LIFE IMITATES ART

THIS TIME LAST WEEK...

Went to the 20th anniversary of BPN Architects on Thursday. Rebecca, a designer at Stephen Arthur, wore a startlingly familiar skirt while she posed next to my art across the street..!

And finally...

I'd especially like to thank BPN for their openness and genuine enthusiasm in championing local artists. 

Hopefully this will give inspiration for other local companies to tap the huge creative wellspring that resides in the area. It seems that for Midlands artists, real-world opportunities such as this are sadly few and far between, so perhaps it's no coincidence that such a creative-minded company as BPN are celebrating 20 years of being in business. If more companies thought the same way, Birmingham would be known for the creative powerhouse that it could so easily be.

BPN ARCHITECTS: FINAL DAY / INTO THE FOLD

The sharp edges made by the sun add further dimensions to the compositions: It becomes an evolving piece of art. It was great to finish off with the contrast of white-on-black, 'folding' around the corners of the space.

Note the reflective triangular 'pools' in the middle picture.

BPN ARCHITECTS: FINAL DAY / DOORS OF PERCEPTION

'There are things known, and things unknown, and in between are the doors.'

- Aldous Huxley

As the end of the project approached, I wanted to do something in the street itself, but we'd spent a disproportionate amount of time adding spontaneous designs in response to the shape of BPN's building.

Having gotten permission from the owner of the building across the street, while Rob finished the designs on BPN's outer wall, I set about sweeping the pavement opposite and then trying to fix black tape to the brick walls. This was a dead-end: The walls were so crumbly and dusty that the tape just fell off as soon as the breeze picked it up.

Instead, I wiped down the green wooden doors, and found that the tape just about stayed put.

Again, I went off-brief, and decided to comment on the state of the building by depicting a series of 'collapsed doorways'.

Rob joined me to complete the final doorway. After two weeks, he was familiar with my core idea - that is, when something looks too uniform, throw in an anomaly, or a 'mistake'. He suggested a single white stripe on each design, which I thought was a great idea.

None of my art conforms strictly to the notion of 'geometric art', because uniformity or symmetry is something I can appreciate, but personally is not satisfying to me. 

Ideally, I'd love the viewer to spend long enough in front of my art to follow where it's going, and then be surprised by something that should not be there. And they would know that the decision was made to put it in deliberately, and I'd want them to ask 'why?'

But I'm also a realist. People will most likely look at the art and not realise that they're supposed to spend a great deal of time on it, and just think 'cool design' and leave it at that. Which is also fine.

The same week also saw the occurrence of a devastating earthquake in Northern Italy, and when seen altogether, these broken portals, along with the general dilapidation of the building, appear to be an echo of that.

BPN ARCHITECTS: SECOND PHASE DAY 2

Experimenting with anamorphic shapes today...the image below should suddenly resolve into a solid shape when you walk by a certain spot on the pavement.

Pic shows fellow artist Rob Walsh, who's helping me with the install.

Very pleased with the sculptural quality of the image ( below ).

BPN ARCHITECTS: SECOND PHASE BEGINS

Started work on the new image, a cluster of abstract skyscrapers, plus experimenting with floor effects.

BPN ARCHITECTS: DAY 5

Transforming my drawing into a large, 3-sided mural.

BPN ARCHITECTS: DAYS 3 + 4

Above: Indictive of how a site can affect the creative process in a positive way, the pyramid above the entrance could expand to be a major feature on the second wall.

BPN ARCHITECTS: DAY 2

BPN ARCHITECTS: SITE INSTALL COMMENCES

The archetypal blank canvas...first day onsite at BPN ARCHITECTS.

Below: View of the street. The sunlight made Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter look like an Edward Hopper painting.

Below: The quality of light today in Birmingham has been amazing.

Below: End of first day...several more to go.

THE MANHATTAN PROJECT - END OF TEST PHASE

Photos courtesy of Rob Walsh.

It's interesting to note that this time, the creative process happens at a different tempo from the postcard doodles that it's based on. So the things that were instinctive first time round, are given much more room for deliberation, allowing me to understand why those kind of creative decisions were made in the first place.

A lot of art is musical, in that you are creating something either harmonious, or dissonant. For example, if you play off-key deliberately, it somehow becomes its own key, albeit somewhat off-kilter and avant-garde, and it's the same with art. 

In this case, by exploiting 'dissonance', the piece becomes more effective. If an angle clashes with the angles around it, that's good, because it creates more definition. If anything, this 'test-piece' illustrates the need for more dissonance. 

Below: Experimenting with transparent and solid forms that 'leak' out of the composition.

To my way of thinking, the vertical lines act as a visual underpinning. If they are spaced correctly, the piece will balance well. However, within that, is the space to allow for the dissonant parts. One reassuringly odd aspect of this, is the need for a 'deliberate mistake'. The piece was looking too balanced so it felt satisfying to sneak one in. 

It acts as a visual pun, and rather like a Rorshach test, it's probably only visible if your mind is aligned in a certain way.

THE MANHATTAN PROJECT - TEST PHASE CONTINUES

Pictures show Rob Walsh, who's helping me with the install.