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Monday 31 December 2018

Shamsia Hassani as inspiration

Thanks Claire for introducing us to the work of Shamsia Hassani. I was unnerved when I read that she is a graffiti artist but there is so much more to her work than the unwanted tags with which I'm familiar.  (And yes, there is an online tag generator - http://postergen.com/graffiti-creator!)

I've been thinking about what I can take from her work for our next challenge and find myself re-visiting this piece by John Maltby, a sculptor whose work always makes me smile ......



As you puzzle over the connection may I wish you all a healthy, happy and creative 2019.


8 comments:

  1. I'm definitely intrigued by the connection. I must admit that I am really struggling to find anything to work with with this artist.

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  2. Hi Linda, thanks for your lovely message. I am glad you are having some interesting thoughts that have developed from this new artist - I guess that is what it is all about - giving us something to spring us off in a new direction! I think we sometimes get too hung up on sticking to an image - I loved the way Helena had that spark from Lurcat's work that took her off in the direction of Sophie Gamand's photos of pit bulls and flower crowns!

    For your John Maltby piece - I like it very much - a little like one of the huge Easter Island faces gazing heavenward. A bit like Shamsia Hassani perhaps - looking to the future and trying to forget a terrible passage of time? It also reminds me of some of Paul Klee's work - an altogether sunnier outlook!

    Happy New Year to you and I look forward to seeing what Shamsia Hassani's art sparks off in your mind!
    xxx
    Claire

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  3. Oh my, Linda B, you have bowled us a curved ball here! Love the sculpture as it reminds me of west African tribal art. And yes, very like the Paul Klee piece. You now have all of us wondering where this is leading to.

    I have to admit I am struggling to find that trigger to get my head started. But, as 'mistress of the last minute' I have to hope it arrives in good time.

    Best wishes to everyone - here's to a happy, healthy, laughter-filled 2019 - oh, and with a large dollop of inspirational creativity as well.

    Hilary

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  4. Hello everybody. I think I have sorted out my blog problems with Hilary and Patricia's help . So here's hoping !
    I wanted to comment briefly about Claires thoughts on our artist's series.While I agree to some extent the importance of working 'outside the box' (or image), I personally feel that if an artist is presented to me as inspiration / interpretation, I need to reflect in some way that artists work . Otherwise I could easily be inspired by an artist and simply produce a piece which in no way reflects that artists work i.e. a random piece. Am I just embedded in my science background and not inventive enough? This series was loosely defined with size as the only constraint. We all have our own take on how we tackle our pieces . So interesting to view how different our works are for each artist. I now also have a better understanding of how to present your lovely pieces to the NZ public at the "Blog It " exhibition in October this year

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    1. I suppose it depends on how you define reflecting the artists work. What I do know is that on the few occasions where I've tried to emulate an artists style I have been underwhelmed my my efforts.
      In this instance I was struck by the use of self-portraiture in Hasssani's work as much as the message. There are elements of the Maltby sculpture that I relate to and have used as a self-portrait in a different context so I will be combining that with my own message. Grafitti it will not be.

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  5. Hi everyone.
    I think Rosemary has raised a really interesting point... Are we to use each artists work as inspiration or for interpretation? To me they are quite different. Perhaps, as Rosemary mentioned, we are to decide for ourselves, or perhaps this was made explicit at the start and I've missed that bit. As a late comer to the group I'm not exactly sure if the brief was specific about that.
    I'm happy either way but it certainly has an important effect on how I would approach my next piece.

    I'm really looking forward to seeing and hearing more about the 'Blog it' exhibition Rosemary . Thanks for your work on the project

    Claire

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  6. When we started this project I tried to pull elements out of the artists work - interpretation I guess. But then if I wasn't keen on the artist, I took it as a jumping off point to let inspiration take over. I don't think there is any right or wrong in what we end up doing. As mentioned our only constraint is the 16" and we may want to think about that as we do the next few projects in case we'd like to change. And with this being all online, who knows what size they all are !

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  7. Thanks for explaining a bit of the detail Dianne. I must say I do quite like the format as it is reasonably quick to make, store and send if required. However I am open to a change - just hopefully not too small!!!
    Best wishes
    Claire

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