Post written by Claire Paterson, recipient of the Steven Campbell New York Scholarship

While I’m here in New York, I’d like to write about 2 of my favourite Steven Campbell paintings – one of which inspired some poses in my most recent collaborative photo-sessions with models.

The Childhood Bedroom of Captain Hook with Collapsible Bed (above) features a figure that resembles Steven Campbell himself as a younger man, standing in a claustrophobic space, with the painted world encroaching in on him from every side.

At the bottom of the canvas you can see another inclusion from the story of Peter Pan: the crocodile that swallowed Captain Hook’s hand and tormented him, throughout the rest of the tale, with a ticking sound from a clock that it had also swallowed – this ticking perhaps acting as a symbolic reminder of Hook’s own mortality. There’s also a grandfather clock in the background of the work, again drawing attention to the passage of time, despite the fact that everything in the painted scene is fixed and static.

In the top left hand corner, there’s what might be a portrait of the artist as he was when he was working on this piece, staring in at his younger self. Here, time is segmented: past and present coexisting in the painted world. We’re perhaps encouraged to think of what Captain Hook may have been in his youth and innocence, before he became a villain plagued by the idea of mortality.

Next to the artist-character’s face is an object that could be interpreted as either a palette or a mirror, and which reflects the artist’s face whilst simultaneously decapitating him. Paint from its surface spills into the canvas all around, forming a pattern of abstracted space. We begin to wonder whether the figure himself has also spilled out of the palette, as he’s of course no more real than the patterned alligator at his feet.

The figure of the young artist is brandishing a knife, and seems to be attempting to slice through the illusions around him. He’s cut into the palette and the canvas world he’s inhabiting, but has uncovered only more illusion – painted blood that’s just as artificial as the painted walls he’s trying to escape. It appears that the figure is attempting to hang himself with his own hair, but looking closer we become aware of an odd detail: the arm that’s holding him aloft isn’t his own arm, as the hand is the wrong way round. This makes us think that the arm could in fact be a representation of Campbell’s own right arm as he paints the picture and this representation of his younger self.

Portrait of the Lost Travelogue Writer (above), depicts a figure that also resembles Campbell.

In this piece, the artist’s identity has shifted yet again to become the character of the Lost Travelogue Writer, who’s lost his way in the pictorial world and is trying to make sense of his situation by sketching in his notebooks. As the writer Neil Mulholland points out, ‘the main protagonist looks every inch the maverick archaeologist in search of ancient civilization.’

The location the Travelogue Writer inhabits is surreal, and we can see in the background famous landmarks and works of architecture from all over the world, including St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Vatican, the Pyramids, the Sphinx and Notre Dame Cathedral.

Through this doppelgänger-like character, Campbell’s immersing himself in a quest, where he searches through the great landmarks of civilisation, art and culture, trying to uncover truth. The character brandishes an enormous pencil, and on first glance he appears to be sketching a picture of two little girls playing with a puppy. When you look again, however, you discover that the sketched image is an optical illusion that forms the image of a skull, and this makes us aware, yet again, that nothing’s what it seems in this painted world.

The Travelogue Writer appears to have stumbled across the scene of an accident or murder, with a figure lying sprawled in a pool of what could be either blood or paint. Above, strange Picasso-esque blue figures hover, and we don’t know whether they’re tending to the man, or have participated in his murder. Picasso as an artist was interested in exploring new ways in which to paint and perceive the human form, and the Travelogue Writer has stumbled across this scene where creatures from a certain era of painting are perhaps complicit in some sort of crime or ritual.

Pose improvised in collaboration with model Celeste Dudley, with wishbone sculpture contributed by Amber Fleming, and metallic triangle contributed by Robert Picker

During our collaborative session, NY figure model Celeste Dudley noticed the picture of The Lost Travelogue Writer on my studio wall, and immediately noted correlations between Steven’s painting and some of the props in my studio (the wishbone, the triangle-sculptures etc.), so we decided to recreate the pose of the murder-victim.

The other NY model I’ve been working with – Zeke Jolson – has also written a little bit about the link between some of Steven’s ideas, and the myth-making sessions that have been happening in my studio. I’ll end this section of the post with some of Zeke’s perceptive and thoughtful comments:

‘Claire, I enjoyed reading your insightful posts about the amazing works of Steven Campbell. Perhaps it’s not too much to say that Collaborative Myth-making offers us another or related way to explore the tension between fixed and illusory worlds, where ‘characters are suspended between different places in a sort of limbo or no man’s land.’

