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WEEK7: 12/8/2020

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WEEK7: 10/8/2020

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WEEK6: 4/8/2020

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WEEK6: 3/8/2020

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The books and articles need to   be read

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The books and articles need to   be read

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WEEK6: 3/8/2020
1. Berger, J. (2003) Ways of seeing. London: Penguin.
2. Edwards, B. (2012) Drawing on the right side of the brain (4th edn.). London: Penguin.

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WEEK6: 3/8/2020

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A solitary figure resting its head between tightly wound arms, clasping bent knees and shoulders. Toes curled inwards. As lockdown continues in the UK, British sculptor Sir Antony Gormley, like many artists, is documenting life during the coronavirus pandemic.
"I wanted to make this self-contained body, looking at itself, at the resource that one has within oneself," Gormley, whose work often explores the human body's relationship to space, told BBC News.

"A whole body a bit like a clenched fist, internal and attending to within."

The sculpture - Hold - is a small folded figure in dark clay, made during lockdown and shared online via London's White Cube gallery.

"I suppose that, for me, was trying to make an objective equivalent for the state that we're all in," the artist, best known for creating large-scale sculptures such as the Angel of the North, in Tyne and Wear, said.

"Most of us live our lives in ridiculous obligation to a machine that... is always telling us to do more, have more, go to more places, make more money.

"This is a wonderful time in which those imperatives are loosened.

"And we have to ask ourselves: What do we care about? What do we value? What do we love?"

The Covid-19 outbreak has seen sweeping changes across the art world, as galleries have been forced to close their doors to visitors and the cultural calendar of exhibitions and talks has dissipated.

But artists have been swift to adapt to the situation, finding new ways to share work with their audiences online.

Last week, street artist Banksy posted images of his latest work on Instagram - a series of his signature stencilled rats causing mayhem in his bathroom during the lockdown.

And David Hockney opted to share 10 of his most recent works on iPad, from isolation in Normandy.

Damien Hirst, meanwhile, created rainbow art featuring coloured butterfly wings, one his best-known motifs, that can be downloaded and put in windows in tribute to NHS workers.

Earlier this month, Gormley joined other artists, including Tracey Emin and most recently Sarah Morris, in contributing to a new series of online artist diaries, hosted on White Cube's Instagram account.

"Artists are used to great stretches of time spent working alone, and I think to allow the wider audience to glimpse into their world can be quite uplifting," said the gallery's artistic director Susan May.

Gormley - who usually works in two busy studios in London and Northumberland - felt it was important to represent the "quieter, smaller" aspects of life in his diary, which have come to the fore during the crisis.

"The shelling of peas, the darning of socks, the sort of thing my mum used to do sitting and watching the television... knitting," he explained.

Speaking from his home and workspace in rural Norfolk, the artist noted how he was surrounded by his wife, artist Vicken Parsons, making a hat for their son, Ivo, and daughter, Paloma, seated at the table making a dress for her niece.

The sculptor's seven daily posts also document his first six handmade plates, a progression from the bowls he has been producing since taking an evening pottery course four years ago, alongside the process of making glazes and mending some of his older works.

He has also been experimenting with clay, saying it was an ideal time to play with the material "at a scale more or less on the kitchen table".

"This is a wonderful time because it means that everybody is living the life of an artist, which is essentially making up your day as you want," he said.

"And doing things for yourself or things that seem the right thing to do for you."

There has been a surge of new schemes launched by artists urging people to make art at home and share their lockdown creations online.

Comedian and artist Noel Fielding has started a virtual online art club, with recent themes including "Things we love about Italy", and is sharing his own drawings for inspiration.

Isolation Art School on Instagram has amassed more than 28,000 followers since it was created in March - with children and adults alike enjoying projects, lessons and tips for best using time in isolation by a fleet of artists.

Among its tutors is Henry Ward, who told how to create "kitchen table" sculptures, inspired by his own works made from found objects.

"In many ways I was ready for the lockdown," the artist, from Peckham, in south London, explained, outlining that much of his practice centres around domestic spaces.

Ward maintains a studio for larger works, but has taken isolation as an opportunity for sustained work on a series of paintings made in his garden shed - with "fruitful" results.

"I think things [in the paintings] are becoming looser and more open, perhaps in odd contrast to our reality of being enclosed and isolated," he said.

Meanwhile, artists from all sectors of the industry are continuing to make and sell work despite the ongoing crisis.

Tens of thousands of artists have backed East Sussex-based painter Matthew Burrow's Artist Support Pledge - where contributors are selling work for £200 and promising to spend the same on another's work once they make £1,000. Scrolling through contributions on Instagram reveals some selling daily drawings made during lockdown.

And charitable initiatives are benefitting from the vision of artists during the pandemic, such as a British Red Cross campaign which involved 11 artists creating posters to help spread the message that "kindness will keep us together".

Nina Cosford, an illustrator from Hastings, produced a piece for the campaign that celebrates "simple" tokens of kindness during the lockdown, such as phone calls and writing letters.

"We all have ways in which we can help and show kindness," she said.

Cosford, alongside many other illustrators, has been sharing her representations of lockdown to her 264,000 Instagram followers, aiming to reflect collective concerns and spread positivity during the crisis.

Her style typically light-hearted and whimsical, Cosford said she was initially hesitant about the tone of her posts, until she realised it was "important to maintain the status quo".

"It's a dreadful time, I think one of the best ways to counteract that is through humour," she said.

Sharing content on social media, specifically, also offers an important outlet for creatives to lift people's spirits, said fellow illustrator Octavia Bromell, known as @tinkoutsidethebox on Instagram, from Dorset.

She began creating work as a way of helping her severe anxiety and depression, with her vibrant illustrations aiming to find the joy in everyday life.

Now with 14,000 followers, she said she has gained a vital connection with people across the world.

"I think more people are experiencing a form of distress that feels very familiar to me," she said.

"My work has become an outlet that means I can express some positivity and, hopefully, I can share it with [other] people as well."

Indeed, Cosford concluded that the role of artists "to comfort people, unite people and inspire people" was needed now more than ever from the industry.

"I think that's really being acknowledged," she said. "And I hope it will continue to be appreciated after this passes - how vital the arts are in this and how they are day to day, not just in a time of crisis."

All images subject to copyright.

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How artists are depicting the coronavirus lockdown

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A solitary figure resting its head between tightly wound arms, clasping bent knees and shoulders. Toes curled inwards. As lockdown continues in the UK, British sculptor Sir Antony Gormley, like many artists, is documenting life during the coronavirus pandemic.

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WEEK6: 3/8/2020

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Online Exhibition - Tracey Emin 'I Thrive on Solitude' - White Cube

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View the online exhibition 'Tracey Emin: I Thrive on Solitude' at White Cube. During a period of isolation in her London home, Tracey Emin made a series of works that offer insight into the sanctuary of the domestic realm. Focusing on a range of intimate interior spaces, these small paintings...

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WEEK6: 3/8/2020

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A variety of circumstances have led to artists being isolated from society. Depending on the situation, a time of solitude can be welcome or uninvited. Artists may have to adapt their ways of working in order to continue making art. They may even need to explore whether being creative during such a time is possible.

Shakespeare allegedly wrote King Lear and several of his other masterpieces whilst isolated from society. There can be a pressure on us all to be creative during a time when we are distanced from the distractions of our normal lives. However, making art during a time of crisis can be a privilege. Not everyone is able to. Each experience of isolation is unique and artists express their creativity during these times in their own ways.

Read on to explore how artists within Tate's collection have responded to making art in isolation. They are supplemented by perspectives from artists and associates of Tate Exchange, a place to ask questions about how society and art come together.

The Benefits of Solitude

For some, isolation is a choice and a way to retreat from society to focus on making art. The painter Alfred Wallis was known for secluding himself in his St Ives home, where he would paint from memory. Many artists work in studios, places where their creativity can be fully realised. Having a dedicated space to make art whilst removed from social interaction can be a benefit to their practice.

Artists like Georgia O'Keeffe and Frida Kahlo are known for spending long periods of time in their studios. O'Keeffe spent four years restoring a 5,000 square foot compound in Abiquiu, New Mexico from the Spanish colonial era. The end result proved to be a significant inspiration to her practice.

Louise Bourgeois, known for her large-scale sculptures, gives an interesting perspective to solitude. Whilst her sculptures are often interventions in public spaces, the generation of her ideas often happens alone. The isolated space can be a source of inspiration.

Bruce Nauman's Mapping the Studio II with color shift, flip, flop & flip/flop (Fat Chance John Cage) was created from material that suggested itself to the artist by chance.

