Gordon Ferguson
"Gordon Ferguson's art practice is largely concerned with producing sculptures and installation works in gallery situations. He has completed a small number of public sculpture commissions and has an interest in public art and public spaces. One of the fundamental drivers in his work is a desire to understand context and to find a means of entering into it on its own terms, not necessarily his. Ferguson does a lot of work with manufactured consumer objects and constructed environments. His approach is to study their nature in order to intereact with them based on their history, use-value and/or physical nature in order to reveal something about their agendas and position in the world. Ferguson looks carefully at the endless variety of simulations and fabrications that people construct to provude a sense of focus, purpose and cultural richness in an otherwise chaotic world. Hes interested in corporate behaviour, conformity and hierarchies of value in capitalist culture. One of his current interests is using commercially produced objects, materials and images to examine the attitudes and behavior of the people who made them. Design, fashion, language, tools architecture, furniture and advertising are all embedded with cultural clues. He recently stated, " It seems to me that one can learn a lot about people's values and how they think by looking carefully at the things they produce and consume."
This piece reminds me of a
demolition which suggests the destruction which engulfs our lives by only
focusing on the things which we deem to bring order and structure. The
composition of Ferguson’s installation illustrates a build-up of debris, made
up of what appears to be concrete. This could be representational of the
accumulation of things which we conform to in our daily life to bring
organization into our surroundings but by breaking up the concrete, he is
suggesting the idea of non-conformity as we all end up with the same values and
agendas. The composition also looks into hierarchy as there is an overruling
point at the top, with a vast amount of debris at the bottom, illustrated again
through the use of concrete which we know to be used to structure our homes
therefore representing the structure we follow in life. We conform to this
overruling structure in order to fit into the mountain of concrete fragments,
all looking the same with the same intentions. I feel this installation to be
hard hitting and the idea of conformity is apparent due to its association with
structure, and feel that the chosen material to coordinate well with this idea
due to its density and mass. This relates to the ignorance of society as we
continue to conform to fit in, and the multitude of people that follow this as
they believe it to be conventional and therefore less trouble to follow rather than
be different.
Gary Deirmenjian
“As an artist and citizen, as
a partner and father, as a human being … I object to your ways, you regulating
priests of caution and conformity."
“Superficially speaking the work
takes its form and language directly from the actual warning signage developed
and used extensively by Sculpture by the Sea. However to the artist it
represents not only a site and event specific proposition but more
significantly, a personal protest against what is quite simply a "sign of
the times". How is one able to do anything anymore? Gary has been a judge
of Sculpture by the Sea and has exhibited there as well as being commissioned
to present work in Sculpture by the Sea in Denmark. Once a
believer I now rest my faith in uncertainty. There's been a lifelong personal
struggle towards a firming appreciation of our oneness as a single species, and
of our extreme smallness in the context of a humming, vast and indifferent
universe. The understanding that ours is a momentary existence on a speck of
dust adrift in boundless space, has gained considerable density. The tension
between the felt sublime of this base truth and the many ways in which we are
ushered away from knowing it fully, is somehow what surges the work. The core
interest lies in the tidal mechanisms of social conditioning and one’s place in
the given oceans of unquestioned attitudes and mass acceptance. The work in
turn finds inspiration in the ever enduring and conquering individual, of any
time and place, who has come to see beyond the assumed certainties.”
This piece creates a bold
statement as it reveals a truth which usually goes unspoken and unnoticed. We
are given instructions in life to which we follow without question, for example
in art galleries we are told not to touch the artwork and out of respect, we
follow this. It shows the obedient nature we have as a society and because we
are given instructions, we feel that it is expected of us to follow them.
Anyone who doesn’t is portrayed to be a nonconforming and an outcast to
society. The installation highlights how in conventional lifestyles, we follow
what we assume to be the right thing to do and what is expected of us. The
installation makes the instruction in bold, as the sign is not asking us not to
touch, it is telling us. We are told what to do all throughout life and due to
mass influence, we follow these commands in order to gain acceptance and obey
the structure which is set before us. I feel this piece encourages us to go
against what we are told to be natural due to the placement of the sign, as the
landscape looks un-corrupt and but with the positioning of the instruction in
the middle, it makes it look unnatural and irregular. This is obviously what
the artists beliefs are, as he feels we are all corrupt into thinking we are
obliged to follow the instructions of society, although we are all unique and
by simply following, we are falling into the conventions of humanity.
