Week 5 - Frances Hansen

Frances Hansen conveys themes of environmentalism and domesticity through her practice. The materials she gathers and her ideas are heavily influenced by her lifestyle as a mother and her household environment, particularly throughout times of maternity leave and the artwork of her children.

Collecting is an important aspect of Hansen's practice. She collects materials & transforms them into new collections, creating excitement from normality. I loved her work based on Bill Bryson's Short History of Everything, which she was reading at the time and appropriated words she was attracted to, relating to macro & micro elements of life and the universe which she considers important, such as 'atmospheric' and 'galactic'. These words were painted onto various trays which she had collected and agglomerated for display, although sold seperately. Her process involves compiling inspiration from anything around her which she is attracted to, noting it down, making lists or photographing it, and recycling it in her artwork at a later date. Hansen states John Reynolds as an influence, and I think this is strongly illustrated in his work Cloud, 2006.

Cloud, 2006, John Reynolds

In the above work, Reynolds uses words from Harry Orsman’s Oxford Dictionary of New Zealand English, words which are typical 'isms' of the New Zealand vocabulary, and groups them together almost haphazardly to create a general idea of Kiwiana through text. In Hansen's comparable work, she groups trays together to create an effect of consideration of the greater contempations of life, the universe and everything.

A strong visual theme throughout Hansen's work is the inclusion of the silhouette. Removing all information except the outline allows Hansen to remove the brand, recycle the use of the product and allow the audience to guess as to its identity as per the outline of the form. She is constantly sourcing material from noticing elements in her surroundings, and her domestic life has influenced her to include elements such as cleaning products in her works, reflecting her interest in environmental issues with regard to waste, and, in particular, packaging.

Patrick Pound, Index 2005

This work by Patrick Pound reminded me in particular of Hansen's trays of silhouetted cleaning products, when arranged in a group. Visually, there is a strong connection here and Pound is evidently an influence on Hansen in this way. The theme of haphazardly arranged repetition of smaller works with individualities is exemplified here. Pound removes much of the visual information of individuals' faces to examine how much information is necessary to in order to retain individuality. In Hansen's work, the viewer is invited to guess at which cleaning product might be portrayed, and consider how branding/capitalism affects our culture. What is the real difference between two different brands other than price? Here, we see the domestic element of her work.

Hansen has commented that she strongly admires and identifies with Pound's work, and in particular the way in which he takes everyday objects and manipulates them to becoming something interesting. Another artist who does this is Eve Armstrong. Armstrong directly relates to Hansen in her use of materials.

Both works by Eve Armstrong. Left to right: Gush, 2007. Clear Out, 2007

Hansen has cited these works as strong influences on her practice. This is evident in her use of packaging and other materials which are generally considered to be rubbish. Armstrong "reuses and reconfigures cast-off material within new contexts", emphasising issues of waste & consumerism. She "upcycles" everyday materials, creating a new life for objects which would otherwise be throw away. Hansen treates materials in the same way, constructing works from left over packaging, plastic bags, plant tags sourced from a garden centre floor, scrubbers and old lists people have discarded around her suburb, as well as purchasing materials from $2 stores & transforming them into objects of value. One of her works presents rubbish created week by week, inviting the viewer to consider what the aspects of the waste might convey with regard to the consumer and his/her lifestyle, as well as reflecting environmental issues. One week, for example, contained the discarded packaging from products utilised on a flight to Australia. Upon collecting and noticing packaging, Hansen was shocked by the sheer volume of waste and the impact this would have on the environment, highlighting this as a theme in her work.

The Homely Frontier, Frances Hansen

Robert Rauschenberg, Untitled, Combine painting, 1955

Robert Rauschenberg demonstrates a compositional style favoured by Hansen. Subjects and objects are compiled together whilst occupying their own space, discarding traditional compositional arrangements. Each is carefully replicated & valued - this is evident, for example, in one of Hansen's works which contains a direct copy of a drawing by her daughter. This form of presentation and arrangement transplants each smaller element of the artwork into a new context, inviting the viewer to see it in a new light. Rauschenberg "considered the combining of parts as itself a significant phenomenon, producing new results and effects not present in the elements that were being brought together. He was also attentive to the image quality of the entities with which he was working; for him they were not just constructs or prosaically factual entities." Hansen arranges her paintings as collages, experimenting with comparing various compositions, before refining and creating a final piece. This notion of compiling, laying out and arranging smaller art pieces to constitute a larger artwork is an ongoing theme throughout her practice. Her paintings may contain imagery of anything she has noticed and taken a shine too; perhaps she has noticed a pattern on a letterbox and taken a photograph, or a sticker on a second hand headboard from a handmade bed, or a design on a carpet. These personal touches are valued by Hansen and transformed, merged and celebrated within her own works, again reflecting her interest in themes of domesticity.

One may consider Hansen's current project, writing and illustrating a book of family recipes, the epitome of many of the features I have discussed - domesticity, collecting recipes, lists and illustrations, creating, personal touches, experimenting and merging this all together into 232 pages, many small creations becoming one larger artwork.

http://www.portrait.gov.au/exhibit/truth/pound.html?pagenum=

www.robgarrettcfa.com/walkingwithletters.htm
http://www.chartwell.org.nz/images/imagelibrary/public/cruisecollection/evearsmtrong.jpg
http://sauer-thompson.com/conversations/archives/2007/11/post-349.html

www.coca.org.nz