Michael Palmer

I have many artistic inspirations both as an artist and an art lover, one of whom is Walter Sickert (b1860 – d1942). Whilst researching my current MA dissertation I came across many Sickert paintings which closely link in with my work, I wanted to share one.

‘Gaite Montparnasse‘ (1907) (fig.1), which is one of 3 Sickert painted of the interior of this music hall in Paris. ” The construction of each of the Gaite Montparnasse paintings is dominated by Sickert’s delight in portraying the sensuous serpentine curves of it’s upper story demonstrate his pleasure in the decorative ornament of this theatre. Yet, ever perverse, in his handling Sickert seems to contrive to deny the beauty of his subject. The muted muddy colours, the summary execution and above all the oily, lumpy texture of the paint were perhaps an intuitive defence against the risk of producing pictures which were immediately attractive or decorative.” (Baron, w. (1992). Sickert Paintings. Royal Academy of Arts: London. pp190)

As a direct response to our current physical lives ‘Under(cover)’ a mail art exhibition, explores how might art practice be reconfigured through physical isolation? How does the home affect, alter, provoke habitual working methodologies? How might re-appropriated materials, tools, media, objects, situations and images expand the scope of former work?

Continuing the theme from my last post and using packaging materials to paint on I was working with the concepts of ‘outside’ and ‘inside’ being binary opposites or the antithesis of one another and my enforced inability to transition from one to the other. One synthesis of these binaries is the materiality of the brown packaging paper, the paper was used and able to make the transition which eludes me. The parcel was packaged inside another building then posted, travelling hundreds of miles outside, upon delivery came inside once again to me. This material had completed its journey and the use it was intended for,  now to transform into a painting surface for an artist.

The image chosen to was a small stack of books I am currently reading, a Walter Sickert biography, a Saatchi gallery book The Triumph of Painting, the Whitechapel book Painting and a small theory book entitled Theatre and photography. These books were placed on the corner of a bookcase and used as a still life composition. The brown paper was folded horizontally twice to leave a thin middle section reminiscent of a letter box, this was the area in which I used leaving the remainder of the paper bare.

I deliberately applied the paint quickly to avoid being to precious and the result appears loose and not very refined. The next possible step, once dry, which may conclude this work is to re-use the material as packaging paper and post it out.

 

 

Due to the current Corona-virus pandemic that is gripping the world and the enforced closure of universities working and creating art from home is the new normal. Luckily I have all the art materials at hand here so am still able to paint.

One thing that I have been doing more of in this time of isolation is to sketch more and make speculative works which may or may not turn into a resolved work at a later date. One such speculative stroll was to use some ripped and used brown packaging paper to make a view of my living room. Painting onto brown paper is nothing new in the art world but a little unusual for me but I enjoyed the process and the out come.

Continuing the Royal Opera House series I completed the latest 100x100cm painting entitling it ‘Mule Post’ after the post in the immediate foreground of the work. This image of an emptying opera house after the performance shows the interior in a very different light, literally. The grandeur and spectacle of the performance has gone, the special effect lighting and atmosphere reduced to a mere memory, the only remnant was the odour of stale air.

In ‘The Order of Things’ (1966), Michel Foucault advises us that places such as theatres, museums, cinemas etc. are “…Heterotopias of Time”  they exist in time (the building or space) but also exist out of time due to the experience one is receiving or immersed in. We maybe in the 21st century but the mid 19th century performance (La triviata) inside a mid 19th century building with a live unamplified orchestra transports the audience back to the 1850s. On completion of the performance the artifice of the theatre disappears and you are essentially left with a very large empty room albeit a sumptuously decorated one.

As a Postgraduate student I was offered the opportunity to hold a presentation about my current practice to the Foundation art and design class followed by 1/1 tutorials. The presentation consisted of a 20 minute talk about my current thinking and approach to both the process and functionality of painting but also my research methods and how that manifests itself into the work. By explaining to them the importance of practical experimentation together with reading around their chosen subject, finding out what underpins their own interest and practice. Having been a foundation/access student myself I felt I could hopefully demonstrate the importance of these skills and that they will learn from every mistake made and every book read, but probably more importantly to experiment and make mistakes, don’t be afraid to try something even if it doesn’t lead on to what you were expecting, every experience moves them closer to their own methodology and voice.

After the presentation we had a good Q&A session with lots of questions from both young and mature students. Afterwards I was happy to have a few 1/1 tutorials, these consisted of speaking to a variety of students with varying practices, painting, drawing, ceramics and screen printing. For each student I completed a tutorial guidance sheet with advise given and possible research books/artists to look up. Not only did this benefit them but I also found it enlightening for my practice and my own personal development.