‘To what extent can we find a measure of certainty and security in our various environments, or will we be overwhelmed by the chaos or dangers that can threaten us, or even undone by our own fears? Do we feel the need to retreat to a world of make-believe because we don’t want to accept the world as it is, or because something holds us back from doing so? These are just a few of the questions that came to mind after having read your posts and done some further thinking about our Collaborative Myth-making.’

Quote provided by New York figure model Zeke Jolson

Note: A major source for this blog post is the book ‘Steven Campbell: Wretched Stars, Insatiable Heaven’, by Kathy Chambers and Neil Mulholland (available to order on Amazon)

Finally, here are a few highlights from my 6^th week in New York (that’s me reached the halfway point of my 12 week residency!):

New York Week 6

Tuesday 6^th December

After a day in the studio, I attended a lecture by German artist Kristina Buch, who discussed her work ‘One of the things that baffles me about you is that you remain unmurdered’ – the documentation of which is part of the Animal Mirror exhibition currently on at the ISCP.

I also enjoyed hearing about her work Some at times cast light (2015), where she installed the bronze bust of a fictitious woman in a public site in Bochum, Germany, alongside an official street-sign – the work highlighting how we can be easily manipulated into believing whatever version of history we’re fed, the piece also providing feminist commentary on the lack of celebrated female historical figures and monuments commemorating them.

Wednesday 7^th December

Today I had a visit from ISCP’s Sophie Prince, who took some photos of my studio and works in progress. She also gave me some good tips about things to look into in relation to my project, recommending that I visit the NY production of the interactive, site-specific work of theatre ‘Sleep no more‘, in which the public dons masks and wanders through a large house rigged with theatrical lighting, interacting with the actors.

Thursday 8^th December

Above: One of Louise Bourgeois’ famous spider sculptures, located in the back garden of her Manhattan residence

This morning I went on a field trip to the Louise Bourgeois house in Manhattan. Ordinarily the house is closed to the public, but the ISCP arranged for a small group of us to gain access.

It was fascinating wandering the narrow corridors and rooms of Bourgeois’ house, seeing the accumulated treasures of an artistic life: nick-nacks and random oddments, an eclectic range of books, sculptures from various stages of her career, phone numbers scrawled in pen on the walls, diaries and bits of paper containing scribblings, through which she attempted to work through artistic and personal problems – all of this juxtaposed with signs of her ordinary everyday life.

A particular highlight of the tour was seeing the window where Bourgeois would sit in her later years when she was elderly and housebound, watching life on the street outside and sketching passers-by.

After this, I went to a Chelsea gallery and had lunch with Laura Fitzgerald, an ISCP resident who’s just arrived from Ireland and is now in the studio next door to me.

In the afternoon, I went to the Nicholas Roerich Museum on the Upper West Side.

Roerich was a Russian painter, writer, theosophist and mystic – interested in hypnosis and other spiritual practices, and part of a movement of the Russian avant-garde who did ‘experiments on the spiritual dimension of art.’

My friend Elizabeth Kay (who’s been collaborating with me on my project), put me on to Roerich’s work, knowing that I’d be interested in some of the philosophical issues he explores.

I had the Museum entirely to myself, and was able to to wander the 3 floors alone, viewing the strange, otherworldly works in complete silence.

Flicking through some of the books on display in the museum, I also found out that Roerich was a set designer obsessed with theatricality. I was very interested to read this quote, particularly in relation to my own project:

‘To gain deeper insight into Roerich’s paintings, it is useful to apply the notion of ‘theatricalization’. Theatricalization may be defined as the act of making theater of something, of dramatizing or focusing the spotlights, as it were, on various aspects of human existence to illustrate their significance. As it emerges in such ‘theatricalised’ works, the meaning of the images themselves appeal to us and resonate as something common to all of us…’

(Visions from the other side: Works by Nicholas Roerich / Joe Troncale)

After the Roerich museum, I went to an opening of work by ISCP resident Mikkel Carl, who was exhibiting in the apartment of gallery owner Ana Cristea.

The entire apartment had become part of the work: from red lights installed in the bathroom to fake security cameras mounted in the living room and bedroom, giving the illusion of surveillance.

