Beautiful/Decay Website

Randomly, I found this website which is where I found a lot of my artists that I'd never seen before. Definitely recommend it, and I'm very tempted to buy the catalogues, they look so good!!! Just click on the link!

http://beautifuldecay.com/

Emil Alzamora

Often things that have been left behind and changed by time are often distorted, it is this distortion that I found interesting in these sculptures of the human form where the artist exaggerates different aspects which reveal the emotional or physical situation.

http://www.emilalzamora.com/

Martin Ouellette

Again like Lori Nix, photography is fundamental to his practice although not necessarily the final outcome as he transfers these macro photographs into paintings and manipulates them to bring the viewers attention to the profane which are often mass-produced items. The impact of blurring elements of the background is very successful and contrasts greatly against the minuscule detail in the decaying objects commonly found in urban landscapes.

His writings are what most interest me on his website:

Profane: '...something beautiful and lasting in the fleeting moment of forgotten things that get thrown away or left behind.'

Time and cycle of life of these objects and how unique traces are left behind is also of particular interest to the artist. His website can be found at:

http://martinouellette.grandportfolio.com/

Lori Nix

Considered a 'non-traditional' photographer as she constructs her subject matter, rather than finds it. These photographs depict our failing future and the demise of humanity but also with a sense of The Sublime, as she highlights these environments in positive lighting. Her focus is on danger and disaster with a sense of humour. 

I feel very engaged to these photographs as I do feel that humanity is destroying the planet and I find it refreshing to see that our presence can fade and Mother Nature can take over as you can see in the 'The City' series below. I love this idea of time having an impact on ourselves and our environments, the sense of impermanence is an appealing subject that I hope to investigate in this project. 

http://www.lorinix.net/the_city/index.html

Antony Gormley

I saw this piece when I visited Tate Liverpool in 2010. I was struck by the use of organic material and the ability for the material to change (mold). It focuses on a Life-Death-Life cycle, where the artist consumes the bread (negative space) and the material is left to decay. However, out of this transition bacteria have been able to grow and feed from this material leading to further break down.

The element of death is further emphasised by the pose of the human form (negative space) typical of the dead. I feel that this piece has a religious context too, especially as the artist is strongly Catholic or at least was brought up to be. This piece 'investigates the physical and spiritual relationship to the natural world...[and] the body [as] a physical container.'


http://channel.tate.org.uk/media/40034301001
http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ViewWork?workid=21315&tabview=text

Valerie Hegarty

This artist builds environments out of paper, paste and paint to form remnants of decay found in derelict human environments. She focuses mainly on the destructive rather than the constructive forces in her work, for example she replicates historical paintings and destroys them in various ways, whether it's through fire damage, water damage, cracks or even woodpeckers! These are some of my favourites:

Websites:
http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/artists/valerie_hegarty.htm
http://www.guildgreyshkul.com/artist.php?id=116