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Systems 09032016

This week my project at Uni revolved around this idea of systems. To put it simply to formulate some sort of code or rule and repeat this. This lends itself so much to my way of working I had been looking forward to this project for ages, however when we started I drew a complete blank. This was strange for me as when I work in this way I just create the work instinctively. I make marks and get lost in the process.

The lecture provided great names of artist's who work in a similar way. The focus of their work being repeat and structure. I related a lot to the work of Eva Hesse whose work I had not come across before. A woman who worked not only through drawing captures the idea of obsession and pattern in her intricate drawings.

Sol Lewitt is someone I had come across before and his work has always appealed because of how he uses rules within art to create large scale pieces of work. He is someone who has made me think about the idea of creating collaborative large scale drawings with other drawings students. How his work is exhibited is also really interesting because of how he sends a set of instructions to the gallery and then other people paint/draw the work.


Eva Hesse


Sol Lewitt

I also did further research on other drawing scholars whose process is very much influenced by the idea of system and rules. The work of BA Drawing graduates Ed Eva and George Baldwin work has really intrigued me. They play on the idea of a mathematical language and how this can be described as a system. This is explored through the making of small machines which repeat a mark. Each of these machines has their own distinct language and the outcome is a beautiful organic chaos of marks as shown in the examples below. 

Ed Eva and George Baldwin//  eegb.co.uk 

We had a crit the other day as a whole year to see other peoples work. This was beneficial as it is always interesting to see how other people interpret the project. The work of Esme Bone a fellow first year on the drawing course is one that I wanted to share because of how she has used colour. I find the work very calming and human because of how she took the time to draw up the grid and colour each section. 

This is something that we talked about in the crit, the idea of human intervention of the piece. By this I mean human errors such as a smudge of ink or slight imperfections. This is something that was recurrent in the work of Eva Hesse. It makes the work appear more emotional but because of the use of structure and shape it might not appear to have been done by hand at first glance. 
Esme Bone

Pencil on paper//2016

Mixed Media, 2016

For my own outcome I pushed my process drawings which I do when I'm bored or anxious. I used repetitive mark making as a way to calm myself down. My outcome explored the idea of a never ending process but also the idea that despite there being a set system, the outcome can still be different each time. I was able to show this by making my system using media in a particular order and sticking to it. However these were the only rules which meant that each circle had a different outcome. 









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