After the opening, I went for a couple of drinks at an Irish pub with ISCP’s 2 Irish residents, Elaine Byrne and Laura Fitzgerald.

Friday 9^th December

Today I had a meeting in my studio with curator and writer Sara Raza, who is currently curating the third phase of the Guggenheim UBS MAP Global Art Initiative.

We chatted for a full hour, and she gave me a lot of advice on the way she thinks my work should be presented in a show. As well as exhibiting the paintings, she said it’s important to make people aware of the process behind them – and like the critic Adam Kleinman, thought I should possibly do a publication in conjunction with a show: a book that contains letters to artists and models, conversations I’ve had, info on collaborating artists, photographs from the modelling sessions, images of diagrams, and descriptions of the whole ritualistic process from beginning to end.

Sara also gave me an extensive list of artists and theorists she thought I’d be interested in, including the Australian anthropologist Michael Taussig, who writes about Shamanism and Colonialism; the sculptor and essayist Jimmie Durham; Turner prize winner Goshka Macuga, who makes installations which incorporate other artists’ work alongside a variety of disparate objects. Sara also thought I should look into the ‘anthropometric scale of proportions’ devised by the French architect Le Corbusier (above).

Saturday 10^th December

This afternoon I took a short break from the studio, and went to an opening in a gallery called The Safe, right next door the the ISCP, which was showing an eclectic range of female artists in a show called ‘Women artist’s for women’s rights.’

Opening and fundraiser at The Safe Gallery, East Williamsburg

Now I’m settling into a couple of days of painting in the studio, enjoying the peace and quiet!

Post written by Claire Paterson, recipient of the Steven Campbell New York scholarship

Work in progress, on an easel that was kindly given to me by ISCP resident John Aslanidis

I’ve been spending a lot of time painting in the studio recently, and I’ve also been corresponding back-and-forth with figure model Zeke. He’s come up with a list of free-associated words that will possibly be used either to title the final pieces, or as a starting point from which meaning can form within the work.

If you’d like to see some images from recent photo sessions, please take a look at my previous post: https://clairepatersonartist.wordpress.com/2016/11/30/collaborative-myth-making-new-york/

Here are other events / highlights from this last week or so:

Monday 28^th November

Thomas Tronel-Gauthier presenting work in his studio

This evening, I went to an event at the ISCP called ‘One artist, one work’, where one resident discusses their practice in their studio space. This time it was hosted by the artist Thomas Tronel-Gauthier from France, who talked about a new body of work entitled ‘Water & Words’.

It was interesting hearing about the process behind Tom’s recent work, which involves him using Chinese ink to print words on paper, before pouring water over the piece to spread the ink and dilute/ obscure the words so that the meaning is clouded or lost.

Terike Haapoja discussing her work and interest in Nonhuman rights

After this, I attended a lecture in the ISCP held by Steven Wise, a prominent animal rights scholar and founder of the Nonhuman Rights Project, and artist Terike Haapoja, who’s currently showing in the Animal Mirror exhibition at the ISCP.

Animal Mirror exhibit, currently on at the ISCP

There were some fascinating topics under discussion, such as whether animals (hopefully starting with chimpanzees) should be granted legal rights and personhood. It was really engaging hearing lawyer Steven Wise discuss the practical ways non-human rights might finally be implemented under current law systems.

Friday 2^nd December

Today I had a meeting in my studio with Adam Kleinman – writer, editor, curator, lecturer, sometime performer, and former dOCUMENTA Agent for Public Programming.

We discussed my new paintings, and Adam put forward some suggestions as to how I might develop my current myth-making project . Due to the elements of spontaneity and chance in my work (along with its ritualistic underpinnings, and elements inspired by archaic symbolism & the occult), Adam suggested that I take pieces that I produce collaboratively with models to a tarot reader, and have the fortune-teller do readings of the painted-images themselves – with the random card layouts and symbolic results from this experiment either directly or indirectly incorporated into the title and perceived meaning of the work.

He also thought that the myth-making process and resultant images might work well in a book or publication, and encouraged me to look into this avenue of development as well. He offered some advice on what shows and museums to go to, recommending I visit the Rubin Museum at some point – a NY gallery that focuses on Tibetan art and symbolism.

