Floppy realism: a strategy for dissolving form and space in painting

Floppiness proceeds from one of the most valuable properties of paint -­‐ its solubility. The liquid condition of paint resists describing stabilised forms and allows for unexpected permutations, acknowledgement of which opens up new possibilities for authorship. It can soften, dissolve, or extend the boundaries of a form so that its precise shape and location in space becomes ambiguous. The resulting category of image I have termed Floppy Realism, to describe a representative act where forms or objects become slippery and difficult to grasp. Such a position is central to my practice. This essay maps the topography of Floppy Realism, taking the work of Giorgio Morandi and Mark Rothko as fluid points parenthesising this malleability. I establish a common condition borne by artists who do not describe form and space as singular and exclusive, but bound together as matter in mutual exchange. This essay and my accompanying studio practice will document these exchanges.

Grantor dc:publisher

UNSW, Sydney

Year dc:date

2012

Author dc:creator

• Millington, Scott Elliot

• Floppy Realism
• Painting
• Space
• Form
• Applications
• Permutations
• Giorgio Morandi
• Mark Rothko

Statement dc:rights

• open access
• CC BY-NC-ND 3.0
• free_to_read

Licence

• https://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2
• https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/au/

Language dc:language

EN

Identifier

https://doi.org/10.26190/unsworks/16106

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:unsworks.library.unsw.edu.au:1959.4/52600