Critiquing….

Well I decided after critiquing that if I created an image that was slightly sexist would be controversial, this would be because as a male I would be depicting a female in a submissive role not only being tied up but by using a household item too tie her up, this implying that the woman should be domesticated in the house not working or having a career and at the beckon of man, not as an equal or having any rights. So basically a pretty loaded picture really, doesn’t it sound good nothing wrong with being a little controversial in public when it comes to art. Should I shy away and be wary of the subject, not being an established artist putting a first work out there could actually have negative results, though on the other hand of course the controversy could be a draw card too and have a positive effect by getting my art spoken about, similar to other artists that started out controversial only to become mainstreamed in the end. I don’t want myself to end up mainstreamed, it would be better being controversial or just on the radars edge instead. No middle ground. Why? Why not? But then isn’t that always up to the viewers and critics too decide isn’t it. So what do I do? Add the piece or not? Tough questions and even harder answers, but plenty for me to mull over for a while well not too long as I only have five weeks before the showing and that means I have to have all the work completed printed and framed then installed in the gallery. So the rest of this week will be studio based and getting the images correct for presentation, easy ae ha. Oh well it will have too be done I have no choice other than I want too create the images in the first place :). I did decide though I will get closer so that I work in my normal comfort zone spacing instead of so far away from my subject and everything not working out, this will still add plenty of content and context to the images and allow enough to create a dialogue for the viewers too engage in. I still have to try and figure out how I am going to present them yet, normally it guess they would be hung in plain frames behind glass, single images. I thought about a collage, after looking at my contact sheet, having a myriad of images of different or similar scenes could actually work well, well it has for others in the past but again yet it is something I have not tried too do so my result could be well off. But then I think is having the multiple pictures more like a domestic setting, a set that someone would have on their wall, or would it not look professional enough for the gallery? Well I guess I will find out in the coming weeks as I source frame styles and decide what to print on, most likely satin paper as gloss might be a little over the top under the glass if I decide too go that way, diajet would give them a very dark feel as well but it scuffs and marks up so easily that I would be wary of it getting damaged between printing and hanging and canvas is out, not because of costs but because I do not want to print these images on it. I could always print transparencies and mount behind a plain piece of Perspex or thin sheet of glass, that alone adds a contemporary element and also loads it up with more content, does the viewer ‘see’ through the images and therefore ignores or becomes desensitised from the subject matter itself? However I end up presenting the final images too be hung will ultimately be decided by if I add any extra context with the framing etc. Time will tell.