Drawing and Painting
Three works from
“Robin Rhode: The
Call of Walls”
Research Assignment : Analysis of three art pieces
Susan Pover
Student number:
Date:
Tutor:
Workshop:
4338449
11 September
Jenna Corcoran
Wednesday morning
Gallery Information
Gallery Name: National Gallery of Victoria
Exhibition visited: The Call of Walls
Date visited: 30 August, 5 September
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Justification for the choice
Although these are series’ of photographs, most of Rhode’s work has a strong drawing,
collage or painting element but with a fourth dimension. He creates the fourth dimension by
photographing the drawings with a human figure interacting with them. The photography
records the works which are, and are intended to be, transitory (NGV 2013) (ii).
The human figure is part of the image created on the wall – like a collage element standing
out from the otherwise flat painting.
This paper will concentrate on the drawing, collage and painting. It will not discuss the
photography. In the descriptions of the paintings, whereas the NGV has given the
photographic materials used, I have listed what I think he used to create the paintings.
Common elements in the three works
In all of Rhode’s work, there is a feeling of playfulness. He draws or paints, then he, or what
he calls his doppelganger, interacts with the painting, which then influences the next stage
of the work.
The presence of the doppelganger gives the scale in each work. It also influences the way we
view the painting. He suggests a view other than the one standing back in a gallery space.
We can imagine seeing it through his eyes. This is particularly true of The point of vanishing.
The human figure provides contrast: the only colour is his clothing and the backpack he
carries (Bird on wires and The point of vanishing); in all three the glossy clothing contrasts
with the matt paint and textured walls; and the living figure contrasts with the flat surface.
However, the effect of reducing the background to a flat, vertical wall with no foreground
diminishes any feeling of depth that the human figure might otherwise create.
The walls he uses for his canvas in these pieces are white but have cracks and chips in the
brickwork giving an interesting texture to the background. He does use grey walls in some of
his other work.
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Analysis 1: Bird on wires, 2012-13
8 images, 41.6x61.6 each, arranged in two rows of four
Spray paint, barbed wire, one human
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This sequence of paintings uses wire and spray painting with stencils. It is black paint on a
white wall, with a saturated orange backpack moving across the bottom of the work. It has
high tone with little gradation in colour.
The repeated figure in this work is the bird at different points of flight. Six horizontal lines
are drawn below the bird by stretching barbed wire the length of the wall.
The first in the sequence shows a bird touching the top line of barbed wire. In the second
image of the sequence the bird is repeated but the wings have moved as if in flight, and the
bird has risen above the barbed wire. In each subsequent image Rhode adds a bird, its wings
having moved from the last position, gradually describing the arc of flight and flapping of
wings. In the final repeat of the bird, it has returned to the wire. The repetition of the bird
and the multiple images creates a sense of movement in space and time.
Rhode has allowed the paint to run from the tips of the flight feathers and the beak, and in
each image the drips become more pronounced.
The droplets of paint are like blood. The bird has been caught in the barbed wire, tears
away, but returns to become trapped again.
The barbed wire could be a barrier between different parts of South African society, or a
prison (literal of metaphorical). It’s a tragic cycle – the bird can escape but must land at
some time when it is again caught by the barbs. Is Rhode’s doppelganger catching the bird or
trying to release it? This isn’t clear and is probably deliberately ambiguous.
Bird on wires is a powerful comment on South African society as well as having a poignant
beauty. At the same time the inventiveness in use of materials (the wire and the dripping
paint), and its sense of time and movement, gives it an exciting edge.
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Analysis 2: Carry-on, 2013
9 images, 46.6x70.0 each, arranged in a three x three grid
Spray paint, rope, one human
Created in Berlin
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The Carry-on sequence starts with the outline of South Africa (Finch 2013). This appears to
be spray paint over a stencil. The outer edges of the map are sharp but the internal edges
are blurred by the feathering of the spray. Four ropes extend from the edges of the map and
draw lines to Rhode’s doppelganger. The map is then repeatedly sprayed within a rectangle,
overlapping to create an organic abstract image with interesting tonal variation. The creases
in the jacket of the doppelganger echo the tones and shapes of the abstracted map.
In each picture in the sequence a new abstract rectangle is created until there are nine
squares arranged in a 3x3 grid. This creates a grid within a grid.
The final image in the sequence has a formal symmetry around all axes. The complete work
is symmetrical about the vertical and horizontal axes.
Rhode talks of the country as being like carry-on luggage. His doppelganger is dragging it
around or being dragged by it (NGV 2013) (i). In the last one he appears to be hanging from
the map, or pulling himself up, using it as an anchor.
Rhode sees this luggage or nationality as having both a negative impact – holding back,
limiting movement – and as a positive creative force (NGV 2013) (i). The ideas of nationality
and identity are complex, and this is reflected in the way a simple outline is used to build a
complex and nuanced image. We are shaped to some extent by our nationality, but identity
has many facets and this is echoed in the final abstract images.
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Analysis 3: The point of vanishing, 2012-13
12 images, 41.6x61.6 each, arranged in three rows of four
Paper collage, paint, wire, one human
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This work is a collage of photos, wire and the human figure. It is again black and white with
the only colour added in the saturated yellow of the jacket. The sea is drawn with simple
waving lines of paint.
The work is created by attaching photos of a ship, one at a time, to the wall and drawing
lines with wire to the eye of the observer (Rhode or his stand-in). In each collage element
the ship is at a different angle so it appears to be sailing across the wall, then turning to go
back the other way. For each new pasted boat the figure moves, and the wires with him.
My interest in this work is partly the play with the idea of a vanishing point. I have been
playing with this idea with very different results. In this sequence Rhode has moved the
“vanishing point” to the eye of his doppelganger, towards the viewer, whereas my vanishing
points almost stay in the conventional distance. However we are both using the construction
lines from the vanishing point as elements in our work. His construction lines go from the
corners of the pasted paper to the eye of the figure.
The placement of the figure relative to the ship makes it appear that he is dragging the ship
through the sea. However, the ship itself doesn’t change size as it moves across and up the
wall. This has the effect of changing the scale: the boat appears to get larger, while the
figure, at the vanishing point, gets smaller in proportion, and will eventually vanish at
infinity. This playful use of horizons and perspective is intriguing.
Conclusion
These works are interesting and appealing. They provoke some emotional response, but
mostly curiosity in the imaginative use of line, materials and drawing construction, and a
pleasure in their playfulness. The use of street walls and the transience of the work add to
their appeal.
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References
National Gallery of Victoria 2013(i), Wonderful walls and what they mean, video file, viewed
5 September 2013, http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/explore/multimedia/view/?mediaid=596487
National Gallery of Victoria 2013(ii), The Call of Walls, video file, viewed 6 September 2013,
http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/explore/multimedia/view/?mediaid=596488
Finch M 2013, Robin Rhode: The Call of Walls, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Victoria
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