The Chair

Before this course i had no knowledge of art history and really didn't get modern art at all, but i now have a real appreciation for the concepts and thinking behind the work that is in galleries. I am drawn to bizarre exhibits that don't make any sense until you hear the story behind the idea.

Tracey Enim the Bed 1998

Marcel Duchamp Bicycle Wheel 1913

Fountain 1917

Joseph Beuys Fat Chair 1964

I found this chair in an antiques market in Manchester and thought it was perfect for this project. Because i had been reminiscing about my childhood the fact that it was child's high chair fitted the bill, and i immediately saw it as restrictive because a child is restrained in a high chair with reins,( similar to the restraints forced on me as a child by my religion!)

I decided to paint the chair white to signify purity and saintliness but i also wanted it to have a grubby/ stained appearance with reference to the Church's darker side. My mum who attended a convent school had remembered a prayer that she had been made to receipt in class and she found a copy of it online for me :

Its called Act Of Reporation and is a hideous hate prayer , i wanted to include this text in the piece along with an image of 'gentle' Jesus and one of my own favourite lines " is that what Jesus would do" .I found it amazing as a child that the church congregation ( mainly elderly women) chanted prayers out parrot fashion with no thought as to what they were actually saying! I used plastic Rosary beads to create the reins for my high chair and placed a lamp above the chair to represent the light of the world ,and to put Catholicism under the spot light!

image of finished piece to follow!

Roman Catholic icons

I was brought up as a Catholic and attended Catholic school so religious images and symbols were always in view . I no longer practise this faith but i still have a love of the imagery , the campness , sugary colours and the surreal qualities fascinate me , its all so kitsch and as a child it had a massive impact on me !

As a mature student i have found that this course is becoming a journey of self discovery, i no longer see it as career based but more as an opportunity for me to figure stuff out. I want this project to be thought provoking and interesting so I'm using religion as a vehicle to make my point.Catholicism has many flaws in my opinion and it is only just starting to be held accountable for all its wrong doings. It is fundamentally a tool to control peoples behavior through guilt and fear and we need to ask questions regarding the behaviour of the Catholic hierarchy!!!!!!!!!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/gallery/2009/jun/09/spanish-art-national-gallery-exhibition?picture=348593276

self directed brief

Child of the 70s

For this brief i wanted to look at influences from my childhood , i think we all get nostalgic as we get older and being a visual person a lot of the images from the 1970s have impacted on my work. It was a decade of vivid colours and wacky designs .We only had 3 TV channels so the programmes were limited but some of the children's shows were truly a sight to behold!