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| Night Club Environment |
Link to A Level Moodle Area and full exam paper
Introduction to the theme from the Exam Paper:
The theme is: ENVIRONMENT
Probably one of the most significant factors affecting the work of artists, designers and craftspeople is their environment. It may influence their work through the actual physical luxuries or hardships they experience, in terms of their access to materials and working conditions. Alternatively and perhaps more noticeable, is the effect it has on their psyche and political bias. Avigdor Arikha’s, Käthe Kollwitz’s, Lovis Corinth’s and Picasso’s experiences of the hardship and horror of war obviously had a major impact on aspects
of their work.
Michelangelo’s tempestuous relationship with the Catholic Church played a major part in the development of his frescoes in the Sistine Chapel. Similarly the work of artists connected to major art movements is often strongly influenced by the creative communities they belong to. All artists will be consciously or subconsciously affected by the world they inhabit, although for some, such as Edward Burtynsky, Banksy and Ai Weiwei, it becomes the driving force behind their work.
Artists associated with Impressionism and English Romanticism actively sought out interesting and challenging environments in the knowledge that it would influence their work. They often placed themselves in extreme atmospheric locations such as major polluted industrial centres or deserted coastlines. Other artists have sought out unique natural light, such as the Newlyn School in Cornwall. Contemporary artists such as John Virtue and David Prentice follow a similar path, orientating towards evocative landscapes.
Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Robert Smithson and Kenneth Josephson choose to create work directly in and with the environment, the chosen site being an integral part of the work. Other artists such as Anya Gallaccio create environments made from natural objects that deteriorate over time.
The cultural identity of certain regions can give unique visual qualities to artefacts. This is seen in the contrast between The Dreaming paintings of indigenous Australians made in the 19th century and European art from the same period. This is also evident in the carved sculptures of the Polynesian Islands when compared with Italian Neoclassical sculpture.
Installation art often involves immersing the spectator in an environment, making them an integral part of the work itself. This is described by Ilya Kabakov as ‘Total Installation’. On the 6th July 2009, the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square was used for a living installation created by Antony Gormley. Called One and Other, it engaged a different member of the public to occupy the plinth every hour, 24 hours a day, for 100 consecutive days.
Here are some other suggestions that may stimulate your imagination:
• Quarries, football fields, dunes, beaches, hillsides, building sites
• Caves, theatres, cinemas, concerts, cellars, darkrooms
• Stagnant water drops, hair, plant and animal cells, aquariums
• Charity shops, supermarkets, car boot sales, superstores
• Skips, scrapyards, recycling centres, antique reclamation yards
• Classrooms, gymnasiums, halls, cathedrals, churches, crypts
• Houses, bedrooms, kitchens, yards, sheds, gardens
• Attics, towers, skyscrapers, bridges, Ferris wheels, funfairs
• Planes, buses, trains, boats, cars, lifts
• Holidays, tents, hotels, caravans, beach huts, changing rooms
• Drawers, suitcases, jars, test tubes, treasure chests, jewellery boxes
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