Raul de Nieves

Mexican artist Raul de Nieves works both in the art and fashion worlds, combining the traditional techniques of his culture with new self taught skills. As he didn't go to art school, he had the freedom to explore his own interests and instincts, which means he can work for several years on the same pieces. His most renowned pieces are his sculptures made of plastic beads and his fashion based pieces which are more fantastical than practical, but are still possible to wear. His inspiration comes from his homeland, watching the celebration of different cultures and watching people costuming themselves for different festivals and celebrations. 

https://art21.org/watch/new-york-close-up/raul-de-nieves-is-an-american-artist/

After watching interviews with Nieves I feel a strong connection between his mindset and processes and my own. He talks about not wanting to be a perfectionist, and often not knowing how it is going to turn out is the most exciting part, which are both things which come into my mind when I am working on a piece. Colour is an important part of my work - maybe the most important - and I use bright vivid colours wherever possible. Nieves uses colour as a tool to allow the audience to see the 'facets of happiness and sadness all in one place'; colour allows people to see things as bright as they can be. He also uses alot of pattern over pattern, and clearly his work celebrates the excess, which aligns with my idea that more is more. Clothing as sculpture is another element that both my own work and that of Raul de Nieves have in common. Self adornment and self expression; the celebration of the body and what we are capable of; the body and clothing is something everyone is familar with, and it is a way of fully expressing yourself. 

In this interview Nieves talks about 'creating a narrative with figures and symbols and putting it in one image', which is essentially what I am trying to do with my degree show. By using the spectacles as a focal point I am hoping to create a narrative of some sort of festival scene. They are all very different but I hope that they will come together to make one whole image. I think the other paintings and work in my space will aid my work and the paintings and other works will help to frame my spectacles and make it look like a complete and full installation. In the curation meetings everyone was pretty easy going with how they wanted their work to be displayed which means when we come to install I think it will be a pretty exciting and collaborative week. Nieves wearable works are often shown on mannequins or stands, even though the works are intended to be animated through live action. My spectacles are intended to be worn but for the show they will be shown as 'sculptures'; only in the supporting documentation will they have reached their full potential through the movement of the body. The spectacles live outside of their presentation at the degree show - they are objects that are on display that have a use, even if that use is being disregarded for the duration of the show.

Nieves talks alot about using humble craft materials and how this takes away the seriousness of making art sometimes, which also relates to his lack of a perfectionist attitude. By using basic materials and tools, you can make whatever you can with whatever is infront of you. Its also about turning something simple and mundane into something magical. 'I’m not trying to limit myself. I look around here and there’s all these different types of works, and they all fall into a category with a manual labor aspect. It jumps from sculpture to painting, from installation to wearable costumes and performance. There’s a revolving theme around all of these things happening, but the medium is so open. That’s the ultimate freedom.'

Here, six jumpsuited, platform-shod sprites, each covered in brightly coloured plastic beads, pose as if frozen in the middle of The Hustle 

https://vimeo.com/280165093 

Words I constantly use to describe my work and why I use them

weird

/wɪəd/

adjective

1. 1.

   suggesting something supernatural; unearthly.

   
   

   "weird, inhuman sounds"

   
   

   synonyms:

   uncanny, eerie, unnatural, preternatural, supernatural, unearthly, other-worldly, unreal, ghostly, mysterious, mystifying, strange, abnormal, unusual; More

   • 
     

     
     
2. 2.

   ARCHAIC

   connected with fate.

noun

ARCHAIC•SCOTTISH

1. 1.

   a person's destiny.

verb

INFORMAL•NORTH AMERICAN

1. 1.

   induce a sense of disbelief or alienation in someone.

   
   

   "blue eyes weirded him out, and Ivan's were especially creepy"

wonderful

/ˈwʌndəfʊl,ˈwʌndəf(ə)l/

adjective

1. inspiring delight, pleasure, or admiration; extremely good; marvellous.

   
   

   "they all think she's wonderful"

   
   

   synonyms:

   marvellous, magnificent, superb, glorious, sublime, lovely, delightful, first-class, first-rate;More

ridiculous

/rɪˈdɪkjʊləs/

adjective

adjective: ridiculous

1. deserving or inviting derision or mockery; absurd.

