On Friday evening before the weekend, I had pasted a large piece of paper to my studio space wall, after having removed the plethora and myriad of photographs stuck to it, depicting various scenes which I had found interesting around the town of Huddersfield.It was a good idea. To go through the action of pasting this large sheet of paper on my wall prior to going home, in the knowledge that it would be waiting for me on my return to the University on Monday morning... This of course provided me with some anxiety, but also some creative latency of thought of how I could take this project forward during my weekend. I'm a strong advocate of giving myself a task or moreover, giving my mind a task over a number of days, whilst I may be occupied in doing something completely different. In essence, if I've been wrestling with a problem for some time, by putting it out of my mind, something seems to happen in my subconscious. When I re-approach the problem after a few days, my mind seems to be able generate a solution to the problem that may have been troubling me for some time previously.
Amongst the many books that I'm currently reading, there is one that particularly stands out for me and for which I have great resonance. This is a book called "Classical Drawing Atelier, - a contemporary guide to traditional studio practice," by Juliette Aristides. It was first published in 2006 by Watson Guptill Publications, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
One of the quotes within the book that I particularly found interesting and relevant to the current project, or at least my current thoughts about the project, was something written by Albrecht Dürer in his book The Art of Measurement, written the 18th-century.... ... He says,
"Sane judgement abhors nothing so much as a picture perpetrated with no technical knowledge, although with plenty of care and diligence. Now the sole reason why painters of this sort are not aware of their own error is that they have not learned geometry, without which no one can either be or become an absolute artist". (Albrecht Dürer, The Art of Measurement, 1525).{quick tip, -to get the ümlaut over the letter u, use ALT 129}
(Further research suggests this quote was originally produced in 1523 as part of the fourth book of Dürer’s Manual of Measurement (Manual Underweysung der messung, Nuremberg, 1523), according to Oklahoma University History of Science, Web Archives, http://ouhos.org/2010/08/18/melding-art-and-science-albrecht-durer-in-the-collections/)
I found this quote particularly poignant with regards to my exploration of 'line' in particular and the formation of parallel epigrams which geometrically need to be accurate in order to get a sense of depth and perspective.I have also been drawn to complement the thoughts around geometry and art (Dürer) with Fibonacci's rediscovery of the Greek mathematician Pythagoras as he is sometimes credited as the first to discover the Golden Ratio, however, there is some evidence that the Egyptians may have known about it over 1000 years earlier.
With this knowledge of the golden ratio, which is approximately the sum of:1+square root of 5, all divided by 2,
... I used this in order to calculate and ascertain the rate of horizontal repetition within the grid of perspective to create the depth of field, that was suitably realistic within my drawing.
In order to strip all the superfluous detail away from a study that I made today, I merely used the large format paper, to in effect, draw two tiles taken from St George's square, but in such a way to suggest both depth of field, perspective and the correct use of geometry, plus a little light and shadow on a pictorial object that I felt had sufficient Gestalt. The result is shown above. I particularly like the "wet" quality look of the combination of Burnt Umber, Cadmium Yellow and a little White on the painting. I mixed the colours to an absolute minimum on the pallet, as most of the actual blending was performed during the transfer from loaded brush to paper. The effect is almost a wood type quality too, a happy, yet intentional, accident, particularly as I know what I did to achieve this effect and I can reproduce it. By adding the tiniest bit of Ultramarine Blue, I was able to get the central darkened streak as a kind of staining effect, something that would be seen on a pavement through usual water and oil & muck staining. I'm quite happy with the result, and the study has been a useful exercise.
Update - Browsing through the Tate Modern collection, I found the artist Carl Andre, and his 1969 Installation "Magnesium Square".... THe following extract is taken from http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/andre-144-magnesium-square-t01767 on 10th November 2014.
144 Magnesium Square 1969 is composed of 144 thin magnesium plates, each measuring 12 by 12 inches, arranged into a square on the gallery floor. It is one of six works composed in an identical arrangement but in different metals by the American sculptor Carl Andre. The first three works in the series, made of aluminium, steel and zinc, were initially shown at the Dwan Gallery, New York, in 1967, while the other three, composed of magnesium, copper and lead, were produced for his 1969 exhibition at the same gallery. The materials used in the series are presented in their raw state, without physical alteration by the artist. Visitors are allowed to walk over this and the other sculptures in this series.Compared with my flat 3D model of a similar narrative...
Ah well, convergence in thoughts and ideas are always bound to happen. The similarity to my "Square" concept is quite striking!
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