four circular discs hold up the sheet; they are humble paint pots. Dispersion of White (2013) opens up a dialogue between the work and the practice of painting. The subtle introduction of the paint pot is a loaded gesture, one that creates a visual dichotomy to the painterly sensibility of the light mixing with the perspex.


The fluorescent sticklight, a key material in West’s new installations, is perhaps one of the most effective visual tools. Aside from its obvious exuberant colouring, its most striking feature is its stripped back materiality. A mass-produced artificial light, fluorescent sticklights have been components in western culture for well over a century. For her installation, West has carefully modified each sticklight to radiate a particular colour. This chosen colour palette is reminiscent of the neon lights that were so prominent in the 1960s that coincided with the emergence of installation art.


By methodically considering and then mixing each sticklight in relationship to each other, West cultivates our perceptions of the work, drawing on Albers practice based theory that colour can only be truly understood in relation to other colours and, crucially, our own knowledge of the colour spectrum. The raw exuberance of the sticklights then becomes a trigger: the viewer is needed to activate the work.

A significant development in West’s practice is the inclusion of a selection of recent drawings. These drawings, the first time West has exhibited such works, have been created using an array of accessible, yet distinctive materials: electrical tape, spray paint, ink and mirror. A commonality in all of her drawings is a sense of exploration and freedom. Spray paint flickers across the page, overlapped by an uninhibited application of colour. In their materiality and composition, her drawings possess an undeniable sculptural resonance; one can easily see them informing future installations. Yet, it would be erroneous to label them as simply preparatory studies.

The relationship between the sculptor and the act of drawing is a highly personal affair. Technical drawings are, predominately, confined to a studio notebook – never to be exhibited but indispensible in the struggle of translating ideas into concrete outcomes. As creative endeavour itself, drawing forges a path to artistic truth, as this quote from sculptor Barbara Hepworth on the critical need for drawing explains: ‘…I search for forms and rhythms and curvatures for my own satisfaction…but it is in a general sense – that is – out of the drawings springs a general influence.’[iv] The ‘general influence’ that Hepworth suggests elucidates the power of drawing to sculptural practice: each mark influences, informs and nourishes the artistic process. However drawing shouldn’t be confined to paper based activity. During the creation of her work – whether drawing on paper or arranging the order of fluorescent sticklights on a concrete floor – West uses each element as an exploratory tool; experimenting with colour and space until the work is harmonious with its surroundings.

The title On Brown & Violet Grounds is inspired by Albers seminal text Interaction of Color. Appropriating a similar vernacular to Albers, West playfully acknowledges that experimentations are critical in interrogating the possibilities of colour, light and space. The title of this text, Schauen, is an Albersian term that, in context, translates as ‘seeing’ – vision coupled with fantasy and imagination.[v] It is this freedom in looking, underpinned by our own perceptions, associations and knowledge of colour, that will enable the viewer to fully immerse themselves in West’s experiments in and with colour, light and space.

Jack Welsh, September 2013.


[i] Josef Albers, Interaction of Color,  (London: Yale University Press, 1963)
[ii] Klaren and Fridell Anter (2011) rightly consider our experience of colour in space as both perceptive and cognitive, forming part of a wider interaction between the individual and the world that operates at many levels.
[iii] It is worth acknowledging Brian O’Doherty’s seminal essays Inside The White Cube: Notes On The Gallery Space (1976), here: ‘The ideal gallery subtracts from the artwork all cues that interfere with the fact that it is “art.”
[iv]  Barbara Hepworth, ‘Approach to Sculpture’Studio, vol.132, no.643, Oct. 1946, p.101
[v] Josef Albers, Interaction of Color,  (London: Yale University Press, 1963) p.2.

Wednesday 13 November 2013

Getting going again...

