brancusi

earlier this month i spent the afternoon sitting on a bench in brancusi's studio next to the centre pompidou in paris.

towards the end of his life brancusi considered his sculptures and the way they were placed in his studio to be one holistic work. individual pieces worked together to create a greater whole. he became reluctant to sell anything and plaster copies replaced any work he did have to part with. when he passed away he left everything to the french state on condition that it be displayed exactly the way it was in his atelier.

the studio had grown organically with brancusi acquiring three spaces adjoining it over the years, two of which became the area where he displayed his sculptures as a large constellation. the other pair functioned as workshop and storage. although he thought of the larger space as the actual work, i was almost more intrigued by the rooms he worked in. 

plaster heads were strewn across shelves and surfaces, waiting to be animated. his tools were arranged across the walls, almost tiny statues themselves. in contrast to the static beauty on the other side of the wall everything here seemed ready to be moved around, embraced or discarded.

i had been working on a one pager for the upcoming third issue of the comix reader, but was struggling to find the right way of rendering it. visiting atelier brancusi made me approach the page as one large panel and also to eliminate the bodies of the characters. i applied a wash of blue-grey watercolour over the entire page and then removed areas of paint to create faces.

short stories suit me well at the moment as i study 2 days a week, work 3 days and have a placement the sixth day. a single page is exceptionally short however and i wasn't sure what to write. i am always on the lookout for narratives, sometimes only realising i have one when telling a friend an anecdote i never even considered rendering as a comic. and that is how my contribution to the comix reader was born.

to pick up a copy or just to have a drink join us at gosh! for the launch party from 19:00 to 21:00 on friday 2 march. an exhibition of original artwork from the comix reader will also be on display.