Form-finding Series: A New Form

Another addition to the Form-finding Series, a series I began working on back in August 2013. That's quite some time ago, so I feel a recap is warranted here, to give an insight into what Form Finding is about. 

The links below take you to a full explanation and images/video; alternatively, the two paragraphs below give a quick insight:

Blogpost 18/08/2013

I have been working on fine-tuning my technique for creating three-dimensional, air- and light-filled forms straddling ceramics and sculpture, i.e. creating fired clay pieces using ceramicist hand-building techniques whilst holding to sculpture's principles and language of form. I am combining the (Gutai inspired) principles of artist / material interactions with the concept of form finding, i.e. letting the form shape itself; working in partnership with the material, homing in on the properties and behaviour of the material - clay - and so calling form into existence. (See the posts dated 21 and 26 August 2012 and 24 September 2012 for further insight into Gutai).

Blogpost 24/09/2013

An interesting lecture, albeit rather philosophy-based and computer-oriented for the purpose of this post, on the genesis of form (morphogenesis), which relates to the 'Form Finding' post of 18 August and in practical terms to the things I've been working on over the spring and summer months.
With this in mind, most of interest in this lecture are what Delanda says about:
- how form comes about; relevant to art/artists more specifically, from 9.10 minutes on the time line;
- at 11.00 to 14.50, the artist being able recognize that materials have creative powers of their own and entering into partnership with the material; 
- 54.52 and through to 57.00 and beyond, re. phylum and William Latham respectively, generating potential for form differentiation, which happens in my own 'form finding' process - which, unlike Latham, is definitely and very importantly not computer-generated - in that I consciously facilitate and nurture the potential for a form/movement to come about - places of possibilities - because a movement/gesture in sculpture initiates very early on in the body of that movement. 
- (also an interesting ecology-related comment at 1.00.00.)

And a direct link to the YouTube video of the lecture

Delanda on Morphogensis

To read all my blogposts on the Form-finding Series, click on "Form Finding" in the Series/Themes list (top of the page on the right).

So, in short, by harnessing the principle of this form-finding process, sculptural forms come about through sympathetic artist/material interaction. Clay behaves in a certain way, it responds to changes in its immediate environment, and different clays (smooth, grogged, white, black ...) behave in different ways and have their own individual appearance. Form, sculptural movement, the gestures of movement are teased out by what precedes. Sculptural movement initiates very early on in the evolution of the gesture and that nascent movement is further developed over the course of the making process.  

And now for some images of the latest form-finding piece, viewed from different angles and placed in different positions:

 

Simplicity Through Complexity

The main subject of this post is a recently finished sculpture exploring simplicity of form. This latest sculpture is about sculptural form and material: concave, convex, transitions, edges, and texture. I decided from the outset that simplicity was going to be key to the clarity of the intention. Simplicity, I have come to be convinced, is a good principle of expression in abstract form.

I would, however, first like to go back in time for a moment to illustrate the history and the thinking from which this latest clay form ensues. 

In my preliminary musings I found myself reading through some past posts, two of which - dating back to December 2010 - I found very satisfying to rediscover, so much so that I feel I should include a reference to them here.

The first:  

Simplicity Through Complexity (1)

and this passage in particular: 

I love the simplicity, the serenity of this form; it sits there quietly, but there is a huge amount going on; simplicity through complexity. It also has that 'universal' element I've referred to previously, the almost mathematical dimension.

The second:

Simplicity Through Complexity (2)

this passage in particular:

It reminds me of another statement I saw on the dust extractor at a studio space at Fondazione Sem in Pietrasanta. It was the workspace of a sculptor called Armen Agop - http://www.armenagop.com - (do take a look at this website), a fascinating character, both as an artist and as a person, whose work I admire greatly.