Nauman generated nearly forty-two hours of footage that he edited and manipulated to create the final artwork, which is both comical and violent.

Yet for many, isolation is a condition imposed on them by geographical, political or biological factors. Anna Farley, an artist and neurodiversity activist, distinguishes between isolation and solitude by the freedom to choose:

Farley acknowledges there can be benefits to isolation even when imposed. She writes during the 2020 COVID-19 imposed isolation in the UK:

Being creative with what you have

Nauman's artwork came into fruition through his ability to see new possibilities with the resources he had access to. Throughout history, artists have been restricted with the spaces and materials available to them through government imposed sanctions.

During the Soviet era, artists working in Moscow had to resort to using their apartments for making and showing art, because their practice was not state approved. This became known as APTART. Artists including Vadmin Zakharov, Andrei Monastyrski and Ilya Kabakov were part of this practice. Irina Nakhova transformed her family's apartment into a temporary installation, , between 1983 and 1986.

Watch this film where Nakhova describes using her apartment as a canvas for her work.

In 1973, Chile's civilian government was overthrown and the country became a dictatorship. Eugenio Dittborn created his Airmail Paintings as a way of communicating with the outside world. They were designed to be folded and sent abroad. Dittborn compared them to sending a message in a bottle. When displayed in galleries, the artworks are accompanied by their envelopes on which is recorded the destination in which the work has been displayed.

Artists like Nakhova and Dittborn have had to adapt to imposed isolation. Jason Wilsher-Mills, a digital artist who creates interactive paintings and sculptures, speaks of his ability to adapt to working under isolation because his work is digital. When asked how he is creating under the COVID-19 crisis, he writes:

Both Nakhova and Dittborn worked alongside peers experiencing similar circumstances. Wilsher-Mills is a member of Shape Arts, a Tate Exchange associate that works to promote and support Disability-led arts. A sense of community can often balance feelings of isolation.

Finding Inspiration

Removed from society and the regular stimuli that might spark imagination, it can be inspiring to look to artists who have engaged with the enclosed spaces they isolate themselves in. Some artists, like Mark Ruwedel, have used remoteness as a theme in their work. He photographs locations like abandoned railway lines and deserts that have no signs of human life. This documentation of isolation and remoteness can become the subject.

Artist, Hamja Ahsan, talks about finding inspiration in the slowness that isolation brings. Retrospection and introversion can be powerful tools to reexamine why we become artists and continue a form of artistic practice whilst under lockdown.

Our behaviour whilst alone can be a source of inspiration. In Sam Taylor-Johnson's Brontosaurus, she films a man dancing naked in his bedroom to very fast techno-jungle music. In the finished film, she edits the footage so it is viewed in slow-motion. Taylor-Johnson films something that would normally take place in the public space, but the nakedness of her subject makes this a private act. By watching something that occurs in isolation, her audience become voyeurs. We are privy to something that resembles a private ritual, with the man oblivious to the camera and the fact he is being watched.

To find inspiration whilst in quarantine, we can look to artists who have created art whilst imprisoned. Gülsün Karamustafa was incarcerated in Turkey for aiding and abetting political activists after the military coup of 1971. Her Prison Paintings are a series of fifteen paintings that depict intimate and private moments in the lives of the prisoners and reflect Karamustafa's personal observations of daily life in prison. She painted these from memory after being released.

Malangatana Ngwenya was imprisoned in 1964-65 whilst involved in the Liberation Front for Mozambique's independence from Portugal. He produced many paintings in prison and this time of isolation during political unrest influenced many of his later works.

During World War II, the French artist Boris Taslitzky was sent to a concentration camp in Saint-Sulpice-la-Pointe where he painted frescoes on the walls of the cells and chapel. Later, he was transferred to the German concentration camp in Buchenwald, where he managed to steal paper and create portraits of his fellow prisoners. Ibrahim El-Salahi created drawings while he was imprisoned in the mid-1970s. He would sketch out plans for future paintings on the back of small cement casings, before burying them in the sand whenever a guard would come near. This led to the creation of The Inevitable.

Watch a film where El-Salahi discusses the process of having this idea whilst in prison and bringing it to fruition once released.

What does creativity under isolation look like?

