TSANG Kin-Wah

Image of the artist installing his pattern work and one of the finished item for Shu Uemura, Costa Mesa, California, 2006.

Planning for my PHD proposal

Thought I'd do some writing on my blog today, to help me focus a wee bit I suppose.
I really need to pull my finger out now in terms of doing an initial proposal towards what will be my actual proposal.....and already I'm stumped!

I know that I want to do a practice based PHD..but don't quite know how that will manifest itself...perhaps along these lines - For the past 15 or so years I have made pattern based work. I was painting, but since re-engaging with contemporary art and my own work through the Artist Teacher Scheme at BCU and New Art Gallery, I have begun to make installations using cut paper.

Anyway, for a long time I have struggled to locate my work within a fine art context. Obviously I am interested and inspired by many artists but am also very influenced by printed textile design - but have no desire to print fabrics. I also love interior design and decoration as well as contemporary illustration and grafitti.
To put it in a nutshell, my influences are eclectic!!
Although I make work that I want to be aesthetically pleasing, I am not heavily into aesthetical theories...yet.

I am thinking about researching the possible locations for my work, putting it into a range of contexts - Fine art, interior decoration and craft for example. The reason I mention craft also is that my work has to fit around a full-time job and my family and is in a way very repetitive (although I feel it is therapeutic)...does this make it a craft practice? Who knows? Is craft still seen as a lower 'art form' than fine art? Is there anything wrong with creating pieces that are purely decorative or ornamental and could be placed in a domestic setting?

I have so many questions, which if is a good thing I guess....now I just have to try and make sense of it all.......

Hmmmmmm, think this ramble has helped a bit, thanks for listening!

Yuko Nishimura - Paper folding

WOW, BRILLIANT PAPER FOLDING ARTIST, LIKE BRIDGET RILEY IN RELIEF!

FILIGREE WORK BY CARSON FOX

"My series of “filigree” sculpture was originally inspired by Victorian hair sculpture and jewelry. Historically, these objects were crafted out of the hair of a deceased loved one and acted as a memento of the departed. My own sculptural works are elaborately crafted tapestries of delicate, hair-thin wire that bring to mind lace work on a large scale. Often these objects are hung in such a way that allows the resulting shadows to become important elements of the work. In these sculptures, while the decorative patterning may soothe, the hair like materials impart a sense of dread and mourning."

MARIMEKKO

MARIMEKKO PRINT SPRING 2009