If you have seen any of my work from my life before Inspire 52, you will know that I am Artist in Residence at Lighthouse, Poole's centre for the arts, and have been developing my art practice with inspiration from the performing arts. This ongoing relationship with Lighthouse has been invaluable for the development of my work and you can see through my exhibition work, live art and 2D work that performance art has a great influence on my style.
When I began my residency at the end of 2010, I started making simple observations of shows by attending a wide variety of rehearsals and performances. These sketches have transformed my style and approach to my 2D work and have greatly influenced my use of black ink, as this is all I use now when I go to see shows. I tried colour a few times, but when the lights are down or up in various different colours, it is difficult to distinguish which pencils are which; I once illustrated a pink violin when I wanted it to be orange! And thus so, one of the reasons why my affinity with monochrome became affirmed in my current work.
In 2011 I created a collection of over 20 finished illustrations in direct real-time response to performances at Lighthouse, many of these were of The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (BSO), and exhibited works at The Monochronium exhibition in October 2011. Since then I have been developing new collaborations with artists and working on my upcoming six week exhibition which will take place from May to July this year at Lighthouse, which also features as part of Dorset Art Weeks 2012 (DAW).
So where am I going with all of this? Well, what I want to get around to telling you is that this week, I have started back with my observations of performances, and what better way to start than by watching a company of very fit men dancing and flexing around the stage! Yes, Ballet Boyz, hurrah!! It was a stunning show and in a way I feel my illustration does not do it justice, but I have aimed to capture the essence of the show through movement, set and the connection between the dancers.
It is always quite tricky illustrating dance or theatre as so much of it requires actively watching the performance, whereas when watching the BSO or other musicians or concerts I can let my ears do the watching for me and translate the sounds into lines whilst keeping my eye on the pen and paper. So when I say saw The Ballet Boyz, I probably only really saw half of the show!
Having said that, the music and the set were very inspiring and you can see this resonating though the journey of this illustration, also with recognition of the urban feel of elements in the performance. I very much enjoyed their use of projected film and brick work walls and windows as their backdrop. The use of space definition though lighting I felt was also really strong and absolutely loved how this interacted with the dancers.
As I like to create a finished piece in the duration of the performance, it is often very challenging when the performances are short. However, I feel that creating the work in real-time to the performance gives it a real sense of authenticity when representing the show, the lines are the movements and sounds that have been regurgitated through my senses and nerves to guide my hand in marking the page. I really enjoy this process, it is really relaxing and very absorbing.
Sometimes this process has been very challenging when I can't really see where my pen is moving because it is so dark in the auditorium, my favourite seating is therefore under the emergency lighting! I actually really enjoy sitting in 'less popular' seating areas because it gives me a completely different perspective, than when I go and see a show when I'm not illustrating it. I often like to be quite far from the stage, and in particular I love being up in the circle when illustrating the BSO because I feel like the music lifts up into the sky and that's where I feel I am up in the circle. I also love being right at the back with all the audience in front of me. I think perhaps I feel like I can absorb the whole arena this way and it feels more spacious. This way I also have a wider vision of the performance which helps with capturing the shows 'essence' in my work.
I have enjoyed this week, it has been good to start back at shows to continue the development and absorption of the influence of performance art on my work. Although the sketches I produce are in real-time, the lasting effects of the performances I watch are still cogitating inside me ready for other artistic expression. Some of these will be undoubtedly revealed in my upcoming exhibition from the 26th May to 7th July at Lighthouse Gallery.
Now for the story ...
Once upon a time, in a land where the grass was as blue as the sea, there was a boy who lived in a lighthouse ...
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