He had written this first in Arabic, followed by the English translation:

This was a highly inspirational encounter, both because of him and the surroundings in which he worked and because of this statement. I have had discussions with artists who feel that simplicity equals boring; they need more going on in a sculpture (painting, ...) to keep their interest. I wonder whether they might be missing the point ...


Here are a couple more images of his studio space:

And now on to the main subject of this post:

The reason, I think, for this latest piece to have turned out as it has was my discovery of a new/different clay: a beautiful soft white when raw and a glorious texture to play with, and an equally beautiful, and slightly more luminous, soft white when fired, all of which are good foundations for exploring simplicity. Perfect joy!

So, as I said, this piece is about sculptural form and material: concave, convex, transitions, edges, and texture:

The convex and concave

The transitions from one to the other

the edges

And texture

Have I got it right or have I taken the 'simplicity' quest too far? Food for thought ... 

And just for the joy of reminiscing, this was the piece I was working on at the time of my visit to Fondazione Sem in Pietrasanta, on a stone-carving retreat in the nearby Seravezza; a sculpture entitled "Pietra Santa". Happy memories ...

And, befitting the subject of this post, Inner Room, an alabaster carving I entered in the 2010 Brighton HOUSE Open Exhibition. The theme was "Regeneration"; this was my Artist Statement:  

Inner Room is about the inner space 

within the prolate spheroid -  the egg, symbol of new life -  

and the Möbius,

its continuous edge offering a constant and secure sanctuary: 

enter the calm of your inner room 

to reflect, to contemplate,

to regenerate.

  

Studio Video for #seopenstudios

A short video taken for the #SouthEastOpenStudios #seopenstudios Virtual Event; (the full version is due to follow shortly):

The Latest White-clay Möbius

The latest white-clay Möbius, first shown here, pre-firing. 
I feel, at this stage, not quite done with this form. Not an uncommon feeling for me, that first re-engagement with what has essentially been significantly changed by the intense heat of the kiln firing, from a nurtured, soft, gentle, mellow-grey infant to a pure, radiant white gently assertive form. 

I'm not precisely sure why at present, but this sense of unfinishedness has something to do with how the white clay has fired: there is a lot of clay/ceramic substance here (much more so than with the Form-Finding pieces [click on Form Finding in the Series/Themes menu on the right of the screen], which are more complex forms with more negative spaces) and the surface varies slightly in burnish, leaving an unevenness in radiance.

The form itself works well, the Möbius journey round and in-and-out flows nicely; not as simple, straightforward a journey as the simple Möbius band, but then this is a progression from that; a more sculpturally complex form. 

**Post-Script: click here for the final "Sculpted Landscape" version (April 2021).

Large Black-clay Möbius - Update

The large black-clay Möbius - first introduced here - having received a little TLC and so allowing it to manifest its inherent splendour. The last three images in the earlier introductory Blog post show why some further intervention was required. 

And New Addition to the Form-Finding Series

Returning to the Form-Finding Series with a slightly smaller and more complex variation - 35cmx30cmx24cm. 

Read the introductory, first post on this Series here and the second (part 2) here 
Clicking on Form Finding in the Series/Themes list on the right of the screen shows all the related post.

Straight from the kiln:

And after a little TLC:

Möbius Series Continued (III)

First a short prelude to how this Möbius Series began, just over a year ago, with a "pure", white-clay Möbius band (I love the purity and serenity of white clay). 34cmx27cmx20cm. Further images of this piece here, unfired + short intro. and here, fired:

 The white clay casting beautiful shadows

 And this angle view illustrates ...

 ... the reason for the shape of this shadow.

And then came this; again a very pure, simple Möbius band, with the addition of a widening edge that merges into the saddle plane, i.e. where the concave and the convex meet - the crucial point in a Möbius sculptural form. (Called a saddle plane because it is a similar shape to the top of a saddle, a concave crossing over a convex).  

Edged side: 

Smooth, non-edged side:

And fired (33cmx27cmx12cm)
Edged side:

Smooth, non-edged side: