Sculpture and Puppets

Tate Modern's impressive exhibition of Giacommetti's plaster works, bronzes, iconic elongated figures and distinctive drawings provided me with a plethora of references and ideas for my speculative works. 

Giacometti Exhibition Tate Modern 10 May - 10 Sep 2017

Giacometti's use of materials inspires me for my speculative works. I'm interested in using clay, plaster and bronze for my sculptural, autobiographical pieces. His manipulation of clay to create narrative is inspirational. 

Giacometti facts

"The portrait of James Lord that Giacometti painted in 1964 is among the best known of his works on canvas, having been widely exhibited.  Lord himself wrote a book dedicated entirely to the creation of this picture, A Giacometti Portrait, which The Museum of Modern Art, New York, published in 1965." 
http://www.christies.com/features/Alberto-Giacomettis-Portrait-of-James-Lord-6658-3.aspx

James Lord's book is a fascinating read. Lord describes in detail Giacometti's distinctive and individual approach in the quest for capturing the likeness of his sitter. The work is revisited numerous times, with Giacometti constantly adding and subtracting  marks. It is a laborious process which demonstrates the artist's struggle with which Lord and the reader is mesmerised by. 

Another contextual reference which provides me with direction is Paul Klee's puppets. Initially these were created for his 9 year old son Felix but later became significant works from his Bauhaus teachings. The use of mixed media in character creation is interesting and something I want to develop in my work. I like the roughness of Klee's puppets in that the plaster faces have a comical and caricature quality. The costume clothes (created initially by the Swiss artist Sasha Morgenthaler, famous for the now very collectable Sasha Dolls) are basically constructed but convey attitude and context.  My puppets will have an air of realism in the features and will be designed on the basis of my ancestors.