Inspired by Danish artist Anette Tjaerby’s portraits, first year Bachelor of Fine Arts (Properties and Objects) students have been creating large-scale scenic art works.
First year Bachelor of Fine Arts (Properties and Objects) students have been creating large-scale scenic artworks in their NIDA studio, inspired and working from Danish artist Anette Tjaerby’s African descendant women portraits.
The students created the scenic art objects from scratch, stretching the canvas across the frames they made themselves, and using different glazes mixed within the acrylic paint.
‘The students are exploring textures in large-scale work, learning how to replicate references from other sources,’ said NIDA’s Head of Properties and Objects Marcelo Zavala-Baeza. ‘In this exercise they were learning to understand colour, composition, gesture and observe detail. The focus is on how to create work that will be seen from a distance, rather than up close. They have to decide on levels of detail and what will be readable and observable.’
Marcelo explained the difference between a fine arts discipline and the applied arts approach to the project. ‘Hand drawing and technical drawing is an important part of the course,’ he said, ‘but this project is about understanding techniques, accurate observation, form and process. The students are being pushed to get away from preconceived generic images of faces and elements of them such as eyes and mouths, and to examine the object and see it for what it is, rather than what they believe it might be. They are releasing their preconceptions and seeing forms for what they are.’
The resulting scenic artworks are currently exhibited in the NIDA Nancy Fairfax Foyer.
Anette Tjaerby has given permission for NIDA to publish the student work based on her paintings. For more information about the artist www.anettetjaerby.net.
Applications are now open for all NIDA courses including Bachelor of Fine Arts (Properties and Objects) courses for 2019. Details and information on how to apply here.
