SPS Presents: Dianna Broughton & Jane Evans

11Jan12

Diana Broughton

Can we acknowledge the merging of craft and art, function and concept by challenging the convention of knitting? My work is intended to transform our understanding of knitting by making it much more than the inherent memories of the craft we may hold, but to question the importance of function in contemporary practice.

My recent work has  intended to investigate how the function  of knitting can liberate the utilitarian perception it has formed. My creation of  forms has become symbolic in representing the emotional feeling in my  work as a Fine Artist. I have  questioned my practice in a world whereby the definitions of where art and craft lie, creates a continuous dilemma.

The fundamental criteria of how knitting is related, can fall into three areas – Function, skill and beauty. The resolving assumption concluded by myself is that these  concepts cannot necessarily have any relevance in relation to Fine Art. The involvement of knitting in art does not need to have a practical function as in craft. It also does not have to convey any skill,  craft presents, and beauty which can be shared, is not necessarily decorative, convenient or comfortable.

The objective of my knitted work is intended to question the world and make life complicated unlike craft which  projects a sense of comfort and domesticity. The past of craft-orientated art has  now evolved into art –orientated craft allowing for artistic freedom that previously had never been permitted. The concept of the craft of knitting has been transformed from an ‘applied art’ into a ‘free art’ or Fine Art which assists it’s liberation and which supports my  journey within the realms of contemporary Fine Art practice.

Jane Evans

I am intrigued by the way in which colour affects how I feel, the process of combining colour with traditional and non-traditional materials, and as a vehicle in itself is fundamental to my practice. Exploring the relationship between colour, light, space and form I work intuitively to create an outcome, using the opportunity to investigate further into the unforeseen.

Inspired initially by the Bauhaus and the link between art and design art allows me to release emotion and capture visions. Design plays a significant role in my work allowing me to create work to fit the environment. I create work of varying scale that can be permanent or non-permanent but are site specific that will enhance the experience of public spaces.

My recent work is concerned with research into the decorative arts. Using pattern and repetition as a starting point I am investigating the qualities of materials such as wire, wallpaper, yarns and steel combined with colour. Working in a diverse range of media, be it sculpture, installation, printmaking or mixed media, I create 3D work initially. Using innovative methodology I reference the past to make contemporary art and the elements that intertwine characterize my practice.

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