AS to A2 Transition: Personal StudyThis resource is designed to support different elements of the transition project and the A2 course:

•The breadth of artists arranged in five themes could help you choose artists for your presentation and / or add breadth to your chosen area of study.•Issues and questions posed could become a starting point for your Curatorship Task.•Issues and artists could inspire practical developments in your own work.

Theme 1: Narrative & Documentary

AutobiographicalBiographicalText based workMemory

In Cell Choisy, the guillotine and the marble house – a replica of the family house – are in a stand-off. The guillotine is about to come down over the whole house, but is never actually released

Louise Bourgeoise: Autobiographical

Tracey Emin

Annette Messager: Autobiographical / Surreal

Paula Rego: Narrative

Tom Philips: Narrative

Grayson Perry

Narrative

Unhappy expressions on the little girls’ faces in ‘Golden Ghosts’ contrast sharply with the idyllic country cottages stencilled in the background. 

Perry often uses found images to create a mood or a tension – the exceptionally sad image of the seated girl is that of a child affected by the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station disaster

Edward Hopper: Narrative

Stanley Spencer

Narrative & Documentary

Caravaggio: Narrative

David Hockney:

Narrative & Documentary

Sophie Calle

Documentary

Rebecca Horn: Personal Narrative

Past themes and areas of study:

Narrative:An examination of the similarities and differences between, Annette Messager, Louise Bourgeois, Paula Rego and Tracey Emin, in their approach to exploring personal narratives?

A discussion of the significance of language and the use of text within modern art - To what effect have artists such as Tracey Emin, Barbra Kruger, Annette Messager incorporated text within their work?

Is reusing text, imagery and artwork a relevant approach to creating work or is it just plagiarism?(David Carson, Neville Brody, Kurt Schwitters, Barbara Krugar, Vincent Burgin...)

What processes and approaches do artists use to convey an Emotional Reality in their work?(Dan Witz. George Bellows, David Benjamin Sherry)

Theme 2: Portrait and the Figure

RealismHyper-realismAbstractBody

George Segal

Sculptural Figures

Michelangelo

Ron Mueck

Wax figurative sculptures that play with scale

Duane Hansen: Life sized wax sculptures

Henry Moore

Abstract figures

Mark Quinn

Anthony Gormley

Leonardo Da Vinci

Jenny Saville

Portraiture & Figure

Hans Bellmer

Lucien Freud

Portraiture & Figure

Julian Opie

David Hockney: Portraiture & Figure

Chuck Close: Realism / Portraiture

Denis Peterson

Realism / Hyperrealism

Robert Bechtle

Realism/ Hyperrealism

Jake & Dinos Chapman

Francis Bacon: Figure & Portraiture

Yves Klein

Past themes and areas of study:

Portraiture and the Figure:

The Female Figure in Western Art: How has the female figure been depicted in art from the renaissance to the present day? Have social, cultural or political influences influenced the representation of women?

Portraiture: Realism & Hyper realism v Expressionism. What is a true portrait? (Visit National portrait gallery, look at ‘I am a camera’ exhibition, Saatchi gallery, research Denis Peterson)

How does the use of colour and mark making in portrait painting give an insight into a subject's character?(Ian Cumberland, Jo Fraser, Paul Cezanne, Lucian Freud, Frank Auerbach...)

How much of an insight into an artist's character does a viewer get from a self portrait? (Use of colour, media, mark making, composition, location, pose, technique etc.) Chuck Close, Francis Bacon, Egon Schiele, Jeff Koons, Rembrandt, Frida Khalo, Jenny Saville.

Past themes and areas of study:

Portraiture and the Figure:

How have sculptors been inspired to represent the figure? Compare representational and non representational depictions of the body. (Henry Moore, Anthony Gormley, Marc Quinn...)

