Emma Bridgeman. Art and Ideas.: Autumn Term Document: Research and Ideas.

The artistic structure of this project is primarily to find a way of representing a particular emotion in a way that is discrete, open to interpretation and as non-allegorical as possible. The basis of this project is to produce work that presents the atmosphere of stress or anxiety.

         "A successful picture temporarily ‘condensed’ an emotion that it was the duty of the beholder’s eye to bring to life and develop." -          Delacroix

Painting. (The figure (distress, pose)

the easiest and most direct way to portray a human emotion is through use of the body contorted into different poses of distress. (example)William-Adolphe_Bouguereau_(1825-1905)_-_Dante_And_Virgil_In_Hell_(1850)

(example) Rodin's The gates of Hell- Detail.

The difficult part of this for me will be to hold back my temptation to include surreal allegory within the painting.

The images of figures i have chosen to use as painting reference are of a male and female, supporting their bodies by their hands on bended knee. This pose mirrors the style of Rodin with his collapses figures of the fallen. However what i feel is significant with this pose is the fact that the figures faces are hidden, while they support themselves in this tense and uncomfortable pose, between falling and standing. Having the faces hidden makes the emotive language of this painting more abstract, it also suggests the idea of depersonlisation and lack of idenity. I feel this is significant when expressing an emotion as cleche, sensitive and abstract as anxiety

Installation and performance (ideas)

Within my practice i want to use a variety of different materials to portray ideas. Artwork that interests me are: 1. the technique of traditional materials (painting, sculpture) 2. the sensitive and selective minimal representation (the ready made, distorted mundane objects, found and organic materials)

(example)

Yarisal and Kublitz - Anger Release Machine 2006