Exercise 2: Graphic Formlessness

Graphic Formlessness

The cleaner of the two options. Here, you will use regular painting materials, yet in the service of making something that evidences formlessness or bad taste. One way to think of this task is to accept into the painting all that you might otherwise have chosen to remove, or to soften, or to rethink. Colours that do not like each other, wonky perspectives, or clumsy drawing - if it looks right, or clean, or nice, or harmonious, or pure, then remove or rework it quickly. There is no room here for anything save the basest of painting process. The worse it gets, the better it is!

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Karel Appel was foremost in my mind. Just throw, squeeze and spread the paint. Don't think!

Materials

• Various Water Based Oil paints

• Palette Knife (plastic)

• Disposable gloves

• Used Canvas 45cm x 60 cm

• The weather (rain)

• Ten minutes.

• My fingers.

Process Images.

Order- (Before the rain).

Oil on canvas 60 cm x 45 cm

Chaos- (After the rain).

Oil on canvas 60cm x 45 cm

The two paintings are side by side.

What have I learnt?

• Embracing elements of bad taste or formlessness challenged my conventional notions of aesthetics and composition.

• Experimenting with unconventional combinations and questioning those preconceived notions of what is considered visually pleasing or harmonious was also challenging.

• Exploring 'wonky perspectives, clumsy drawings, or disharmonious colour combinations' offered me insights into the subjective nature of artistic representation.

Why do some artists seek technical perfection and others don't?

I feel opened up to possibilities for my expressive freedom and personal interpretation. Formlessness offers an alternative perspective that embraces artistic creation's irrational, chaotic, and spontaneous aspects. It engages in a dynamic tension between order and chaos, rationality and irrationality. By embracing experimentation, challenging conventions, and expanding my creative repertoire, formlessness inspires me to explore alternative materials, techniques, and aesthetics.

This is leading to broadening my engagement with the possibilities of contemporary art.