16/9/14

Today was the first of our writing workshops. I have to admit now, that I have absolutely no confidence when I am writing, so I am already struggling with getting words out, and thinking of what to write.
We worked on reflective and critical writing. The reflective came first, which I will add to this blog post. This was to be written about a postcard with a piece of art on that we were given. I found this difficult, as I am not very good at explaining how I feel or what I mean about pieces, especially pieces that confuse me, which the piece I was writing on did.
The second is a critical piece of writing I have yet to complete, this involved one of two short films we watched. One of the films was about Martyrs, created by Bill Viola, the second was about a book of Nan Goldin's photography, which sparked a debate throughout the class the instant it had come to an end. Both of these films were created by the Tate, and are available to be viewed on the Tate website.

Reflective:

Fourteen Discs: July 20, 1963 – Patrick Heron

   When looking at this image I feel conflicted, on one hand, I really like the bold colours, and the colours that clash with each other, however, I don't really understand what is going on. I think, by looking at the colours, and trying to visualise them next to a different colour used in the palette, that the chosen colours were deliberate on this image. For example, the reddish-orange works well on this image next to the darker blue, however if you imagine it next to the lighter blue, it doesn't quite look right. I like the different techniques used that contrast with each other, you have addition through the layering of colours, and subtraction from the image by the inscribed circles. Although simple, it is a very bold image, even with the fact that I am still bemused about the meaning behind the piece.

   The artist, Patrick Heron, arranged blocks of pure tint together, in order to create what is described as a 'harmony of form and colour'. I can't personally see the so-called 'harmony' in this image, however I suppose that depends who is looking at it. To me, the colours clash, although they still seem to work well as a palette in some way. I feel that in my opinion, the image is too simple, it doesn't really have any meaning to me more than a piece of art a young child may bring home from a nursery class. I could understand the appeal of hanging it on the wall, as something that looks nice at a glance, with the colours, however, the more I look at it, the more I feel frustrated because I can't find a meaning within it. Overall, I am conflicted in opinion about this piece, as I like it because of the colours, however, not being able to find any meaning or defined subject, even after studying it for a while, puts me off of pieces.