If I was given the opportunity to ask one question about this piece it would be, why? I want to know why this piece was created, what sudden inspiration Conner had to create this piece from a bunch of miscellaneous objects that he found throughout many thrift stores. I think you definitely need to be able to create an effective collage when studying Conners work, therefore I feel that this is an important skill that is required. You need to look at what message you want to put across, and how you are going to create this. I feel that working in Conners style would help me to add more materials into my work, something that I have been set on using since the start of this exam. By studying his work it enables me to use more texture within my work. I have also been thinking about using the beautiful texture Conner uses with the use of paint over photos by that Richer studies. I feel that it would allow me to incorporate both of my artists and my love of texture into one. The title of the work is "Looking Glass", I feel that this title suggests, to search. There is so many different and individual things within this piece that I think the main idea behind this piece is too simply "look". You should be looking at the all the contrasting objects within this piece, observing them in detail, taking time to stop and closely look. In addition to that things such a magnifying glasses are referred to as looking glasses. This adds to the concept of looking closely at the individual detail within the piece. After looking closer at the different images laid throughout this piece you can clearly see that it has something to do with women. After researching this I found that the worn women's stockings and lacy undergarments within the piece have been said to meditate on male desire. Conner has never actually stated whether this is what the title suggests, I don’t know but personally the title suggests to me looking in detail, and that is the main reason why I have fallen in love with this piece.
Conner had an interest in found objects. Thrift shops offered a cheap alternative for materials in which Conner could frequently use within his pieces. In addition to that all of the objects carried past stories and past lives in which Conner wanted to present within his work. I adore this piece, I find it so interesting, however I don’t feel that it has a personal meaning to me. If I would have been asked to re-name this piece, I would simply call it “searching”, I wouldn’t want to change the perception of the piece. However I feel that to re-name to searching would encourage people to look closely at all of the indistinct objects hidden within it. Produced in 1964, this piece shows Conners development from painting to starting to create collages that really pushed the boundaries of the underground art movement. No other artists were involved in the creation of this piece, however it did inspire Conners fellow Northern California artists. In addition to that this piece created a widespread interest within the style assemblage. The scale of this piece is 153.67cm x 121.92cm x 36.83cm. It’s quite a large piece, and I think that the size adds to the searching aspect of this. For example, within the piece there is a figure made from stuffed nylon within the piece and in my opinion it looks frightening, as it’s lifeless body is laid upon the self and covered over by other objects. However you can still see part of it, I feel that it makes you focus on it more because it looks so indistinct that you really want to figure out what it is. I would defiantly consider with working in a large scale after seeing this piece. I feel that it would enhance the way my work is presented, by capturing the attention of people by the scale of my work, I can easily present my ideas. In addition to that I could focus on using a scale that would simply focus on something closely. So, if I decided to work from some of my photos, I could look at a particular part of them closely and begin to create both observational and material studies on them. This would benefit my work because it would allow me to work in a range of different scales. I feel that the materials used with this piece are a large part of what it means. The women’s clothing represents the mass marketed ideals of femininity and how women are pressured.
All of the different materials featured throughout this means something to the artist. Therefore when considering using materials within my work I will have think about what the mean to me and the topic of indistinct. Not just choosing materials that I find interesting. Using different materials will defiantly allow me to explore the topic of indistinct more and it also allows me to link in personal meanings too. Collage, indistinct, dark, unique and intriguing are the five words I would use to describe this piece of art work. Conner uses dark colour within this piece, I feel colour really changes the mood of a piece and what colours an artist choose really show what they want to represent. There is not much tone used throughout this piece, however the clear amount of tone I can see within this piece is the photographs. If you look towards the top of the piece you 3can see dark coloured objects but the photos have no darker coloured objects surrounding them. I think that this because Conner wanted to put an emphasis on the images and what they represent. Line is used constantly throughout this piece, Conner has decided where every single object is to be put, and how the lines work with each other. This piece is definitely 3-D. You feel more involved with the piece because of it’s scale are form therefore it captures your attention more. With the tone, line and form being changed within the piece would be completely different and feel that it would change for the wrong reasons. I found this piece when searching up Bruce Conner and was instantly fell in love with it. To conclude, I feel that this analysis has really helped me with my studies on Bruce Conner.
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