Studio Brief 3 - Persons of Note STEPHANIE WUNDERLICH

                                            

ARTIST RESEARCH

To inform the visual development of my project, I have been studying the work of Stephanie Wunderlich. Her cut paper collages and and use of overlays work to achieve simplified forms with textural interest. A balance of block colour against textures helps Wunderlich's work to achieve a harmony. I am particularly concerned with her simplified forms and how she reduces the amount of information in her images to just key components. This use of omission helps Wunderlich to infer meaning through visual clues. I think this is particularly notable in the cycling images as she has used a few clues that give a nod to background details, yet do not over power the main focal points. Single trees and leaves gesture a wider sense of nature and a few gestural marks create an immediate sense of movement.

I am also intrigued by Wunderlich's application of texture as some elements appear to be collaged, while others are drawn directly onto cut components. I would like to explore this sense of interplay between components by exploring over-lays on acetate or tracing paper, or perhaps created on photoshop in a way that mimics screen-print qualities. The use of blending modes within the baby image has also echoed screen-print qualities, allowing colours to interplay with one another. I feel this is an approach that would benefit the imagery of foliage in my illustrations, to enhance that sense of the over-grown and intrusion on the van.

Despite using rather reduced components, Wunderlich is still able to develop very rich narratives, perhaps through her playful and nostalgic tone of voice. I would like to explore this within my own practice in order to fully communicate the relationship of Alan Bennett and Miss Shepherd whilst capturing the environmental details that inform their situation.