Ideas, Anyone?

Does anyone know any artist I could research who have used death masks?

The pain in the words, the feeling in the grain.

My chosen direction in more detail and main aspects I will be highlighting within my power point presentation. which will be in a Pecha Kucha style, 10 slides in a short time span.

Theodore: The sculpture of his son that Jacob Epstein never made, By Bob and Roberta Smith.

1. The first aspect will be the life of Theo which is reflected in the piece, his family and distant relationship with Epstein and the effect of his illness which would later play a large part in his death.  
2. Bob and Roberta Smith a brief introduction to his work in the Epstein collection.
3. Why I chose the piece and how I think it translates. 

Mariele Neudecker

I felt the need to say a few words about today artist documentary by Mariele Neudecker, first of if you missed it the you missed out as she is an amazingly versatile artist who has so much feeling and emotion behind her work. The meaning's not only run deep visually but also are easy to relate to. I have to say that although I loved her sculpture work which have an amazingly realistic feel and ingenious style it was he video and music/sound work that grabbed my attention the most. which is surprising to me as i am not often drawn to video pieces. I want to mention a few but I will keep it brief so not to bore, as I pretty much wrote down not only every everything that was said in the two documentaries but also a couple of pages of my reactions and translations of them. but don't panic I will keep this brief. The pieces I would recommend to look into thinking back to everyone else's work are, "unrecallable now" and  'I don't no how i resisted the urge to run' 1998/2001 a mixture of natural materials and sculptured mountain ranges, visually fantastic and fascinating process.

Also  ones that might relate to your work are,

Ambassador

2006 

lazer-jet prints on foil

site-specific public works installation for six month

front (convex) 670 x 790 cm

top (concave) 1185 x 492 cm

side (behind glass) 348 x 375 cm

Divorced, Beheaded, Died, Divorced, Beheaded, Survived

2000

epoxy resin modeled by stereo-lithographic process

8 x 25 x 67 cm

The two pieces that I found myself almost mesmerized by are, 'Kindertotenlieder' and 'Winterriser' (I think this is spelt right!)  this is not a format of artistic display or exhibition i ever remember seeing before which is one reason I thought this is fantastic the combination of a live singer beautifully emotive video along with the text worked so well together in creating the emotion of the piece, but it has also inspired me to look at using video and music/sound with in my own work. the second piece 'Winterriser' was always going to draw my attention as I love Kathleen Ferrier's voice but all the aspects that Neudecker combines together the visual, music all incorporated into small rooms expanded my inspiration/imagination of this format/mediums, this is a piece of work I would love to see.

Kindertotenlieder

2005

27”

5 channel video installation
shot on 16mm film

installation size variable

music: Gustav Mahler (1901-04)
text : Friedrich Rückert
voice: Kathleen Ferrier

http://www.formatnetwork.com/mariele/neudecker.htm

Winterreise (A Winter’s Journey)

2003

90’ 50”

24 short films on video

installation size variable

music: Franz Schubert 1827
text: Wilhelm Müller 1825
bass-baritone: Andrew Foster-Williams
piano: Christopher Gould

size variable
approx. 300 x 400 cm

In Mariele Neudecker’s 'Winterreise' Schubert's song cycle 

has been used as a basis for a film-project using locations

along the 60th parallel north. It is a compilation of 24 short

films that exists as a live performance version and a 

gallery version.

http://www.marieleneudecker.co.uk/index.html

Quote of the day

"Fine art is that in which the hand, the head, and the heart of man go together."

John Ruskin 

TYPOGRAPHY - some new artist I've come across

Laure Prouvost’s commissioned signs at Frieze





















    








Glenn Ligon

    

duh just realised something.

It occurred to me that the Matthew Smith mention in the independent article may have been Sir Matthew Smith the artist, who was known by the Garman's. This now seems quite obvious, i was however so intent on finding the article from the Sunday Times that I didn't think much about who could have written the other two articles and just presumed that they were writers. "I can only say that I look at them with wonder, admiration and even astonishment. Surely this is an event unequalled in British painting since Van Gogh." (from the forward of the Redfern Gallery catalogue) . Plus a slap on the wrist for me as it seems that Wyndham Lewis had nothing but praise for Theo's work. My pre unfounded opinion was due to other article I have read regarding other artists,writers and poets. so Wyndham Lewis I apologise. The article I have found however is not from the listener its self but from, 

'Ten bob's worth of beauty?' Theodore Garman (1924-54) and his place in mid-20th-

century British art.http://www.thefreelibrary.com

I am unable to confirm the reliability of this site so I'm still going to try and locate the actual article.

I am not having much luck in finding out whether the information i have found is legit so i have emailed the London art society as they did an exhibition in 1989 about Epstein and Theo.

