Synopsis of exercise research from Performance Art: Painting and Performance, Kirstie Beaven (Tate, 2019), Janine Antoni, Loving Care (1993) and Shozo Shimamoto – ‘Theory of the Curse of the Brush’ (2015)

The common theme that that encapsulates the technique of the artists Jackson Pollock, Janine Antoni and Shozo Shimamotos, is that they use as non-conventional, or even unorthodox means to direct paint onto a support. Pollock – scattering, dripping and throwing, Antoni’s use of everyday objects and activities as the subject matter and Shimamotos, who implores the reader to rid themselves of the paint brush and use their imaginations to apply paint with inconceivable objects or unconventional means

But their discontent, or contempt for the conventional use of a paintbrush is not the only synergy between these artists or their techniques. Their creativity embodies a performance of painting to express emotions, thoughts and even their vulnerability; outpourings of emotions that could not be restrained by conventional rules of mark making or the application of paint on a canvas.

Film clips of Pollock at work shows a considered approach that is then performed with vigour and energy to expresses his feelings. Painting and Performance shows Pollock moving over and around his canvases in a kind of dance, with each painting acting as a record of his movements and gestures. (Beavan, 2011)

Janine Antoni, Loving Care (1993), (see figure 1), the title of which refers to name of a hair dye she used for this artwork, uses her head as a mop to swirl and splash hair dye onto the floor. This act relates to an era when housework was considered as a women’s work.  Her performance demonstrates her self-confidence to tackle social ‘norms’ in the previously male dominated environment – the art gallery.

Shozo Shimamoto conveys his disdain in the use of a paintbrush in favour of using less conventional objects or means to apply paint to the canvas, such as a watering can, umbrella, toys, feet or roller to splatter, spray or splash paint onto the canvas. Having created paintings by smashing bottles of paint onto surfaces or using a cannon to fire paint he challenges the concept of painting with a brush.

There are many other artists who have created artwork by using different tools and means in the application of paint:

•  Kazuo Shiraga used his body to wrestle and roll with a pile of mud forming them into sculptured shapes and forms. 
• Yves Klein made monochromatic paintings by using naked female dancers covered in paint who imprinted themselves against the support. 
• Carolee Schneemann pushed the boundaries of art and life through series of daring, erotic, transgressive works that played off her own image as a beauty, the role of the female nude.
• Niki de Saint Phalle filled balloons with paint before shooting them with a rifle for the paint spray and dribble down the vertical canvases.
• Shigeko Kubota’s ‘Vagina Painting’ was created by pinning a brush to her underwear that made gestural marks as she crouch and moved across the paper support.

As I have discovered through my own artwork creation the act of painting is itself an art form – rather than just the outcome of a finished piece of art. The means of applying paint onto a support has long since passed the confinement of a palette knife or paintbrush. For many artists the creation of art is a theatrical performance, be that in the privacy of their own studios or as a public performance. This not only pushes the boundaries of art, but it also blurs the lines between genres: theatre, performance, film, dance and choreographer but to main a few. This research has provided a platform from which I hope to express my own thoughts and creativity when applying paint without a paint brush.

References:

Antoni, J. (n.d.). Loving Care — Janine Antoni. [online] Janine Antoni. Available at: http://www.janineantoni.net/loving-care [Accessed 15 Jan. 2020].

Beavan, K. (2011). Performance Art: Painting and Performance – Essay | Tate. [online] Tate. Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/p/performance-art/painting-and-performance [Accessed 15 Jan. 2020].

Biography. (2019). Jackson Pollock. [online] Available at: https://www.biography.com/artist/jackson-pollock [Accessed 15 Jan. 2020].

Enright, R. and Walsh, M. (2010). The Beautiful Trap: Janine Antoni’s Body Art. [online] Bordercrossingsmag.com. Available at: https://bordercrossingsmag.com/article/the-beautiful-trap-janine-antonis-body-art [Accessed 15 Jan. 2020].

Lange-Berndt, P. (2015). Materiality. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, pp.65-66.

Tate. (n.d.). ‘Holes’, Shozo Shimamoto, 1954 | Tate. [online] Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/shimamoto-holes-t07898 [Accessed 15 Jan. 2020].