After a run of exciting exhibitions and commissions spanning over the Summer and into the Autumn, its time to get back into making new work in my studio at Rogue
  • The Summer began for me in June with an Arts Council England funded Barnaby Festival commission for Macclesfield's Grosvenor Centre.
  • I was awarded Arts Council England Grants for the Arts funding at the beginning of Summer for the research and development of new work, for this I started making drawings, large scale light-works and invited a number of art industry professionals and curators to my studio for critical feedback sessions.
  • I showed this new work at my solo presentation On Brown & Violet Grounds at Piccadilly Place and in my studio space for the annual Rogue Open Studios in late September.
    I was then invited to make new work for Bury Light Night by The Hamilton Project in early October.
  • From this, I was asked to take part in Synthesis, an exhibition exploring art and science at Victoria Warehouse as part of Manchester Science Festival, curated by Forefront Collective at the end of October.
  • The BBC's Ian Youngs and Colin Paterson (online news, BBC Breakfast, Look North and North West Tonight) covered a story on my practice and work as a collector, which was very exciting. This gave me lots of coverage and brought national awareness of my work.
I really enjoyed spending time in my studio over the Summer, so am keen to get going again. As some of you may already know, I tend to struggle in Winter time with Seasonal Affective Disorder so have brightened up my studio with good old fairy lights and heaters; this makes it super cosy and a place I want to spend my time instead of a cold place. 

 

I always like to set myself a project to help me get back into the swing of making. I have recently been asked to show work in Gallery333, which is part of Phoenix Exeter in January. This will give me a focus and allow me to experiment and test ideas within my studio beforehand. I started yesterday by mocking up the space within Gallery333 using scraps of wood, then positioning my sticklights in different arrangements and photographing them along the way to see which worked best.



As I played around, I incorporated the use of my mirrors (again, something I have plenty of in my studio). I felt this changed the piece completely, but by illusion increased the size of the space, throwing out more light and hopefully create more hue as visitors pass by the gallery window.



I went on to make technical sketches of all the different possible arrangements. This preparation will be useful for my upcoming show, but has also helped me get back into the studio and get going again. Like many artists, I always find getting going again with new ideas and work very difficult after a run of exhibitions or a period away from the studio.

Watch this space...

Wednesday 30 October 2013

NEW WORK: An Additive Mixture #2

In this site-specific installation work, specially conceived for Synthesis, West has systematically arranged numerous multicoloured fluorescent stick-lights as a direct response to details in the space within Victoria Warehouse. The title of work is taken from Josef Albers text ‘Interaction of Colour’, where it is explained that a direct mixture of projected light demonstrates an additive mixture where the sum of all colours in light is white. An Additive Mixture #2 is a development from recent work where West is responding to works-on-paper and translating them into three-dimensions. The relationship between the different hues is apparent through West’s attraction and understanding of colour theory.

An Additive Mixture #2 
Installation (T5 stick-lights, extension cables) 
Dimensions Variable 
2013
Image Credit: Victoria Warehouse Hotel
Image Credit: Victoria Warehouse Hotel
Image Credit: Victoria Warehouse Hotel

 







Tuesday 29 October 2013

New Work: Consumed & Consumed #2

Consumed is a collection of found and recycled objects, gathered and stripped of any identifiable labelling. These consumerist objects are displayed within three large perspex cases. Underneath each of the vitrines, powerful light boxes emit primary colours that soak the plastics and radiate vibrant hues that bleed together on nearby walls. Lowering our gaze inside the light boxes, the ethereal reflections further distorts our visual perceptions of the objects and singular case. In elevating these mundane objects by directly appropriating museological display methods, such as the vitrine and systems of ordering/classifying objects, West asks us to consider the inherent beauty that emerges in these gatherings. 
- Jack Welsh, 2013

Consumed
Installation (Fluorescent bulbs, wood, acrylic, foil, objects)
100cm (W) x 100cm (D) x 75cm (H) [x 3]
2013

Consumed was commissioned for Barnaby Festival, Macclesfield. The work responded site-specifically to an empty shopping unit in the Grosvenor Shopping Centre.

Image Credit: Stephen Iles
Image Credit: Stephen Iles
Image Credit: Stephen Iles


Consumed #2

Installation (Fluorescent bulbs, wood, acrylic, foil, objects)
100cm (W) x 100cm (D) x 225cm (H)
2013

As part of West's continuing studio practice, the reinterpretation of materials and past works is paramount to the development of new ideas. In Consumed #2 West has adapted and reconfigured an installation responding site-specifically and spatially to Victoria Warehouse of the exhibition Synthesis, part of Manchester Science Festival. Exploring colour theory, sensory impact and intensity of light saturation, West intrigues and captivates viewers by utilizing everyday items and turning them into new sculptural forms.

