Saturday, December 8, 2012

Artist Statement


“Alby Mangle”
 an Artist statement by samone anderson
The creation of Alby Mangle is the story of the Royal albatross expressed through my art. It is my way of saying that as a society we need to be more thoughtful of how we dispose and create waste.  As I formed Alby Mangle I felt connected to the albatross and the need for plastics to be recycled in better ways.  I looked at hundreds of photos of live albatross to develop a visual knowledge of their specific features.  I looked at video and film clips created by Chris Jordan of dead marine birds with bellies absolutely choked up with plastic.  This is where the idea for his plastic jewelled belly came from.
The plastic within his belly are items that I collected within under 5 minutes from bottle tops, toothpaste, glue, pen lids, key tags, rubbers, razors, jewellery, pegs and other household items.  When beginning this creation, I pencilled the albatross form.  I sketched from real life photographs to understand elements of his features and how to best portray them. I did this because I am not a natural painter but I had a vision to use canvas and create a piece using a mixture of mediums. It was important for me to show the royal albatross in a simple yet graceful form. His length is about the span of one of the wings of an adult Royal albatross.  Transportation of this piece is another important feature to its design.  Originally the vision was to create him life-like but at 3 1/2 metres I would not have been able to transport Alby Mangle to the exhibition.
The elements used in the design of this piece are canvas, plastics, beads, white modelling clay, acrylic and oil based paints. Alby Mangle is a combination of textures, brush strokes, with thick uneven lines and shading.  To create contrast I used heavy and thick strokes of black paint around the outline of the albatross.  These thick strokes then curve softly around the shape of the birds body and the negative space, giving an illusion of movement. Using only black and canvas on his wings I worked with shading to produce likeness in the feathers and the tips.  For his body and head, I had envisioned using real feathers but then through the process realised that I could create a likeness of feathers by using modelling clay and small curved brush strokes. The focal point of this piece is to highlight the plastics that these massive birds ingest.  The colours of the materials are so vibrant; it is easy to see how plastics are considered to be delicious morsels of food by the Albatross.  My idea was that I wanted to create a discussion involving Chris Jordan and his work on our environmental impact.  Yet at the same time I wanted to create a piece of beauty.  This was in juxtaposition to Chris Jordan’s photographic work of the albatross.  In Midway the photographs of hundreds of dead albatross are confronting and ugly in their reality. The rotting carcass and the masses of plastic leave a bleak feeling in your heart.  For my art piece I wanted to display the essence of how attractive plastics can appear to animals.  I was looking to highlight the colours and the intensity of plastic that these gracious birds mistake for fish, octopus and other marine life.  Imagine just how happy the royal albatross are, as they look at what they believe to be a mass of available food.  This was the feeling I was looking to express.
INFLUENCES:  At the beginning, I was influenced by the concept of using trash and recycled materials to create art.  Then whilst researching I came across environmental artist John Dahlsen who recycles materials that he found littered on beaches to create art pieces.  Finally when I found Chris Jordan’s work and the environmental message he shared through his art, I wanted to join his discussion.  His work inspired me to discuss the issue of the way rubbish is affecting the oceans and all of the animals that live within it.  

Friday, December 7, 2012

Art is never done until its done

As I stared at what I thought was a finalised artwork.  I picked up the black paint and began to outline his wings and body.  I felt as though he did not stand out before and now I was looking to use dark shading and brush strokes to ensure that he stood out.  That he really made a connection.  He really is done now.  When I look at him, I don't see any areas to perfect and it makes me smile every time I show someone his picture and they say, "Oh wow cool. What is that in his belly?" My perfect opening for environmental discussion.  It feels good to know that people will ask question why and what and then they will search for the answer.  So my art has 2 purposes.  It looks good and it has an environmental purpose.

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Ably Mangle is taking form

a zoom out of the plastics I have stuck in Alby Mangle
So close to being done, it has been a long journey of days and hours
Plastics from around the house
So close to be doing, this piece has taken hours and days to complete.  I have finally glued the household plastic over gold metallic paint to create the bejewelled belly.
Alby is done.

Art can be trial and error 2

Attempt 1 - acrylic 
Attempt 2 - modelling clay
After completing Alby Mangle's beak (this is the name that my university friends have given my albatross). I started to paint his head, neck and back of his body with white acrylic.  Using a brush of medium thickness I applied the paint on quite thickly and practised small curved strokes that would appear textured and hopefully feathery.  I was delighted with the outcome.  Imagine my surprise when I left Alby to dry and returned to discover that the acrylic has dried flat and was completely glossy and without texture. It was that exact moment that I remembered discussions in class about creating texture using gesso.  So another trip to the paint shop, but instead of gesso I found white modelling paste that I would use instead as it was the less expensive option. Price becomes a design element when you are at university.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Art is sometimes accidental

Today I stumbled upon a new techniques.  The first was that I did not have colour in acrylic paints, so I decided to mix my oil colours up to produce the skin colour look of the bottom layer of his beak.  After painting, I realised I had used all of the white oil paints and I needed to tint the top beak with more white so that it was lighter and a little softer.  As I looked around my room which is beginning to resemble a garbage dump of its own accord I spotted a large bottle of white acryclic paint and decided to use that to tint my oil colour for the beak.  The effect was very interesting. The oil and acrylic did not mix at all, but the thickness of the oil paint became textured spots of colours through the white acrylic.  As I used this on the canvas I noticed that it created a perfect amount of uneven tint through the top beak which was very much the effect I was looking for.  Trial and error or a complete fluke, it is definitely true that art is a singular creation sometimes well planned and sometimes accidental.

Brush stroke is nothing like pencil work

Several you tube tutorials later, about painting on canvas and after speaking with friends who are good at painting, I began working on smooth flowing brush strokes.  Holding the paint brush in the way that 
we had been shown in class was difficult for the first wing.  I was using the brush as though it was a pencil but this time I worked out how to make the soft flowing effect of wings that I was looking for.  It was all about long soft rhythmic brush strokes.


Monday, November 26, 2012

Art takes time


There is such a talent to being able to create what you envision in your mind onto a piece of canvas.  The creation of my albatross full of plastic began today.   It has taken me 2 hours to complete.  Where I had hoped the lines of my albatross feathers would be clean and detailed they are more furry, soft and rounded.  Clearly I missed the lesson that demonstrated which way to hold a paintbrush to create effect.  I have developed a new found respect for painting in general.  It seems that pencils are my favoured medium....but today I am creating a statement with my art.  Even if the piece only turns out semi-reasonable, the Statement will still be made. We are causing havoc on our environment and need to consider the way we eliminate and create waste.  In less than 3 minutes I have collected 40 pieces of plastic to be put together in the belly of my bird.  What strikes me is how varied the colours are in each of these pieces and how easily in water these items can be mistaken for a food source.

Today is the creation of one albatross wing. I had planned to complete the other but at this rate I think I may just run out of time.