Browsing by Author "Younge, Gavin"

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    An archaeology of self
    (2010) Cilliers, Ryna; Younge, Gavin
    The title of this dissertation is An Archaeology of Self. The first two chapters explore the historical and theoretical basis that has informed my creative work. It is predominantly concerned with artists who engage with the everyday in their art-making. The three main ideas elaborated upon in the body of the text are; the notion of mark making and trace as able to invoke the corporeal presence of the artists; the inclusion of quotidian objects and routines as subject matter within art that recontextualises them as worthy of attention; and the extent to which the representation or use of material objects, traces and leavings can retain significant meaning. The latter is explored in reference to artists who use an archaeological methodology in their work. An underlying theme in both practical and theoretical research is the concept of indexical trace that invokes the presence of its referent while paradoxically signalling its absence. The concluding chapters deal with my methodology and the processes of collection used in arriving at the works presented for examination.
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    Aspects of feminine mythology and related pictoral imagery as source for the development of a personal sculptural iconography
    (1992) Norman, Lee; Younge, Gavin
    The representation of the female figure in Western society has been moulded by such diverse forces as religion, economy and geography, nonetheless, certain images of the female form and representations of feminine qualities appear to be archetypal. One example is that of the Venus of Willendorf which has been recognised as a generalised image of women's fertility. This is mainly due to its formal exaggeration of, and emphasis on, the reproductive aspects of women's bodies. A second example is contained in the theories of Jungian psychologists who have recognised the feminine principle as embodied in the myths and pictorial imagery of what is known as the great goddess. They maintain that the symbols and images from these myths are similar to those in the myths, dreams and fantasies of modern individuals. Following on from these insights the first series of sculptures was aimed at examining women's experience of the reproductive aspects of their bodies in patriarchal society. Generalised images of female fertility were represented through the expressive device of exaggeration. I was concerned to express each woman's individuality by including facial details and gesture. It was also necessary to depict conventionalised elements of patriarchal society. This was achieved through a personification of bestial attributes. The ceramic medium offered many advantages, among them, its primordial qualities and its suitability for modelling and casting voluminous forms. An interest in broader aspects of femininity developed out of the study of images of the great goddess. This was facilitated by a reading of Jungian contrasexual psychology which maintains that the feminine principle is a universal psychological element specific to both men and women. The intention in the second series of sculptures was to celebrate this principle. Since it is not gender-related, it was necessary to find imagery other than that of the female figure. The feminine principle is not definable in purely physical terms since it is experienced in the conscious and unconscious mind, in fantasy, and in what is taken for reality. Abstract symbols associated with goddess mythology were recontextualised in this series and were intended to function on several layers of perception. The technique of modelling cement onto a metal armature facilitated the bold and celebratory forms chosen to celebrate the feminine principle.
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    Between echoes an experiment in creative collaboration
    (2011) Purvis, Bryony; Younge, Gavin; Van der Schijff, Johann
    I had been living in South Africa for almost a year by the end of 2010, when I instigated a series of creative collaborations with seven individuals, symbolically understood to represent the heterogeneous assortment of relationships that make up real-life social worlds. The people I began working with comprised those closest to me, those I live with, friends living in distant parts of the world and others that I have never met, but whose work or labour I have so greatly admired that I considered them to be an integral part of my world. I extended seven invitations to join me in a dialogue from which we could produce a visual artefact together. I asked that this dialogue address experiences and thoughts on the relationship between the individual and another; what makes us feel intimate and what causes us to feel estranged. The core aim of this project has been to develop a methodology/process that will produce art from dialogue. I centralised the need for the process to be sensitive to the identity and values of all those involved and capable of a deep engagement with the particularities of that encounter. Through this, a space between individuals is activated from which genuinely new ideas/social meanings are formed, and art produced. I regard this process of formation rather than affirmation as an approach that can redistribute agency in the production of meaning. Communication theorist Sara Diamond notes a distinction between collaboration that is ‘simply working together, creating in a context where there is an intention to either make that relationship on-going or create a product of that labour’, and the kind of collaboration that is ‘the process which combines the knowledge, experience and previous understandings or methodologies that are substantively different from that which the participants or even the partners entered the relationship with’ (Diamond 2003). Her distinction points towards a need to balance inter-subjective dialogue with the preservation of individual identities. Diamond’s later definition of collaboration implies that participants actively engage with difference, and resist conflating the initial diversity that made collaboration an appealing prospect in the first place. In this model, however, there must be an awareness of the limits of communication to represent an external reality as a shared reference. This is potentially a paralysing limitation: if communication of any kind can fail, where does this leave us? Shedding the security of relativism (of subjective expression) in exchange for the perilous task of cumulative, inter-subjective engagement has been key to the development of these eight experiments. The artist in this framework is a provider of ‘context’ rather than ‘content’, entering into collaborative encounters and communicative exchange (Dunn, cited in Kester 2004: 1). This document outlines the complexities of collaborative works, so as to do away with an easy reading. It contextualises the subtleties that define the collaborative approach in which I am interested. Much of what I understand about the work we have made, and the process that produced it, has only come about upon reflection and as a result of countless exchanges and conversations with the seven individuals I have worked with. As such I present the following document as both a retrospective of the collaborative experience, as well as a condensed cluster of ideas that help anchor this project’s core meaning. To structure this ‘research’ document, I have divided my work into nine chapters. The first describes my methodology in a wider context of collaborative practice from an ontological and genealogical perspective, before refining the key concerns that inform my making. These are: the space collaborative art occupies; a pluralistic sensibility towards multiple perspectives; and, finally, the role of dialogue in collaborative projects. The subsequent seven chapters are the visual and textual documents of the process of each collaboration. They illuminate aspects of the process specific to the seven working partnerships. Through separating each partnership my aim has been to preserve their authorship and prevent each collaboration from collapsing under the weight of my own agency. However, the process that unfolds in each of the chapters is only the process thus far, and many of these projects continue to evolve and form a part of my ongoing practice. I regard this research and the practical work it supports to be the generation of a specific collaborative methodology.
