'Here Are the Young Men'...

Further to the series of drawings based upon reference to portrait photographs of then-contemporary footballers as found within the pages of a 1970-vintage ‘Charles Buchan’s Soccer Gift Book’, as currently being processed, at this point of the ‘project’ as it’s developing it’s interesting to collect together the portraits drawn thus far & arrange them in a grid format in order to consider the intended cumulative effect of the series. Composed thus, the images appear in similar fashion & proximity to each other as they do upon the page(s) of the Annual from which the original photographic portraits are sourced, whilst also recalling, in nostalgic manner, the pages of, for instance, a Panini or other publisher sticker album or, indeed, an album of similarly (& addictively, pocket money-draining) collectable ‘cigarette’-type cards of the type illustrated in the recent Bob(by) Gough entry.

In the habitual contextual manner, such a cumulative series, produced with reference to photographic source material, also relates to another such as Gerhard Richter’s ’48 Portraits’ of historically eminent German men & particularly, as mentioned previously upon discovering them, Alan Brooks’ two series of pencil drawings of ‘influential authors’ & ‘artists in their studios’, or indeed any similar endeavour: one might also consider Warhol’s ‘Thirteen Most Wanted Men’, for example, sourced from a particular publication as are the footballer drawings.

For whatever reason, & without necessarily considering a title for the collected series of portraits, the opening refrain ‘Here are the young men...’ from Joy Division’s ‘Decades’ frequently recurs; there’s a certain poignancy, perhaps, in contemplating that the source photographs are now more than 40 years old & those subjects that are still with us (at least a couple of departures having been acknowledged, of course) that much older, even those who might only have been late teens or early twenties then into their sixties now, for all that the photographs (& the drawings from the printed reproductions of) freeze them at a certain moment in & (stylistic) period of time: the images serve as hauntological manifestations, traces, memorials, of other times & places - those, personally, just beyond the boundaries of memory & yet redolent & with a powerful ‘idealistic’ attraction.

Distanced Past...

graphite & putty eraser/20x30cm
source: 6th generation p/copy of original B&W image from University of Gloucestershire 'Pittville Studios 07' brochure

Another example of a drawing processed from an immediate source ‘degraded’ through numerous stages of photocopying from its original state, in this instance not a newspaper reproduction but rather an image chosen from an academic prospectus.
Again, each subsequent generation of the process of mechanical reproduction loses something in the way of detail & tonal subtlety, establishing increasing aesthetic distance from the source, as then, further, does the act of drawing.

The appeal of the image resided in both its delightful & always compelling ‘retro’ style, its obvious ‘archival’ nature, & also its relation to examples (such as 'Folding Dryer' of 1962) of Gerhard Richter’s painting from the early to mid 1960s, based, in best ‘Pop’ art tradition similar to those contemporaneous works of Andy Warhol, upon product advertisements from newspapers. In this instance, both the product & stylings might be of a more glamorous nature than those typical of either Richter or Warhol, but the vintage places it firmly within such a context. Although the details may change over time – obviously, with new product, the ‘latest thing’, always to market in the interests of the economy – still the essential language of selling (lifestyles & aspirations attached to the goods themselves) remains constant, & there’s something irresistible about the visual aspect of advertising campaigns, however awful the fascination might be. Interesting to note the scale of the television in relation to today’s drive into the gigantism of widescreen & wall-sized ‘home cinema’ systems...

Soundtrack:

The Beatles homemade compilation of tracks dating 1964-66
Portishead 'Third'

Multiplicity

graphite & putty eraser, digital composite
original source: 'The Guardian' G2 06/10/08

Of course, the obvious thing to do with the series of drawings processed from the original source of a selection of Warhol's Polaroid portraits was arrange them together, in serial fashion, as reproduced in the newspaper, & working very much in the 'multiple', mass-production style of Warhol himself. We're also back in familiar 'Modernist grid' territory, a homely place.

Two interesting articles in September's edition of Modern Painters feature illustrated variations on the theme.
On the subject of Warhol's one & only visit to China, he professed himself an admirer, as one might expect, of Maoist multiplicity & such socio-cultural phenomena as uniformity of dress, & the ubiquity of the mass-produced & disseminated Little Red Book & the simplicity of its ideas, all very much in accord with his own aesthetic philosophy & production.