Many of these artists were under considerable strain whilst in isolation and it raises questions about the pressure to be creative whilst in a crisis. Isolation can mean financial difficulty, restricted resources and an impact on mental health.

Throughout adulthood, Agnes Martin suffered from schizophrenia. Her quiet and serene paintings were in fact products of personal and spiritual struggle, which she recalled later in her account of this period The Untroubled Mind. In 1967, she sold her possessions and left New York, embarking on an eighteen-month journey around the United States and Canada in a pickup truck and camper van. She abandoned art making for over five years. In a letter to Leonore Tawney, Martin wrote:

In 1972, she returned to making, producing a portfolio of thirty prints titled On a Clear Day. Perhaps spending time in isolation to rest and recover can be more beneficial for some.

Much of the art that has been created whilst in isolation documents the feeling of solitude. This is something that has fascinated artists in and out of isolation.

Rosalind Nashashibi's film, Vivian's Garden, shows a mother and daughter living in isolation. Elisabeth Wild and her daughter Vivian Sutter shared a jungle garden in Guatemala. The home and garden are places of terror as well as healing, and the film outlines how, for example, a recent problem with a criminal neighbour caused the pair to be under curfew and threats, while catastrophic floods, kidnappers and fear of intruders are ever-present. On the other hand, they lead an idyllic life, making art in beautiful surroundings, living simply, being taken care of and taking care of each other.

Stephen Willats's Living with Practical Realities gives an insight into the isolation of living in a tower block. Over six months, Williats photographed and interviewed Mrs Moran, an elderly lady living alone in the tower block.

Documenting a period of isolation may resonate with others in unprecedented ways. To create something, in any form, can be art. For one year the performance artist Tehching Hsieh self-isolated himself, living in silence and not communicating with the outside world. This artwork is known as One Year Performance 1980-1981. Each hour he would punch a time clock and take a single picture of himself that resulted in an animation of his appearance changing over the course of the year.

What art under isolation looks like is up to you. Josh Rivers, creator and host of the podcast Busy Being Black, writes

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A variety of circumstances have led to artists being isolated from society. Depending on the situation, a time of solitude can be welcome or uninvited. Artists may have to adapt their ways of working in order to continue making art. They may even need to explore whether being creative during such a time is possible.

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WEEK5: 1/8/2020

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WEEK5: 31/7/2020

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WEEK5: 31/7/2020

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WEEK5: 30/7/2020

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WEEK5: 30/7/2020

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THEME1:                                  SO NEAR BUT SO FAR

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THEME1:                                  SO NEAR BUT SO FAR

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WEEK5: 30/7/2020

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WEEK4: 26/7/2020
NEW ICONOGRAPHY

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WEEK3: 19/7/2020
CREATIVE IN CAPTIVITY

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WEEK3: 19/7/2020
CREATIVE IN CAPTIVITY

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WEEK2: 12/7/2020
RYTHMS AND ROUTINE

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WEEK1: 5/7/2020
MY BIT OF THE CITY

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WEEK1: 5 /7/2020
MY BIT OF THE CITY

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WEEK1: 5/7/2020
I’m gonna talk about the situation of the area where I live during the lock down time.

First of all, the most memorable thing was that, it was in the evening, after watching the news about the virus, I gradually noticed that how serious about the Virus, and I went to 4 drugstores to buy the face masks, but the face masks were all sold out until I bought a pack of one at the last drugstore, and there were long line at every drugstore.

And after few days, people started to scramble for food, to reduce the times you go out.

And also at that time, it happened to be the Spring Festival in China, which is the most meaningful festival to every Chinese people. It was a precious time for every family to gather and joy the meal together during this traditional festival, but unfortunately, due to this virus, we have to cancel all the gathering to protect ourselves, and to avoid be infected.

Gradually, my city became an empty city, which was a really flourishing city before.  There was no people and no vehicles on the street, and stores were totally shut down, and there was no one in the subway station even at the peak time. My city, chengdu, was a very popular tourist city before, and lots of tourists will come to visit my city during every vacation, but at that quarantine time, the tourist attractions were all shut down, and there were no visitors any more.The city was likely in a dead silence.

However, I think everybody’s behavior warmed everything up. The most touching thing was that, the solidarity of all Chinese people, because everybody stayed at home consciously, I think it was a responsibility for ourselves and also others. That is why China control the Cronovirus more quickly than other countries.