One of my artistic concerns has always been how to translate what it is in a sketchbook onto a wall. The relationship between a viewer and an image in a sketchbook is entirely different to the relationship between viewer and image on a wall. With a sketchbook, they can be tactile; they hold the book in their hands. There is a notion of intimacy, that they are privileged to the secret thoughts and journal of the artist. They are becoming involved in the creative process, seeing the raw workings and being invited backstage, as it were.
This is in contrast to the image on the wall, which they cannot touch, and which has become ‘a piece of art’ with all the weight that carries. Even though it may be essentially the same image, the expectations are higher and it is there to be judged by all. Does this translation process ultimately compromise the ideas and images in a sketchbook, as notions of aesthetics and the gravitas of ‘Art’ take over?
I work primarily on the A4 size, because my sketchbooks are A4. I cannibalise my own sketchbooks – rip out pages, cut out images, photocopy, scan, re-use. The work fuels itself. Very few sketchbooks survive untouched these days.
This is in contrast to the image on the wall, which they cannot touch, and which has become ‘a piece of art’ with all the weight that carries. Even though it may be essentially the same image, the expectations are higher and it is there to be judged by all. Does this translation process ultimately compromise the ideas and images in a sketchbook, as notions of aesthetics and the gravitas of ‘Art’ take over?
I work primarily on the A4 size, because my sketchbooks are A4. I cannibalise my own sketchbooks – rip out pages, cut out images, photocopy, scan, re-use. The work fuels itself. Very few sketchbooks survive untouched these days.
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