   
   

   "that ridiculous tartan cap"

   
   

   synonyms:

   laughable, absurd, comical, funny, hilarious, humorous, risible, derisory, droll, amusing, entertaining, diverting, chucklesome, farcical, slapstick, silly, facetious, ludicrous, hysterical, riotous, side-splitting; More

spectacle

/ˈspɛktək(ə)l/

noun

1. a visually striking performance or display.

   
   

   "the acrobatic feats make a good spectacle"

   
   

   synonyms:

   display, show, performance, presentation, exhibition, pageant, parade, extravaganza "the Queen's Birthday Parade is a spectacle fit for a monarch"

   • an event or scene regarded in terms of its visual impact.

     
     

     "the spectacle of a city's mass grief"

     
     

     synonyms:

     sight, vision, view, scene, prospect, vista, outlook, picture "the four men did present rather an odd spectacle"

   • 
     
   • 
     
   • All of these words have significance to my work and I think they all sum up exactly what I am trying to get across to my audience. If I make something unearthly, or absurd, that inspires delight or pleasure in the viewer then I will have succeeded. I am writing this blog post in an attempt to add some sort of context to my work. My spectacles are not thoroughly rooted in research or concept, I see them as merely a response to these four words and my aim is to make my work as weird, wonderful and ridiculous a spectacle as possible. Even the simple definition of each of these words directly relates to each work I have created this term, and whilst this may be a very 'on the surface' contextualisation of my work I do believe that these four words are all a person needs to understand why I make what I make.
   • 
     

In Guy Debord's Society of the Spectacle - whilst he is talking about life, politics and the environment -  he states a few things in the first few pages that I feel relate to my work (bare in mind I am not sure I am interpreting this book the way it was intended).  

1. 'In societies where modern conditions of production prevail, all of life presents itself as an immense accumulation of spectacles. Everything that was directly lived has moved away into a representation.' - If I relate this statement to what I believe a spectacle is then this is in semblance with my philosophy on life that everything in life is meant to exuberant, playful and enjoyed, and that everything has a potential to be a spectacle. My works are spectacles in their own right - they dont need a particular environment to become one. 

2. 'The spectacle presents itself simultaneously as all of society, as part of society, and as instrument of unification.' - Spectacles have the ability to unite people, much like the festival environment I picture my work in, and I hope that my spectacles will unite the audience through their ridiculousness. 

3. 'The spectacle is not a collection of images, but a social relation among people, mediated by images.' - The spectacle is 'non-place', it doesn't have to exist in a particular environment which is the same as my work; it is versatile and can still have the same impact in a variety of contexts. 

4. 'The spectacle presents itself as something enormously positive, indisputable and inaccessible. It says nothing more that 'that which appears is good, that which is good appears'. - My spectacles are what they are. They are a true representation of myself and what you see is what you get. 

ways of displaying

Rebecca Horn -

Horn's works act as extensions to the body - often inhibiting movement and senses. Her work is most well known through photographs, which are often shown alongside the wearable pieces. The sculptures themselves have been shown in glass cases and boxes, giving them the appaearance of museum artefacts which are meant to be preserved and not to be touched - the opposite of what they were designed for. Because of this, it is the documentation of Horns work that allows people to see how the work was intended.





Nick Cave -

Cave's soundsuits whilst designed to be worn and performed, have been shown in various galleries displayed on mannequins - which act as an obvious clue that the costumes are meant to be worn on the human body. This displaying is key to his more abstract works - such as the suits that have found objects attached and the suits that have little or no figure - as it creates an expectation for the audience that these suits will be worn. The way they have been grouped together in the gallery space coupled with the way that they face different directions as well as each other helps the soundsuits to develop their own characters.



Jonathan Baldock -

 

Similar to Nick Cave, the way that these sculptures have been positioned allows them to develop their own characters and make them look 'human'. They are positioned as though they are mid activity, The human aspect is enhanced by use of human features like eyes, nose, mouth and hands.

Older work - Foundation FMP - The House of No Inhibitions

For this piece of work I projected a video of people dancing onto the static collages of people dancing in the house. The combination of the sculptural house and the projection made it look like the figures in the house were moving slightly, and really brought the sculpture to life. I am considering projecting a video of people wearing the spectacles in a variety of environments ontop of the real life spectacles in the degree show. As then I would be able to show the movement of them in the show without having to have a performance or have people taking them off their stands.