Self-Critical Practice..?

graphite & putty eraser/30x20cm

A further addition to the 'roadkill' aluminium cans diptych series, perhaps incorporating suitably self-critical comment!
A particular aspect of rendering the subject matter in graphite, purely tonally, is, of course, to drain them of their coloured, attention-seeking liveries, which endure for the most part even in their compressed, distressed condition as found objects by the roadside: the concentration consequently becomes upon the play of light & shadow & the flattened forms in & for themselves.

Soundtrack:


Cat Power 'The Covers Record'
Morrissey 'Vauxhall and I'
The Associates 'Fourth Drawer Down'/'Sulk'
Black Box Recorder 'England Made Me'
Underworld 'Second Toughest in the Infants'

And so to more musical reacquaintances, this time returning to the relatively recent past of the mid-90s & Underworld's 'Second Toughest...', a fine listen indeed. It seems appropriate in the context of a visually-oriented blog to open out the CD's booklet to appreciate the full scope of the drawing gracing its cover, the swipe of the inky brushmarks...


In similar manner, I've always admired the cool white minimalism on display when one opens the case of Cat Power's 'Covers Record' CD, the beauty of the wonderful photographic portrait of the artist & the simplicity of the design of the disc which suits well the stripped-down nature of the music contained within, a compelling collection of songs reinterpreted in a sequence of singular performances of quiet intensity.