Cover Image Ekasala T, Living ON The Mountainside (2024)
The critical review is a 1,000 word piece of writing on a subject of your choice, which you will use to gain an introductory awareness and appreciation of your subject, and communicate the ideas and knowledge you gain through personal research in an interesting and effective way.
RT1 STRUCTURING AN ARGUMENT
An essay is effectively a form of structured argument. You have something you want the reader to know and agree with, and you proffer evidence and lead them through your thinking so that when they get to your conclusion they can agree that it is plausible.
A highly recommended resource for this section of the course is Gilda Williams, How to Write about Contemporary Art (2014) Thames & Hudson, Limited.
Make some notes in your learning log to clarify your thoughts on the value and function of a critical review.
SUBDIVISION IS HELPFUL
There are different groupings under the umbrella of ‘Art Writer’. And they appear to me as essential threads linking together to form a cohesive place for the art, or art faction in question.
A historian, a critic, a reviewer, a blogger…..
And then the subdivisions of each individual writers knowledge and experience, creates more authenticity. If they can possess a combination of experience, education, informal knowledge. That all lends to producing an authentic view of the art they are speaking of.
OVER POPULATION
With less text being produced in print, the quality control is reduced, and therefore we are subject to a lot of so called experts sofa philosophising about everything not just art.
CONCLUSION
To be able to navigate the world of art writing, it is helpful to read a lot. Over time you develop a drivel detector.
And it’s useful to consider what you may feel are irrelevant sources to your interest. I learnt this recently in the ‘Naked Dinner Party’ exercise. Combining ancient texts about the purity of drawing the nude, to more modern and challenging approaches, definitely gave an increase of perspective to subject in question.
And learning about artists whose art baffled me, taught me that uncovering the archeology of the subject and artist, increases the clarity of the pieces that once seemed so complex.
VIBING
What Im feeling at the moment is that art writing, wether your are participating as a writer or a reader, is mind altering. It changes how I look at the world even as I move through the mundane daily tasks. And not in a psychedelic way. I feel that I have a deeper understanding of things, and more appreciation and mindfulness. Which I actually feel is the greater meaning of having art in the world.
Bibliography
EX1 WRITING ABOUT DRAWING
The essay by Katherine Stout, More to Meet the Eye, Contemporary drawings at Tate (2012) Tate, Issue 24 [online], is an example of critical writing examining contemporary drawing. Read Stout’s text and analyse it by answering the questions.
How does Stout write about drawing?
Factually. Stout builds up to the main event by sharing facts about the work and the artists, arming the reader with facts (techniques, historial facts, comparisons of other respected artists, etc). This validates the work and her writing.
“Nowadays, there is no longer a question over whether drawing is a primary rather than secondary or preparatory discipline. Back in the 1960s artists such as Sol LeWitt and Mel Bochner showed how drawing in its widest sense moved to the heart of their quest to redefine the very terms of art practice. Its currency was later confirmed by the resurgence of interest in drawing-based work during the 1990s. At this time, William Kentridge, Raymond Pettibon and a host of younger artists brought the medium to the forefront of contemporary practice with work that followed in the wake of a revived interest in expressionism and narrative. More than a decade later, the artists discussed here are also creating figurative images on a variety of themes, but are not interested in telling a story, or trying to offer a window on to the world, or indeed in making expressive gestures. They portray the objects and images with which they choose to surround themselves, rather than bear witness to a constantly evolving interior or exterior world”. (Stout, K 2012).
Out of the 7 artists who is the most interesting to you and why?
Trisha Donnelly. I am intrigued by her drawing having an inverted reflection on the opposing wall. That increases the presence of the work, and engages deeper thinking. It elevates both the subject and medium.
Does Stout make comparisons between artworks?
Stout links the artists, magnetising them rather than polarising the work in the collective exhibition.
“Although the drawings of fellow British artist Peter Peri differ in subject and style from Musgrave’s, they share an uncanny ability to be captivating as representative images, while at the same time reminding the viewer that they are merely pencil marks on paper. His graphite drawings on unbleached paper of strange figurative objects or unspecified architectural locations can seem both confusing and intriguing”. (Stout, K 2012).
Does she think all the works she discusses are doing the same thing? In what ways are they different / similar?