Image Credit: Paul Devereux
Image Credit: John Lynch

Wednesday 23 October 2013

Liz West in Victoria Warehouse 'Synthesis' Exhibition

 
SYNTHESIS
GROUP EXHIBITION AS PART OF MANCHESTER SCIENCE FESTIVAL
25 OCTOBER - 10 NOVEMBER 2013

Liz West is taking part in Synthesis, a group exhibition at Victoria Warehouse as part of Manchester Science Festival. West will be making two new site-specific light-works for the exhibition, adapting and reconfiguring recent installations in response to the space.

Synthesis is a thought-provoking fusion of art and science, conceived and curated by Forefront Collective. This spectacular exhibition is a futuristic experience of installations, paintings, sculptures and visual cinematic experiences, and features prominent international artists.


Victoria Warehouse Hotel | Trafford Wharf Rd | Stretford | Manchester | M17 1AB
Preview: 6-9pm Thursday 24th October
Opening times; 10am - 6pm 25th October - 10th November
Free Entry

Tuesday 22 October 2013

Synthesis exhibition install


Curator of Synthesis, Tracie Shaylor had visited and seen recent work at Bury Light Night and immediately wanted me in the show. The in-depth colour theory that I employ in all my light works ties in neatly with the exhibition being part of Manchester Science Festival.


I am most excited by site-specific work. If I was to be part of this exhibition I wanted my ideas to be responsive to the space. With that in mind last Thursday I was given a tour of the ground floor exhibition space at Manchester's Victoria Warehouse. I had been keen to get into the space for some time and didn't want to waste this opportunity.

Upon entering the exhibition space I was blown away by the possibilities for new work, my mind started racing. Tracie had ear-marked two particular spaces for my work, upon inspection they are not the easiest to work with, but these are the spaces I am excited by the most. I like a challenge.
One of the spaces was in front of a vast window looking on to the main road past the Warehouse. A light-work would defiantly attract passers-by and act as an advertisement for the show. I aim to rework the recent commission I made for Macclesfield's Barnaby Festival by stacking the light boxes on top of each other instead of presenting them side-by-side. Configured this way it would lend itself to the space and illuminate the nearby white walls.



The second space is within the main exhibition hall. A set of blue railings guard a drop down to the floor below; this was the space I had to respond to! In this site-specific installation conceived specially for Synthesis, I will systematically arrange numerous multicoloured fluorescent stick-lights. The title of work is taken from Josef Albers text ‘Interaction of Colour’, where it is explained that a direct mixture of projected light demonstrates an additive mixture where the sum of all colours in light is white. I am super excited about it and as with most of my installations, you have to see them in the flesh to fully appreciate.


I can't wait to install these works and perhaps see you at the preview on Thursday evening?

Monday 21 October 2013

Drawing in On Brown & Violet Grounds

The relationship between the sculptor and the act of drawing is a highly personal affair. Technical drawings are, predominately, confined to a studio notebook - never to be exhibited but indispensible in the struggle of translating ideas into concrete outcomes. As creative endeavour itself, drawing forges a path to artistic truth, as this quote from sculptor Barbara Hepworth on the critical need for drawing explains: ‘...I search for forms and rhythms and curvatures for my own satisfaction...but it is in a general sense - that is - out of the drawings springs a general influence.’ 4 The ‘general influence’ that Hepworth suggests elucidates the power of drawing to sculptural practice: each mark influences, informs and nourishes the artistic process. However drawing shouldn’t be confined to paper based activity. During the creation of her work - whether drawing on paper or arranging the order of fluorescent sticklights on a concrete floor - West uses each element as an exploratory tool; experimenting with colour and space until the work is harmonious with its surroundings.  
- Jack Welsh, 2013

