Friday 15 June 2012

Bet Low and Ivor Cutler



I'm walking to a farm 
to grow wheat
I'm walking to a farm 
to grow wheat
The sky is blue, the sun is yel-low


I'm walking to a farm 
to grow wheat

I'm walking to a farm 
to grow wheat
The duck is white, the pond is gre-y.


I'm walking to a farm 
to grow wheat




Thinking about short-hand ways of describing places visually, a few years ago I got to invigilate on an exhibition which included paintings by the late Bet Low (be-low).  While spending a couple of months with the paintings I was always reminded of  Ivor Cutler's songs and poems, one in particular: I'm Walking to a Farm (above). 
These simplified (but not simple) abbreviated forms of image-making are what interest me now (and I suppose it applies to the figure work I have done in the past). What are the essentials you need to convey place, space or character? How little is needed without losing the poetry part? 






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