She writes about the artists having a shared idea.
“They may not constitute anything like a cohesive group, but they are all using drawing to reinvigorate representation and image-making, producing resolved and carefully worked pieces”.
“They share a disregard for clichéd ideas of drawing as being best suited to tentative gestures of immediacy and spontaneity, instead investing time, skill and preparation into the production of their art”. (Stout, K 2012)
The works differ in scale, but share a theory of weighted consideration.
“While process itself does not motivate or interest Barriball or the others, the time invested perhaps lengthens the pace at which the viewer encounters the work. As Musgrave comments on his own drawings: ‘All those irrecoverable hours seem to me to hover in a ghostly way around the work… I hope this slows down the rate at which it’s possible to digest the work.” (Stout, K 2019)
What is Stout’s argument? At what point in her text do you know this?
The opening paragraph sets the directive.
“The rapid flow of imagery from television, cinema and the internet is now accepted as a dominant source of contemporary visual culture, yet an increasing number of artists today are offering forms of resistance to the fleeting experience of images. Although working mainly with figurative motifs, they are less concerned with traditional notions of resemblance or objective truth than with taking images, often found photographs or reproductions, out of this incessant flow, and reworking them to create a sense of visual intrigue and material presence that entices the viewer to stop and look at the work slowly and carefully”. (Stout, K 2012).
She is using a comparison. How modern culture digest imagery topographically and quickly, against the notion that these artists create images to be savoured and considered.
What tone does Stout use? Does she reveal her personal opinion?
Positive, celebrating the artists work and the exhibition. She reveals her personal opinion through a subconscious tone. Never going so far as to utilise personal feelings, she weaves factual evidence through the piece.
She provides an informed viewpoint which offers the reader an angle to come in at, and access the work from.
This is useful to the reader as a vehicle to experience the exhibition without viewing it physically. Or, to use as a prelim to visiting it.
It is a testament to the quality of her writing that I don’t feel her text dictates what my experience or personal thoughts should be. It’s rather that it opens my mind ready to receive the work, and not feel overwhelmed by the multitude of content at play.
How does Stout structure her text? Can you find an introduction and conclusion?
Stout structures her text by initially presenting an intriguing and scene setting introduction. Using a quote by Vija Celmins as an opening primer, and then introduces all the artists with a short bio.
Next comes a visual and theoretical journey through the exhibition which maintains a set pace.
The end is punctuated by a concluding statement which resonates as truth because of the authenticity of her previous facts.
Using Williams’ terms ‘explaining’ and ‘evaluating’, how would you describe Stout’s essay? Is her text ‘hybrid’ moving between explaining and evaluating? Can you find one example where Stout “explains’ and where she ‘evaluates’? How do these two modes work together? Can you identify points where Stout is being critical?
Stout uses a hybrid of context and fact, to give merit to her text. There appears to be more emphasis on evaluating early on, and then increasing explaining the work as the text goes on. This helps to build the argument on an initial solid foundation.
Explaining: “Celmins’s route to her subjects is always mediated through a photograph, but can be understood as a desire to paint and draw what she saw in the immediate environment of her Los Angeles studio”. (Stout, K 2012).
Evaluating: “She went on to concentrate exclusively on drawing for a sustained period, eschewing the discipline of painting in which she was trained. She put this shift in focus down to a ‘realisation that the image and the support could unify, and the way to do it was through pencil’, spending the next fifteen years exploring the simple materiality of graphite and charcoal on paper to create some of her best-known works”. (Stout, K 2012).
Hybrid: “Celmins has repeatedly returned to the same images, which recently include spiders’ webs, as they ultimately offer a familiar vehicle for interrogating the subtle differences in pencil, in her own mood and in her handling of space. She holds the viewer’s gaze by evoking infinite depth in her images, and yet they constantly remind the eye of their inescapable flatness, being nothing more than monochromatic graphite sitting on the surface of the paper”. (Stout, K 2012).
Bibliography
Katherine Stout, More to Meet the Eye, Contemporary drawings at Tate (2012) Tate, Issue 24 [online]
EX2 BEGINNING TO RESEARCH
To help you with your first critical review, we suggest a straightforward structure where two artworks are explored and compared.
