These are the artists to whom I return with a question and always find the answer. Their works remain the first guideline for me in every ununderstandable situation.
Robert Rauschenberg (1925 – 2008)
My first acquaintance with Rauschenberg began with the work of Canyon 1959. I remember my shock and admiration when I saw a photograph of this work during my studies at the Art Institute in Moscow. I thought - why I cannot try techniques like him? It is what I secretly always wanted, but it was forbidden. I was impressed by this dramatic and bold mix within the painting. Coloured surfaces combined objects and became something more than just flatness on the wall or a sculpture.
Robert Rauschenberg, Canyon, 1959, Combine painting [Painting with objects] At: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Rauschenberg#/media/File:Robert_Rauschenberg's_'Canyon',_1959.jpg (Accessed 19.01.2021)
Later, after getting to know Rauschenberg in more detail, I realized that I was returning to this artist all the time. It happened due to his use of oil, his colour was always noble and because he was developing his own way, a bit separate from the expressionism.
Robert Rauschenberg, Charlene, 1954; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; © Robert Rauschenberg Foundation [Painting] At: https://www.sfmoma.org/read/not-typical-mud-bath-robert-rauschenbergs-love-affair-technology/ (Accessed 19.01.2021)
Before starting his work on coloured Combines (as the artist called his combinations of objects and paintings), Rauschenberg implemented the idea of hypersensitive surfaces. Is, so to say, to convey the surrounding atmosphere of the pictorial art. And not the idea of the inner state of the artist, which was popular at that time. Therefore, the new series of works take into account such a reflection of the environment and new adding - "pedestrian colour".
“Putting on “pedestrian”, he aimed to recreate the urban stroller’s experience of noticing… … without attaching special importance to one colour over another.” (Craft, 2013:47)
To give an illustration, let’s look at the work of Charlene. The surface of the work has absorbed the spirit of the times. Fabric, newspaper, elements of plastic, mirrors and metal are combined here for a freestyle narrative. And oil paints combined all this variety so that the viewer noticed the details without being interrupted. For me, this is a kind of collage expressionism where, instead of paint, the artist works with found objects.
With this in mind, such an interpretation of the colours and environment, at the same time, doesn't speak any particular idea. Here the viewer can find multiple variations of what it can be. For instance, I loved it because of the dominant and rich red colour. Others can find intriguing the multiple layers game of different materials. Or one can dive straight to the interpretation of the wave of Kanagawa with Chinese porcelain or their relationship with other paper cuttings. Rauschenberg’s Combines spoke a new language with contemporaries. Allowing almost everyone to freely read these works.
Considering all of the above, Rauschenberg made the material saturated with artist ideas. His art speaks in a common language with people, therefore it was loved and appreciated. Through consistent research, the artist improved his interpretations and reflections of that time. This art process I see as a lifelong study.
Phyllida Barlow (1944)
According to my inner perception, another artist who is close to Rauschenberg in understanding material and colour is Phyllida Barlow. Her works for me are pure and bold. She embodies sensations into the material in a unique way.
Phyllida Barlow, Untitled: standup, 1, 2016 Bonding plaster, cardboard, cement, fabric, hessian scrim, PVA, paint, paper, plywood, polyurethane foam, sand, spray paint, tape 50.0 x 37.5 x 33.0 (cm) [Sculpture] At: https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artwork/50281/Phyllida-Barlow-untitled-standup-1 (Accessed 20.01.2021)
For instance, on the example of such a small work (50 cm), I already feel her approach in working with the material.
First, the natural colours of the materials are intertwined with the artist's complementary colours. She did not criticize them but supplemented and supported them.
Second, we see the process through materials and colours. Here the wood envelops cement, the cardboard embedded in gypsum, and so on. This is poetry in between materials and artist.
Third, it is a dynamic composition. Elements which are standing up far beyond the main body of work motivate us. Something that looks like the legs of a creature builds our associative array. And such a solid and heavy pedestal stands in opposition to the sculpture made by the hands, giving a feeling of fragility, something to which we must be careful.
Fourth, this is a work done by a person, by human hands. This aspect is most important to me - to feel a human spirit as if it would be a life in its manifestation.