Jackie Braitman
“My
artwork explores the relationship of motion and emotion. I work in series; each
series within this infinite topic explores different aspects of motion or
tension. Since late 2006 I’ve been developing a
sculptural language that uses clean architectural forms to reference the human
figure in motion -- a language that encompasses figures in tension, at balance
and out of balance as individuals wrestle with emotion and conflict. The
Couples series investigates how small changes in body language in combination
with colour communicates our emotions. The initial pieces in the series were
all couples -- hence the name. Later pieces also included groups.
Since late 2006 I’ve been developing a sculptural language that uses clean
architectural forms to reference the human figure in motion -- a language that
encompasses figures in tension, at balance and out of balance as individuals
wrestle with emotion and conflict. Each piece is one-of-a-kind.”
This piece is another take
on conformity from a sculptural glass viewpoint. I particularly appreciate the
way the glass is slightly tilting in on the middle piece of glass, almost to
suggest that they are all relying on that singular piece in order to seek direction.
This then relates to the concept of conformity as they are all imitating this
same tilt, and all mimicking the appearance of the central glass as they are
all blue but replicated in differing shades. Personally, I feel that this
illustrates how due to conformity, we are all ending up the same as the person
next to us and seek acceptance from those who we deem to be the in control of
the hierarchy that we conform to in order to feel structurally sound. This
piece could also suggest non conformity as there are an odd number of glass
panels, which could suggest rejection as the other two ‘couples’ of glass
panels are singling out the one which hasn’t conformed to fit a partner
therefore it cannot be a couple like the other two. These series of glass sculptures
are referred to as couples and the composition could also suggest the emotion
of tension due to their twisted appearance, which we all know isn’t necessary
the glass’s natural state. This emotion can be experienced by those who do not
conform as they are shunned from society as they exist out with what is
considered acceptable.
Richard Deon
“Richard Deon’s work is deeply inspired by his childhood education when
he was taught history from outdated American social studies textbooks that
included illustrations reflecting the so-called “consensus history” of the
1950s in the United States. A major influence for the artist has been the book
Visualized Civics, published to teach – through illustrations and text – social
behaviours and concepts to the young generation of American citizens of the
time. Through Deon’s contemporary use of imagery found in Visualized Civics,
the original scenes from the book lose their rational, didactic meaning. What
remains are isolated figures and structures assembled into new scenarios
through visual and conceptual collages that can be defined as a sort of social
surrealism. Deon’s works reflect a language based on recursive imagery, and
while always identical in form, the key figures change meaning in relation to
the context of each new work. The conformity promoted in the 1950s through
familiar and reassuring images is deconstructed in Deon’s work and represent
paradoxical conditions of today’s society, where relativism and individualism
have become the new and uncertain principles of our lives.”
This piece makes me think of
paper aeroplanes which we can see to be playing with the iconic figures of
power from his childhood which started the era of conformity. From the
placement of the figures, it suggestively incorporates how things associated
with kids are manifested into powerful figures, combining the two to create
juxtaposition. This combination suggests that from a young age we are taught to
follow instructions dictated to us, but it is concealed in a way that we fail
to recognize this due to its suggestive approach taught to us. The planes are hanging up so high, they are almost
touching the ceiling, implying that
these powerful bodies believe their views to be of upmost importance but
as they have been merged in with toys, their power is turned into mockery. The
series of artworks portray that times may change, but the corporate culture we
are fed stays the same, forever condemning society to conform to fit in with
their political structure. The conformity promoted in the 1950s through
familiar and reassuring images is deconstructed in Deon’s work and represents
paradoxical conditions of today’s society, where relativism and individualism
have become the new and uncertain principles of our lives. Conformity is where
we believe structure to lie, and being different results in us being faced with
isolation and rejection from the rest of civilization who chose to follow
rather than dictate.
From researching into artists who have also looked into the theme of conformity, i feel that the ideas represented in Gary Deirmenjian's work to be of most relevance to my own, which reflect on the rules of society which we follow unquestionably, yet feel the aesthetics of Jackie Braitman are more appealing to me. I feel the solif rectangular shapes reflect conformity as I discovered on a previous project that rectangles are the most commonly used shape. I also like the regimented stance the pieces of glass have, with the slight curve which creates tension within the piece. Overall, i feel as if i can progress onto writing my concept down which will undoubtedly develop over the course of the project, in reflection to chosen materials and subject content.