Later on, as I was thinking about Adam’s Tarot reading suggestion, I remembered that I have a copy of the I-Ching (or Book of Changes) back home in Scotland, and that I could possibly construct random and spontaneous meaning using the I-Ching divination technique of throwing coins.

Just as I was mulling this over, I received an email from New Mexico artist Elizabeth Kay. Liz has also been looking at the results of my recent photo sessions, and along with many other great suggestions and observations, has started to speculate about the idea of NYC itself somehow making its presence known in the new work:

‘Claire, I woke up thinking this morning about the spirit of place in your works. The Scottish works are so imbued with a dark, mysterious, somewhat dangerous, twilight atmosphere, as if the old Celtic spirits were swirling about. I think, too, that the fabrics and objects you and your models chose in those works recall the 19^th century or earlier. How will the character of NYC itself be part of the new compositions?’

Quote provided by artist Elizabeth Kay, New Mexico

Liz then went on to talk about how this led her to consider Carl Jung’s forward to the I-Ching, in which Jung talks about consulting the I-Ching as if it were a sentient being. She suggested that I do a similar thing with NYC, ‘inviting it into the mix as if it were a person.’

As well as being intrigued by Liz’s ideas, I enjoyed the fact that we’d both followed completely different trains of thought in relation to my work and arrived, bizarrely, at the I-Ching at exactly the same time, without ever having discussed it before!

***

Interference at NURTUREart

In the evening, I went to an exhibition opening near the studio: Interference at NURTUREart, a group show where the work focuses on the intersection between art & science – the participating artists all sharing an interest in visually representing and interpreting sound-waves, electromagnetism and interference patterns.

Saturday 3^rd December

Today G & I went to an exhibition at The New School called Push Play, that the critic Alaina Claire Feldman suggested I visit. She’d told me to look specifically at a collaborative piece by the artists Allan McCollum and Matt Mullican – who’ve created their own divination game ‘Your Fate,’ where the roll of multiple dice, and subsequent interpretation of the symbols, help ‘rework one’s worldview.’ (For more info on the ‘Your Fate’ game, see www.allanmccullum.net).

The symbols on the dice come from Mullican’s ‘cosmology of pictograms’ that are the basis of his work, as well as his interest in divination systems.

G playing McCollum & Mullican’s ‘Your Fate’ Game

While at the show, I decided to combine the ideas of the last two critics I’ve spoken to. Holding the image of a painting I’m working on in my mind, I allowed the random roll of Mullican’s dice determine possible interpretations and meanings for the new piece. I’ll discuss in another post whether these ideas actually come to fruition or not!

G and I then had fun interacting with some of the other game-inspired artworks around the exhibition.

In the afternoon, we headed back to G’s apartment so I could see the new work she’s been making for the last week: soft-sculpture dogs made out of fabric, most of them produced in pairs to keep each other company! We then made the most of the good weather and walked G’s real dog, Blue, through Prospect Park.

The week ended in a pretty weird way. There have been movie trailers parked outside G’s apartment for the last little while: the building and surrounding streets being used as a location in a film. I left G’s apartment, and as I was walking down the stairs into the subway, I realised that I was surrounded by Paparazzi, who were crammed into the underground stop, frantically taking pictures. I squeezed past them to wait for my train, and saw that there was a very glamorous woman in a white fur coat sitting inside a subway car, circled by film crew. I asked a photographer who she was (I’m not great at recognising Hollywood stars!), and was told that it was Sandra Bullock.

Just before I got on my own train, a huge fight broke out between two of the Paparazzi, who had a screaming match on the subway stairs, the whole thing almost coming to blows. When I got home, I phoned G to tell her about it, only to find out that Sandra Bullock is her favourite actress – so she’s going to be a lot more interested in the film crews surrounding her apartment from now on!

So there you go – I’ve seen my first NY movie star this week, and witnessed my first Paparazzi brawl…

Sandra Bullock at Church Avenue subway stop

Post written by Claire Paterson, recipient of the Steven Campbell New York Scholarship

Pose improvised in collaboration with model Celeste Dudley, with metallic triangle contributed by Robert Picker

Here’s a taster of what I’ve been getting up to in New York. These are just a few of the images produced collaboratively with New York models and artists.

