I’ve been laid up this week suffering from IBT, which is painful. So taking things easy and gradually. Just getting back onto my feet. Most of my journal entries lately have been more or less ‘matter of fact’ and ‘here is what happened’ because I have been reporting on the development and progress of the Testing Boundaries task. It is good to step outside of the ‘testing boundaries’ room for a little while and think freely about everything that has been going on and also the new windows of exploration and possibilities that have arisen. Also from the work done so far on the Contextual Research essay, it has so thrown up a lot of new artists. Some of the artists I am familiar with, others I was aware of – but not too familiar and again still artists that are completely new to me. So step over here and follow me, I know another room – its called the studio.
So I came into the studio today to have a think about the making day tomorrow and also all of these new subjects and artists. This usually involves looking around the studio to see what materials I have laying around and how I can work with them. The other thing I will do is look through some art books or magazines and also visit YouTube.
I had a look to see what Lucy McKenzie is doing these days with her work. I was fascinated to see that she has bought an amazing house in Belgium that she will use for art projects and collaborations. Usually artists buy a house like this towards the latter part of their career when they have made enough money. I’ve always liked Lucy’s approach. It’s interesting though, that she left Glasgow quite a few years ago but still uses it as a source for her work. She is interested in interior architecture. It is interesting that in her interiors she uses fake marble and would never use the real thing as it is over exploited and becoming scarcer. It is also a comment on Bourgeois society.
On the same page, was a video about Sol Le Witt and his drawings and method of working. I don’t do enough drawing. This made me think of drawings. Where Lucy McKenzie is interested in interior architecture, I have an interest in exterior architecture.
A few years back, I made a trip to Turkey and visited a site called Priene , which is an ancient Greek civilisation in ancient Ionia. I’ve become a bit fascinated with it because of it’s appealing beauty, it’s strange tranquillity and it’s long history. I recently picked up a copy of a rare book titled The sculpture of the sanctuary of Athena Polias at Priene that was published by the Society of British Antiquaries in 1983. The book comprehensively documented for the first time all of the sculpture from Priene. It mentions in the book a reference to the Antiquities of Ionia (Band 4) — London, which were four folios published by The Society of Dilettanti. Interestingly Sir Joshua Reynolds was a member of this society and the society funded archaeological expeditions (such as that of Richard Chandler, William Pars and Nicholas Revett), the results of which they published in Ionian Antiquities – a major influence on neo-Classicism in Britain. It is fascinating to think that before this time period, there was no real discourse dedicated to the ancients, the buildings they built, their culture and beliefs. It is also fascinating to think that this book became highly influential in establishing a new aesthetic period of style that is known as neo-Classicism. Building on the grand tour, it would therefore appear that this book was at the root level of how a new British identity was subsequently formed.
In the book there are many beautiful drawings made by the hands of very skilled draughtsmen. Looking at them it is clear to see why it became a ‘blueprint’ for creating recreating the classical designs. It also makes one realise how clever the ancients were in developing this advanced architecture so long ago and with such precision and detail.
The folio page below shows an Ionian column, complete with dimensions. The detail of the drawings is astonishing. Looking at them one realises the task of gathering together work to present it in a ‘folio’ of some kind.
neo-Classicism is interesting, but it’s even more interesting stumbling across it’s birth.
One of the other sites that I visited in Turkey was the ancient Greek settlement of Miletus. I discovered that the town had been laid out on a grid system. This was the work of a man called Hippodamus of Miletus (498 – 408 BC). He is considered to be “the father of European urban planning. I found this interesting because I have always been aware since a very young age that the city centre of Glasgow is laid out using the grid system. It is fascinating to have visited and walked around the ancient site where the man lived and work who gave birth to European urban planning and being able to trace this all the way back to Glasgow. My knowledge of Miletus was further complemented by a visit to the Pergamon Museum in Berlin where I got to see the famous Market gates of Miletus. The video below shows a virtual re-creation of ancient Miletus, clearly showing the grid system layout. Priene is also laid out in the grid system and is one of the best preserved examples.