Reproduced, with permission: Hay, G. (2001) Paper Work, The Artist's Chronicle, 80, 7
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More articles about paper sculpture by Graham Hay here
To request information about or to subscribe to The Artist's Chronicle click here.
More articles about paper sculpture by Graham Hay here
Paper works
- paper as an object? Artist Graham Hay has found growing interest nationally and internationally for the reconstruction of paper into art forms.
Think of paper, not as a medium. Think of paper as a material, as an object. That's right, objects made form paper. A material often made from wood and promised extinction as a result of the electronic age. There is an emerging category of artists who use paper as a material, not a medium. Many play with the ideas associated with paper, such as its use for personal and official communication, financial records and value, news, personal hygiene and cleaning, novels and bedtime stories. Within the group of artists using paper as a material are those using it to create sculptures. These artists come from and include origami and papier-mâché traditions, and now include artists modifying these techniques as well as casting, stacking, binding, laminating, carving, grinding and weaving paper. Growing awareness of this emerging category of artists now appears to be international. Two recent events showcased and discussed this point, one in London, the other in Queensland. On Paper, New Paper Art, an international survey exhibition (5 July to 2 September) and symposium (7 July) at the Craft Council in London showcased and discussed paper sculpture. The exhibition was organised in various categories. The Text and Message category focused on language and included those interested in language, communication, deconstructed books and personal visual codes. The New Folding section included origami and origami-inspired work, with references to wrapping and packaging. Cut and Constructed work involved paper clothing, jewellery, flowers, lamps, pop-out books, weaving and paper basket-making techniques. The Nature and Spirit works referenced the eastern use of paper as a symbol of purity, with paper used for casting, mimicking body organs, man-made and natural objects. A week later the Paper as Object exhibition opened at Noosa Regional Galleries, and the wide-ranging New Possibilities for Paper Conference occurred at the University of the Sunshine Coast. Speakers from industry, science and the arts discussed the history, manufacture, and the psychology of how we feel about paper. Other topics included paper artist residencies, plastic paper and money, *e-paper, *o-paper, and the conservations paper. Exhibitions about paper are not new. In Western Australia, Denise Tait curated two Paper Weight exhibitions at The Bridge Gallery in 1992-93. The 1998 Craft Triennial at the Art Gallery of WA included a large paper sculpture by Kiyonori Kada from Japan. The narrowing of focus specifically on using paper to create 3-dimensional form perhaps indicates a coming of age for paper. Certainly the formation of national and international papermaker and paper art associations, plus universities and independent paper making studios, provides the cornerstones of a network for practitioners working in isolation. Western Australian paper sculptors include Susan Flavell who weaves rolled up newsprint and other paper into hybrid animals; Richard Kuhaupt builds tall and short figures from cardboard; Moira Fearby laminates and cuts family letters and cards; Janis Nedela drills, cuts and manipulates selected texts; Jason Stegall makes corrugated cardboard chairs; Mary Knott's paper and wood vessels and Helen Smith's sliced and mounted books are other examples. Others sculpting in paper locally are Paul Hinchliffe, Louise Paramour and Trina O'Hara. Now, think of paper as a material, as an object worthy of sculpture weaving and constructing *E-paper is a new erasable plastic electronic paper which may be available to the public in the next few years. *0-paper is paper as we know it, or organic paper |