In this assignment I found myself really drawn to the power of the textual visual language. There are various artists that impacted on me in regard to my chosen text and I will explain my journey in regard to my chosen words. In Studio Practice I was introduced to the artist Janine Antoni. She had written quite a powerfully seductive letter to her materials/work and it is all about the viewer and how they experience the work. I think this style of letter was in my mind when during the Studio Practice course, I completed a letter to the dead 16th Century artist, Artemisia Gentileschi. Although it wasn’t directly related to the course, (it was done as a competition entry for my local WI), I still included it on my blog and my previous tutor did read it and made positive comments, although it wasn’t part of the course. I have included it as a separate page on this blog but it’s relevance is becoming more important.
In the process of determining my chosen text I considered and had researched as part of my process artists that use typographic text such as Lawrence Weiner. What I loved about Weiner was his remark about giving dignity to your materials. His use of words can be some of those we are all aware of, but how he places them and where are are key to how his textual visual language works. An example of his work is below. This is an installation in the Tate. https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/lawrence-weiner-7743 Placing the text at such an angle really makes you look and you ensure you see every word. You are visually challenged to read it.
I also considered the work of Rob and Roberta Smith in the research task. When you read his text it is very fitting and suited to his subjects. Bold playful text as below in his work.
The above three images were all taken from the bing search website. https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=
The artist has used a very bright background colour and large highlighted text in two different colours. His work is quite graphic and precise but above all you are immediately drawn to the words and these are very poignant statements. I’ve included the letter to Michael Gove and this one has been overlayed with the bold red statement. The original letter in black text highlights certain words by making them a little bigger and they are in larger bolder text.
Writing to something or someone allows us to express ourselves, our feelings and emotions, in a manner that helps facilitate an outpouring, a letting go, or an attempt to make things better. It’s an opportunity that can be therapeutic and this approach has also been used by professional psychotherapists and counsellors. Having always been an advocate for fairness and justice, I have been really moved by the news of some recent child deaths. One featured a video of a hungry child begging parents to give him food. This was taken by his family before they killed him. Having worked with a lot of abused or neglected children over a number of years, my social conscience and training doesn’t go away. I still can’t help feeling angry and very disillusioned with a system that can often fail to protect children who we should care for and cherish.
In this part of the course I found myself writing another letter to the dead children.
For this assignment I’ve initially taken the first line of the letter.. Y O Y do you children die? Writing the letter wasn’t easy but some things aren’t in life and you just need to do them. The anger I feel on their behalf, helped me maintain a momentum in getting the words out to them.
Writing the first line however over and over again meant my anger surged more and more as I repeated the line. My first ten statements were completed with my favourite fountain pen. As I got to number five I really wanted to break free of the pen and use a larger marker pen where I could almost vent my angry feelings against a larger hard surface. Although contained to the end with my ten statements, I did then transfer to a marker pen after a little break. I needed the break as it was quite draining repeating such words. I become aware that I have two tasks here. The first sentence is my most powerful message and therefore could be larger in text than the rest of the following words. The rest of the letter is more about my compassion and empathy towards the children. The last sentence is my pledge and this could maybe also be bolder.
My first handwritten draft attempt at the full letter is below. I have included some of the alterations and crossing outs as it’s part of my thinking and the process. As the idea and words began to materialise in my mind you can see how I changed the letter to make it directly talking to the children. They are the ones uppermost in my mind!
My next written letter was again by hand. I feel I am quite neat and I tried to complete this with an italic black marker. I decided to write it on a coloured paper. It’s a colour that signifies empathy or sympathy in a light lavender/mauve colour. It is important to ensure that the words are clear and that they have good visual impact. I decided to use the Why as just a Y like in text speak in the hope that this draws the viewer in. I made an error in a couple of places but you can make the words out okay. You will note I also changed the end of the text. I need to discuss with my tutor but my ideas and the work I want to forge ahead with, can potentially fulfil my project for level 3. I changed the wording as I would want to research further. I can’t say it’s easy to write this but I must persevere.
My following attempts were in type on the computer.
I decided on a simple letter Y at the top and the text I chose as Italic. Fonts were kept to a size that meant I could put all the text on one page. I gave the first statement more visual impact by the capital letters. I’m not sure the style of text is right for the children. I placed the text on a red background to see the effect but I’m not sure it should have a border. That might detract from what’s inside and the words are so important.
My next text in type is below. I alter the text from font 22 to font 24. My aim is to keep it all on one page. I prefer the font style and I add colour to the Y’s. At this stage I think the text is better. The two more bold statements at the beginning and the end I might try in totally red text and make both capital letters.
My next attempt with red bold statements at the beginning and end of the text.
The above seems much better and the font is Gill Sans MT. At this juncture I decide to test out the text with centre alignment. I keep the red bold statements. I wouldn’t have thought that getting to find what is best would take so many attempts. I like the centre alignment so agree to keep.
The more I typed, I referred back to what I’ve learned about text and written language. The text needs to suit the purpose and intention. Purpose and intention is so important and this reminded me of the many artists I admire who are trying to and often succeeding to make a difference for the world to be a better place. Having attended a recent drawing workshop the tutor posted information on several artists for us to consider. The video of Shirin Neshat really struck a chord when she revealed how she hadn’t any family with her when she fled her country and became a refugee in America. She also said she hoped that the young consider the bigger picture and what’s going on in the world as they are the ones that need to change things. While I try to acknowledge what goes on in the wider global context I am also very conscious of what goes on behind closed doors close to home. These issues led me to wanting to ensure that my letter is sincere. That it is genuinely from the heart and with compassion. The most sincere manner which makes it far more personal and intimate would be inevitably, to write it by hand. I would try to write it as neat as possible and in a calligraphic style. I also decided to try to keep to the centre alignment as in the last typed format. I had one or two calligraphy pens and I would test these out. It may not be perfect as I’m not an expert in such script, but I will try my best. I prepared to write with one or two practices. There was already some ink in the funnel of the nib and I flushed the pen with some water to cleanse it a little and to ensure the ink flowed through. I chose a parchment type paper which has a tinge of yellow. My letter is below.
Again it was a little difficult to do as I kept thinking about the content. I was desperate to make sure every letter was okay. It was about doing the children justice. The Y O Y’s and the first line are a little darker due to the black residual ink but I don’t think the children would mind.
Drawing 2 Interpreting the environment 