VSW21, 22, 23, 24 |
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I concluded that works in a series must share something that an artist accords thematic status to. This can be anything the artist wishes and is clever enough to elevate to that level. Artists will always find new creative ways; they just have to present their work in a way that signals the connection. Titles can help but visual clues are more important. Series that are planned ‘top down’ are more likely be tight than series that are investigative or experimental.
This explains my question about whether my pear series consists of four or five works, and it explains the difficulty I had in finalizing my bedroom series. I had already put a window into each painting. I hoped that this would be sufficient to connect them, but I also decided to experiment with applying the paint in a different way in each painting. They were not even all the same size and shape.
This explains my question about whether my pear series consists of four or five works, and it explains the difficulty I had in finalizing my bedroom series. I had already put a window into each painting. I hoped that this would be sufficient to connect them, but I also decided to experiment with applying the paint in a different way in each painting. They were not even all the same size and shape.
I did five things to help them com together:
- trimmed two canvases to match the size of the others,
- added a purple curtain to every window that didn’t have one yet,
- left out one canvas where the purple curtain didn’t work,
- think about their order,
- imposed the same title on all.
Where the Light Comes Through I-VII. Acrylic and oil on canvas, 46x61cm.
A body of work is similar to a series but more varied. Cycles of the Intertidal (VSW24, previous post) consists of artworks that have significant connection with each other. These include a group of nine encaustic boards and a book with nine sketches: are these one series or two? In relation to each other they are surely separate, but in another context, and suitably displayed, they might mesh into a single series. Adding in the video and sculpture, the formal differences are so great they a best considered a body of work on a single theme. |
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