Is it possible to paint like a camera? Why would you want to paint like a camera?Is it 'cheating' to work from photographs, especially photographs that haven't been taken by the artist? (Warhol, Richter, Pistoletto, Malcolm Morley, Hamilton, Hockney, Robert Bechtle, Franz Gertsch, Kippenberger, Luc Tuymans, Marlene Dumas, Peter Doig, Elizabeth Peyton, Liu Xiaodong,Richard Artschwager, Vija Celmins, Judith Eisler, Wilhelm Sasnal, Eberhard Havekost and Johannes Kahrs)http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/find/hayward-gallery-and-visual-arts/hayward-gallery-exhibitions/past/the-painting-of-modern-life

Every Portrait Tells a Lie: Discuss the extent to which a portrait conveys a subject's character or identity. How are we manipulated as viewers through subtle alterations the artist makes to the representation and/or physical proportions of the sitter?

Theme 3: Still Life and Object

RecyclingFound objectsCollectionsKineticNaturalDecorative

Marcel Duchamp

Jean Tinguely

Kinetic Sculpture/ found objects

Willie Bester

Joseph Cornell

Collections of objects

Mark Dion

Lisa Milroy: Collections of objects

Caesar Jedediah Casting found objects in resin.

ArmanDeconstructing and assemblage

Tony Cragg

Recycled & Found objects

Tony Cragg

Recycled & Found objects

Sarah Lucas

Ernst Haeckel

Collections of species

Peter Randall- Page

Sculptures inspired by nature

Barbara Hepworth

Natural Forms

Paul Cezanne: Still life Matisse: Still Life

Past themes and areas of study:

Still Life and Object

Look at the work of Tinguely, Mark Dion, Willie Bester, Tony Cragg, Marcel Duchamp and Robert Rauschenberg. How and why have these artists used recycled and found objects in their work?

Explore the similarities and differences between the work of Richard Long, Woolfgang Liab, Andy Goldsworthy, Barbara Hepworth and Peter Randall – Page. How and why has the natural environment influenced them?

Can a common placed object that exists out of its customary setting be considered as ‘real art’? – Explore the work of Marcel Duchamp, Michael Craig-Martin (An Oak Tree), Joseph Beuys, Joseph Kosuth, Martin Creed and Tracy Emin’s un-made bed. ( Turner prize – Shock of the new’ and ‘Sensation’ books are good reference material)

How did Dada and Surrealist artists alter our response to everyday objects by presenting them in a way that we are unaccustomed to? Has this influenced contemporary art? (Duchamp, Picabia, De Chirico, Dali, Man Ray...)

Theme 4: Landscape and EnvironmentUrbanRuralLand ArtCityscapeAbstract

Richard Long: Natural Environment

Wolfgang Laib

Natural Materials

Bees wax and Pollen

Andy Goldsworthy: Natural Environment

Wilting Flowers

Anya Galacio

Nature

James Turrell

Inspired by the Natural Environment

Yves Klein

Inspired by Nature & The Void

Michael Raedecker

Landscape

Turner

Landscapes: Mood and atmosphere

John Virtue

Cityscape

John Piper

David Thorpe: Paper cut landscapes

David Hepher

Lowry: Industrial Landscapes

Past themes and areas of study:

Landscape and Environment:

Since the Renaissance period, Western Art has focused predominately on depicting realistic representations of the environment, placing emphasis on the understanding of perspective and realism within the scene. Towards the end of the 19th Century, artists started to play with these key elements and portray a different reality, often distorted and abstracted. There was a large shift in the way that artists chose to represent the environment. Compare representational and non-representational depictions of the landscape.

Is landscape an out dated / old fashioned genre that has little relevance to the viewer in the 21st century? Look at these contemporary interpretations of the theme: Gareth Cadwallader, Ged Quinn, Tom Ellis, Peter Doig, Dan Hays, George Shaw, Michael Raedecker and Sigrid Holmwood.

How does contemporary art address the idea of place? How do artists working today reveal and question commonly held assumptions about land, home, and national identity? (Laurie Anderson, Richard Serra, Sally Mann, Barry McGee, Margaret Kilgallen, and Pepón Osorio.)

