Art & Social Commentary

I am for an art that is political-erotical-mystical, that does something other than sit on it's ass in a museum.

Claes Oldenburg

I clearly remember the moment when I realised that art could be political. I always knew it was personal. I painted in that way. I used art as a way to express myself. My paintings were generally abstract and full of movement and colour and I could use the process of painting to deal with something, disregarding the outcome. When I went to work in community development I found myself using art in a social way. It was a tool I used when working in groups. I found it opened people up and could tackle issues with such ease and so effectively. When I went to college to study community art it blew my mind to realise the potential that art had for bigger issues.

It seems so obvious now, probably the first cave paintings were pro-democracy messages. Even crafts like quilting were used by women to highlight the need for equal rights. Advertisers, more than likely, stole their trade from artists with a social conscience. Today I know very few artists who use art to share a message. I don't know if this is because I am not that aware of them and have my head in the clouds or because art isn't been used that much for purposes outside the gallery. It is such a shame that art is so hidden in galleries.

I rarely work with others artists. Most of my work is with people who never use or view art. I try to emphasise creativity over 'art' as it has become such a scary word and has connotations of high values and intellect. And who wants to associate with 'high values' or 'intellect'? I am going on a search for artwork that speaks value. Art that offers a social critique or a political message (political is also a word that has lost the run of itself, running far away from everyday people, which is where it squarely belongs).

I came across a Chinese artist awhile ago, called Ai Weiwei, who had an exhibition in the Tate Modern in London. His work was called 'Sunflower Seeds'.It was more then one hundred million individually made and hand painted porcelain seeds. Visitors were encouraged to walk over, touch and experience the seeds. It was in an attempt for people to contemplate mass consumption among other things. It was refreshing to see this and realise that artists doing this work are being recognised.

Above is the first image I ever did that was related to my view on society. The drawing is of a magpie dropping the central bank (Irish building) into his nest alongside a ring.  The bank  was to represent what was going on in Ireland at that time, cheap money available to anyone, and the ring was representing what we were doing with the money, buying 'bling'. I wanted to show the insignificance of it all with the predominance of nature.  As a society we value cash and status more than nature, yet nature really has more power over us than we think.

Let me know if you find any artists using their art for more than just sitting "on it's ass in a museum".

www.aiweiwei.com

www.tate.org.uk

My Womb

I am currently six and a half months pregnant and it has got me thinking about the whole process of creation. Art work or any creative project has the same process as the creative process of nature, e.g. babies. First there is the idea (conception), then the actual making or growing (gestation) and finally the birth. However I think the process for babies can be simpler.

Creating babies has a clearly defined beginning, middle and end.  I am not negating the complexity and joy of bringing a baby into the world but I just find some creative projects just so damn hard to give birth to.  And with art projects I am often unclear of what I am trying to do until it is done. 

Above is a painting I did during my last pregnancy.  It is part of a series and related to the embroidery I showed last week.  The project is called 'My Head, My Heart, My Womb'.  It is based on my hospital stay in antenatal care during my last pregnancy. The paintings and ideas behind it were used as a brief or a starting point for work I do each week with women in maternal care in the Maternity Hospital. 

The idea came to me with such ease, the paintings painted themselves and I was offered the job to work with these women with open arms.  I have spent nine months (coincidence) working with pregnant women, most have never painted before, producing beautiful images relating to there pregnancy and how they are feeling at the time. All of them are in hospital because of complications, some more serious then others.

During this time so many ideas of exhibitions and books were discussed and promised and all fell through.  I collected all the images, many of the stories and evaluated some of the women's response to the project.  However it hasn't been birthed. I don't know where to go now or what to do. I don't want to lose all this valuable work. 

So often projects, paintings, novels get lost in the womb. Perpetual gestation. So what is it about growing babies that I can learn from to bring this project somewhere? First, everyone is clear what you get at the end. Second, there is labour before the birth, and there is no avoiding that part.Thirdly, you have prepared yourself for the nine months of what is to come and allowed for space in your life to accept it. I think I will sit with these ideas of what exactly do I want and what sort of work is needed to achieve that. In the meantime I will start sharing some of those images and stories so they don't get lost in my womb, with the real baby.

New Journey

This is my first blog ever, I have only just began the journey into blog world and by stumbling across other sites realised how useful they are.  I work for myself as a community artist and always wanted an outlet for my work to be shown to others.  My philosophy in life & work is that we are all artists, we often just need the encouragement, support or inspiration to bring creativity into our life.  Often the journey is about trust and confidence in your own in abilities and sometimes it is more about finding motivation or space to create. I hope to offer readers some inspiration and nurture their own confidence by showing what I do and what the wonderful artists I work with do.

Enjoy