Zart Extra Term 3 2011
VCE Art: An Expressive Folio of Dance
St Columba's College, Essendon
The following is a diary of a VCE student, and the process of her work, inspiration and challenges.
I thoroughly enjoyed completing VCE Art during 2010. It was a challenging subject that required lots of time and effort; however I felt it all paid off with the successful completion of my folio and four final pieces. My initial concept was to explore classical dance and the type of movement it involved. I was motivated by my personal experience and passion for dance, which began at a young age. I was interested in the flowing, light, graceful and fluid qualities that are captured in dance and wanted to somehow recreate these qualities.
This initial idea led me to brainstorm possible directions and explore a range of materials and techniques. This eventually culminated in the creation of a sculpture suspended above the ground at the end of Unit 3. It comprised of three ribbon-like metal structures. Through this piece I wanted to demonstrate that whilst dancers may appear to be moving gracefully and effortlessly, they are very strong.
After Unit 3, I reassessed the direction of my folio and decided to explore an abstract drawing style that I had developed during my spare time. Despite changing the stylistic direction of my folio, the movement of dance remained my inspiration. This led me to investigate line, colour, space, size and layering as well as to develop symbols representing different aspects of dance including movement, costuming, music and lighting. I completed numerous trials, exhausting all possible options that I thought could be interesting before refining my ideas and creating two more final pieces. The patterns evoke a strong sense of movement and reflect the intricacy and complexity of dance. Dancers appear to be moving with ease but they are actually putting a lot of effort in, to achieve the correct technique and perform difficult steps. The highly energetic patterns also reflect my personal emotions linked with dance and performance. My favourite piece is the one combining the patterns and transforming silhouette of the dancer.
I then proceeded to experiment with a cruder patterned painting style inspired by A.R. Penck. I decided to produce a fourth larger piece incorporating this less refined and more expressive style. The bold black and white brushstrokes on two layered pieces of plywood with curved patterns cut out, captures not only a sense of movement but also the raw emotions felt when dancing.
I took a fairly structured approach to producing my folio. I preferred it being neat and easy to understand. I consistently added to my folio throughout the year and completed numerous two and three-dimensional trials. I was always looking out for possible sources of inspiration. I was not only inspired by my personal experience but other artists as well. Investigating and creating work about a topic I was passionate about made my work far more enjoyable and I therefore put a lot more effort into it. I tried to utilise the analytical frameworks within my folio on a regular basis to not only explain my work but to also demonstrate other possible ways people could interpret my work.
I am happy with my folio of work and the final pieces I created, as I believe they meet my initial intentions of capturing the qualities of dance.
Dominique Blowes
St Columba’s College
Essendon
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