Peter Missen

End of Semester 1 - state of play

Me

Name: Peter Missen

Star sign: Leo

Nationality: British

Favourite artist: Patrick Caulfield

e-mail: missenp@googlemail.com

LinkedIn: Peter Missen

Facebook: Peter Missen

Twitter: missenp

Artist’s statementI am a life long learner having enjoyed a great variety of evening courses since completing

vocational education, mostly “O levels” and “A levels”.

“A level” art was a particular favourite under the watchful eye of local artist Gill Hawkins way back in 1998. Gill’s art course included many day-trips to London to visit art exhibitions,

which inspired me to paint. Among the exhibition visits Piet Mondrian and Patrick Caulfield were particularly appealing styles to me, as were Triptychs.

Since the “A level” art course I have been collecting paints and canvases for my retirement. And I’ve kept in touch with Gillian, visiting exhibitions and open studios when I can.

Following a pension crisis after a 21+ year career, I took early retirement from the IBM Software Development Laboratory in March 2010. Some 10 years earlier than planned!

The trauma of the pension crisis meant a change of style to a “throw the paint at the canvas” style, in order to release the pent up anger that the pension crisis and enforced early

retirement caused. This was the root of the “A Splash of Colour” exhibition.

Painting portraits is something I’d really like to be able to do, once the inner anger has sufficiently subsided. I am not a betting person but It could take a while!

MA Fine Art course has opened my eyes to lots of new stuff – the world is my lobster…

Some words/art things/terms I have been exposed to (no particular order)

reifying, workshop cuts, praxis, acme, found objects, narratology, collections, xenia,

ceramics, Dadaism, Action Painting, the other Francis Bacon, rhopography, haptic, YBAs,

ontology, Fauvism, Conceptual Art, deconstruction, Pugwash, Instructional art,

Performance art, semiotics, tachisme, situationalists, slumping, vanitas, public works of art, commodity fetishism, mass observation, gallery commission, Spanish still life, austerity, Saatchi online, protesting (SORT IT OUT), ...

Some artists I have been exposed to (no particular order)

Jackson Pollock, Barbara Kruger, Pete Codling, Francis Bacon, Mark McGowan, Carey Young, Labrador, Anne Vallayer-

Coster, Caravaggio, Cezanne, Diego Velazquez, Chardin, Francisco de Zurbaran, Jan Steen, Joachim Beuckelaer, Juan Gris,

Juan Sanchez Cotan, Pieter Aertsen, Trimalchio, Willem Kalf

Happenings during the courseFacebook usageSeminar groups

InductionsCeramics/glass workshop/Protest against the cuts

3D workshopPrint workshop

Light photosFound objects – Aluminium cans

Atkinson Gallery exhibitionBeach collecting

Peter’s participation projectsExtra lectures

Visits

Facebook usageUsing Facebook to document progress

Created a groupMA Fine Art 2011-2013

10 members so far

Created lots of photo albums

Some Facebook photo albumsLight experiments

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150347338554556.365791.697879555&type=1&l=d6dd6a0ea6https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150354042884556.367055.697879555&type=1&l=56ff5ed989https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150356482004556.367586.697879555&type=1&l=0842b9ff50https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150357918079556.367901.697879555&type=1&l=5d9bf15af7https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150435785174556.379900.697879555&type=1&l=6637da6a6a

Textureshttps://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150345661604556.365420.697879555&type=1&l=c7b30e09ce

Canshttps://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150337633464556.363827.697879555&type=1&l=dbf2238286https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150295445379556.354704.697879555&type=1&l=a4aff77e46

Workshopshttps://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150370893629556.370452.697879555&type=1&l=bfc2ed1908

Participation projectshttps://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150349747224556.366257.697879555&type=1&l=efbd41c122https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150434591344556.379767.697879555&type=1&l=5470d47705

Seminar groupsI did not really fit into any of the six groups

I am ostensibly an “Action Painter”

(though I did not know the term)

Group 3 was the lesser of all the evils!

“The Individual and the Social, Art and Society,

Art and Politics.”

Did some research into Guy Debord’s “The Society of the Spectacle” – an awesome read…

InductionsClay

Glass3D workshop

PrintingLibrary

Need to do:Small metalsPhotographyLaser cutter

Ceramics/Glass workshopBeen playing with glass and ceramics

SlumpingGlazing

Gutted the workshop is closingJoined the demonstration

Banner was “SORT IT OUT”Made the Pugwash front page 3 times

Disappointed they don’t have a glass blow torch as I wanted to make some glasswork.

And Eldon is not open 24/7 which is dreadful

3D workshopDid the induction

Made some stuffa palette

a gallows

a Mega Magnet holder

Got a bit of laser cutter use

Print workshopDid the induction

Offset litho machine very excitingWill have a bash next year

I meter sized posters

Limited edition action painting prints

Will bash out loads

Have got a huge roll of printing card to use

Found a big guillotine in the photography area

Light Photos

Experiments at the seafront

Several mornings and evenings

Action painting with light

Loads of pictures on Facebook

Light PhotosLight experiments

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150347338554556.365791.697879555&type=1&l=d6dd6a0ea6

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150354042884556.367055.697879555&type=1&l=56ff5ed989

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150356482004556.367586.697879555&type=1&l=0842b9ff50

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150357918079556.367901.697879555&type=1&l=5d9bf15af7

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150435785174556.379900.697879555&type=1&l=6637da6a6a

Aluminium Cans

Been collecting aluminium cansFrom the road

Most of these are flat (Road kill!) Why did the hedgehog cross the road?

