Considering the viewers response as my main focus, I’ve been looking into artists who experiment with the environment of their work.
Pipilotti Rist
Bruce Nauman
Laure Prouvost
Tony Oursler
Projections, sounds, video art, lights, distance between the viewer and the work.
In this session with Natasha Kidd, I showed the small series of photographs involving skin and obscenity. I focused on explaining my research into the importance of skin and how I had used skin in a way to make it seem obscene and repulsive. The presence of the raw meat was commented on several times and we discussed what was viewed as more ‘disgusting’ and why.
I was given notes on what I could research into to, including the Grant Museum of Zoology, the welcome collection/trust, Bill Viola, Orlan and a book called the Ballard Crash which revolves around the concept of fetishes.
Reactions – What I found most helpful about this was receiving ideas and opinions on how other people initially reacted to my work. Although the photographs came across slightly repulsive, I was told that I should really consider the presentation, environments and sizes in which I show my work. For example instead of showing the 8 images on a small A4 scale, I should experiment with creating large images. This has also given me ideas on sounds, smells and other interactive ways I could receive reactions from the viewer when they see my work.
Tintype gallery
Suki Chan – Lucida 
“Weaving together extraordinary images, bio-medical research and individual testimonies, Chan’s interactive three-screen installation exposes the curious and complex relationship between the human eye, the brain and vision.”
During the Londonography visit, one of the galleries I looked into was the Tintype in Islington. Not having been here before, I was surprised with the size of the gallery yet became really intrigued by the current exhibition being showed by Suki Chan. The exhibition was a moving image installation consisting of three large screens. Chan became interested in the relationship between the brain, the eye and vision, as well as how our eyes receive images and how the brain interprets them the right way.
What I found most interesting about Suki Chan’s exhibtion was the interaction between the work and the viewer. I feel that the work was intentionally fully interactive in an attempt to make that connection and engagement with who’s viewing it. As I was watching, I felt immersed in the work, with the three large screens surrounding me and taking all my attention and it then meant that I understood the work and what Chan was so interested in.
With my current work I am very much focused on the interaction between the work and the viewer, and how to create visceral feelings. Seeing ‘Lucida’ has made me consider what made me interact with her work so well? I feel that the environment of the exhibition and simply the size of the screens were the main contributors to this. If the screens were smaller, or the room was lighter I don’t think I would have spent the time I did viewing the work. Compared to my work where I am more interested in provoking reactions and emotions, this exhibition mainly interacts with the viewer in a hope that they ‘understand’ what Suki Chan’s so intrigued by. However it has made me think about the presentation of my work and if I had large photos, large projections or have the room in darkness, would it change the reaction from the viewer?
As skin was one of the my original interests in my work, I want to go back to it and explore how skin can be seen as obscene. Skin is normally not thought about much and is commonly not seen as repulsive or disgusting. It’s something we all have and because of this, isn’t seen as something outraging or offensive.
In an experiment to discover if skin could outrage or disgust I have photographed a small series of skin in different forms. this has included close up photographs of my own skin, my friends skin and also raw chicken. In the photographs I took of my own skin and my friends skin, I’ve captured ‘imperfections’ and marks on the body which look unusual and slightly obscene when not in context. This includes bruises, freckles and creases in the skin. Along side these photos I have taken close up images of raw chicken thighs, and compared these to the images of the human skin. Personally, I see these images as far more repulsive than the images of the human skin, however when these were shown to some viewers the main reaction I had was that the photographs were all as repulsive as each other.
When asking why, the answer I got was that because they were unaware of what the photographs were of, it was the unknown which made them repulsive.
Where on the body were these photos taken?
Who’s body were they taken on?
Which is the human flesh and which is the animal flesh?
‘Touching: The Human Significance of the Skin’ – Ashley Montagu, recommended to me by my tutor, is a book I’ve been reading about skin. It’s made me think and really consider the importance of skin as an organ rather than just a material. “The skin as an organ, the largest organ of the body, was very much neglected until recently. Our first medium of communication and our most efficient protector. Perhaps next to our brain, the skin is the most important of our organ systems.”
I feel like skin is often undermined and we forget how important it is, yet just see it as a material coating out bodies. This may contribute towards the lack of attention towards skin as well as the sometimes disgust at it.
‘Art and Obscenity’ – Kerstin Mey
What is obscenity? ‘Obscene signifies something that offends or outrages, because it defies the accepted standard of decency, civility or modesty. Obscenity is connected to feelings of repulsion or disgust. Within the context of the law, it is regarded as something that has the tendency to morally corrupt or deprave.’
I’ve previously been exploring materials seen as obscene, repulsive and disgusting, and grown an interest into how these create a visceral reaction with the viewer. I’m going to go back to my original interests regarding these materials and explore this area more. This includes skin, flesh, horror, blood etc. However, I want to associate these themes with obscenity, disgust and repulsion and explore the reactions this can create.
I’ve been making up notes about my ideas on obscenity and how I could explore it. I’m really interested in how an object/material can be scene as obscene and what makes obscenity a thing? A book i’ve been reading, “Art and Obscenity” by Kerstin Mey explores how something can be obscene and also looks into obscenity alongside explicit material. As obscenity is commonly linked with sex, I’m interested in experimenting with these themes.
After discussing my previous work as well as a few of my current ideas on moving forward, I have been given some references to look into;
Jan Švankmajer – filmaker and artist who explores several mediums. Research into his short films, are they obscene, repulsive, weird, strange?
Georges Bataille ‘Erotism: Death and Sensuality’ – philosopher, essayist, novelist, pornographer.
“The two bodies” Chapter from Mary Douglas book ‘Natural symbols’
Compulsive Beauty – Hal Foster
Ashley Montague, 1986, Touching: the human significance of skin, New York
Abjection as a term was also suggested to me as it often flows throughout my work. I’m going to explore abjection in more depth and try to understand how I can relate it to different materials and pieces of work.
Charlotte Paris 