Fine Art Document

by David Leal

Fine Art Document (VIA 305) - May 2012 Unit Leader: Dr. Nicola Chamberlain BA (Hons) Fine Art - Level 3

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Fine Art Document (VIA 305) by David Leal

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CONTENTS: I. II. III. IV. Period One (page 4) Period Two (page 5) Final Exhibition Works (page 6) Illustrations (page 7-18)

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I Period One

During my rst period I started of by idealizing some video-works and sculptures. e video-works were purely experimental and never left the paper, as did for some of the sculptures. Tri(ngulo) ( g. 1) consists of two boards of plywood on top of a mirror with a golden frame. It represents a rectangular hole through which we are allowed to see the object as a whole. ngulo in Portuguese means Angle. e object is only complete when the real object meets its re ected other half, creating a variable shape always changes depending on the viewers position and angle. is piece also refers to the self-re ection of one in order to meet its complete form. It is a link between the material and immaterial, what it is present and what a re ection. Alongside I also developed a few photographic projects entitled Diet ( g. 2), Stairway To ( g. 3) and the series of manipulated photography Um; Mais Um; Dois among other experimental projects. In Stairway To we nd a physical limitation. At the same time the viewer experiences a suggestion of a beaten path and its interruption, in another word, its end. I can conclude that my rst period was a period of deep re ection as an artist, in which I urged to de ne and determine what I wanted to create. Consequently this led me to start using photography as an art medium as well as de ning myself as a conceptual artist, who, through art, materializes thoughts.

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II Period Two

My current line of work is inspired mainly by artists between 1960 and 1970 such as Robert Smithson, Richard Serra, Marcel Duchamp, Robert Morris, Richard Long, Bruce Nauman, Donald Judd while I am regularly observing and studying the current movements and debates in contemporary art. When creating sculpture I am taking advantage of minimalist aesthetics, while inserting a conceptual value. Minimalism, in my view, is the denial of the existence of the objects experience. Normally I represent paradoxical situations within the object so that the subjects consciousness can be activated. On the second period I carried on with photography projects such as Tide ( g. 4), Double Pier ( g. 5) and Ventilation Wall ( g. 6). ese pieces are what I call of Rhythmic Photography. rough repetition and by displaying dierent patterns the photography gains a certain rhythm that can be interpreted freely. is motion is noticed by the patterns between speci c elements that exist in the images. It represents the meeting and compensation of multiple forces therefore generating a unique sense of balance and harmony. Meanwhile I also collaborated on two other projects from two course-mates. I performed as the main character in the video piece Seven Deadly Sins and the Sun by Monika Kowalczyk (2nd year student), and participated as a model in Lisa Taylors photo shoot for her 3rd year work to be presented in the Degree Show. In sum, throughout this year, I have started developing my own personal style and path as a ne artist. Overall I have gained new capacities and independence as well as a new medium to work with besides sculpture, photography. I found myself capable of working in dierent places such as Lisbon, London, New York and Southampton. In what I do, objects or interventions can embody anything at all. Inspiration can derive from everything. What strikes me as interesting is then later on mentally crafted and put into conceptual artwork, serving as an intermediary between the idea and the subject.

Fine Art Document (VIA 305) by David Leal

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III Final Exhibition Works

For the Degree Show, I have chosen to present two photographs, Diet and Hudson River Doubts ( g. 7) as well as three sculptures. Diet constitutes a manipulated table set with a meal ready to be eaten. rough the eggs I found the best way to represent a substance and its shell. It alludes to a needless importance given to super ciality rather than its content, represented by a possible ingestion of egg shells instead of its cooked yolk. It makes audiences perceive it as an act of pure rawness. I had the collaboration of Katelyn Olivia Cooper, a Goldsmiths University of London student, when taking the photographs. Hudson River Doubts is a series of 25 photographs presented in a 5x5 grid, containing a narrative with a mysterious ending. It shows a constant change of the waves under the feet, except for the last picture where the feet can no longer be seen. My attempt was to impose an intimate question to the subject that only he can answer. Do you have doubts?. e sculptures are called Unparalleled ( g. 8), Circumvention ( g. 9) and Layered Face ( g.10). Unparalleled is an object that generates a peculiar space embodied in the object itself. Within this generated space, laws of physics like gravity and balance are challenged by the composition and concept of the object. Two series of Light Drawings was another one of my experiments during the year, that were based on my curiosity towards their creation after analyzing Pablo Picassos (1988-1973) Drawings. My main objective was to practice and thrive my competence on controlling both time and line, as well as to develop my awareness of space whilst drawing in it. Two abstract series were created: Bodies ( g. 11) and Faces ( g.12). is process of drawing with lights made me question myself what if I did a light drawing in sculpture?. Based on my previous light-works I have created a deconstructed face in space into four layers in which every plain is in parallel except for a big circle that surrounds and limits all the crucial elements. Circumvention is an assemblage made of a brick wall and a squared door. e idea was to shift every material used when building a typical house: the door made of bricks, the window made of wood and the house made of glass which I opted to represent as invisible (in order to suggest the notion of in nity). At the same time, Circumvention is both an obstacle and a passage. Meaning in fact that depending on the surroundings of the piece, other paths are created, except through it. is work is everything else but itself.

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IV Illustrations

g. 1

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g. 2

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g. 3

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g. 4

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g. 5

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g. 6

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g. 7

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g. 8

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fig. 9

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g. 10

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g. 11

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g. 12

Fine Art Document (VIA 305) by David Leal