Appendix 2: Examples of Writing for Research
The extracts below provide brief examples of the writing that has supported my research activity.
‹ Research
‹ Research
Journal Extract, Wk.36 (29/06-03/07/20): 'Interpreting Cézanne'
...following a more developed discussion, of which the section on Taine's theories is a part, Smith presents the same overall conclusion, that the artwork has to stand on its own two feet: 'An account of Cézanne's optic and logic goes a long way towards explaining his paintings, but in the final analysis there remains features of his work that neither explains. This is because the satisfying effect of the painting on the artist in his role as spectator often has the last word in its appearance - whatever the artist as agent told himself he was doing' (Smith: 63).
Cézanne's paintings are not in the least diminished by being tied to Taine's eclipsed theories and, by the same token, mine are not in the least enhanced by any claim to tie them to Merleau-Ponty.
More...
‹ Research
...following a more developed discussion, of which the section on Taine's theories is a part, Smith presents the same overall conclusion, that the artwork has to stand on its own two feet: 'An account of Cézanne's optic and logic goes a long way towards explaining his paintings, but in the final analysis there remains features of his work that neither explains. This is because the satisfying effect of the painting on the artist in his role as spectator often has the last word in its appearance - whatever the artist as agent told himself he was doing' (Smith: 63).
Cézanne's paintings are not in the least diminished by being tied to Taine's eclipsed theories and, by the same token, mine are not in the least enhanced by any claim to tie them to Merleau-Ponty.
More...
‹ Research
Journal Extract, Wk.37 (06-10/07/20): 'Claude (2)'
When reading about Poussin, and seeing his paintings compared with those of Claude, I thought initially that I liked the look of Claude's work better, but then, to quote one of Grayson Perry's pots, I looked at it. If Claude was painting now I think I'd probably say that he'd found his lucrative groove and was stuck in it. The passage of time needn't modify that dismissive assessment, though it's unkind and ungenerous. That Claude stopped drawing from nature later on in life, as if he'd finished with that inconvenience, hints at this: he knew how to construct a good painting and just got on with it...
But his figures are undeniably stiff and awkward, sometimes out of all proportion to real humans, and - most of all - ridiculously tiny, lost in their overblown worlds. It's all deeply impressive, but also more than a little silly.
More...
‹ Research
When reading about Poussin, and seeing his paintings compared with those of Claude, I thought initially that I liked the look of Claude's work better, but then, to quote one of Grayson Perry's pots, I looked at it. If Claude was painting now I think I'd probably say that he'd found his lucrative groove and was stuck in it. The passage of time needn't modify that dismissive assessment, though it's unkind and ungenerous. That Claude stopped drawing from nature later on in life, as if he'd finished with that inconvenience, hints at this: he knew how to construct a good painting and just got on with it...
But his figures are undeniably stiff and awkward, sometimes out of all proportion to real humans, and - most of all - ridiculously tiny, lost in their overblown worlds. It's all deeply impressive, but also more than a little silly.
More...
‹ Research
Journal Extract, Wk.39 (20-24/07/20): 'Per Kirkeby'
I was originally drawn to Kirkeby's landscapes as possible inspiration, because I was attracted to the idea of abstracting from a landscape motif and he appeared to be doing this. It is notionally the case, but only in a distanced way since none of the landscape-type paintings are in the least representative of a particular scene...
Finally... a comment... about Kirkeby's use of paintings in series (such as the 'Forest-Variation' pictures): 'inherent in the notion of the series is a certain sense of scepticism towards a single definitive answer in response to a particular painterly question. Rather, the answer is presumed to be in the variation on a theme.' (Borchardt-Hume, 2009: 24). Which thought is the justification for my current muddle of imagery, but which might guide me further...
More...
‹ Research
I was originally drawn to Kirkeby's landscapes as possible inspiration, because I was attracted to the idea of abstracting from a landscape motif and he appeared to be doing this. It is notionally the case, but only in a distanced way since none of the landscape-type paintings are in the least representative of a particular scene...
Finally... a comment... about Kirkeby's use of paintings in series (such as the 'Forest-Variation' pictures): 'inherent in the notion of the series is a certain sense of scepticism towards a single definitive answer in response to a particular painterly question. Rather, the answer is presumed to be in the variation on a theme.' (Borchardt-Hume, 2009: 24). Which thought is the justification for my current muddle of imagery, but which might guide me further...
More...
‹ Research