visual art 30
Hauntology & Ed Pien
Welcome to the first project in Visual Art 30! One of my favorites, we're going to work in acrylic ink and be inspired by the work of a Canadian artist, Ed Pien (and friends). Before we do anything else though, take a look at this project by Vanessa Knox, a grade 12 student in 2020.
Acrylic & India Ink, Vanessa Knox, 2020
In this piece Vanessa worked freely, without working in a lot of pencil first and then painting in. You want to spend time with this piece, working in an area with the ink and then sitting back and thinking about additions or adjustments while the ink dries. The idea is to emulate Ed Pien's art making, which includes thousands of drawings done in permanent media. Sometimes it is important to go with whatever marks appear. As Bob Ross often says, "There are no mistakes, just happy accidents."
The purpose of this project is to work completely from your own inspiration and psychology. You will be asked to think about what scares you, things you find creepy, images from bad dreams you might have. In a Canadian Art magazine article from 2007 the work of Ed Pien is described as "Hauntology", and i find that a fitting term for the work we will do for this first project: you are asked to draw things that haunt you.
Take a look through the slideshow below to get a sense of what inspired Ed Pien's work.
The first few images in the slideshow above are collaborative works between Ed Pien and several other artists. They would each start a piece using a variety of ink and paint based media, sometimes stencils were cut out, pens, etc. Then they would send the partially completed piece on to another artist, who would add ideas of their own. They would continue to share the piece until it was deemed to be complete.
The slides above also show you some of the artwork that inspired Ed Pien, artists such as Hieronymus Bosch (if you've never seen Bosch's work, click the link or google him to check it out. Incredible (and disturbing!) stuff). Pien was also inspired by hell scrolls, whiiiiiiich, you can look up if you like, but also, disturbing... I will share some other aspects of Pien's life that are huge influences on his when we next have a Google meet, or are together in class. Suffice it to say, this first project is a look at a darker side of art making. Welcome to grade 12!
Another excellent Canadian artist that works in a very immediate, improvised style is Leesa Streifler. A long time professor at the University of Regina (full disclosure, I was lucky enough to have Leesa teach me when i was taking my BFA and the U of R), Streifler is a dedicated feminist and her work often deals with body image, femininity, female representations, and challenging the stereotypes that seem to follow women from all walks of life. A very personal artist, Streifler does not shy away from using her own lived experience as subject matter for her artwork. Click her name above to check out her Dunlop Art Gallery show from 2024. And look at the piece below - pay attention especially to the mark making and immediacy of the work.
Exercise #1
To give you a chance to get started on this project, we'll do a couple exercises, both inspired by Ed Pien. The first is possible if we are working in class, or if you have a friend or family member you can share materials with. Start by choosing a permanent medium (pen, marker, sharpie, ink, etc.). Don't use paint for this exercise, you want something you can get some immediacy from - direct marks that will stay put quickly on the page. Once you've got one or two permanent media at hand, start doodling anything, any size, and colour, whatever. Think about rendering things that scare or haunt you. Scared of spiders? Put down the creepiest spider you can create. You will have just a couple minutes to render your first image, so don't spend too much time thinking. Picture your fear and draw it, quickly and with some gestural feeling. Once a couple minutes have past (don't worry about incomplete images) you're going to pass your paper over to the next person, who will now add their own ideas or even work onto or within the work you've put down. we will pass the image five time, with you being the fifth person to work on what was your original piece. Fun!
Exercise #2
The second exercise will be pretty straightforward. I will give you the acrylic inks (we didn't use these for the first exercise because they are expensive), and India ink with nibs as you've used in previous grades. I will also give you a small, 6"x9" piece of watercolour paper. Experiment with using the inks on wet or dry paper, adding water once the ink has dried slightly, using a spray bottle on wet inks, and a variety of other ways to use acrylic inks. Watercolour techniques work great. You can mix the colours when they are wet, but once the colours dry they do not re-wet well (depending on the brand - Liquitex inks usually stay completely permanent, whereas Windsor and Newton inks will re-hydrate and bleed even when they've been dry for hours or days). Some of the inks will be opaque, and others will be transparent. Check the bottle label to see which way each particular ink trends.
