Interview with Kellie O'Dempsey

For another class we were asked to interview an arts practitioner. In this interview Anita and I talked to Kellie O'Dempsey a performance and installation artist from Brisbane. We focused on her studio space, her career path and her interactions with the audience and collaborators during her performances.

(Kellie - if you are reading this, then don't feel obliged to watch your own interview unless you want to)

Artist Statement

Straight Lines I consists of oil pastel on tracing paper, with a video projection. This performance piece is an enquiry into the formal qualities of repetitive mark making. When creating this performance, I enforced certain boundaries upon myself to explore this. The strategy involved myself, on a rolling chair, moving along the paper. As I moved along each side of the paper, I used both hands to create straight lines and did not allow myself to life the pastels from the paper until the end of the line.

This process of creating through full-bodied drawings in bilateral movements, was informed by the bodily actions of Tony Orrico’s Penwald Drawings. Orrico follows a strict strategy in each of his performances and I attempted to establish similar boundaries in my own work. His works are also a feat of endurance as he follows his boundaries over many hours. My own performance also became an endurance piece, yet a less time consuming one than Orrico.

I explored this concept multiple times with different bilateral movements but feel that only the straight lines performance was successful, and yet, still unfinished.

Straight Lines II is an extension of the first performance work. Again, it consists of oil pastel on tracing paper with video projection. The original strategy and boundaries were followed again, but I then took the finished work into a different direction. The work was cut into squares, overlapped and then drawn with again. The video installation was the primary concern of the second project.

I still feel that my exploration is incomplete. I think that repetition is important to my art practice and needs to be investigated further.

It is to be noted that the other artists I considered for my work are Morgan O’Hara and Charlie Ford. However, I believe Orrico's performance drawings had the most impact on my own work. 

BARI Festival

Lightening Field, Kellie O'Dempsey, Megan White & Luke Jaaniste.

I finally got to attend a performance drawing by Kellie O'Dempsey! After learning about performance works all semester it was great to finally see one in person. Lightning Field was a collaborative performance work involving a visual artist, a butoh artist and a sonic artist. I went in to the performance with an open mind, unsure of what was to come. 

All of the artists created work based off the energy and movements of the others. The outcome of the work was unknown at the beginning but slowly evolved. The energy in the room could be felt as the artists worked together. The colours helped establish certain moods and the whole work felt as if we had been transported into a different world.

The whole performance was an ephemeral creation. The light works that were created, disappeared by the end of the performance, and the drawings that were created with the ink were destroyed during the performance.

I have realised over this semester that seeing performance works are more interesting to me than creating my own. The energy and enjoyment you get from seeing a performance in person is so different to seeing its documentation in a gallery afterwards.

Response to Marsh

Performance Art And Its Documentation: A Photo/Video Essay, Anne Marsh

Marsh discusses the history of performance art and the documentation of the performance. Performances can be made for a live audience to witness in person, or for further viewing at another time. Marsh questions if the 'live' can ever be reproduced, either through a remake of the original performance, or through its documentation. 

The relationship between performance art and its documentation is fascinating and problematic, On one hand it seems logical to simply argue that a live event cannot be re-mediated. 

Performance art is an ephemeral medium and therefore the documentation of the performance is not an accurate representation of the original live work. But the documentation of the work is still vital for future viewers to be able to see the work and to understand it.

Marsh examines Jill Orr's performance, She had long golden hair. Orr's performance could only be performed once, because it involved the cutting of her full head of hair. The documentation of this work was created by using three still images of the performance. However, these photographs do not fully explain the story of the performance. Further writing or video documentation is vital to the comprehension of the work.

This prompts Marsh to pose the question: Can someone still understand and write about an artwork that they haven't seen in person? 

I don't believe that a performance has to be witnessed first hand to be considered a performance work or to be understood completely. Art historians will never be able to witness every single performance art piece first hand.  Yet, they still write about these performances, and help others to understand the work from a different viewpoint.

It can be interesting to see the 'second-order' installations from these performances. It gives the performance work a new point of view. But I also think that extra documentation, be it in video or writings or other photographs, can give context to future viewer. 

Jill Orr,  She had long golden hair, 1980

Jill Orr,  She had long golden hair, 1980

Tony Orrico

Tony Orrico's, Penwald Drawings

"Penwald Drawings are a series of bilateral drawings in which Tony Orrico explores the use of his body as a tool of measurement to inscribe geometries through movement and course. His choreographic gestures derive from the limitation of (or spontaneous navigation within) the sphere of his outstretched arms. Line density becomes record of Orrico’s mental and physical sustain as he commits his focus to a greater concept of balance throughout extended durations of drawing."

