Unit 1 - Initial Research

"Grid Neiu"" Acrylic on canvas 60 x 48"

For this first Unit, I have to investigate the use of drawing and colour, initially, I began doing research into artists and I came across 2 which caught my eye right away. Ed Moses, being the first, whose work caught my attention due to the use of mostly primary colours with a darker background. There were two types of his work which I found interesting, some which used linear lines of primary colours, mostly reds, and yellows, and then some pieces which use the same colours, but use more abstract marks.

"Wipd"acrylic on canvas 60 x 48

Across is the first piece, titled 'Grid Neiu', which used a variety of red and yellow lines at diagonal angles across a black background. The colours used aren't completely opaque and gives some translucency between the layers, which adds more depth. There are also contrasts between the marks which Moses uses in the above piece, there are the harsh bold linear lines which go across the piece against the more abstract dashes of colour in the same red and yellow tones, but with more opacity to them, giving them the effect of them being brighter and more saturated. I plan to do some experiments influenced by this style of using colour in my work and reflecting upon it.

The next piece I found interesting it titled 'Wipd', which like the previous piece, used red and yellow acrylic on a black acrylic background, but the marks are more fluid and abstract. Instead of the layers of colour in the above piece, this piece has 2 separate sections, the top half of the piece focuses on using yellow and the bottom half is red. The title of the piece reflects the marks made as the colours look like they've been whipped up on the canvas.

Both of the pieces have used the colours to give the illusion of movement, and the black background makes the colours pop out against the dark background, it gives a contrast between the light and dark tones. The use of only red and yellow complements each other as both are primary colours. There is a varied shade range of these colours due to the thickness they were applied to the canvas, the thicker parts appearing brighter, whereas the thinner sections appear sheerer.

"Alchimie 366" acrylic on canvas 78x78"

The next artist who drew my attention was Julio Le Parc. An Argentina-born artist who does both modern optical and kinetic art.
His use of colour interests me due to the use of layering colours and the illusion of the colours mixing into new colours. The piece across is titled Alchimie 366, and is part of a collection by Parc called Alchimie. I find the lines marked out by the smaller dots of colour into triangles is blurred at the center of the piece when all the dots of different colours mix to distort the piece. It reminds me of old TV pixels and how they used to warp and give a similar effect.


  There was another series by Julio Le Parc which I found interesting which is called Surface - Couleur.

The piece across is from the Surface-Couleur collection, I find this piece interesting as the composition of the colours make them look like the piece is moving. I'm not familiar with optical art, so this is new to me. I suspect it is the combination of lots of bright colours with the long and short lines of colour in a linear fashion that gives the illusion of movement. This piece differs from the rest as its on a white background instead of black. I find the white background makes the overall piece brighter, as the whole piece is lighter instead of the colours having to be against a darker background.

Comparing the two artists, I feel that Moses' work is more fluid in the marks, and uses simpler colour schemes, whereasas Le Parcs' work used more linear marks but the way they are arranged gives them more movement, and the sence of an optial illusion. Moving forward I would like to try both artists techniques, especially Le Parcs' to see if I can create something which has the effect of an optical illusion.