Don't worry about making anything in particular for this second exercise, and if you need more scrap paper let me know. Just get comfortable with the ink effects and colours.
Assignment
Once both exercises are complete you are ready for your project. I'll give you a piece of heavy watercolour paper (art teachers: don't skimp on this - buy the heaviest, best-quality watercolour paper your program can afford) which is your one and only paper you will get for this project. Remember, we want to use all the marks we put on the paper, even accidental drips, runs or bleeds. Many of the acrylic inks are opaque so you can layer colours while allowing dry time in between. The theme is your personal hauntology, so jump right in and render all the things that scare you. Have fun!
Below are several student examples. All are acrylic ink and India ink on 18"x24" watercolour paper.
Personal History Project
Where are you from? I mean, where is your family from? Do you know? You should definitely find out! In this project you're asked to talk to your family and see what your roots are. Probably several different cultures have come together to create and shape you. Look at those cultures - their religion, architecture, artists from that country or region, myths or legends that you find interesting, etc. What is the landscape like there? What makes that place famous? Using the images, stories, and ideas you find in your research, you are asked to create a piece that ties you to your past. Here are some examples - all of the following images are made with conte on 18"x24" white paper.
Mixed Media Project
A great project for home - just as the title indicates, you are going to mix a variety of media to make an original, unique project. Any medium is a good choice to include, from old magazines to paint, graphite, markers, string, cardboard - anything works. You must include at least three different media in this project.
You have likely been spending a lot of time at home. You might think about representing "home" and what that means to you with this piece. Alternatively, maybe this is a good time to focus on being anywhere BUT home - what does that look like to you? Check out the piece below by Abby Buckley, a mixed media artwork by a grade 12 student made in 2018.
Abby Buckley, 2018. Mixed media including magazine cut-outs, acrylic paint, India ink, watercolour, & marker
How is this piece about a location? How has the artist used aspects of fantasy to create an impossible but appealing landscape? Do you think this piece might have something to say about the environment, or global warming?
This piece started with Abby finding the butterflies and hippo in a National Geographic magazine. She created the center column and building with watercolour, which she later cut out and used the technique of découpage to glue the image onto her painted acrylic base. The vivid background was created in acrylic paint, and we used clear Liquitex acrylic medium to glue everything down. Last she went over the whole piece with a marker to add the black contour lines and other details.
You will be provided with old magazines - or if you have your own, great! - and you'll start this project a little differently than we usually do. Instead of starting with sketches or a theme, I'd like you to think instead about gathering inspiration from the magazines. Look at the ads, or the images. Does anything come to mind? Could you challenge the idea the ad is presenting? Use images in a strange and new way? Let what you find guide your decision-making.
Look at the pieces below, all of which were created using mixed media on 18"x24" paper.
If you are interested in looking at professional artists who work in this style check out Richard Hamilton, Eduardo Paolozzi, Deborah Roberts, or Martha Rosler.
The Moose Jaw Project
So far in grade 12 we've spent a lot of time thinking about self. For this project, we're going to think about place. Where are you from? What does it mean to be from a place? How does the city or town you grow up in make you who you are? All of these questions are important to think about as an artist. Even thinking about how your environment informs your opinion or your relationship to being in a place. Walking around downtown Vancouver versus walking around downtown Moose Jaw creates a very different experience - or does it? What makes it different?
If you were asked to take one photograph of the place you live and show it to someone from a different country so you could show them "where you grew up", what picture would you choose? Why? Answering these questions is your first step in creating an image about place.
Consider the paining below by the British artist Peter Doig.