Although the final critical review will explore two artworks, at this early stage we are asking you to ‘cast the net’ a bit wider and select six artworks to research. The artworks that you select should resonate with your own ambitions as a practitioner. They don’t all need to be drawings, but it is likely that several will be as you are studying to use drawing in your own practice.
AMY SILLMAN SK13
https://ludwigforum.de/en/event/amy-sillman-oh-clock/
https://fineartdrawinglca.blogspot.com/2023/02/amy-sillman-writing-and-drawing.html
https://art21.org/watch/extended-play/amy-sillman-to-abstract/
Sillman A, SK13 (2017)
Kirkup C, Utopia Shifted (2025)
Dolby K, Up Up Up Down Down Down (2019)
Vanni, Visiting the Garden Riviera
TERRY EKASALA Living on the Mountainside
https://www.terryekasala.com
http://www.hallartfoundation.org/exhibition/terry-ekasala/information
https://www.schonfeldgallery.com/exhibitions/riding-through
Ekasala T, Living On The Mountainside (2024)
JOAN MITCHELL Iva
https://www.joanmitchellfoundation.org/joan-mitchell/materials-and-practice
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYMZ2MfMDqY
https://www.museum-folkwang.de/en/exhibition/joan-mitchell
https://www.joanmitchellfoundation.org/journal/on-joan-mitchells-sketchbooks-and-the-importance-of-integrity
Mitchell J, Iva (1973)
List of Images
Fig.1 Sillman, A. (2017) SK13. [Acrylic, ink and silkscreen on paper]
Fig.2 Kirkup, C. (2025) Utopia Shifted. [Acrylic on canvas]
Fig.3 Dolby, K. (2019) Up Up Up Down Down Down. [Acrylic on board]
Fig.4 Vanni. Visiting the Gardone Riviera. [Acrylic on canvas]
Fig.5 Ekasala, T. (2024) Living on the Mountainside [Acrylic on paper]
Fig.6 Mitchell, J. (1973) Iva [Oil on canvas]
RT DEVELOPING AND TESTING AN ARGUMENT
In How to Write About Contemporary Art, Williams also summarises three examples of art writing where comparison is a central strategy. These include: Rosalind Krauss’ close examination of Cindy Shermans’ photographs with her filmic source material, David Sylvester’s comparison of Picasso and Duchamp, and Martin Herbert’s exploration / juxtaposition of a early and late work by Richard Serra.
Briefly read the three excerpts in Williams’ book and in your reflection, consider how do the three authors use comparison in similar or different ways?
Rosalind Krauss close examination of Cindy Shermans photographs uses facts about technique to substantiate her argument. She analyses each individual piece noting how they are different. Comparing technique shows the range, depth of thought, and versatility of meaning that the artworks have.
David Sylvester’s comparison of Picasso and Duchamp uses carefully constructed observations. If you use too much description it can be like reading a novel but he avoids that by linking his observations to fact. This gives agency as one reflects the other.
Martin Herbert’s exploration / juxtaposition of an early and late work by Richard Serra compares the work through time, and provides a journey of investigation to insert descriptions and knowledge.
Using time evidences evolution of the artists work.
Each writer uses fact, but then explains and describes through different techniques.
Bibliography
Gilda Williams, How to Write about Contemporary Art (2014) Thames & Hudson, Limited [book].
RT COMPARISON OF ARTIST A & B
Now that you have gathered a wide array of research on your six selected artworks, you can start to consider the relationship between these artworks. This will help you to begin to generate an argument and a broader consideration of the relationship between them, as you have seen in Stout’s text.
I used all the artworks and went thru a series of comparisons.
This was my final pairing. I chose them because together they provide the biggest challenge for the argument, and the most relevance to my work.
STAGE 1: SELECT 2 ARTISTS
Terry Ekasala & Claire Kirkup
STAGE 2: LIST CHOSEN ARTWORK FOR EACH ARTIST
Terry Ekasala, Living On The Mountain (2024) Acrylic on paper.
Claire Kirkup, Utopia Shifted (2025) Acrylic on canvas.
STAGE 3: WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THESE 2 WORKS?
Both are abstract expressionist paintings, involving a subject and intuition.
STAGE 4: WHAT IS SIMILAR / DIFFERENT?
