Anna King's talk

Today, Anna King came to college and gave us a really nice talk. Siobhan showed me her work last year. At that time I was nor sure about all her empty buildings. When I was doing my visual communication unit this year, I went back to look her work again and I found a lot of interesting things. I enclosed her work as my artists research and I said I like the way she paints, I like the loose bushes and the sketch lines. Today seen a lot of more work which are not on her website. She talked through her work and told us her thought behind the work. I think that is very helpful. After she explained about her work I think I understand them more and can see more from her work.

She emphasised how important discipline is. And I have heard this from other artists' story as well. I think it is a very important but difficult thing to follow. You have to be really strong inside and believe with no doubt about what you are doing.  I think I like her. She looks very soft but I think she is very strong inside! Everybody must have the time of struggling. Somebody give up and somebody continue. Difference and reward will show at some point of your life.

She said she was lucky with her career. But oppertunity only given to people who prepared.

She has an artist's eye. She sees things which we would normally look. She brings the things people ignored right in front of you and shows you the beauty in them. I guess that is maybe one of the reasons she successes.

I was going to ask if she only paint what she see or if she make up things. She said she added on and took off things. So there is a question appeared. We see the beauty about these empty and rustiness in her work,and the colour she used make statement too.  But they might not be like that in the real place. I know she is not copying things and I understand she is transferring a kind of feeling she has about these places.

 With this question,  I looked at her website again just now and found two short videos on bbc website. The video showed very clearly that how a sense transformed to a painting. So now I think she wants to say there are beauty in these empty buildings. Faded colours, rustiness, broken things, are all telling a story. When you are there on your own, you are cut off from the busy world. And she got so much inspiration from them. When you see the real places and then see her paintings, you realised a lot more how her paintings are.

From her talk I think her intention is pure. It is about art , not about commercial. I like her and I like her work.

The Story of Modern Art

Borrowed  this book for don't know how long, finally read it all!  used dictionary a lot! I could not understand everything but I think I have a better understanding about modern art now. I have a better awareness about what had been happening in the morden art world. In the book I had seen a lot of different kinds of art work which made my mind opened more. It shows how artists influenced by each other and how the big invironment influence artists' work. Lots of great art works had been criticised before they became widely accepted and recognised. Artists had been questioning, trying, and looking for new ways to express themselves and this will never be stopped.

There are still a lot work in the book I could not understand. I am still asking "why "and want to know the meaning and the answer. But I guess this will make me keep going and eventually I may get an answer or there is no answer! In the book, it said " some art speak, some art shout, but the best art needs to be questioned a little and listened to a lot." At this stage of my study, I still think a piece of work should have its meanings, it should transfer some information to the viewer if it comes from the artists' heart even though I understand not all art have to be serious. But even if it tells a joke, it still tells something. So how can you say it means nothing ?

Last week we watched a short video about Sara Lucas. When I saw the name on screen I remembered I had seen a picture of one of her work when I did my research on Surrealism. It was an old mattress, bucket and light bulbs etc and it is about sex. I don't think I like it. All the work we saw on the video again very sexual. I don't have a problem with the motif. And I like to see people can think so differently. I like the half body form and showing the sculpture from its back. I guess Sara Luca is very famous in comtemprary art. She must have stronger voice than ordinary people. What is she want to tell from every piece of work in this exhibition? I just think, with such a high recognised social statue you can do more than talking about sex! It is what I think at this point of time anyway.