A Bigger Splash: Painting After Performance

This was an exciting and relevant exhibition held at The Tate Modern, London, November 2012- April 2013. Curated by Catherine Wood (with the assistance of Fiontán Moran); it was done with such clarity, moving from the well-known and obvious to the twisted and more abstract as the rooms progressed. Each piece was accompanied by written information. I found this more helpful than ever, probably because there was insight on both the point of the work, the comment it made, as well as the method. On top of that the context of the artistic styles and pieces was given which in many cases really helped me understand the art and it's purpose.

There was work I recognised, for example Jackson Pollock's "Summertime: Number 9A" , but had never seen the video footage that accompanied it. The documentary style video really helped to enlighten me to the method behind the piece and opened my eyes to the role in which producing these pieces of art took in his life. Watching the video, instead of taking the painting on face value, made me question and become aware of how ritualistic Pollock treated this movement of dripping paint onto the canvases, in almost a rhythmic dance-like fashion. Size was a factor of this piece which also amazed me, having seen photos I would never have expected it to have been on the scale it was. This shock made me connect and react to the painting more.

Kazuo Shiraga

Chizensei-Kouseimao

1960
Photography by: Marina Bussandri

Kazuo Shiraga's work really stopped me in my tracks: the size, the colours, the varying textures and methods. Having never seen anything quite like it before I was immediately intrigued and after reading the background information became even more engaged. Shiraga was a member of The Gutai Art Association, of which many members emphasised the making of the work rather than the finished object. Consequently, the act of painting became a theatrical performance usually undergone for television cameras of a live audience. During the late 1950s Shiraga created a method of painting which encompassed swinging from a rope and painting with his feet. Using feet rather than hands and a brush is an innovative way in which the standards and preconceived visions of painting were challenged. As a result a finished product is produced, with less constraint and control adding liveliness and adventure to the work.

Stuart Brisley was another artist who used their body as an instrument to paint, moving fluidly and acrobatically. The piece exhibited was not what was the final product created, but a series of photos shedding light on the artist's method. The photographs were printed in black and white which I found added to the intrigue as when looking at them you could not quite work out what he was doing where, and made him seem almost one with the paint, he was camouflaged as a part of the method.

Documentation of Anthropometry of the 

Blue Era/ Anthropométries de l'époque bleue

A performance by Yves Klein

1960

Video footage of "Anthropometry of the Blue Era/ anthropométries de l'époque bleue, a performance by Yves Klein, 1960" was also exhibited. An event where he used nude female models as his 'living brushes'. He orchestrated this public event in front of a live audience and also had an orchestra, creating what really was a theatrical performance. The women, directed by Klein, rubbed blue paint on themselves and pressed against a canvas on the floor and the wall. The final outcome was a more controlled and less wild in comparison to Shiraga of Brisley, but this echoes the bodies used to create the work, the female form being more elegant and delicate and the male more robust. Video footage really demonstrated how elegant and poetic the performance was by showing how the women moved rather than just hearing about it or seeing the final piece, this supporting evidence is really important in terms of understanding the methodology Yves Klein used. Follow the link to watch a video about this work of Yves Klein.
http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/bigger-splash-painting-after-performance

Some pieces I was less fond of, for example "Swan Lake", Karen Kilimnik, 1992. I found it was not intriguing to look at, I could not see the 'method in the madness' at all. The exhibition had 13 rooms, I found the beginning incredibly interesting and exciting, by room 7 I had lost interest. However the last room gave me a slight uplift before exiting the exhibition which meant I walked away feeling impressed rather than leaving on a sour note.
 
What I took away from the exhibition was that the experimental process, the method behind the artwork is sometimes just as, if not more, important as the final product. This is something I need to learn to apply to my own work. I am far too conscious about the final looking piece, even if it is just a small sketch, and almost shoot myself in the foot by not letting myself enjoy the experimental process as much. I have seen the importance of trial and error, I must put less emphasis on the aesthetic and be more willing to get messy!

Günter Brus

Self-Painting/ Selbstbemalung (close up)

1964

Viennese Actionism

Günter Brus

Self-Painting/ Selbstbemalung

1964

Viennese Actionism
Photography by: Marina Bussandri