The artists use a different tempo of brush work.
Ekasala reduces her painting down to the essence. Kirkup uses the continuous mark making to increase the content.
Ekasala uses the boarder of there canvas to enhance her composition, and Kirkup works outside of the edges to expand the experience.
They both use a subject as a starting point, then work with intuition.
They both use drawing to control the evolution of the work.
STAGE 5: WHAT BROAD QUESTIONS CAN BE ASKED?
What is the relationship between observational and intuitive drawing?
How do artists use drawing to influence a painting?
List of images
Fig.1 Ekasala, T. (2024) Living on the Mountainside [Acrylic on paper]
Fig.2 Kirkup, C. (2025) Utopia Shifted. [Acrylic on canvas]
RT WRITING A QUESTION
Think of a question that can usefully encompass your interesting points. Adopt a position relative to art and research, and then examine that position to try to improve it…….
How can drawing add agency to abstract painting?
ESSAY / PRESENTATION PLAN
Student Name
Kay Flockhart
1000 Word Essay
Working Title
How can drawing add agency to abstract painting?
ARTWORK 1
Terry Ekasala, Living On The Mountainside (2024) Acrylic on paper
Ekasala T, Living On The Mountainside (2024)
Explain artwork 1
Intuitive, abstract acrylic painting on paper, with elements derivative of the landscape.
Evaluate artwork 1
Ekasala began as a figurative artist and the representational elements of that period are evident in her abstract work.
ARTWORK 2
Claire Kirkup, Utopia Shifted (2025) Acrylic on canvas
Kirkup C, Utopia Shifted (2025)
Explain artwork 2
Abstract expressionistic painting on canvas. Natural forms and landscape are influential starting points that Kirkup’s work extends from.
Evaluate artwork 2
Kirkup explores the parallels between emotions and landscape. Kirkup uses drawing to shape her paintings from large expanses to small details.
Argument: How can you use artwork 1 & 2 to build an argument?
Through practice I have come to realise that drawing is the foundation to the majority of paintings. It may not be a conscious act in many cases of abstract art, but an intrinsic aquired skill that has naturally developed over a course of time practicing art.
These 2 artworks are visually different, but throughout their diversity add agency to the fact that abstract painting is forged through the elements of drawing.
Acknowledging the artists technical backgrounds, and success in their field, I believe I can create an argument to explain and evaluate how these paintings can further explain to an audience the importance and evidence of drawing.
Bibliography
https://www.terryekasala.com
https://www.clairekirkup.com.au
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ykoa50ZaZ0w
https://madisongalleries.com/artists/37-claire-kirkup/
http://www.hallartfoundation.org/exhibition/terry-ekasala/information
EX3 THE 3 JOBS OF COMMUNICATIVE ART WRITING
Select one artwork from the six you have researched and make an analysis of this work. To do this, you will use a method which Williams calls The three jobs of communicative art writing. Williams’ method provides a three stage process which can be used to make an analysis of an artwork.
Ekasala T, Living On The Mountainside (2024)
What is it?
Terry Ekasala, Living On The Mountain 01/24 acrylic on paper.
Intuitive, abstract acrylic painting on paper, with elements derivative of the landscape.
What might this mean?
Part of a series of ongoing work that the artist creates works on paper to supplement larger scale work on canvas. But, equally relevant in their own right.
The artists subject matter is often spontaneous, but all use the process of mark making (layering, excavating, highlighting) to create nuances and informed areas that stimulate the appearance of something recognisable.
Why does it matter to the world at large?
This way of working evokes intimate realisations of familiar subjects.
The tempo of brush strokes, layers of both translucent and opaque areas, and drawn lines happen intuitively, but are informed. They only persevere because they are relevant to the overall narrative of the piece.
Simulating the structure of a landscape, the light, the type of terrain, the viewers intuition is also at play when connecting recognisable elements.
This type of communication using painting would not be possible without the foundation of drawing. Intrinsic or intended.
This painting, alongside many others in the series are important because it connects to the audience in an unconscious language. A break from the predictive, routine imagery that is often anaesthetised from over use.
List of Images
Fig.1 Ekasala, T. (2024) Living on the Mountainside [Acrylic on paper]