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    The cosmic tantrum
    (2001) McCauley, Kevin Taylor; Younge, Gavin
    This dissertation, entitled The Cosmic Tantrum, is presented in two parts: the body of creative work, in the form of a series of art works created over the course of two years of study, and the theoretical work discussed in this document. The creative work is subdivided into two sections: 1) a series of ten figurative mixed-media paintings, organised chronologically; and 2) the lightworks, a suite of fourteen back-lit canvas tapestries entitled The Eternal Carnival. The Eternal Carnival is the centrepiece of my postgraduate work. A set of drawings is also presented as supporting documentation of the artistic process. The theoretical component is the result of two years of research in Postcolonial Theory, Cultural Studies, and scholarship on the artistic and philosophical systems of what is known as the Black Atlantic. I provide an explanation of the theoretical underpinnings of the creative work in the form of a possible theory of culture, which I have called an "insurgent ancestral aesthetic", elaborated in Part One. This theory of culture provides an analytical framework and leads into Part Two, in which I offer an exposition of the artwork. As a theory, an insurgent ancestral aesthetic begins with the assertion that the presence of the artistic philosophies of the African Diaspora can be understood as essential to both Postmodern Theory and contemporary global culture. A comparative study of the relationship between Black Atlantic aesthetic philosophy and Postmodernism develops this theory of culture and leads into a discussion of possible applications of an insurgent ancestral aesthetic. The themes and concepts of the theoretical research are played out in the creative work in various ways; I employ aspects of my work in theory to illuminate the art in Part Two. Generally, in the artwork, an improvisational approach to the human form reveals an image of the body as an expression of emotional, psychological, and spiritual content. The paintings generate a sense of the body as a story written over time, a record of all that has befallen it. The Eternal Carnival is the culmination of my work in shadow and silhouette and employs a narrative approach in signifying upon various spiritual characters and artistic principles active in the aesthetic and philosophic systems of the Black Atlantic.
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    The enigma machine : unravelling the domestic experience
    (2004) Grobler, Nicola; Van der Schijff, Johann; Younge, Gavin
    In today's capitalist society, the environment of the home has become increasingly insular. Though there may be television, Internet and other forms of technology that connect one to the 'outside world', time spent indoors is for many people time spent alone. My body of work is concerned with an individual's experience within the confines of the home, where the exterior (physical space) becomes a reflection of the individual's interior experience.
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    I can explain : the work of art is no longer necessary
    (2005) Young, Ed; Arnott, Bruce; Younge, Gavin
    The bulk of our knowledge of the international art world, and in many cases within the local South African art scene, is based largely on what we read in magazines, art books and the art press. To most individuals these exhibitions exist mainly in written form and within the viewer's personal mental constructions.
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    Salvaging meaning : exploring the language of inflatable kinetic sculptures and the materiality of plastic
    (2010) Dickerson, Catherine; Younge, Gavin
    Inflatable sculpture is often seen as absurd, comic or light-hearted, but it can also convey a darker, more serious tone. The inflatable sculptures created in part fulfillment for this degree explore refabrication through the use of discarded plastic. This body of work highlights the relationship between industrialisation, plastic goods and nature. The insubstantial, flimsy qualities of the inflatable are an extended metaphor for the fragility of ecologies and the impact of plastic pollution on the environment.
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    Usurping architecture : sculptural resistance to the built environment
    (2008) Cilliers, Pieter Lafras; Younge, Gavin
    Usurping Architecture is a study in three parts. Part One explores the historical and theoretical basis that has informed my body of work. In this section, I explore the perfection of the depiction of the three-dimensional structure on a two-dimensional plane. This is specifically related to architecture. I then examine the role of geometric abstraction, as developed on the two-dimensional format, in sculptural strategies and their insertion in the lived, everyday environment.The role of geometric formalism is expanded on in the chapters on minimal art, where I explore the role of Gestalt psychology in creating a phenomenological response in the viewer. In the following chapters I indicate how the strategies employed by the minimal artists were used in subsequent decades as a response to the architectural environment. Part Two deals with the methodology related to my art-making processes. The first chapter of this section informs the reader about the general use of concrete as a material. The second chapter explains how I use this material in the construction of cast concrete sculptures. It describes the technical aspects of the process in detail. Part Three comprises a list of each work submitted for examination. The works are represented photographically and are accompanied by a short explanatory text.