Father and son:

Jacob Epstein, sculptor, 1880-1959 : Theo Garman, painter, 1924-1954 : [exhibition] The Fine Art Society, London, 2nd-27th October 1989

Quote of the day

"Consider the postage stamp; its usefulness consists in the ability to stick to one thing until it gets there." Josh Billings

Task 1- "captain we have a problem" update

Well today I went to the library and was very happy to discover they carried the Times from 1950 on micro filch, but that is pretty much were the happiness ends. It turns out after scanning threw January that the Sunday times haven't been put on them so it went from,

Saturday 21 January to Monday 23 January.

So yes, I screamed and stamped my feet and threw a tantrum that would put every five year old in every supermarket sweet isle the world over to shame. I did however keep it confined to inside my head and externally I simply stared at the machine asking it why it was doing this to me.

I will however not be beat, after all this is what I enjoy about research after I've calmed down that is. It can be easy, ' found it' and then it can take days,weeks and in some cases years to find that one small article. I however do not have the privilege of months or even weeks as the dead line is Saturday for this task. 'what to do?' well I could take the easy route and chose another article to use  or I could simply go to the archives at Walsall and take a photo of it. The problem there is that I have already arranged with Neil Lebeter to go on the 25th and spend the day in the archives, So I can not just turn up and expect it to be handed to me. Plus where's the achievement in that. Which leaves the only other choice being just keep on looking and if I've had no success by Saturday then I will just have to Blog another rant, but hopefully it won't come to that.

Task - 3 A quote from a book,

"Make you own Damn Art"- Bob and Roberta Smith

Black Dog Publishing

My chosen quote is from Bob and Roberta Smiths "Make Your Own Damn Art". I chose this quote for two reasons, it relates to the style of Bobs sculpture of Theo, as being his own translation "Reality" of Epstein's process. Then there is the way it relates to Theo who clearly distanced himself from Epstein when it came to his own art.

Task - 2 a page from an e-resource

My chosen e-resource is from the, "Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Date: February 1, 1951." I feel that the best way to understand the views at the time of mental health is to research the way psychologists viewed the different aspects of mental health and at this time psychology its self was heavily influenced by the Americans. i felt that this was a good article to start with as it not only deals with schizophrenia, which it is believed that Theo lived with but also in relation to art as therapy.

 

Review of "Schizophrenic art: Its meaning in psychotherapy".

Authors:

No authorship indicated


Source:Journal of Consulting Psychology, Vol 15(1), Feb, 1951. pp. 87
Publisher:US: American Psychological Association US: American Association for Applied Psychology

Other Publishers:

                                           US: Dentan Printing Company

US: Science Press Printing Company
Reviewed Item:Naumburg, Margaret (1950). Schizophrenic art: Its meaning in psychotherapy; 
New York: Grune & Stratton, 1950. Pp. viii + 247. $10.00

ISSN:0095-8891 (Print)

Abstract:

Reviews the book, "Schizophrenic art: Its meaning in psychotherapy" by Margaret Naumburg (1950). This entire volume is devoted to a detailed discussion of the progress of two schizophrenic girls, eighteen and twenty-five years of age, in art therapy, and to a brief review of the literature of neurotic and psychotic art. The reporting of the clinical material is dynamic, the diagnostic and therapeutic elements flowing naturally and simultaneously as the treatment progresses. The book is profusely illustrated with the art productions of the two patients, much of it in color. In make-up, this is one of the most beautiful psychological volumes the reviewer has seen. The cases and the illustrations are so presented that the reader can follow the progress of treatment by studying the art forms at the different stages of personality disorganization or organization. The volume is particularly interesting because the author is an educator who has apparently been successful with extremely difficult types of therapy, working under the direction of psychiatrists. Most psychiatrists will not attempt to treat schizophrenics as ill as the two girls who were treated rather successfully by Margaret Naumburg. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)

Subjects:

*Art; *Art Therapy; *Psychotherapy; *Schizophrenia

Classification:

Art & Music & Movement Therapy (3357)
Schizophrenia & Psychotic States (3213)

Format Availability:Electronic; Print
Publication Type:Journal; Peer Reviewed Journal
Copyright:American Psychological Association. 1951.
Digital Object Identifier:10.1037/h0049550


PsycINFO AN:2005-13576-016

Accession Number: ccp-15-1-87-d
Database:PsycARTICLES

Researching fine art task - 1) an artical from a magazine/periodical

To start with i will appologise  if I go of on a rant but this one got me quite stressed as I had my chosen piece narrowed down to three piece that I felt where of major significance to a) my research and b) to understanding the last few years of Theo's life. they were as follows

• An artical in the sunday times 22/01/1950 about the exhibition at the Redfern Gallery in which the reviewer/critic compares the dark nature of theos work and compares it to Vincent Van Gogh.
• This has been impossible to locate due to the fact that newspaper archive run up to 1900 then from the present to 1985, not much use. will try and find out if any of the librarys actual carry papers from the 1950's.
• The second piece I moved on to was an artical by Wyndham lewis, a rather nasty over opinionated critic who seemed to have an opinion on everything but I am unaware of his responce to theo as this article was in The Listener, which does have a full archive but which can only be accessed by subscription by an institution and not public subscription. Sadly the e-resources does not that this in its list. 
• The only thing i can do about this is Email Anna to see if she can arrange with the library to add this to its subscription. not just for me but i feel it would be a good resource to have that will benefit all. this Email has been sent.
• My third choice was an article by Mathew Smith who also makes reference to Theo and Van gogh so it is a possibility that this could be the same author of the Sunday times article but as I can not get hold of that at this time i can not say. 