Pose improvised in collaboration with model Zeke Jolson, with paper mache dog contributed by G.Paterson

Model Zeke has written a short statement about his perspective on his myth-making session and the resultant images:

‘Even a brief, first glance at the photos fills me with a sense of wonder. The interaction of elements seems quite magical: the form and movement of the body; the variety of objects raised, held and touched; the mystery of costume and disguise contrasting with openness and nakedness; the role of chance, play and spontaneity – all of this has a worldly and other-worldly quality.

‘I was also struck by how the abundant interplay of light and shadow in the photos heightens the dramatic impact and allows room for many different interpretations by viewers. The light really draws the eye in and fires the imagination.’

Zeke Jolson, New York figure model

Many of Zeke’s own interests and aesthetic sensibilities emerged over the course of our session, and I feel that in some of the poses, his grace from his time as a figure-skater is apparent.

Pose improvised in collaboration with model Zeke Jolson

Figure model Celeste – an actress specialising in Shakespeare – has also provided some insight into interests that inspired many of the poses she adopted in her session:

‘I’m a huge mythology fan from many cultures, though the ones I know the most about are Grecian, Celtic, Native American, Egyptian, and Norse.  I am intrigued and attracted to the elements of that I see in your work – the feathers, the labyrinth, the Athena pose, the Vitruvian Man, the Celtic knots – it all looks wonderful! I love the idea of collaborative myth-making.

‘The Steven Campbell Poised Murder scene inspires me as well. I hypothesize that creating a ‘murder scene’ would invite a different layer of understanding for me. I have always wanted to play a dead body on Law & Order, but have still never had the chance! So your influences in that respect draws me.’

Celeste Dudley, New York figure model

Pose improvised in collaboration with model Celeste Dudley, with paper mache dog, mandolin & self-portrait head contributed by G.Paterson, and metallic triangles & handmade arrow contributed by Robert Picker

During our myth-making session, Celeste and I were not only inspired by Poised Murder, but by a few of Steven Campbell’s paintings too, including Portrait of the Lost Travelogue Writer.

As you can see below, the wishbone (contributed by Amber Fleming), the triangle (contributed by Robert Picker), the tweed-like trousers, and even the skull diagram selected by Celeste to be incorporated into some of her compositions, mirror many elements from Portrait of the Lost Travelogue Writer.

Pose improvised in collaboration with model Celeste Dudley, with wishbone sculpture contributed by Amber Fleming, and metallic triangle contributed by Robert Picker

Steven Campbell, Portrait of the Lost Travelogue Writer

Next week, I’ll be writing more about Portrait of a Lost Travelogue Writer, along with one of Steven Campbell’s other paintings from the same period, The Childhood Bedroom of Captain Hook.

Post written by Claire Paterson, winner of the Steven Campbell New York Scholarship

Monday 21^st November

A mixer event was held at the studio today – residents & staff from Socrates Sculpture Park in Queens dropping by to visit us at the ISCP. A great spread of Greek food was put on courtesy of the ISCP, and we all went home very well fed!

Socrates Sculpture Park is an outdoor museum and public park, where artists can ‘create and exhibit sculptures and multimedia installations’. After chatting to residents at the mixer, I’m keen to visit the park, as it sounds like there’s some interesting stuff happening there, even with winter approaching.

Over the last couple of months, Socrates staff member Chris has been constructing a studio from stacked shipping containers in the park, and has invited people from the ISCP to come along and see how the project’s progressing.

Tuesday 22^nd November

Stupidly chose the windiest day of my trip so far to carry canvases from the art store, almost getting blown away a few times in the process. Made it back to the studio in one piece though, and managed to get some undercoats painted. One of the ISCP’s other residents, John, has kindly given me a lot of his paint, as he’ll be going home to Australia soon – so I’ve got plenty to get me started.

Wednesday 23^rd November

This evening I followed advice my flatmates Ash & Giles gave me, and headed out to the Museum of Natural History to see the bizarre Macy’s Parade Balloon Inflation, where all of the vast balloons of cartoon characters that are used on the Macy’s Thanksgiving floats are filled with helium over the course of around 7 hours.

I arrived towards the end of the event, when the balloons were almost full, and saw Ronald McDonald, Charlie Brown, Paddington, Pokemon and lots of other famous characters looking like surreal, bound beasts, trapped under nets and hooked up to helium machines. There was something vaguely sinister about the whole thing, particularly with the addition of the relentlessly cheery festive music blaring over the outdoor PA system.

