UCLAN School of Art Design & Performance

MA Student learning agreement

Name Pam Gould

MA Course Title Ceramics

Status (F/T or P/T) PT

Date 6/01/2018

Version No.: 6

Brief explanation/ outline of project

My project is an investigation into ‘the hole’ in abstract sculpture, taking as my inspiration Paolo Scheggi’s pierced and layered canvases. From 1958 to his premature death in 1971, Scheggi transformed the canvas from mere artist support to art object in its own right.

Paolo Scheggi: painted, cut and layered canvas

By adding real space, he invites the viewer to look beyond the surface to what lies beneath.

In the early stages of Design Practice 2, I experimented with connecting two Scheggi-inspired forms in real space to create a hole or holes through the basic form. At the time I was unsure how to use the interforms*, unsure of what to do with them or what the basic form might take.

Since then I’ve analysed Scheggi’s layered holes and categorised the skedgies*. I’ve also made a sketchbook exploration of Scheggi’s holes, and identified a basic form I now intend to employ. The main focus of my practice remains the interplay between form, space and light. I shall conduct a systematic exploration of the interforms, connecting the basic forms to create stacks or screens. I shall also use Classical proportion, Fibonacci sequence and Root Rectangles in other forms to investigate proportion, space and form.

* Each Scheggi inspired form consists of two of his layered holes - I call this a Skedie. Two connected Skedgies make an ‘Interform’ (borrowing from Scheggi’s terminology)

Context / Rationale

UCLAN School of Art Design & Performance

MA Student learning agreement

Scheggi had explored the Golden Ratio in his early layered works. By the mid1960s, the organic and oval motifs had been replaced by circular holes set in cuboid modules, in which ‘The space is divided by means of rotations of logarithmic spirals [also known as Golden or Fibonacci spirals], logarithmic parabolas, modular and continual relations.’ P Scheggi cited in F Pola 2014 Paolo Scheggi, The Humanist Measurement of Space, Skira. In this way, Scheggi conducted a systematic investigation into space.

This systematic way of working appeals to me. I am curious to know what happens to the Interforms when the Skedgies rotate. Or when the distance between the Skedgies, or the layers of each Skedgie increases or decreases. Or which combination of Skedgies give the most open or closed Interforms.

In his use of the Golden Ratio, Scheggi pays homage to his Florentine and Milanese roots. Luca Pacioli’s De Divina Proportione (On Divine Proportion) was printed in Milan in 1509, and illustrated by Leonardo Da Vinci. It is a book on mathematical proportions, applicable to visual art and architecture. The use of the Golden Ratio in art is well known. My research has uncovered that Root Rectangles have also been used by artists to aid composition. I hadn’t known about Root Rectangles before. An interesting addition to Golden Ratio and Fibonacci for future investigation.

Key Activities

My primary goal for Design Practice 3 is to investigate the Interforms, in particular how light passes through and between Skedgies, defining the form. By drawing into 2D Scheggi motifs, I have identified a Basic Form to carry the Interforms – the elliptical cylinder. Initial research suggests that the cylinders* can be combined in various ways to create larger units.

* Following Scheggi’s nomenclature, a cylinder carved with an Interform = a Module.

UCLAN School of Art Design & Performance

MA Student learning agreement

Sketchbook Drawing Sample sets of 9 modules

My initial research will be a systematic investigation into what happens to light, space and form when the Skedgies at either end of the Interform rotate in relation to each other. The Interforms will be carved into the cylinders, forming modules, and the modules arranged systematically into sets of 9.

Surface finish will be considered. Scheggi favoured monochrome to accentuate the play of light and shadow. Monochrome also allows the sets to be differentiated. My glaze tests earlier in Design Practice 2 showed that primary stains can be mixed to form a good range of colours. More tests are required - dolomite glaze, stain testing.

Intended outcomes of project tended outcomes of project

The results of the initial research will form the basis for further systematic sets of modules, for example, sets tracing Interforms from most to least open, turning through the orientations of the Fibonacci Spiral. The sets will be free standing or stacked to form screens.

Examples of stacked sets of modules:

UCLAN School of Art Design & Performance

MA Student learning agreement

The results will also inform stand-alone pieces, examples below:

Stand – alone pieces based on the Golden Spiral and Fibonacci Sequence

Pam Gould 13/01/2018

Student signature: Date