Andy Holden creates multi-media installations. Sculpture, performance, video - nothing is untouched in his large inter-conencted works. Saturated with the artist's sense of play, conversation and a child-like absurdity, pieces such as Maximum Irony! Maximum Sincerity become collages on a colossal scale, balancing the two elements referenced in the title to ask the audience how meaning may be found in a world of post-modern irony. He is sincere yet disarmingly self-deprecating, referring to his work as: "quite frankly embarrassing", a trait that just adds to his insistence to bring art as close to life as possible. Holden says "...a work that can have a life outside of a gallery is sometimes the most important thing", and sets about achieving this by using subject matter such as his own father in performances (Lecture on BIrdsong, 2011), paintings of every day objects (Maximum Irony! Maximum Sincerity, 1999-2003) and childhood holiday souvenirs (Pyramid Piece, 2009). Although the concerns behind Holden's work can seem hard to pin down, it is clear that he is not aiming to portray one specific idea but to investigatea broad scope of meaning and understanding through displaying 'chunks' of life that an audience can interact with. The concept of installation work that almost becomes 'pop art' in its close proximity to the every day lives we live appeals to me - as i become more interested in installation and performance works, i have also become increasingly concerned with how to avoid the institutionalisation and 'white cube mentality' that so often comes with such areas. Andy Holden is one of the artists i have looked to in my search to create work that can "...have a life outside of a gallery', that can be relatable and provoke discourse and form relationships with a broad audience, not just those within the bubble of the gallery and art school world.
My first piece of the spring term. A small assemblage, made from found objects - plastic dolls, plastic parrot head, plaster denture casts, rubber tongue and cigarette. My idea was to play around with the objects to create a feeling of androgyny and dissonance - inverting gender roles, sexuality and male/female identities. This is something I am concerned with in other areas of my practice as well such as collage (E(U)ROS) and performance (3 (HIM + HER)). Brandi Strickland is a mixed media artist based in Virginia. I'm attracted to her collage style, a melting pot of minimalism, pop and surrealism using found images. The composition is basic (often using just 3 or 4 elements on a white background), the images have a vintage feel yet exist within a contemporary context (technology, fashion, pop culture) and Strickland creates dream-like scenes from every day material - the ordinary made extraordinary. Emphasising the importance of the collage process - finding, sorting and combining imagery, the artist states the works seek "honest expression, chance, mystery, and revelation" |
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October 2018
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