Neil Groom led this meeting of the Unit.
For this session we revisited an earlier theme of using the body as a structure and also relating it to the architectural structures found in an interior. We looked at Giacometti and the way he structurally frames his figures within a space and pays careful attention to the ‘spaces in between’ features as a way of activating the space and the figure/ground relationship.
We also examined the work of contemporary painter Magnus von Plessen, who uses tape or tape-like strokes to either obscure the figure or define or wrap around the figure. He also is ambiguous about the positive/negative spatial relationships which also in turn activates the relationship between the figure and the space it occupies.
We positioned the figure around stairs so he could straddle and stretch easily – at times he is partly hidden or sunken into the space. We started with quick sketches then in the second half of the session we used the tape as a drawing tool and layering element within the drawings.
Jonathan Armour 