1 Day Project - Painting
(Warning: NSFW)
We started this session by watching a piece of video work by Paul McArthy titled "The Painter" (1995)
This video piece shows the struggles an artist may face when beginning a new piece of work full of self doubt. It is also ridiculing the notion of a painter and portrays 'him' as a dumb idiot stumbling around the studio. Having seen one of Paul Mcarthy's pieces of work in a gallery I knew before I watched it that he would have controversial and most likely offensive views shown through his work. At first glance I really didn't like this video but I feel I should watch it properly and for a more rounded opinion.
Today's project was looking at everything to do with paining, and pulling apart what we thought we already knew, all our pre-conceptions - making us think about what a painting can be when we view everything from a "painting centric" perspective.
We looked briefly at conceptual art and the way conceptual artists wanted to get rid of art buyers as they wanted to create art for the act of creating it rather than making it into a commodity (a "finished" piece).
We also discussed the "Slade Art School" in London (http://www.ucl.ac.uk/slade) and how they took on very wealthy female artists and very talented male artists, the idea being that the men would marry a rich woman and be able to keep on painting whilst being financially supported. - I'm not sure if this is still the case or if it were just how the school started out - again more research is necessary.
Books I'd like to read include:
- Rune Gade wrote some essays that I would also be interested in reading further though cannot find examples online, essays we spoke about include:
- Matter and Meaning: 'The Slime of Painting' (from the book Contemporary Painting in Context)
- The Staging of Gender in 'Mor' (2013)
New Vocabulary:
- "Teleology" - Moving in time to some pre-determined destination. Progress will take us somewhere - painting is stuck in the past, painters are nostalgically hanging onto a romantic act that no longer has a purpose.
(from Greek telos, meaning end or purpose) is the philosophical study of nature by attempting to describe things in terms of their apparent purpose, directive principle, or goal. A purpose that is imposed by a human use, such as that of a fork, is called extrinsic.
- Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teleology
- "Somophibic" Fear of the body
- 'Aqueous Dispersion' - Pigment in water
- 'Fresco-secco' (or a secco or fresco finto) is a wall painting technique where pigments mixed with an organic binder and/or lime are applied onto a dry plaster. The paints used can e.g. be casein paint, tempera, oil paint, silicate mineral paint. - Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresco-secco
- "Support" - the thing you paint on
- "Tempera" - To Temper / To adjust the consistency - traditional way of painting using egg yolk
- "Gesso" (Italian pronunciation: [ˈdʒɛsso]; "chalk", from the Latin: gypsum, from Greek: γύψος) is a white paint mixture consisting of a binder mixed with chalk, gypsum, pigment, or any combination of these.
What is Paint?
Paint is a pigment (coloured substance) mixed with a binder
Painting is the application of colour to a surface (a binder is used to hold it there)
Cooking oil doesn't work as a binder as it doesn't oxidise meaning it never dries, however some oils such as: Linseed oil, Poppy oil and Walnut oil do.
Cave paintings used animal fat as a binder
Casein can be extracted from milk which is a very strong glue
Gum Arabic - water soluble (used for watercolours)
Day Fresco: Pigment directly onto plaster, you can only apply as much as can b painted in a day - this is often used in Italy but i the UK the climate is too damp so it goes mouldy.
Food colouring doesn't work as a pigment because it fades over time - though it could still be used to paint with (e.g. strawberry jam - maybe the purpose being the experience of the painting before it disappears forever)
Pigments originally came from:
Rocks, Flowers (crockett), some semi-precious stones (ultra-marine), Reeds (indigo), Cow urine (fed on mangoes - Indian Yellow)
Dye doesn't exist as a pigment because the particles are too small - the colour is only seen when absorbed by a fabric
Katerina Grosse - paints on Rubbish / buildings etc. (in the "expanded field") with spray paint
Wx can be used as a medium
Emulsion is a combination of water and oil - egg yolk is a natural binder that helps "glue" the two together.
Vinegar + Oil - when mixed together form a vinaigrette, Mustard can be added as a "pigment" which turns this into an edible form of paint. -> Salad leaves act as the "support"
Tandori chicken paella can also be seen as an edible painting.
Tempera
Ben Sharne (egg tempera painter)
Separate the egg yolk from the white - pierce (and throw away) the sack to get pure egg yolk
Use a ceramic tile to mix on (glazed - no impurities)*
Add pigment and distilled water (no impurities) to the egg to make a good consistency
*Don't use a metal implement to mix with as it may turn the egg black - use plastic only
When it dries:
- if it scratches to powder = to much pigment
- if it doesn't scratch off = too much egg
- if it gently peels = perfect!
My attempts at making m own tempera paint:
