Private View, Wiverton manor, Blakeney.

'The Last 9 Months' exhibition by artists Tom Lamprell, Francesca Perkins and Louuis Hudson was situated in a lovely old stone barn on the grounds of Wiverton manor in Blakeney. Across the crumbling brickwork the artists works showed a good variation of techniques, mediums and subjects but the way they'd been curated made the show a success as all the pieces worked well next to each other.

Louis Hudson works with salvaged wood and incorporates them into painted canvas' giving them a 3D, growing feeling but the works spoke of ecological questions in the local environment.

Francesca Perkins paints large landscapes on canvas using thick brushstrokes through deeply applied acrylics which reminded me of David Hockney's latest collection of large countryside views.

Tom Lamprell looks at the local people in his portraits but the way he paints gives them a sinister, creepy look which I think adds a bit of an edge and gives the viewer more to question about who and what they're looking at.

MA Show 2014.

The MA show was a really interesting collection of paintings, drawings, sculptures, video and photography. Set in the art factory studio spaces, the show flowed easily with each artist selecting the best of their work from the course.
In a darkened space entered through a black curtain, Leila presented us with a gripping, intense video piece entitled 'They believed the river did sing'. This piece concentrated on feelings and experiences in sound and vision and as usual with Leila's work it was impossible to leave before it had ended. I personally got the feeling I was in the trenches during a war and the heavy sounds, clattering, bright explosions of light and eery noises all added to this feeling. Glimpses of fluttering birds of prey blended with dark landscape close-ups gave a feeling of excitement and unease which I like in artworks.
Her other photographic images were taken from the 12th floor of the soon to be demolished council building in Leicester and looked at changes in time and location.

                                                                                                    Leila Houston. 

One of the works that really stood out to me was the sculptural lightworks of Mark Boot. Entering into a darkened space I was greeted by the warm glow of red, green and yellow lights breaking through the surface of large sculpted pieces of polystyrene foam. This room was exciting, comforting and the glowing colours gave off a visual warmth but the work had a technological side to it. Mark's work looks at the way we have developed a coded system throughout the world and our lives and the way it affects our culture.

                  

                                                                                                                            mark Boot

Various interesting and playful wooden sculptures littered the floor in one of the spaces and on close inspection it was apparent that the pieces were combinations of man made and natural materials working together to hold the sculptural forms in place. Some of the pieces were made to encourage viewers towards moving the components around thus creating new and fresh sculptures throughout the show. The works were both simple and complex in creation and Edward Vernon's ideas of 'natural complementing man made' came across in each piece. 

                                                                                                  Edward Vernon

                                                                                    Edward Vernon

'According to Henry Mattise, colour, even more than drawing is a means of liberation exists in itself'.

The opening statement from the artist Lydia Manship highlighted the ideas behind her colourful projected installation. blending through endless colours, the squares and circles of her simple compositions kept the room alive with just subtle changes every few seconds. The work was all about colour and what happens to it and to us as the tones appear and disappear before us and reminded me of a scene from an old 60's pop art movie. 

                                                                                                                              Lydia Manship

One thing I noticed about the whole exhibition was how professional it all looked. Each artist had stuck to their guns and only exhibited what they thought were their strongest pieces. Each room was different and the whole thing was a good experience. 

                                                                                                                                 Dee Sowden

                                                                                                                                   Dee Sowden

                                                                                        Lulu Zhou

                                                                                                                            Chiara Enzo

                                                                              Chiara Enzo

                                                                         Stefania Laccu

Kathe Kollwitz.

 Kathe Kollwitz, 'Mother with dead child', 1903, Etching, 42 x 48cm.

At first glance its hard to tell exactly what this image is. The subject, with its delicate edges and soft detail blends into the background and it takes a few seconds to decipher what we're looking at. 

Created with a skilled hand through the process of etching 'Mother with dead child' is filled with emotion directed at us with a message from the artist. 

The slumped, lifeless body of the gaunt child lays in the folds of his mothers arms, tightly gripped by the oversized hands in a protective embrace. The child looks weak and fragile against the heavy strength of his mother. 

The image is all about protection and suffering but ultimately loss. 

The German artist Kathe Kollwitz looked at the suffering, hardship and poverty of humans in her works and the war had a major impact on what she produced and her her sculptures relay the same feelings.

' Kathe Kollwitz, 'Mother with twins' 1937, Bronze sculpture.

'Mother with Twins' again shows us the protective urges of parents over their children. This strong, solid piece of sculpture is softened through its subject. The mothers hands, arms and legs wrap around the children trying to protect and shelter them from the harshness of the outside world and the nakedness gives them a togetherness but also a feeling of vulnerability. 

Kollwitz showed her inside self through her work, her personal suffering and heart ache. She lived through 2 wars, lost her son in the trenches and she was heavily scared by the things she witnessed in Nazi Germany. But without this life would she have made these works with such feeling and emotion?

Kathe Kollwitz died in 1945 after producing a large body of work including an ongoing set of self portraits showing, in great depth and honesty, the change in her face through the years. She left her mark on not only the art world but also Germany where over 40 schools are named after her. 

'Wols'.

I've recently discovered the fascinating work of the German artist Alfred Otto Wolfgang Shultze or 'Wols' as he was known before his death in 1951.
His early works, made with pen and ink are drawings and etchings made with a push towards experimentation and the creation of something that hadn't been seen before.
These delicate yet direct studies are complex in form and subject but could be seen as ideas recorded on to paper for future reference but are actually finished pieces.

                                                                                Untitled 1937. 

Wols' paintings appear to be influenced by the world around him but he takes what he views then turns it into what he wants us to see, his own vision of the world. 

This is particularly apparent in his 'Windmill' painting.

                                                        'The Windmill', 1913, Oil on Canvas, 73 x 60cm. 

At first glance we don't see what it is. The paint is scraped, scratched and dragged onto the canvas in a very hasty, rushed manner but Wols knew what he was doing. He's concentrated on the movement, the liveliness and the overall abstract reality of the scene instead of the form and structure. Once given the title we can instantly see what it is but without this we are left wondering, and thats the beauty of his work. Did he produce this work whilst studying a windmill or did he give the painting this name after he'd finished because it resembled a windmill? 

He tells a story with each piece but these stories need to be explained for us to fully understand and appreciate what we see. Once explained, the true beauty shines through and we can fully take in what he's presented to us even if at first it looks like a spontaneous attack on the canvas. 

Again we see his love of experimentation coming into play. Each stroke of paint is direct and builds a strong but loose form. 

The colours, bright yellow, green and brown suggest a sunny day with the structure set against a countryside landscape backdrop but this is only suggested and we need to decide if thats what were actually seeing. He gives us the basics but We need to finish Wols' story ourselves. He is a master of experimentation and expression through shape and mark making. Nothing is as it seems and the title and explanation are a spoiler for me. I don't want to be told what his paintings or drawings are, I want to enjoy what I see, especially if I don't know exactly what I'm looking at.

That'll do...

DMU 2nd years and Kevin Holdaway exhibitions.

KEV HOLDAWAY

Kev's exhibition at the Curve Theatre in Leicester was, as expected, full of perfectly made printworks. His choice of subject, bright eye-catching colours and his meticulous eye for detail guarantees brilliant finished works.  I've always loved the medium of print and Kev's work is an inspiration to me. A lot of the prints are made with complicated reduction techniques and multiple layering of ink but watching Kev work in the studio always makes it look really easy, which I know it isn't.
Well done mate, excellent show.
 

2nd YEAR GROUP SHOW

The 2nd year show was interesting with a big mixture of different styles and the overall experience was good. Two pieces which stood out to me were the large drawing by Amy Packham and the portrait paintings of Piotr.
Amy works with nature and makes line drawings which are full of detail and pattern which echoes the natural patterns which occur in the things she draws. The works cross the line between fine art and illustration which is fine and she looks like she could do well in either one.

  

Amy Packham. 

Piotr showed a collection of paintings in his usual style. beautiful faces emerge from detailed backdrops of fashion prints and designs and I know from talking to him about his work that his mother is a fashion designer and this influence really shows through in his finished paintings. Piotr has a definite style of his own and sticks to it which I think is a good thing. He makes the paintings from copying magazine images and mixing them with his own designs and the effect is quite eye-catching. Definitely some of the best works in the show. 

Piotr's painting. 

Drawing feedback 2014...

My drawing feedback from Andy was very positive with an A as my mark. 

This has been my strongest and most enjoyed area of this first year at DMU and I intend to carry on experimenting in drawing until I find a style that is unique to myself. 

Franz Radziwill.

The work Franz Radziwill makes is aimed at everything expressionism isn't and was given the name 'Magic Realism'.
A member of the Berlin Novembergruppe in the early 1900's with George Grosz and Otto Dix, who he shared a studio with, he created paintings of the places and buildings he saw.

     Franz Radziwill, 'The Strike', 1931.

His images and life were greatly affected by his involvement in two world wars and the fact he was banned from carrying out his works by the Nazi's during the war. Labelled one of the degenerate artists by Hitler, he was relieved of his post as professor at the Dusseldorf academy.
His works look at humans and the technology and development of the world in the same way Demuth's 'My Egypt' does, which was also painted in the 20's.
His paintings feature Industrial backdrops filled with planes, ships and very occasionally people and are mysterious in both composition and content.
He looks at whats going on in the world around him and mixes mythical happenings into the frame.
In the image above we see what looks like an everyday type of town scene. A road being worked on, smoke coming from the chimney of a house or bar and industrial works and blocks of flats but mixed with this we see a red blob in the sky where the sun should be, what looks like a black abandoned coffin in the road, and a single plane sits in the sky next to what appears to be a large black expanse resembling a bird bursting into flames. The structure of the bridge is also a mystery. it appears to be impassable to any vehicle and there are no people at all.
The pinks, blues, reds and other colours are bright and vivid, and the perfect detail is consistent throughout the whole image.
in this painting I think he's  mixing what he sees with what he's seen.
His town growing around him coupled with the memories of the scenes he witnessed in the wars.

A quick look at...Rik Smits...

I recently found some work by Holland born Rik Smits.
His intricately detailed drawings and foam built imaginary city models are intriguing, confusing and entertaining to see. Inspired by Paul Noble his pencil drawings show a contrast between religion and capitalism, capitalism seems to be winning, and most are works derived from his own imagination mixed with slashes of reality. They look sic-fi inspired, maybe a glimpse of the future when the earth is flooded due to climate change? This also raises the fact that the works look at the environment and whats going on in the world through the changes that are happening in the cities.
My own drawings of the city tend to lack people amongst the structures and Smits' work is the same. His scenes are also empty of human life.
Possibly, like myself, he's more interested in the structures and what they do on their own rather than the people and lives that fill the spaces in-between.
I'm more interested with how these buildings are shaped and connected, their structural beauty and the symmetry aspect of the city rather than the people living in them.
Looking at his collection of images I think Smits has the same view as myself;
We grow, we build, we multiply, but the space doesn't.

A quick look at...Jose' Parla...

Brooklyn based artist Jose' Parla works with walls. He creates paintings that are made from and are about walls of the city he lives in. With an impulsive desire to create art on walls as a teenager he honed his skills and moved to canvas works as his skills grew. The destructive nature of graffiti art was first looked down on by people in his city and around the world but now it seems to be an accepted form of expression and these artists are now taking their work to the galleries where they sell for good money.
His works look at the deterioration of cities and his use of layering old posters, concrete mixed paint, spray paint and scratchy markings all keep him true to his artistic roots and the cultures that have used walls to display artistic creations.
His work is a great inspiration to me, the way he takes, what is essentially a scruffy derelict wall or a selection of tagged names and through his skill as an artist makes an eye-catching piece of work. I like the way he works with what he sees and what surrounds him in the same way I do with my work.
His own inspiration comes from the streets as does mine and he looks at the things I look at when I wander the streets looking for subject matter, the buildings, the surfaces and the structures.
He also looks at society and whats happening directly to the place he lives in.
His works which use the scribbled autographs remind me of Cy Twombly's paintings. Twombly is a great believer in applying text to his works to give them extra layers, qualities and meanings which rings true in the work of Jose' Parla. We aren't sure what these writings or scribblings mean in the works but we like them all the same.

A quick look at...Amy Casey...

Amy Casey makes large scale, fun, creative drawings and paintings looking at the overpopulation of the world and the cities we live in.
Her pictures bring together masses of houses, factories, shops and apartments and ties them all together in massive structural compositions that expand across the canvas.
The paintings illustrate man-kinds ability to work with whatever space and material we can, to build and exploit every space possible and her bizarre worlds are filled with characters and spaces that, like the world, keep growing and growing with no apparent control.
The works are all make-believe but the way she paints and the amount of detail make them attractive to the eye of anyone interested in buildings and structures, like me.
I like the way she looks at her worlds as futuristic places to live but paints each building in a subtle antique way tying together the old and the new.

A Quick look At...Mona Hatoum....

Lebanon born artist Mona Hatoum installs pieces that grab the attention of viewers and holds it.
The varied sculptural works use the spaces they are installed in to finalise what they are trying to show. The space therefore becomes part of the work as the work becomes part of the space.
Viewers are invited to come to their own conclusions as to whats being said, physically, emotionally and sensorially.
Personally I find the works intriguing in their simplicity and the visual effects achieved by the simple movement of something within the pieces.
The structural piece "Light Works" 1992 at the Centre Pompidou, Paris, was a simplistic set of wire lockers placed in the centre of the room but the use of a moving light bulb, raising from the floor to the ceiling and down again was what made the piece come alive. The shadows created by the movement of the light gave it an eerie presence and a feeling of claustrophobia as in a prison cell at night and was heightened by the monotone appearance of the surrounding space.
The drifting shadows made the walls come to life and the silence completed the illusion of being trapped or enclosed maybe echoing back to her childhood in lebanon.
What interests me the most about this work is the way the artist has used the whole room to create a kinetic type of installation that moves as its being watched, adding a totally different feel and experience for the viewer. The shadows give an eerie, cold environment for the viewers to immerse themselves into and this makes them become part of the work as their own shadows also move with the light.
This piece is really simple in design and installation but very complex when viewed.

    Light Works, 1992, Centre pompidou, paris. 

History of art...

In Leila's art history group we looked at the Nazi's and how the failed artist Hitler stole art from Europe and displayed it in his 'Degenerates' exhibition to ridicule the artists. It was all very interesting and it kind of ties in with the set of images I was making for a set of cards....

'Alternative careers that could've changed history..No.1...Adolf the catalogue model'...

.

Francis Bacon...

Through my drawing project I've been looking at various artists who concentrate their works on the nature of people and one that really stood out to me is Francis Bacon.
His figurative paintings are worryingly brilliant and show scenes of terror, discomfort and what can only be described as torture, both mental and physical.
To understand his works we need to look at his life and what drove him to make the paintings he did.
He was a very complicated individual, constantly battling with his addiction to gambling, alcoholism and the publics un-accepting view towards his homosexuality. But as sad as all this seems it all worked in his favour towards making his paintings.
Born in Dublin in 1909 his family moved to London in 1914 and by 1949 he'd started his series of 'Screaming Popes' paintings and in 1954 he represented Great Britain at the Venice Biannale.
His three paintings of Lucien Freud were the most expensive paintings ever sold and fetched an amazing $142 Million Dollars to the sister of Quatar's Emir.

'Three Studies of Lucien Freud', 1969. 

Bacons paintings are so interesting and intriguing to me. 

The confusion of each face or body, the vivid background colours and the dark areas interrupted by slashes of light make them visually eye-catching to any observer. 

'Study after Velazquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X', 1951. 

One of his most famous paintings is a reworking of another artists work. The original painting by Velazquez shows a powerful figure sitting in full glorious religious clothing staring straight at the observer. The painting shows the pope as people saw him, in control and strong.
'study after Velazquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X' was painted by Bacon in 1951 and shows the pope sitting in the centre of the canvas on a large golden coloured throne which is the first thing we notice when first seeing the image. The throne seems more like a cage or trap, keeping the pope imprisoned with its hard thick yellow stripes. It reminds us of Warhol's 'Little Yellow Chair' a painting showing a solitary electric chair in a prison. The pope could almost be tied to it at the wrists and close inspection reveals his tightly gripped hands clutching the chairs frame as if the electricity is already flowing.
His ghostly figure wears the same purple and white outfit but we see through the clothing to the backdrop, more of a disappearing apparition than a person.
The backdrop itself is scrawled onto the canvas in downward strips of dark greys and blacks that appear to have been applied in a rage or through anger like Bacon was attacking the canvas and the straight lines could be prison bars or more likely a set of dark closed curtains stopping the daylight coming in or denying anyone looking at the pope.
The face is screaming, terror filled and tortured, screaming something at us or at something he's witnessing? The black deep mouth hangs wide open with purple lips and is almost skeletal like. The eyes are purple smears with dark black circles directly underneath and he has the look of someone recently deceased.
In religious ceremonies the priest or pope can sometimes splash holy water onto someone as a blessing but in this painting we see the same thing has happened only the holy water is actually blood splatters across the foreground of the image. These could be a sign of the artists hatred of what the figure symbolises or a symbol of the loss of blood from religion.

This painting is the total opposite of what we see in Velazquez's painting. This figure is strong in a different way and it frightens us with whats happening to it and what it means. Why is he screaming and why is he disappearing? Is it the end of religion or a comment from Bacon on the church and homosexuality?
Like the man himself we will never fully understand what the painting is saying but fully and deeply understood or not these paintings are amazing to view and will be a great inspiration to many artists in the future.
'The man that paints those dreadful pictures' A quote by Margaret Thatcher, died in madrid in 1992 of cardiac arrest after an asthma attack.

David Shrigley visit.

David Shrigley's visit was the highlight of the Cultural exchange festival. He spoke of his artwork in the way it should be viewed 'not very seriously' and kept the audience entertained with stories of his creations and his friends, not taking the Turner prize too seriously and how chuffed he is to be making the fourth plinth in London.

When questioned by a younger audience member about her art school teacher telling her she isn't making art correctly he simply replied "forget about it, do what pleases you and don't worry about exam results, they mean nothing".

His talk echoed what we'd discussed earlier that day in the group presentation project, "work hard, open the doors for yourself and don't stop trying" giving an example of this through the stories of him selling his first books to drunk people in the pubs of Scotland. 

All in all a great visit and a perfect example of how these artist talks should be done. 

Visiting artists...or not...

It was a real shame that Peter Blake couldn't make it to DMU but I still got a chance to see his work close up.

 I've always been interested in screen print art and Brad Faine's printed pieces were inspiring and a pointer towards what professional work should actually look like, i.e. - perfectly framed, printed with skill and a quality finish.

The work of one of our finest printers was also on the walls. Brendan Neiland makes images of vividly coloured metropolis scenes and structures. His mirrored prints are full of inspiration to me and his quality of finish is something I intend to master as part of my degree.

seminar presentation, Feb 2014...Shinji Yamamoto

Seminar Presentation February 2014. 

My feedback from Jamie was quite positive and he quoted on me giving a good clear presentation and engaging with the audience. He quoted that I could relate the work further to older generations but as part of the presentation I'd already talked about the first Bonsai tree art found in a temple in the year 706 and the ancient Chinese art of Thick stroke painting.

The other feedback sheets had a common theme mainly stating my presentation was engaging, well explained, good historical content, well researched and showing a good level of knowledge of the subject. 

Personally I think my presentation was a good experience for me and my peer group. I try to engage the audience as much as possible, pointing out relevant details in the images, talking towards the group as opposed to the piece of paper in my hand and keeping the whole thing moving at an understandable but not boring pace.  

I researched the artist thoroughly and concentrated more on the work and its meanings than on the artists biographical details.  

I gave a full but brief insight into the build of the piece and what happens to the sculptures after the show is closed. 

I spoke of the reasons behind the work, its relation to the environment, inspirations, historically related works, modern related works, religion and also highlighted artists working in the same way as Yamamoto. 

I could have improved my presentation by maybe sticking more to what I had written than just talking to the group but I find myself easily distracted from the script when I like the artist I'm talking about. 

I think the presentation, research and written copy deserves an A grade;

Shinji Yamamoto

    "Hanging Garden", Site Specific Sculpture, Cincinnatti.  

‘Hanging Garden’ is a site specific installation built in an old chapel in Cincinnati.

It sits in the centre of the 19^th century renaissance revival building, which was deconsecrated in the 70’s, but still stands at the top of a place called mount Adams.

The building now sits empty and the dilapidated look of the interior, colours of the walls, the flaky paint, holy symbols and fall of natural glorious sunlight streaming through the windows, all play their own part in how we see this sculpture, possibly as a spiritual piece of art.

The surroundings set the scene for the artwork and the once derelict building has since been reopened as a gallery and art space giving other artists the opportunity to show their work. 

The installation is constructed from a living tree sitting on top of a dead tree. Both trees are twined together at the roots, making them into one single piece, but separated by death.

The living tree looks healthy and alive with glowing white bark and branches covered in green leaves whereas the dead tree hangs upside down, all the leaves are gone but it serves the purpose of suspending the living tree above the ground, pushing it upwards and making it appear like a religious icon or a cross in the centre of the church.

In the centre, where the roots meet, is a small patch of earth, alive above, dead below.

He states;
‘The uprooted tree supports the soil which is necessary to support the life of the living tree, creating a suspended garden’.

A sophisticated watering system has been set up to feed the roots and keep the top tree alive throughout the exhibition and the tree will be returned to its original place and replanted once the show is finished.

By placing the trees in the centre of the church the artist has made it into an alter piece, replacing the alter that stood there originally with something grand that makes a statement.

The piece brings new life into a dead place and something we see everyday, trees, now take on a whole new meaning.

Once he’s finished with the trees or whatever materials he uses, he returns them to a place where they can be re-used to make new pieces of art by other artists or the trees get replanted in the place they originally came from. 
Either way he uses natural materials which are reused and recycled.

Yamamoto does this with a lot of his work. He looks at life and death, the state of the earth and the human effect on the planet. He creates pieces that show us what he sees around him. 

He builds from personal experiences and his own reactions to the landscape around him and places this into each piece of work. 

He concentrates on the effects of nature on humans, and the effects of humans on nature. 

The connections between Mankind and nature have a massive effect on all of his works and everything he makes relates to the world around us, and how we see it, in one way or another.

                         Tang Wall painting, year 706. 

Yamamoto's inspiration and influence comes from his background in China and the artists working in the old spiritual style. Eastern artists have been looking at nature, spiritualism and trees for inspiration throughout the history of art. This image shows a wall painting discovered in the Tang Dynasty tomb dating back to the year 706 and is the first recorded image of a bonsai tree being grown as a sculpture. Bonsai is all about contemplation, the spiritual state of the tree and is regarded as long term meditation which takes years to develop. 

Yamamoto's works are contemplative, spiritual and meditative. 

The old eastern paintings produced using "Thick stroke" techniques were made to convey spiritual resonance with the simplest of strokes being made on the paper, without highlighting the forms or shapes of anything real. They were made to show the creators feelings and beliefs rather than specific realities.  

                                Environmental awareness in art

Environmental issues are highlighted in the above image. 

In China 45 billion pairs of disposable chopsticks are used each year which equates to around 25 million trees and this piece, a fallen tree made from chopsticks, was created to highlight this issue and raise public awareness, something Yamamoto is a specialist of. 

Environmental art is very big at the moment. Artists around the world are always looking at ways to get the environmental message across and make statements with regard to our situation on the planet.

    French Graffitti artists Painting. 

This work is by a french graffiti crew and the message reads "sorry for the tree but we need more place" relating the message that as humans we think we can basically do what we want to the planet and our surroundings, which is what Yamamoto is against.

His work is about the environment but is more aimed towards the spiritual side of nature whereas this piece looks at the immediate effect man is having on the planet but both speak in an environmentalist language. 

The artist 'Christo' wraps exterior environments in see through materials, capturing and protecting the things inside in gloriously extravagant installations which are both interesting and intriguing to see. The pieces have included wrapped buildings (The Riechstag), whole coastlines including the rocks and beach and vast expanses of fences which run for miles in the landscape. These see through tree sculptures are my personal favourite though. They have a real dream like appearance and the shafts of sunlight burning through the material gives them a surreal glow that brings them to life. 

    Christo, Switzerland, 1997. 

Shinji Yamamoto uses materials from locations of previous artworks such as bits of plaster and dust from the walls of the church that the tree sat in. 

His series of dust installations are very delicate, quiet, contemplative spaces made from dust dropping onto small piles and building up through a period of time. The artist uses a shaker to slowly drop the dust through and then brushes the dust from certain areas with an ancient Chinese brush tool. This tool again shows his inspiration coming from ancient art practises such as the design and build of Zen Gardens. These gardens were made and maintained in a search for perfection and the artists making them would use small brushes and rakes to remove any unwanted debris, leaves etc from the garden areas. The dust installations are Yamamoto's Zen Gardens and he revisits them during the exhibition to ensure they stay perfect. 

Looking at this piece I get the impression that the little islands of stone are the earth and the dust is the build up and over population of humans on the planet but thats just what I think, the actual meaning may be something completely different but I couldn't find an explanation anywhere. 

Either way the installation looks really beautiful and opens my eyes to what can be done and said in a piece of art. 

     "Dust" Installation Piece in Ireland.

 One quote I read explained his ideas perfectly:

“Through his work he takes us away from the idea of an anthropocentric existence and points us towards a holistic view”.

I looked up the meanings of this statement;

Anthropocentric translated means “regarding humankind as the central or most important element of existence”, This is basically the idea that humans are the most important thing in the universe.

Holistic means “The belief that the parts of something are intimately interconnected” so this actually means we are in some way connected to nature and everything in the universe, all things have a spirit and should be valued equally. 

Yamamoto tries to show his belief that man and nature is one and interconnected:

“With my installations, sculptures and paintings I work with this universal and identifiable tree/nature imagery to encourage audiences to encounter and engage aspects of nature in a new way. The work explores a poetic reunion with nature, making visible connections and similarities between plant life and humanity, emphasizing ecological wisdom and the interconnectedness of all life.

They illuminate our mutual destiny and the precarious beauty of this relationship”.

    "Sleeping Vishnu Tree"

This piece titled “Sleeping Vishnu Tree” came after the artist walked through a park and saw a tree fallen to the ground. A few days later all that remained was the hole where the tree came from. Inspired by this scene Yamamoto painted an image of the tree in Henna liquid as it ‘reminded him of the smell of a forest’.