Orrico's drawings are a testament to his endurance and focus. In each of the performances he commits himself to a strategy and adheres to that strategy until the work is complete. Many of his performances are over four hours long, and some are created over multiple days. 

Orrico's process of creating his performance drawings has informed my own drawing practice. The bilateral movement of Orrico's body appeals to my own strategy as I move along the paper. There is also a repetitive nature to Orrico's mark making which is something that I feel drawn to as well. 

Tony Orrico. unison symmetry standing, 2010

Tony Orrico, 8 Circles, 2009 

 Tony Orrico, 8 Circles, 2009 

Tony Orrico. unison symmetry standing, 2010

Charlie Ford

"Throughout, and since studying dance, all I have wanted to do is somehow find a way to draw and document human motion. I like to explore how it can be captured and become a visual memory. Using movement improvisation, I have also begun to question how motion can be prepared or devised and transcend into the creation of a drawing.

I have presented open installations and exhibitions, which invite observers to come and see my work, but simultaneously see me working; my process is something I want to share, This website acts as an alternative way to do this - an online journal of past projects and new experiments.

I draw physically, and explore what this means to me."

Charlie Ford is an artist from the UK that specialises in performance drawing. He focuses on the creation of the work and his own physicality. Ford tends to exhibit himself in Galleries as he creates the work and invites audiences to come and observe him as he draws. He also exhibits the final outcomes of his performances in Galleries too. 

I really like the aesthetics of the white charcoal/chalk on the black paper. His installation set ups are quite interesting and I like how he works flat on the floor and builds his work around his body, and the limits of his physical actions. 

Charlie Ford, In His Studio, 2014.

 

Charlie Ford and Louis Petruccelli, The Charcoal Movement, 2013.

Charlie Ford, The Physicality of Drawing, 2014.

Charlie Ford, The Physicality of Drawing, 2014.

Response to Schneeman

Drawing as a Veinous System, Carolee Schneemann

Carolee Schneemann is an American painter that has ventured into performance works and installations Her works mainly focus on the body, and she has used ropes in a couple of performances, in order to test her physical limits.

Schneeman's performance works are meticulously planned and they all begin with drawings. Before this semester I had no idea how much work goes into a performance work. There is so much planning involved in her performances, and strategies have to be in place for the performance to work. The outcome of the work is never the primary concern, it is the creation of the work that matters.

"Drawings are the physical embrace for images in space, the extension of musculature onto the page. The drawings are the visual embodiment of gestures, momentum, the illusive motions that carry the parameters for shaping actions."

Response to Orrico

Voyage of the Transfer, Tony Orrico.

Tony Orrico is a performance artist that uses full bodied actions to create his works. His previous dance experience drew his attention to the awareness of his movements, so he began investigating the presence of the body within drawing. 

"I am fascinated with how physical impulses manifest into visible forms."

Orrico's works are feats of endurance. He commits himself to a certain strategy and focuses on the concept as he draws. I only did my performance works for small amount of time, about 30 minutes, and I felt physically exhausted after that amount of time. It was also a mentally exhausting exercise, focusing on something for that long, but at the same time once you get into the rhythm, you start to get into a meditative state. 

"I am continuing to explore space that is absent of emotion, rationale, memory, reaction, projection, judgement or inhibition. I am attempting to navigate through the body's receptors and simulate a sense of suspension to shift my relationship to the physical realm, especially gravity."

I like how performance drawing is planned so meticulously in its creation, yet the outcome is never 100% certain. 

Morgan O'Hara

Morgan O'Hara is an American born artist that exhibits work internationally. Her Live Transmission works are performance pieces. She follows the movements/actions of someone in real time and draws their movements. I really like her drawing method and the outcome of her work. Each one is so individual and personal. It captures the movements that O'Hara sees and also seems to invoke the model's personality. 

