CPS. Week 7.

CPS

Week 7 (Thursday 14^th November 2013)

In a group in CPS we had to create a presentation on an artist we had seen and explain about the artist to the other members in the session, we choose the artist Robert Longo.

Robert Longo

American painter and sculptor

Born January 1953

 Robert Longo, Untitled (Days of Heaven) (2009), 

Charcoal on Mounted paper

Where and How?

The exhibition of Robert Longo’s ‘Days of Heaven’ was at the Frieze Art Fair in
London.
It was installed in a glass frame with a black outline to enhance the tonal study
of the forest, thus making your eyes be drawn to the whiter parts of the drawing.
This was then put up on the wall at eye level so it was easier for our attention to
be grabbed by it.

Our Opinions

At first glance we thought this was a black and white photograph, but upon closer inspection we discovered that it was in fact a charcoal drawing.

We have chosen this piece of work because although it feels quite peaceful there is also an edge of eeriness within the image. The attention to detail is astonishing, for not only has he captured the trees in the foreground, he also managed to give you a sense of being within the image as he also drew the trees in the background to make it more three dimensional.

His Intentions

Robert Longo likes to create a physical presence, where it is conceptual in design and abstract up close. He likes to find a balance between the personal and the social charge reflecting in everyday life.

Quote:

‘I was never inclined to painting; it seemed too messy, too slow. I also have a major in art history, those are my weapons. My drawings are like sculptures, when I draw with graphite I smude it with my fingers, move it around physically, it's like clay. Painting is painting on the surface, covering up, where drawing is putting the picture into the paper like a photograph.’

Robert Longo’s Guns

Out of eight drawings of various handguns, three are shamelessly imbued with a glamorising aura. They exude a pin-up quality almost splay-legged, and suggest the poster-filled bedroom of a sociopath.

Robert Longo,

Body hammer: Revolver (2008),

Charcoal and graphite on paper

Press Releases

Quotes from a Frieze review:

“Awesome in size and exquisite in formation, Longo’s guns are perfectly inane.”

“Longo makes it overwhelmingly clear that his intention is to dramatise the devastation wrecked by the proliferation of handgun ownership.”

“If we see Longo’s drawings as beautiful, which they most certainly are, then his project is a successful one.”

In March 2013, Lexzine/The Lexander Magazine reviewed Longo's 1982-83 diptych entitled Pressure, highlighting it as the "penultimate visual anthem of the era," expanding upon Neal Benezra's 1988 analysis of the work as having been "the most representative work of art of the 1980s."

Comparison Artists

When looking at Robert Longo’s drawing of the forest, it brings to mind of another artist that I have recently looked at called John Sexton; however, John Sexton’s pieces of works are photographs. But it’s the black and white scenery, with the attention to detail in the trees and the environment around the center point.

 John Sexton, Oaks at Dusk

Collaborations

Robert Longo was part of a group named Hallwalls which was established in 1974. The focus of Hallwalls since its inception has been to produce a space that will accommodate artists from diverse backgrounds.

Works from varying mediums, which include film, video, performance art, music, painting, photography, and sculpture, have come together since the beginning, to confront the prevailing social issues of contemporary culture.

Inspirations

When we started out our heroes were Bruce Nauman and Richard Serra and Hannah Wilke and Lynda Benglis. These guys were not making money! Our dream was to be really lucky and maybe get a stipend from a gallery, maybe sell some work. The idea of making money as an artist just didn't exist. I think the other thing that was really important for us, the CalArts people and the Buffalo people: We didn't go to school in New York, so we weren't seduced by the scene. When we came to New York, the art scene we thought existed was dying, so it didn't really matter anymore. The night became more important than the day, the movie theaters and the rock clubs.

Evaluate Presentation

Overall the presentation was a success we all give our input however to improve the text could be more compact so that the viewer doesn’t have to read a long essay or read it for the audience clearly. Make it engaging for the audience.