SYDNEY MUSINGS

Sydney October 17th 2013

Sydney Opera House and full moon

Chinese Lanterns in Hyde Park Sydney

3D street art in Sydney

 

ANZATA conference

On a recent trip to Sydney for the 2013 ANZATA (Australian and New Zealand Art Therapy Association) Conference a few experiences deepened my appreciation of the features of three dimensional art.

ANZATA masterclass 2013

Three D is too real

I was talking to Deb Green an art therapist from Wellington in New Zealand.  She has been working with children following the earthquakes.  She explained that following the earthquake children worked in two dimensions.  In other words they drew pictures.  She said to me that three dimensional artwork was too real for them.  It appears that while they were in the immediate aftermath of the quakes, two dimensional artwork helped to express their trauma without bringing the experience too close at a time when their need for safety was paramount.

Two years ago Deb mentioned in another workshop I was facilitating that when the buildings were being repaired that they chose three dimensional artmaking.  As the buildings grew so did their sculptures.  It is possible that they wanted to emphasize the recovery process and it was three dimensional art that did this most effectively.

Shaun McNiff wisdom

I attended an art therapy masterclass with Shaun McNiff.  He stressed the importance of movement as a way to express emotions and also as a process to amplify the voice of the artwork.  Perhaps two dimensional images require more work to get them to speak.  Rather than follow the brush strokes, artists could follow the shapes of their work.  They could deepen their understanding of their sculpture through responses to the  movement and structure of the material.

Shaun McNiff in masterclass

Getting Shaun to sign my book!
 

Artwork created using big body movements with rythym

String Theory exhibition Sydney Museum of Contemporary Art

Following three days of art therapy conferencing, I spent an afternoon in the Sydney Museum of Contemporary Art in The Rocks, on Sydney Harbour.  There was a fabulous exhibition called 'String Theory' that showcased a number of sculpture from indigenous fibre artists.  One room in particular excited me.  It was full of large three dimensional soft sculptures.  I spent a long time in here and enjoyed interacting with the sculpture. I took photos playing in amongst the sculpture.

When I came home I downloaded the photos and it suddenly hit me.  I did not interact with two dimensional art in the same way.  I viewed it rather than experienced it.  There was a distance between me and the artwork.  I began to understand that three dimensional work is more life like and more familiar.  It has the same features as the world around me.  It is possible and sometimes even encouraged by gallery staff to interact with the work and feel a part of the installation.  It is possible to walk around the art gaining information from all perspectives deepening the experience.   It created a landscape of which I could be part.  I could belong.



Three dimensional landscape
 



Detail of soft sculptures

I realised that I interacted with the art hence the pose!

Becoming part of the landscape with the artworks