Contextual Review - Vivienne Cohen

Foundation Diploma in Art and Design

Unit 3: Developing Specialist Practice

I tend to be somebody who works in sporadic bursts when I suddenly become so inspired that I will not rest until my vision has been translated into a form I am proud of. I find it difficult to come up with ideas under rapid time conditions because I become very self-critical with the lack of depth and meaning they possess. I found the idea generation exercise for the Ideas Factory workshop very challenging and thus did not feel as confident as I had hoped to be during that lesson. However, after spending some time carefully coming up with underlying meanings to each idea, I ended up with successful results. Although the Diagnostic phase has introduced me to a range of artistic pathways and approaches to media, I have noticed a pattern in the way I approach these seemingly separate workshops. I am most excited when it comes to making artwork that is heavily conceptual and personal to me. For this reason, I feel I am more suited to Fine Art as opposed to Design, seeing that I prefer working from within and not for a client or purpose.

I especially enjoyed the Fine Art 4D workshop due to the amount of scope that was available to me. The brief we were given was highly conceptual and allowed me to explore what I was interested in. What excites me the most about this pathway is that it isn’t limited to digital art. I chose to do the 4D extension project as a result of this and combined the acts of prop-making, painting and even applying makeup with digital media. Very much inspired by artist Rachel Maclean, I am interested in the overlap between moving image and fine art. Maclean has said that she often blurs the line between painting and green screen, shooting her films and then inventing her own backdrops to place them in. Adopting a similar approach in my own work in the future could open the door to endless possibilities; I believe that this is the power of mixed media. Drawing, to me, is an outlet I use to communicate my ideas as opposed to the final form of a concept. Although I am very comfortable with drawing and enjoy it, I feel that it doesn’t stimulate me as much as other forms of media do. I would be interested in incorporating drawing and painting into moving image however, because this would place it in a new context where I would be able to manipulate and play with the art form.

I am fascinated with manipulating the human face and body and feel that this is best communicated through digital forms. Whether this be performing for the camera like Rebecca Horn or crafting entirely new personas like Cindy Sherman, the complexity and layers within digital art are the most inspiring to me. The transformative masks Gillian Wearing creates ties into my fascination with the power of depersonalisation. I often find that once something has been altered to an extreme degree, audiences find it more accessible and easier to relate to because it is so confrontational. I find Shana Moulton’s video work very stimulating in that her use of special effects such as green screen and editing unlocks a whole new form of art that can be explored and played with. I am drawn to the way she presents intimate details of herself through her alter ego, Cynthia, as I realise I have a tendency to allude to personal anecdotes in my own artwork.

Much of the art I am interested in centres around identity, the self, culture and taboo. I am drawn to the work of artists that are unsettling and at times considered grotesque. The work of performance artist Orlan is an example of extreme art that I appreciate. Oftentimes I find myself critically analysing why I am so fascinated with the audience response of shock and confrontation, questioning whether or not there is a degree of superficiality to ‘shock art’. I believe that yes, if an artist’s intention is simply to unsettle then the skin-deep nature of the work will be revealed, but if the element of shock is there to supplement societal commentary or underlying personal themes then that is when it has been successfully executed. Orlan’s various surgical procedures are a perfect example of societal criticism conveyed using a grotesque approach. The theme of cosmetic surgery and toxic beauty standards is being addressed through her work, and seeing as the procedures were filmed and photographed, it is perceived as performance.

Bibliography

Abrams, A., 1999. The Essential: Cindy Sherman (essential (harry N. Abrams)). Harry N. Abrams.

Vincente, J., 2001. Gillian Wearing. Fundacion La Caixa De Pensiones.

Luckraft, P., 2015. Zabludowicz Collection Invites. London: Zabludowicz Collection.

Zweite, A., 2007. Rebecca Horn: Drawings, Sculptures, Installations 1964-2006. Hatje Cantz.

Donger, S., 2010. Orlan. Routledge.

Sylvia, M., 2006. Video Art (basic Art). Taschen.

Zabludowicz Collection, Chalk Farm, Shana Moulton, 12 September - 15 December 2019

Tate Modern, Nam June Paik, 17 October 2019 - 9 February 2020

National Portrait Gallery, Cindy Sherman, 27 June - 15 September 2019

National Portrait Gallery, Only Human, Martin Parr, 7 March - 27 May 2019

Part 2

Part 2

Contextual Review

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