Andy Warhol modelling 'Mao' jacket
photographic contact sheet/1982

Mark Wallinger, meanwhile, by simple dint of the application of a little drawing, using a felt-tipped pen, upon standard photo-booth passport-type self portraits, produced in multiples, transforms his appearance into a number of ethnic (stereo)types, (dis)guises, whilst remaining the same person underneath, suggesting that such significant differences as are habitually perceived might be more a matter of superficial surface appearance than the more profound, essential factors human beings share.


Mark Wallinger 'Passport Control'
colour photographs/1988

Addition 28/10/08


graphite & putty eraser/20x30cm
original source: 'The Guardian' 22/10/08

Closely related to the Wallinger photos & the creation of multiple identies from the same essential, individual source, this drawing was subsequently processed from a newspaper reproduction of a selection of 4 original photo booth images (arranged most seductively & irresistibly in our beloved grid format, note) of Jacques Mesrine, the so-called 'man with 1,000 faces', a master-of-disguise French criminal of the 70s (yeah, dig some of those hair & spectacles styles, very redolent of the period), which status also of course references Warhol's serial images of 'most wanted' & other mug-shot felons & gangsters, the glamour of which endures, particularly in cinema & TV: indeed, the Mesrine article which the photo-composite accompanies by way of illustration details a just-released 1st-part-of-2 biographical film of the subject, made topical by such.

Similar to the drawings of the 1st moon landing astronauts processed during the 'summer', the source of this drawing is of a suitably degraded nature through both technical considerations of its time & the various stages of reproduction to which it & its constituent components have been subject.

Soundtrack:


Nick Drake 'Five Leaves Left'
The Delgados 'The Great Eastern'
Charlotte Gainsbourg '5:55'
Sol Seppy 'The Bells of 1 2'
Luna 'Best of'

Polaroid Process #9

graphite & putty eraser/20x30cm
original source: 'The Guardian' G2 06/10/08

Being the final drawing in the series processed from newspaper reproductions of Warhol’s original Polaroid portraits, this one incidentally (to The Project, at least) being of another artist, Joseph Beuys, by whom a self portrait drawing is included below, another conceptual & stylistic approach to the representation of identity.


Joseph Beuys self portrait drawing

In relation to the work of Warhol & its concern with, its exploration of, celebrity, it’s notable that Beuys himself cultivated & promoted a distinct artistic persona & sense of identity, not least through a series of iconic performances & lectures, themselves illustrated by blackboard drawings.



Soundtrack:


Lambchop 'Is a Woman'
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds 'The First Born is Dead'
Belle & Sebastian 'Push Barman to Open Old Wounds'

Polaroid Process #8

graphite & putty eraser/20x30cm
original source: 'The Guardian' G2 06/10/08

Continuing the series of drawings processed from newspaper reproductions of Warhol’s Polaroid originals dating from the 1970s, &, although it isn’t the purpose of The Project as such (or even this ‘project within’), in this instance making specific reference to the subject of the portrait, the late artist Robert Rauschenberg, in terms of drawing.

Renowned for all manner of ground-breaking work in numerous media – painting, sculpture, collage, assemblage using found objects, printmaking, performance & various combinations of, operating in, as the artist himself claimed, “the space between art & life” – one particular, iconic piece is Rauschenberg’s ‘Erased de Kooning Drawing’, which is, essentially, as titled.


Robert Rauschenberg 'Erased de Kooning Drawing' 1953

With the consent of Willem de Kooning himself, Rauschenberg chose one of that artist’s drawings & proceeded to erase it, thus creating a new work of art in the process of doing so: in order that the ‘work of art’ involve significant effort, de Kooning specified that the original drawing chosen should not be made merely of more easily-erasable graphite but rather of mixed media – Rauschenberg’s finished work as labelled (by fellow artist & one-time cohort Jasper Johns) indeed makes reference to traces of ink & crayon on paper.
Given the date of this act of Rauschenberg’s – 1953 – the appearance of the erased drawing relates closely to his recently-preceding series of ‘White Paintings’, thus establishing aesthetic consistency. The erased drawing itself is therefore not negative in either conception or production, but a positive act: as one thing – a de Kooning drawing – disappears, another – an erased (being a performative process) drawing – appears, leaving a faint trace of the original, creation results from an apparent act of destruction.