Thursday 24^th November – Thanksgiving

G came along to the studio in the late afternoon to offer me some advice on my blocked-in compositions, and we started Thanksgiving festivities early with some wine there.

Afterwards, we went up the road to my apartment, where Ash and Giles cooked a delicious Thanksgiving meal with a homemade pumpkin pie for dessert.

Friday 25^th November

Leftover pumpkin pie for breakfast, to fuel me through another studio day! Later my friend Sarah popped round to the flat, and we had a fun evening listening to music from Ash and Giles’ huge record collection.

Saturday 26^th November

Today G and I went to The Cloisters in uptown Manhattan, walking through Fort Tryon park and taking in views over the Hudson river, the water framed by Autumn foliage.

After having brunch at a restaurant in the park called New Leaf, we wandered through The Cloisters, admiring the courtyards, chapels, ramparts, stained-glass windows, and various architectural features intended to ‘invoke in visitors a sense of the Medieval European Monastic life,’ containing something of the light and atmosphere that I’ve tried to create recently in my myth-making sessions with models.

As G and I both explore similar subject matter in our work, we were in our element viewing the original Medieval reliquaries, statues and tapestries – many of which showed recognisable religious tableaux, whilst others had something altogether stranger going on: a bizarre mishmash of Pagan and Christian symbolism leading to some pretty unusual scenes. This was particularly evident in the surreal & bloody drama unfolding in the Flemish Unicorn Tapestries, where the suffering of a hunted Unicorn is intended to mirror the suffering of Christ.

Sunday 27^th November

Ended the week in the studio, getting stuck into painting. In a few days, I’ll be doing my first post about my new work, as well as writing about some of my favourite Steven Campbell paintings – one of which inspired a particular pose produced collaboratively with figure model Celeste.

Post written by Claire Paterson, winner of the Steven Campbell New York Scholarship

Post written by Claire Paterson, winner of the Steven Campbell New York Scholarship

Monday November 7^th

Went into the ISCP this morning and got settled into my space, starting to create an environment for the photo sessions, which begin Wednesday.

In the afternoon I travelled out to MoMA PS1 in Queens. My flat mate Giles works there, and has spent the last couple of months setting up the Mark Leckey show that occupies most of the floors of the building. I was bowled over by the amount of hard work that has clearly gone into assembling such a vast and complex show.

I’m interested in some of the ideas that Mark Leckey explores. Leckey has an obsession with primeval myth and the initiation of transformations, and the part of the exhibition that I was drawn to most was a dark gallery filled with black-light images and eerily illuminated objects. Leckey wanted to imbue these stationary objects with ‘animist energy’ and create a ‘composit of random meaning’ like a surrealist exquisite corpse – something I’ve been exploring recently in my own work.

At dusk, I was fortunate enough to stumble across the ‘Skyspace’ on the 3rd floor: a site-specific installation by James Turrell in which he’s removed a slice of the gallery roof, leaving the space open to the elements. I was able to sit and watch the sky change colour above, with its edges rimmed by ethereal artificial light from inside the gallery.

Tuesday November 8^th

Today I went searching around thrift stores in Brooklyn, looking for objects and props to use in my collaborative sessions with models.

Later on, I joined other students at the ISCP to watch the US election.

Wednesday November 9th

This morning I met up with New York figure model Celeste – a very talented Shakespearean actress, who also does aerial performances and puppet shows, amongst other things. The photo session and collaboration was great fun, with a lot of improvisation and an inspiring back-and-forth exchange of ideas (images to come soon!)

Thursday November 10^th

This morning I went out to The Big Reuse in Brooklyn to seek out more objects and props for possible use in my next collaborative sessions. One of the main highlights of my trip was petting The Big Reuse resident cat, who lives in the warehouse, sleeps on top of stacks of books, and enjoys cuddles from the staff!

In the evening, Executive Director at ISCP – Susan Hapgood – was good enough to host a gathering for ISCP residents at her home, before taking us around various openings that were happening in Chelsea, including a Paul McCarthy show that I’m planning to return to during the day at some point for a proper look around.

Friday November 11^th

This morning I met with figure model Z, having tea at Lula Bean cafe in East Williamsburg and discussing our collaboration, before heading to the studio for our photo session. Z brought along a mask and costume elements he wanted to use in his myth-making session – and because he’s a figure-skater, he was interested in creating particularly graceful poses.

