Thursday, March 26, 2015

The Virtual Archive: Rebecca Hackemann


From Absorb to Zoom: An Alphabet of Actions in the Women's Art Library, my site-specific installation of digital prints with content derived from the Women's Art Library, is now on view in the Special Collections Reading Room (Rutherford Building) and in the Kingsway Corridor (Hoggart Building) at Goldsmiths College, for just a few more days, through 30 March 2015.

In tandem with the project, I have invited selected artists with documentation in the WAL archive to send me images of recent work to feature on this project blog. 


Rebecca Hackemann is a conceptual artist, whose work is concerned with viewer interaction, perception, social practice and the construction of private and public space. She writes: 


I am interested in the process of vision and visual communication itself, how we bring meaning to what we see and experience through the medium of photography. Photography is ubiquitous, yet the art photograph aims to provide a critique on existing everyday photography. 


Many of these images are about photography itself and how it intersects our lives in different forms - the family snapshot, the government archive, news photography, iconic imagery.  





The Urban Field Glass Project, Philadelphia, PA, 2009-2010. Funded by Asian Arts Initiative, Philadelphia, as part of Chinatown INFlux. Internal Mechanism design and Fabrication: Johnathan Stemler. Project was anchored into the sidewalk at two locations over the Vine Street Expressway, that was built to slice through Philadelphia's Chinatown. Custom made aluminium/steel binoculars/stereoscopes, that show stereo 3-D slides of the past and future of the location at which it stands. Past images sourced from public photography archives and converted to 3-D; Future images created with community collaboration.



Stereoscopic views: Vine Street,, Philadelphia, Demolished 1949 /1951. Vine Street widened looking west.



The deliberate use of black and white photography can produce nostalgic and appropriated utopian associations in a viewer. While the images are poking fun at our "society of the Spectacle" (Guy Dubord) by creating their own commentary on it, the work aims to provoke thought, amusement and questions.




Internal view of stereoscope.





A 360° Anamorphic Drawing, which uses a cylindrical shaped mirror placed at the center of the drawing, to  ‘decode’ the morphed image on the paper. Anamorphic Drawing has existed as a technique for 500 years - the first examples appear in Leonardo da Vinci's notebook.



The Corset, 2011. Stereo photography.



Rebecca Hackemann:   http://rebeccahackemann.com

                                       https://vimeo.com/44417744


Women's Art Library:     http://www.gold.ac.uk/make/


Anne Krinsky:                 http://www.annekrinsky.com 


From Absorb to Zoom:   http://www.annekrinsky.com/annekrinskynews.html





Monday, March 23, 2015

The Virtual Archive: Alexandra Harley


From Absorb to Zoom: An Alphabet of Actions in the Women's Art Library, my site-specific installation of digital prints with content derived from the Women's Art Library, is now on view in the Special Collections Reading Room (Rutherford Building) and in the Kingsway Corridor (Hoggart Building) at Goldsmiths College, through 30 March 2015.


In tandem with the project, I am inviting selected artists with documentation in the WAL archive to send me images of recent work to feature on this project blog. 


London-based sculptor Alexandra Harley creates lively abstract works in wood, ceramic and stone. She describes her practice: 


I use a variety of different materials -- mostly wood, but also stone, clay and paper -- to convey a sense of movement, animation and an expressed feeling of imbalance and unease in non-kinetic sculpture. The natural components of the materials inform the constructed sculptures.




Tia, fired clay, cable ties, 2014, h: 9 cm



Bisig, wood, 2012, height 63 cm


I am inspired by trying to capture movement in the natural world, including the moving figure. I try to encapsulate a combination of movements rather than just a static pose, stretching, twisting, pushing and pulling...




Cerbo, granite, 2014, h: 64 cm



Streccan, wood, h: 37cm


Although the 'movement' in the sculpture is not literal, the sculpture is not static, either in its feel or in its subject matter. I remain firmly committed to a personal expression that  encompasses and embraces the use of physical materials.




Pangwe, fired clay, copper wire, painted, 2014, h: 14 cm



Alexandra Harley:          http://www.alexandraharley.co.uk

                                       http://alexharley-asculptorslife.blogspot.co.uk


Women's Art Library:      http://www.gold.ac.uk/make/


Anne Krinsky:                  http://www.annekrinsky.com 


From Absorb to Zoom:   http://www.annekrinsky.com/annekrinskynews.html




Saturday, March 21, 2015

The Virtual Archive: Sophie Horton


From Absorb to Zoom: An Alphabet of Actions in the Women's Art Library, my site-specific installation of digital prints with content derived from the Women's Art Library, is now on view in the Special Collections Reading Room (Rutherford Building) and in the Kingsway Corridor (Hoggart Building) at Goldsmiths College, through 30 March 2015.


In tandem with the project, I am inviting selected artists with documentation in the WAL archive to send me images of recent work to feature on this project blog. 


Sophie Horton creates interventions and public projects with an intriguing mix of materials. She describes her practice:


Integral to my practice is the use of skills such as crochet and machine knitting, and experience with acrylic thread and concrete, paper, pencil and digital imagery. I explore the perversity of mixing old and new technologies to challenge our preconceptions of materials; woolen thread is persuaded to take on the characteristics of concrete and smart materials are incorporated into knit. Gender stereotyping is also challenged through the juxtaposition of materials. Metaphorically and conceptually sculpture and drawings are also developed, by engaging with different communities through informal interview, to create art in or concerned with the urban and rural environment.




Ban Her, 2009 Ruthin Gaol, Ruthin, Denbighshire, Wales. Assisted by Knit and Natter, Needles and hooks groups, visitors, tenants and employees of Ruthin Craft Centre and Ruthin Gaol. (Photo © Sophie Horton)    



Welcome: Hello 2014, Drawing. Pencil. 58 x 49 cms. One of three drawings in a series documenting redevelopment of Elephant & Castle London SE1. Exhibition: Tower Bridge April-September 2015. Photo © Sophie Horton    



Capital 2013. Machine knitting and crochet. Commission Guys and St Thomas’ Charity. Photo © Kate Anderson    



Eye Candy, 2005. Crocheted acrylic. Height 40 feet. (University of Illinois, Bloomington-Normal, Illinois, U.S.A)  Photo © Sophie Horton.




Work in Progress, crochet fluorescent acrylic & smart film, detail 2015 studio shot. Photo © Sophie Horton



Sophie Horton:              http://www.sophiehorton.org


Women's Art Library:     http://www.gold.ac.uk/make/


Anne Krinsky:                 http://www.annekrinsky.com 


From Absorb to Zoom:   http://www.annekrinsky.com/annekrinskynews.html