Documentation and Artists Research

These are the remnants of the layers of plastic that I painted on for my video.

Joseph D. Tarantelli, Deconstruction of a Painting: First Layer, 2012, Oil on Plastic


















Joseph D. Tarantelli, Deconstruction of a Painting: Second Layer, 2012, Oil on Plastic


















Joseph D. Tarantelli, Deconstruction of a Painting: Third Layer, 2012, Oil on Plastic


















Joseph D. Tarantelli, Deconstruction of a Painting: Forth Layer, 2012, Oil on Plastic

I had first decided to cover up my painting with layers because of Willem de Kooning. De Kooning covered up his wet paintings with newspaper in order to keep them wet. By keeping his piece wet, he could continue to paint wet into wet instead of painting over a dry surface. This was useful information for me because I was thinking if I could’ve kept each layer of my painting wet, I would’ve been able to remove each layer and scrape away the painting in front of a recording camera for part of my deconstruction video.

By painting on clear sheets of plastic and layering those, instead of opaque newspaper, I kept the previous layers visible.

I thought I kept the paint wet, until the layers stuck together while I was deconstructing the original layers.

These layers reminded me of Lynda Benglis. She used paint on the floor instead of on a canvas. Her method of working was original. She was searching for a way to be different and definitely found a way to do it with her approach to painting. She separated herself and her pieces from conventions.

Physically manipulating paint uses that material in a non traditional way. De Kooning and Benglis show how artists have to take their materials into consideration to create something original and my video relates to these artists. The actual making of (construction) relates to de Kooning’s technique. When I took the painting apart (deconstruction), the pieces of plastic I painted on became something other than a landscape on a canvas. When that paint comes off the canvas, as in Benglis’s pieces, the focus shifts. The materials lead, and allow, the artist to do something that they normally wouldn’t.

Sources:

artnet. "Lynda Benglis." Web. 18 February 2012 <http://www.artnet.com/awc/lynda-benglis.html>

MoMA. "Willem de Kooning. Easter Monday. 1955-56. LAYER: Technique for Easter Monday." Web. 18 February 2012 <http://www.moma.org/explore/multimedia/audios/278/3110>