Painting, perception and sub-conscious processes

'Perhaps it's that you can't go back in time, but you can return to the scenes of a love, of a crime, of happiness, and of a fatal decision; the places are what remain, are what you can possess, are what is immortal. They become the tangible landscape of memory, the places that made you, and in some way you too become them. They are what you can possess and in the end what possesses you.' (Solnit, 2005; 117)


Initially I started this unit by creating a series of paintings inspired by my own surrounding landscapes, landscapes which have been a familar backdrop to my childhood and teenage years. I am particularly interested in places and landscapes with some sense of historical association or narrative attached to them relating to C19th  ideas of the romantic landscape and the sublime. In doing this I hope to embue the work with more of a sense of personal narrative and involvement.

Mousehold Heath is an area consisting of approximately 200 acres of heathland and woodland, situated in North East Norwich and a designated Local Nature Reserve. I chose to use it as my subject matter due to its close proximity and the historical associations attached to it being a popular subject for the Norwich School of artists including John Sell Cotman and John Chrome, as well as being a place that I have visited many times in the past. I was interested in considering what would happen to the visual composition of my paintings via the introduction of  elements which may create a distortion of the visual perception, creating the impression of the crossover between the past and the present.

John Crome, Mousehold Heath, Oil on Canvas, 1818-1820

John Sell Cotman, Mousehold Heath, Oil on Canvas, 1810

A contemporary artist who I have been considering as part of my research who is directly interested in sub-conscious processes is the painter Jules De Balincourt. What emerges within many of his paintings via the simultaneous use of abstract and figurative elements is a strong sense of dislocation and the visual impression that his unconscious mind is coming to bear upon the work. There is a strong sense of polarity and contradiction within his paintings, partly due to the strong non-naturalistic colours he employs as well as a sense of spatial distortion on account of the different shapes and overlays that are layered within his compositions.

Untitled (Berlin), Jules De Balincourt, 2006, oil and spray paint on canvas

Waiting Tree, Jules De Balincourt, 2012, Oil on Canvas

In waiting tree the initial image he has painted becomes the foundation for something different due to being painted directly on top of a pre-existing figurative painting. The transparency of the image alongside this ghostlike quality creates a strong impression of a person or a phantom haunting the scene. The tree appears to be a visual metaphor, storing past memories of the community of people who have lived in its near vicinity. 

'Often what helps me when I start a painting is knowing that the initial image can be changed, mutated, or negated, and it simply becomes a foundation for something completely different... This is what happened with Waiting Tree... Essentially I painted space around the tree in an effort to block out the awkward figurative painting that had been there before.' (De Balincourt, 2013; 14)

Untitled (Study from Mousehold Heath), Oil on Paper, 55.5 x 76cm

Untitled I (Study from Mousehold Heath), Oil on Paper, 55.5 x 76cm

Although partially influenced by and as a direct reaction to De Balincourt's painting these two painterly studies loosely based around studies taken from Mousehold Heath were an attempt to create some way of breaking up the painterly surface of the picture in order to allude to an underlying tension or drama contained within the landscape and also as a way of breaking up the composition via the introduction of opposing shapes and forms.

As well as De Balincourt's Waiting Tree image I also considered op art (a term coined in 1944 by Time Magazine) as a basis for the geometric patterns which I placed on top of the landscape elements within my paintings. Op art is a form of abstract art relying on optical illusions in order to fool the eye of the viewer so that when looked at it creates the impression of movement, hidden images, flashing and vibrations, patterns and distortion.

'Op artists thus managed to exploit various phenomena, the after-image and consecutive movement; line interference; the effect of dazzle; ambiguous figures and reversible perspective; successive colour contrasts and chromatic vibration; and in three-dimensional works different viewpoints and the superimposition of elements in space.' (Popper, 2009)

Victor Vaserely, 1937, Zebra, gouache on board.

Bridget Riley, 1962, Untitled (Based on 'Primitive Blaze'), Screenprint

Analysis:

I am wondering whether the use of these two opposing forms is helpful or whether they serve as a visual distraction, which rather than alluding to sub-conscious processes act in a very different way from the subtle layering that is present within De Balincourt's Waiting Tree image. 

The use of geometric shapes and patterns act in direct contrast to the organic drips, smears and flat areas of colour that make up the landscape and the effect is disorientating. I am unsure whether this alludes to memory or is in fact more indicative of a hallucination or optical illusion. There is a strong visual sense that there are two sets of conflicting factors at play and whilst the drippy, colourful, psychedelic nature of the landscape creates the strong impression of an exaggerated reality, there is no indication that the pattern is related to memory within the landscape. Similarly the use of very strong colours does not relate back to the actual places being depicted, meaning that there is a discrepancy between the places and the painting studies.


As a further consideration the patterns sits awkwardly on top of the figurative landscape elements meaning that rather than unifying the composition it creates a sense of confusion as well as being visually jarring. In moving forward I wonder if there is some way of subtely incorporating a tension within the work that could sit within the places depicted rather than as a separate entity sitting on top. As with previous works the use of colour appears to be an overriding consideration and preoccupation within my work, my natural tendency being to amplify and exagerrate it.


De Balincourt, J et al. (2013) 'Jules De Balincourt.' New York: Skira/Rizzoli.

Solnit Rebecca (2005) 'A field guide to getting lost.' Edinburgh, London: Canongate.

Popper Frank (2009) 'Op Art.' (Grove Art Online.) Oxford: Oxford University Press.