Restricted Juxtaposition #1, #2 & #3 
Paint pen and spray paint on graph paper 
29.5 x 42 cm 
2013   

Image Credit: Stephen Iles


Reversed Grounds (below left) 
Paint pen on photocopy 
29.5 x 21 cm 
2013   

Boundaries between the mixture (below right) 
Spray paint on graph paper 
42 x 29.5 cm 
2013 

Image Credit: Stephen Iles

Friday 18 October 2013

An Additive Mixture at Bury Light Night

An Additive Mixture 
Light Installation (T5 fluorescent stick-lights) 
Dimensions variable 
2013   



In this site-specific installation work, specially conceived for Bury Light Night, West has systematically arranged numerous multicoloured fluorescent stick-lights in an empty retail unit. The title of work is taken from Josef Albers text ‘Interaction of Colour’, where it is explained that a direct mixture of projected light demonstrates an additive mixture where the sum of all colours in light is white.   

An Additive Mixture is a sculptural interpretation of a recent work-on-paper where West has considerately positioned and orchestrated the lights as a direct response to details in the space. The relationship between the different hues is apparent through West’s attraction and understanding of colour theory.



 



Wednesday 16 October 2013

New Work: Dispersion of White

Dispersion of White 
Installation (T5 fluorescent sticklights, acrylic, paint tins)
Variable dimensions, this image shows 150cm (W) x 140cm (D) x 30cm (H)
2013 


A sizeable sheet of Perspex has been laid over an assortment of fluorescent sticklights. Your eyes begin to assess the situation. Unsurprisingly, the vivacious sheet of Perspex transfixes them; red, blue and yellow all fluidly bleed into each other without any clear delineation. The robust form of the sticklights project out from underneath the Perspex, like a glimpse at the inner workings of a complex industrial machine. You notice that four circular discs hold up the sheet; they are humble paint pots. Dispersion of White opens up a dialogue between the work and the practice of painting. The subtle introduction of the paint pot is a loaded gesture. Is the surface of the Perspex a comment on painterly sensibility?
- Jack Welsh, 2013


Image Credit: Stephen Iles
Image Credit: Stephen Iles
Image Credit: Stephen Iles

Tuesday 15 October 2013

New Work: Vanishing Boundaries

Vanishing Boundaries 
Installation (T9 circular fluorescent bulbs, mirror, extension cables)
Variable dimensions, this image shows 500cm (W) x 500cm (D) x 10cm (H) approx.
2013 


Vanishing Boundaries signifies a connection between West's long-standing artistic interests (including methodically gathering objects) and new sculptural experiments. Comprising of an array of reflective discs protruding above floor level, the installation emits intense bursts of light from underneath the discs; the concrete floor is transformed into a field of colour, connected by the trailing electrical wires. The hues of each light gently diminish creating, as the title of the work hints, soft colour mixes. Notably, the reflective discs also deny us full exposure to the source of light: a method that West has employed in previous installations. 
- Jack Welsh, 2013

Image Credit: Stephen Iles
Image Credit: Stephen Iles
Image Credit: Stephen Iles
Image Credit: Stephen Iles

Thursday 10 October 2013

New Work: Tempo

Tempo  
Installation (T5 fluorescent sticklights, extension cables)
Variable dimensions, this image shows 250cm approx. diameter x 40cm (H)
2013


The fluorescent sticklight, a key material in West's new installations, is perhaps one of the most effective visual spatial devices. Aside from its obvious exuberant colours, its most striking feature is its stripped back materiality. West has modified each sticklight with a particular colour. This colour palette is reminiscent of the neon lights that were so prominent in the 1960s coinciding with the emergence of installation art. Through methodically mixing each tube in relationship to each other, West cultivates our perceptions, drawing on Albers practice based theory that colour can only be truly understood in relation to other colours and, crucially, our own knowledge of the colour spectrum. The raw exuberance of the sticklights becomes a catalyst to trigger a response: the viewer is needed to activate the work.  
- Jack Welsh, 2013

 

Image Credit: Stephen Iles
Image Credit: Stephen Iles
Image Credit: Stephen Iles
Image Credit: Stephen Iles