When in Manchester & The Sublime

Annie Swynerton

Whist I was in Manchester I visited some galleries. In the Manchester Art Gallery i found some paintings and artists that relate to this project in particular. You can find the post on my other blog about this here.

I have also found a very interesting site on the Tate! It's so crazy, I've been researching all year and out of the blue a google search takes me to an extremely useful resource on The Art of the Sublime: 

HERE

To me this shows just how vast this topic really is. 

One area of particular interest is the modern sublime. It is interesting to me to see how artist closer to my time have interpreted an"out of date" idea. 

Initially the artist written about here are not ones I would have thought of, so far removed from the 17th century responses to the sublime, these are a lot more minimalist. These include the work of Kasimir Malevich and Mark Rothko.

On Rothko's work, I was interested by the way he displayed his work: "The chapel-like room in which these large paintings were hung was painted grey in accordance with the artist’s wishes; the lighting was strategically dimmed, creating a sombre, meditative atmosphere. Visitors to the room tended to linger; they observed the paintings with rapt attention, moving around, away from and towards individual canvases in an attempt to see more clearly." 

I have found reading about this paintings that I would have otherwise not have considered, very interesting. After reading I can see the connection between these and the work of say, Turner. Rothko also talks about painting on a large scale "To paint a small picture’, Rothko once commented, ‘is to place yourself outside your experience. However you paint the larger picture, you are in it. It isn’t something you command." My project being very much based on my own experiences, I now am certain should be large scale. 

Rotho's work has also made me more certain hat I want my audience to feel something, predominately to be overwhelmed but also a feeling of transcendence, being given and taken away. I do't want my work to simply look aethetic, but to truly evoke a strong range of emotions in the viewer. I think the venue I chose for our Master exhibition will be perfect for this.