Theme 5: Culture and Society

HistoryMemorySocial ConstructsControversy / ShockMoralityFashionGender Roles and Sexuality

Grayson Perry

Culture & Society

People say, ‘why do you need to put sex, violence or politics or some kind of social commentary into my work?’ Without it, it would be pottery. I think that crude melding of those two parts is what makes my work.”

Christian Boltanski

Historical

Kara Walker:

Historical

Lisa Kokin My work is about memory and history, both personal and collective, and the area in which the two intersect. I am interested in representing the human condition by using the objects we leave behind.

Marcus Harvey

Shock Value

Damien Hirst: Controversy / Death

Sally Mann: Controversy / Death

Chapman BrothersControversial Subject Matter

Maurizio Cattelan Controversy / Religion

Andreas Serrano: Controversy / Religion

Sonia Boyce: Issues of Race Ingrid Pollard: Issues of Race

Chris Ofili

Controversial subject matter and materials

Past themes and areas of study:

Culture and Society

Sarah Lucas, Andreas Serrano and Marcus Harvey have explored topics that have shocked society. Write an extended essay that discusses one or more of the following themes: sex/sexuality, religion, death, violence, deformity and disability in art. Why is society sensitive about art work that is created in response to these areas? Do artists intentionally aim to shock us with their interpretations of these themes or are they merely presenting their personal opinion? (Joel Peter Witkin, Hans Bellmer, Marc Quinn, Ron Mueck, Kiki Smith...)

Pop Art was a 20th century art movement that utilised the imagery and techniques of consumerism and popular culture as well as mass media and advertising, often in an ironic way. Observers and critics today are now left questioning just whether or not the quality of art decreased at that time. They are also concerned that Pop Art had a negative impact on the art that is created today. Do you agree? Should art be based on the everyday banalities of our lives or should it represent an ideal which is more unobtainable?

(Richard Hamilton, Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst, Sarah Lucas, Michael Craig-Martin, Michael Landy)

Past themes and areas of study:

Culture and Society

Compare how female and male artists have represented women. Are the different representations influenced by society, culture or politics at that time? You may wish to look at one particular period of art, (the late 1950s-1970s would be a fascinating period particularly with the rise of feminism and the representation of women within Pop Art) or compare two different artists (one male and one female). (Hans Bellmer, Roy Lichtenstein, Jenny Saville, Kiki Smith, Lucien Freud, Louise Bourgeios, )

How does contemporary art address the idea of spirituality? How do artists working today reveal and question commonly held assumptions about faith, belief, meditation, and religious symbols? (Beryl Korot, Ann Hamilton, John Feodorov, Shahzia Sikander, and James Turrell.)

How does contemporary art address the idea of consumption? How do artists question commonly held assumptions about commerce, mass media, and consumer society? (Barbara Kruger, Michael Ray Charles, Matthew Barney, Andrea Zittel, and Mel Chin.)

Past themes and areas of study:

Culture and Society

Fashion designers and fine artists have defined Modernity through the medium and dialogue of fashion. Surrealists frequently adapted clothing to present their intentions (Dali: Aphrodisiac Dinner Jacket, Meret Oppenheim Project for Parkett No. 4, André Masson Surrealist mannequin 'Head in a Cage' )

Other artists and designers have also used fashion and clothing as a means to present wider artistic motivations. (Pierre Cardin: Men's shoe with toes, Mimi Smith: Recycle Coat, Mona Hatoum: Hair Necklace, Stephen Willats: Multiple Clothing, Marie-Ange Guilleminot: Dress on Wheels, Helen Storey: Primitive Streak) Consider the stories of art and fashion during the twentieth century, highlighting the moments when they have converged

Issues based sculpture: How are serious issues and complex opinions presented within sculpture? Is 3D more effective in imparting a message than 2D? Look online at 'The Shape of Things to Come’ exhibition that was held at the Saatchi Gallery. http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/artists/sculpture/ Also consider the work of Hew Locke, Yinka Shonibare, Tony Cragg, Thomas Schutte, Jane Alexander, Willie Bester, Kader Attia, Goncalo Mabunda and Joseph Beuys.