In the image he uses gold leaf to create small leaves that suspend the tree from the ground almost as if the tree is being carried off to somewhere new in the way a coffin is carried at a funeral. It resembles the Buddhist statues seen in temples across the world and could almost be a ghostly version of one. 

    Buddhist statue, China. 

The sweeping shape of the body and head is highlighted in both of the images as are the flowers around the lower part of the figure.

He says:

 “I wanted the tree to lie and sleep, envisioning a new world, like the dream of the world that emerges from the naval of the Indian god Vishnu in the form of a lotus flower”.

    "Rainbow" Steel, Paint, Rainwater.

In a series of rainbow paintings he worked with rainwater, ash and soot found in the location of the paintings and bits of sheep’s wool that were captured in farmyard fences. These paintings were made in Ireland and he says he saw rainbows almost everyday which inspired him to create the paintings but he didn't just want to paint them, he wanted to create them, or let them be created, using the elements of the weather and the nature of the surrounding location.

He works together with nature to create his artworks. 

Religion also plays a big part in his creations and he uses holy statues, Buddha’s and religious symbols in his pieces to relate this and show his beliefs. His installation spaces are quiet. Places where people can go and sit, meditate and Ponder the artworks and the surroundings and how it relates to their lives. Each space could easily be mistaken as a shrine or temple. 

    This installation in Ireland was made with recovered bits of  the church walls.

    "Petals of the universe" Compressed Flower Material.

His extremely delicate ‘Petals of the universe’ sculptures were made by applying very high pressures to small fibres of plant material which, when dried out, start to take on a new form or shape and resemble the shape of the original flower blossoms.

He says of the pieces, again looking at the world around us, the whole process reminded him of the way rock is formed inside the earth from pressures underground.  Avery natural sculpture made in a very natural way. 
These small sculptures again form themselves with little or no help from the artist.

This is his whole belief when it comes to making art.

Using things that sometimes will not relive, but will sometimes take on a new life, created through his own thoughts and creation processes, driven by his passion for the spiritual side of the environment.
Each thing becomes something else, something new and is either alive or a record of the life it once had.

I looked at several different environmental artists who also use this idea of taking nature and its inhabitants and using it to create new works of art.

Jaako pernu creates large artworks using natural materials. 
He creates installations using trees, which, once the exhibition is finished are moved outside to a new space where the piece is left until it degrades through the forces of nature. In doing this he returns the tree back to its place as part of the earth in the same way yamamoto does with his trees.

Robert Smithson, Mathilde Roussel, Andy Goldsworthy and Nils Udo are all looking at nature and the environment to create their works. 

"Andy Goldsworthy" uses materials found outside to create his site specific pieces of sculpture. 

He works on land and also in water and always uses whatever he's stumbled across in the location he's in.

"Mathilde Roussel" creates these falling figures which look as though they continue to grow in the gallery space. This piece reminds me of an exhibition I went to in Leicester in a disused factory and in one of the old, dark, dusty production rooms was a full field of fresh grass to walk across. It was  really surreal situation with this natural thing growing in a completely unnatural environment. 

    "Nils Udo"

I like this sculpture but it works in a very different way when compared to Yamamoto as the trees look as if they've been cut down to create the work rather than being recovered and recycled. If this is the case then the trees have been killed and their spirits lost and it would be interesting to hear what Yamamoto's thoughts on this piece would be? It's environmental art because its outside in the environment but is it environmentalist art? Is it trying to relate a message or is it simply a sculpture in the woods?

Shinji Yamamoto looks at the world through environmentalist eyes. He creates works that try to make us understand that there is a connection between humans and nature and he makes us aware of the dangers mankind is forcing onto the earth. His art is very 'up to the moment' and in-keeping with what's happening to our environment. He shows us the idea that everything has a spirit or a soul and he does all this through his art.  

His work is beautiful, inspirational and meaningful.