Creating Aesthetics in Painting Using Doodles

Creating Aesthetics in Painting Using Doodles

Chapter One

Objectives of the Study:

The objectives of this study are to:

identify images in doodles,
explore line and texture as design elements inherent in doodles,
explore the various techniques that could be employed to create visual space for doodles in thepaintings,
create paintings adopting doodle images in their originalform,
create painting compositions combining different doodleimages,
create paintings, drawing inspiration from

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

Introduction

This review covers artists, their works, philosophies and methodologies that contribute to this research. These artists and their works are categorized into four:

Artists especially of the Surrealist movement, whose works were inspired one way or another by dreams and fantasy. Surrealism was an artistic and literary movement that explored and celebrated the realm of dreams and the unconscious mind through the creation of visual art, poetry, and motion pictures. Surrealism was officially launched in Paris, France, in 1924, when French writer André Breton wrote the first surrealist manifesto, where he outlined the ambitions and the visions of the movement. Among Surrealism‟s most important contributions Kleiner and Mamiya (2005) recall, was the invention of new artistic techniques like automatism, which tapped into the artist‟s subconscious and unconscious
Works of artists which echo spontaneous attributes spanning the modern and postmodern era. Such artists include Edwin Parker Twombly Jr. (1928-2011), Len Lye (1901-1980), Carl Barrata, and Annalea Bennet. Artworks of painters in Nigeria whose works and philosophy reflect spontaneity were also considered. They include Gani Odutokun (1946-1995), and Jerry Buhari(b1959).
Artists who explore linear motifs in Nigeria, especially of Ulism from the Nsukka Art School like Uche Okeke (b. 1933) and Tayo Adenaike (b. 1954). Also Onaism of the Ife Art School practiced by artists like Kunle Filani (b. 1957) were reviewed; the reasonbeing that line, which is the main character of this technique is also the basic characteristic of a doodle both in form and content.
Artists who imbibe the values of waste-material-recycle. They include: Jacob Jari (b.1960) and Kolade Oshinowo (b. 1948).

Artists and Paintings inspired by Dream or Subconscious Associations.

Surrealism as an artistic movement was mainly inspired by dream and unconscious associations. The Surrealists adopted some Dada ideals and invented new methods such as automatic writing (spontaneous writing using free association). It involves allowing the hand to wander across the canvas surface without any interference from the conscious mind. The resulting impression that is made, it was thought would not be meaningless, but would be guided at every point by the functioning of the artist‟s subconscious mind, and not by rational thought or artistic training (Kleiner and Mamiya 2005). The Surrealists deliberately used the unconscious and spontaneity in creative activities. They viewed dreams as occurring at the level that connects all human consciousness and unconsciousness and as constituting the arena in which people could move beyond their environment‟s restraining forces to re-engage with the deeper selves that the society had long suppressed. In 1924, one of the leading Surrealist thinkers, Andre Breton (Kleiner and Mamiya 2005), provided a definition of Surrealism, as follows. “Pure psyche automatism, by which one intends to express verbally in writing, or by any other method, the real functioning of the mind. Dictation by thought, in the absence of any control exercised by reason and beyond any aesthetic or moral preoccupation…”

Sigmund Freud was a major influence on Andre Breton. Freud and other psychoanalysts used a variety of techniques to bring to the surface the unconscious thoughts of their patients. The Surrealists borrowed many of the same techniques to inspire their writing and art, with the belief that the creativity that came from deep within a person‟s unconscious mind could be more powerful and authentic than any product of conscious thought. The researcher also shares this same assumption and that when doodle as a product of the subconscious is visually explored, delightful aesthetics can be created.

The psychologists see automatism as involuntary actions and processes not under the control of the conscious mind, such as dreaming, breathing, or a nervous contraction. The Surrealists were also deeply interested in interpreting dreams as channels for unspoken feelings and desires. (Kleiner, 2009). The works of the Surrealists being reviewed here did not begin with preconceived notions of a finished product rather, they were provoked by dreams, or emerged from unconscious associations between images, text, and their meanings.

Salvador Dali (1904–1989): Dali was one of the most influential painters of Surrealism. During the 1930s, Dalí executed majority of the artworks for which he is famous. These include some of the most celebrated Surrealist images, such as The Persistence of Memory. (see Fig. 4). In contrast to the usual Surrealist concern with the phenomenon of unconscious thought, Dalí insisted on a more consciously objective presentation of the experience of fearful passion. He depicted with great precision familiar objects in unrealistic settings and combinations, describing his paintings as “handmade dream photographs” and his technique as the “paranoiac-critical method” (Kleiner, 2009). In many of his paintings, he made use of repeated imagery, these included the multiple watches in The Persistence of Memory for example, and also shapes that transformed or turned into other objects. These combinations of thoughts and ideas made his paintings opento multiple That notwithstanding, his thematic concept evoke dream-world experiences.

CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

Introduction

Practice-led research method especially in the visual arts could mean, in the words of David (2007) in Sullivan (2010), “a way of researching through the practice of making art. Such making is not just doing, but is a complex informed physical, theoretical and intellectual activity”. He goes further to state that art practice in the studio is an enquiry that is based not only on intellect and imagination, but a field that is rich in understanding with social and cultural relevance. This research adopts the Practice-led research as an appropriate methodology. As Sullivan opined, “Practice-led research is employed, working toward practical outcomes and also creating new form of understanding”. As practical knowledge and liberating ways of knowing is being sought, as well as working and interacting with people in their everyday lives, we discover also that Practice-led or action research is participative research (Reason, and Bradbury, 2001).

Practice-led research involves the artist solely initiating an action and equally participating fully in it. It aims to apply artistic methods to practical problems that require solutions (Schein, 2006). By this assertion therefore, attributes of Action research method was also adopted in the course of this research. Reason in Sobeirinejad (2009) sees action research as a way of knowledge which brings ideas, theories and action together with the aim of creating practical knowing; in other words, “learning by doing”. In action research, the knowledge that is possessed is generated through practice, which requires adequate planning within the understanding of the research through theory. Reason concludes that “the outcomes of research are not obtained simply from theoretical studies but are also gained from the process of action and the researcher„s practice”.

Aligning with the dictates of action research methodology therefore, the studio practice in this research started with experimenting with the liquidized and dripping technique employed by Gani Odutokun (1956-1995) in several of his paintings. He believed in the theory of “accident and design”. Gani‟s technique reminisced automatism explored by Andre Masson (1896-1987), a popular figure among the Surrealists. In painting, automatism involves allowing the hand to wander across the canvas surface without any interference from the conscious mind. The resulting marks, it was thought, would not be random or meaningless, but would be guided at every point by the functioning of the artist‟s unconscious mind, and not by rational thought or artistic training (Kleinner and Mamiya, 2005). These philosophical thoughts are likened to the state of sub consciousness in a human being when he or she has little or no control over his or her actions and responses to situations and events around him or her. His or her responses could manifest in doodling. These are accidental and meaningless forms which sometimes take the form of lines. In Gani‟s paintings, forms emerge naturally as the liquidized colours are allowed to flow into one another with little or no efforts made to control them. This technique is being combined with the painterly gesture of flat abstract shapes as part of preparatory processes for the visual space for doodle images which were eventually engraved with a pallete knife and also inscribed with syringe as applicable.

Procedures in Studio Research:

Paul Klee (1879-1940) once declared, „The artist does nothing other than gather and pass on what comes to him from the depths. He neither serves nor rules- he transmits.‟ (Read 1948). This view of the artist‟s natural characteristics conceptualizes the inner experience and vision of the doodler. According to Breton in Harrison and Wood (2009), vision is the most powerful of the senses, and so the ability to transpose inner images into surreal-visual images further reveals the significance of this work. The position of the human mind in the subconscious state is not clear. The researcher shares this view of Freud, as he posits that “we are not aware of the content of our subconscious and this often times influences our behavior”. The researcher observes that what is mostly obtainable in the visual art practice is that visual expositions had concentrated more on the outer experiences i.e. the conscious (what can be felt and seen); however, by turning to focus on the inner reality as exhibited within the subconscious state, the various thematic ideas inherent within same would be exploited. The visual conceptualizing of doodle, which is a product from the subconscious state, could be a fruitful expedition for revealing the underlining thoughts of the doodler.

CHAPTER FOUR

DISCUSSION

Introduction

Throughout the research, the researcher‟s thought was patterned after the theories of Surrealism as developed in the first manifesto of Andre Breton in 1924, which was influenced by Sigmund Freud‟s theory of Psychoanalysis. The term Psychoanalysis refers to the systematic structure of psychoanalytic theory, which is based on the relation of conscious and unconscious psychological processes within the human mind. Basically this research aimed at recreating and re-presenting doodles, a product of the subconscious state of the mind which is regarded as meaningless into appreciable and meaningful aesthetic forms. This creative exercise correlates with Bernstein‟s (1997) view that

CHAPTER FIVE

CATALOGUE

Artist Curatorial Statement

The world is saturated with artworks that have diverse meanings. What may be termed as ideal in a generation or period may look obsolete in another. Studio research at the doctoral level is believed to be the peak of academic experience in the visual arts and therefore choosing the subject-matter for artworks becomes a sensitive issue. The field of psychoanalysis was considered in this research as an area that is potentially resourceful. The idea of choosing doodling as the subject matter for this research was hatched when the researcher was caught up at the crossroads of the choice between two psychoanalytical studies of art therapy and doodling. The choice of the latter was based on the fact that the realistic tendencies of making appreciable success in “art therapy” as a research domain is very slim considering the fact that there is a time frame to conclude the academic exercise.