From the series 100 Years Ago, 2000-2001
How do you feel about this piece? Does the artwork give you a sense of place? Doig would argue that this is not actually about place - or about anything in particular - but it certainly does seem to lend a sense of place to the viewer. (Also note how the figure gazes back at the viewer in an almost challenging way - so interesting!)
What about this painting by the Canadian painter Frederick Varley.
Night Ferry, FH Varley, 1937
This piece is much more about the place - if you've taken the ferry that runs between Victoria and Vancouver at night (and if you haven't add it to your list of things to do!) you'll recognize the play of light and colour. Varley presents the experience and more importantly the location in a visually interesting way. Certainly the Varley painting is much more about place, but both paintings give the viewer a distinct sense of a specific location.
Below is a painting by the German artist George Grosz. Now first of all Grosz didn't have the greatest opinion of people just in general, and you may notice a bit of that in the image. Grosz painted this work during 1916-17. He is rendering a merging between Berlin and New York here, two cities which at that time were embroiled in WWI. How does Grosz present two of the most famous cities in the world? What feeling do you get from the painting? How do you think Grosz feels about Berlin at this time? How does he feel about the war?
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George Grosz, Metrolpolis (Berlin), 1916-1917
Naomi Okubo, Rococo Room, 2017
We are going to work with acrylic paint for this project. Your exercise is to create a replica of the Doig painting above, while adding your own specific twist to the figure in the canoe. Once you've brushed up on your acrylic paint mixing and brush work with the exercise, you can start your project. We are going to paint on 18"x24" gessoed paper. Check out the student examples below!
Charcoal on Paper
Ah charcoal. So dark. So messy. Nothing captures the dramatic effect of light like charcoal does. We used charcoal in grade 10 when we added it on top of markers. We used it again in grade 11 when we made art nouveau inspired pieces that were decorated with acrylic paint, oil pastels, and metallics. This time we're just using charcoal. If i have some tinted or coloured paper around we might use the charcoal on that, or we might just use it on white paper. I would suggest planning a little study of your idea on paper first, using only charcoal, then go in with confidence and execute your drawing on your "good" paper. It won't take you long - charcoal is finicky but gives instant results. Check out this interview with Damian Goidich - he makes a ton of good points and suggestions about working with charcoal. Heck here's some of his drawings for some inspiration:
If Goidich isn't your favorite artist in charcoal, check out this website for so many more options. If you did read the interview with Goidich he mentions one of my favorite artists - Käthe Kollwitz. Tragically much of Kollwitz's work was destroyed during WWII when her studio was bombed in 1943. What remains cements her as one of the greatest artists of the poor. Her touching images of people suffering are some of the greatest artworks ever created. Check this one out...
Battlefield, 1905. Käthe Kollwitz
Whew powerful stuff. My advice to you is the same as when we talk about drawing with graphite - find the light.
Representing Self (as a grade 12)
This project is all about you. Remember in grade 9 when I made you draw a picture of yourself in pencil? At that time we were concerned mostly with capturing - in a realistic way (semi-realistic for some of you...) - your likeness. And we learned how to draw with pencil. But in grade 12 now I want you to take everything you've learned throughout all your art classes, all your personal experiences, and come up with a way to represent yourself. That might mean you draw yourself again. It might mean you represent yourself in a different medium. Maybe you use photography and cut-outs. Maybe you represent yourself in a place, or with something or someone that is representative of who you are, rather than just what you look like. Check out Zachari Logan's website for example. Notice how he represents himself and others using objects from the natural world, and twines them together. Or the work of Thelma Pepper. Or Iris Hauser. How do these artists represent themselves and the people around them to create a sense of the whole person, not just their likeness?
Here are a few student examples from past years to get you started. All of the following are done in a range of media, from acrylic paint to India Ink, acrylic inks and even plain old Sharpies (the most overrated of the media in my classroom. Down with Sharpies!). All are on 18"x24" paper, and all are grade 12 pieces.