By contrast, I am going to compare this approach with another one of my favourite artists Tony Cragg.
Tony Cragg (1949)
Tony Cragg, Dancer, 2008, dim 186 × 80 × 80, bronze, photo Martin Polak [Sculpture] At: https://muzeumwspolczesne.pl/mww/wystawy/tony-cragg-rzezba/?lang=en (Accessed 21.01.2021)
Tony Cragg. COLUMNS (2), 2008 pencil on paper HxW: 43.5 x 50 cm [Drawing] At: https://artmap.com/berndklueser/exhibition/tony-cragg-2008?print=do (Accessed 21.01.2021)
“The artist starts with outline drawings of the sculpture from two different points of view in a 90° angle. The drawings are combined and transferred into stacked ellipses of plywood to create a model. From the model a mold is made for the cast in corten steel or in bronze.” (Buchmann Galerie, 2020)
Tony Cragg works with an idea, with a concept. He creates the prototype of the sculpture, and then the final work appears based on the original construction. But his final works do not contain the natural hand touch that Barlow does. We do not see fingerprints or brush movements where paint has flowed. For me, on the one hand, his works are devoid of this "vital dirt", but on the other hand, they are endowed with high-precision thought.
Tony Cragg. Spring, (2016) Bronze, 98.0 x 91.0 x 24.0 (cm) [Sculpture] At: https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artwork/63626/Tony-Cragg-Spring (Accessed 20.01.2021)
Starting to work with the found objects, Tony Cragg changes their state. He can twist, break, combine these materials, and such a beginning can give an idea for a new form. The artist worked with the medium for himself. He studied it, asked, and then formulated his conclusion. The final solution, in the form of work, also combines other findings. For example, the main idea of one series or colour.
A good illustration can be works of Springs. Once found the technique which was inspired from work Stack (1976) of such layering and shifting, is now used by the artist constantly. And the colour was found as to be either dramatically modern or radically natural.
Thus, these are two different approaches to presenting material to the viewer. Cragg leads a big idea to manufacturing and after to the viewers. Barlow gives birth to an idea together with the material and transfers it directly to the world for perception.
Of course, we understand that an artist needs helpers to create a large-scale installation. But she managed to convey this personal and individual approach even in large works.
Here not to say nothing of Barlow’s installations.
Installation view, “Phyllida Barlow: Cast,” 2011, Kunstverein Nürnberg, Nuremberg, Germany. Photo: Stephan Minx. [Installation] At: https://bordercrossingsmag.com/article/all-sorts-of-things-that-are-bigger-than-myself (Accessed 20.01.2021)
Installation view, “folly,” 2017, British Pavilion, 57th Venice Biennale, Italy. © British Council. Photo: Ruth Clark. Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth. [Installation] At: https://bordercrossingsmag.com/article/all-sorts-of-things-that-are-bigger-than-myself (Accessed 20.01.2021)
For me, these installations stand in dialogue with the space in which they are presented. In Nürnberg, I can imagine a German city where rules and order reign. The Kunstverein Nürnberg exhibition centre carries its rhythms and structures that Barlow has brought into space and interpreted through her bold language. And for comparison, we can see her work in Venice. These are entirely different emotions of colour and sensations from the sea and bright city. It is unique and personal work.
“There were many works in Venice that did have a sense of not quite knowing where they were going,” she says approvingly. “That’s my preferred state of working.” (Enright, 2018 Barlow, 2017)
In other words, the artist works without a preplanned idea, relying only on her impressions.
Janet Echelman (1966)
By contrast, Janet Echelman is planning her works steadily. At the beginning of the artistic search, she was looking for her own path. Over the course of the circumstances, she began to work with fishnets. Improving and modifying this material, the artist developed for herself a single idea of the work. The material that lives, moves along with the surrounding world - these are questions of the very course of time.