From the beachSigns of wear/degradation

From the Common/Castle FieldsUsually whole and unblemished

Some even unopened!

Cans PhotosFacebook albums

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150250259674556.340451.697879555&type=1&l=50c9c25e13

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150337633464556.363827.697879555&type=1&l=dbf2238286

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150295445379556.354704.697879555&type=1&l=a4aff77e46

Atkinson Gallery exhibitionEntered 4 pieces aligned with my seminar group

Having a dig at the French flag (Politics)Tricolor Triptych

French flag – adorned with England jewellery

Ceramics on woodBlue, white, and red mince pies on a cheese board (fromage)

Aluminium cans on TarmacAll flattened by cars on the road

Blue - Fosters, White - Red stripe, Red – CokeAustralia – Jamaica – USA

Hanging French PunkChampagne corks, wood, string, plastic

Gallows glue was still wet on the last day for entries

Atkinson Gallery exhibition• Selecting names for the pieces of art

– Lots of thought!!!– Two levels of indirection

• (Start with a word/phrase, engineer a numeric link, then apply several mathematical operations to get a number)

• I used “Overt obfuscation” then the number

– Tricolor Triptych “Overt obfuscation 0.0029850746”

– Ceramics on wood ”Overt obfuscation 0.0017667845”

– Aluminium cans on Tarmac “Overt obfuscation 0.0024145617”

– Hanging French Punk “Overt obfuscation 0.0015568666”

Atkinson Gallery exhibition - photos

Atkinson Gallery exhibition - photos

Atkinson Gallery exhibition - photos

Atkinson Gallery exhibition - photos

Atkinson Gallery exhibition - letter

Got the same reject letter as others on the

course

Beach collecting Found objects

Aluminium cans1,000,000 Pebbles (By Pete Codling)

WoodFlotsam and Jetsam

PlansCatch of the day

cans – classified (size, colour, type of drink)logs – charred old logs in new bag

Beach still life assemblage (emulating Spanish)Classifying pebbles (number, colour, shape)

Peter’s participation projects

Things in the MA space for all to contribute toBlank White Canvas

Filing cabinet “PAiNT ME”

NO RULES

Dump your unwanted paint etc. on them

Participation projects - Canvas

Blank White Canvas in the MA space

I’ll put a new blank out when I decide it’s done

Will aim to produce triptychs

Different colour backgrounds to follow…

Participation canvas progress

Facebook albumhttps://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150349747224556.366257.697879555&type=1&l=efbd41c122

Participation cabinet progress

Facebook albumhttps://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150434591344556.379767.697879555&type=1&l=5470d47705

Extra lectures attendedDigital Design Media

Research methodsMichelle Anne

Simone

Aspex – Emergency 5 feedbackhttps://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150272636804556.347708.697879555&type=1&l=5f729bccd9

Spanish still life lectureCurrently reading “Looking at the Overlooked”

Four Essays on Still Life Painting by Norman Bryson

Visits - since the course began• gASP

– Come together– Steve Chivalry (graduate prize)– Entre chien et loup – Dominique– Is Britain Great? 3

• gASP@ The Guildhall

• Aspex– Emergency 5– Dominique

More Visits • Bournemouth

– Russell Cotes– The ArtHouse– The Library

• Portsmouth– Above the Blue (Port Solent)– gASP (Brougham Road)– Aspex (Gunwharf)– Southsea Gallery (Albert Road)– Central Library (Guildhall Square)– Southsea Library (Palmerston Road)– Guildhall (Guildhall Square)

• London– KPMG building (Canary wharf)

Private View Visits • gASP – lots!• Portsmouth Central Library - several• Guildhall

– gASP@Guildhall

• Southsea Library– 9 lives of a cat – Anna Edwards

• Bournemouth– ArtHouse - “White Winter” inc Henry Moore work

• Eldon– Modern Vanitas - Tyran Hawthorn

– Farewell to SPACE - Pete Codling

Trips abroad

New YorkSigned up for the trip

Cancelled due to lack of interest, grrrrrrrrrrrrrr

BerlinSigned up for the trip in January

Huge list of things to see from my A level Art teacher

Not yet confirmed I have a place

What about the future? • Lots more experiments

– Ceramics and glass while we can

• Need to have a go in the Printing space– Next year as it will still be there!

• Keeping an eye on “commercial” aspects– Paintings/Installations?– Gallery space/Studio space?– Grants/any cash available?

– I have a 90 minute session with the Cibas Director on Thursday

(Creative industries business advice and skills development service)

http://www.port.ac.uk/research/cibas/

• MA Project – nothing concrete yet– Too many ideas!

• I need an “effing” big space to instantiate all my ideas– My attic is 9m x 5m so could be in the firing line for some action…

That’s all folks…

Any questions?

Thoughts?

Comments?

Feedback?

Advice?