So all in all not much success after four hours of going threw the archive/e-resource with every combination of Garman,Theodore,Epstein,Redfern Gallery 1950's London papers ect. but I will not be beat but instead will move on to the second task and continue with my madness tomorrow.

Below you will see the one and only article that I could find on the e-resorces that even mentioned Theo's exhibitions.

	Results
1.	Talk of the Trade: Son of Epstein The Independent, October 14 1989, Saturday, Weekend Collecting ; Pg. 41, 211 words, GERALDINE NORMAN

1 of 1 DOCUMENT

The Independent

October 14 1989, Saturday

Talk of the Trade: Son of Epstein

BYLINE: GERALDINE NORMAN

SECTION: Weekend Collecting ; Pg. 41

LENGTH: 211 words

 THEODORE Garman, whose paintings are on exhibition at the Fine Art Society (148 New Bond Street, London W1), died as a result of pinching a cast from Chelsea Art School's antique room. He would have returned it, of course, he only wanted it for a painting. But the principal called the police. Once his mental instability was recognised, he was sent to hospital, but died of a heart attack in the ambulance. That was in 1954 when he was 30 years old.

 This memorial exhibition combines his explosively colourful paintings with sculptures by his father, Jacob Epstein, and has been organised, following his mother's death, by her friend, Beth Lipkin, to whom most of the pictures were left.

 The paintings are a revelation, hidden from the public since his two successful exhibitions at the Redfern Gallery in 1950 and 1952. Matthew Smith compared him to Van Gogh. Wyndham Lewis wrote in The Listener: 'On entering the gallery you are overwhelmed by a rancid vegetation, tropically gigantic . . .

 A little concentration on individual pictures will soon reveal how excellent is the workmanship.' Kenneth Clark was enthusiastic when he saw some hanging in Epstein's home. Prices range from pounds 3,000 to pounds 12,000.

 Weekend Collecting Page 41

LOAD-DATE: September 28, 2000

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

Copyright 1989 Independent Print Ltd

Easy link to Bob and Roberta smith official website.

http://bobandrobertasmith.zxq.net/

Quote of the day

"Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures."

Henry Ward Beecher 

Joan Mitchell, Diabolo (Snow and Flowers), 1969

Source: imamuseum.org

Quote of the day

"Art is the most intense mode of individualism that the world has known."
Oscar Wilde 

How I intend to approach my chosen direction. Direct from my brain so it may not make sense to others.

The story behind the Bob and Roberta Smith sculpture could be placed in a single bracket, (a fathers refusal to except his son). However things are never this simple, as to understand why Epstein, who was widely known not to be a pleasant man, would treat his first born son in such away, I need to examine and understand not only Epstein but more importantly Theo, a talented artist and  troubled man.

The most obvious place to start would be Theo's mental health, I feel however that this is not only slightly miss understood, as having a mental health condition may reflect on your action but does not define who you are, but also safely keeping yourself within the box, when what you should be doing is taring the boxes sides down and exploring all of the facts and possibilities.

So I intend to go back to the Beginning and look at firstly the childhood of Jacob Epstein to try and understand what kind of man he was and how this could reflect on not only how he treated Theo but also the influence he had on Katherine for her to allow this treatment to go one and not stand up for her children. I will also look at the relationships between Theo and his mother but also that of his sisters and the way in which the family functioned under all the disturbances and secrets. Other aspects I will be looking at are Theo's art and his health and its deterioration and the social implications of the time.

• The way in which mental health was understood.
• The depiction of family in other art
• The family unit, controversy,shame, etc.

But most of all I want to try and understand the emotions felt by Bob and Roberta Smith when researching the history of Theo and his family that ultimately resulted in the creation of a piece that not only seems to sums up Theo's whole life, the mass of random pieces of wood that don't seem to fit together, the abandoned items, and the tormented words of a fractured mind, but also reflected the man himself a talented artist, beloved brother and friend. I see all these things in this sculpture and it is this that drew me to it and makes me wanted to feel every emotion ingrained into every piece of wood.

My chosen direction

Theodare: The sculpture of his son that Jacob Epstein never made.

By Bob and Roberta Smith.

The History behind the art.

The direction of my contextual review will be the tragic history that moved Bob and Roberta Smith to create this piece. What it represents.

Portrait of Theo

Artist unknown