Katie McKenna Final Major Project Proposal

MCK16496186
Section One
Recycling objects to convert them into pieces of artwork was a major
learning curve in the foundation course. This was something I did not
comprehend in the past as it was a normality to buy canvases or new
mediums from the store. It overall allowed me to expand my knowledge
on how various mediums worked on different bases, expanding my level of
experimentation.
Section Two
Previous projects evolved around self-obsession and insecurity was one of
the key influences towards my proposal idea. I have an interest in
emotional instability, mainly how individuals react and perceive
experiences in various ways. Francis Bacons self-portraits throughout the
years is what aided me with this idea, showing the obsessive self-
reflection one has upon themselves because of prior daunting experiences
in his childhood. This leads onto another smaller project that also
influenced my proposal idea. It was the study of addiction and how
inevitable influence is from the past. The artwork itself acted as a type of
atonement for my addiction in this case it was smoking. Tracey Emins
monoprints throughout the 1990s inspired me to make traumatic
connections in my artwork. One piece in particular, Terribly Wrong, was a
cryptic piece evolving around her experience of an abortion.

Examples of my work show the inspiration Emin and Bacon had on my

work. They allowed me to acknowledge the inner vulnerability of my
mental state, fully accepting and displaying my personal flaws that crave
forgiveness.
Section Three
Following on with the idea of addiction and insecurity, I want my proposal
to focus around Trauma and Atonement. These themes act as a
development from previous projects which allows me to flow into this new
project at ease. These themes are deeply entwined in my daily life as a
struggle, and I want to fully accept and display these issues in an artistic
sense acting as a form of forgiveness for my sins. I have limited
myself prior using only canvas-based work, thus I wish to expand my art
into more three dimensional work involving floor and wall based
sculptures alongside paint. This will be a process, starting with three
dimensional paintings that progress to complete stand-alone structures. I
also wish to use the concept of film and projection into some of my art to
expand the ways in which I can portray my ideas further behind my
theme.
For research, I aim to spend more time in the library collecting books
surrounding abstraction in sculptures and three dimensional paintings.
Specific sculptural artists such as Louise Bourgeois, Jack Lavender and
Phyllida Barlow will be a priority in research alongside some photography-
based artists such as Cindy Sherman. Bourgeois is a key artist that has
opened my mind into a sculptural sense, representing experiences in a
cryptic sense involving sexual abuse and hatred. Watching documentaries
of her explanations and processes behind her artwork would be vital to
research alongside reading bibliographies. Lavender and Barlow link to my
project in a visual sense - the way their sculptures are made is what I
inspire to produce. Sherman is a good artist to include in my work as she
studies the concept of visual identity and how others perceive personas. I
am inspired to study how much traumatic experiences link towards my
overall identity.
Section Four
For this specific project, I created a website blog to record my
development. This blog will include all notes and moments ideas occur
alongside any new information about the artists that I research.
Progressive images of my pieces I make will be posted regularly with
analysis of my work.
Katie McKenna MCK16496186
Bibliography
Bacon, Francis. Self-Portrait. Private collection, 1969. Print.
Barlow, Phyllida. Untitled. London: Tate Modern, 2016. Print.
Bourgeois, Louise. The Destruction of the Father. London: Tate Modern
(October 2007 - January 2008), 1974. Print.
Emin, Tracey. Terribly Wrong. London: Patrons of New Art through the Tate
Gallery Foundation 1999, 1997. Print.
Lavender, Jack. Dreams Chunky Exhibition. London: The Approach, 2013.
Print.
McKenna, Katie. Layers. 2017. Print.
McKenna, Katie. Stain. 2017. Print.
Sherman, Cindy. Untitled. "Covert Operations: Investigating the Known
Unknowns, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, 2003. Print.
Planned Research
1/2 Tracey Emin On Louise Bourgeois: Women Without Secrets - Secret
Knowledge. 2013. Web. 21 Feb. 2017.
2/2 Tracey Emin On Louise Bourgeois: Women Without Secrets - Secret
Knowledge. 2013. Web. 21 Feb. 2017.
BALTIC Bites: Jack Lavender. 2015. Web. 22 Feb. 2017.
Bourgeois, Louise. Louise Bourgeois : Sculptures, Environnements,
Dessins ; 1938-1995. 1st ed. Paris: Paris musees, 1995. Print.
Gogorov, Jerry, Pandora Tabatabai Asbaghi, and Paulo Herkenhoff. Louise
Bourgeois. 1st ed. Milan: Fondazione Prada, 1997. Print.
Morris, Catherine and Cindy Sherman. The Essential Cindy Sherman. 1st
ed. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1999. Print.
Morris, Frances, Fiona Bradley, and Phyllida Barlow. Phyllida Barlow. 1st
ed. Edinburgh: The Fruitmarket Gallery, 2015. Print.