The physical representation of a doodle carries an outlook of non-acceptance and rejection thus making it a worthless item. The whole essence of this research therefore represents an exercise which is paradoxical. One will want to submit that the problem of this research which is to make that which is “meaningless” become not only “meaningful” but equally appreciable aesthetically is practically achievable.

CHAPTER SIX

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

Summary

This study aimed at creating aesthetics in painting by exploring and transforming doodle images into appreciable art forms. The doodles collected were assessed and some of them were selected for the study. Practice led methodology which encompasses theoretical and practical approach to research in the visual arts was adopted through which the various objectives set for the study were achieved. These could be seen in the paintings executed at the end of the study. The studio experiments passed through stages of exploration and development of forms. The literature reviewed in this research revealed the gap in the studio practice of adopting doodles in creating paintings with emphasis on aesthetics. The conceptual framework adopted philosophies within the context of surrealism, automatism and accident and design. In the course of the research, the paintings produced revealed a total transformation of doodle images which ordinarily looked meaningless into art forms that are appreciable.

Findings

In the course of the research, various discoveries were made.

It was discovered that doodle images abound everywhere including public and solitary places like on library tables, chairs, office walls, commuter buses, and toilets.
It appears that most of the artists reviewed misinterpreted other forms of imagesand subject for doodle and doodling. Those that are greatly affected are, creative expressions in cartooning and graffiti.

Doodlers‟profession or career reflects in doodle images they create. For example, accountants reflect meaningless transposition of numbers and figures, while architects reflect non directional lines both curvilinear and
Psychologists and other researchers claimed that the orientation and directional movement of doodles can be used to interpret what is in the mind of the
Creative process in art practice has always been from known to unknown, while in this research, it became imperative to approach it vice
Paintings created during exploration of techniques to create visual spacefor doodles (preliminary study III), could stand as finished artworks on their own as finished artworks.

Orientation and shape of works do not limit their observation and appreciation, rather at various placements; they reveal different meaning and different interpretations.

Conclusion

This research has established a visual means of transforming doodles into a creative visual expression in painting. It presents possibilities of a shift of thematic representation from the conscious to subconscious attributes. Andre Breton emphatically reiterates that the creativity that comes from deep within a person‟s unconscious mind could be more powerful and authentic than any product of a conscious thought. Freud sees the level of sub-consciousness as an important site of mediation within the entire system of the mind, as it is at this level that impulses are either censored and sent back to the unconscious (repressed), or admitted to pass on to consciousness. This researcher submits that the subconscious is not only an important site of mediation within the entire mind but it is a boundless vault containing creative impulses that cannot be exhausted.

Contribution to Knowledge

This study:

discovered that creative process in art practice, starting from known to unknown is imperative to approachvice-versa.
established a shift of thematic representation from conscious to subconscious attributes (meaningless doodles to aestheticforms),
advanced visual means of transforming doodles into creative visual expression in Nigerian

REFERENCES

Adams, L. S. (2007) Art Across Time: The Fourteenth Century to the Present. (3^rd edition,) Vol. II, Mcgraw-Hill, New York. pp. 910-914
Adewunmi, A. (2013) Jerry Buhari. Retrieved from http://www.ayoadewunmi.com/personal/essays-and- interviews/7-jerry-buhari.html on March 20, 2014.
Andrade J, (2009) What Does Doodle do? Journal of Applied Cognitive Psychology, Vol. V. No. 4.
Barbara, R. (1980) (Ed) Jackson Pollock, “My Painting“, in Pollock: Painting. New York, Agrinde Publications Ltd: (1980), pp. 65; originally published in Possibilities I, New York, Winter 1947-8
Battista, M., Eiselen, T. (2008) Insights Through Performative Approaches. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research, North America. Retrieved from <http://www.qualitative research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/378/824> on September 8, 2012.
Bernstein, J. M. (1997) The Fate of Art: Aesthetic Alienation from Kant to Derrida and Adorno. Cambridge, Blackwell Publishing Ltd. pp. 4, 17-34.
Brown, N. O. (1985) Life Against Death: The Psychoanalytical Meaning of History.
(Second edition), Middleton Connecticut, Wesleyan Press.
Cernuschi, C. (2008) Surrealism. Microsoft Encarta 2009 [DVD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation.
Danes, C. (2012) Mind Power: Discovering the power of the mind
Retrieved from http://www.abundance-and-happiness.com/mind-power.html on June 13, 2012.
Danto, A. C. (2008) Aesthetics. Microsoft® Encarta® 2009 [DVD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2008.

Related Topics:

Other Topics