LANDSCAPE VI: MORE RECENT APPROACHES
After the advent of photography and through the 20th century, the genre of
landscape became a place where artists could more freely explore how they
interpreted their world. Rosalie Gascoigne was a New Zealander who came to live
in Mt Stromlo (near Canberra) as a young woman in the 1940s to marry an
astronomer.
Rosalie Gascoigne (NZ.1917 – 1999) Poplars
19, 1996-97, linoleum on painted wood with
retro-reflective strip,60 × 62cm.
What might this artwork say about
Gascoigne’s relationship with her
world?
A photo of
poplars.
http://www.yout
ube.com/watch?
v=AyhFTwP7bOY
Rosalie Gascoigne,(NZ.1917 – 1999) Suddenly the lake, 1995, formboard plywoods,
galvanised iron sheeting, acrylic paint on composition board; four panels overall (approx.)
131 x 361 x 8 cm
What can we say about this style of approach to landscape? What
aspects of landscape are being represented? Is this kind of style as
satisfying to look at as, say a more traditional Landscape painting?
Colin McCahon (NZ 1919-1987) Tomorrow will be the same, but not
as this is, 1959, enamel paint and sand, 182 x 122 cm
Thinking about her artmaking practice, what would Gascoigne’s studio look like?
Rosalie Gascoigne (NZ.1917
– 1999) Metropolis, 1999,
cut-up road signs, 232 x 320
x 2cm
Gascoigne said of herself as an artist ‘I know I cant
draw, but I can arrange.’ She studied Ikebana – the
ancient Japanese art which uses flowers, stalks,
leaves and is a form of meditation. This would have
helped her with skills in composition.
Colin McCahon, who influenced Gascoigne, also used text in his work. He often quoted from
the Bible.
What is the difference in how we might respond
To the artworks by the two artists?
(
Colin McCahon (NZ 1919-1987) A question of
faith, 1970, acrylic paint on unstretched
canvas, 208 x 262 m
Colin McCahon (NZ 1919-1987) Victory over death 2, 1970 acrylic paint on canvas, 207 x
598 cm
John Wolseley (U.K. lives Australia, b. 1938) is an artist we’ve seen a bit of already.
John Wolseley (U.K. b
1938) Fauvette
Melanocephale,
2008,
juniper charcoal,
graphite and
watercolour on paper
24 × 55.5cm
In this work we can see evidence of what we saw him
do in the DVD last week – going into
the landscape, but not merely setting up an easel and
drawing what he sees. Rather, he
wants to collaborate with the landscape. He wants
random marks that the trees or bushes
or ground makes, and then does finely observed
drawings over that. It’s a teamwork
approach. What effect does this type of approach have
on the viewer?
John Wolseley (U.K. b 1938) Monsters of the
Great South Land, 2005 watercolour and
graphite on paper 55 x 290cm (paper size),
Many artist, like Wolseley have ecological
concerns and their art practice is about raising
people’s awareness of the fragile nature of the
planet.
Note the format of this work. Bearing in mind the kind of work it is, with much fine detail,
what effect might this have on the audience?
Andy Goldsworthy (U.K. b. 1956) is another artist who responds to
landscape. He creates installations – also referred to as site-specific
sculpture or Land art within the natural environment. He goes out to
investigate the environment using whatever natural materials are available
to him. He then intervenes to create his installations. He then photographs
the result.
Andy Goldsworthy (U.K. b. 1956) Stone and snow arch, Dumfriesshire, 1986.
“For me looking, touching, material,
place and form are all inseparable
from the resulting work. It is difficult
to say where one stops and another
begins. Place is found by walking,
direction determined by weather and
season. I take the opportunity each
day offers: if it is snowing, I work in
snow, at leaf-fall it will be leaves; a
blown over tree becomes a source of
twigs and branches.”
How might we describe
Goldsworthy’s relationship
with his art?
Andy Goldsworthy (U.K. b. 1956) Floating hole, Lougborough Leicestershire 1986