FE Presentation 2020

Pechakucha is a Japanese story telling format derived in 2003 where a presenter shows 20 slides for 20 seconds of commentary, the presentation therefore totalling 6 minutes 40 seconds. The main idea of this method is to disseminate as much information as possible but in a very compact and concise fashion, it avoids unnecessary procrastination and gesture.

My Pechakucha presentation to my fellow MA peer group consisted of showing a few inspirational images of isolated figurative painting and photography from artists like Vilhelm Hammershoi Edward Hopper and Todd Hido followed by some of the theory I have been reading including Vilem Flusser, Walter Benjamin and Michel Foucault. This then went on to show some of my own work since 2019 ending with my latest theatre paintings and sources. I felt the presentation was acceptable and the method of approached  worked well, concise and  informative without daunting or confusing the audience.

Pechakucha 2020 MA

‘Contradiction’ is a small MA group show held on 24th February 2020 at UCA Farnham exhibiting the work by 4 artists, Wasim Asghar, Mike Kelly, Meng Zhang and myself. All the ark works exhibited were 2D but encompassed oil or acrylic painting, pen and ink drawing and print.

The title drew influence from the writing of French philosopher Michael Foucault in particular his 1966 book ‘The order of Things’ and his theories and explanations of Heterotopias. The idea of worlds within worlds, places that are somehow ‘other’ or that have more layers of meaning or relationships to other places than immediately meet the eye. These places are ‘contrary’  to what one might expect or presume. The artists were exploring this conflict within their own lives as well as with in their work.

 

Having reached an age where one starts to tick off certain things from a bucket list an opportunity arose to visit the Royal Opera House in London’s Covent Garden to see the Giuseppe Verdi opera ‘La triviata’ (the fallen woman). Being my first opera this would be a great one to start with plus the opera house is such an iconic building I was very excited and full of anticipation. This blog post however is not a critique or expose of the operatic performance, amazing though it was, but how it became a piece of primary research and a source for a forthcoming exhibition being held at the James Hockey gallery in Farnham Surrey in March.

Upon entering the building and absorbing the mix of history and elegance from a bygone era (mid Victorian) to the state of the art 21st century additions and spectacle of walls of glass. Once suitably refreshed at the bar and seated the auditorium took its full affect of me, with a capacity of over 2000 seats the hustle and bustle of people taking their seats the orchestra tuning and the inevitable coughing the anticipation started to rise. I had been taking a few photographs on my phone and one in particular summed up this moment perfectly. A shot from my seat up in the gods looking down through the crowds of people to the stage curtain. The lights went down…

After the performance we waited in our seats for a while talking about the show but also absorbing the post climax sensation, and observing the theatre in a very different light, literally. With empty seats and full house lights blazing the magic and anticipation had vanished, we were sitting in a very large empty room with the remnants of what had just occurred. I again took a few picture’s and we made our exit. On reflection and with an art head on it did remind me of Michel Foucault’s theory of Heterotopia’s, buildings or places that are somehow ‘other’, worlds within worlds where the space or building is often benign but the activities held or performed within are total contrary. A theatre is just such a place. The experience and the photos taken have inspired a small series of works looking at this concept. The first of which is an oil on canvas entitled ‘Violetta’ after the main female character in the opera and is a cropped and edited version of the picture taken just before the performance started.

 

I had very much been looking forward to the William Blake exhibition at Tate when it was first announced and yet due to my MA studies and life in general time was ticking by and I thought I had missed it. However, on the 1st February the penultimate day of the exhibiton, I got my chance and went.

As a Tate member it is a little easier to gain entry (as well as having a nice lunch in the members lounge), and was all set, for the purpose of this blog post I wont go into huge detail but have attached the link to the exhibition. The first 3 rooms which (laid out chronologically) was, if I am honest, far to crowded to appreciate the work properly. The issue with this kind of experience in my opinion is the audio tours, as everyone is directed to the first item and then due to its chronological nature the next and the next there is inevitably a queue and a log jam, hundreds of people shuffling along and in places 3 or 4 people deep. This, for me ruined the experience and I only saw a glimpse of the work. After the 4th room this effect seemed to diminish although still very crowded one could actually see the work. I was very impressed with the curation of the show and in particular the lay out of the separate folio pages from numerous books and plates. The star of the show for me was the painting ‘Ghost of a Flea’ (c1819/20). It was exquisite, smaller than I have imagined and although very dark in palette and tone the gold leaf shone brightly making the image bounce.

Another highlight was seeing an original copy of the epic poem ‘Milton’ (published 1810) which was partially written whilst he satyed in Felpham, West Sussex to which I have a connection, with Blake still known for his lifestyle to this day. The exhibition terminated with the image Blake is probably most famous for ‘Europe’ (1827) which i guess is an alagory of where the UK is today, it is about structure, measuring, weighing things up, divisions and connections and ultimately time. I loved it. michael-palmer.art.blog