Michael Craig Martin-Lizanne, Andy and Kate

Michael Craig-Martin

born 1941


Article provided by Grove Art Online www.groveart.com


Irish sculptor and painter, active in England. He moved to the USA with his family in 1945 and studied painting at Yale University, CT (1961–3; 1964–6).


In 1966 Craig-Martin moved to England to teach, and he eventually taught from 1973 at Goldsmiths College in London, where he remained a powerful influence on students through the 1980s and 1990s. His early work made deliberate reference to the American artists he most admired, such as Donald Judd, Jasper Johns and Robert Morris. Although he was particularly affected by Minimalism and used ordinary household materials in his sculptures, he played against the logic of his sources; in Four Identical Boxes with Lids Reversed (painted blockboard, 1969; London, Tate), for example, he created a curious progression by slicing into four identical boxes at different angles and then exchanging their halves.


Craig-Martin continued working in various forms, always maintaining an elegant restraint and conceptual clarity. During the 1990s the focus of his work shifted decisively to painting, with the same range of boldly outlined motifs and luridly vivid colour schemes in unexpected (and at times apparently arbitrary) combinations applied both to works on canvas, such as Knowing (1996; London, Tate) and to increasingly complex installations of wall paintings. For his one-man exhibition at the Kunstverein Hannover in 1998, Craig-Martin transformed the galleries into a series of environments of luscious colour, onto which he painted his characteristic motifs of tables, chairs and stepladders and also hung paintings, reliefs and wall-mounted sculptures.

Mainie Jellett- Cornelia, Catherine and Ann

Gregory Crewdson- Caroline, Olatz and Bernadette

Cecily Brown - Orla, Michael and Edel

Victor Vasarely - Debby, Henry and Sinead

Ours and Mine- Richard Hamilton

My Sculpture Piece- Many Faces

For my homage to Hamilton i made a piece that comments on the many ways that Hamilton uses women in his work. The female figure is a frequent focus of his work where he playfully explores  their role in society as sex symbols, domestic godesses, even ornaments.  As much of his work is set in domestic day to day environments it seemed appropriate to integrate a house hold object, in my case a lamp as it fulfilled the domestic, mundane aspect which is so typical of his paintings. I was also inspired by  his use of photomontage and his bold often ecclectic use of colours. 

I took this opportunity during the sculpture block, to experiment with a wide variety of materials, making multiple castings of the faces using various different materials and methods as well as looking at effective ways of using light and shadow.The striking contrast between black and white patterns and bold blocks of colour is particularly characteristic of Hamiltons style.

Materials that i used included:

Various types of paper and tissue paper

Plaster of Paris

Tin foil

Printed images

sweet wrappers

Wire

Textured wall paper

Spray paint

 

My Textiles

Here is a batik i made of a giraffe, before and after the wax had been ironed out.I thought that the batik process would lend itself well to the giraffes coat patternation.  

I then cut wadding to the required shape to be sandwiched between the batiks giving it shape and volume. Having sewn the pieces together, i proceeded to embroider details in to it but i didnt manage to get it finished.

This is a close up of structural and textural details on my giraffe sculpture as seen below. It was constructed using a stiff wire, looking at the animals anatomy and skeleton as a guide. I then stuffed it with wadding and used string to sew the wadding together and to the metal frame. Although i had initially intended to cover it with batik, i decided not to because i liked its simplistic and honest form and construction and thought it would be a shame to cover it up. 

Above is another piece i made during the textile block. It is constructed out of chicken wire and papier mache fundementally. I used news paper and finally a layer of white tissue paper to try to suggest scales and colouration. To create the details such as the eye, fins and tail i used a variety of materials including: liquid wax, cup-cake holders, plastic, thread, copper wire,ribbon and wool. I think this is a very do-able project for school children of any age. 

During the textile block i also experimented with weaving using both a cardboard loom and chicken wire.

Batik

Olatz created this batik by dipping, painting and sewing areas very effectively

Davids creation is another example of how effective the combination of batik and embroidery can be. He also creates texture by layering fabric and fraying the edges.

Here is a very illustrative piece with defined lines and colours, it is quite graphic in comparison to other examples.

3Dimensional Textile

Cornelia created large nest like forms by constucting a wire frame and weaving using a variety of different types of materials such as hesian sacksing, rope and wire wool. 

Weaving and Stitching

Here is a really nice example of how you can create a textural scene or or landscape using a sewing machine and various materials, wools and threads.