Interesting to note a relation between such a process & that habitually employed in the making of my own drawings, where the utilisation of a putty eraser often removes part or all of some original marks in the process of resolving tonal areas to accord with those of the photographic source, & the act of drawing itself, the process, involves a formal dialogue & maintains a constant tension between the addition & subtraction of marks.

Also, acts of erasure in specific relation to newspaper images coincide in examples of the work of the artist Matt Bryans, again creating new works from existing sources, to which my attention was directed by a post on Kirsty Hall’s exemplary & always informative blog.

Soundtrack:


Stendec 'A Study of 'And''
Belle & Sebastian 'Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant'
Go-Betweens 'Tallulah'

Polaroid Process #7

graphite & putty eraser/20x30cm
original source: 'The Guardian' G2 06/10/08

Another in the series of drawings processed from newspaper reproductions of a selection of Warhol's Polaroid portraits, this one, by virtue of displaying large areas of very pale tone, involving a significant amount of erasure of the initially-made marks forming its basis, rather neatly relating to what should comprise the following entry...

Soundtrack:


The Divine Comedy 'Victory for the Comic Muse'
Pulp 'Hits'

Polaroid Process #6

graphite & putty eraser/20x30cm
original source: 'The Guardian' G2 06/10/08

Another in the series of drawings processed from newspaper reproductions of original Warhol Polaroid portrait photographs. In this instance, the subject’s check-patterned jacket provides suitable scope for the realisation of a more obviously apparent ‘all-over’ surface & reacquaints us with our old friend the Modernist grid.

Soundtrack:


Low 'Secret Name'
Rufus Wainwright 'Want' & 'Want Two'
Belle & Sebastian 'If You're Feeling Sinister' & 'Tigermilk'

Polaroid Process #5

graphite & putty eraser/20x30cm
original source: 'The Guardian' G2 06/10/08

Being another example of ‘a project within The Project’, this drawing was once again processed from newspaper reproductions of Warhol’s Polaroid portraits. The seriality of such an endeavour establishes an obvious link with the particular artist’s work, as does its ‘reproductive’ aspect.

Soundtrack:


Sparklehorse 'Good Morning Spider' & 'It's a Wonderful Life'
Cocteau Twins 'Lullabies to Violaine' vol. 1

Polaroid Process #4

graphite & putty eraser/20x30cm
original source: 'The Guardian' G2 06/10/08

Continuing the series of drawings processed from newspaper reproductions of a selection of Warhol’s Polaroids currently being exhibited as part of the Hayward’s ‘Other Voices, Other Rooms’ show.
Although closely associated with celebrity culture & the depiction of, the celebration of, & perhaps therefore an easy target for playing a not insignificant part in the development of the phenomenon into its all-encompassing nature today, it’s worth noting at this point that Warhol only features subjects – such as this one - famous for actually doing things, achieving things & status, being celebrated for something other than merely fame in & for itself, as is so often the contemporary example & aspiration.

Soundtrack:


Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds 'Abattoir Blues' & 'The Lyre of Orpheus'

Polaroid Process #3

graphite & putty eraser/20x30cm
original source: 'The Guardian' G2 06/10/08

Presenting the third in the current ongoing series of drawings processed from newspaper reproductions of Warhol’s Polaroid portraits, in this instance also utilising the skull motif to which the artist made regular recourse, again characterised by the harsh, high-contrast, flattening & detail-suppressing light of the original medium.
Interesting to contextualize the image with a similar one in which Warhol pictures himself in the company of the skull.


Andy Warhol Self Portrait with Skull
acrylic & silkscreen ink on canvas

Soundtrack:


Velvet Underground & Nico 'Gold'

Impossible to resist the temptation of listening to the glories of the Velvet Underground whilst drawing from & thinking of Warhol...enduringly magnificent stuff.