Human Heart: Ehrenstein

LIVE TRANSMISSION: movement of the live beating heart of TILMAN EHRENSTEIN seen through magnetic resonance imaging

La Charité Hospital / Berlin, Germany / 24 February 1999

8 1/4 x 11 1/2 / A4 / 21 x 29.5 cm

Soba Master: Kashiwagi

LIVE TRANSMISSION: movement of the hands of soba master KASHIWAGI KUNIAKI while preparing soba flour and cutting noodles

NIPAF 01 / Nippon International Performance Festival / Nagano, Japan / 12 March 2001

30 x 42 in / 76 x 106 cm

Classical Pianist: Argerich 

LIVE TRANSMISSION: movement of the hands of MARTHA ARGERICH while playing BEETHOVEN's Piano Concerto No. 1

Festival Pianistico Internazionale di Bergamo e Brescia / Teatro Donizetti / Bergamo, Italia / 11 June 2001

27 1/2 x 39 1/4 in / 70 x 100 cm

Performance Project #1

I did my performance drawing over the weekend. I experimented with three different movements, but ultimately the original straight lines proved to be the most successful. I will only be using that one for my first performance project installation. I am not sure why I am drawn to the straight lines, and the repetitive movements, but I feel like it is something I need to explore further. 

 

Week #10

I did my performance project over the weekend and decided to experiment with layout ideas for the installation of project one. I like how it rolls down from the wall onto the floor. I'll also crop the video and zoom in so that it is a thin video strip and continues the scroll. 

Week #9

This week in class we did not do a lot of drawing, we watched a lot of performance artworks being created. We did, however, do a short exercise following Morgan O'Hara's process. We watched a contemporary dance performance and drew the movements of the dancers with each hand. I really enjoyed this exercise. It's a possible strategy that I could use for one of my drawing performances. 

Week #8

This week we started a new project: Performance Art. 

We were given the task of setting up a performance that was supposed to last one hour. My strategy was: Tracing paper, taped down onto the table. Oil Pastel/Conte Crayon. I moved along the table with both hands on the paper, and did not lift the drawing materials off the paper. I did this on each side, back and forth. After 30 minutes we were told to stop, which is lucky because I was running out of materials. (I did not realise I would go through so much pastel/crayon so fast!)

At the beginning I was apprehensive of this project. But after about 10 minutes I really got into the rhythm of the movement. You kind of go into this meditation doing the movements over and over. 

I liked the outcome of this experiment and plan to continue on with this idea in my own project. 

Critique Day

Artist Statement:

I used to try to avoid expressing my personal life and illnesses in my work, I considered it to a be a taboo topic. But when I started to think about my relationship to text, and then to time, all my daily rituals came to mind I felt like there was a lot of stuff inside me that I needed to express. 

I started the text project by taking the side effects sheets from my medications and then running them through the photocopier at 400%. I then scanned them into my computer at home and took them into photoshop and collaged them together. There were a few fights with technology during these stages. Then I gridded them up, resized them and printed them on 200gsm A4 card. When I set up all the grids together I found that new words began to appeal to me, so I chose to highlight these words in different ways. At this time I was reading through the article of Ed Ruscha. Ruscha described his word choices as 'hot words' that he needed to capture straight away before they disappeared. I really like this concept and I think it's applicable here. 

Influences for the text project include, Jenny Watson, Mel Bochner and Bruce Nauman. 

The text project influenced my narrative project quite a lot. After seeing the date paintings of On Kawara, I was inspired to look at my daily rituals with my medication alarms. I have a diploma of animation and I had seen quite a lot of flip books pop up recently which inspired me to delve back into creating moving images. I am not entirely happy with the outcome of this flip book, I used a premade sketch book which restricted me with the timing of the work. I ended up photographing each image and putting it together in a gif maker to create a small stop motion animation. I think the short animation worked a little better than the actual book in the end. 

Influences for the narrative project include, The Flippist, Serene Teh and Mou Hitotsu no Kenkyujo. 

Flip Book Progress #2

These are the final two gif's of my flip book. The book flips two ways, from each end, so that is why there are two gif's. This is just a quick stop-mo of how it would look if you flipped it in person. The creation of the flip book was a little more problematic then I first thought. Once you put the images together you can see were you should have added more in betweens. The timing is a little bit off for some of the flipping. 

It's interesting what came out of this project. I didn't quite follow the storyboard/plan for the book. I just experimented with each page to see where it went. 

Text Project Progress #6

Final layout tests for the three collages! 

Text Project Progress #5

Progress on collage #2. I realised that the colours I have been using are all based around the medication packaging that I took the side effect sheets from. I have one tinged purple, one orange and one blue. I have tried to make them look similar so they feel like they are a group of collages. But at the same time I tried different techniques on each one. 