In the evening, I went to the Australian embassy in Manhattan, where John Aslanidis – an ISCP artist from Sydney – was having an exhibition. It was interesting seeing many of John’s paintings gathered together in the one space. When viewed from a distance, the colours of the Sonic series really seem to thrum, the painted circles showing the ripple effect of sound-waves, so that his work seems to exist ‘at the threshold between music and painting’ (www.johnaslanidis.com). Discussions with John last week have led me to want to explore the influence of music on the myth-making process – and during my session with model K on Wednesday, I was able to use some music files John sent to help influence and determine poses.

Saturday November 12^th

G and I visited Mr Picker today, one of the artists who’s contributed work to the collaborative myth-making process.

Loved seeing Mr Picker’s art collection, which included an original Joseph Beuy’s print and a Hans Bellmer piece. I also enjoyed getting the tour of his inspiring Manhattan apartment, which is packed with his own paintings, sculptures and found objects.

In the afternoon, Mr Picker took us around some of his favourite sections of the Met, which is right by his apartment. Was enjoyable to see the links between certain Met pieces, and Mr P’s eclectic interests and the themes that appear in his own work.

Sunday November 13^th

Quiet day in the studio today, sorting through photos from my modelling sessions with C and Z. Looking forward to next week – already got lots planned!

Post written by Claire Paterson, winner of the Steven Campbell New York Scholarship

‘I think I became less interested in art, conceptual versus figurative, that kind of thing, and I became more interested in thinking about why things are the way they are’ – Steven Campbell.

Steven Campbell’s work displays a persistent fascination with illusion and the levels of reality that exist within a painting. By their nature, figurative paintings are flat and static, showing fixed and illusory worlds, the subjects trapped in time, caught in the confines of the canvas. As the writer Duncan MacMillan observes, while Campbell’s characters ‘innocently explore the apparent freedom of the world they inhabit, they run up against its limits, and, unconsciously, burlesque the limitations of the painters art and so of life itself.’

In the above painting, The Man who climbs Maps, we see the character of the Lost Hiker. Like so many of Campbell’s characters, the Hiker has strayed from his path, and in desperation, attempts to climb his map as if it were a cliff face.

Here, Campbell invites the viewer to consider the nature of painted space. In the world of painted narrative, everything is two-dimensional and on the same plane of existence: the flat illustrations on the map essentially no different from the surrounding landscape and the Hiker himself. Confused, the character mistakes the map for the territory and embarks on his absurd expedition.

Another interesting detail in this painting is the signpost on the bottom left. Such signposts appear often in Campbell’s work, indicating that the characters are suspended between different places, in a sort of limbo or no-man’s land. They never reach their goal or destination, and are trapped in an illusory world that frustrates them at every turn.

In Young Camper Discovering a Grotto in the ground, Campbell further explores the illusion of painted space. It has seven figures in different scales, and in this crowded painting, we’re not entirely sure who the camper is, and it may in fact be all of them.

The perspective here seems intentionally confusing: we don’t know whether characters are in the background or foreground, and are finally led to conclude that each figure inhabits his own ‘grotto’ of space in the picture-plane. These grottos overlap in a sort of mosaic, confusing the viewer, and apparently confusing the characters themselves. Campbell has taken images that may have made pictorial sense; dismantled, restructured and overlapped them, to demonstrate that representational painters deal only in illusion.

Campbell made this a major theme of his work in an exhibition he had at the Third Eye Centre in Glasgow (now the Centre for Contemporary Art) in 1990. The show questioned received notions about reality, often in a humorous way. In many of the paintings, certain figures or objects were missing, showing only white canvas in the place that they had once been or were intended to be.

The above painting Not you as well, Snowy, shows a young man returning home to see that his cat has also undergone this horrible metamorphosis, snatched from reality to leave only a blank silhouette in its place. Something which, to us, is only a bit of blank canvas in the middle of the picture plane, becomes the shape of this poor character’s missing cat – snatched away into the ether, leaving only his shadow and his paws. In this disturbing yet humorous way, Campbell questions the reality of our own world.

Sources used in this blog post: The Paintings of Steven Campbell, by Duncan MacMillan (p.27, 36, 37 & 65). If you’re wanting to find out more about the work of Steven Campbell, I’d highly recommend getting this Duncan MacMillan book, which looks at Campbell’s work in a great deal of depth.