Polaroid Process #2

graphite & putty eraser/20x30cm
original source: 'The Guardian' G2 06/10/08

Being the second in a series of drawings currently being processed from newspaper reproductions of Warhol Polaroid portraits which themselves served as source material for his own paintings, as in this example.


Andy Warhol Truman Capote
acrylic & silkscreen ink on canvas/1979

Soundtrack:


Lambchop 'Nixon' & 'Is a Woman'

Polaroid Process #1

graphite & putty eraser/20x30cm
original source: 'The Guardian' G2 06/10/08

The original source of the newspaper photograph from which this drawing was processed is an historical one, actually dating from the 1970s, being one of Warhol’s Polaroid portraits made topical by its inclusion in ‘Other Voices, Other Rooms’, an exhibition of the artist’s work currently showing at the Hayward Gallery. As a contrast to, for instance, the daguerreotype photographs of Chuck Close (as previously mentioned & used as source material), the instant nature of the flash-lit Polaroids gives a much harsher & considerably less detailed result from which to work, something that lent itself to the habitually flat, graphic, ‘posterized’ manner in which Warhol worked & produced his typical painted silkscreens.

Soundtrack:


Lamb 'Lamb', 'What Sound' & 'Between Darkness & Wonder'

Still(ed) Life

This diptych was transcribed from a pair of related photographs gracing the front page of a local evening newspaper, with the ‘car crash – disaster’ works of Andy Warhol as the obvious art-historical referent (although these were invariably populated with & thus humanized by their victims, unlike the empty boxes presented here).

Two versions are presented: the first being what might be considered to be a still life, or a pair of stilled mechanical objects it may be assumed have recently been in motion; the second including the lurid tabloid headlines accompanying the images in their original presentation on the cover of the newspaper, adding an obvious narrative element, with its attendant sense of drama, to the overall composition & giving it now a distinctly Pop Art dimension, recalling Warhol specifically & his faithful transcriptions of newspaper stories of ‘disastrous’ events such as air crashes, for example.


graphite & putty eraser/57x20cm
original source: 'Flintshire Evening Leader' 15/04/08


graphite, putty eraser & photocopy (digital image)/57x20cm

Although the component sketches are identical, the mood of each drawing seems markedly different, the first being still, quiet & elegiac, the second more direct, dramatic & visceral through the human emotion conveyed by the added text, although the drawing process – of just another newspaper source image treated in exactly the same manner as all the previously transcribed photographs, regardless of ostensible ‘subject matter’ – might serve to lend both an equally dispassionate quality, being a means to an end, as indeed might be said to be their purpose in the context of their presence in the newspaper, advertising it, there to attract attention & sell the product.


Andy Warhol 'Pink Car Crash'


Andy Warhol '129 Die in Jet (Plane Crash)' 1962

During the course of the drawings’ transcription, there occurred another of those serendipitous coincidences with the television broadcast of David Cronenberg’s film ‘Crash’, adapted from JG Ballard’s novel, one I’ve always found fascinating upon viewing – the first occasion at the cinema, in Cheltenham, where a number of people got up & left during the course of the screening, their expectations obviously not met (!) – & rewarding of subsequent ones: cool, stylish, stylized, darkly erotic & an intriguing study of the relationship between humans & machines, & the sometimes specific complexities of this subject.


All sorts of aesthetic links occur, not least between Ballard & the music of Joy Division, specifically through the title ‘Atrocity Exhibition’ but also with the film ‘Crash’, through the sense of disquiet & cold-steely, mechanized, urban alienation that pervades the album ‘Unknown Pleasures’ in particular. Also amongst the soundtrack accompanying this drawing is to be found the song ‘Belle & Sebastian’ by the eponymous band, wherein “Sebastian went too far again & crashed his car in the rain”…

Soundtrack:


Bjork 'Homogenic'
Belle & Sebastian 'Dear Catastrophe Waitress' & 'Push Barman...'
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds 'Best of'
Rachel Unthank & the Winterset 'The Bairns'
Scritti Politti 'White Bread Black Beer'