Last week I'd been shown a piece of sculpture by Noble and Webster - 'Dirty White Trash' which relied greatly on the use of shadow to turn a mound of everyday trash into a portrait of two people sitting back to back. The idea was really thought provoking and got me thinking about how I could potentially use this in my current project, typography. I initially thought of how I could use a collection of small words to create a subsequently larger word using the same technique, or possibly use shapes which at first glace look totally irrelevant but when placed in the correct light would create a word. As I jotted down a few ideas a friend highlighted that one of Noble and Webster's sculptures was, and currently still is showing at the National Portrait gallery.
Come Saturday afternoon we arrived at the gallery and soon stumbled across Noble and Webster, ('Isabella Blow' pictured above). Tucked away in a small room the piece is quite something to behold, its just fascinating how something so sculptural can produce a silhouette so perfectly. Its power to be both a sculpture and a portrait was really impressive, overall a good, inspirational piece.
THE WHITE CUBE
Seen as we were already in the vicinity we decided to visit the White Cube gallery in the West End. I'd wanted to visit the gallery for quite a while, not only for the quality of artist they attract but the gallery building itself with its sleek lines and minimal facades. After admiring the external features we were introduced to Gregory Crewdson, an American photographer whose work 'captured the alienation and anxiety of small town America' in his exhibition 'Sanctuary' . Many of the pictures got me thinking of my up and coming decision for application to university in the sense photography is something that interests me more and more, especially since the recent purchase of my Nikon. I'm hoping that this may one day influence my decision in terms of choice of media in which to take on a project.
The work itself was executed with intense detail, the scaffolding in many of the old WESTERN movie sets in Cincettà , was fantastic. All the buildings and props on the sets where badly weathered and in disrepair, this is what Crewdson wished to capture, as a result they aim to be the soul narrative as opposed to requiring actual characters (common in his other work). In this way they illustrate the symbolic appearance of how exteriors can be deceptive and as Crewdson comments, 'I looked at the blurred lines between reality and fiction, nature an artifice, and beauty and decay'. This is something I really enjoy identifying with.. symbolism. That's why I try to employ this in my work when its possible, I find that this gives the work a greater meaning and more entertainment.
