Listen to Gabriel Orozco talking about the ‘Working Table’ pieces. Reflect on his comments in relation to your own work for this project. How do Orozco’s descriptions of his working process resonate with your own methods and approach?

Gabriel Orozco‘s collection, which he describes as leftovers of leftovers from his own work, are the remnants of a physical embodiment of his process, exploration and development. Objects that had been collected and stored in shoeboxes were the subject of many of his trials and experiments, which in his own words, were not always successful.

The artist Joseph Cornell (1903-72) is often considered the pioneer of Abstract sculpture or assemblage. Cornwell used found and collected objects from Manhattan’s antique bookshops and dime stores to express his idea’s. (Royalacademy.org.uk, 2015). El Anatsui, a Ghanaian sculptor uses a range of found materials; bottle tops, old milk tins, railway sleepers, driftwood, iron nails and printing plates, highlighting that there are some places in the world where people have to re-use materials out of necessity, rather than as a choice.

I feel that Orozco approaches this concept from a different perspective. To try and explain my reasoning I will compare with an artist who collects driftwood from the shoreline to create their art. It is likely that they will already have an idea as to how the object is going to be used, or what the outcome may look like. In contrast, Orozco draws inspiration from his own trials and experiments – the leftovers of leftovers and thus drawing inspiration from a vast collection of random items. Undoubtedly this is an interesting way of working, which as much as I admire, I do not have the space to store a vast collection of shoeboxes. However, on a much smaller scale, I had collected a selection of jugs and pots which I purchased from charity shops and used extensively during Practice of Painting One.

I had previously found it challenging putting together a still life composition, often as a result of over think it. My usual approach was to think about the composition and then assembled the objects. The scope of objects and materials to collect for Part Two was wide and varied – opening a new approach to still-life. With this in mind, I will now revisit Project 1 – Collect and as I have a number of boxes in my garage marked ‘car-boot’, this may be a good place to start!

References

Artnet.com. (n.d.). Joseph Cornell | artnet. [online] Available at: http://www.artnet.com/artists/joseph-cornell/ [Accessed 10 Feb. 2020].

B, M. (2019). ‘Recycle’ artist Romanowski looks back ‘Every Now & Then’ | 48 hills. [online] 48 hills. Available at: https://48hills.org/2019/03/romanowski-111-minna/ [Accessed 10 Feb. 2020].

Curiator. (n.d.). Untitled by Gabriel Orozco. [online] Available at: https://curiator.com/art/gabriel-orozco/19 [Accessed 10 Feb. 2020].

Johnson, K. (2012). Swimming to Shore. [online] Nytimes.com. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/16/arts/design/gabriel-orozco-asterisms-at-the-guggenheim.html [Accessed 10 Feb. 2020].

Moma.org. (n.d.). Museum of Modern Art | MoMA. [online] Available at: https://www.moma.org/multimedia/audio/174/1933 [Accessed 10 Feb. 2020].

Royalacademy.org.uk. (2015). Joseph Cornell | Exhibition | Royal Academy of Arts. [online] Available at: https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/joseph-cornell [Accessed 10 Feb. 2020].

Tate. (n.d.). Who is El Anatsui? | Tate. [online] Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/el-anatsui-17306/who-is-el-anatsui [Accessed 10 Feb. 2020].

Whitecube.com. (2020). White Cube – Artists – Gabriel Orozco. [online] Available at: https://whitecube.com/artists/artist/gabriel_orozco [Accessed 10 Feb. 2020].