STUDY TEMPLATE
ARTIST OR ART MOVEMENT: JANET LAURENCE
KEY PLAYERS:
DATE (S)
ARTMAKING PRACTICE:
methods;
intentions;
what, why, how they communicate.
Janet Laurence, Australian b. 1949
Installations; sculptur; video work. It’s the installations we focussed on however. These works typically
involve some rehabilitation of a site (that is, making it healthy again) e.g. In the Shadow; Veil of
Trees; Waiting: a medicinal garden for ailing plants; Water Veil. Or else a reference to the ‘Life
world’, that is the world of living things ( Edge of the Trees.)
She uses natural materials – stone; timber; seeds; plants themselves; ash from timber; bones; text.
Glass is also often used, often with a colour stain (Water veil; Synagogue window.)
Interested in getting the audience thinking – there is a conceptual component to her work. So she is
interested in educating the public. There is a message.
Keen to emphasise the fragility of our Life World and how we need to protect it.
She is also interested in beauty. All her works are delicate, play with light and often colour.
She often rehabilitates sites as part of the artwork.
She works with architects in design of buildings. E.g. Water veil in CH2 in Melbourne. So this
artwork was designed to be site specific and to work in with the design of the building.
Her work is an overlap of art; science; architecture; history writing. It’s not always clear which is
which. This is deliberate. She’s not so interested in an obvious art object. She likes to add mystery to
her work.
STUDY TEMPLATE JANET LAURENCE SEPT 19 2013
Moira Kirkwood
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She often uses a veiling technique: with glass; mist; actual netting; actual veil – a protection;
something ;precious underneath, etc. and adds mystery, beauty, interest.
CONCEPTUAL
FRAMEWORK:
The 4 agencies of the artworld, and how they
relate.
Artist / artwork;
Artist / audience;
Artist/world;
Audience / artwork
Artist / audience: interested in making the audience think about the Life World; education.
Artwork/audience:
Artwork often seen out in the world rather than in Gallery.
The Audience interacts with her work with more than simply their eyes.
Their bodies get involved as well.
Often her works are large and involve us walking around things (Edge of the trees; Veil of trees;
Waiting: medicinal garden; In the shadows.) This means time passes while we engage with the work.
Living things operate (live) over time as well. We all operate over time.
We might hear things (voices calling names of places in Indigenous language, in Edge of the trees or
the water of the creek or frogs or small birds/crickets in In the Shadows.)
we might feel mist on our faces;
the heat of the sun coming through the glass veils.
Artist/ artwork:
Involved with memory of a place; archiving or recording what has happened in the past (In the
shadows; edge of the trees; veil of trees.) So this is a kind of history-writing.
With recording; listing; categorising; using groups of things she following in the tradition of the
Conceptual Artists, many of whom used recording, systems; archiving. E.g. Joseph Kosuth definition of
water; On Kawara with his dates; Sol Le Witt with his various wall drawings.
STUDY TEMPLATE JANET LAURENCE SEPT 19 2013
Very passionate about the ideas behind her work.
Works with technical assistants as well as other artists.
Often works with architects when a building or site is being designed. Does a lot of Public installations.
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Artwork/world:
Her artwork is all about her world, and is often actually MADE OF elements of the world, rather than
traditional art materials.
The artwork becomes embedded in the world with permanent installations such as In the Shadows;
Veil of trees. It is changing over time as the plants are growing. They get larger and therefore change
the shape of the artwork.
FRAMES
Structural; Cultural; Subjective; Postmodern
STRUCTURAL;
Influenced by: Conceptual Art (Duchamp – what is art?); challenging of the art object e.g. Sol LeWitt
with his wall drawings; Joseph Kosuth with his definitions of water; Land art by Smithson; De Maria;
Christo & Jeanne Claude; ephemeral installations by Goldsworthy; Gormley (ideas about ourselves
being in out in Nature, e.g. ‘Inside Australia’; Waste man.
Symbols in work?
Text e.g. measuring wands in In the Shadows; chemical names of waste products in Waterveil; excerpts
of poetry in Veil of trees.
Symbolism of burial poles with Edge of the Trees.
Art
Use of ‘hospital’ appearance with ‘Waiting: a medicinal garden’ – colour; layout; positioning of plants;
use of equipment like science lab or hospital.
Materials: She uses natural materials – stone; timber; seeds; plants themselves; ash from timber;
bones; text. Glass is also often used, which can be seen through or reflect the world back; or used as a
veil with transparencies – partially seen.
SUBJECTIVE:
Likes to deal with memories of a place (which is the history of the place, or the people) . Because often
STUDY TEMPLATE JANET LAURENCE SEPT 19 2013
Moira Kirkwood
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there is a memory of destruction; or of violence or death, there is often some sort of sadness or
melancholy in her work (Edge of the Trees; Veil of Trees; Waiting: a medicinal garden.)
Also a fragility and beauty which has a sort of spiritual feeling to it. Makes you realise the precious
nature of the earth.
CULTURAL
Ecological concerns are a current issue for this time and especially in Western countries, who are
becoming aware of the impact they have on the planet.
Work such as Edge of the Trees collaborates with an indigenous artist because some of the issues of
the work are indigenous concerns.
Work often created as part of a public art commission, that is art funded publically designed for the
community.
POSTMODERN:
She blurs the boundaries between art and environment (are the trees she has planted actually part of
the artwork?); and also between art/science / architecture/history
Uses non traditional materials, i.e. actual plants; things that would be in the environment naturally (or
used to be);
Her use of indigenous words; voices and concerns in Edge of the Trees is acknowledging that there are
other voices apart from white ones. A previously ignored or repressed people, i.e. indigenous people,
are being heard in this work.
STUDY TEMPLATE JANET LAURENCE SEPT 19 2013
Moira Kirkwood
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STUDY TEMPLATE JANET LAURENCE SEPT 19 2013
Moira Kirkwood
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STUDY TEMPLATE JANET LAURENCE SEPT 19 2013
Moira Kirkwood
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STUDY TEMPLATE JANET LAURENCE SEPT 19 2013
Moira Kirkwood
Version number 1
Disclaimer: Printed copies of this document are regarded as uncontrolled. Please check http://sitwww.tafensw.edu.au/ to ensure this is the latest version
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