Reflecting on my trend of my work last year, I really want to resist and explore further the idea of a deconstruction of a traditional portrait.
Working on a larger scale this time, I plan to create another, more detailed layered drawing/sculpture. Much of the preparations were done in the summer period, but I am stuck on the imagery that i will base the drawing around. I want, in one way, to move away from a more traditional, face-on portrait, and feel that an incorporation of the imagery with its method of presentation will lead to a much more captivating outcome.
Inspired in part by a work of art that I saw at the Centre Georges Pompidou over the summer period.
I enjoyed its dimensionality and its interaction with space in a very subtle tone. I feel that my work style will lend itself to a similar exploration with space and the viewer. The work changed depending on perspective and this was something that interested me greatly. With this in mind, I developed a new approach to my own practise that would allow my work to move away from the 2D plane, to become a ‘sculptural drawing’.
Preliminary Drawing:
Scans:
Basic outline of presentation (in studio space)
Drawing with measurements:
Overlapping Drawings: before & after
Measurements (mm) below:
I started with a mock up (more of a architectural drawing) in terms of altering and the placement of the drawings. I want there to be significant overlap, but at the same time I also want clear transparency within the piece as a whole. This plan was helpful for me as it allowed mw to really grasp how the image would work (when finished), but also makes it clear in terms of the types of imagery that I can’t use (in that much of the images activity has to be quite localised to the central element of the image).
From this piece I then bought 490mm X 499mm approx x 5 sheets of acetate that will be the basis of the drawing, I then began to mark up (according to my original drawing) the sections that will be drawn onto, being careful to make sure the layers (significantly) aligned whilst being careful to make sure they section are spread out to cover as much surface area as possible. To this i then cut out sections, removing the protective covering of the acetate sheet and exposing the clear background before i cover each coot-out with clear Gesso as a primer.
However at this time i am hesitant as I am still unsure of the imagery i will be using and so want to significantly slow down on the preparation process as possible.
The usefulness of the protective covering in this instance is that the rest of the acrylic can remain scratch free whilst the drawing is being completed. At the same time the layering that remains becomes a border that is helpful when not only applying the Gesso primer, but also in carving out the respective sections. This was done using a scalpel, ink pen (that could be wiped off/easily adjusted after drawn onto layering) and metal ruler.
Peeling off the protective layer before the Gesso can be applied
This process will be repeated on all of the (5) layers in the preparation process
Looking at my proposal, it feel that I need to change the way i plan to present the work. As i am interested in a investigation of traditional modes of portraiture, I want there to be little cohesion the (5) layers, depicting more of a 3D depiction. This means that the layers will not uniformly sit behind one another, but instead act as another (dual) perspective that describes another part of the face. Although the previous drawing gives an idea towards the dimensions of the pice, and how the transparency of the layers will work as a whole, the finished piece will look different from the above drawing.
My next set is to gather imagery of the style or similar style work, as well as find the object that will form the drawing for this piece. I am tor whether to appropriate the image, or to find a muse and photograph in the studio. I feel that research in the next coming days will be vital to the direction that this piece goes in.