Nature/Image Field Study Proposal
Susan Aurand, winter 2011
Proposal Summary
I propose to create a series of ten small-scale oil and acrylic paintings. This work will extend a series of symbolic skyscapes I began last summer. I intend to incorporate imagery of natural objects to reference various creation myths and folklore relating to skies and weather in Polynesia.
1) Proposed Site: I propose to conduct my Field Study on the island of Huahini, in French Polynesia. I have selected this site because it offers the opportunity to experience a very different ecosystem and unfamiliar sky phenomena.
2) Aspect of location I will draw upon in creating work(s): I have done considerable research over the past six months on the mythology of skies and weather cross-culturally, and on how weather plays a symbolic role in the human imagination. During my field study, I will study first-hand the changing sky and weather patterns of the tropics – which at this time of year offer a strong contrast to Northwest skies. I am interested in the beautiful abstract patterns and colors that are created in the high cirrus clouds of dawn and dusk skies, and in the particular quality of tropical light. In conjunction with my studio work, I will be reading about the myths and folklore of Polynesia, specifically to understand how atmospheric phenomena have figured in the cosmology of this region.
I will also be collecting and studying small natural objects specific to the island ecosystem, such as shells, plant seeds, and plants. I am interested in how particular natural objects such as shells have been used, in historical art as a rich iconography to symbolize intangible aspects of nature. Shells for instance, have often pictorially represented the fertility of nature, the origin of the cosmos, and the primordial creative energy. I will use my Field Journal to record my observations of as many specific mollusk, plant and marine animal species as I can in the available time. Then I plan to incorporate particular indigenous natural objects as symbolic iconography into the painted skyscapes. My choice of symbols will be influenced by my study of the myths and legends of Polynesia (see bibliography).
3) What I want to learn in relation to this site: Primarily I want to explore the particular effects of tropical light and natural imagery found in this remote ecosystem. My broader purpose is to create a new suite of artworks that are contemporary visual meditations on our place in nature at the start of this century. These paintings will constitute a dialogue with historical sky imagery in art history, but will be personal, contemporary expressions and celebrations of the numinous.
In addition, I want to learn about the particular mythology of French Polynesia, specifically about nature imagery in the myths and folktales, as a way of gaining insight into traditional Polynesian culture.
Last, I want to continue developing my expertise in painting natural phenomena. That is, I want to continue exploring the compositional challenges of insubstantial atmospheric and un-grounded forms; and to further develop my skill in the use of glazes and the use of iridescent and interference pigments.
4) What I propose to create: I propose to create a minimum of ten small paintings, approximately 16” x 20” or 18” x 24”, using a combination of acrylics and oils. For ease of transportation, these will be done on primed archival paper, then, upon my return to campus, laminated onto the surface of stretched canvas or wood panels
5) What I want to learn about art making: The proposed project will help me to continue developing my technical skills and knowledge in painting, which are fundamental to my teaching. It will increase my proficiency in using oils over acrylics, my ability to work quickly, and my knowledge of luminescent, metallic and interference pigments.
6) How the proposed project relates to my ongoing professional and creative work:
The proposed project stems from my ongoing work as an artist, which has long centered on nature imagery. In the past ten years, I have created several series of paintings exploring the use of natural objects to represent the point of connection between matter/spirit, and as personal symbols of contemplation. In 2005, I created a contemporary Book of Hours, inspired by research into medieval religious iconography and its wealth of nature symbols.
Moreover, the proposed project grows out of my long-standing scholarly interests in concepts of nature in mythology, philosophy and semiotics. Historical representations of nature and the uses of nature imagery have been central topics in teaching.
7) Bibliography of Readings:
Gauguin, Paul. Noa Noa: The Tahiti Journal of Paul Gauguin. Translated by O.F. Theis. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2005. (completed)
Morris, Percy. A field guide to shells of the Pacific Coast and Hawaii. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1952.
Poignant, Roslyn. Oceanic mythology: the myths of Polynesia, Micronesia, Melanesia, Australia. London: Hamlyn, 1967.
Williamson, Robert. Religious and cosmic beliefs of central Polynesia. New York: Macmillan, 1933.
8)Logistics of the field study. I will be sharing a rented house on Huahini with five other Evergreen faculty and staff conducting scholarly projects there for periods of time this quarter.