Janet Echelman. (2018) Fiber, Buildings and Sky combined with Colored Lighting. Fibers are braided with nylon and UHMWPE (Ultra high molecular weight polyethylene) Dimensions of net: 100 ft. length x 45 ft. width x 20 ft. depth [Installation] At: https://www.echelman.com/#/project/1-78-madrid/ (Accessed 21.01.2021)
For example, for Phyllida Barlow a new artwork is always a search for something unknown, improvisation, the result and the conclusion can be new findings. For Tony Cragg, this is the consistent analysis and clear disclosure of the line with the idea. And for Janet Echelman at the moment, this is the work around one primary idea - the idea of representing the passage of time through a uniquely developed technique.
The use of new materials and new technologies seems to be very important for the exploration of the modern context. For example, Eshelman and a fishing net company have developed a new machinery approach to weaving nets. Through these technologies, the artist developed a modern medium for interpreting the present day. Or another example Yasuaki Onishi.
Yasuaki Onishi (1979)
One of the main tools of the Japanese artist is a hot glue gun and liquid urea.
Vertical Emptiness: Crystallized Tree Branches Dripping with Strands of Hot Glue by Yasuaki Onishi 2016 / tree branch, glue, urea, other [Installation] At: https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2013/09/vertical-emptiness-yasuaki-onishi/ (Accessed 21.01.2021)
This finding of using old material in a new way, or unexpected mixtures of different materials, reveals new facets of mediums, and along with this, a modern vision, because the viewer is not familiar with such an experience. He did not see such objects and materials. To create a new experience for the viewer is probably the most exciting thing in art for me.
And my other radically different inspiration is Richard Wentworth.
Richard Wentworth (1947)
“By transforming and manipulating industrial and/or found objects into works of art, Wentworth subverts their original function and extends our understanding of them by breaking the conventional system of classification.” (Lisson Gallery, 2020)
I love that the artist challenges the materials and our stereotypes. Before reading the biography, methods and ideas of the artist, as usual, I only looked at his works on the Internet. Scrolling through the photos on my computer, I laughed and lived through each of them. I thought I felt the character of Wentworth. Subtle and sophisticated humour which you can find only in the UK. Wentworth asks questions about the beginning of things. Why is this so? In this attitude, I find a great response in my thoughts, since I have always believed that what is happening in my country (Russia) is simply not disputed by people. But if you start asking questions, then you may be offered «the wrong tea».
In Richard Wentworth's work, I saw an opportunity of how to ask a question through an indirect appeal. Swap things or combine the incompatible.
Inspired by his approach, I made one work before the day our president chose himself for life.
Think with your head, do not get fooled by provocations!, 2020, oil on canvas, 120 х 100 х 4 cm.
And other work which is very personal and sentimental.
Bible, candy bookmarks, 26L x 11H x 9W cm. https://www.marinawittemann.com/post/project-3-from-adam-to-alyonka
Even though, for me personally, there is not enough "vital dirt" of Phyllida Barlow, the tone in which Richard Wentworth expresses through everyday objects makes this artist a unique teacher for me.
Bibliography and references
Craft, C. (2013) Robert Rauschenberg. London: Phaidon Press Limited
Robert Rauschenberg and Calvin Tomkins: A Conversation about Art and Life", Recorded February 5, 2006, starting at 8:30 At: https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2005/robert-rauschenberg (Accessed 23.12.2020)
Robert Enright, (2018) All Sorts of Things That Are Bigger Than Myself. The Sculptural World of Phyllida Barlow Border Crossings At: https://bordercrossingsmag.com/article/all-sorts-of-things-that-are-bigger-than-myself (Accessed 20.01.2021)
Tony Cragg. Point of View, 2019 Buchmann Galerie At: https://www.buchmanngalerie.com/artists/tony-cragg/works (Accessed 20.01.2021)
Rajesh Punj (2017) Fighting Gravity: A Conversation with Tony Cragg At: https://sculpturemagazine.art/fighting-gravity-a-conversation-with-tony-cragg/ (Accessed 20.01.2021)
TED-Ed. Taking imagination seriously - Janet Echelman At: https://youtu.be/10dkp-N0iwU (Accessed 21.01.2021)
Yasuaki Onishi At: http://onys.net/vertical-emptiness-fp/ (Accessed 21.01.2021)
Lisson Gallery, 2020 Richard Wentworth At: https://www.lissongallery.com/artists/richard-wentworth (Accessed 21.01.2021)
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