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Eric Bainbridge – composition
Eric Bainbridge uses a range of materials, unfired clay, fur, bronze, video wood, food and steel. He references Caro and Smith, Maleavich as well, and how he was horrified by steel constructions that looked exactly the same. He saw a very rigid environment that made him anti-‘carryouttheideology’ where style over substance is the focus. Anthony Caro and his work was so big (and influential) he filled that space, Bainbridge felt there was no room for others to explore without a comparison being drawn.
When he discusses his steel sculptures his attitude and strategies become clearer; he pulled the pieces from wherever he found them, and much later in his career (after getting over Caro/Smith) he was ready to have a go, even though he worried he might ‘make an arse of myself’. He was concerned with how to approach it with reference to the past, but also with a new and exciting twist.
He was also concerned with formal aspects and domestic aspects and the contrast between steel and towel etc. Using recognisable marks and structure in both the steel and the towel to draw unity, but they also contrast each other and open up a discourse.
Bainbridge, like me, finds memory more interesting than the reality or analysis, since a less specific/more generic image comes into the mind from memory.
Bainbridge states ‘the one joy of making things is to be able to look at them when you’ve made them, I don’t believe you can function without a space to look at your work.’ (paraphrased from the below video) This also struck a cord with me especially considering the current situation regarding the lack of support and access to a space to view and understand work, separate from the pollutions of domestic life.
He also talks about colliding languages with interesting results, which is something that resonates with me very strongly since I feel this is an element of my work as well, I like to use different materials and processes to see how they relate to and interact with each other. Particularly in this term of self-directed practice I have found myself drawn to multiple ideas and interests at once, and the only way I can figure any sense of unity is to make them ‘collide’ physically or conceptually.
His work also has this sense of vagueness and searching, particularly the steel sculptures, to me it is clear to see that what he is doing is trying to question and understand his intuition. This was a note in my feedback from last term that my work was unspecific and shared a sort of lost or vague nature. I personally feel on reflection, and now after studying Bainbridge, that this vagueness is not a negative, in fact it is a direct reflection of the doubt, uncertainty and frustrations that have overshadowed the past year.
I also feel that a potential suggestion as to why this vagueness was not fully recognised as fundamental to my expression, is because of the difference between being an academic during this crisis and being a student during the crisis. One example being the academics are still being paid, whereas the students are still paying and receiving less of what they pay for. I feel it also comes down to the security, an academic is employed, has a degree, has a career or home studio potentially, when compared to a second year undergraduate.
The common phrase for assuaging our anxiety is ‘We’re all in the same boat’, I feel this is a misstatement, ‘We all have a boat, but yours is smaller’ would be a more accurate statement. This is not a condemnation of the academics, they earned their stature and are entitled to it and I can only hope to be in their position someday. However, it is a condemnation of the lack of or refusal to understand that art students are being hit harder by the restrictions on access to university than some other non practical based subjects, particularly now the library is open to students who have returned safely.
That thread about studios was a complete tangent, but I want to keep the authenticity of my thoughts and ideas whilst I study artists to understand my own ideas, motivations and artistic process. To edit or omit these thoughts would be dishonest to myself, my creative expression and the effect Bainbridge has had on me and my practice.
For these reason I feel Bainbridge has had a strong impact on me, allowing me to better understand my own artistic process (and my thoughts) through his ideas and understanding of his work. These sorts of sentiments led me to also think of, and look at, Cory Archangel; an artist who states his understanding of a material or process comes from experimenting with combinations and preservation (I will do a post about him later).
I was unable to embed the two Frieze articles that my tutor linked me, possibly due to copyright etc. however the titles are as follows: Frieze – Eric Bainbridge: Review – by Jonathan Griffin, Issue 119. Frieze – Tales of Everyday Madness: Features – by Jonathan Griffin, Issue 123.
David Hockney – colour
David Hockney is a very prominent artist of our time with a long history of successful and imaginative works. His work centres around his experiences and personal perspective, illustrated in a book retrospective called ‘That’s just the way I see it’, his later works centre mainly around nature and the environment he finds himself in. He is also a well known portrait artist and his paintings of people have the same natural warm sensibility as his paintings.
I have been inspired by his brave use of colour and his candid way of working, he isn’t trying to render a photo perfect image, he is just painting what he sees and trying to communicate his experience to us. This is similar to what I try to do with my work but Hockney does it fearlessly, which is something I need to learn to channel.
Although I am working in sculpture and 3D I feel his work is related to mine in the sense of colour and the perception of colour; we both use vibrancy and contrast to impact the mood of a piece and we both illustrate a perception of colour that is not as traditional as other perceptions. Cezanne and Klee are other great colour users, they also inspire me to continue to be vibrant and to experiment.
The reason I gravitated towards Hockney this term is because i have been way out of my comfort zone; living in a new house and no studio access has made it very difficult for me to stay focused or even feel calm most days. Hockney’s work (and the colours especially) make me feel joy, I can feel the warm soothing California light that influenced him so much. I also love the way he uses contrasting and complementary colours to create depth and almost movement in the paintings.
I also really admire his honest technique in painting and it is encouraging to see such a famous artist be so popular by using such a candid (and some would say child-like) way of painting. His paintings of Yorkshire are some of my favourites and they display all the best things about him from bold colour to immense scale; he sometimes paints on 6+ canvas’ to make one wall sized image.
The more important factor is that when I see his work I feel the intense drive to be a better artist that I felt when I first found it, this is a feeling that I have not had strongly this year. The fact that an 80+ year old man can still make his way out of the house to paint or draw each day is an inspiration, and the fact he can still work so well and in such a large scale is a higher standard I want to try and hold myself to.