For other posts about Steven Campbell, please visit Claire Paterson’s WordPress page:

https://clairepatersonartist.wordpress.com

The Saltire Society in conjunction with the Steven Campbell Trust have recently announced the recipient of the first New York Scholarship at the Arts in Public Places Awards in Edinburgh. Claire Paterson, a Graduate of Glasgow School of Art, was successful in being selected for the £13,000 bursary which will see her take up a residency with the prestigious International Studio and Curatorial Programme (ISPC) in Brooklyn. As well as admiring Claire’s work the judges were impressed with her professionalism and her commitment to collaboration which was a key part of her proposal.

The judges stressed the extremely high quality of the entrants and the difficulty in coming to a decision. Artist’s selected for final interviews were: Rory Price, Mark Doyle, Robert Powell and Michael White. All received a cash sum towards art materials as recognition of their work.

The collaboration with the Steven Campbell Trust, which was founded in memory of renowned Glasgow-born artist Steven Campbell, is part of the Saltire Society’s Enlighten programme, launched as part of the Society’s 80th anniversary celebrations.

The Steven Campbell Trust wishes to thank The Saltire Society for their partnership and valued support in this joint venture. We would also like to wish Claire Paterson great success for her forthcoming residency and look forward to following and supporting this exciting initiative in the coming months. Finally, we would like convey our sincere thanks to the high quality of all artist’s interviewed, which made our task in choosing the successful candidate a very difficult one.

We are delighted to highlight selected works from all artist’s concerned below:

 

Mark Doyle / http://cargocollective.com/markdoyle

 

 

Claire Paterson / http://www.clairepaterson.com/index.html

 

 

Robert Powell / http://www.edinburghprintmakers.co.uk/artist/robert-powell

 

 

Rory Price / http://www.rorywprice.com

 

Michael White / http://www.michaelwhite.org.uk

 

 

 

 

 

Steven Campbell New York Arts Scholarship

Saltire Society

Deadline: 17 June 2016 at 12:00

The search is on for an aspiring Scottish artist to spend a fully funded three month residency in New York, made possible through a collaborative initiative between the Saltire Society, the Steven Campbell Trust, International Studio and Curatorial Programme (New York) and Creative Scotland.

The scholarship will involve a three month residency as part of the International Studio and Curatorial Programme (ISPC) in Brooklyn. The winning artist will be given dedicated studio space and the unique opportunity to work alongside 45 fellow artists in residence. The winner will also be the first Scottish artist ever to have received a place at this internationally recognised studio.

The Steven Campbell New York Scholarship is part of a wider £50,000 programme of bursaries to support young and emerging Scottish artists, recently unveiled by independent charity the Saltire Society to help celebrate its 80th anniversary year.
The late Steven Campbell is widely recognized as one of the most significant Scottish artists of his generation. Born in Glasgow, Campbell was a student of Glasgow College of Art and went on to gain a Fulbright Scholarship, which he used to go to New York to study at the Pratt Institute before returning to live in Glasgow in 1986. His widow Carol Campbell founded the Steven Campbell Trust following his death in 2007 with the aim of broadening creative thinking and creative output in individuals and communities of practice in a manner which reflects Campbell’s own international outlook and eclectic and imaginative works.

The scholarship is open to graduates from Edinburgh College of Art, Glasgow School of Art, Duncan of Jordanstone in Dundee, Robert Gordon’s in Aberdeen, and Moray College of Art (University of the Highlands and Islands). The scholarship will fund return flights to New York from Scotland, studio fees at ISCP, accommodation costs in New York and a contribution towards living expenses.

Completed applications must be sent to saltire@saltiresociety.org.uk no later than 12 noon on 17th June 2016.

The successful applicant will be announced at the Saltire Society’s headquarters in Edinburgh on 11th August 2016.

Based on advice from ISCP as to the artists who may benefit most from this experience, the Scholarship is aimed at people having graduated between 2004-2012 inclusive. Applicants must be available to take up the full period of their residency from 1st November 2016 until the 31st January 2017.

Location: All Scotland ,International

For further information, please contact saltire@saltiresociety.org.uk (saltire@saltiresociety.org.uk), or visit http://www.saltiresociety.org.uk/news/2016/05/16/the-search-is-on