Response to Ings

"Embodied Drawing: A Case Study in Narrative Design"

Welby Ings

This article explores the notion of sketching as a method to communicate and process ideas. Ings relates this back to the creation of the film Munted. He states that he was interested to see if a new method in drawing might allow him to open up the processes of film design to other ideas. Ings discusses how in film the director/writer's ideas are firstly translated into scripts and written proposals before any investors will even consider the work. There is an assumption that the imagined film will only work if it is first translated into the written word. So Ings used new methods of drawing to broaden narrative concepts in film.

"the pencil...is a bridge between the imagining mind and the image that appears on the sheet of paper." (Pg 2.3)

Ings notes that there are three primary uses of drawing; concept sketching, presentation drawing and drawing for manufacture. He then goes on to describe a method of drawing called enstasic drawing. This process is an immersive experience that allows the creator to slowly reflect on their work while they are submerged into that world. 

"The term enstasic suggests a standing within. It surfaces from the Indo-Greek roots ‘en’ (into) and ‘histanai’ (to stand)." (Pg. 2.4)

 

Drawing is a process that allows creators to think things through and try new possibilities. It's a way for someone to slow down and process what they are doing and explore their options. Enstasic drawing is not a form of communication, it is used to generate the creator's thinking. It is not meant to create storyboards or sketches, it is a method of creating. 

Rosenberg (2008: 109) refers to this process as a state “where one thinks with, and through drawing to make discoveries, to find new possibilities that give course to ideas and to help fashion their eventual form” (Pg. 2.4)

I like the idea of enstasic drawing, but I don't know if I follow this method. I go into drawings with a plan, and if I don't have a plan then it usually ends up really badly. I am not good at just creating. It's an interesting concept to allow the process of drawing to help generate new ideas and make new discoveries. It's just not my process. 

I also really like this quote, that pictures do not need to be pictorial. They can be abstract and still mean something too. 

"...abstract lines, and forms, and shapes, and colours can give emotional meaning and expression just as much as narrative lines, dialogue and characters." (Pg 2.2)

Response to Pasquariello

"Ed Ruscha and the Language That He Used"

Lisa Pasquariello

This article examines the text based works of Ed Ruscha. Ruscha is an artist that is associated with the pop art movement but was also trained to paint in an Abstract Expressionist manner. Pasquariello points out that Ruscha's work is not entirely Pop and that his work also fits into a Conceptualist framework.

Between 1960 and 1972 Ruscha depicted over four hundred words. Pasquariello talks about the kinds of words Ruscha chose and why he was drawn to them. In the first decade of Ruscha's practice he chose mostly single words, which fits in with the simplicity and directness of Pop. Generally in Pop-art the work is devoid of traces of the artist's hand, it shows no obvious traces that it was created by an artist. The focus is instead on the mechanical production of the work. In Ruscha's work, however, you can see the brushstrokes, the layers of paint and the exposed canvas. He also depicts the words without any accompanying imagery. This fits into the Conceptural proposal that language can be both the matter and subject of an artwork. 

"...he developed a language-centred practice in the very medium rejected by many Conceptualists." (Pg. 89)

"Annie", Ruscha, 1962.

Ruscha says that certain words attract him and his work goes back and forth between how the work looks and what the words mean. Ruscha's sense of language means that he has to capture words or phrases when he sees them before they disappear. He then goes on to  join the sense of the word with it's physical form and attempts to find the connection between the pictorial form and its meaning. He is very careful to not be too literal with his depiction of the words and tries to portray them as he sees them. 

"Whether or not the work communicates anything to anyone is not important to me...Sometimes I don't care about the definition of the word."  (Pg. 90)

"Because I love the language. Words have temperatures to me. When they reach a certain point and become hot words, then they appeal to me... Sometimes I have a dream that if a words gets too hot and too appealing, it will boil apart, and I won't be able to read or think of it. Usually I catch them before they get too hot." (Pg. 91)

"Quit", Ruscha, 1967.

"Damage", Ruscha, 1964.

"I like the idea of a word becoming a picture, almost leaving its body, then coming back and becoming a word again." (Pg. 96)

I really like Ruscha's work, but I am more attracted to his drawings than his paintings. His work is beautiful and the words he chooses to depict are very interesting. I like that Ruscha doesn't just fit into one framework. Although he is associated a lot with Pop, he also links in with Conceptual ideals. Ruscha presents words in a very different way and endows them with life. 

"Self", Ruscha, 1967.