Ed Ruscha.

Within my practice I am currently engaging in text. Alongside Richard Long and his textpieces, Ellie Harrison and her blog; I am also inspired by the work of Ed Ruscha. I like the piece above of Ruscha's as it's quite a poetic statement. Below is a photograph of some experimentation with text.

I created a sunset on a piece of cardboard with oil paints, as it is what I have currently been exploring. To then add text to this piece, I used metal stamps and ink to engrave with. Although the ink isn't abrupt, I like how it has merely left indents within the paint.

This is a quick video of an interview with the man himself.

http://youtu.be/LEvG4d_VkDI

First draft introduction for my contextual review.

Has Theodore's mental health been influenced by his relationships within his family?

Theodore Garman was a troubled person, who suffered from the mental illness of Schizophrenia. I was greatly influenced by his inscriptions within textbooks, as they were dark, sinister yet intelligent. I will be looking at the relationships Theodore had with his close ones, especially his father, Jacob Epstein, the inscriptions he made in textbooks, the letters he wrote to his mother whilst he was in Italy and the mental suffering he endured. This will allow me to further understand if his mental health was influenced by family relationships.

Three ideas to further my research.

These are the three main ideas that I will be thoroughly researching, in Monday's library session.
1) The relationships of Jacob Epstein's with his children. This is relevant in my research as I'll be able to see the difference in his relationships among his children.
2) The relationships of Theodore Garman's. I want to further my knowledge on his lack of relationship with his father, yet his love and commitment towards other family members, especially his mother.
3) The meanings behind the words of a schizophrenic. I want to try and understand the ideas, thoughts and mind of someone suffering from a mental illness, as it may allow me to analysis some of Theodore's inscriptions.

Two interesting videos from Bob and Roberta Smith

The Life of The Mind.

This following link is an interview with Bob and Roberta Smith about his exhibition in The New Art Gallery Walsall. It touches on relationships and mental health.
http://youtu.be/gydYveqUE0Q

This following link is a short film on how Bob and Roberta Smith produced 'Theodore; the sculpture of his son that Jacob Epstein never made.' I find it relevant as he is exploring the relationship between Epstein and Theodore.
http://youtu.be/JN1PpKdb_ew

A bit about Schizophrenia for my contextual review

Schizophrenia is a long term mental health condition. It causes; hallucinations, delusions, muddled thoughts and changes. It is a psychotic illness which has no apparent cause, yet scientists believe it's caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. It is one of the most common mental health conditions and affects 5 in 1000 people. There's no pattern within gender, therefore it is equally diagnosed in men and women. There are many misconceptions of schizophrenia. Schizophrenics are believed to have split or dual personalities, however research shows that they actually only experience dysfunctional and disorder. They are also thought to be violent people, which isn't any more so than usual. There's a link within the illness that has been exaggerated.  Those suffering schizophrenia can't tell their own intense thoughts, ideas, perceptions and imaginings from reality.
Initial data found from http://www.mind.org.uk/

High intelligence and creativity accompany mental disorders; schizophrenics can produce unique works of art, that are highly worshipped. Some artwork produced by schizophrenics can appear emotionally distant and intellectual. Adolf Wolfe and Heinrich Auton Muller are among the many schizophrenic artists that created works of art within mental instituions. Their work involves a great use of bold, bright colours which appears popular through artists affected by mental illnesses. A lot of works are also very busy and have several components, which is similiar to my study, Theodore Garman. Van Gogh and Paul Gosch are also a good example.
Initial data from http://www.tree.com/

A funny thought due to Judith Cowan.

Last weeks visiting artist was Judith Cowan. I liked what interested and influenced her into producing art, however the main idea that I enjoyed the most was the capturing of a conversation she had with a taxi driver. This came to my mind again last night, as I had a comical taxi driver who stated "Everyone has to appreciate boobs, I mean I love 'em!" Thankfully I was in a taxi with 5 others and we were in the middle of a conversation about boobs in films, but this really made me laugh and made me think how taxi drivers engage in many strange conversations daily.

A few photographs on the subject of Anorexia.

Here are some photographs of a friend of mine. I wanted some typical, raw, snapshot images of the body to suggest the illness that is anorexia. Some of these are emphasised, in order to capture a successful image. I photographed areas that to me are the most effective on a human body, due to the obvious structure of the skeleton.