Edexcel AS Art and Design Theme 2013 Resource Pack

Covert and Obscured

The Saatchi Gallerys current exhibition Gaiety is the Most Outstanding Feature of the Soviet Union, addresses the ideas of being Covert and Obscured throughout its work. Being covert and/ or obscured can portray itself in many different ways, including some of the following:

Hidden, undercover, disguised, secret, underground, concealed, unnoticed, veiled, buried, unseen, mysterious, unknown, masked, cloaked, shrouded, covered, camouflaged, blurred When collecting research and contextual influences:
Consider how the artist has made the work. Look at what materials have they used. Why do you think they used these materials? Do you think the medium effectively portrays the concept/ theme of the work? Do you think there is more than one theme in the work? Do you see inspiration/ influences from other artists, art movements or events in the work?

It is usually the case that Artists and Designers use materials specific to the theme of their work, so they can illustrate a specific meaning, mood or story. They may also consider composition, scale, colour, text and style. They will develop their ideas through research (both contextual and practice based), refine them though testing and experimentation, reflect and record their work in writing and practical outcomes and present their work to appropriately illustrate the theme running through it.

The following artists particularly illustrate the themes of Covert and Obscured within their work:

Gosha Ostretsov Gallery 3

Covert, undercover, disguised, secret, underground, concealed, veiled, mysterious, masked.
Gosha Ostretsov works at the junction between contemporary art and the avant-garde fashion inspired by the aesthetics of Constructivism. From 1988 to 1998 he lived and worked in Paris, where he pushed his practice to become an extreme form of costume-object. This tied in and was heavily influenced by his interest in comic-strip culture. Comics were banned in Russia until recently, being seen by the system as an extreme form of Western capitalist propaganda. The legalisation of the suppressed comic book becomes a strong and forceful feature in his work, making itself apparent through an explosion of bold lines and bright colours. Using comic book imagery allows the artist to comment upon the end of the Cold War and the integration of West and East. The grotesque latex masks on display offer a sense of obscurity and hidden identities. They are almost suggestive of super heroes or villains (both politically charged in this instance), who are part of a covert, underground group.

Much of the artists work depicts a strong sense of struggle, which can be seen as a power struggle. The look of the work is striking and intoxicating with its bright saturated and contrasting colours. There is an element of the fantastical in the work, although one can easily relate to it due to the imagery i.e. iconic style buildings representing the United States of America. The piece featured here is particularly eye-catching. It captures the viewers attention with its large scale and sense of narrative, inviting the viewer to step in.

Janis Avotins Gallery 5

Obscured, hidden, disguised, secret, mysterious, veiled, unseen, blurry, shrouded, unknown.
In this series of dark, blurry paintings, which resemble black and white photography, Avotins uses archived Soviet-era photographs as his starting point. The abstract nature of the images is at odds with their historical nature. Dull and monotone, these blurry images are on the verge of fading away altogether. The use of washed out surfaces and minimal contrast, allows the images to become exquisitely volatile, obscure and mysterious. It creates a gauzy, grainy, speckled effect - like looking into fog or falling ash. There is a ghostly quality to the work, due to the artists use of black and whit e and subject matter (largely people). The viewers imagination is allowed to fill in the gaps and create a story. From the darkness, these obscured figures hint at a whole scene, which has been hidden from the viewer.

Using official historical photos found in Soviet archives as his source, Avotins places emphasis on the human figure, eliminating existing backdrops to focus the attention almost entirely on the subject.