Painted by Rust
An Exhibition of Photography
by Brigitte Winsor
Aston Webb Rotunda, University of Birmingham.
2 June - 31 August 2011
by Brigitte Winsor
Aston Webb Rotunda, University of Birmingham.
2 June - 31 August 2011
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‘Painted by Rust’ is a display of new photography taken around Edgbaston campus by Brigitte Winsor, to complement work in her original ‘Empire of Rust’ series. This exhibition was developed through the desire to link local artists with university departments, in this instance Metallurgy and Materials.
On the look-out for rusting ironwork, graffiti fragments and natural decay, Brigitte photographed in vivid close-up, details of a back wall, a neglected iron tank or a skip. While apparently random, Brigitte’s images are the result of careful framing and selection, a rigorous aesthetic process and an essential step in drawing art out of chaos.
Through the art of selection, the isolating of detail and colour, Brigitte has discovered all around us shapes and forms that suggest impermanence, gradual change and imperfection. The works speak in the language of ‘wabi sabi’, the Japanese aesthetic that accepts and celebrates transience as a virtue. Along with imperfection comes asymmetry, randomness and austerity, aspects of art that have found further expression in, for example, post-war American abstract expressionism.
This idea runs in a fascinating and unexpected parallel with the writings of the influential nineteenth century art critic John Ruskin. In his lectures on art, Ruskin touches on the 'work' done by iron in nature as it oxidizes by the action of the air and water, or in other words, as it rusts:
“All those beautiful violet veinings of the marbles of Sicily and Spain, the glowing orange and amber colours of those of Siena, the deep russet of the Rosso antico, and the blood-colour of all the precious jaspers that enrich the temples of Italy ... all these are painted by nature with this one material only ... the oxide of iron.”
Dr James Hamilton, University Curator
I first saw the creative potential of photography on an Art Foundation Course at Tresham College, Kettering, where I explored Black & White Photography and darkroom techniques. My artistry developed at Birmingham City University, with a first-class degree in 3-D Design; Ceramics & Glass. Artful imagemaking has continued to be my main passion, influencing my present work as a graphic designer based in Birmingham.
‘Painted by Rust’ is from a series of work inspired by the Japanese ethos of wabi sabi, where beauty can be found in the imperfect, the incomplete and the impermanent. It loosely translates as rustic simplicity with evidence of change; by season, patina, damage, repair. The imagery also draws on my desire to alter perceptions of the real world, through details, texture, reflections, and shadows. The abstract nature of this work invites viewers to form their own scenes; where I have seen a horizon of trees, others have seen leaping fish. Like spotting shapes in clouds, I hope the images ignite a childlike imagination.
My enjoyment of photography comes from ‘finding’ and ‘framing’ ready-made paintings in the environment, a process of ‘straight shooting’ rather than manipulation. By using Miksang (Tibetan for ‘good-eye’) contemplative photography, the familiar world opens up to moments of perception; recognising magic in the ordinary. Framing the composition for balance and contrast reveals other qualities of wabi sabi such as austerity and asymmetry. An ideal ‘find’ for this series incorporates action marks, comparable to an abstract expressionist painting. I hope that ‘Painted by Rust’ encourages others to see art in the unconventional and in the most unexpected of places.
Brigitte Winsor, British artist and photographer (b. 1967)
‘Painted by Rust’ is a display of new photography taken around Edgbaston campus by Brigitte Winsor, to complement work in her original ‘Empire of Rust’ series. This exhibition was developed through the desire to link local artists with university departments, in this instance Metallurgy and Materials.
On the look-out for rusting ironwork, graffiti fragments and natural decay, Brigitte photographed in vivid close-up, details of a back wall, a neglected iron tank or a skip. While apparently random, Brigitte’s images are the result of careful framing and selection, a rigorous aesthetic process and an essential step in drawing art out of chaos.
Through the art of selection, the isolating of detail and colour, Brigitte has discovered all around us shapes and forms that suggest impermanence, gradual change and imperfection. The works speak in the language of ‘wabi sabi’, the Japanese aesthetic that accepts and celebrates transience as a virtue. Along with imperfection comes asymmetry, randomness and austerity, aspects of art that have found further expression in, for example, post-war American abstract expressionism.
This idea runs in a fascinating and unexpected parallel with the writings of the influential nineteenth century art critic John Ruskin. In his lectures on art, Ruskin touches on the 'work' done by iron in nature as it oxidizes by the action of the air and water, or in other words, as it rusts:
“All those beautiful violet veinings of the marbles of Sicily and Spain, the glowing orange and amber colours of those of Siena, the deep russet of the Rosso antico, and the blood-colour of all the precious jaspers that enrich the temples of Italy ... all these are painted by nature with this one material only ... the oxide of iron.”
Dr James Hamilton, University Curator
I first saw the creative potential of photography on an Art Foundation Course at Tresham College, Kettering, where I explored Black & White Photography and darkroom techniques. My artistry developed at Birmingham City University, with a first-class degree in 3-D Design; Ceramics & Glass. Artful imagemaking has continued to be my main passion, influencing my present work as a graphic designer based in Birmingham.
‘Painted by Rust’ is from a series of work inspired by the Japanese ethos of wabi sabi, where beauty can be found in the imperfect, the incomplete and the impermanent. It loosely translates as rustic simplicity with evidence of change; by season, patina, damage, repair. The imagery also draws on my desire to alter perceptions of the real world, through details, texture, reflections, and shadows. The abstract nature of this work invites viewers to form their own scenes; where I have seen a horizon of trees, others have seen leaping fish. Like spotting shapes in clouds, I hope the images ignite a childlike imagination.
My enjoyment of photography comes from ‘finding’ and ‘framing’ ready-made paintings in the environment, a process of ‘straight shooting’ rather than manipulation. By using Miksang (Tibetan for ‘good-eye’) contemplative photography, the familiar world opens up to moments of perception; recognising magic in the ordinary. Framing the composition for balance and contrast reveals other qualities of wabi sabi such as austerity and asymmetry. An ideal ‘find’ for this series incorporates action marks, comparable to an abstract expressionist painting. I hope that ‘Painted by Rust’ encourages others to see art in the unconventional and in the most unexpected of places.
Brigitte Winsor, British artist and photographer (b. 1967)